A JOURNAL FOR THE PRACTICE OF RECONCILIATION

HAVE I EVER mentioned how muchI hate conflict? Everything in me wants torun the other way when I see it coming. Yetin my work and in a couple of church-re-lated situations, I have found myself in themiddle of serious gut-wrenching conflictsthat threatened to destroy the organizationsand irreparably harm relationships. Some-times, I’ve been in leadership roles andcouldn’t simply run the other way as I des-perately wanted to do, but had to help figureout ways to bridge the divide.

I am committed to peacemaking, with aparticular affinity for Paul’s admonition inRomans 12, “If it is possible, as far as it de-pends on you, live at peace with everyone.”I know that running the other way isn’t re-ally in keeping with that verse. is is partof what makes the current state of politicaland religious conversation in the U.S. diffi-cult for me and many others who are deeplytroubled by the divisions and polarizationand don’t know how to deal with it.

e topic for the Fall 2005 edition ofShalom! was “Creating Space for Dialogueon Difficult Issues,” and in Spring 2011, thetopic was “Relating to People Who Are NotLike Us.” So here we are again, taking an-other pass at what feels like a chronic chal-lenge. How do we handle disagreement,especially when the stakes are really high(the very foundations of democracy and ourrole as Christians in society)? How do wehave conversations with people who seethings very differently than we do—espe-cially but not only when they are familymembers, close friends, and/or people we go

to church with every week?In the Spring 2011 edition, in an article

entitled “Words that Heal and Don’t Hurt:Musings on Civility,” I noted, “I oen strug-gle to find the right balance between statingmy beliefs forthrightly and unapologeticallyand being tolerant of and open to a wide va-riety of viewpoints.” I went on to list severalprinciples to guide our interactions withpeople with very different points of view:• We are not all alike yet we are all created

in God’s image.• Biblical principles like the Golden Rule

(treat others as you want to be treated)guide the way we relate to each other.

• Accuracy and truth are essential ingredi-ents in civil conversation.

• Good dialogue is enhanced when every-one chooses to think the best and not theworst about others.

• Clearly stated and owned beliefs help es-tablish a base line from which ongoing di-alogue can happen.

Reviewing that list of principles remindsme of my own commitments, and challengesme to apply those principles anew in thecurrent context that feels even more polar-ized than when I first developed the list. Istill hate conflict and disagreement, but Ialso still believe that my commitment topeacemaking and reconciliation requires meto continue to work at bridging the divide,or, using Paul’s language in Ephesians 2, tofollow Christ’s example of “breaking downthe dividing walls of hostility.”

Harriet S. Bicksler, editor

Spring 2017 V O L . 3 7 , N O. 2

Bridging the Divide

THIS ISSUE OF SHALOM!

An Aggressive Passion for Oneness 2

Finding a Third Way 3

Love the Person in Front of You 4

Crucifixion of American Politics 5

My Neighbor, the Enemy 7

MIDNIGHT MUSINGS 8Downward Mobility

Honouring the Other 9

MCC 11A Partnership in Advocacy

BOOK REVIEW 12Creative Co-Existence

MY FAVOURITE WORD word in theEnglish language is “together.”

Together means “to gather” or to pullinto unity. Still, there is a word I like evenmore: the ancient Greek word that is some-times translated “together” in the New Tes-tament. e word is homothumadon. I know,it sounds like a dinosaur from the early Juras-sic period. “Homothumadon” is one of thecoolest words in the biblical languages. It’sthe result of two words coming together in amost creative way.

Homo means one or the same. umosmeans to snort with passion, usually a pas-sionate rage, or an intense fury. is kind ofanger goes beyond “orge,” the usual Greekword for anger. umos is an emotional out-burst of anger, an almost violent eruption of

wrath. And when these two words get mar-ried, their beautiful love child is homothu-madon: an aggressive passion for oneness.Luke uses this word to describe the disposi-tion of the early church a few times in thebook of Acts. And the apostle Paul uses itonce, when he says, “Now may the God ofendurance and comfort give you unity withone another in accordance with Christ Jesus,so that together you may with one voice glo-rify the God and Father of our Lord JesusChrist” (Rom. 15:5-6).

Unity. One voice. Together. A raging pas-sion for oneness. is should be us!

ere are probably many reasons whyChristians throughout history have lost sightof living the homothumadon life. I think onereason may be that sometimes Christiansconfuse acceptance and agreement. Whenwe start to equate these two values as nearlysynonymous, we will tend to only fully ac-cept someone when we agree with them or,put another way, we will tend to withhold ac-ceptance in order to communicate our dis-agreement. How sad! Dear Christianbrothers and sisters, we can fully accept, em-brace, and live in unity with those Christianswith whom we disagree! As long as we followJesus as our Lord we are saved (Rom. 10:9),and therefore, we are family.

Look at what the apostle Paul says in thevery next verse: “Accept one another, then,just as Christ accepted you, in order to bringpraise to God” (Rom. 15:7).

e Greek word translated “accept”here—“proslambano”—means to take some-one to yourself, to receive or welcome some-one into your home, your world, your space,your life. And because Christ welcomed usinto his love life with the Father, we are towelcome others into our lives together. Infact, this kind of acceptance can happen inthe midst of strong disagreement, and itshouldn’t threaten our unity. is same wordfor acceptance (proslambano) is used in theBible for how we are to accept specificallythose Christians with whom we disagree, be-cause this is how God has accepted us. Forexample: “e one who eats everything must

not treat with contempt the one who doesnot, and the one who does not eat everythingmust not judge the one who does, for Godhas accepted (proslambano) them” (Rom.14:3).

And even when Peter misunderstoodChrist’s mission to die and decided to rebukeor argue with him, the text says: “Peter tookhim aside (proslambano) and began to re-buke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘is shallnever happen to you!’” (Matt. 16:22; Mark8:22).

We know Peter was wrong about the mis-sion of Christ, but he was right about theunity of Christ. Even in the midst of thissharp disagreement, he was pulling Jesuscloser, not pushing him away.

“Now wait a minute!” I can hear some ofyou talking back already. “ere have to besome situations where division is necessary.”Absolutely. And those occasions are laid outfor us in the Bible. We can gather them to-gether into four categories of reasons to di-vide from others who claim to be Christians:1. When they preach a different Jesus (1

John 2:18-23; 2 John 7-11)2. When they preach a different gospel (Gal.

1:6-9; Rev. 1:8-9)3. When they abuse grace to assert their own

will over God’s (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5;2 ess. 3:14-15; Jude 3-7)

4. When they have an ongoing divisive dis-position (Rom. 16:17; Titus 3:10; 3 John9-11; Jude 16)I like that last one. We are called to divide

from divisive people. Forced unity with themwhile they fight to divide the church will cre-ate a kind of ongoing internal damage to thebody of Christ. As Paul writes to Titus:“Warn a divisive person once, and then warnthem a second time. Aer that, have nothingto do with them” (Titus 3:10). ree strikesand you’re out, divisive people.

