Doug McMahon

Fourth of July

Last week, while attending my 30th Reunion at Asbury College, we visited Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, KY.  Shakertown is a beautiful place to visit. You can read more about the history of the Shakers here.

We stayed two nights at Shaker Village, and as we have before, we enjoyed another wonderful breakfast in one of the many historic buildings.  The picture to the right gives you an idea of the simplicity and beauty of the architecture and furniture made by the Shakers.

While we were visiting Shaker Village I thought about religious freedom.  The Shakers, at various times in their history, have experienced persecution or ridicule because of their views on pacifism, communal living, celibacy and some of their other religious beliefs.  It is amazing how some religious people belittle others who have beliefs that are different from their own.  Strong religious beliefs should always foster tolerance of others, not bigotry.

For centuries, our country has been a haven for many who were seeking to escape persecution--not always but for many.  Our constitution, and the religious freedom it guarantees, is something we celebrate on this Fourth of July.  The government cannot always protect citizens from the ugly nature of bigotry and hatred like the Shakers sometimes experienced. 

My prayer on this Fourth of July is that all followers of Jesus would confront bigotry and hatred and live in peace especially with neighbors whose religious beliefs are different than their own.  

The first lines of the song Simple Gifts, written by Elder Joseph while he was at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine in 1848, follows:  

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be." (The rest of the lyrics can be found at Wikipedia.)

Gun Violence

As a new church development pastor, I have been listening to the concerns of people in our city.  Gun violence is definitely a concern.  There are way too many murders in St. Petersburg.  One is too many.  I became much more aware of this in January following our Dr. King Parade in St. Pete.  While preparing to march in the parade, a friend handed me a newsletter.  The newsletter was edited by the mother of a young man who had been tragically murdered in St. Pete last September.  I put the newsletter in my back pocket.  Later that week, I picked it up again from my dinning room table and read it.  I was moved by this mother's story and her dedication to honoring her son's memory by seeking to drive violent crime from our city.  Furthermore, her son's murder was a part of a double murder and is still unsolved.  This mom, Lisa, had begun a foundation, The Cabretti Foundation, in order to teach peace and drive violent crime from our city.

 

 

After reading the newsletter, I called Lisa and volunteered for the next Clean-Up Day in memory of her son, Cabretti.  I have now volunteered for two quarterly clean-up days.  It has been my privilege to meet Lisa and some of her family and friends.  Following the first clean-up day, Lisa agreed to meet with a small group at a local coffee shop.  We heard her story and reflected on how we might better teach the ways of peace in our cities.

In the days following our meeting with Lisa, back in April, a little girl was gunned down in St. Pete by a hail of bullets from a gang fight.  The little girl was sleeping in her bed. The little girl attended the same elementary school as my niece. It was another tragedy.  Every murder whether a little girl, a senior citizen or a teenager is a tragedy and the violence must stop.  Gun violence is impacting our city.

The violence doesn't seem to be on the the radar of most St. Pete churches.  There are some churches and civic leaders who are working to end the violence, but not many.  My prayer is that we can more effectively address the issue of violence in St. Pete.  Missional communities of faith engage the hurts and hopes of their cities including gun violence and standing with those who mourn.  We proclaim a gospel of healing, help and hope in Jesus Christ not just with words but with our action and compassion.

Father's Day: A Time to Pray and Teach Non-Violence

Father's Day weekend can be a time to pray for peace and to teach nonviolence.  Back in April, a little girl was gunned down in a hail of bullets in St. Petersburg.  This tragedy saddened all who heard about it and the ongoing violence in our city has disturbed most of us.  Earlier this year, a small group of us met with Lisa Wheeler-Brown to listen to her story about the murder of her son, Cabretti. He was murdered last September. Every murder, whether a little girl, a teenager or a senior citizen, is a tragedy and the violence must stop.

As we prepare for Father's Day, I urge you to continue to do three things:  pray for the families of those who have died and also pray for peace.  Second, live and teach nonviolence in your family and in the community. Lastly, find practical ways to come together as a community to end the violence. 

In honor of Cabretti, the young man who was murdered last September, his mother's foundation has adopted 1.25 miles of road to keep clean.  The road that the foundation will keep clean is from 22nd Ave South and 34th Street South to 22nd Avenue South and 49th Street South.  The foundation held its first two clean up days in November 2008 and February, 2009.  The adopt a mile program has installed signs displaying the Cabretti Wheeler-Fortner Foundation's name.  Keep Pinellas Beautiful requires that the foundation complete a clean up once every quarter.  The next clean up is scheduled for this Saturday, June 20.

