Environmental Justice: Day 3

Thursday, June 20

Today was the final day of our seminar at the General Board of Church and Society. We spent most of the morning preparing for our congressional visits. Then we headed off to meet with Rep. Adrian Smith. Rep. Smith took time between votes to meet with the group and answer our questions about various social justice issues. Next we met with a staffer from Sen. Deb Fischer’s office. Unfortunately, she was not able to address most of our questions, as they weren’t in her area of expertise. Even so, we learned the importance of voicing our concerns and opinions and how to do so in the most effective manner.

We spent the afternoon debriefing on the week. A poet, Quique Aviles, helped us write our reflections on the week. It was a powerful and moving experience. We ended the seminar with goal setting: How would we take back and continue on with all that we learned this week?

In the evening, we ventured back out to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. As I read the quotes at each memorial, what most stood out to me was that all of these great men stood up for justice. They did not put restrictions on who deserved justice. There is no “IF” – if you are the right religion, if you speak the right language, if you are the right color. They encompassed Micah 6:8. “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
 To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, equality, and freedom for their spirits. – MLK Memorial

In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice… the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man. – FDR Memorial

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. – Jefferson Memorial

<>< Micole Harms-Brazell

Micah Corps Shepherdess

Seminar Day 2: Environmental Justice

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Yesterday, after a long walk and site seeing very late at night, the Micah Corps was out the door by 7 am and headed to the Nebraska breakfast with our senators and congressmen.  Rachel Bauer had the opportunity to present the whole group and show the Micah Corps spirit!

After a good breakfast, we spent the morning learning from John Hill. He is the director of the Economic and Environmental Justice at the General Board of Church and Society. His lesson was outstanding; he taught us how to stay environmentally friendly in our daily lives. For example, instead of driving to work, we should ride a bike. Another great example, instead of buying name brand chocolate bars, we should buy chocolate from the Equal Exchange. Overall, I think his presentation was very meaningful for us.

In the afternoon we to got travel to Earth Conservation Corps where we met Kellie Bolinder. Who would of thought the Micah Corps would end up going on a boat ride through the Anacostia River! Sadly enough, the Anacostia River is one of most polluted rivers in Washington D.C. But with the help of Kellie and the ECC, young adults are trying their best to make it less polluted and bring the Anacostia River back to life!! Way to go!! Saving the environment at one step at a time.

-Omar Cruz 

Seminar Day 1: Environmental Justice

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Today the Micah Corps had the first day of the seminar at the General Board of Church and Society. Monday night, four other United Methodists from Nebraska joined the Micah Corps so they could attend the seminar with us. There are now eleven of us total in D.C for the seminars on environmental justice. We are staying at Trinity Lutheran Church in D.C. in the basement. Not only are we staying in this church basement, but also there are about 40 middle-schoolers from the South.

This morning we had to be at the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) at 9 am. Yay! Not too early! We started the seminar off with learning how the United Methodist Church connects Mercy and Justice. We compiled a list as a group, together with our leaders from the GBCS. What we came up with in a nutshell is that mercy is instantaneous; it gives us as an instant gratification from being able to help the immediate need. On the other hand, justice is looking at the root cause of an injustice; it takes time, and can be controversial. After comparing mercy and justice we looked at why mercy tends to be done more often than justice does in the church. Some of the conclusions that we came up with were that justice takes more time than mercy does, and is more controversial than mercy is. This session was taught by Susan Burton who is the Director of the United Methodist Church Seminar Program discussed poverty for just a short while. Her whole discussion on poverty was to set us up to see how environmental justice and poverty intertwine with each other.

As we continued on after that we looked at “God’s Renewed Creation: Theological Reflection” by Rev. Neal Christie who is the Assistant General Secretary at the GBCS. Rev. Neal Christie really got us thinking about how to connect environment with poverty and with the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. We were put into groups of three to discuss how we felt and what experience we could bring to the different questions Rev. Neal would ask. This was a good way to learn what background and what new ideas the others at the seminar had.

After lunch we had a session on Environmental Racism. This session was taught by Paz Artaza-Regan, who is the Director for Program and Outreach National Religious Campaign Against Torture. This session was very informational and needed lots of processing after hearing some of what we were taught. It’s interesting to see how the environment and racism relate, but if you really take time to connect the dots you will see the connections. Some of these connections may be a stretch, but something that is always good to remember is that there are faces in the destruction that are being hurt just as much as the environment, God’s earthly creation.

Call to action: Get involved in your local church and take small steps to saving the earth! 

