11/14/07
Dear Friends,
There is a cat named Vivan that lives at my building. At first I was afraid of her because she had no collar and a high possibility of carrying nasty cat diseases. Plus, she was overly friendly. But then the nice man who lives below us explained that Vivian is their cat and she likes to use our fire escape to come and go from the kitchen window that is habitually cracked open for her. I wave and say hey to Viv (yes, I gave her a nickname) almost every morning on my way out the door.
I make my way down a treacherous set of stairs, get in my car and drive down Dodge Street. I arrive at 9:00 am at the Word Made Flesh office. I go up the second set of stairs to my desk in the Advocacy Annex. I wake up my computer and get started with the inevitable pile of correspondence that has accumulated in my inbox between 5:00 pm yesterday and 9:00 am today. My desk is nestled in a corner of the Advocacy Department where I partner with Mandy Mowers, Jara Sturdivant and Daphne Eck to compose the A-team.
The vision of our department is to advocate for the global Word Made Flesh community. We hope to amplify the voices our staff and friends through three avenues: awareness, worship, and action. Our advocacy works like this. As I become aware of systems of injustice, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the revolutionary way Jesus turned notions of power upside down so that the last would be first I am driven to my knees in worship of our God. Confronted by suffering, I claim God's promise to be close to the poor and brokenhearted. As I seek deeper intimacy with God through worship, I am moved to action. Action pushes me into fuller awareness, awareness leads me to worship and worship motivates me to action. I hope to press down deep into this spiral and I invite you to join me as I meet God among the poor. Practically, the Servant Team Program, which I coordinate, offers an opportunity for people to act, by going for four months. In turn, awareness is spread among the participants' friends and family. Beggars Society, the monthly advocacy meeting in Omaha that I coordinate, supports opportunities for awareness, worship and action with friends of Word Made Flesh in the city.
As the Advent season approaches I look forward to celebrating the incarnation of Jesus in new and fresh ways with my community here and my family in Des Moines. I am thankful for your love and support this year, God has provided for me through your continued support. I will be in Des Moines the entire week of Christmas, so if that's where you are, let me know if you would like to get together.
Peace and Goodwill on Earth,
Marcia Ghali