Lobbying with Quakers and my interfaith friends

This month I haven't had time to blog since I've been busy lobbying with Quakers and my interfaith friends.  On Nov 14-17 I went to Washington, DC,  to take part in Quaker lobby day, sponsored by the Friends Committee on National Legislation (fcnl.org), the oldest religious lobby in DC (founded in 1942). Over 250 Quakers from 32 states descended like a flock of doves on the offices of dozens of elected officials calling for a trillion dollar cut in the Pentagon budget, and no cuts to social programs. It was awesome experience---deeply spiritual as well as politically effective. I recommend going to fcnl.org  if you want to write your elected officials on key peace and justice issues.

Haroon, Anthony, Simon Simonian, Steve Rohde, Betsy Hailey, Molly O'Brien, Carolfrances Liken, Carolyn Wilkins, Frank Wulf and Andy Griggs

Upon my return to LA I went with a group from ICUJP to the office of Senator Feinstein, where we met with Molly O'Brien, one her aides (see picture above). We addressed a number of issues: the need for transparency in government, our concern about NSA spying, the Pacific Trade Partnership, Guantanamo, drones, torture, etc.  We shared personal stories as well as our spiritual and moral values from our various religious traditions.

Molly was very receptive.This was a good follow up on our previous visit. I feel we are creating a good relationship with aides in this office, which is essential for effective lobbying.

 

I'm very excited about FCNL's campaign to  "end endless war" by repealing the 2001 Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that gives the President authority to engage in war anywhere in the world to combat "terrorism." Rep. Adam Schiff is leading efforts to repeal AUMF--an important step towards ending the misguided "war on terror."

 

What impresses me about FCNL is not only its political savvy, but also its spiritual commitment. We had times of worship and worship sharing that made me feel deeply connected to God and to Friends.

I was especially impressed by Noah Baker Merrill, a Young Friend who just became the general secretary of New England YM.  I first heard Noah speak at the World Conference of Friends in Kenya, where he gave a powerful prophetic message based on the story of Elijah.

This time he shared about how Moses went up to mountaintop to  bring back God's word for his people. God responded by inscribing the ten commandments with his own finger onto tablets of stone. But the people were impatient and couldn't wait for God's message; they created their own god, a golden calf. When Moses came down from the mountain and saw what his people had done, he was so angry he smashed the stone tablets to pieces! His people repented, so Moses went back up the mountain to get another message. Noah said he always assumed that God simply repeated what he had done before and inscribed the commandments once again with his own finger. But actually God did something quite different. He dictated the commandments to Moses and Moses had to carve out the message himself.

Noah applied this to what we have been doing at FCNL when we worked on our policy statement, seeking guidance from the holy spirit. God did not write FNCL's policies with God's own finger, but Spirit empowered us to write, as best as we can, the kind of laws/policies that we felt are consistent with God's will.

Noah went on to speak passionately about the Quaker "movement" (he doesn't use the word "Quakerism,"  since that implies an ideology; Noah feels very strongly, as I do, that we are a God-inspired movement.) He spoke about young Friends and need to create an inclusive community. He laid out some of his visions for 21st century Quakerism.

 

But what was most powerful and memorable for me was his story about hope. Not a naïve hope, but a hope grounded in the cross. He spoke of going to Iraq and ministering to Iraqis and how painful that was, how it led him almost to brink of despair. At one point, he was among Iraqi Christians who had been tortured--one of them in the presence of American CIA. His tormentors used electric screwdrivers and pinned him to a wall and crucified him--this is horrible, I know, but what comes next is the hopeful part. While being tortured, this Iraqi had a vision of Jesus--Jesus came and joined him on his cross--and he felt unspeakably peace despite his pain. As the Iraqi told this story to Noah, he smiled and Noah was blown away. This is the kind of faith that brings hope in spite of the grim realities of the 21st century.