So there you have it. Is someone youknow who claims to be a Christian actuallypromoting a different Jesus than the Jesus ofScripture? Separate. ey aren’t family. Issomeone you know who claims to be a Chris-tian promoting a different gospel than the

2 S h a l o m !

A JOURNAL FOR THE PRACTICE OF RECONCILIATION

Shalom! A Journal for the Practice of Reconciliation is

a quarterly publication of the Brethren in Christ

Church. Its mission is to educate and stimulate

Christ-like responses to the needs of society by pro-

viding biblical, theological, sociological, denomina-

tional and personal perspectives on a variety of

contemporary issues.

E D I T O RH a r r i e t S . B i c k s l e r1 2 7 H o l l y D r.M e c h a n i c s b u r g , PA 1 7 0 5 5E M A I L : b i c k h o u s e @ a o l . c o m

E D I T O R I A L A S S I S T A N TJonathan Stanton, Lincoln, NE

D E N O M I N A T I O N A L L I A I S O NPerry Engle, Upland, CA

E D I T O R I A L C O M M I T T E ELois Saylor, Harrisburg, PA

Jonathan Stanton, Lincoln, NE

Dawn Carter, Riverside, CA

Please direct all correspondence, including changes

of address, to the editor. A third class nonprofit

mailing permit is held by the Brethren in Christ

Church, 431 Grantham Rd., Mechanicsburg, PA

17055. Third class postage paid in Mechanicsburg,

Pennsylvania. Website: www.bic-church.org/con-

nect/publications/Shalom/

An Aggress ive Pass ion for Onenessby B rux y Cavey

3

Find ing a Th i rd Way by S teve S chwar t z

ONE OF MY favorite Bible stories isJohn 8:1-11, when the Pharisees brought awoman caught in adultery before Jesus:"Teacher, this woman was caught in the actof adultery. In the Law Moses commandedus to stone such women. Now what do yousay?" e scripture is clear that they did thisto trap Jesus.

ere is some question whether this storyactually occurred and should be in the Bible,but as my Bible professor Tony Blair said, “Ireally hope it’s true because I love Jesus’ ex-ample here.”

With our earthly perspective, there aretwo options for Jesus here: say her life shouldbe spared and violate the law of Moses, oragree she should be stoned and underminehis message of love and forgiveness. Two op-tions, neither good. You can see why it was atrap.

But Jesus doesn’t take the bait; he pauses.He takes time to reflect and gather histhoughts. He then responds with “Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first tothrow a stone at her,” or the more colloquial“Let he who is without sin cast the firststone.”

at’ll preach.If I were making an action movie based

on the life of Jesus, “Let he who is withoutsin cast the first stone” would be the taglineon the movie poster. Although “I’ll be back”would be a close second.

I love these types of stories—when Jesus,backed into a corner, responds with an un-foreseen option, a third way if you will, ananswer that had not been considered, onethat transcends the moment with its wisdomand power and grace.

is type of response is what WalterBrueggemann might call the “propheticimagination,” helping us see the world not asit is but as it might be.

How can this prophetic imagination in-form our politics?

First, some ground rules. As Christians itis vital to remember we belong to a Kingdomfirst and any national identity or party affili-ation pales in comparison. As someone bornoverseas, with missionary parents withfriends all over the world, I’ve never under-stood hyper-nationalism in the UnitedStates, but I’m especially dumbfoundedwhen those who claim to follow Christ ex-

hibit it. It’s all well and good to appreciateyour country and root for their soccer teamin the World Cup, but when it comes to war,economic policy, refugee resettlement, or is-sues of justice, our allegiance as children ofGod should be to all his children, not simplythose within our arbitrarily drawn borders.

We must also understand the value of theseparation of church and state. Some peoplemistakenly think of the separation of churchand state as an effort to remove any mentionof God or religion from the public sphere.Where it is interpreted this way it is unfor-tunate. Co-mingling the powers of the statewith the church is bad for both. If the churchis seeking state power to enforce its theologyor morality, you ultimately end up killingpeople who veer from a specific form of le-galism. Our Anabaptist spiritual ancestorswere persecuted and killed by the state in co-ordination with the church for resisting in-fant baptism. Felix Mans, a co-founder of theSwiss Brethren Anabaptists, was drowned onJanuary 5, 1527 by other Protestant leadersfor baptizing adults under the belief Chris-tians should be baptized only aer they makethe choice to follow Christ. (Personal note:

one preached by Jesus? Divide. ey aren’tpart of the same body. Is someone you knowwho claims to be a Christian also claimingspecial license to sin because God is graciousso how we live doesn’t matter? Revoke theirlicense to sin. ey should not go unchal-lenged. And is someone you know whoclaims to be a Christian continually manu-facturing reasons to divide from other Chris-tians, accusing, slandering, and creatingsuspicion? In the words of Jesus and the apos-tle Paul: “Leave them; they are blind guides.If the blind lead the blind, both will fall intoa pit” (Matt. 15:14), and “Come out fromthem and be separate” (2 Cor. 6:17).

Yes, there are occasions to divide withother “Christians.” And when that occasioncomes about, we should be clear and unre-served. But—and this is one big but!—wemust be cautious not to lump a brother or sis-

ter into any one of these categories tooquickly. ese categories don’t describe one-off mistakes, or theological confusion thatsimply needs correction. ese categoriesrefer to people who are bent on a certain di-rection, away from the way of Jesus, whiletrying to retain the moniker of a “Christ-fol-lower.” So be careful not to judge too quickly.

One of the sins the apostle Paul says willbar us from the kingdom of God is the sin ofbeing a “reviler” or “slanderer” (2 Cor. 6:10).A reviler (Greek, loidoros) is someone whotends to use his or her words to denigrate, de-moralize, or simply injure someone else’s rep-utation. It is division through insult, and fallsunder the category of being a divisive personthat is worth dividing from (1 Cor. 5:11).Don’t be that person.

Aside from these four and very serioussituations when it is right to divide, our dis-

position as parts together in the body ofChrist should be a snorting, snarling passionfor unity, a vehement rage for oneness. DearChristians, our unity is worth fighting for.• Our unity will bring God’s blessing (Psalm

133).• Our unity bears witness to the truth of

Jesus ( John 13:34-35; 17:20-23; Gal. 5:13-15).

• Our unity is in tune with the reality thatis the one, unified body of Christ (Eph.2:14-18; 1 Cor. 1:10-17; 12:12-13)

So, brothers and sisters, let’s raise a glasstogether and cheer—homothumadon!

Bruxy Cavey is the teaching pastor for the Meeting

House, Oakville, ON.. His new book is re(union):

Good News for Seekers, Saints, and Sinners (Her-

ald Press, 2017).

