This

short meditation was offered at the 2012 Ecumenical World Day of Prayer service held at St. Barnabas.

The Rev. Fran Gardner-Smith Meditation, World Day of Prayer Service St. Barnabas Episcopal Church March 2, 2012

The theme for our World Day of Prayer service this year is Let Justice Prevail. This theme was chosen for us by the women of Malaysia. Justice is a word that is easily misunderstood. We use it often, but we may or may not know what it means in a biblical context. In the biblical context, justice is not about something legal like justice in a court. Justice and righteousness are often used interchangeably in scripture. They come from the same root word and are based in the same concept, namely, the concept of covenant. God created humans to live in covenant relationships. We are to love God, love our neighbor and love Gods creation. The prophet Isaiah links justice and righteousness to peace (shalom) in a vision of a heavenly banquet where all are welcomed and all are fed. So justice in scripture is intervening in relationships with goodness and loving consideration. In the time of the prophets like Habakkuk, whom we heard from today, righteousness in relationships came to be characterized by helping those in need. It is in this spirit of the interconnectedness of shalom, righteousness and justice that the women of Malaysia invite us to work with them, with God, and with the people nearest to us, to create a world in which each gender, race, culture, religion, and state is honored, nurtured, and empowered. In their words, it takes courage, compassion, and active engagement for justice to prevail. Throughout this service, we have heard about particular women in Malaysia who have spoken out in their context, crying for justice to prevail. We heard the story of Irene Fernandez, who spoke out for freedom for migrant workers. We heard the cries of women speaking out for freedom to practice their religion in safety. Who do we hear crying for justice here in the North Country? Last summer, I was part of a gathering that took place in our Undercroft. Social service providers from around Coos County met with members of the state legislature who represent Coos County. Those workers spoke eloquently and passionately on behalf of their clients about the struggles people are facing here and now. A young woman from Tri-County CAP was literally crying out, describing her helplessness and anguish at her inability to find shelter for a family in Lancaster reduced to living in their car after the father was injured at his job. A woman who works at AV Home Care described her clients struggling to buy food and pay for prescription drugs.

I am the President of the Board of the Family Resource Center. One of that agencys programs has just lost most of its funding from the state, which then makes it ineligible for federal matching funds. Now, rather than serving all families in need with newborn babies, this program can serve only families where the mother is 19 or under and has only this one child. And, rather than receiving services for up to a year, each mother can receive three visits. This one program has seen its caseload reduced from 65 families to fewer than 20. Our cry is with Habakkuk, O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you Violence! and you will not save? So, what can we do? How can we join together with God, the women of Malaysia, and those nearest to us to make the world a place where all are valued? Some of us are best suited to speaking out. Whether its in letters to the editor, letters and phone calls to our elected officials, or respectfully sharing our views with others, there are some among us who have the gift of speaking. Some of us are workers. We can join with those who are working to make a difference. We can literally feed those who are hungry, clothe those who are naked, care for the sick, and visit the prisoners. Virtually every social service agency in Coos County has been affected by budget cuts. We can volunteer in a program, go work in an office, or work directly in our churches to care for those in need. There are workers among us. Some of us have financial resources. Whether we can give only a few dollars or substantially more than that, every little bit helps. There are roughly 28,000 adults in Coos County. If every adult donated $10 to a social service agency in 2012, those donations would generate almost $300,000 in additional revenue for programs. There are givers among us. Finally, and I think most importantly, all of us are people of prayer. We can pray for our towns, this county, and our nation. We can pray for our legislators state and US, and for all leaders. We can pray for the agencies in our community that do so much for the people who live here. We can pray for one another. We are all pray-ers. I invite you, as we continue our worship, to think about your own experiences of injustice. Where have you seen injustice at work? And how might you use your courage, compassion, and active engagement let justice prevail in your own context? AMEN.