 

As Noah shared his testimony, I felt the presence of Jesus and was led to share this during the time of open worship:

 

"Many years ago a young man stood up in his home meeting and shared this message: "The Lord is upon me and I have been chosen to preach good news to the poor, sight to the blind, release to the captives, and the acceptable year of the Lord. This prophesy has been fulfilled in your hearing." I feel that these words have been fulfilled here today. I am glad we appreciate the words of the prophets among us. They are not always appreciated in their home meetings. But I am going home feeling empowered and strengthened by what we have heard and done together. Thank God for FCNL!"

 

Speaking of having visions of Jesus, I was astonished during Saturday night's meeting for worship when Dorsey Green, a Friend from Seattle I thought I knew quite well, spoke about having visions of Jesus--seeing him at business meeting and other worshipful gatherings. She spoke with such passion and honesty--she admitted it sounded weird--that had no doubt she was sincere., She isn't a "kook"--she served as clerk of FCNL and also of her YM--and is highly respected. Afterwards, I hugged her and thanked her and said I felt closer to her for sharing her experience with Jesus and she replied: "It was easier for me to come out as a Lesbian than to tell Friends visions of Jesus!"

 

I am beginning to see that one reason I'm feeling so at home among FCLN Friends is that you can speak openly about Jesus as well as about God's prophetic message of justice for the poor and healing for planet. This is good news indeed!

 

Eric Moon, Mary Lou Hatcher, Inez Steigerwald, Tim Root, Karen Putney, Sandy Robson, Frank Massey (members of the FNCL nominating committee)

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Saints Day Reflection: the Experience of God and Spiritual Direction

Today I am going to spend the weekend at Mount Calvary Monastery with members of the Stillpoint spiritual direction program.  The theme of this weekend retreat is "Listening to the Experience of God." Our reading is a book by an Episcopal priest named Sandra Levy called The Imagination and the Journey of Faith. I love this book: it speaks to me as a former professor of literature and lover of the liberal arts, music, poetry, etc. Historically, Quakers have regarded art, music, ritual, etc. as distractions and they can be,  but I (and many other contemporary Quakers) see enormous spiritual value in the arts, when we approach them from the right perspective. Levy does a great job of showing how we can use the arts and the imagination to deepen our connection with God.

During this retreat, we will be creating a community of trust where we can practice spiritual direction, learn skills, identify pitfalls, explore the relationship of narrative, image, and metaphor to spiritual experience, etc. It promises to be a spiritually rich and rewarding experience. Here's what I wrote in response to our assignment for this session:

Assignment: Write a brief reflection on your own experience of God/Spirit and on that of others. Include how this impacts your role as spiritual director. Drawing from class discussion and your own experience, explore these questions from the perspective of spiritual experience. What are my beliefs about spiritual direction? How would you describe it to someone else?

The experience of God. It’s hard to talk briefly about God, just as it would be hard to talk briefly about love. These are vast topics, with many dimensions, facets, levels and nuances.

I believe that the experience of the Divine/Infinite cannot be reduced to words or images, but words can be pointers or sign posts—like a finger pointing towards the moon.

Since I have been assigned to write about my experience of the Divine, let me begin by saying I have experienced the presence of God in innumerable ways. What I mean by “the presence of God” is:

·         an awareness of something greater than myself;

·         a heightened sense of being alive, of being fully present to the person I’m with, or the situation I’m in;

·         a sense of awe, wonder, and mystery (often experienced in the context of some natural phenomenon, like a sunset, starry night, etc.);

·         a feeling of deep interconnectedness with everything around me, the “we are all one” feeling;

·         a sense that there is a purpose and “rightness” about my life, beyond the narrow confines of my ego and rational mind;

·         a sense of being called or guided by a Power beyond my imagining.

·         an “inner voice” or Inward Teacher, a not physically audible but nonetheless palpable response to my perplexities and questionings.

I often experience the Presence of God in silent worship and contemplation, when the chatter in my head fades away and there is a holy stillness.

The  Presence frequently comes in quiet moments when I am reading, looking at art, listening to music. (That’s one reason I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sandra Levy’s book The Imagination and the Journey of Faith.) I also experience the Presence when I lose myself in writing, inspired by the Spirit.

I  sometimes experience the Divine in the midst of “good works,” like doing a service project, feeding the homeless, getting arrested at a vigil, etc. On such occasions, I sometimes feel a profound sense of joy and wonder, as if the Kingdom of God or Jesus himself were present. I have even felt the Divine Presence while doing mundane household chores, when I do them mindfully.