4 S h a l o m !

Love the Person in Front o f You By Nanc y C rowde r Hue r te r

THIS PAST POL IT ICAL season hasbeen difficult. Some experienced profoundmourning for the country we thought weknew, the decency we expected, the compas-sion that is so central to our faith. Many havestrained relationships with friends, family, orchurches over political differences; somehave sensed rejection where none was in-tended, and some are confused by and impa-tient with the distress of others. Social mediahas given everyone a voice and made every-one an "expert." People who had never beenconcerned about politics found themselvessuddenly caring very much and feeling pres-sure to speak truths that seemed obvious butothers just couldn't see. Political social mediaposts caused unanticipated, heated discus-sions resulting in hurt feelings and damaged

relationships. Many felt obligated to attackanyone who disagreed. Hatred, disrespect,and disdain became normative. News mediabecame even more polarized with contradic-tory facts and extreme biases as our daily fare.Even within the body of Christ, we some-times forgot how to speak to and care for oneanother.

News crises occurred incessantly. Stayinginformed politically was challenging; findingobjective, fact-based news sources seemedimpossible. ere was overwhelming tensionas we careened from one shocking event tothe next, week aer week, month aermonth. We can't live long-term in crisismode—we have to find a sustainable pace.How much information is enough? How dowe steward our time between political

knowledge and action, caring for family, car-ing for those in need, serving our church andcommunity? Aer several very stressfulmonths of doing my best to be informed andfeeling I was watching our country self-de-struct, I realized the most important thingsto do are the things that have always beenmost important: focus on my relationshipwith Christ and follow his commands to loveGod and love my neighbor.

e Bible doesn't talk a lot about influ-encing governments, but it is full of instruc-tions about how to live our lives well. InMicah 6, the prophet says, "Do what is fairand just to your neighbor, be compassionateand loyal in your love, And don’t take your-self too seriously—take GOD seriously." Paulsays to the Ephesians: "Take all the help you

My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfa-ther Johannes Meyer, born in 1500, lived 30miles from where Felix Mans was martyredat the time of his death and Meyer’s descen-dants eventually joined the Swiss Brethren.)

And if the state seeks the power of thechurch to advance its causes, the church, if itaccommodates and complies, loses itsprophetic authority to speak truth to power.Martin Luther King, Jr. summarized this:“e church must be reminded that it is notthe master or the servant of the state, butrather the conscience of the state.”

With those ground rules in mind, it isvital that we take political action. If we careabout injustice, we must confront abusive in-dividuals and oppressive systems. If we careabout life, we must be active in ways thatavoid violence and increase health and well-ness. If we care about our neighbors, we musttake collective action to improve their con-ditions.

And if we love our neighbors, we must re-member to love our neighbors when pro-moting love of neighbor.

We may be upset with the state’s ap-proach to refugee resettlement, abortion,war, or health care because we want to love

our neighbors affected by these issues so theycan experience health and wholeness. But ifwe are going to challenge the status quo onthese issues, we need not demonize thosewho merely disagree on the best tactics tomove toward justice. We can have vigorous,yet civil, debate. We can listen and seek tounderstand those with different experiencesand perspectives.

We must seek wisdom more then we seekrightness. Author David Dark, who describesphilosophy as “the active love of wisdom,”says, “Should we accept the mission of be-coming philosophers, we will be individualswho want to know what is true more than wewant to feel successful or right or powerful.We will desire honesty more than we desirewinning.” We will recall we serve a King whoshunned earthly expressions of power.

If we are standing in front of a metaphor-ical adulterer, knowing confrontation orpunishment is deserved, and a metaphoricalJesus suggests a “third way” that does not sat-isfy the hunger of our flesh, but recognizes adeeper purpose or opportunity in this mo-ment, will we have ears to hear? Or will westill find an excuse to pick up the first stone?

When I am absolutely convinced I amright on a political matter, that is when I

know I am in trouble. I’m not saying weshould not have conviction, but rightnessleads to arrogance and condescension—andblind spots. I try to remember that for hun-dreds of years many Christians in this coun-try either actively endorsed or at leasttolerated the enslavement of people of color.ey were sure they were right and usedscripture to prove it.

What blind spots do I have? What cer-tainties may I look back on in 30 years andrealize were heresy? What does the Lord re-quire of us? To act justly? Yes. To love mercy?Yes. But also, to walk humbly with our God.

With humility and prophetic imagina-tion perhaps we can, on occasion, transformdivision into community, argument into di-alogue, anger into reflection, accusation intounderstanding, and complacency into ac-tion.

Steve Schwartz attends the Harrisburg (PA)

Brethren in Christ Church and is on staff at Christian

Churches United (www.ccuhbg.org), an ecumenical

organization servng those affected by homeless-

ness, poverty, and incarceration.

5

The Cruc i f ix ion o f Amer i can Po l i t i c s By B r i an Ros s

“L IBERALS ARE SOME of the mostarrogant, condescending smart alecks…they're just pure ignorant, and they fit the billof people who have no love and no respectfor the founding of this country” (Rush Lim-baugh).

“You could put half of Trump’s support-ers into what I call the basket of deplorables.Right? e racist, sexist, homophobic, xeno-phobic, Islamophobic—you name it”(Hillary Clinton).

“When Mexico sends its people, they'renot sending their best.... ey're sending peo-ple that have lots of problems….ey'rebringing drugs. ey're bringing crime.ey're rapists” (Donald Trump).

“Once you dust for fingerprints, it’spretty clear who ruined America: white peo-ple… e Caucasian nation showed up indroves to vote for Trump” (Samantha Bee).

As the kind of person who reads thispublication, it is very likely that if you have

not heard all of the statements quoted above,they still won’t surprise you. At least since the1990s, with the dawn of 24-hour cable news,we all have become begrudgingly accus-tomed to politicians and talking heads whogo for the jugular. e majority of Ameri-cans, for quite some time, have had little re-spect for our political class.

But the past year or two seems somewhatdifferent, doesn’t it? e perennial acrimonybetween Republican and Democratic politi-cians has seeped into the hearts and minds ofthe person on the street. Last summer, thePew Research Center released the results ofa poll that only confirmed what many of ushave intuitively sensed—many Americansare genuinely afraid of the other party (49percent of Republican supporters fear theDemocratic Party and 55 percent of Democ-rats fear the Republican Party.) is is whereit all gets concerning. As William Shake-speare wrote (through the mouth of

Charmian in Antony and Cleopatra): “Intime we hate that which we oen fear.”

One of the questions we are le with isthis: Where did this all come from? Admit-tedly, human life and cultures are way toocomplex to provide any definitive reasons forour current experience of deep social fissures.But there are a couple of sources that wemight consider.

Obviously, the ubiquitous use of the in-ternet and social media has many benefits(follow me on Facebook!) but it also quicklyleads us into division. Whether you are aprofessional in New York, or a farm workerin Central Pennsylvania, the whole world isnow just a finger tap away. With the rush ofevery idea, every tribe, and every way of lifenow available to everyone, we naturally lineup with people who are similar to us. Psy-chologists and social researchers have longnoted that when human beings are over-whelmed with multiple choices and options,

can get, every weapon God hasissued....Truth, righteousness, peace, faith,and salvation are more than words. Learnhow to apply them....God’s Word is an indis-pensable weapon.... prayer is essential in thisongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray foryour brothers and sisters....Keep each other’sspirits up so that no one falls behind or dropsout" (ch. 6). Jesus said, "Love your enemies,do good to those who hate you, bless thosewho curse you, pray for those who abuseyou” (Luke 6: 27-28, RSV). In I Timothy,Paul stresses, "e first thing I want you todo is pray....especially for rulers and their gov-ernments to rule well so we can be quietlyabout our business of living simply, in hum-ble contemplation" (I Tim. 2:1-3). I confessI have not been praying enough.

