Social Justice and Community Service
Crossroads is committed to the mission of bringing about the Reign of God here among God's beloved people on earth. At the heart of the mission is working for social justice. Check here often as we add service and social justice ministry opportunities.
Service Projects -- Service projects are a great way to live out your faith in a concrete manner, and a great way to get to know some other students! Every Quarter we help coordinate a variety of opportunities to serve our community and world. Check here often to keep up to date on what is planned!
Earth Day Service Project
Saturday May 1, 9-1 Magnuson Park
Make plans to help out at Magnuson Park as part of the citywide observance of Earth Day! We'll meet at Magnuson Park (down by Sand Point) at 9:00. More details coming soon on a couple different groups that are taking the bus and bicycling there.
Weekly Offering at Worship -- Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m .
For Spring Quarter 2010 we collected funds for the ELCA (Lutheran) World Hunger Program, specifically for ducks in the global barnyard. Each "duck" costs $20 (other programs have ducks at $35, so clearly we'll get more duck for the buck!) Ducks can lay hundreds of large, protein-rich eggs each year. When families have extra eggs or ducklings, they can be shared with neighbors or sold at the market to provide an extra source of income. You raised...... (insert drumroll here...) $314.50! Wow - that's 15 3/4 ducks! Thank you for your generosity, you rock!
For Winter Quarter 2010 we addressed the tragedy of human trafficking by designating our offering of $225.95 to the Refugee Resettlement Ministry here in Seattle.
For Finals Flapjacks without Flapjacks at the end of Winter Quarter we collected $103 for Clean Water in Haiti! Again, thanks for your generosity, and again, you rock!
Offering recipients are student directed. Email your ideas for offering recipients to Pastor Scott
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SLAP - Hands off our TA's event, Monday April 19, 12:00 in the Quad
Budget cuts are interesting times. How do these cuts affect students? The student group SLAP invites you to come let your voice be heard. For more info, email uwslap@u.washington.edu
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Haiti Earthquake Relief
We keep Haiti in our prayers. In the aftermath of a natural disaster of the magnitude that Haiti suffered with a devastating earthquake, our faith prompts us to ask "how can we help?" and "what can we do?" It will take a while for the damage to be assessed, but we know that Haiti is poorly equipped to deal with such a disaster. Both Lutheran World Relief and Episcopal Relief and World Development have respected presence in Haiti. Find out more about the situation and how you can respond by visiting their websites:
Lutheran World Relief
Episcopal Relief and World Development
The foundation of justice is found in the very being of God. Justice is a chief attribute of God. God is always the sure defender of the poor, oppressed and the outcast.
Psalm 10:17-18 - "O Lord you will hear the desires of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from the earth may strike terror no more."
God is sovereign creator of the universe. The demand of God's justice are placed upon all of God's creation. Therefore as the children of God demands are made on us to live lives of justice and peace. Going to church and offering a tithe is not enough. We must live the Good News. The book of Micah makes this very clear.
Micah 6:6-8 - "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be please with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you God?"
Justice is more than doing good., it is righting wrong, loving our enemy, and loving one another no matter what. This is the radical subversive message of Jesus Christ. Jesus begins his public ministry in Galilee and Nazareth in the synagogues.
Luke 4:17-21 - "He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'"
God's love has set us free. God's love gives all we need to participate in the unfolding of God's Kingdom.
-The Rev. Mary Shehane (Episcopal Chaplain)
who are members of my family, you did it to me." - Matthew 25:40