Educational Adventures

Today was an educational day for the Micah Corps! The morning was spent at the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), where Drew Price spoke and answered questions about what the NAAEE does. This organization, as the name would suggest, is focused on education about the environment, particularly to young age groups (like elementary school students). They also like to educate people who educate others, for example Head Start and preschool program coordinators, church leaders, and school teachers.

Cecelia Espenoza (who just so happens to be Cassie Reid’s aunt!) spoke to us in the afternoon about her job as Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel for the Executive Office from Immigration Review (EOIR), a part of the U.S. Department of Justice.  She told us how her faith has impacted her work in the field of immigration, saying that Jesus told us to welcome the immigrant, and if we don’t do that, we aren’t living up to his mission. Cecelia also told us some of the ins and outs of immigration law, including what types of immigration hearings and reviews there are, and a little about how immigration law has evolved over the years.

Our final stop for the day was at the Supreme Court. We toured the building, then went upstairs to the courtroom for an information session. We learned how the Supreme Court receives cases, and how the Court functions, as well as some history of the Supreme Court Building. Did you know that it was not until President Taft’s term (he became a supreme court justice after serving as president) that the Supreme Court had its own building? Having a Supreme Court building created three truly equal branches of government. 

The Micah Corps at the Supreme Court building, looking out at the Capitol

Washington D.C. Day 2

Happy Father's Day from the city of our nations forefathers!
Today we set out to tackle the massive quest that is the Smithsonian Institute, starting with the American History Museum. Our timing could not have worked out better as, just as we arrived, a young man walked through the lobby of the museum bearing a sign saying "END SEGREGATION NOW" and singing a lovely call-and-response freedom song. He led a demonstration of the first sit-in at a Greensboro Woolworth's in 1960 and truly pushed the audience to define just what was wrong with segregation. In the end, the issue, like all those we are uprising justice for, was the personal impact; the destruction of families and community relationships that defines humanity was threatened, and people like the A&T Four (the first students to do a sit-in) found a non-violent way to change the system. This was a great start to the day as we continued to peruse the AHM, along with the Air & Space Museum, the Sculpture Garden, and the Natural History Museum.

Later, we worshipped at Foundry UMC near Dupont Circle. Upon merely walking in we were greeted by name-tags, a buffet of little goodies, and a very warm group of diverse people covering all of the groups mentioned in the service's motto: "Whoever you are-believer or doubter, gay or straight, republican or democrat-You are welcome here." The theme of the message was to live a life of total truth, a life worth losing some friends or enduring some struggles. Because by enveloping the truth in your soul, you so envelop the Holy Spirit. As an intro to our week at the General Board of Church & Society, this message inspires us on to whatever the rest of the week has in store!

Ideas for Action: Devote a day to being fully honest. Then another. Then a week. And start creating non-violent ways to treat those issues that currently plague our ability to feel God's ever-presence on Earth.

Washington D.C - Day 1

Well, after trials and tribulations of planes being broken and flights being missed, we finally landed in Washington, DC!!!  After getting off the plane, we successfully loaded our Metro cards, found our bus to take us to Trinity Washington University, and ordered some delicious pizza.  Despite the lights not working in "the Rachels'" room, nothing tragic has happened thus far.  Today we woke up and were on the move by 10 am to make our way to the National Zoo!  That is, after a quick stop by Starbucks.  Luckily for us, the zoo was a lot of fun and the weather wasn't too terribly hot.  After our afternoon at the zoo, we walked over a mile to the Washington National Cathedral where we joined another large group for a tour.  By the time we made the trek back to the Metro we were hungry again so we stopped by Union Station and all ate Jonny Rockets burgers and milkshakes, which was the perfect ending to a wonderful day of sight-seeing.  Once we were done eating, we walked around the station for a while then got back on the metro.  Ironically, once we got off the metro to get on our shuttle to go back to Trinity, Micole was sitting there, as if waiting for us.  Now we are about to enjoy a relaxing night of hanging out and watching a movie!

Update: Our First Presentations!

The Micah Corps had our first opportunity this weekend to speak in churches on our social justice issues: Children in Poverty, Immigration, and Environmental Stewardship. We thank our host churches for their wonderful hospitality! Here's a snapshot of what we did:

Rachel Bauer, the Environmental Stewardship intern, presented on Equal Exchange products at Aurora United Methodist Church. Equal Exchange is a fair trade cooperative, endorsed by UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief). It works with small farmers around the world and ensures them a higher standard of living by offering them guaranteed minimum price on their products.

Rachel also had the opportunity after worship to connect with Don Vetter, the founder of The Grain Place in Aurora, an organic, non-GMO, kosher grain company.

Rachel Bauer and Don Vetter pose by the Grain Place Foods vehicle!

