Hometown: Trenton, New Jersey
Education: School of the Bethany House of Hospitality; Studies professional sleeping, eating, and mouse catching.
Reason for Moving to Trenton: Trenton is and always has been my very great home.
Fun Facts: I am very playful and like to cuddle. I am also very welcoming to all visitors and I love new friends.
This week’s vespers kicked off a season of Lent centered around intentional discussion of the book, The New Jim Crow written by Michelle Alexander. We were led in discussion by one of our own residents, Laura Colee, and had a truly enlightening time of sharing and learning.
Laura got the idea of reading The New Jim Crow during Lent in October in a conversation with Pastor Karen.
“The logic for reading the book during Lent is that Lent is a time of honest reflection on ourselves, our society and our God in preparation for Easter. I’ve heard some people lately refer to Lent as a time that is “traditionally reserved for a type of psychological purging that leads up to the Crucifixion.” (See: http://www.atheismforlent.net/) I think this book is a tool that allows us to more honestly look at a horrendous system in our American society – to have conversations about it and then act upon what we’ve learned. It is a truth-telling book -I’d even call it a prophetic book- that can aid us in this season of reflection.”
The conversation of our first Lenten Vesper was certainly thought provoking at the least, if not an intense and emotional experience due to its reality shifting presentation of justice and social control in the United States of America. Some guests around our table shared personal experiences of dealing with the failings of the criminal justice system and its inhumane subjugation and discrimination of people who commit crimes.
It is jarring to think of our “criminal justice system” as an unjust system which has created an under-caste in the United States. How can this be? Alexander points to the fact that the United States has the highest incarceration rate for any industrialized nation even though our crime rates are very similar. We see an overwhelming racial disparity with who is targeted in the “War on Drugs.” Law enforcement has largely targeted poor black communities even though drug crimes of all levels are committed at the same rate by people of any race. This injustice system has created an under-caste of people who are secondary citizens with limited rights and freedoms, and has left us questioning why this happened and how we can bring justice back to the criminal “justice” system.
We were joined by our hosts from Nassau Presbyterian Church, who provided the meal, as well as friends from Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Thank you to all who contributed to this Valentine’s day vespers!
Discussion guide: Christian and American Reflections on Prison
We live in a world where independence is glorified. Where it is not okay to need people, where we are taught that we need to figure things out on our own, and where being dependent on others is weakness.
This message, I believe, is one of the many lies that we are fed as we grow up. This lie, if believed, can be debilitating and can serve to be more thing that brings a person to feel like there is something wrong with them.
The Bible says that “two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work, when one falls down the other is there to help him up” and “a three stranded cord is not easily broken.” The Bible also says that “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.” I believe that we were not created to go through life alone, and that trying to figure things out one one’s own leads to failure and despair.
In life there are countless challenges that we encounter. Whether it be trying to find one’s place in the world, figuring out the next step in life, or even personal, relational, and familial issues. Each of these challenges, if one tries to conquer them on their own, can be mindnumbing, crushing and debilitating. And that is okay. There are certain things in life that happen where it is okay to not be able to handle it all alone.
It should be noted that being dependent on others is not meant to be draining to others, because in a good community it is known that that person can depend on you also. It is mutual sharing of the burden of suffering that we all carry.
Why did I choose to live in a community? Because I know that I am nothing and can do nothing on my own, and that without others there is no reason to pick myself up when I fall. Without others there is no one to help me see through the situation clearly. Without others there is no one to help me better understand what the right thing is. Without others there is no one share unconditional love with.
A very applicable quote, which I learned in Uganda, says that “If you want to go fast, travel alone. But if you want to go far, go with others.”
On our own, we fall harder, and there is no one there to help us up. With others, we are caught when we fall and carried when we cannot walk another step.
Bethany House of Hospitality 