That Ol’ Team Spirit
July 08, 2007
Rev. Susan Gilbert Zencka
Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church
Texts: 2 Kings 5:1-14; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Two years ago, Joseph Quinnell went to Thailand to do a photo project as part of his studies as an art major at UWSP. He had heard about the impact of the sex trade on the people of Thailand. He had heard that 25% of Thailand’s economy is from the sex trade. He had read about girls sold into prostitution by their families, and being out of the business by their late 20’s, often having acquired AIDS along the way. He had heard about a school called DEPDC – the Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities – which was founded by a man named Sompop Jantraka, who hoped to rescue the children of prostitutes, educate them, and help them escape living as their mothers had. Joseph conceived of a photo essay contrasting the degradation of the sex trade with the hope provided at DEPDC, so he went to Thailand. When he arrived there he went to the school, and as he watched the children running and playing, the woman who was giving him the tour said, “These children don’t exist.”
“What?” asked Joseph. “These children don’t exist,” she replied, “They don’t have any documentation, they aren’t citizens.” And she went on to explain that without documentation, they had little hope for a better future. We take hope for granted – our children are told they can be anything they want to be. But these children had virtually no basis for hope.
Joseph completed his photo essay, but he was determined to see if he could do more. And so the Thailand Project was born. I heard about it from Doug Henderson shortly after I came here, and not quite a year ago, Joseph told me the story of his journey to Thailand, and of the Thailand Project. When Joseph came back from Thailand, he was determined to see if he could make a difference. He knew about the power of education in his own life, and he wanted to see if there was a way to make higher education available to the children he had met. He wanted to find a way to bring them to UWSP. Now any one of us here would have probably told him that it was impossible – how can children without citizenship come to the United States to study?
Joseph didn’t let all the obvious obstacles discourage him. He approached the UWSP administration with his dream, and they said that if he could work it out with the U.S. State Department, graduates of DEPDC could come here. Amazingly, he was indeed able to work it out with the State Department, so the project was on its way, but it still faced a significant challenge, and that was to raise the funds to bring the students here. Originally, it was hoped to bring 4 students at a time. The project will begin this fall with two students who will come here and initially enroll in the ESL (English as a Second Language) program, which provides international students with the language skills that are necessary in order to study at UWSP. Following successful completion of the ESL program, they will become regular UWSP students.
Last year, the Session of Frame Church voted to raise the support necessary for one student. We’ve had articles in the Post, talking about the project, Joseph came in October to introduce the project to us. Last winter, Doug Henderson and Susan Gingrasso went to Thailand to visit DEPDC, and upon their return have made presentations in Adult Forum, to the Presbyterian Women, and to the Youth Group, as well as speaking briefly in worship.
Two weeks ago, the Session asked this congregation to put our commitment on the line – to make contributions and pledges to the Thailand Project. We hoped that the congregation would share the commitment to this important work. This congregation does indeed know how to live out its commitment – last Sunday we received over $8000 in pledges, accompanied by $4750 in contributions. Added to what had previously been pledged, it brought our funds raised to over $14,000 – within reach of the $16,700 we need to meet our goal of funding one student. Gifts and pledges have continued to come in this week. We are going to succeed in funding one student this year!
Now, we are not the only folks supporting this work. Delta Dental has given $5,000; the Newman Center has given $2,500; and this spring, in a one-week fundraising push on campus, $8,000 was raised in cash donations from students on campus. But Frame’s contribution is going to make the program possible in the coming year, and is a huge step in establishing broad-based community support of this program.
By the way, I was reading the DEPDC website, and in addition to the school providing basic education to children, they also provide leadership training, and vocational training, including teaching sustainable agriculture so that young people are able to establish small organic farms. The Sustainable Agriculture program at DEPDC has been in effect for 8 years, and provides land at DEPDC for a group of families from Mae Sai, who farm the land as they learn organic techniques. The produce raised is purchased by the school, providing healthy food for the students, and income and practical training to those local families. Paul Huber and Ross Cohen, who shared their music with us this morning, are leaders in the Sustainable Agriculture in Communities Society (SACS) on campus here, and have been working hard all spring and summer on the campus garden which is in its second year a couple of blocks from here. It’s exciting to learn that DEPDC is making an immediate difference in its own local economy, in the same way that Ross and Paul are making a difference here in Stevens Point.
As I read the commentary on the lectionary readings this week, I was particularly struck by a comment by William Willamon, the Methodist Bishop who is the former Dean of the Chapel of Duke University. He writes, “Let’s first agree that God can do anything, anywhere, anytime God wants. Self-sufficient omnipotence is the very essence of deity? Right?
“Wrong. There is something about the Trinity that refuses to work alone. One of the medieval rabbis, in his commentary on the Exodus, stood amazed that Yahweh refused to work wonders without Israel. The Creator of the Universe needs help? Whatever God wants to do for the world, God chooses a ragtag family like Israel to do it. Though God does not need Israel or anybody else to work wonders, something in this God desires to work synergistically.
