For a while now I've been wanting to find a means of engaging several friends in separate conversations we have had about our passion for global affairs, the state of African countries, the body of Christ's role in ushering in justice and other various concerns. Now is the time!
I am so inspired by so many of my friends who have made tremendous sacrifices to promote the economic welfare of women in Mexico, lend an ear to AIDS patients in Zimbabwe, write books to encourage women to live whole and healthy lives of service and many others!
I am starting this blog because I want to hear about each of our journeys, to share in one another's joys and to offer encouragement when it's hard to see the way ahead of you. I also wish for this to be a means to discuss ideas and passions and solutions we are working towards in our personal missions/dreams/ect. I would love for this to be a forum to swap books that are shaping your viewpoint and your reactions to events that are happening around the world and more! It is what we make it!
I will do my best to post every couple of days and at least once a week.
Question - what is one tangible step you hope to take this year as you pursue your calling?
(For me - spend time working on a microcredit project in Africa this summer!)
Blog away!
Nat
Websites and Books
- Ashoka: www.ashoka.org
- Accion International: www.accion.org
- Invisible Children: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/theMovement/
- Center for Global Development: http://www.cgdev.org/
- Women for Women International www.womenforwomen.org
- Food for the Hungry www.fh.org
5 comments:
I'll comment! I want to make 2007 a time of intentionally pursuing real friendships with people who are VERY different than me - different religions, different views in politics, etc. To expand my understanding and show people that Christians don't have to live in a little bubble of a subculture.
Great idea, Nat! You are brilliant! In the New Year, I want to truly dedicate myself fully to earning my master's degree in sociology and not just get by. I would also like to invest more time to studying social justice issues and to be involved locally in my community with fair trade, Amnesty International, and other projects.
This is my first time to be part of a blog and it is very exciting! Thank you so much for the invitation, Natalie, and the thought-provoking question. In the New Year, I plan to more centrally pursue my research, writing, and teaching. I am a scholar activist who has concentrated on my activism in recent years by working in the nonprofit world. I have loved this work but now it is time to put my focus elsewhere. Writing and teaching are my heart dreams and it is time to let my light shine in those arenas. I thus am applying for postdoctoral fellowships.
In the arena of interfaith work, I am editing a retired minister's manuscript on world religions which is phenomenal and so needed in our society as it promotes tolerance, dialogue, mutual respect, and a global vision for peoples of all faiths to work together. I also do volunteer work for a locak interfaith alliance. As each year goes by, I realize how crucial it is for us to have mutual respect for each other's religions and to work together in harmony, peace, justice, and nonviolence.
As an historian, I will continue my work on 19th century African-American farmer and businessman, Junius Groves, from eastern Kansas. He rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest men in the United States. His story is inspirational and an important one to share with the US. In a time when racism was more rampant than in contemporary times, Mr. Groves rose above that and worked very hard to better his own life, his family's, and that of his race. He saw agriculture as the answer to America's race problem: "The ground does not discriminate." He was part of thousands of African Americans from 1850's to the 1910's who migrated to Kansas to start a better life. Part of this group was labeled the "Exodusters" due to the circumstances and timeframe when they went to Kansas--in 1879-1880. An exciting, current-day event connected to these immigrants from that entire span of time will be happening in Kansas City, KS, in August 2007: Exoduster II Reconnection Event. This will be a public history event reconnecting modern-day descendents of the Exodusters. I am on the Planning Committee of the event and very, very excited about being part of a public history event such as this which so powerfully unites the present and the past, providng a stronger foundation for the future!
Thanks for putting this together! I am really excited about the start of a new year and new beginnings. I really want to be more intentional about what I read and really continute in the lines of the social justice group at Pathways educating myself about the issues outside of hunger (but probably more about this as well!!) I also really really would like to get out of the country soon! It has been too long and I really am getting antsy to go!! I also would really like to identify some next steps for me whether that is a new job or school or an internship something that is helping me move forward out of program management and into advocacy and/or policy. Soooooo basically there are lots of things that I want to do this year and I am excited for the people that will help me along the way and the people that I will meet and get to know. Its going to be good!!! And I am excited to think about it. Thanks again for putting it out there Natalie!
Natalie, thanks for setting this up, I'm excited about reading everyone's different perspectives, and seeing how the Lord leads us all. Right now I am waiting. Waiting for God and waiting for direction. The tangible step that I am taking is diving deeply into the word. I want to know God's heart. I want to know what He wants for me and what He wants for the world. I want to be part of His solution- someone who glorifies Him in His kingdom.
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