I experience the Presence during bible studies or worship sharing, during religious services, when the Holy Spirit seems present in the prophetic words of a sermon, or in the rituals, the music or the silence.

Silent worship is where I usually feel closest to God. That’s what drew me to Quakerism. As the 17th century Quaker theologian Robert Barclay wrote:

In the inward quietness and withdrawal of the mind, the witness of God arises in the heart, and the light of Christ so shines that the soul becomes aware of its own condition. (Apology for the True Christian Divinity)

These epiphanies when God seems utterly and unutterably real are moments that I cherish. They are moments when I feel most alive. They are also moments that are hard to talk about, except with trusted friends. Like experiences of love, they are intimate and personal.

That’s why I am drawn to spiritual direction. It provides opportunities to reflect about how to draw closer to God, how to see the Divine in one’s everyday life, and how to help others to see ways in which the Divine is calling us.

I've enjoyed class discussions in which people share their spiritual journeys. They are similar to what Quakers call "worship sharing." We create a safe space, a container, in which we can open up and share what we truly feel, what we have actually experienced. This is a precious gift.

What is spiritual direction?  I would describe spiritual direction as a commitment to explore one’s spiritual life with another person who is experienced in such exploration, a “companion along the way” or a guide we trust to help us open up more fully to the presence of God/Spirit in life.  A guide who can also help us to see and face what is blocking us from fully experiencing the Presence of the Divine.

I believe that spiritual direction is an important spiritual discipline, like prayer, fasting, service, healing, prophetic witness, etc.

The biblical basis of spiritual direction/contemplation: Jesus provided spiritual direction in his intimate moments with his disciples, when he modeled how to be alone and pray, how to deepen one’s personal connection with God:

And early in the morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there. ( Mark 1:35)

And immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethesda, while He Himself was sending the multitude away. And after bidding them farewell, he departed to the mountain to pray. ( Mark 6:45-46)

And they came to a place called Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here until I have prayed." And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began praying. ( Mark 14:32-34)

And when day came, He departed to a lonely place; and the multitudes were searching for Him, and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from going away from them. ( Luke 4:42)

But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. ( Luke 5:16)

And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. ( Luke 6:12)

He also gave his disciples spiritual direction on how to pray authentically:

“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get " (Matt 6:6).

The “reward” for contemplative prayer is not specified, but I suspect Jesus means an experience of intimacy and connection with God. This is the most precious reward of all!

I feel extremely blessed to be part of the Stillpoint program at this stage of my life. I am a writer and peace activist, and I need to set aside time to reflect and pray in order to do my work authentically. To be a peace maker, I need time to deepen my connection with the Source and Inspiration for what I do and seek: the peace/shalom of God, which is beautifully described by Jesus:

Peace (shalom) I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27)

Thank you, Stillpointers, for being instruments of that peace that passeth understanding.

 

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End Racial Profiling!

Tomorrow ICUJP is organizing a vigil at the corner of Vermont and Wilshire at 9:30 am to protest racial profiling. Here's our statement calling for support of the "End Racial Profiling Act."

 

END RACIAL PROFILING!

Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) opposes all forms of violence, including the systemic violence caused by institutional racism and racial profiling. 

As Hilary Shelton, NAACP Washington Bureau Director, notes, “Racial profiling is a serious problem in the United States, and can lead to deadly consequences...Law enforcement agents should not endorse or act upon stereotypes, attitudes, or beliefs that a person’s race, ethnicity, appearance, religious affiliation, or national origin increases that person’s general propensity to act unlawfully.” 

Far too many people of color are being stopped, arrested and even killed by police officers, often with little or no accountability. 

For this reason, we support the End Racial Profiling Act, sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI). We urge you to contact your Congressional representative, urging him or her to support this bill.  Visit www.house.gov or telephone 202 224 3121; Sen. Barbara Boxer (213 894 5000); Sen. Diane Feinstein 310 914 7300. 

DETENGA LA DISCRIMINACIÓN RACIAL!

