peace

i had a flashback to high school this morning when i got dressed. i put on a long sleeved t-shirt, and over it a t-shirt with a fancy logo promoting a social justice cause. that was my school uniform for those lovely teen days. what an appropriate day for that to happen.

ten years ago today, i spent my evening at a teeny tiny candlelight vigil that my high school's chapter of amnesty international hosted every year in honor of the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. this declaration goes far beyond our famed declaration of independence and far beyond our legendary bill of rights. the thirty articles provide protections that are necessary to the health, happiness, and dignity of each and every human being on this planet. these thirty articles were way a head of their time. they are way ahead of our time. many places, including this country of mine, do not give all of these freedom's to all of the people within their jurisdiction.

so what do we do? when i was in high school, i focused on my free energy on that very question. i wrote weekly letters all over the world demanding human rights for those with no voice (of course through our amnesty chapter). we made a giant banner (twenty feet tall) made out of copies of those kinds of letters to show the school what kind of work we did. we even wrote hundreds of names on the schools sidewalks of current prisoners of conscience. we formed a gay straight alliance at our school, to protect and accept those who could not fully be who they were on our campus. we tutored kids after school and rehabbed housing. i honestly have no idea where the energy came from.

to this day, i don't know what, if anything, changed about the world because of the efforts of some suburban kids in Ohio. maybe nothing. but i changed. we changed. these very activities were the activities that led me into ministry. this very history... my dirty hippie days, which some say are not over... keep me accountable about how i spend my time, now. i need to be true to the dignity God gave me by respecting the dignity of others and encouraging the systems of the world to do the same.

often, i feel i have stumbled off my soapbox. i look around and can't even find it amongst the trappings of my adult life. so today, on this glorious anniversary, i wrote a letter to a minister (not the kind of minister i might be when i grow up) in Sudan in response to an urgent action amnesty so gracious sent to my in box. i want to continue to do so. if i could write one a week in high school, i should certainly be able to write two a week today...

...if not more.