Allegiance to whom?

This post sounds scattered. I’ve just been processing through some thoughts from yesterday’s worship, on recent Blog debates over at Preacher Mike’s, and future plans our Churches Together group is praying about for our village community. They all just seemed to converge.

Churches Together met yesterday afternoon at the Methodist Chapel. We began praying for and planning a spiritual initiative for our village community to implement in the coming year, which begins in just three months on New Year’s Eve. The year-long outreach is entitled Hope 2008.

And yesterday morning was my turn on the church rota to read the scriptures. On this particular Sunday, Proper 20, Year C, our Epistle reading was from 1 Timothy 2.1-7, and our Gospel reading was from Luke 16.1-13.

1 Timothy 2.1-7 – Instructions on Worship: or how to genuinely include all the corrupt world leaders and politicians in authority into our prayers – ‘requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving’. These are to be made for all, ‘…so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.’

Not a lot to be thankful for with our current lot of world leaders. Especially when the decisions they continue to make lead to the deaths of so many innocents, and all they are worried about is how to wiggle out of legal loopholes and preserve their legacy (much like the shrewd manager in Jesus' parable).

Luke 16.1-13 – The Parable of the Shrewd Manager: or how to watch out for one’s own interests when one gets caught embezzling other people’s assets.

This was difficult for me to read, in light of how the business of all the sub-prime lenders in America has been affecting people’s lives here in the UK. But most Americans don’t read our newspapers or hear about what goes on over here – unlike the news we get, typical American TV and Radio broadcasts give more regional and national coverage, and very little world news. Still, they should take more responsibility: how one nation’s debt-ridden citizens can ruin the financial lives of those in the UK, for example, whose good earnings are used to cover Americans’ bad debts is just pure evil.

But as I prepared for my readings, God reminded me that Jesus has lessons for us that are not all wine and roses. Some, like those found in these two scriptures, are just plain hard to swallow at times.

After the reading of the Gospel our congregation stands to face the altar and, with our focus on the symbol of the Cross, in unison we all say the Creed of the Apostles. I love to face the Cross and say the Creed together with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Every Sunday, it seems the Holy Spirit illuminates one of its truths to me in a special message.

I have only learned the Creed as an adult. The religious denomination I grew up in preached that the Apostle’s Creed was in itself a sin. The church leaders who taught this could never tell me exactly what the Creed was. When I would ask them why they couldn’t tell me, they communicated the idea that it would be a spiritual stumbling block for them to even recite the words. Even though none of them had ever said it, they were certain that those who did intoned the words mindlessly and without conviction, thereby committing blasphemy. So the only words of the Creed I grew up hearing were two: ‘The Creed’. We did not have the Internet back then, or I would have been a most disobedient child and secretly Googled ‘The Creed’ in a search field.

As the church leaders were godly men, I believed and trusted them, and eventually stopped asking what The Creed was. Besides, they were much more pleased with me when I put my hand over my heart and recited The Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem in a school programme. Hey, I knew both by memory from the age of 5, reciting and singing both with gusto every weekday morning in front of the Stars and Stripes.

When my family returned to America after having lived in Afghanistan, for some reason I just could not find the spirit to get my hand over my heart, say the Pledge, or sing the National Anthem. Bombs bursting in air no longer appealed to me. And the Pledge of Allegiance sounded so empty when I realised there was no truth in America’s Constitutional Promises for all people to be treated equally, and learned that some of the Founding Fathers were not believers of God and Christ.

It’s been a good while since I have lived in a country where one sees a classroom or school hall full of small children stand in unison, hands over hearts, to face a great flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance from memory. Recently my husband and I watched, with friends, a TV show from the United States and in it, a classroom of children repeated the age-old tradition that had been drilled into me when I was their age. Our friends, needless to say, were transfixed.

‘What was that?’
‘Well, in the States all school-aged children begin each school day saying the Pledge, and singing ‘O Say Can You See?’.
‘You are joking!’
‘No, seriously. It’s our patriotic duty.’
‘Well, that looks and sounds like brain-washing to us! Certainly looks it. What happens when the child doesn’t want to do either of those things? That song is pretty militaristic and hard to sing.’
‘They can be disciplined by the teacher and taunted or bullied by their classmates before recess or at lunch in the cafeteria. BUT if they bring along a note from home saying that the practice is against their religious beliefs, they get excused. They remain seated at their desks while the other kids stand around them. They’re not in trouble then, but they still get made fun of by some kids.’
‘How absolutely awful! We thought America was a lot different. We love our country, too, and our guys are dying in Afghanistan, but the only time we wave our flag is when England is in the World Cup!’

I must say, I see their point. For a country that is all about separation of Church and State, as America is, it seems that the Church cannot separate the politics of the State from its religious beliefs and teachings. Where does one begin and the other end? One’s unalienable rights trump loving one’s neighbour.