Comunidades Interreligiosas Unidas por la Justicia y la Paz (ICUJP) se opone a toda forma de violencia, incluyendo la violencia sistémica causada por el racismo institucional y la discriminación racial.

Como Hilary Shelton, directora de la Oficina de NAACP en Washington, DC, dijo: "La discriminación racial es un problema serio en los Estados Unidos, y puede resultar en consecuencias mortales. Los agentes de policía no deben apoyar o actuar sobre estereotipos, actitudes o creencias de una persona creyendo que su raza, origen étnico, apariencia, religión u origen nacional aumenta la propensión general a esa persona a actuar ilegalmente.”

Demasiadas personas de color están siendo detenidos, arrestados e incluso asesinados por agentes de policía, y a menudo con poca o ninguna rendición de cuentas.

Por esta razón, apoyamos la Ley “End Racial Profiling” (Detener la discriminación racial) patrocinado por los congresistas Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) y John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI). Por favor contacte a su representante en el Congreso, insistiendo que apoye esta ley. Visite www.house.gov o por teléfono al 202 224 3121. Sen. Barbara Boxer (213 894 5000); Sen. Diane Feinstein 310 914 7300.



The witch of Ridley Creek: the only Quaker witch trial

The Witch of Ridley Creek

 The story of how William Penn dealt with a woman accused of being a witch  is vividly recounted by Pennsylvania Jack, the "alter ego" of Jack Graham, professional storyteller. His story is included along with the “true facts” about this case compiled by an historian named Sheila Martin. (See http://www.pajack.com/index.html  )

It is worth noting that Pennsylvania never had any laws against witchcraft, unlike both New England and England itself. Perhaps this is one reason that Wiccans and other nature worshippers feel welcome among Friends.

Here’s Jack’s tale of William Penn and the woman accused of being a witch:

***

 

There were other witchcraft trials in the early colonial days, but none ever received as much publicity and renown as those in Salem. Even colonial Pennsylvania got in on the act. One and only one person was ever tried for witchcraft in William Penn's province.

The year was 1684, and her name was Margaret Mattson. Margaret and her husband arrived in this new world before William Penn, before the land was ever granted to him by England's King Charles II. They were Swedish, and along with their neighbors, made up the first group of immigrants to settle along the lower Delaware River. They soon would be displaced by the ever more numerous English settlers who followed Penn. That was probably the cause of it all.

Margaret and her husband were very successful farmers. Having arrived early, the claimed much good river-bottom land, good for crops and the raising of cattle. Later arriving Dutch, and particularly the English, found they had to look harder, and go farther inland, to find suitable lands to claim. There was not a little jealousy regarding these Swedish farmers. They didn't even have the decency to speak English for goodness sake. By 1684, the Mattsons were settled along Ridley Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River, which it joined at Upland (present-day Chester PA.)

And so, as often happens in the case of jealousy, false rumors would be started, and well believed by others as they spread. If an Englishman's cow failed to give milk, it must be because it's been hexed. If the Englishman's crops did not do well, there had to be a reason. It must be that old Swedish woman. She must be a witch and was casting spells!

Or so the rumors spread. Eventually, one of the English farmers went so far as to file a complaint with the authorities charging that Margaret Mattson was indeed a witch. A date was set for a trial. A jury of twenty-one Englishmen was selected. The Proprietor himself, William Penn, would preside over the trial as Judge! Of course in those days, the defendant was not provided with legal counsel, and poor Margaret Mattson couldn't even speak English.

The prosecution tried to ask Margaret many questions. Finally the gist of the matter came down to two questions asked of Margaret by none other than William Penn himself. "Art thou a witch? Doth you fly though the air on a broomstick?"

Margaret, of course not understanding the questions at all, seemed to answer in the affirmative. The prosecuting attorney and the English farmers who coveted the Mattson's lands were delighted. It seemed Margaret had confessed to the crimes. But William Penn had sensed that the whole thing was a sham, that the charges were trumped up just to deprive these old established settlers of their property. As the chief judge, he deliberated. Then he announced to the court that there was nothing in the laws of the Province that made it a crime to fly about on a broomstick! "Not guilty," Penn decreed. "Let the woman go."