Neither party can claim the title "Christ-ian." Both major parties have ideas that areconsistent with Scripture and some thataren't. It seems that with many issues there isa tension between one side insisting on whatseems to them a moral imperative and theother side insisting that there are complicat-

ing practical or human costs that must beconsidered. Because we have become so po-larized and our language is so loaded withemotional triggers, we rarely take the time toacknowledge the truth on the other side.Most of us have friends, neighbors, and fam-ily members at both ends of the politicalspectrum, and it's not because they're stupidor misguided. We have different brains, dif-ferent personalities, different experiences,different priorities (and hear completely dif-ferent news coverage in language we under-stand differently), but we have one Lord whotold us to love each other and be unified. Ineed to love the person in front of me.

is is a critical time for the Church tomodel unity, not in political opinion, but inloving, valuing, and working alongside eachother in spite of our differences. We need toconsider what messages the Church is send-ing to the world. Criticizing others' attemptsto make a difference is not helpful; question-ing their motives is even less so. I must becareful with what I say (Do I know it's true?Will it help anyone? Will it hurt anyone?

What are my motives?). Just as in other areasof Christian life, we're a body with manyparts, all of which are valuable. As Paul putsit, "walk—better yet, run!—on the road Godcalled you to travel....pouring yourselves outfor each other in acts of love, alert at noticingdifferences and quick at mending fences. Youwere all called to travel on the same road andin the same direction, so stay together, bothoutwardly and inwardly. You have one Mas-ter, one faith, one baptism, one God and Fa-ther of all, who rules over all, works throughall, and is present in all. Everything you areand think and do is permeated with One-ness. But that doesn’t mean you should alllook and speak and act the same. Out of thegenerosity of Christ, each of us is given hisown gi" (Eph. 4:1-7).

Nancy Crowder Huerter is a member of the Eliza-

bethtown (PA) Brethren in Christ Church.

the fear circuits in the brain go into over-drive. We identify with people who resembleus in order to feel safe. Every option is toomany options. We choose security within theknown.

On top of this biological response, nearlyall of the world’s information sits within ourhands. You can instantly find dirt on any per-son or political philosophy, confirming whatyou already fear.

Additionally, social media has now pro-vided every single person with a megaphone.Voices that were formerly silenced now havethe ability to speak their minds and sharetheir experiences. is is a very good thing.We need to hear the voices of everyone. Butthese growing pains oen include increasedpolitical strife. When people who have beenmarginalized finally feel free to speak theirminds, it oen sounds angry and revolution-ary to persons of a dominant culture whohave not heard these sentiments before. In re-turn, majority persons immediately go on theoffensive. Progressives feel that they finallyhave the ability to speak truth to power.Conservatives on the other hand, feel that allof the best of history’s past is intentionallybeing dismantled. If someone feels like theyare being silenced by the majority, or if theyfeel like valuable traditions are under assault,fear and attacks metastasize and threaten thehealth of our body politic.

Where do we go from here? Any way for-ward for a member of a believers’ churchshould begin with Jesus himself.

Ross Douthat, in his book Bad Religion,reminds us that Jesus is utterly unique. As theGod-man, the human face of God, Jesus istoo profound to easily fit within our contem-porary political binaries. Douthat writes:

No figure in history or fiction contains asmany multitudes as Jesus. He’s a celibateman who enjoys dining with tax collec-tors and changing water into wine. He’s afierce critic of Jewish religious law whoinsists that he’s actually fulfilling ratherthan subverting it. He preaches a reversalof every social hierarchy while deliber-ately avoiding explicitly political claims.He promises to set parents against chil-dren and then disallows divorce; he con-sorts with prostitutes while denouncingeven lustful thoughts. He makes wildclaims about his own relationship with

God, without displaying any of the usualsigns of madness. He sets impossible stan-dards and then forgives the worst of sin-ners. He blesses the peacemakers andthen promises that he’s brought not peacebut the sword. He’s superhuman one mo-ment; the next he’s weeping.

e boast of Christian orthodoxyhas always been its fidelity to the wholeof Jesus. Was he God or was he man?Both, says orthodoxy. Is the kingdom hepreached something to be lived out inthis world or something to be expectedin the next? Both. Did he offer a blue-print for moral conduct or a call to spiri-tual enlightenment? Both. Was he thebloodied Man of Sorrows of Mel Gibson;the hippie, lilies of the field Jesus of God-spell; or the wise moralist beloved of Vic-torian liberals? All of these and more.e goal of the great heresies on the otherhand, has oen been to extract from thetensions of the gospel narratives a moreconsistent, streamlined, and noncontra-dictory Jesus.Anabaptists know from our long tradi-

tion that Jesus was political. He preachedand enacted a new kingdom. Yet at the sametime, it would likely require an overly sim-plistic understanding of Jesus to assume thathe would support our contemporary mani-festations of either progressive or conserva-tive movements in their totality.

Jesus pursued zealots and tax collectors,Roman soldiers and Pharisees. When askedto take sides between arguing family mem-bers or official political debates, he refused.In the end, he was crucified by both the sec-ular powers and the religious establishment.And aer his resurrection, he gave birth to achurch that welcomed both Jew and Gentile,rich and poor, and called all of them to re-pentance.

If you are like me, sometimes you wishthat the Spirit would clearly show us the spe-cific things we ought to do during difficulttimes. Unfortunately, it is never that simple.Part of our discipleship, part of us learningto be like Jesus, involves experimenting andfailing and trying again. Somehow throughthis process, we are shaped and molded askingdom citizens. With this in mind, I willstill attempt to humbly offer a few generalsuggestions for believers and their churches

to consider.

Meditate on Jesus more than on political de-bates: Consider how you spend your time.How much of it is invested in prayerfullymeditating on the words and actions of Jesusfound within the gospels? How much of it isinvested in reading HuffPo or Fox News?We are shaped by what we do repetitively. Ifwe spend more time enjoying or mockingTrump’s tweets than we do on Jesus-shapedimagination, we become part of the problem.

Practice the spiritual discipline of deep lis-tening: Whatever your personal politics,when was the last time that you sat withsomeone on the other side and simply lis-tened to them? Not debating them, or tryingto persuade them, but simply listening? Youwill know that the Spirit is working withinyou when you can honestly admit wheretheir position aligns with Jesus (to some de-gree) and where your position does not.

Seek to build a third-way church: Since Jesusfinally resists categorization, so should hischurch. What would it look like for yourchurch to embody the best of both the leand the right? You will know that you aregetting there when you have both Trumpsupporters and Trump protestors sitting inyour pews. You will really know you are therewhen they both accuse you of being too pro-gressive or too conservative.