Cassie Reid and Rachel Linch, the Children in Poverty interns, didn't have to travel too far for their presentation at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Omaha on Saturday night and Sunday morning. They found a great response from the congregation, which reminded them that our work does not go unappreciated, due to the justice-seeking nature of United Methodists. The entire sermon was based on charity, then Rachel and Cassie spoke on social justice. What a great balance of charity and justice, which is just what we need in our society.


Meanwhile, Omar Cruz and Tori Osler, the Immigration interns, were having a fiesta at Lexington First United Methodist Church! They had the opportunity to speak at both the morning and evening services--the evening service was a Hispanic service, full of singing and dancing in Spanish. A big "thank you" to Rev. Tess Hufford and Rev. Ceasar Duran, as well as their congregations, for being so welcoming to the Micah Corps!

                                            Tori and Omar worship with the Hispanic Congregation   

Nebraska Annual Conference June 2013

The week of June 3rd -7th was a busy one for the Micah Corps interns. The first part of the week was spent getting ready for Annual Conference in Lincoln, NE. Wednesday through Saturday the Micah Corps interns spent time at Annual Conference in Lincoln learning, teaching, and worshiping with other United Methodists throughout the state.

Thursday June 6th the Micah Corps Interns started their day off at 10 am for Annual Conference. We had our own team time meeting and then at noon we went to the Celebration Luncheon to kick start our weekend at Annual Conference. During the Celebration Luncheon the Micah Corps interns introduced themselves to the conference and Andrea Paret, one of our Risk Taking Mission and Justice Ministries leaders, offered a blessing for us while we were onstage.

Andrea Paret and the Micah Corps interns during the Celebration Luncheon on the first day of Annual Conference. 

After the Celebration Luncheon we had some time to work on our presentations for the Youth Annual Conference and the Children Annual Conference. During the break from the conference the Micah Corps worked the Equal Exchange and Risk Taking Mission and Justice Ministries (RTMJ) table. This gave us a chance to talk to many different people throughout the conference that were just passing by.

Micah Corps intern, Rachel Bauer, and Lyn Seiser, the Equal Exchange expert at Annual Conference. 

Later on Thursday the Micah Corps attended the United Methodist Women's dinner. After dinner we went to the Memorial Service to end our day. The Memorial Service was a good way to remember those who have served in our conference. It also gave us a chance to come together to listen to different pastors in our Nebraska Conference and to worship with other United Methodists in Nebraska.

On Friday we started our day pretty early. All of the Micah Corps interns attended a specific districts breakfast at 7 am. After breakfast the Micah Corps interns ran through their presentation for the Youth Annual Conference (YAC). We then traveled to Nebraska Wesleyan University to present to the YAC. We talked about the United Methodist Social Principles by encouraging respectful conversation about controversial issues. We also talked about the Micah Corps in general, and even had some activities and energizers for the youth to participate in. Overall, the YAC was very responsive to our presentation and were engaged in what we had to teach them and tell them about.

The Micah Corps interns introducing ourselves to the Youth Annual Conference before we dive into our presentation.

As Friday continued we attended the Hispanic Ministries luncheon and had a blast meeting the Hispanic Ministries Pastors throughout the Nebraska United Methodist Church Conference. It was a fun lunch full of good food, laughter, and even singing! The day continued and we worked the tables during breaks, kept meeting new people, and continued focusing on our prayer practice for the week, the labyrinth. Friday evening ended with the Nigeria/Nebraska Partnership dinner.

Even in the craziness of Annual Conference the Micah Corps interns take time to talk to God while continuing to learn new prayer practices throughout the summer. 

Another early morning on Saturday for the Micah Corp Interns as it was the last day of Annual Conference. We all had 7 am district breakfasts again and continued throughout the morning with smiles on our faces. It was a long weekend, but a good time was had by all. We learned a lot about the United Methodist Conference, met tons of kind people, and interacted with the youth and children. Our last activity at Annual Conference was working with the Children Annuals Conference (CAC). We spent an hour with CAC on the last morning of Annual Conference. We introduced ourselves, asked the children where they can see, hear, and share God, and we also did a skit for them. For being the last day of Annual Conference and being as young as they are, the CAC children were very engaged in what we were teaching them.

The Micah Corps interns introduce themselves to the Children Annual Conference! 

 All in all Annual Conference was a great experience for the Micah Corps. Being able to see the face of our Mission Share Dollars and people who are praying for us throughout the Nebraska United Methodist Conference was great. Thank you to everyone we met at Annual Conference and for all of the work you do for the Nebraska United Methodist Conference and for God our Creator.

Idea for Action: Find a labyrinth (there is one at First United Methodist Church in Omaha!) and pray or meditate while walking.