“So Jesus begins his ministry by calling the Twelve. Lest some think that he’s called a select group, an inner circle, not that Jesus calls a crowd,—no less than Seventy—and sends them out to do the very same work that he has been doing.”
This is the mission to which the 70 were called, and to which we are all called – to work with God on God’s continuing creation. And each of us is called to this work. No matter how limited our circumstances, we can make a difference. In the first story that was read today, Dan told the story of the Syrian king Naaman, who was healed of his leprosy by the prophet Elisha. But a key piece of this story is the young girl who told Naaman about the mighty prophet – she was a slave in the household of Naaman. She was a child. And yet she took the initiative to believe that her words could be helpful to the king, that she could make a difference.
This is the nature of the kingdom of God. Each of us makes a difference. There is an essential dignity to each living being in the kingdom of God – we are not disposable, we all matter. This is part of the reason we baptize babies – we baptize because Jesus told us to baptize, and we baptize children, when they are not yet capable of belief, because children were baptized by the early disciples. And we baptize babies because of our own humility – we realize that it is not our place to assess what God is doing in and through another human being. And it is not up to us to determine if someone is making an adequate response to God’s work in them. And we recognize that God’s work in us, and our response to that work, are synergistic, communal, and continuing. Our response and God’s initiative work together, one enabling the other. And our membership in the community also makes our response to the call of God possible as we work together. And God’s work and our response are continuing – we don’t just have a one-time response to God, but we continue to respond as we continue to be called, day in and day out. Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist said, “Sooner or later, I’m going to die, but I’m not going to retire.” None of us is too old or too young to be part of God’s work in the world!
Over the past year, there has been an awful lot of bad news in the world -- as the scientific community has come to a more solid consensus about global climate change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released its reports, the news has been more discouraging than we had known. It is clear that the future of the earth is indeed at risk, and that our choices, our actions, will make the difference. Margaret Mead also said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
God chooses to work as part of a team. Our response makes a difference to God’s work in the world. Frame is making a difference, and each of us is making Frame different. A young woman will come to the United States to study English this fall because of your gifts. The way we garden and the choices we make around food make the earth different. A child will grow to understand himself as part of the family of God because of the way we keep the promises we make to God and to him this morning. Let us give thanks to God, who calls us to share in God’s ongoing creation. Let us give thanks that we are called together. Amen.
Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church
Texts: 2 Kings 5:1-14; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Two years ago, Joseph Quinnell went to Thailand to do a photo project as part of his studies as an art major at UWSP. He had heard about the impact of the sex trade on the people of Thailand. He had heard that 25% of Thailand’s economy is from the sex trade. He had read about girls sold into prostitution by their families, and being out of the business by their late 20’s, often having acquired AIDS along the way. He had heard about a school called DEPDC – the Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities – which was founded by a man named Sompop Jantraka, who hoped to rescue the children of prostitutes, educate them, and help them escape living as their mothers had. Joseph conceived of a photo essay contrasting the degradation of the sex trade with the hope provided at DEPDC, so he went to Thailand. When he arrived there he went to the school, and as he watched the children running and playing, the woman who was giving him the tour said, “These children don’t exist.”
“What?” asked Joseph. “These children don’t exist,” she replied, “They don’t have any documentation, they aren’t citizens.” And she went on to explain that without documentation, they had little hope for a better future. We take hope for granted – our children are told they can be anything they want to be. But these children had virtually no basis for hope.
Joseph completed his photo essay, but he was determined to see if he could do more. And so the Thailand Project was born. I heard about it from Doug Henderson shortly after I came here, and not quite a year ago, Joseph told me the story of his journey to Thailand, and of the Thailand Project. When Joseph came back from Thailand, he was determined to see if he could make a difference. He knew about the power of education in his own life, and he wanted to see if there was a way to make higher education available to the children he had met. He wanted to find a way to bring them to UWSP. Now any one of us here would have probably told him that it was impossible – how can children without citizenship come to the United States to study?
Joseph didn’t let all the obvious obstacles discourage him. He approached the UWSP administration with his dream, and they said that if he could work it out with the U.S. State Department, graduates of DEPDC could come here. Amazingly, he was indeed able to work it out with the State Department, so the project was on its way, but it still faced a significant challenge, and that was to raise the funds to bring the students here. Originally, it was hoped to bring 4 students at a time. The project will begin this fall with two students who will come here and initially enroll in the ESL (English as a Second Language) program, which provides international students with the language skills that are necessary in order to study at UWSP. Following successful completion of the ESL program, they will become regular UWSP students.
