Prayer Request

By: Andrea Woolley

I am  going to use this blog to let you know of a prayer request that has been weighing heavily on me this week.

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Tempered Hope for Burma

By: Jason Crosby

The following appeared on the Courier-Journal's editorial page on Sunday, December 4.

In recent months, diplomatic relationships between Burma (disputably referred to as Myanmar) and the United States have thawed.  Leaders of the military regime that rules Burma have recently made gestures that indicate a desire for increased cooperation with the United States.  Burmese President Thein Sein met with Burma’s most well-known human rights advocate, Aung San Suu Kyi.  President Thein Sein recently released a small number of political prisoners and changed laws to enable former political prisoners to participate in the political process.   The Burmese military regime also conducted “general elections” about a year ago in an effort to pass the junta off as a civilian government.  The Obama Administration has responded to these moves by sending various officials to Burma in the past four months.  These diplomatic maneuvers paved the way for Secretary Clinton’s visit to Burma this week.

Clinton’s visit is the first to Burma by a United States Secretary of State in more than 50 years.  One of her stated objectives is to see how open Burma’s new leaders are to reform.  Clinton recently told NBC, “They need to begin to look at how they resolve these ethnic conflicts that have driven tens of thousands of Burmese of different ethnicities into refugee status.  They have to have a real electoral system with an open door to political parties and free expression.”  This kind of interest in the Burmese government’s human rights record offers some hope for the ethnic minorities that have suffered for decades under the junta.  

Unfortunately, while high-level diplomatic conversation has transpired, the Burmese military regime continues to oppress and terrorize ethnic minority groups in Burma. The words from the mouths of Burmese government officials may be different, but they continue to conduct their business as usual.  In the last seven months there has been an increase in the number of serious human rights violations in Burma.  Recently, according the U.S. Campaign for Burma, the Burmese army conducted “the largest forced displacement in a decade of over 100,000 new internally displaced persons.”  The U.S. Campaign for Burma also reports a recent increase “in the use of rape as a weapon of war, forced labor, and the use of civilians as human shields.”  

Many of the members at the church where I serve as Co-Pastor, Crescent Hill Baptist Church, are refugees from Burma.  I have had a chance to develop genuine friendship with Karen, Chin, and Karreni refugees from Burma.  They have shared with me stories about Burmese soldiers burning their villages and forcing them to seek refuge in the jungle.  They have told me of family members murdered and friends arrested by the Burmese army.  I have seen firsthand the devastating affects of landmines planted by the Burmese army.

Secretary Clinton’s visit gives me hope that real change may be on the horizon for ethnic minority groups in Burma.  However, my hope is tempered by the fact that human rights abuses continue.  Before the United States engages in agreements with Burma that may bring about economic or political gain for those with power here and there, real reform must sweep across Burma so that ethnic minority groups there no longer live in fear and terror.

What small pleasure has marked your day?

By: Bill Johnson

Our community of faith has recently lain to rest a remarkable woman of our city and a noble saint of this church:  Dr. Nancy Howard.  Nancy touched many lives along the way in her years of service as an educator, administrator, minister, colleague, friend, and fellow pilgrim on the Way.

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My Son's Spiritual Formation

By Jason Crosby

Spiritual formation requires a multi-faceted approach.  Spiritual formation occurs through knowledge and intellect.  By poring over scripture, commentaries on it, and reflection, one will certainly grow in spiritual depth. However, spiritual formation goes far beyond this.  While Christian spirituality requires biblical and theological understanding and knowledge, deeper spiritual formation requires testing one's knowledge and intellectual concepts in the real world.  Spritual development really begins to occur when one takes their knowledge and understanding of the scripture and attempts to live out that understanding in the crucible that is reality.  

As the father of a one year old, I have been thinking a lot about Brooks' spiritual development recently.  I know that at Crescent Hill Baptist Church he will learn the Bible.  Soon, his Sunday School teachers and others will tell him about Noah, Moses, David, Ruth, Jonah, Job, the prophets, Jesus, Zacchaeus, Jesus' disciples, and many others.  Soon, he will learn what baptism is and what the bread and cup at the table represent. 

What really excites me, however, is the fact that he will be able to put even the most basic concepts he will learn soon to the test in our congregation.  Crescent Hill Baptist Church looks a lot like the real world I see beyond our walls.  When we gather on Sunday mornings for Sunday School and worship, the world congregates.  When we come together black, white, brown, rich, poor, gay, straight, english speaking, non-english speaking, the sick, the well, young, and old all assemble.  That is what the world I see looks like.  I am excited about what course Brooks' spiritual formation will take because the Exodus story becomes more real when learned alongside refugees, the words of the prophets carry greater meaning when sitting next to a gay man, and Jesus' promise of victory over death really hits home when taught by a woman in her nineties. 

The Gift of Memory

By: Louie Bailey

“Precious memories, how they linger, how they ever flood my soul,

In the stillness of the midnight, precious sacred scenes unfold.”

This old gospel song I remember hearing my grandmother and grandfather sing came to my mind as I was thinking about All Saints Sunday November 6, at Crescent Hill Baptist Church. On that day we will remember all our members who have passed away during this year. One of the regular parts of the Jewish service is to remember each week the names of those who have died during that particular week through the years. It is called the Yahrzeit and a congregational prayer is said affirming the greatness of God and asking for peace on the earth. I think it is a beautiful tradition and find it very meaningful.

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