| |
South Africa
Jerry points to an article about forced removal of families from his area.
The former companionship facilitator for Joining Hands, Cindy Easterday, asks, “Does your heart begin to burn with a sense of indignation and anger when you see an injustice occur? For me,” she answers, “it’s as if a force rises from deep within me and I visualize myself in a boxer’s stance, fists raised, ready to fight an invisible enemy. Then, finally, ‘But what are we to do, Lord?’
“Jerry is a man already considered poor by any standard. For generations he, his family, brothers, sisters, children, and other families had survived on their land, growing crops, raising livestock, living life. Their ancestors were buried there. Their hearts and souls were at peace there. In ways we urban folk can’t quite understand, the land is part of who they are — their history and future.
“In 2003, he and seventy-six other families left all that and more behind when Anglo Platinum mines threatened to bulldoze their homes and family gravesites if they didn’t. Anglo had decided the land was also valuable to them — for its platinum.
“With the help of the Joining Hands network in South Africa called SisonkeMasilweIndlala (Together We Are Fighting Hunger), Jerry and others continue to seek fair dispensation for the loss of their land and livelihoods. They want a decent life, a life with just enough to provide for the daily needs of their families. As members of Joining Hands stand with them, they are strengthened to continue their fight for truth and justice.”
PC(USA) People in Mission
Rev. Janet Guyer, Southern Africa AIDS consultant, Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa
Dr. Douglas Tilton, peace/justice, regional liaison, South Africa, World Mission
PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Elder Donald Cecil, GAC
Rev. David Chai, GAC
Perry Chang, GAC
Father, by your mercy and grace, grant us a heart for the defenseless and poor and a love for your justice. As we stand in humility together, may our voices blend with those of the voiceless until they resonate together as one clear song.In our Savior’s name. Amen.
Ps. 15, 147:1–11 Ps. 48, 4
Isa. 63:15–64:9
1 Tim. 3:1–16; Mark 11:27–12:12
|
|
