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While one of the tracks of this conference is on ‘spirituality and celebration,’ this conference is not, per se, a religious conference. However, each track I attended today was filled with ideas of faith and the sacred – even the sports and celebration track.
There it was mentioned that the idea of sports and fate is about competition and economics and the will to triumph whereas the idea of sports and faith (in each other, the integrity of the game, God, etc.) is about community involvement, social covenant and hope.
It begins with the very youngest, then spreads to their parents, then up to the university level and from there to entire nations as a spirit of deep cooperation, mutual respect and dignity for all begins to take hold.
Regardless of the track, this conference is filled with people who are doers, not just passive observers. It’s a conference not so much filled with ideas of ‘what’ to do, but of stories of ‘what’s being done.’
The medical track touched us deeply as people shared stories of great despair and yet great victory birthed from within its midst. We learned of widows adopting the orphaned children of the very people who had made them widows to begin with – adopting the children of those who had killed their husbands and brothers, friends and neighbors.
We were brought into the reality of a difficult world as we were told of the 30,000 children and youth who have been killed in Rio de Janeiro in just the past five years – of the 1,000 people who die yearly from stray bullets alone.
We learned of the estimated 14,000 children between the ages of 8-18 who have been heavily armed and employed in the services of the drug trade in South America. And most of all, we heard the stories of the people who risk their lives daily just to reach these kids and deliver them from a life of hopelessness and despair.
We also were blessed to hear from several artists and the ways they are using their talents to reintroduce beauty into cultures now filled with an ugliness born of the dark deeds of lost souls.
Finally we were blessed to hear numerous simple tales of communities of disparate faiths reaching out to one another in a spirit of love, acceptance and embrace.
It is a conference for those who have lost hope in the human race and the possibility that perhaps someday the world might actually awaken from its insanity. The cure is here for these are the messengers sent by God to reach such a world. They aren’t preachers filled with the eloquence of oratory skills – they are, instead, living epistles with a message written upon their heart – and that message is nothing less than Love.
I wish all of you could be with me. What you would find in the experience of every encounter, no matter the religion and no matter the race, is the deep beauty and profound feeling of having just been given an authentic glimpse into the very face of God.
7 comments to “Day Two: Faith in Action”
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I can’t help but think what a shame this is not being broadcast on TV (or even Utube) worldwide for all to experience.
Thanks for sharing a little with us, Tim.
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Good report! I agree with Bob. Tim, have your seen many journalists (all media) covering the different aspects of the conference? I am sure that it is humbling to be in the presence of those “living epistles” that you write about. Thanks for the updates. Have you spoken, yet? If not, when?
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Why are we not hearing of this in the media…? Why do we hear nothing but the *bad* news reports?!? Why are messages of hope not given the time of day…?
Who among us knows of people who can share this far and wide?!?
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What to do vs. what’s being done…quite an atomosphere I’m used to. Implementation is always exciting. Wish we were there with you too!
Just from a personal perspective, I find myself saying to a wife or family member…yeah, he has chest pain and x should be done…we’ll get to it, or yes! He has chest pain, we’ve done the EKG, started an IV, and Air Evac is on the way! Which would anyone rather have?
Blessings,
Alicia
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Wondering … is there a link to a website that I could share with the local media … and NPR…? I feel like lighting some fires… must know where to send ‘em!
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I tried posting 2 web sites. They didn’t seem to go thru. Maybe Tim has a filter on web addresses.
I googled “global reconciliation ammon jordan dec 2009″ and got some hits. Good luck.
Awesome and amazing….the Presence!