The Power Of Coffee, Empathy, & Symbols
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Last weekend things got pretty tense in the situation in Caledonia (20 minutes from Hamilton) between Native people and non-Native people and the OPP. In fact, it has been an immensely tense situation there for some time now. But on Victoria Day (Monday) things got way out of hand and the situation nearly had a total melt-down.
But then something amazing happened just 24 hours later. On Tuesday, according to The Globe & Mail yesterday:
Read the whole article here.
Read more about the over-all situation in Caledonia here and here.
Here's some lessons I am learning through this situation and the wise counsel of a friend:
1) The value of meeting people over coffee cannot be overestimated. I remember early on after we planted our church community in 2002, I came out of a worship gathering and saw something that has changed me forever. I saw three people sitting together. There was a guy who had recently taken a significant paycut to leave his previous professional job to become more involved in leading in our community. There was an older gentleman who was checking out the church, and then there was a homeless punk rocker kid who had been trying to get off the streets. Together they sat there, sipping coffee, laughing, and sharing stories. There was something to that image. We need to spend some more time in our busyness to sit, drink, and eat together, and share our stories with one another, and share the greatest story of God's amazing love -- both in word and in deed.
2) Regular people empathizing with each other's situation instead of trying to "negotiate" the best deal they can for themselves is a key component to transforming communities. It's hard in the "me" centered culture in which we inhabit to think about anything but ourselves, but we must begin to put the needs of others before our own. We must become less concerned about self and more concerned about community. This is not the task of professionals, pastors, politicians, leaders, the chosen few... it is for all of us. Regular people like you and me have the ability to transform people/situations/communities if only we would act in a less self-absorbed way and put ourselves in the shoes of others.
3) The act of giving and receiving simple but powerful symbols raises us together to a new plane. This seems to be a bit of a lost art form, but what a difference it makes. A few months ago when a few us were in the midst of taking late night, urban, prayer walks in our neighbourhood, someone who was newer to our community became vulnerable and gave each of us a feather before we headed out into the night. She explained the significance this had to her, and it became significant for all of us. It changed the whole night. We were no longer just walking around our neighbourhood. We were raised to a new plane and involved in something very significant.
I want to learn these lessons. I am grateful for those who surround me (some I know and am in relationship with, and some I don't) who inspire me to be a better man... to be a better follower of Jesus.
But then something amazing happened just 24 hours later. On Tuesday, according to The Globe & Mail yesterday:
At around 10 o'clock yesterday morning, the remarkable happened. Two non-native mothers, carrying Tim Hortons coffee, met two clan mothers in the middle. They had a brief chat.
Frustrated as they were by the power outage, which closed schools in the area, Tammy Slater and Diane McCormac came back hopeful. They said their counterparts were equally appalled by the situation.
Shortly after, the backhoe began tearing down the barrier. A native leader crossed to offer a branch as a peace gesture. It was accepted. Hydro crews were on the highway by mid-afternoon. A spokesperson for the utility said power would be restored to some homes this evening and expected full service to return by later today.
"Women should be running the country, not men," Ms. Slater said.
Read the whole article here.
Read more about the over-all situation in Caledonia here and here.
Here's some lessons I am learning through this situation and the wise counsel of a friend:
1) The value of meeting people over coffee cannot be overestimated. I remember early on after we planted our church community in 2002, I came out of a worship gathering and saw something that has changed me forever. I saw three people sitting together. There was a guy who had recently taken a significant paycut to leave his previous professional job to become more involved in leading in our community. There was an older gentleman who was checking out the church, and then there was a homeless punk rocker kid who had been trying to get off the streets. Together they sat there, sipping coffee, laughing, and sharing stories. There was something to that image. We need to spend some more time in our busyness to sit, drink, and eat together, and share our stories with one another, and share the greatest story of God's amazing love -- both in word and in deed.
2) Regular people empathizing with each other's situation instead of trying to "negotiate" the best deal they can for themselves is a key component to transforming communities. It's hard in the "me" centered culture in which we inhabit to think about anything but ourselves, but we must begin to put the needs of others before our own. We must become less concerned about self and more concerned about community. This is not the task of professionals, pastors, politicians, leaders, the chosen few... it is for all of us. Regular people like you and me have the ability to transform people/situations/communities if only we would act in a less self-absorbed way and put ourselves in the shoes of others.
3) The act of giving and receiving simple but powerful symbols raises us together to a new plane. This seems to be a bit of a lost art form, but what a difference it makes. A few months ago when a few us were in the midst of taking late night, urban, prayer walks in our neighbourhood, someone who was newer to our community became vulnerable and gave each of us a feather before we headed out into the night. She explained the significance this had to her, and it became significant for all of us. It changed the whole night. We were no longer just walking around our neighbourhood. We were raised to a new plane and involved in something very significant.
I want to learn these lessons. I am grateful for those who surround me (some I know and am in relationship with, and some I don't) who inspire me to be a better man... to be a better follower of Jesus.
Labels: justice, leadership, writing
1:41 PM
Great post Pernell. I miss having coffee with you & Marky Mark.