Choose not to fight back: Part of peacemak-ing is refusing to ignite divisions, and instead,seeking to cover conflict with love. Decidenot to respond to haters on Facebook. Ifsomeone criticizes you, bless them. Workhard at framing your Jesus-shaped visionwith positive words instead of either tryingto poke people in the eye, or enflaming theirrighteous indignation. Yes, if you take thisapproach, it may feel like evil is winning. Butthat is how it oen feels (at least initially)when we exemplify the gospel of peace.

Take up your cross: Taking on the ways ofJesus inevitably means that we will be ma-ligned and we will suffer to some degree. Ata minimum, we will be labeled as sellouts andtold we are part of the problem. By refusingthe idolatry of political war, we might expe-

6 S h a l o m !

7

My Ne ighbor, the EnemyBy T im D i eh l

“ T H E C O L O S S A L M I S U N D E R -

STANDING of our time is the assumptionthat insight will work with people who areunmotivated to change. Communicationdoes not depend on syntax, or eloquence, orrhetoric, or articulation but on the emo-tional context in which the message is beingheard. People can only hear you when theyare moving toward you, and they are notlikely to when your words are pursuing them.Even the choicest words lose their powerwhen they are used to overpower. Attitudesare the real figures of speech” (Edwin H.Friedman).

I love watching college basketball, andone of the great joys of fatherhood for me hasbeen teaching my two youngest daughters tocheer for the North Carolina Tarheels. So,you might imagine this was a fantastic yearfor us as we watched the ‘Heels defeat Gon-zaga to win the NCAA National Champi-onship…except that my daughters are alsovery empathetic people. So as I was jumpingaround excited for the victory, my girls werewatching the Gonzaga players weep over thecrushing blow that was dealt to them. Andthey felt bad. Worse, they made me feel badfor cheering!

My wife chimed in, “ey’re 18-year-oldkids! How can you be happy to see themlose?”

But of course, you don’t see human be-ings when you’re a fan. You only see winnersand losers.

Lately, many of us have become fans. Weview the world in terms of winners and losersand all we care about is that our “team” wins.Aer all, the other side is the “opponent,” theenemy.

“ey” might be people from a differentpolitical party or ethnic group or generation.Perhaps “they” are progressive Christians orconservative Evangelicals. Or maybe “they”are part of the LGBTQ community or sup-porters of traditional marriage.

Whatever they are, one thing is for sure,they are a “they.” ey don’t have a family orhopes and dreams. ey don’t have a nu-anced position based on careful thought andpassionate study. ey don’t care about truth.ey are a caricature of a person.

And the more we distance ourselves fromthose who disagree with us, the more likelywe are to demonize them and treat them assomething other than human.

e less human someone is, the easier it

is to defeat them without a second thoughtto their well-being. In that way, objectifyingthe opposition is an effective strategy whenyour end game is defeating your enemy.

However, as a follower of Jesus, I shouldhave a different end game. Rather thancrushing our enemies, we’re called to lovethem. And one of the first steps toward lov-ing anyone is seeing them as human, and thebest way to do that is to listen to their story.

Rabbi Edwin Friedman says, “People canonly hear you when they are moving towardyou…”

I think this captures what Jesus is sayingwhen he calls us to love our enemy. To loveour enemy is to move toward him or her. Tolove our enemy is to cease from seeing themas a caricature, an ideology, and to, instead,see them as a human being—an image bearerof God.

How can we do this? is thought has plagued me as a pastor.

How do I help my affluent, suburban congre-gation learn to love people with whom theyrarely interact but have strong opinionsabout? How do we help them “move to-ward” those they might otherwise see as anenemy?

rience tension with family members andeven lose some friends. But we cannot followJesus and avoid existential crucifixion. It’s im-possible. Ultimately there is resurrection anda new heaven and a new earth, but first, thereis always rejection and some form of death.is is what we signed up for.

e German philosopher Friedrich Niet-zsche is known for his Parable of the Mad-man—his most famous piece that dramatizesthe announcement of “e Death of God.”Reflecting on this, Keith Preston describesthe struggle of modern Western culture,when a sense of religious transcendence hasle the building:

If the purpose of an individual’s life is notto achieve salvation in an aerlife, thenwhat is the purpose of life? If the king orestablished political authorities do not

rule by divine right, then what is the basisof political legitimacy? How should soci-ety be organized? If morality is not to beunderstood according to the teachings ofthe Church, the Bible, or traditional reli-gious authority, then what is the basis ofjustice, morality, truth or ‘right andwrong’? Do such concepts have any in-trinsic or objective meaning at all? If theobservable universe was not the productof special creation by a divine power, andif humanity was not ‘created in the imageof God,’ then what is the meaning of ex-istence? Does it have any meaning be-yond itself ? If history is not guided bydivine providence, then how is theprocess of historical unfolding to be un-derstood?In the final analysis, our present political

warring just may be the result of modern,technologically savvy individuals, fighting itout over how to manufacture the best versionof a golden calf. If this is true, the most im-portant thing you and I can do is to be peo-ple of e Way—a strange, peculiar, andoen maligned people of the Jesus Way.

Brian A. Ross is assistant professor of pastoral min-

istries at the Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. He is a

19-year ministry veteran, having served as a youth

pastor, church planter, senior pastor, and church

consultant. He is a minister with the Brethren in

Christ Church and currently volunteers as a teaching

pastor in a new church plant.

8 S h a l o m !

Well, I don’t know the answer, but we’regoing to try something.

Our first step was to reach out to commu-nities our people rarely engage with and who,lately, have been stigmatized nationally andlocally: a pastor from a Spanish-speakingchurch that serves a largely immigrant pop-ulation, a Muslim business leader, a rabbifrom a local synagogue, someone working tohelp undocumented immigrants attain legalstatus, and a representative from the localbattered women and children’s shelter.

We started with lunch or coffee. Weasked lots of questions. We listened to theirstories.

As we did this, we moved toward thesepeople—metaphorically AND literally. Weheard about their struggles and grew a realsense of connection with them.

Along the way an idea emerged: what ifour congregation had this same opportu-

nity? What if they could sit down acrossfrom a Muslim, an immigrant, a Jewish man,a battered woman, and hear their stories andsee them, not as a caricature, not as some dis-tant “other,” but as an image-bearer of Godnot so different from them?

And so we are beginning a five-week ex-periment we’re calling “Neighbors.” e ideabehind it is that you can’t love a neighboryou don’t know—a neighbor you’re movingaway from. So let’s create space to move to-ward one another.

