Meet The Sibanda Family

Pastor Busani and family from Bulawayo, Zimbabwa

While attending Mennonite World Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the end of July I spent some  time between sessions getting to know delegates from parts of the world I may never get to visit, especially from the less affluent Global South. 

One of these was Busani Sibanda, full time pastor of the Brethren in Christ Church at Cowdray Park in Bulawayo, Zimabwe, and someone with whom I'm beginning to have some email conversation. His wife is doing her first year of student teaching in early childhood education and their three children, daughter 18 and sons 16 and 14, are each in school. 

The collapsing economy in their country has made life extremely difficult for them and for members of their congregation, and Busani has to supplement his meager church salary with some house painting he does on the side.  

School is not free in Zimbabwe, and they have to scrape up $600 per student per term to keep them enrolled. Given their income, this creates a significant hardship for the family, and they ask for our prayers

I plan to post some updates here on our newfound friends as I am able.

Community Organizations Endorse October 20 Mark Earley Visit

Mark L. Earley, Sr.

The following is addressed to community organizations and congregations and is from J. Daryl Byler, director of EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding:

25 August 2015

INVITATION TO SUPPORT A COMMUNITY EVENT ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Former Attorney General Mark Earley, past CEO of Colsen-founded Prison Fellowship, member of the national Right on Crime organization, and co-chair of Governor McAuliffe's Commission on Parole Review, has agreed to speak to our community this fall to outline his views on criminal justice reform. 

This event, set for 7 p.m. October 20 at the at Martin Chapel auditorium in the Eastern Mennonite Seminary building, is open to the public and will also provide opportunity for concerned citizens to air their views.

As a way of promoting this event, we are inviting groups like yours to lend their endorsement and support. You can do so by simply agreeing, in writing, to have your organization's name attached to all publicity and for you to promote attendance through your email and other contacts. While financial support is also welcome, none is required.

Please email or write Harvey Yoder <harvyoder@gmail.com> if you can help us promote Mr. Earley's visit in this way.

Warm regards,

J. Daryl Byler, Executive Director

Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

*********************************************************

Note: I will keep adding names of groups to the following list as we receive them:

Center for Justice and Peacebuilding
Harrisonburg/Rockingham/Page Reentry Council
Harrisonburg/Rockingham Building Better Community Working Group 
The Fairfield Center
Harrisonburg/Rockingham Interfaith Association
Community Mennonite Church
The Mahatma Ghandi Center for Global Nonviolence
The Harriet Tubman Center
JMU Department of Justice Studies
Gemeinschaft Home
Virginia Organizing
Martin Luther King_Jr._Way Coalition
Harrisonburg Democratic Committee
NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center
Northeast Neighborhood Association
Immanuel Mennonite Church
On The Road Collaborative
Harrisonburg Police Department
Harrisonburg City School Board
Valley Family Forum

Harrisonburg NAACP

Our Community Place
Harrisonburg Mennonite Church

Harrisonburg Fellowship of Reconciliation

Community Mennonite Church
Staunton Institute For Reform and Solutions

In a Universe So Vast, How Can God Be Truly Omnipresent?

We live about half way between the perimeter and center of this relatively small galaxy some 100,000 light years in diameter

“What wonder is it that you do not understand? If you do understand, then it is not God.”   – St. Augustine

In Biblical times, God was thought of as inhabiting a space somewhere high above and beyond the great dome or firmament known as the sky, or the heavens. That's where the sun, moon and all of the stars appear to orbit from east to west, beautifully displaying the wonders and glories of their Creator.

Since the time of Galileo, Copernicus and others, our concept of the universe has expanded exponentially. We now know our earth is but a speck in the cosmos, one small planet in orbit around a single star we call the sun. That sun, we have learned, is only one of billions of similar stars in our galaxy. And our Milky Way galaxy, over 100,000 light years in diameter, is but one of countless others, some far more vast.

In what way can God be seen as sovereign over all of this? Need we think of God inhabiting all parts of the created universe in the same way we have come to believe its Creator does in ours? Or is God most present in those places inhabited by God’s people, made in God’s image, filled with God’s Spirit?

These are mind-boggling questions we can only attempt to answer, and only in the context of a faith that is shaped by mystery, wonder and deep humility. We can never claim to know or understand things so unimaginable and so beyond our comprehension. We can only be amazed and awed. 

Our house church reflected on the following lectionary texts today, focusing on the kind of people God might choose to equip to represent and extend God's presence on earth today:

Joshua 24:14-18 Joshua’s challenge to God’s people at Shechem

We extend God's presence as we “serve” God in an unwavering and faithful way, as a committed and enlisted host of people who seek to march to the heartbeat of a divine drummer.