The passage from Luke which I read from yesterday ends with Jesus telling us that no servant can serve two masters. It's either a choice between God and the treasures of his kingdom, or the world and its earthly riches. In our world, where more sceptics are calling believers in Christ to stand up for their faith, I wonder which captures the truth and hopes of my passions better:

The Pledge of Allegiance I learned as a child OR The Apostles' Creed?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
One Nation under God, indivisible,
with Liberty and Justice for all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
He ascended into heaven,
He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
And he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy catholic Church,
The communion of the saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Amen.

RITMO and the BEATITUDES

I do what I can to try and keep up with what is going on back home in America. Mainly because most of my friends and family back in the US expect or assume that I would know what is happening on the national level. To be honest, this sometimes annoys me, as I know they will not take the time and energy it requires to read up on what is happening in the community and country where God has placed me. I do care always about what is happening in their world. But if I let it consume the hours in my day to watch or read only American news, I become less of the community here in the UK.

So, to that effect, I try to gauge the mood and progress of American affairs through reading newspapers with columnists and journalists I find thought-provoking and globally savvy (i.e., The Washington Post), as well as finding out what goes on locally in the hometown where my folks live and hold our history (i.e., The Abilene Reporter News, also dubbed by locals as The Abilene Distorter News). One source informs me of the death of national figures who have inspired me, like Molly Ivins. The other notifies me of the deaths of those precious souls who have shaped and touched my life in personal and spiritual ways, before my family knows to E-mail me with the news.

(Warning: My husband says I'm starting to get preachy here...)

To go beyond these two print sources, as mentioned above, would short-circuit any energy for living and becoming engaged in the lives of those in my current village community in the UK. But sometimes I read a story that blends elements of my life on both sides of the ocean. And from today’s Washington Post comes the article, ‘Border Policy’s Success Strains Resources’, brilliantly written by Spencer S. Hsu and Sylvia Moreno, one I will not be able to put down for a good while.

After reading this, I felt compelled to write the authors the following:

Thank you for finally bringing some light to this situation, with an American twist. It reminds me of the woes we went through here in the UK with the Sangatte refugee camp, its consequences, and ultimate closure. Hard to believe it’s been almost four years! Detention centres for illegal immigrant detainees pose many problems, and rarely are ideal solutions borne through this story of the human saga. Judgment, ignorance, and naiveté are the attitudes which first must seemingly be conquered before positive progress and humane justice can get on with the task of helping illegal immigrants or citizens in the countries they run to rebuild lives or society. The comments to your article read so far attest to this. Many of those commenting do not seem to understand your article is addressing illegal immigrants who are non-Mexicans. The vitriol is glaring. I am saddened, but not totally disheartened. Yet.

By the rest of the world’s standards, the saga of all those involved in these refugee camps, for both the American citizen and the illegal immigrant, is just beginning.

This excerpt from the article got my immediate attention:

Ringed by barbed wire, a futuristic tent city rises from the Rio Grande Valley in the remote southern tip of Texas, the largest camp in a federal detention system rapidly gearing up to keep pace with Washington's increasing demand for stronger enforcement of immigration laws.

About 2,000 illegal immigrants, part of a record 26,500 held across the United States by federal authorities, will call the 10 giant tents home for weeks, months and perhaps years before they are removed from the United States and sent back to their home countries.

The $65 million tent city, built hastily last summer between a federal prison and a county jail, marks both the success and the limits of the government's new policy of holding captured non-Mexicans until they are sent home. Previously, most such detainees were released into the United States before hearings, and a majority simply disappeared.

The new policy has led to a dramatic decline in border crossings by non-Mexicans, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

I highlighted ‘non-Mexicans’ because many readers who have commented have misread the aim of this article’s authors to show what is being done for those illegal immigrants who come from other nations besides Mexico.

It is already being dubbed Ritmo. But it is hardly The Ritz for those unfortunate enough to be placed there. Indeed, it belongs to a group of centres that will take a while to get a 5-star rating:

An inspector general's report last month on a sampling of five U.S. immigration detention facilities found inhumane and unsafe conditions, including inadequate health care, the presence of vermin, limited access to clean underwear and undercooked poultry. Although ICE standards require that immigrants have access to phones and pro bono law offices, investigators found phones missing, not working or connected to non-working numbers.

Illegal immigration is a topic that has polarised not only the American citizens, but citizens in the UK. Feelings of resentment, hatred, and injustice stemming from those who are blessed to be born with ‘constitutional rights’ seem to supersede anything that resembles Christ-like compassion. Tolerance becomes a dirty word.

How would The Beatitudes of our Lord reside inside the walls of places like Ritmo?

Turn the coin and fly into another continent to ask that same question. My husband and I recently viewed ‘Blood Diamond’, and were reminded of the squalor of humanity in the visage of a refugee camp inhabited by one million desperate souls, mostly illegal refugees from neighbouring African nations. I could just about taste the red, gritty dust between my teeth and feel the flies bombard my eyes and nose.

In a nation – and yes, a state like Texas with its preponderance for Christian church culture unlike any other in the world -- which has sold its brand to the rest of the world as a caring Christian nation with solid family values, one does not expect to have to ask that question and demand answers. But apparently its time has come.