Last year, the Session of Frame Church voted to raise the support necessary for one student. We’ve had articles in the Post, talking about the project, Joseph came in October to introduce the project to us. Last winter, Doug Henderson and Susan Gingrasso went to Thailand to visit DEPDC, and upon their return have made presentations in Adult Forum, to the Presbyterian Women, and to the Youth Group, as well as speaking briefly in worship.
Two weeks ago, the Session asked this congregation to put our commitment on the line – to make contributions and pledges to the Thailand Project. We hoped that the congregation would share the commitment to this important work. This congregation does indeed know how to live out its commitment – last Sunday we received over $8000 in pledges, accompanied by $4750 in contributions. Added to what had previously been pledged, it brought our funds raised to over $14,000 – within reach of the $16,700 we need to meet our goal of funding one student. Gifts and pledges have continued to come in this week. We are going to succeed in funding one student this year!
Now, we are not the only folks supporting this work. Delta Dental has given $5,000; the Newman Center has given $2,500; and this spring, in a one-week fundraising push on campus, $8,000 was raised in cash donations from students on campus. But Frame’s contribution is going to make the program possible in the coming year, and is a huge step in establishing broad-based community support of this program.
By the way, I was reading the DEPDC website, and in addition to the school providing basic education to children, they also provide leadership training, and vocational training, including teaching sustainable agriculture so that young people are able to establish small organic farms. The Sustainable Agriculture program at DEPDC has been in effect for 8 years, and provides land at DEPDC for a group of families from Mae Sai, who farm the land as they learn organic techniques. The produce raised is purchased by the school, providing healthy food for the students, and income and practical training to those local families. Paul Huber and Ross Cohen, who shared their music with us this morning, are leaders in the Sustainable Agriculture in Communities Society (SACS) on campus here, and have been working hard all spring and summer on the campus garden which is in its second year a couple of blocks from here. It’s exciting to learn that DEPDC is making an immediate difference in its own local economy, in the same way that Ross and Paul are making a difference here in Stevens Point.
As I read the commentary on the lectionary readings this week, I was particularly struck by a comment by William Willamon, the Methodist Bishop who is the former Dean of the Chapel of Duke University. He writes, “Let’s first agree that God can do anything, anywhere, anytime God wants. Self-sufficient omnipotence is the very essence of deity? Right?
“Wrong. There is something about the Trinity that refuses to work alone. One of the medieval rabbis, in his commentary on the Exodus, stood amazed that Yahweh refused to work wonders without Israel. The Creator of the Universe needs help? Whatever God wants to do for the world, God chooses a ragtag family like Israel to do it. Though God does not need Israel or anybody else to work wonders, something in this God desires to work synergistically.
“So Jesus begins his ministry by calling the Twelve. Lest some think that he’s called a select group, an inner circle, not that Jesus calls a crowd,—no less than Seventy—and sends them out to do the very same work that he has been doing.”
This is the mission to which the 70 were called, and to which we are all called – to work with God on God’s continuing creation. And each of us is called to this work. No matter how limited our circumstances, we can make a difference. In the first story that was read today, Dan told the story of the Syrian king Naaman, who was healed of his leprosy by the prophet Elisha. But a key piece of this story is the young girl who told Naaman about the mighty prophet – she was a slave in the household of Naaman. She was a child. And yet she took the initiative to believe that her words could be helpful to the king, that she could make a difference.
This is the nature of the kingdom of God. Each of us makes a difference. There is an essential dignity to each living being in the kingdom of God – we are not disposable, we all matter. This is part of the reason we baptize babies – we baptize because Jesus told us to baptize, and we baptize children, when they are not yet capable of belief, because children were baptized by the early disciples. And we baptize babies because of our own humility – we realize that it is not our place to assess what God is doing in and through another human being. And it is not up to us to determine if someone is making an adequate response to God’s work in them. And we recognize that God’s work in us, and our response to that work, are synergistic, communal, and continuing. Our response and God’s initiative work together, one enabling the other. And our membership in the community also makes our response to the call of God possible as we work together. And God’s work and our response are continuing – we don’t just have a one-time response to God, but we continue to respond as we continue to be called, day in and day out. Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist said, “Sooner or later, I’m going to die, but I’m not going to retire.” None of us is too old or too young to be part of God’s work in the world!
Over the past year, there has been an awful lot of bad news in the world -- as the scientific community has come to a more solid consensus about global climate change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released its reports, the news has been more discouraging than we had known. It is clear that the future of the earth is indeed at risk, and that our choices, our actions, will make the difference. Margaret Mead also said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
God chooses to work as part of a team. Our response makes a difference to God’s work in the world. Frame is making a difference, and each of us is making Frame different. A young woman will come to the United States to study English this fall because of your gifts. The way we garden and the choices we make around food make the earth different. A child will grow to understand himself as part of the family of God because of the way we keep the promises we make to God and to him this morning. Let us give thanks to God, who calls us to share in God’s ongoing creation. Let us give thanks that we are called together. Amen.