But Penn's advisors quickly pointed out that it was against English law, and the law of the Commonwealth, to be a witch. She could not be found totally innocent. So William Penn compromised. He assessed a fine on Margaret, and forbid her to "practice" any witchcraft for a period of two years. He realized of course, that she had never practiced it at all. Needless to say, the English farmers were downtrodden, but the will of the Proprietor would stand.

Margaret Mattson and her husband continued to live on the banks of the Delaware River for many a year. To the best of anyone's knowledge, she, nor anyone else, was ever again accused of being a witch!

Postscript: The tale as related above, was compiled from sources that are suspect in their historical accuracy. In addition, it was additionally enlivened by the author's sense of "the telling of the tale." One should, as I believe Mark Twain once pronounced, "never let the facts get in the way of a good story." I recently came across "Margaret Mattson, Accused Witch" by Sheila W. Martin. Ms. Martin is/was an Associate Editor of the Bucks County Panorama. Her story was obtained from the archives of the American Swedish Historical Foundation in Philadelphia. Ms. Martin's story sticks closely to the factual version, including actual transcript from the 1684 trial. I include the following information, "just to get the story straight."

Margaret and her husband Nils Mattson were among a group of Swedish settlers who landed near Wilmington, Delaware, in 1638. First settling along Christiana Creek in what is now Delaware, they moved to the vicinity of Upland. Several land transactions by Nils Mattson appear in colonial records, and by 1680 it appears they owned land along both Crum Creek and perhaps Ridley Creek as well. They were well-established members of the community. Early records sometimes also call him "Neels" and at other times "Neals."

Whether the motive of her accusers was the Mattson's land or simply petty jealousies over other matters remains unclear. Most of the testimony given is hearsay. Not one witness accused Margaret of a direct act of witchcraft.

William Penn is portrayed in my original version of the story as the true "hero," defending Margaret as well as he could from what he truly knew to be false charges. The record puts Penn in an even better light, as not only were there Swedes on the trial jury, but Margaret was provided with an interpreter as well. Margaret stated to the court after the testimony of the many witnesses, several of whom were Swedish also, that she "denyeth all things and that the witnesses speake only by hearsay." The jury, after quick deliberation, found her guilty of "having the Common fame of a witch, but not guilty in manner and forme as Shee stands Indicted." So Margaret was only guilty of being considered a witch. Her husband Nils paid fifty pounds to assure her good behavior for a period of six months.

It is most interesting to note that in 1684 there was no law against witchcraft in Pennsylvania, and that William Penn had abolished the death penalty in his Colony for all but "willfull murder." Laws against witchcraft were not imposed until 1718, when they were forced upon the Colony by England's Privy Council. So it is interesting to speculate what actions would or could have been taken against Margaret had the jury pronounced her guilty of actually practicing witchcraft. Why did the trial ever commence in the first place if no law was broken? In spite of this, the verdict returned may well have averted a sudden rush of similar jealousy-based charges against other equally innocent women, as happened in Salem, Massachusetts, where one conviction led to another.

 

 

The Man Who Lost His Face: A True Story for Hallowe'en

On Halloween kids and grown ups put on fright masks and get a thrill imagining what it's like to be a monster. Suppose you found out that you couldn't take this mask off? Sound horrifying, like the plot of Stephen King novel?

That is essentially what happened to Chai Kyu-Cher, a Korean Quaker whose face was horribly disfigured in a car accident. He suffered horribly and his life nearly fell apart.

Yet he was able to transform this tragic disfigurement into a "legacy," a gift he shares with audiences throughout Korea and the world, inspiring them to see their challenges in a new light.

I never cease to be amazed at the resilience of the human spirit, and the profound truth of what the apostle Paul wrote: "All things work for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28).

And I will never forget my experience meeting the amazing man who lost his face....

Quaker Life
December 1999

The Man Who Lost His Face
and Other True Stories

by Anthony Manousos

How would like you to come down to Long Beach," Fred asked, "and meet a man whose face has been disfigured beyond recognition? His name is Chai Kyu-Cher and he is one of most famous Quakers in Korea."