2. I Kings 8:22-30, 41-43 Solomon’s call to God’s people at the temple dedication

We extend God's presence as we become a living temple dedicated to God’s “Name”, e.g., that emulates God's character. According to this text, former aliens and outsiders are invited to join together in a life of humble service and worship.

3. John 6:56-69 Jesus’ invitation to his followers to ingest his very body and life blood 

We extend God's presence as we celebrate the life-giving bread and wine of Jesus and experience and exhibit the God-like qualities of Jesus himself.

4. Ephesians 6:10-20 Paul’s challenge to believers to be fully armed and empowered

We extend God's presence as we “stand” against the aggressive powers of evil in the world and offer life and hope to all who need God's salvation and deliverance from the forces that bind and blind them.

Here's a link to an amazing and humbling view of our place in the universe 
https://www.facebook.com/161029820639311/videos/834117539997199/?fref=nf

"It's really hard to tell the crazy from the well, now that everybody's on the phone"

   

source

 all around the world, anywhere you go, everybody’s on the phone,
    driving down the road, something you should know is that
        everybody’s on the phone...

    walking down the street, strangers that you meet,
        they’re talkin’, but they’re all alone,
    it’s really hard to tell the crazy from the well
        now that everybody’s on the phone,

            all over the supermarket, chattin’ in the checkout line,
            I’m so happy to hear her tumor’s benign..
            that was more than I wanted to know,
            why your former boyfriend had to go,
            I have conversation overload, now that everybody’s on the phone..

    standing face to face in a public place,
        there are certain things you would not say,
    but since you’re on the phone, although you’re not alone,
        now you say them anyway,

            so swear like a sailor loud enough to make a grandma frown,
            at least she has a hearing aid to turn down..
            that was more than I wanted to know,
            why your former girlfriend is a ho,
            I have conversation overload, now that everybody’s on the phone..

        your family history, plumbing emergency,
        impending bankruptcy, why you put your dog to sleep,
        your infidelity, recent vasectomy,
        if you’re not telling me, then say it quietly, please!..

    all around the world, everywhere you go,
    everybody’s on the phone,
    driving down the road, better take it slow, now that
    everybody’s on the phone, everybody’s on the phone…

                                                              - copyright 2008 © Brad Yoder

As someone who uses our cell phone mostly when traveling (and seldom gives out our cell number) I love the above piece written by our Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter son Brad.

Reminds me of a little encounter I had one day as I was walking from our local library to my office. A middle-age man was having an animated cell conversation using his new blue tooth phone (the kind that makes it appear that one is either just talking to oneself or to some imaginary friend). 

Apparently feeling a little self conscious about this as he saw me coming, he interrupted his phone conversation to tell me, "I'm really not crazy, I'm just talking with someone on my new phone." 

"Well, I happen to be a psychotherapist,” I said, “so in case you need any of my help, my office is just up the street." 

We both laughed, after which he continued his conversation with his friend, "You won't believe this, but a psychiatrist just came by and kidded me about being crazy!"

Of course he hadn't heard the “psychotherapist” part right (a fancy name for a licensed counselor), but I do often wonder whether we wouldn’t all be saner (to say nothing of safer) if we spent a lot more face-to-face time with our friends and family and did a lot less round-the-clock texting and talking.

Are We Not Men? Amnesty For Aging Inmates

Inmates pictured here (19) have spent a combined 516 years in Virginia prisons, have good prison records and are all parole eligible, having been incarcerated prior to parole being abolished in 1995. They also qualify for geriatric release (based on age and number of years served). Yet fewer than 3% of the nearly 4000 eligible inmates were released last year, and some have virtually given up hope of ever getting out of prison alive. 

Name; Age; # of years incarcerated; # of turn downs for parole

Mr. Kenneth Ray Pack; 65; 23; 11

Mr. John Bennie Williams; 82; 39; 20+ (blind)

Mr. James Franklin McKenzie; 65; 25; 14

Mr. Clarence Lee Barkley, Jr.; 68; 46; 31

Mr. Ronald Anthony Blair; 58; 39; __

Mr. Robert Davis Fitchett, Jr.; 52; 36; 12 (incarcerated since age 16)

Mr. Antonio S. Galacia; 78; 20*; 10

Mr. Patrick Michael Lockner; 62; 31; 12

Mr. Charles E. Zellers, Sr.. 47; 22; 7 (not pictured)

Mr. Donald Edward Worrell; 72; 36; 20+

Mr. David J. Ragno; 60; 30+; 20+

Mr. John Clinton Wright; 87; 38; 33+

Mr. Henry Tipold; 70; 36; 14+

Mr. Clarence Duke Reynold; 66; 25; 10

Mr. Bruce Andrew Ainsley; 63; 32; 15

Mr. Rickey Anthony Hickman; 61; 20*; __

Mr. Melvin Leroy White; 70; 20*; 8

Mr. James Benjamin Fitzgerald; 68; 29; 17

Mr. Bobby Fayne Hess; 64; 35; 24

Mr. Lonnie Eugene Coleman; 63; 39; 20+

Note: Men or women in prison who are seen as a current danger to others are confined to one of Virginia's maximum security facilities rather than in medium security ones like the above. These are but a few of many model inmates who are eligible, and many have significant health problems. The likelihood of individuals re-offending drops sharply with age, while the cost to taxpayers to keep them incarcerated dramatically increases.

