A Celebration Of A New Era

We had a Tuesday workshop cancelled this week. I have reason to believe that some of the dropouts are due to the Inauguration ceremony in Washington. I sympathize. This is a big deal for the US and for citizens around the world. There are Inauguration parties happening in our city. I know people going to these celebrations who would never have dreamed of attending such an event . It will be a celebration of a new era. How exciting and glorious is yet to be seen. There will be lots of people watching the ceremony and there will certainly be no shortage of advice for President Obama.

I read a Sojourners column form Nicholas Kristof, op-ed columnist for the New York Times and a two time Pulitzer Prize winner. Here are some selected lines:

"Your campaign fired up supporters from around the country and galvanized them to ring door bells and make phone calls. Now you need to institutionalize that enthusiasm with a national service program - not just for young people, but also for retirees." ( read here - Samuel and Eli from today's scripture story)

Kristoff reminds us that top down efforts sometimes disappoint. He advocates getting millions involved themselves in education, health and poverty programs around the world. He cites the example of supporting education for girls. The ripple effects of this are astounding.

Doesn't that sound like our service-learning trips here at Emmanuel? We've been doing this very thing in a thoughtful and consistent manner for years here at Emmanuel. Looks like we are on the cutting edge after all.

Peter


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