Homelessness Immersion

From February 8 to 9, a group of youth from Fourth Church Rising participated in a homelessness immersion experience that we organized in cooperation with the Interfaith Council for the Homeless. "In cooperation" is actually probably being too generous about our end of the deal, because ICH really did the heavy lifting in terms of putting this all together. Big thanks to Bill Johnson, Mark Wendorff, and the staff at ICH!

The idea behind this event was to give our youth an opportunity to experience and learn what homelessness in Chicago is all about. We asked our youth and adults not to eat after lunch on Friday and plan to fast until dinner on Saturday. We modeled this on the 30 Hour Famine and even collected some money for ICH.

We began by gathering at Fourth Church and then hopped on a CTA bus and El train to make our way to the PADS shelter at First United Church of Oak Park, which was not in use that night. We arrived and engaged in an incredible discussion about the realities and root causes of homelessness.

After this conversation, we were ushered out into the parking lot to experience what it's like to be checked into a shelter. After waiting outside in the cold and snow, we were all checked in and picked pads to sleep on for the night.

We were awakened early Saturday morning and forced to leave the shelter at 7:30. We hopped back on the Green Line and headed into the city, getting off on Kedzie and walking up to Sanctuary Place, ICH's residence for women and families who have transitioned out of homelessness.

We were immediately thrown into another immersion experience, participating in a "game" that simulated what it is like to attempt to obtain documentation and services as a homeless person. This was a fascinating exercise that left many of us frustrated. We all learned how difficult it is to obtain these services when you lack resources.

After processing this simulation, we prepared lunch for some of the residents at Sanctuary Place, which was painful because we still weren't eating. Over lunch, we had moving conversations with women who were formerly homeless but who are now working on stabilizing their lives and the lives of their families.

After this we had some free time for homework or hanging out, which was followed by two great speakers from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. One of these speakers, currently a college student, was homeless for most of his teen years. It was powerful to hear his story of teen homelessness and how he managed to escape it.

After doing some cleaning projects for Sanctuary Place, we rode the bus back to Fourth's neighborhood and broke our fast with more pizza than we could eat.

In all, this was an amazing, powerful, and transforming experience. We learned a lot about homelessness and thought a lot about what we can do to help. We distinguished between the concepts of charity and justice and thought about ways we can do both. We'll continue this conversation for years to come as we think about this persistent problem in our society and world.

Check out this link for some pictures from the weekend.

Video Games and Violence

Once again, the debate about violent video games rages on.

Check out this article, posted today on CNN.com, that posits a link between violent video games and aggression in teens. To be sure, the study notes that similar links have been shown in relation to violent television and movies, but that doesn't change the overall argument. According to the study, such video games and other entertainment increase aggressive emotions in teen brains and normalize violence for gamers, desensitizing them to the realities and consequences of violence.

This is not a new argument, and it will probably go on for a long, long time. And the positions of those invovled in the debate are pretty clear and consistent: critics of video games decry the amount of violence in these virtual worlds while teens and video game enthusiasts say that they are being unfairly singled out and that playing video games or watching a violent movie doesn't translate into real life violence or aggression.

Let me be clear: I grew up playing video games, many of which had violent aspects. I would still play video games today if I didn't think it would devastate my productivity. I watched, and still watch, many movies and television shows that contain lots of violence. I've always been a fan of comic books, which are full of violence. I have listened to very aggressive music, and sometimes still do. Throughout my youth I played the violent sport of football and still love to watch it, almost religiously.

Violence has been and continues to be integrated into almost every aspect of my life. Beyond entertainment, the news I watch is full of violence, reflecting the world of violence we live in. The religion I practice and teach has violent themes and stories woven through it from beginning to end.

And I use to think that I proved the point that violence in the media we consume doesn't affect who we are as people. I'm not a violent person. I've never killed or even seriously hurt someone. Sure, I can be aggressive and competitive from time to time, and on occasion I'll "Hulk out" in my own way. But am I violent?

This line of reasoning used to make sense to me. But now I'm not so sure. As I've mentioned elsewhere on this blog, my thinking on this has been greatly challenged by the theological work of Walter Wink. I see the pervasiveness of violence in our society and I wonder what this does to us. Does it reinforce what Wink calls the "myth of redemptive violence", the idea that violence is the best way to right wrongs and accomplish our goals, even when they are just and noble goals?

If Wink is right that Jesus teaches a different way, not violence or pacifism but rather nonviolent resistance, what does this say about the violence that pervades our lives? How can we teach ourselves, and our society, that there is an alternative way if we are constantly bombarded by the violent way?

These are difficult questions that I continue to wrestle with. And I must admit that it's a whole lot easier to stop thinking and go see the new Rambo movie. But that probably just proves my point.

Ash Wednesday

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

I remember the people killed in tornadoes last night.

I remember the people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

I remember those without food or a home.

I remember those who don't have health insurance.

I remember those without a family.

I remember the people of Iraq.

I remember the people of Afghanistan.

I remember the people of Israel.

I remember the people of Palestine.

I remember child soldiers in Africa, and now in Iraq.

I remember my grandfather, my Uncle Buster, and my cousin Jay.

I remember my family.

I remember my friends.

I remember my wife.

I remember that I am dust, and to dust I shall return.

Another Great Souper Bowl

The Souper Bowl of Caring is an awesome national movement among young people to raise awareness, money, and food for those who are hungry. It's a cool program because it builds on the excitement around the Super Bowl (great game this year, btw) and allows youth to choose which organizations their work supports.

You may remember that we set a Fourth Church record last year when the Bears played the Colts in the big game and we agreed to a challenge from Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. Check out this post for more info on what happened last year.

The Bears let us down this year, but we had something even more important to get excited about: the 25th anniversary of the Elam Davies Social Service Center, which was once again the recipient of our collection this year.

Our Elevation youth came out in force to blitz the congregation after worship this past Sunday, collecting money and non-perishable food items. As always, the collecting was a blast and we had a great time, followed up by a great football themed Youth and Families Lunch.

The totals are in, and we are pleased to announce a great collection to help the hungry in Chicago: $5,701.98 and 724 non-perishable food items. This brings our 7 year total up to $31,016.26 and 5,829 food items. Way to go Elevation and all those who contributed to this great cause!

For more information about the Souper Bowl of Caring, check out this cool promo video: