MLK work day

"But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice."

--Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream"

On Monday, I got to be a part of an amazing project collaboration through my work at MedBridge. We organized a day of service project at the Westside Boys & Girls Club and re-did their back patio space which they will use as an outdoor classroom. Lead by our awesome contractor, Dan Ribbens, we put pavers to create an outdoor space where kids can play, as well as assembling planter boxes for decoration and for the gardening club (with the kids' hand prints as a colorful addition :)). During the afternoon, a group of MedBridge staff also got to organize MLK activities with the kids and we enjoyed a lunch together catered by a local Westside restaurant, Super Cucas (delicious Mexican cuisine!). As the paver crew was working hard, the Westside Initiative group (which I'm also a part of) was busy re-vamping the garden area that is being used for a weekly garden club. They dug out old plants and put in new planter boxes, dirt, mulch, and new spaces for edible plants to grow.

I walked away from Monday so thankful to be apart of a company that gave up significant financial resources and allowed our employees to give up half their work day to come serve on the westside. I'm also thankful to be a part of a faith community that is engaging in a neighborhood that I am growing to love. A lot of people gave up significant time and energy to make the day happen -- cheif among them our contractor! -- and it was a blessing to see community and service happening on this day.

I love the quote "we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt". There are times where that bank does seem bankrupt or running on low funds. Days like Monday prove it wrong and encourage me to keep seeking out the people and organizations who care about justice and change within our community. 

Fear and Welcoming our Immigrant Neighbors

I've been following immigration reform closely this past year...and have felt both great disappointment and hope. Immigration reform is as much of a political issue to me as a theological/sociological/personal "issue" (issue doesn't seem to be the best word, but we'll keep it there for now). Politics, by its very nature affects people, but immigration policy seems like an even more people-related political issue than others that we see in the newspaper. Immigration policy has a million stories and faces -- sometimes these are well presented in DC, and others times they are not. I'm hopeful when I see the former but angry about the latter.

It is easy to paint the derogatory comments about immigration reform or the obnoxious statements by politicians as simply ignorant or hateful, but I think the better word to describe it is fear. Fear of the unkonwn, fear of a different language, fear of a different culture that expresses itself in dynamically different ways.

As my sociology professor at Gordon told us, the root of prejudice and discrimination is fear of difference. 

Social psychologist Christena Cleveland recently published a book called "Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep us Apart". Cleveland is a scholar with experience bridging divides within the church and the focus of the book is helping us to know where our divisions come from and how we can proactively seek greater unity. A lot of her research proves some basic points that we already assume (like "birds of a feather flock together" logic), but she digs deeper and helps us (me) see the divisions that exist within our communities and how they are so easily perpetuated, even unintentionally.

In one of her chapters, Cleveland addresses the tensions we often feel when we are with those of a different culture than our own:

Why do cultural threats trigger such strong reactions from us? We'll look at three causes in particular. First, cultural threats increase ambiguity, which is unfortunate because we hate ambiguity. Second, cultural threats can confuse us, especially when they are caused by people who are supposed to be members of our group. Third, cultural threats are threatening because we fear negative consequences more than we seek positive outcomes. (126-7)

Ambiguity, confusion, and potential negative consequences cause us to flee from difference or to disengage from others who may speak a different language, embody different cultural values, etc. I think I can make the jump and say that within those three causes, fear is the underlying cause: fear of ambiguity (it's nice to know what's going on), fear of confusion, and fear of the future and the risks we have to take that may not turn out.

If you know me, or have read even a couple of my blog posts, you know that fear is not absent in my life (let's be honest: I just wrote about how hard being brave is).

And, yet,

I am confident that this fear is something we must fight earnestly against because it keeps us away from experiencing human relationships and experiences that will shatter our preconceived notions and move us in ways that we once thought unfathomable. Yes, that's a dramatic statement, but I totally believe it. I believe it because I have seen glimpses of bridging barriers between people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds and it feels like standing on sacred ground.

For all of these reasons, immigration reform is essential. I believe that the biggest barriers that are blocking its passage stem from fear. I won't demonize this fear: I can empathize with fear and know that there are risks that are hard to take. However, I believe that if we let this fear set us back from embracing and loving our community, we will miss out on one of the most powerful expressions of love, hospitality, reconciliation, forgiveness, hope, and peace.

We just can't miss out.

I could tell you stories: stories about me, forced out of my comfort zone, conversing in a different language, confusing past tense/imperfect tenses, playing soccer, making prestiños, eating salsa that almost set my mouth on fire... In each of those places, in each of those homes or parks or wherever, I have been blessed abundantly, been taught patiently, and been humbled -- sometimes to a point of tears.

There has been freedom for me in embracing ambiguity and confusion and fear of negative outcomes, like Cleveland discusses. I'm not inclined to the ambiguity or the confusion, but there's something that beckons me to it and I know I have to keep following that path. I have much to learn in each of those areas (I'm a first born! You can imagine how against my nature ambiguity is!), and I'm thankful that the learning curve is wide enough for me, for us.

California Seasons

Something VERY exciting happened in my house on Friday:

We turned the heater on for the first time this fall!! 

While that fact might not seem to be exciting, it signaled a change in the weather patterns here in Santa Barbara, California. I am ready to be done with 80-degree Sundays. As beautiful as they are, they are not for November (but my dad and I did enjoy an ocean swim last Sunday since it was so warm!!). 

Nothing compares to New England fall. Santa Barbara certainly can't compete in the color/fall crisp-ness/leaf color craziness category, BUT...SB proves to have some seasonal beauty that I am very grateful for and am looking forward to appreciating as I live here during the fall/winter months (first time in 5 years. Yikes!)

I love the way the sunlight is different in the fall and winter months. I love having the sun just rising and the sky sort of pinkish as I'm heading to work and the way the sun hits the plants in our backyard in the afternoon. I can't really describe it..but it's different and beautiful.

In the fall and winter months, SB is usually spared of FOG so the mountains stand against the blue ocean and you can actually see the Channel Islands. It's incredible. The summer months in SB are usually plagued with fog for the first part of the day (sometimes even into the afternoon), so the fall/winter clear skies provide breathtaking views.

 You can see a little bit of leaf change at the top of our maple sweet gum tree (thanks for the correction, Dad!) in the backyard and the purple-ish leaves of the ornamental plum tree (the purple color feels sort of fall-like to me)

The maple tree has plenty of leaves below it and the green is turning yellow - slowly but surely!

And, I'm living with my mother again and she has impeccable taste in seasonal decorating. There is no shortage of pumpkin love in our house.

I realize that so much of what I love about the winter and fall coziness at home is a privilege -- things like heat, and warm tea at night, and electricity for when the sun goes down at 5 pm. I am so thankful for these gifts and getting to experience some seasonal beauties here in Southern California.