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Awareness Wednesday :: Xenophobia, Part IV — Let Them Worship
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may (Articles of Faith 1:11). India is a secular federal republic of more than 1.3 billion people, governed by a democratic parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multi-ethnic society. About 80% of the population is Hindu. Nearly 15% are Muslim. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of the Republic of India. He was committed to the idea of India being a secular nation. In 1950, when the Republic was first formed, perhaps some felt they had…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Xenophobia, Part I — Compassionate Eyes
“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves…” (Luke 10: 29–30). What follows is a beautiful and compelling parable. A Jewish man, robbed and beaten, his bloody and broken body left helplessly on the side of the road. Two men pass him, actually crossing the road to avoid close contact with the destitute figure. A certain Samaritan notices the injured Jew, and he stops. Two men look at one another. One broken, one whole. Two men trained and taught to despise each other and everything they represent —…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Black History Month — Not-So-Fair Housing
Homeownership is the main way most American families build wealth. As they pay off a mortgage and appreciation builds equity, family wealth is increased. With this wealth, homeowners send their children to college, take care of aging parents, and have the means to take care of themselves when they are elderly. Any equity left over is passed on to their children. According to the 2016 US Census Bureau data, 72% of white people own their homes but only 42% of African-American people own their homes. This gap is the result of issues created when the U.S. government mandated segregation in housing beginning in 1933. Soon after the end of the…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Black History Month — Are You Aware of Labor?
“For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.” Psalm 128:2 America was founded on slavery. Most people in North America prior to 1776 labored and did not reap the benefits. The vast majority of the people in the colonies were African slaves. The economy of the British colonies was dependent on the labor of slaves. In fact, in the Americas there were five times as many Africans as white Europeans. About one million Europeans settled in the Western Hemisphere between 1492 and 1776; 5.5 million Africans were brought here. During the colonial period, the most important crop was…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Are You Aware of the Homeless?
I have a friend who has very precocious children. One day one of her younger children referred to someone as homeless. I asked the child if she knew the person and if she knew where the person sleeps. One of the older kids chimed in that the person was a hobo. Certainly precocious. I did not know that kids these days had ever even heard the term hobo. It got me wondering if we are aware of the people we see each day. Maybe they are at the intersection holding a sign announcing that they will work for food. Maybe the sign says, “Please give, every penny helps,” or simply,…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Homelessness — Helping Our Communities Think Beyond Soup Kitchens
I appreciate Amanda’s post last week for an intimate/anecdotal view on homelessness. Her story provides information that could help improve services. Today, I want to shed light on homelessness from a different vantage point. I will highlight why the current efforts involving taxpayer-funded homelessness programs aren’t working that well, and what we can do to help. The Continuum of Care program I’m a young professional who worked for three years at United Way of Utah County as the Mountainland Continuum of Care co-planner. The Continuum of Care is a federal program under HUD that aims to end homelessness, and there are several in every state. It was my job to…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Homelessness — Lord, When Did We See You?
May 24, 2018. That was the day I moved into my apartment, the day I was no longer homeless. For four years, I bounced between friends’ couches and spare rooms, trying to take up as little space as I could. I was employed but never made enough to end the cycle. I was fortunate: I had a car, supportive friends, a cheap cell phone, and access to the internet. I was what is known as sheltered homeless. Through the help of my friends and my church, I was able to get into housing. I could not have done this on my own. Many are not so fortunate. My state, Missouri,…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Homelessness — Are We Not All Beggars?
When I was in high school, I went on a group date to the symphony in Salt Lake City. Along our route to Abravanel Hall, we walked by a couple with a dog. They were sitting on the sidewalk and appeared to be under the influence of some substance. As we passed by, they asked us if we had any money so they could feed their dog. After we had moved a little further along the sidewalk I laughed and said, “Yeah right! I’m sure they want money for the dog.” I am grateful that that evening I had friends who gently chastised me. They hadn’t given the couple any…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Service With Intent
How can we serve with the intent to heal? When we serve, what is our focus? Is it to check off a holiday goal? Is it to feel the spirit of giving? Is it planned with the intent to heal? What does service with the intent to heal look like?
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Are You Aware? Queer and Mormon
This is part III in our LGBTQ+ Education Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Hello, friends. I’m Blaire Ostler. I’m a born and raised Mormon. I come from nine generations of Mormon pioneers. I often joke that if there is a Mormon gene, I have it. I’m also a genderqueer and bisexual, but most of the time I refer to myself as “queer.” If there is a queer gene, I’m pretty sure I have that too. The constant struggle for a bisexual person, at least in my case, was never feeling like you belong somewhere. I was never gay enough and I was never straight enough.…
