I recently heard several different people talking about
passion – and how if you follow your passion, you will find your place in the
world. Those of you who know me know
that, for the past several years, my “passion” has been working for the end of
the Israeli occupation of Palestine (or, as I tell less politically aware
friends, “working for peace and justice in the Middle East!”)
That passion has led me down some very interesting roads
– from my time as an EA to my present involvement with what I refer to as
“church politics.” Serving three months
in Palestine is only half of the “job description” with EAPPI. The other half is advocacy, which starts with
classes and lectures in Jerusalem at the end of our time there, and continues
with “de-briefing” in our home countries.
From there, we choose the path that our advocacy will take.
Political advocacy may be effective for my European
teammates, who have governments that are far less in the thrall of lobbyists
and the big money that controls Washington, D.C. than the U.S. Yes, there are letter-writing campaigns and
other grass roots efforts – and yes, I do keep in touch with my elected
officials – but their lack of response and the frustrations of the political
system led me to choose to do my advocacy through my church. And I’m here to tell you that “church
politics” is no less fraught with perils than any other kind!
I am a United Methodist, a “mainline” Protestant
denomination noted for outreach and doing good for others. “Do all the good you can, to all the people
you can, in all the ways you can…” is attributed to Methodist founder John
Wesley, and whether he said it or not, I believe it and try to follow it. Upon my return from Palestine in the spring
of 2013, I started to connect with individuals and organizations within the
United Methodist church who were working for justice – specifically for justice
in the Holy Land.
I got re-acquainted with Methodist Federation for Social
Action (MFSA), the local chapter of which was at that time working on
legislation to establish a “Holy Land Task Force” in our Annual Conference
(consisting of the states of Oregon and Idaho).
It was an uphill battle to take even this “baby step,” but the
resolution was successful; the Task Force was formed, and I was asked to chair
it.
I also learned about United Methodist Kairos Response
(UMKR), a semi-official group of Methodists from across the denomination. At that time, their focus was on getting
divestment resolutions passed at both local and international level; UMKR has
since expanded its work to also include education, travel and political
advocacy. This, then, is another area in
which I focus my advocacy efforts.
It is, for me, heartening to work with people who care
about this issue as passionately as I do – and to find ways in which we can
educate still more people. At the same
time, it is frustrating to meet people who have no idea what our government, churches
and media are doing that is so contrary to those “American values” of liberty,
equality and justice!
I started this post intending to write about the
political process in my church that has led the Task Force to introduce
divestment legislation to our Annual Conference – and will ultimately lead to
some of the resolutions that will be introduced at our quadrennial General
Conference next year. So consider this background – and stay tuned!