I invite you to join me on Saturday (8:00 AM) as we do our small part in trying to stop the violence.  Participating in this Clean-up Day, June 20, would be a step forward, honoring the memory of this young man, Cabretti, and calling attention to the ongoing violence in our city.  Your participation in this Clean-up Day, on the day before Father's Day, may help prevent other families from losing their children. (For more details, email me at douglashmcmahon@gmail.com)  Whether you live in St. Pete or not, this Father's Day, pray for peace and look for an opportunity to teach nonviolence.

I invite you to join me on Saturday (8:00 AM) as we do our small part in trying to stop the violence.  Participating in this Clean-up Day, June 20, would be a step forward, honoring the memory of this young man, Cabretti, and calling attention to the ongoing violence in our city.  Your participation in this Clean-up Day, on the day before Father's Day, may help prevent other families from losing their children. (For more details, email me at douglashmcmahon@gmail.com)  Whether you live in St. Pete or not, this Father's Day, pray for peace and look for an opportunity to teach nonviolence.

Who Are You?

Earlier this week, I was in Pittsburgh.  I was there attending a leadership conference at Pittsburgh Seminary and meeting with my new church development coach, BJ Woodworth, lead pastor at Open Door. At the PIttsburgh airport, heading home to Tampa, I rode the shuttle train to the terminal in order to catch my plane.  I saw the picture below and the slogan, "I am what I shop."  I was stunned by the  plain message:  I am what I shop.  Really?  The advertisement was meant to encourage us to shop at the "air mall,"  the shops and restaurants available near the gates where we would later board our planes to other locations around the country and world.

The advertisement claimed that my value as a human being was the result of my shopping.  That sounds ludicrous.  But the message was plain and maybe has crept into our thinking as consumers.  I reject the message.  I am NOT what I shop.  I have repeated another message numerous times over the years in sermons and in youth programs.  "I am a child of God.  Please treat me that way."  I first heard this slogan at a Logos Youth Systems training in Orlando in 1992.  "You are a child of God and I will treat you that way," is the other side of the same coin.

Earlier in the day, on my way to the Pittsburgh airport, I read in the newspaper the horrible report of the security guard being shot to death at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC.  Hatred and violence are based on the fact that some people do not believe that every human being has value. I believe everyone has worth because they are a child of God.  At home, I took out a book I love by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream.  In that book (pages 40-41), he writes the following:

"One of the most blasphemous consequences of injustice and prejudice is that it can make a child of God doubt that he or she is a child of God.  But no one is a stepchild of God.  No one.  God's love for us and our love for others is the single greatest motivating force in the world. And this love and the good it creates will always triumph over hatred and evil.  But if you are to be true partners with God in the transfiguration of his world and help bring this triumph of love over hatred, of good over evil, you must begin by understanding that as much as God loves you, God equally loves your enemies." 

You are not what you shop. You are a child of God.  I am a child of God.  I will treat you that way. Believe it.  Treat yourself that way.  I believe that love and the good it creates will triumph over hatred and evil.

Doing Justice: For the Bible Tells Me So

Last week, while walking into a Starbucks, I over heard a conversation.  Someone said, "That church is so political!" Three women were having a conversation and that is all I heard, "That church is so political!"  A few weeks ago, when I received the invitation from Presby Bloggers Unite to write about church, state and politics, I thought, "I'm not sure I have anything to say about church, state and politics."  Then, I heard those words, "That church is so political!"  I became determined to not dodge the invitation to write about church, state and politics.

I don't have any idea what those folks in Starbucks were talking about. I don't know if they were conservatives upset with a liberal church or if they were liberals angry with a conservative church.  Or maybe they were people who thought a church should have no political point of view.

But it stirred something in me to write a response to the question, "how do you and your congregation live out your understandings of church, state and politics?'  

I am the organizing pastor of TRANSFIGURATION, a new church development of Tampa Bay Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church (USA). As a pastor of a new church, I am looking forward to living out our understanding of church, state and politics, in part, through participation in F.A.S.T. which is a part of the D.A.R.T. network.

F.A.S.T. has been working in Pinellas County (including St. Petersburg and Clearwater) for about five years now.  F.A.S.T. has come together in three large public actions to press public officials to implement solutions to community problems.  In 2005, they gathered over 1200 people; over 1700 in 2006; 2000 in 2007 and a powerful 2500 this year.  The issues they have won are in the areas of education, transportation, affordable housing, and drugs and crime.

The prophet Isaiah said, "This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.  What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.  Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once.  Your righteousness will pave your way.  The God of glory will secure your passage.  Then when you pray, God will answer.  You'll call out for help and I'll say, Here I am."  (Isaiah 58:6-9)

F.A.S.T. stands for faith and action for strength together.  F.A.S.T is a congregation-based community organization bringing together congregations to powerfully address injustice and poverty in Pinellas County.  F.A.S.T. is not a partisan political effort.  People from all parties, Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian and all others, participate in the work of F.A.S.T.  All people of faith, Christian, Muslim, Jewish and others, are invited to help address injustice and poverty in Pinellas County.