* actual number of years incarcerated unavailable, but would be 20 or more

Here's a link to more posts on parole in Virginia
http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/search?q=parole+board

Here's a link to contact Governor McAuliffe https://governor.virginia.gov/constituent-services/Communicating-with-the-governors-office

Every Couple Needs A Good 'Safe'

A marital 'safe' helps manage conflict 

How do you handle relationship problems that threaten to ruin your day or even destroy your marriage?

One alternative is for couples to have a secure 'safe' (metaphorically speaking) in which to place issues that at the time seem to be too hot to handle.

Temporarily storing something doesn't mean burying it, pretending it no longer exists, or vowing never to bring it up again. Rather, it means keeping both the problem and the relationship secure until you are calm enough and confident enough to deal with it in a mature, productive way. Or if necessary to turn to a congregational leader, counselor or mediator to help you do so.

In spite of how urgent some volatile problems seem, few of them actually demand immediate attention unless they involve something like a fire or a serious accident. In other words, you can safely file them as problems, not crises.

Meanwhile a fireproof marital safe can help keep your relationship from going up in flames.

Metaphorically speaking.

How About Some Real "Truth In Sentencing"?

source

Background: The state of Virginia, under Governor George Allen, enacted truth-in-sentencing laws in 1995 that abolished parole for future offenders and required them to serve at least 85% of their time. This change was accompanied by longer sentences and mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, all of which in turn have resulted in prison crowding and lower inmate morale--in that there are fewer incentives for good behaviors that might result in an earlier release.

Today's question:  What might real "truth in sentencing" actually look like?

Let's take an actual random case that made the front page of yesterday's Daily News-Record. It involves a 41-year-old female found guilty of embezzling $13,000 and obtaining some $7,000 through other illegal means.

I have no particular opinion regarding the fairness of the sentence (though it would have been interesting to see the outcome of a restorative justice process), but in the interest of truth, there are at least three different parties sentenced here, not just one:

The offender's sentence, according to the DNR article, is fifteen years in prison--with thirteen of them suspended--plus restitution of $36,620 to be paid after her two years are served. Period. But in the interests of "truth in sentencing" the following could also be added:

She will suffer the humiliation of having to wear prison garb and make any public appearances in court or for an outside medical appointment in shackles and handcuffs. While at the local jail for six months or more (before being moved to a state prison), she will be handcuffed whenever she is moved to the visitor area, to a class or for a session with the nurse, or even with her minister or an attorney (where she is separated by a wall of concrete and glass). She will also be charged "rent" of $1 a day, or if (at the sheriff's discretion) she spends part of her time at the Middle River Jail that "rent" will be $3 per day, or over $1000 a year. She will also be charged extra for things like coffee, snacks, and for any medical costs. Phone calls from Middle River, for example, are $10 per 15-minute conversation. She will likewise give up her right to any privacy 24/7 unless she is confined to a segregation cell for an infraction, which can be even more stressful than being in a crowded cell.

It could be argued that she deserves all of this or more, but I'm simply noting that none of the above are never named as a part of the sentence.

The family is also "sentenced" to having to foot the bill for most of the above, even though they have not been convicted of any crime. Exorbitant phone costs, high-priced commissary items and the $1 or $3 daily jail "rent" may significantly add to her family's financial burden, in addition to her no longer being able to earn an income to help with her family's finances. Time and travel costs involved in making visits can also be substantial, depending on where she will serve her time.

Of course, this person's family is not legally obligated to pay any of the above, but strong family support and frequent visits and phone calls have been shown to be a major factor in an inmate's rehabilitation and later re-entry into society.

Law-abiding citizens are also "sentenced" to support her incarceration, to the tune of the $26,000 or more per year that it costs to house and feed people in steel cages. In addition, we are being deprived of the benefit of the inmate being a productive, tax-paying fellow-citizen for the duration. In some cases, we could also be footing the bill for additional social services and other benefits should her family experience special hardships due to her absence.

Conclusion: While we may have honest disagreements over the merits of this or any other case, or about the fairness of her sentence, we need to face "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" when it comes to all parties who are being affected, and everyone who is actually punished.