March 15, 2012 · 10:24 pm

Study war no more

It is found in the United Nations building, part of the display about the UN’s work on militarism.

Each time I see it,  the picture touches a chord of hope in my heart. My soul sings.

We can lay our weapons down – by the riverside – in the desert – on the street corners – wherever we may be – we can lay our weapons down. And study war no more. And begin the hard work of building a just peace.

Yesterday I toured the UN. And the picture carried even deeper meaning than usual. The International Criminal Court had announced its first verdict ever. In that decision, the court found Thomas Lubanga Dyilo guilty of conscripting, enlisting, and actively using children under the age of 15 in hostilities in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo during 2002 and 2003.

The court’s decision  underscored the picture’s meaning. The picture underscored the court’s decision.

Art and the judicial process intertwining to proclaim hope.

See you along the Trail.

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March 15, 2012 · 9:56 pm

I say a prayer

I toured the United Nations yesterday. They have a display of quilts.

This one comes from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Part of a larger quilt, it commemorates the Srebrenica massacre when between 7,000 and 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed.

Each square remembers one of the men or boys killed.

I noticed how many times last names repeat. Notice the top row – where all the names are the same; or the bottom row – four names the same.  Even in the middle rows, the names repeat.

Fathers and sons? Brothers? Cousins? My heart aches as I wonder and say a prayer for all victims. I say a prayer for the women and all who grieve. I say a prayer that the human race may find the grace to put an end to such atrocities.

And after a moment, a moment that hangs like an eternity, I say a prayer for those who commit atrocities.

See you along the Trail.

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March 13, 2012 · 8:33 pm

Enforce the law!

Call on President Obama to enforce U.S. legislation related to the use of children as soldiers!

The U.S. Child Soldier Prevention Act addresses the issue of children in situations of armed conflict. The act seeks encourage governments to disarm, demobilize and rehabilitate children who have been used as soldiers by government forces and government-supported militias.

Using the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights as a barometer, this bill would place limits on the provision of U.S. International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing and other defense-related assistance in our foreign operations programs for countries in violation of the bill’s standards.

However, this act has been waived in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). President Obama could take steps to prohibit military assistance to the DRC until the government meets specific benchmarks.  These benchmarks should include: 1) demonstrating that it no longer recruits child soldiers; 2) showing concrete progress in demobilizing or releasing children from existing forces; and 3)engaging in credible efforts to render persons suspected of recruiting child soldiers to justice.

Call on President Obama to enforce U.S. legislation related to the use of children as soldiers!

I did. Will you?

See you along the Trail.

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March 13, 2012 · 12:09 am

Kony 2012 and children in armed conflict

An issue that has drawn lots of attention lately is the Kony2012 video and campaign. My friend and colleague Jessica Hawkinson gathered some resources for the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations that are related to addressing the issue of Kony and the LRA and the larger issue of children in situations of armed conflict.

Millions of viewers have tuned in to the KONY2012 video and campaign, recently released by the organization Invisible Children. The campaign encourages public support for the arrest of Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), who is wanted for trial by the International Criminal Court. Kony is charged for, among other things, the widespread recruitment and use of child soldiers. The campaign also seeks to build support for the disarmament of the LRA and rehabilitation of these child soldiers.

For all of the support the campaign has gained, many key stakeholders have raised questions about the video, noting its failure to adequately address the complexities of the issue. Included below are several resources about the video, the Ugandan conflict and the LRA, and ways that you can help bring an end to the use of children in armed conflict.

Learn more about the LRA and children in situations of armed conflict

How you can help

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A prayer for children in situations of armed conflict
by David Gambrell

Loving God, giver of life,
through your prophets you promised
that a little child would come to lead us
in the paths of everlasting peace.
Help us to follow where you lead
and hasten the coming of the day …
when wars throughout the earth will end …
when neighbors and nations will put down their weapons …
when all children will live in safety and freedom …
when all people will have justice and dignity …
when the wolf and lamb will dwell together
and no one will hurt or destroy in all the earth.
We ask these things through Jesus Christ,
your beloved child, our eternal peace.  Amen.

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March 11, 2012 · 4:59 pm

A different route

As I went out last Sunday, to make my way unto St. James Presbyterian Church, I planned to use St. Nicholas Avenue. It is flat. I employed my usual walking plan – take what traffic and the stoplights give me.

After a couple of blocks, I realized that it would prove difficult to get to St. Nicholas Avenue. I had gone too far north; St. Nicholas Park lay between me and my preferred route. A choice lay before me. To minimize the uphill journey and see some new things, I chose to go through the park.

There I was surprised and pleased to see crocuses or croci or both. Going by a different route, may bring new opportunities, new delights. At least it did as I walked out last Sunday to make my way unto St. James.

See you along the Tail.

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March 11, 2012 · 1:40 pm

UNICEF Tap Project

Can you buy a round – of water?

You can if you make a gift to the UNICEF Tap Project.

Too many children in too many places do not have access to clean water.  Lots of folks, including some funded by UNICEF, work very hard to change that – and things are getting better.

March 22 brings World Water Day – what better time to raise a glass and share a glass?

Check out this Tap Project video for more details.

See you along the Trail.

 

 

 

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March 10, 2012 · 10:37 pm

Z is for Zaineddin

Mark Z
has served several years
as the chaplain at Ghost Ranch.

This is the only time I resorted to using a person’s name.
Except for Lady.
And she was a horse,
although she and many others would have disputed that.

2 August 2009

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March 10, 2012 · 10:36 pm

Y is for Yonder

I have no idea what Teresa is saying.
But her gesture does appear direct
Dayna’s attention to something
over yonder.

Lots of yonders fill Ghost Ranch:
places around the bend,
atop the mesa,
down the arroyo.

Places to go,
things to see,
not here,
but yonder.

24 August 2010

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March 10, 2012 · 10:35 pm

X is for XL and XS

I certainly wouldn’t call them words,
but there they are – on page 1210 of my
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus.

XL and XS.

It does refer to them as abbr
which I assume is the abbreviation
for abbreviation.

The picture really doesn’t get there,
but the idea is that
people of all sizes –
XL and XS
and between and beyond –
enjoy Ghost Ranch.

I said that some stretching might take place.

9 August 2009

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March 10, 2012 · 9:46 pm

Finishing

Cowboys & Aliens finally made it into the VCR tonight. While not great cinema, it has a fair amount of action and features a number of my favorite actors – Adam Beach and Daniel Craig among them. Sam Rockwell appears in a very different role from others he has played.

But the main attraction of the film remains the place. The filming took place in Abiquiu – near Ghost Ranch. Many places I recognized. Pedernal looms in the background of the opening scene. Others seemed familiar. Fortunately Eric responded to my texts and helped me identify some of the locale.

Several things follow from watching the film:

  • I am more than ready to return to Northern New Mexico and the ranch – it draws me.
  • Places around Ghost Ranch remain for me to see and experience.
  • I need to finish my Ghost Ranch People alphabet.

X, Y, and Z offer challenges. I may have to stretch. But I need to finish. Perhaps tonight. Maybe even before time changes.

See you along the Trail.

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