To do this we’re hosting some guests onSunday mornings. We’re beginning with a“pulpit swap” where I will interview theSpanish-speaking pastor and he’ll preach toour congregation (with an interpreter). Im-mediately aer the service, we’ll drive down-town to his church (along with any of ourpeople who want to join us) and I’ll preach(with an interpreter).

e next week we’ll welcome a represen-tative from the local women’s shelter. eweek aer that, an individual working to es-tablish an immigration office in the city.en finally on the last Sunday, I will inter-view the founder of the local Islamic PrayerCenter along with a local rabbi.

is is only the beginning, and to be hon-est, I have no idea how it will go. But myprayer is that as we choose to move towardour neighbors, we will finally be able to hearthem, growing empathy and understanding,and learning what it really means to see theneighbor in ‘the other’ and to love our neigh-bor as ourselves.

Even if they rooted for Gonzaga.

Tim Diehl serves at Koinos Community Church near

Reading, PA, where he lives with his wife, four kids,

and cat-dog Greta.

Downward Mobi l i t yBy Zach Sp ide l

I L IVE IN a neighborhood which, to theworld outside it, is virtually invisible. Placeslike my neighborhood in East Dayton are al-most never depicted in TV shows or inmovies—if they are, they are represented asalien places into which the protagonistsenter with some peril. ere are no shops orboutiques or other desirable destinations inmy neighborhood that would bring thewealthier residents of the now bustlingdowntown district or the already prosperingsuburbs to our streets. People die of heroinoverdoses nearly daily, but these are not thepeople whose deaths make it on the eveningnews—unless a particular death was spectac-ular for some other, usually gruesome reason.

People in my neighborhood think differ-ently from those who live elsewhere; theyreason differently and have different basic as-sumptions about the way the world works.ey know from experience that hard workwill not likely get them ahead. ey knowthat those who have power (bureaucratic,cultural, or physical) over their lives, will usu-ally regard them with suspicion at best. eway they speak, the way they look, the way

they carry themselves all convey subtlyor not so subtly that they are not partof the “us” from which those who havepower nearly all come. e people inmy neighborhood are mostly white,but some are black, some are of Arabdescent, and there are growing num-bers of Spanish-speaking and Muslim immi-grants. But the vast majority of myneighbors, whatever their race, are united bytheir poverty and by their powerlessness.

ere are many fissures in American so-ciety. Racial fissures remain deep and trou-bling. But I am convinced that the deepestfissure now lies between three classes of peo-ple. ese classes are distinguished, I believe,primarily by education, secondarily by in-come and occupation, and as a consequenceof these factors, by actual physical geography.ese classes are physically clustering to-gether (and away from one another) to a re-markable degree. e bottom 20 percent(these percentages are rough estimates) ofAmericans live in places like East Dayton.eir communities lack resources, their chil-dren receive poor educations, very few go to

college, and many have a tenuous relation-ship at best to the labor market. ey growup disproportionately in broken homes andsuffer childhood traumas at disproportionaterates. Black and brown-skinned peoples arewidely over-represented in this poor groupdue to ongoing systemic racism and the sadhistory of slavery, discrimination, and big-otry in our country, but there are plenty ofwhite folks in this category as well, and thedisdain of the cultural elite for white “trailertrash” is oen sharper and crueler than thebland platitudes and practical negligencethat the cultural elite typically offer poorblack folks.

e middle 60 percent of Americans con-tains a wide swath of people, some of whomare falling downward, some who are clamber-ing upward in the economic, educational,

9

THE ONLINE MERRIAM-WEBSTER

dictionary defines “other” as "being the oneor ones distinct from that or those first men-tioned or implied.” In recent years we havewatched as the world increasingly defines it-self by separating one group of people fromthe other: I am Democrat, you are Republi-can; I am Canadian, you are American; I amChristian; you are Muslim; I am Sunni, youare Shia; I am white, you are black.

In many ways, our modern technologyhas allowed us to declare our differencesfrom one another with impunity. Anyonecan define themselves how they want, saywhat they want, and broadcast it to as widean audience as they are able to attract. eresult is that we live in a world of known“others.” I have children in elementary, highschool, and university. Each of them attendspublic schools with a diversity of religious,ethnic, social, economic, sexual, and gender

differences. Unlike any previous time in mylife, figuring out how to live with the "other"has seemingly become a necessity of navigat-ing life and culture…at least if we want to bea people of the book, who follow Jesus.

Many times the ”other” is a group of peo-ple disenfranchised from the majority cul-ture. “Others” are usually those who aredifferent in some way from the majority.

e concept of the other, of loving, ac-cepting and pursuing the other, is embeddeddeep inside the gospel story. One could arguethat this concern for the other is present inthe very concept of the incarnation. InPhilippinas 2, we read: “Who, being in verynature God, did not consider equality withGod something to be used to his own advan-tage; rather, he made himself nothing by tak-ing the very nature of a servant, being madein human likeness. And being found in ap-pearance as a man, he humbled himself by

becoming obedient to death—even death ona cross!” Jesus gave up what was rightfullyhis, took on human likeness and submittedhimself to the cross as an act of love for theother—in this case, all of humanity. is isthe story of the incarnation. Jesus exempli-fied his concern with the other through hislife and his teaching.

In the gospels it was the “other” peoplewith whom Jesus oen spoke and spent histime. e majority of people in ancient Israelfollowed Jewish law and custom; this assuredpeace, the protection of Rome and the good-will of the Jewish powers that be. In this re-ality Jesus declared and lived an ethic thatwas different—an ethic that said God is inthe middle of changing people and thisworld. A new kingdom is emerging, a king-dom that views power differently. Matthew5-7 deals with themes that had been talkedabout earlier in the scriptures (i.e.: Proverbs,

and status-based class calculus our country iscovertly obsessed with. e top 20 percentof Americans live in communities as segre-gated by class as do the bottom 20 percent.Nearly everyone in my neighborhood is poor—but there are neighborhoods and areasthat are my neighborhood’s weird twins,places where nearly everyone has an aboveaverage income, where large majorities haveat least a college degree and most have morethan their bachelor’s. White people arewidely over represented in this group, butthis group contains an increasing number ofracial minorities.

I’ve lived in Princeton and I’ve lived inEast Dayton. I have inhabited both worldsand I can say without exaggeration that peo-ple native to these two cultural ecosystemsare nearly incomprehensible to one anotherand that the incomprehensibility is due totwo fundamental and obvious facts. First,nearly everything about the life of a personborn in East Dayton and a person born inPrinceton is different—including the waysthe rules of our society apply to them. Sec-ond, the native East Ender and the native

Princetonian are likely to never meet, muchless form a friendship. is class-based sepa-ration is profound.

What is the answer to this divide? Howcan it be bridged? I ask these questions as aChristian, not as an American. I have someideas about ways the American governmentcould more justly allocate resources to de-crease the stratification of our society, but Iam not confident in the efficacy of thoseideas. Nor is running the American govern-ment my concern as a citizen of the King-dom of God. Moreover, it is easy for me tohold a political opinion about how the gov-ernment should heal this divide; it is muchharder (and, I believe, ultimately much morevaluable) to cross it myself.

I am much more confident in what I be-lieve the church needs to be doing right nowto bridge this chasm. Here, I can only share,in abbreviated fashion, one such suggestion:educated Christians and professionalsshould move to and live in places like EastDayton, where doctors, lawyers, educatorsand others are needed. ey should movenot because they can “save” those they meet

there, but to become their friends and to betheir neighbors, to share life with them andlearn from them. Christ will do the savingthrough his body when his body fully andtruly reflects him with a fulsome racial, eco-nomic, and cultural diversity. Such upwardlymobile Christians who choose the path ofdownward mobility should join existingchurches in the neighborhoods to whichthey move, even if the style of worship andthe polish of the preaching are initially off-putting to their tastes. If the true Jesus is wor-shipped there truly, join up. Where no suchchurches exist, then such folks should startthem up in their homes. is can be done forfree!

e divides in our country are stark, butwe serve a God who crossed an even greaterchasm to save us from sin and death. May wenot hesitate to join him in the ministry ofboundary crossing!

Zach Spidel is the pastor of The Shepherd’s Table

congregation in Dayton, OH.

Honour ing “ the O ther ” By Doug S ide r

1 0 S h a l o m !

etc). However, the Matthew passage assumesa view that says God is intervening and weare different people when we follow Jesus (2Cor 5:17). e ethic of Jesus calls us to beconcerned with the value, personhood, cre-ation, and protection of the other—eventhose with whom we differ, are prone to hate,don’t like, disagree with, or who have com-mitted violence against us. When criticizedfor being present with “sinners” and “tax col-lectors” Jesus responded in Mark 2: “It is notthe healthy who need a doctor but the sick.I have not come to call the righteous but sin-ners.” Jesus exemplifies and calls us to livewith a concern for the other.

In the early church a consistent strugglewas what to do with the other. Typically theother was a Gentile. In Acts 10, Cornelius, aGentile follower of God, welcomes Peter tohis home and Peter accepts this invitation(breaking Jewish tradition). In Acts 15 thechurch makes the decision not to require cir-cumcision of a Gentile who decides to followChrist. And proactively in Acts 17, Paul usesthe culture—its symbols and signs—of the“other” to share the good news.

What can we observe and learn from theearly church about dealing with the “other”?

While fear remained, mission reigned: Atvarious point in the book of Acts we findveiled references to fear of the other(whether it was Saul or Paul, the Gentiles,etc). We also see a constant reference to thework of the Holy Spirit and what God wasdoing in people’s lives. In Acts 15 the argu-ment regarding circumcision of the Gentilefollower of Jesus wasn’t won on the basis oflaw or safety; it was won on the basis of whatthe Holy Spirit was doing in a group of peo-ple (Acts 15:12-14, 19). God was changinglives. It may be possible that our fear of theother is, in fact, a greater reflection of ourlack of awareness of the Holy Spirit workingin those who are different from us.

Something internally drove the earlychurch to speak the gospel to the other. eywere active. ey lived in a way that was dif-ferent and people of all creeds wanted to fol-low and experience. We have our statements,theology, and creeds and they are good. eyhelp to identify who we are but when theybegin to separate us from the other in waysthat break fellowship, dehumanize, and seg-

ment us from the “other” they can becomedangerous. When we are present with theother and we see the Holy Spirit workingwithin them, we are oen forced to deal withissues, concerns, and fears that we may have.It is hard to argue against the other whenGod is clearly at work among them.

ey remembered their past: As the earlychurch worked to engage and accept theother, they did not let go of their past. In fact,they looked to their past to affirm their fu-ture. James, in a not-so-subtle voice, refers tothe Gentiles as a people (v. 14). is wouldhave had more significant meaning in thecontext of the early church than it does atfirst glance today. For in the Old Testamentthe “Gentile” or “nations” stood in contrastto the “people” of God. James then pro-ceeded to argue from their past and thescriptures, that their forefathers had spokenand hinted at the day that the Gentile (theother) would follow God, quoting theprophet Amos.

ey honoured one another: As the issueand process of salvation was settled in Acts15, they began the process of recognizingthat fellowship between Jew and the Gentilewould require mutual understanding. Sothey suggested four prohibitions (three re-lated to food and one to sexual immorality).ese prohibitions spoke to the need to ho-nour then-current Jewish scruples. eyweren’t connected to salvation, but were anapparent attempt to demonstrate honour forthe other.

As they write their letter to the churchesoutlining their decisions, they do so in thesoest of language. Modern theologicalstatements tend towards definitive language“we believe” or “we hold true that.” Acts 15simply says, “It seemed good…” ere is ahumbleness to their message that sought tohonour the other.

Finally in Acts 16, Paul travels from“town to town” delivering the message of theapostles’ and elders’ decisions in Jerusalem (v.4). Most interestingly, though, he travelswith Timothy who he has circumcised be-fore leaving. He does this because of the Jewswho lived in the area. It is an incredible ex-ample of honouring one another in the midstof one’s freedom.

e reality is that we are all the “other” tosomeone or some other group. Recently Itraveled for the installation of a bishop in asister General Conference. e service wasbeautiful, the people were warm and gener-ous. But it was clear that, in some measure, Iwas the other. As I observed the service, I wasnot used to the cleric’s collars, the impor-tance of particular colours being worn, theamount of oil used in the anointing process,nor the significance of a chair for the newlyinstalled bishop. e service was differentthen how we do things in Canada but at thesame time it was a joy to watch this churchbe the church God has called them to be intheir context.

e questions are: how do we enjoy ourdiversity, how do we enjoy our differences,how do we appreciate the distinctions withinthe body of Christ and honour the other?

Doug Sider is national director of Be in Christ

Church of Canada (new name for BIC Canada)..

Editor’s Notes2017 subscription renewals: ank you tothose who have renewed their subscrip-tions and given an extra contribution.Costs have increased, so your contribu-tions are deeply appreciated. e basicsubscription rate is still $15 per year. Sub-scription renewals and contributions canbe sent to the editor at the address onpage 2. Checks should be payable toBrethren in Christ Church U.S.

Upcoming topics: Topics under consider-ation for the remainder of 2017 includereligious freedom, being fully pro-life,and gender. Contact the editor if youhave additional ideas or would like towrite on any of these topics.

Website presence: As of the end of Au-gust, Shalom! will no longer be availableon the Brethren in Christ U.S. website.Until then, you can access it or renew andcontribute online at www.bic-church.org/connect/publications/shalom/. Otherchanges may be coming as well. Staytuned!

MCC SOMET IMES EXPER I ENCES

both positive and negative impacts of ourcountry’s legislative system. While MCC hasbeen involved in national and internationaladvocacy for years in the Washington, DCand United Nations offices, some change canonly happen at the state level.

“National and international advocacywork is critically important, but not enough.For example, the vast majority of prisonersin the U.S. are in state prisons whose sentenc-ing laws are dictated by state legislation. esame is true for laws affecting gun sales andregistration,” stated Curtis Book, Peace andJustice Coordinator at MCC East Coast.

Knowing this, in 2010 MCC became in-volved in state level advocacy in Pennsylvaniawith volunteer representation on the Inter-faith Justice Coalition of Harrisburg. MCCsoon realized, however, that the work re-quired a full-time dedicated partner as an av-enue for the church to speak into some of thechallenges related to state legislation.