This invitation was hard to refuse, especially coming from Fred Newkirk, one of the most amazing Friends' pastors I know. A graduate of George Fox College, Fred doesn't serve a church; he brings the message of Jesus Christ directly to the streets, to gang bangers and former prison inmates.

For the last seventeen years or so, Fred has worked in the slums of Long Beach. He has ministered to what some would consider the "scum of the earth," and he has helped them to turn their lives around. Fred has accomplished this miracle through the power of unconditional love, and a lot of hard work and dedication, at a safe haven he started called simply Orange House.

Probably the best testimonial to this work is a young African-American man named Nate Redfern. Nate's story appears in a recent book, Face Forward: Young African American Men in a Critical Age, by Julian C. R. Okwu. At age thirteen Nate became a "shooter" in his brother's gang, and was jailed for attempted murder at seventeen. When released from jail, he moved into Orange House and got to know Fred. Defying the House's rules, he dealt drugs and was sent back to jail. Here Nate's story sounds like the parable of the prodigal son:

"After I was released the second time, the first person I wanted to see was Fred. When he came by I just began to cry, and he gave me a hug and told me that he loved me and that he wanted to be my brother. Before that, the last hug I had received was maybe nine years before, from my junior high school basketball coach after we won the city championship. You may never send money to the inner city, but if you come down and work with the kids here, hug them and tell them that you love them and you sincerely mean it-that means more than one million dollars to a young person. That's why I started to channel my energies into something positive."

---

Nate's chance to do "something positive" came during the L.A. uprisings, when there was a lot of ugly tension between the Korean and African-American community. Thanks to Fred, Nate went on a cultural mission to Korea where he learned about and came to appreciate the Korean people and culture. He came back to Long Beach and started visiting Korean shopkeepers, building good will between them and the African-American community. Since then, he has been named a liaison/public relations representative for the two communities by Donald Gregg, the former United States Ambassador to South Korea, and the New York Korean Society.

When I arrived, Nate and Fred were standing in the narthex of the Long Beach Friends Church-a church that now serves a mainly Thai congregation and is very multicultural. It was not hard to spot Chai Kyu-Cher.

Not only was his face scarred, but his ears had been burned away. He looked like the Phantom of the Opera in a beret. His appearance was, to say the least, shocking.

But when Chai smiled, it was impossible not to smile back. He was clearly at ease with himself. He could even make jokes at his own expense, like calling himself the "six million won man" (that's how much the hospital bills cost after his terrible accident).

He told me that he first heard of Quakers through an AFSC work camp program in 1961. He became acquainted with Ham Sok Hon, the "Korean Gandhi," and was resident director at the Seoul Friends Meeting from 1971-75. He talked cheerfully of the numerous "weighty" Friends he has come to know over the years. And he fondly remembers a 1988 visit to L.A. Meeting, a multicultural group of Friends that included quite a few Koreans.

Fred led us down into the basement, where a couple of dozen people had gathered. Half of them were African-Americans, many of them "street people" who gather there every Sunday night for Fred's Bible study. The rest were Koreans. They had brought lots of spicy Korean food-kimchee and rice and meatballs-and the atmosphere was festive.

After dinner, Chai got up to speak. Despite, or rather because of, his appearance, Chai now makes a living as a public speaker. This is quite remarkable since in Korea (as well as in many other Asian countries), disfigurement is seen not only as repulsive, but also as inauspicious. But Chai exudes self-confidence. He doesn't see his disfigurement as a punishment, but as a gift.

He begins his lecture by talking about Gandhi and Martin Luther King, whom he has translated into Korean. He is a very learned man, and sprinkles his talk with quotations from Emerson and Thoreau. Even the Korean translator is astonished. "How do you know so much?" he asks at one point, laughing.

This mixed audience of Koreans and African Americans-so different culturally and economically-were riveted by this amazing speaker.

