Marching for peace at the SOA

“¡Presente!” This was the simple word we sung before the gates of the School of the Americas (SOA), as the names of thousands of victims were proclaimed. At the fourteenth annual Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice last weekend, 20,000 people, including myself, gathered to promote peace around the world, especially in the war-torn countries of Latin America. The focus of our goal was to shut down the SOA at Fort Benning, Georgia, where many foreign military insurgents are trained. In particular, we remembered a certain massacre in 1989, when six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter were murdered in El Salvador. In honoring these martyrs, we renewed our call to social justice; these dead had not died in vain.

We wanted peace through peaceful means. But is peace a tangible possibility, or is it simply an ideal? Better yet, how do we attain peace and justice? In our world, conflict may be an inherent part of the human condition, and with countries like Iran and North Korea increasing their nuclear arsenals and aggressions, peace may seem like a distant goal.

But the teach-in I attended is a grass-roots effort, and it shows that we don’t have to travel to the other side of the world to fight for justice. We can work for peace by praying, by writing to our legislators, and by simply acknowledging that a different world exists outside of our American paradise.

Despite our common desire to close the SOA for the sake of peace, I encountered many people with whom I disagreed. I listened to an attorney speak about how the redistribution of wealth was the ultimate solution, and he praised men like Che Guavara for their bold, revolutionary efforts. I was shocked when he received a standing ovation; I certainly did not want to stand. I talked to a vendor who was selling copies of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, and he sincerely believed that communism was the best option for the United States. I read many pamphlets that urged people not to enlist in the Army, and I saw a sign proclaiming that 9/11 was Bush’s hoax. These encounters caused me to leave Georgia with mixed emotions.

I will protest the SOA, but that is as far as I can go. I cannot denounce the value of individual worth for the sake of absolute justice and equality. I cannot denounce the value of the American soldier; on the way home I saw a soldier at the airport, and at a time when certain peacemakers may feel ashamed, my heart swelled with pride.

But I also admit that there are some flaws in America’s ambitious foreign policy, and the injustice that has been created is indeed something that I oppose. I believe that innocent individuals should never be killed in order to advance the economic goals of imperial nations. If closing the SOA will spare lives, then I will participate in peaceful resistance.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, and I don’t believe that a perfect peace can ever be attained. But we can certainly try.

Some Heavy Lifting Helps the Terminally Ill

It's not often that a high school sports team sacrifices practice time to serve the community that they play in. Yet that is what the McQuaid Volleyball team did this past Tuesday for the benefit of the Advent House. It is an activity that I have been participating in for the last four years.

The Advent House has an annual garage sale at the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Memorial in Faiport. A lot of items are donated, from sofas to skiis. But these donations are kept in a shed a few miles away from the site of the sale, and so we volunteered to load the goods on trucks, transport them to the VFW, and then finally unload them at the site.

What is the purpose of our service? Where are the profits from the sale going? The mission statement on http://www.theadventhouse.org/about_us.htm describes it best: "This is a story about the gracious love of God and those called to share that same unconditional love with people who have special needs at a critical time in their lives. Advent House is a home for two residents diagnosed to have less than three months to live. It serves all needs of its residents by affirming their dignity as a child of God and by providing all environments to fully live the last precious days of life. The love and support the Advent House ministry offers also embraces the family and friends of its residents and continues into the grieving process..."

Those who are terminally ill need both emotional and financial support during their stay at the Advent House, and hopefully our service will help them afford the necessities required to spend the last few days on earth in peace.

A Genuine Transformation

Some young adults are living in the depths. Problems and addictions can cause them to feel like they have lost control of their lives. But I met someone yesterday who was living proof that through personal ambition, anyone can overcome the challenges that face them.

That someone was a fellow volunteer at the Open Door Mission. Together we served dinner to the some poor men and women downtown.

It all started during a conversation about school. He told me he got kicked out of high school when he was a sophomore; after noticing the large tattoo of a marijuana leaf on his forearm, I figured that he was quite the troublemaker and pot smoker as a teenager.

But I could tell that all of that changed. He had a certain humbled aura around him. During the opening prayer service, he listened intently to the preacher; even when the volunteers got up to start preparing the food, he kept on praying until the sermon was complete. He carried a small Bible by his side. He spoke to the homeless with genuine empathy and grace. He was volunteering to fulfill his court sentence, but signed up for additional hours because he felt his service gave him true spiritual strength.

Clearly, this 20 year-old man was experiencing a transformation. He is a different man now than he was six years ago.

Unless we are planning on getting kicked out of school and thrown in jail anytime soon, most of our problems are probably not as bad as his. Put his story in perspective. We can overcome anything with self-confidence and spiritual fortitude.

Fairport Challenger Baseball

About four years ago I started volunteering at Fairport Challenger Baseball. It is a program that helps mentally and physically disabled children play baseball. Ever since I started pushing kids around the bases in their wheelchairs and guiding their hands as they swing the bat, my view of people with disabilities, and of my role to help them, has changed dramatically.

The one concept I have understood most is that every child needs and wants a friend. This is where the volunteers come in. With over forty disabled children participating in the Challenger program, it is essential that many students and family members come each Saturday to help out. It is truly a blessing to have so many eager volunteers participate, especially students from McQuaid Jesuit and Fairport High School.

We had a lot of fun this year and many great moments that we will remember – like Payton’s love of batting and trains; like Matt’s exciting cheers and pats on the back; like Daijon’s purple ring and his love affair with Michaela; like Kurtis’ home-runs and his proud rounding of the bases; like the dedication of “Challenger Field” during the last game at Fairport Little League; like the Challenger World Series at Frontier Field. And so much more…

Here are some pictures that captured these memories. The smiles on the children’s faces can really attest to the fun that we all had during this remarkable experience.