Aer meeting in late 2015 with con-stituents Bob Walden from West SwampMennonite Church and Patrick Cicero fromHarrisburg Brethren in Christ Church,MCC pursued a partnership with the Penn-sylvania Council of Churches.

“As a member of the Brethren in ChristChurch, I felt MCC needed a voice at thetable. We need to share in the burden tospeak out on behalf of vulnerable people andissues that matter,” said Cicero, executive di-rector of a legal aid office. “I think the workthe Council does in Pennsylvania along withother religious-based advocacy groups is es-sential. ere is no other group of individualsand organizations representing constituentsthat has the moral authority to make claimson behalf of vulnerable people.”

e Pennsylvania Council of Churches isthe oldest state council in the country begin-ning in 1911. However, it was not until the1960s that the Council started its advocacyministry. Besides advocacy, they are involvedin campground, farmer/migrant andtrucker/traveler ministries.

Representing 20 denominations in Penn-

sylvania including Church of the Brethren,another Anabaptist group active in state leveladvocacy, the Council was excited to partnerwith MCC. “I can’t tell you how much weappreciate having the assistance from MCCbecause it gives us the opportunity to bringin additional help,” said Rev. Sandra Strauss,Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Out-reach at Pennsylvania Council of Churches.“We don’t have the financial clout that otherlobbyists have, so for us it’s being able to say,‘We represent people of faith throughout theCommonwealth.’ e larger the faith popu-lation we represent the more we can beheard.”

Partnerships are essential to MCC’s workdomestically and around the world. “MCCcannot do state level advocacy alone,” statedBook. “Collaboration and cooperation, es-pecially with other Christian organizationslike the Council whose values we share, isvital.”

Working with the Council, MCC’s advo-cacy priorities help address poverty, oppres-sion and injustice—and their systemiccauses. ese include immigration, criminaljustice reform and gun violence prevention.

MCC’s advocacy priorities in Harrisburginclude:

• Immigration• Criminal justice reform• Gun violence prevention“From my perspective, an Anabaptist ad-

vocacy position has a distinct voice with ahistory of nonviolence and nonresistance.Pennsylvania has a large Anabaptist con-stituency, so I think to have that unique per-spective on the state level advocating forAnabaptist values can have a distinct impact.It adds a creative voice to the faith perspec-tive that is already advocating,” said John-Michael Cotignola-Pickens, AdvocacyPrograms Coordinator at PennsylvaniaCouncil of Churches.

e Council encourages people to getout of their comfort zones and take action.Attend an advocacy-related event. Call yourlocal state senator. Send an email or write aletter to your local state representative. “Be-

come uncomfort-able for the futureof our children,”said Cotignola-Pickens.

“Even if you don’t resonate with any oneof these causes personally, the idea that yourcommunity is calling you to action should beenough for you to pray about it, think aboutit and figure out whether or not God ispricking your conscience to pay more atten-tion to these issues,” stated Cicero.

This article is courtesy of Mennonite Central Com-

mittee’s news service, and highlights one aspect of

the Brethren in Christ partnership with MCC.

1 1

A Par tnersh ip in Advocacy By Mennon i t e Cen t ra l Commi t t ee News S e r v i ce

should do, but raises significant questionsabout a sensitive topic. Hirschfield is honestand open about his own journey and he isstill questioning areas of possible hypocrisyin his life. Overall he is exploring ways to re-main faithful to his beliefs while engagingconstructively and lovingly with people ofother faiths. He confirms that ideas matter,“but [that] human relations…matter more.at is when we hear the footsteps of theMessiah.” We can learn from his experienceand let it enrich our own thoughts, attitudes,and actions as we follow the footsteps ofChrist.

Lois Saylor is a member of the Harrisburg (PA)

Brethren in Christ Church and serves on the editorial

committee for Shalom!

continued om page 12

RECENTLY A LOCAL Islamic centerreceived a letter threating violence. A callwent out from local community religious or-ganizations to stand with the mosque toshow support and discourage anyone whomight want to carry out the threat. at Sun-day morning, my husband and I decided tostand with others in support of religious free-dom, nonviolence, civility in society, andsimply to safeguard fellow human beings.e gathered group circled the building. Po-lice officers regularly patrolled the streets inmarked cars. Muslim adults and children en-tered the building and oen stopped to ex-press their gratitude.

en a gentleman asked some of us tocome inside the building so the childrencould see good people who were kind andsupported them. I wasn’t sure if we were en-tering a service or some area of worship so Iasked the gentleman if I should cover myhead with my scarf (as I had been instructedto do in a mosque before). He smiled, butsaid it was not necessary. We entered a gym-nasium where the children were lined up anda woman spoke to them kindly and wiselyabout the threat. She pointed to us as peoplewho had come to help. is was a good ex-

perience for all of us and I felt no conflict inbeliefs or actions. en a leader from ourgroup spoke briefly and I had that first andonly twinge of “is this right? Have we gonetoo far?” e spokesperson described himselfas “a follower of the prophet Jesus.” It felt likea wrongful demotion and disrespect for theSon of God. Was this an allowable courtesyfor the situation? Was it a bold statementthat communicated we were Christians, stat-ing a sure difference? Can we go too far insupport? Is there a line and if so, where is it?

ese are some of the questions and ideasthat Rabbi Brad Hirschfield explores in hisbook, You Don’t Have to Be Wrong for Me toBe Right (Harmony, 2009). While the titleis a simple statement of the book’s thesis, thesubtitle, “Finding Faith without Fanatacism”invites us into Hirschfield’s own journey outof fanatacism and into a faith that bothgrounds him and opens him to the faith ofothers. His is a faith of answers and a faith ofquestions. He publically examines histhoughts and actions, inviting readers to con-sider how they travel their own faith path.

Hirschfield’s exploration in creative co-existence far exceeds my small questions. Hisstory unfolds in his personal life, his commu-

nal religious life, and on the world stage.Most notably, Hirschfield fills the book withpersonal stories. He grew up in a low-keyJewish home, became part of a radical Jewishgroup in Israel, and finally settled into an or-thodox belief and practice with his wife andchildren. He allows the reader to journeywith him.

In his youth he started to become moreinterested in Judaism. He wanted to go to aJewish school and keep a kosher kitchen. Heenjoyed the passion for justice in a fanaticalgroup in Israel and explains his exhilarationfollowed by a restlessness that questioned aright cause with perhaps wrong solutions. Hetells of interfaith experiences that broughtpeople together in meaningful ways bringingpeace and reconciliation.

Hirschfield’s goal is more than peacefulco-existence, more than just “live and letlive.” He calls for active co-involvement toget to know each other and what “the other”believes, participate in each other’s worshipservices on occasion, work together for com-mon causes, and allow each to stay true totheir own faith.

e book does not dictate what we

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BOOK REVIEW: Creat ive Co -Ex i s tence A J o u r n e y i n Fa i t h

By Lo i s S ay lo r

continued on page 11