Finally, Chai begins telling what we are all eager to know-his own story. When he graduated from college, he taught the children of poor farmers, and then traveled widely in Europe to learn more about development work and educational methods. Returning to Korea, he became involved in farm development work. On a beautiful fall day, he was being driven to a meeting at a Christian center out in the country when the driver lost control, skidded off a cliff, and crashed. Unfortunately, the car was carrying two large containers of flammable paint thinner. When the car turned over, the paint thinner spilled all over Chai and burst into flame.

Third degree burns covered fifty percent of his body. His arms and legs were so badly burned that the doctors considered amputating them. He was given the best treatment that Korea had to offer, and he made remarkable progress in his recovery, but the results were still grim.

"Both eyebrows and one eye were gone," he explained. "My hands and feet were puckered up like a duck. Neighborhood boys might well have called me 'Uncle E.T.'"

Chai lost his face, but not his sense of humor, or his faith.

As he told the amazing story of his recovery, I could easily see why he has become such a popular public speaker. He is utterly without self-pity. He is thankful for whatever has come his way-good or bad. He told us:

"After the accident, I had no face at all. Thanks to the plastic surgeons, I have a face. From nothing to something is certainly an improvement. Plastic surgeons are not mere technicians. They are artists."

He adds, "When I walk down the street, people take me for a beggar or a leper, but I don't think of myself that way. I am the work of an artist, a walking masterpiece of art."

"Sometimes I think of myself as an expressionist painting," he adds.

Thanks to his sense of humor and irrepressible faith, Chai was able not only to recover, but to prosper.

He was blessed with a wonderful, devoted wife who stood by him during this ordeal. She even offered to donate her own skin for skin grafts!

But no sooner was the family back on its feet than tragedy again struck: in 1970, Chai's wife died of tuberculosis.

Chai was stunned and even contemplated suicide. But God once again intervened. A female student that he had taught moved in with him as a caretaker. One thing led to another, and they were married. And have been happily married ever since. They even had a "beautiful" daughter together. ("She must take after her father," Chai joked.)

With his positive attitude, Chai found himself in demand on the lecture circuit. "Sometimes I look back on my life and wonder without the accident, what could I have become? I would most likely be working for a salary in a college or welfare organization. Now as a well-known free-lance lecturer, my income is several times what it would have been."

Chai ended his lecture with words that left a deep impression on his listeners. Many of them had been through difficult times, but nothing like what Chai described. And yet, somehow, he managed to seem cheerful and optimistic.

"Though some may look at me with contempt or pity, I know that I have within me a vital ray of hope that lights up my life. I devote myself to sharing that inner 'light of life' with those whose situation may seem worse than mine."

He then told us that we all had something to leave behind as a legacy-something more precious than money or even great literary works.

"What is the greatest heritage we can leave? It is something that anyone can accomplish, regardless of wealth, power or education. This heritage is a story. A beautiful, inspiring story. The story of one's life, starting with some difficulty or hardship, recounting the pains and struggles, and ending with the conquest of the problem through belief, confidence and religion."

Nate, Fred, Chai-all have amazing stories, stories that they have crafted out of the pain and struggles of their lives. And what of us? What kind of story will we leave as our legacy?


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Need for Police Oversight in Pasadena

As people of faith, Jill and I are concerned about the use of deadly force by Pasadena police, particularly recent instances, such as the shooting of Kendrec McDade and most recently, Paris Holloway.  In this particular case, an unarmed 22-year-old black man was shot by police because he was allegedly wearing gang clothing and had a gun. Police chief Sanchez admits that Holloway wasn’t actually carrying a weapon when he was shot, but one was found in his vicinity. Yet Councilman Steve Madison jumps to the conclusion that the gun was the “primary proximal cause of what happened” and “I have little doubt we are going to find there is justifiable use of deadly force in this case.” This may be true, but we need to know the facts before jumping to conclusions, and we need to know that those investigating this incident are not biased. Jeanette Miyamoto of All Saints Episcopal Church noted at a City Council Meeting that this is “another example of the way the police department discriminates against poor people of color. I can’t imagine they would have shot a white man.”

Jesus told us, “Know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8: 13). Jesus also warned us that “those that live by the sword will perish by the sword” (Matt 26:52).