Poverty in Florida

Bruce Reyes-Chow has invited us to write a post on POVERTY in order to build awareness of ways the Presbyterian Church (USA) communities address issues of poverty AND to offer ways to mobilize efforts.

I live in Florida and recently friends of our new faith community visited Immokalee, a farming community in South Florida.  On Palm Sunday, we traveled to Immokalee to begin Holy Week with farmworkers and the leaders of Mision Peniel, a part of the work of Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, a Presbyterian mission.  We visited the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) offices, drove around Immokalee, and then worshiped God at the store front offices of Mision Peniel with a group of farmworkers.  We prayed together, sang songs and heard the Palm Sunday story.  That story of Jesus' humble ride into Jerusalem never made more sense than it did a few weeks ago in the presence of these new friends.  

During the worship service, we shared "joys and concerns."  One man, let me call him Carlos, shared a joy: his daughter had turned 15 years old.  He told us, through English translation, that the whole community had recently come together to celebrate-- the whole town celebrated his daughter's 15th birthday. It was a beautiful day and Carlos was so pleased that he could provide this party for his daughter.  And then, we realized that this didn't take place in Immokalee, but back home.  Carlos has not seen his daughter for six years.  She was 9 years old the last time Carlos celebrated a birthday with his daughter.

I give thanks to God for Beth-El Farmworker Ministry in Wimauma and and Mision Peniel in Immokalee. Along with Beth-El, I am supporting the efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to ask Publix Super Markets to work with the CIW to ensure fair wages and conditions for farmworkers.  You too can help by writing a letter or card with the following:

Mr. Ed Crenshaw, CEO

Publix Super Markets

Corporate Office

PO Box 407

Lakeland, FL  33802-0407

Dear Mr. Crenshaw:

I am writing to ask Publix Super Markets to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to ensure fair wages and conditions for the farmworkers who pick your tomatoes.

Florida tomato pickers are among this country's most exploited workers:  they earn sub-poverty wages, lack most standard rights and benefits and have not received a significant raise in 30 years.  At the current rate, one must harvest over 2.5 TONS of tomatoes to earn minimum wage for a 10-hour workday.  In extreme cases, workers are held in modern-day slavery rings.  In December 2008, four people were sentenced in federal court in a case that involved beating, chaining, and enslaving tomato pickers who worked on some of Florida's  major tomato farms.  

Yum Brands, McDonald's, Burger King, Whole Foods and Subway have all reached precedent-setting agreements with the CIW to improve wages and enforce a code of conduct for fair conditions in their tomato supply chains, including zero tolerance for modern-day slavery.

As a conscientious consumer and supporter of the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food, I urge Publix to work together with the CIW to ensure human rights and fair wages for those who harvest the tomatoes sold in your stores.  

Sincerely, [Your Name Here]

St. Pete Violence Must Stop

On Sunday morning in St. Petersburg, a little girl was gunned down in a hail of bullets.  This tragedy has saddened all who have heard about it and the ongoing violence in our city has disturbed most of us.  You can read the story here.

Last week, a small group of us met with Lisa Wheeler-Brown to listen to her story about the murder of her son, Cabretti.  He was murdered last September.  You can read Lisa's story at the Cabretti Foundation web page.  Every murder is a tragedy and the violence must stop.

I urge you to do three things:  pray for the families of those who have died and pray for peace, live and teach nonviolence and find practical ways to come together as a community to end the violence.  For example, you might want to join us for a quarterly clean up day in Cabretti's memory.  Four times a year, the Cabretti Foundation organizes a clean up of the stretch of road on 22nd Ave South between 34th Street and 49th Street.  You can also find additional ways to get involved with the Cabretti Foundation at their web site or by contacting Lisa Wheeler Brown through the same web site.  You can also listen to her radio program tomorrow, Friday, at 2:00 PM on WRXB AM 1590.

"Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted."  Jesus, The Sermon on the Mount

Walking the Walk

I want to invite you to consider walking with me on a Peace Pilgrimage on March 27-29, Friday night to Sunday afternoon, called Walking the Walk, Peace and Justice, 2009.  Those of us who are organizing the event describe it this way:  The concept of a pilgrimage is rooted in both scripture and ancient Christian tradition.  Christian pilgrimages mark both the outward journey toward a physical place and an inward spiritual journey into one's own heart.  Through meaningful moments of meditation, contemplative prayer, fellowship, communal worship and silent reflection, the pilgrim journeys inwardly reflecting deeply upon what it means to live a life of love, justice and peace in our world today.  If you would like more information about Walking the Walk, you can find my email address on the About page of this blog.  Or, just comment below, by clicking "comments" and asking your questions there.