With roughly 1.6 million illegal immigrants in some stage of immigration proceedings, ICE holds more inmates a night than Clarion hotels have guests, operates nearly as many vehicles as Greyhound has buses and flies more people each day than do many small U.S. airlines.

Many American and British citizens want to know why deportation of an illegal immigrant cannot happen immediately. For most, the question is a knee-jerk reaction. They have not taken the time to talk to immigration experts or attorneys in their midst, or even invested energy in a relationship with a foreigner, legal or otherwise. It’s probably been years since they had to sit it out in a boring social studies, world history, or geography class. None of those courses would ever become relevant to their daily lives. It becomes much easier to judge the surface than to help solve the problems of those who become entangled beneath that deep, murky surface.

But for those of us who have become familiar with the processes, we first learn and then always become aware of the many complexities of the laws involved, national and international. Within these laws are many shades of grey. When I worked as the office manager for a British consultancy group seconded to a utilities company in Texas, they were required by their visa stipulations to return home every three months in order to hold onto their visa to stay in the US and retain their work permit.

Sounds simple enough, right? But after many of them had been working legally in America for their first five months, I learned through our company’s New York office that the director of US operations was flagrantly flaunting the rules. He was British, of Indian descent, and had previously been fired by one of the Big Five accounting firms for dodgy dealings. For months he refused to listen to us when we warned him he needed to abide by the advice of a legit immigration law firm in Manhattan. While he was secretly scamming the company, he also threatened to fire some of us Americans who were concerned about the legal ramifications. Unbeknownst to the diligent hard-working Brits whom I was looking after in Texas, they thought their visa status was solid.

It was a tense situation in our Texas and New York offices. By the time we exposed the truth and forced the director’s hand with the powers that be back in the UK, it was too late for one of the young consultants and his family to return to the US. In a sense, they were fortunate. But it was a sad thing for me to ring them up on their mobile phone, whilst they were fighting traffic in Central London, to tell them they could not come back due to an illegal and irresponsible oversight by the director (who is still scamming, but as a private contractor). Instead we had to make arrangements to ship all their belongings, including their baby’s furniture and equipment, back to the UK without them being present. As angry as they were, at least this good British family did not have to suffer the humiliation of being hand-cuffed and detained whilst wading through the process of deportation in a cold prison-like facility, with no relatives or close friends nearby.

Taylor, Texas near Round Rock and Austin, will soon become home for illegal immigrant families when a new centre welcomes them with 512 beds. Those in Texas who harbour objections to the illegal Mexicans in their midst might all breathe a sigh of relief to know those beds will only be slept in by illegals from other nations.

With all the Christian communities in Taylor, Round Rock and Austin, how many will be genuinely interested in finding out about these newest neighbours? The website for Taylor, invites those coming to the city ‘… to explore Taylor...A city with a true sense of community, and a clear vision for the future!’ Wow. How honest are they about this statement? According to today’s Washington Post article:

Legal advocates contend that some of the older facilities where immigrants are housed are in deplorable condition and that growing pains afflict even new facilities.

Under fire in Taylor, for example, ICE has expanded hours of daily schooling for children from one to seven hours to meet Texas guidelines.

If we are Believers we should take politics out of the equation when looking at the living conditions our democratic government imposes on people, many who do innocently get caught in the trap of our immigration laws. I am also speaking of those here in the UK. Those who bled through the Channel Tunnel and are still here after the closure of the Sangatte refugee camp in France, near Calais, are being sent to appalling old military facilities. So it is certainly not any better than those conditions found in Texas. Consider what is being observed at places like Ritmo:

Detainees are subject to penal system practices, such as group punishment for disciplinary infractions. The tents are windowless and the walls are blank, and no partitions or doors separate the five toilets, five sinks, five shower heads and eating areas. Lacking utensils on some days, detainees eat with their hands.

Because lights are on around the clock, a visitor finds many occupants buried in their blankets throughout the day. The stillness and torpor of the pod's communal room, where 50 to 60 people dwell, are noticeable.

According to Hsu and Moreno, Jodi Goodwin, an immigration lawyer from Harlingen:

‘… described a group of women who huddled in a recreation yard on a recent 40-degree day with a 25-mph wind. "They had no blanket, no sweat shirt, no jacket," she said. "Officers were wearing earmuffs, and detainees were outside for an hour with short-sleeved polyester uniforms and shower shoes and not necessarily socks."

The assistant director of ICE detention and removal operations, Gary Mead, seems at best naïve in his current assessment of the long-term solution:

"The short answer is, it is not sustainable," Mead said. "There comes a
point where we can't detain any more people. Hopefully, prior to getting there, the deterrence factor will kick in."

His short answer is correct. However, if he and the others in command of ICE were to take any lessons from Sangatte, Darfur, Ethiopia, etc., they will note that there has never been a successful deterrence factor.

But what would happen if just one church community close to Ritmo became involved and were to extend The Beatitudes of Christ inside just one of those Kevlar tents?