We agree with Councilwoman Jacqueline Robinson that “any time there has been officer-involved shooting that results in the death or even a serious injury at this point it’s one too many.” We also agree with Councilman John Kennedy that we need an independent review board that can provide impartial oversight of officer-involved shootings.

Why I love Yearly Meetings

Since coming to California in 1989, I have attended over twenty sessions of Pacific Yearly Meeting. As editor of Friends Bulletin, I attended Intermountain and North Pacific Yearly Meeting for 11 years. That adds up to over 40 Yearly Meeting sessions! In addition, I've been to almost every Quarterly and regional gathering. Finally, I've taken part in over a dozen gatherings of Friends General Conference, where I have usually led workshops.

So I love going to Quaker gatherings. Not that I see them as perfect. In my previous blog entry, I shared research showing that Pacific Yearly Meeting has not lived the Peace Testimony as deeply as it has in the 1960s, or even as deeply as other Yearly Meetings in our region have done in the past decade. But I still love Pacific Yearly Meeting. In fact, it's because I love PYM that I am willing to be honest and critical.

One of the earmarks of a true prophet is that they criticize their own religious community out of love. They do so because God calls them to hold their religious community accountable, and God does so out of love. Love is, or should be, the primary motive of the prophet as well as of the peacemaker.

When I did my research for my blog entry "How is the Peace Testimony faring in Pacific Yearly Meeting," I read many back issues of Friends Bulletin and was struck by how much I loved my job as editor and how much I loved going to Yearly Meeting. The following editorial was written for the July-August, 2003, issue of FB.
 

"It’s like heaven with angels and everything. Friendship is divine andthere’s a lot of it here."

When I asked Jorge Martinez Garza, a first-time Yearly Meeting attender from Mexico
City, what he thought of IMYM, he replied enthusiastically, "It’s like heaven with angels." I had to smile. I know the feeling. I have felt the same way myself, especially when I first went to the annual gathering of Friends General Conference in 1984. What an incredible experience to be among so many fascinating and caring Friends, with such a diversity of talents and concerns, and such a willingness to listen and to share at a deep level! The thought crossed my mind: Is this heaven or what?

I still feel like purring whenever I come to a Yearly Meeting and see a Friend whom I have come to know and love, or meet someone new who turns out to be a kindred spirit. The more often I attend, the deeper these friendships become. We laugh, we cry, and we pray together, and it’s like a good marriage: it gets better with each passing year (and yes, with every crisis overcome through the power of understanding, love and sheer grace).

When a large group of people get together, problems and conflicts naturally arise that need to be worked through, issues ranging from accountability to money (always a bugaboo among frugal Friends). But these are the kinds of issues that have to be worked through in any family or any living situation. In such encounters, with Divine Assistance, we learn how to be honest with each other, and speak truth with the power of love.

"Speaking Truth with Power" was the topic addressed by Bruce Birchard, this year’s keynote speaker at IMYM. After doing peace and justice work at the American Friends Service Committee for many years, he now serves as General Secretary of Friends General Conference. Bruce is someone I have known personally ever since I started attending Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting in 1985. He is in every sense a true Friend. What I admire most about Bruce is his genuineness and his spirituality. Before giving his message at IMYM, he asked a group of us to sit and pray with him. As he spoke to the gathering, we held him (and everyone else present) in the Light. And it made a profound difference. That’s why our cover shot shows Bruce not alone, but surrounded with a group of smiling Friends.

Lest all this talk of friendship and love seem maudlin, let me say that the love I experience at Yearly Meeting is not just warm fuzzies, but empowering. Friendship and love are what enable me to look unflinchingly at the grim realities that afflict our world. When the Durlands shared with us the horrific facts about the Palestinian situation, or when Mary Reisley talked about her trip to Iraq just prior to the outbreak of war, the room was packed with Friends willing to listen and to care. We are willing to care because we know we are cared for.

What enables us to look at the "Ocean of Darkness" is the knowledge that beyond the darkness is an Ocean of Light, and a Presence Who is the Source of that Light. This Source is the life preserver that keeps us afloat during tough times, and for which I am eternally grateful.

I hope to see each of you at Yearly Meeting. That would be heavenly.