Farmworker Ministry

Yesterday, my friends at Beth-El out did themselves.  I arrived in Wimauma on Monday morning to the following sign on Highway 301.  Please see the following two pictures. ;-)

On December 29, I wrote about Beth-El Farmworker Ministry. (See archives for December, 2008.) Three things impress me about Beth El.  First, Beth-El Farmworker Ministry in Wimauma has a clear mission. Second, we experienced the incredible hospitality of the people of God there.  Finally, my family and I loved the participatory and joyful worship of God on Sunday mornings in Wimauma with Rev. Ramiro Ros and the other folks at Beth-El.

Some of you know that I am the pastor of Transfiguration Faith Community, a newly forming congregation in St. Petersburg.  We have begun a new partnership with the leaders and friends of Beth-El in Wimauma and in Immokolee.  We have two upcoming events that we invite you to attend.  First, on Friday, February 13, I will be traveling to Immokolee with the staff of Beth-El who work in Wimauma.  We will be touring the new facilities of Beth-El in Immokolee and also meeting with leaders from the Coalition of Immokolee Workers in order to become more familiar with the work there. If there are folks from St. Petersburg who would like to join me, we can arrange to travel together.  Also, on Palm Sunday, April 5th, leaders and friends of Transfiguration Faith Community will be worshiping in Immokolee with Rev. Miguel Estrada, pastor of Beth-El in Immokolee.  To sign up for either of these events, please email us at transfigurationstpete@gmail.com  

While I was visiting with Dave Moore, Executive Director of Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, he gave me a copy of the most recent newsletter of the Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida.  The purpose of this group is "educating and animating people of faith to partner with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers for farmworker justice and dignity."  Presently, Interfaith Action is working with Florida religious leaders to write a sign-on letter calling on Governor Crist to meet with Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to discuss ways to eradicate slavery in Florida's fields.  This includes encouraging Florida's growers to implement the agreements for human rights achieved with fast-food companies.  A copy of the letter is available at the Interfaith Action web page. Please click here for the Letter to Governor Crist.  Please pray for farmworkers and their families, the ministry of Beth-El, CIW and Interfaith Action.  And, please write a letter to the Governor today!  Also, please mark your calendar for Palm Sunday, April 5th, in order to worship with Transfiguration in Immokolee.

In Memory of Cabretti Wheeler

I never had the privilege of meeting Cabretti Wheeler.  He was murdered on September 6, 2008.  In a newsletter of the Cabretti Wheeler-Fortner Foundation, his mother writes about him this way:  "Cabretti was always a very hard worker.  At the age of sixteen he wanted to work.  My very good friend, Cynthia Bryant, who was the store manager of Albertsons, gave him a chance.  After two years of working at Albertsons, he decided on a career change.  He started working as a service representative at Pinch-A-Penny Pool and Spa.  He was promoted to a pool technician in 2006, where he was still employed until his death... He was 21 years old and the proud father of a seventeen month old son, Cabretti, Jr. and anxiously awaiting the birth of his daughter, Cabria Jylia, who was born December 19th.  Not only was Cabretti a victim, but whoever senselessly murdered him made his children statistics; they will have to grow up without a father.  Cabretti's memory will forever live on because the smile that he was born with was passed on to Cabretti, Jr. and Cabria is sure to have one too!" 

I am moved by Lisa Wheeler-Brown's story.  She is determined to prevent other mothers from loosing children and to prevent other children from being lost.  She has established the The Cabretti Wheeler-Fortner Foundation in order to help stop the violence.  According to the Cabretti News, there have been 80 unsolved homicides in St. Petersburg from 1991 to 2007.  There are pictures of some of the deceased at the City of St. Petersburg unsolved homicides web page.  My first look at the pictures surprised me, because I recognized one of the victims as a man who used to come to St. Vincent DePaul for meals served by our church group.  The statistics, of course, are real people.

That is what Lisa Wheeler-Brown, Cabretti's mother, is trying to tell us.  She reminds us that these are not simply homicide statistics but real people who have been taken from the ones who love them.  She travels around our city speaking to teens that are already first time felons, ranging from ages 12-18 years.  She says, "I let them know that all of their choices have consequences."

"In honor of Cabretti," according to the newsletter, "the foundation has adopted 1.25 miles of road to keep clean.  The road that the foundation will keep clean is from 22nd Ave South and 34th Street South to 22nd Avenue South and 49th Street South.  The foundation held its first clean up with fifteen volunteers, November 29, 2008.  The adopt a mile program will install signs displaying the Cabretti Wheeler-Fortner Foundation's name by February 2009.  Keep Pinellas Beautiful requires that the foundation completes a clean up once every quarter.  The next clean up is scheduled for February 21, 2009."

I invite you to join me on Saturday, February 21, as we do our small part in trying to stop the violence.  Participating in this clean up day, February 21, would be a step forward, honoring the memory of this young man, Cabretti, and calling attention to the ongoing violence in our city.  Let us help the foundation in preventing other mothers from losing their children and other children from being lost.