Skip to main content

Photos from November 6 & 7: WCC GA

Here are a series of photographs. Most I took yesterday (the 6th) while wandering about the Madang space - the exhibits were fantastic. A lot of art, gathering spaces, even a children's space. I didn't take a photo because there were people sleeping on the kids' foam squares. The grown-ups need naps more than the kids these days.


My seminary classmate the Rev. Prof. Lee EunJoo! She is so awesome. She iss teaching in the Korean Ecumenical Theological Institute during the assembly.

About water.


The women's space.


A lot of conversation about nuclear energy, nuclear power, and nuclear weapons at this assembly.

A photo art exhibit.

Art on the assembly's theme: God of Life, Lead Us to Justice & Peace.

The space for the ACT Alliance.

The youth space was so cool-looking, but at 35 with a mortgage and salt/pepper hair, I figured I shouldn't invade the space.

A powerful photo exhibit focusing on stateless peoples in Asia.

Again, lots of conversation about nuclear energy.


I'm grateful to the WCC for teaching me about the caste system and its impact on people way back in 1999. A very active constituency is here.


An important exhibit on arms trafficking in and throw Mexico. Most guns in Mexico come from the U.S.
Yeah, think about it...


A labyrinth. It didn't seem prayerfully placed at first, in the middle of the madang, but it does make sense to pray in and through and around the hustle and bustle.

Yes, that's Dr. Mercy Amba Oduyoye in the women's area.

A conversation of Very Important Women about women's ordination and leadership. A Methodist bishop, an outgoing president of the WCC, and PCK professor and pastor the Rev. Prof. Bae HyunJu, who is just amazing.


My friend-for-life, Adele Halliday, on staff with the United Church of Canada.

Really cool exhibit for book nerds.

A cultural presentation. These were almost non-stop during the assembly, so those of us serving as delegates on committees missed most of them.

A great program. So happy they had a whole area to raise awareness.

Rev. Chun Min-Heui, the ecumenical officer of the PROK. She helped host me when I was
visiting Korea with friends in 2005.

Gradye found this americano in a can, with fantastic illustrations.

I got this gum because I thought it was spearmint. Nope, apple. I need to learn Korean.

Dinner. 

Evie's dinner.

From the peace plenary on the 7th. We heard from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee!

Not sure what we're supposed to do with these cool ribbons distributed during the peace plenary.

Had second lunch with Meredith! We had bingsoo. Yum.

Maybe 80% of the speakers on the floor of the assembly during business sessions are men.
And after awhile, it wears on me. This was my feeling I shared with my delegation.

The PC(USA) delegation!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Racial Justice Resources, Chapter 4: History & Poetry

You may read previous chapters here. Chapter 1: Disclaimers, Baby Steps, Intersectionality, and Critical Race Theory Chapter 2: For Church Study, Feminist Work, & Theology Chapter 3: News Sources & Organizations, Whiteness & White Supremacy I love reading history. I love that history is not only definitive story, but also threads of narrative told from a variety of perspectives. Here's a brief selected bibliography. History A People’s History of the United States , by Howard Zinn A Larger Memory: A History of Our Diversity , With Voices, by Ronald Takaki Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong , by James W. Loewen Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong , by James W. Loewen An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (Revisioning American History) , by Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History 1513-2008 , by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Martin & Malcolm &...

A Sermon on the Occasion of the Ordination of the Rev. Sarah Perkins

I had the honor of preaching at the ordination of my friend and colleague Sarah today. We were an all-women ordination commission. And it was lovely. Below is the sermon. (Note that since Sarah's mother is a New Testament professor, I opted not to preach on a NT passage - I couldn't bear to mess that one up. LOL.) Isaiah43:16-21 There is a trap waiting out there for ministers in the United States. Do you not perceive it? The trap that ministers fall into is confusing the Good News with Nice News. Sarah and I were at a conference a few years ago where the Rev. Jose Morales preached on this distinction, and it has stayed with me. I’m not all that opposed to nice. When I think of nice, I think of a vacation place I once stayed at with a garden wall covered with tiny pots of succulents and a small bamboo garden. I think of the time I was helpful to a flight attendant trying to handle bags in the overhead compartment on a flight packed full of ...

Sex Happens. Even Among Christians.

It’s hard to figure out how to write a blog post on sexuality, when you work for the church. Here goes. Most humans are sexual beings. And in my experience, the church is mostly terrible at being honest about sex and sexuality. I did an informal social media poll of Christians, asking what messages they received from church growing up. Here are a few examples: “Nothing” “<crickets chirping>” “I was going to hell” (from a gay man) “Not to do it until you’re married” “That it was shameful… all of it” “Sex is bad – save it for the one you love”   “If I had relied on church teachings, instead of the streets/cars/books, I still wouldn’t understand where my children came from” “DIRTY BAD!” “Nothing, except sex waited until marriage!” “Evangelical youth group: No sex, no Disco (b/c it’s all about sex), sex is the DARK side, and: don’t talk abt it” Here’s a great characterization of this stream of responses. Plenty of respondents had other expe...