Blessed and Highly Favored

So typically, I'm not one to openly talk about religion since I know it can become a very touchy subject. But after the church service I went to on this past Sunday, I don't think there is any way I can devote this blog to anything else.
A couple months into the first semester, a friend of mine invited me to join him at a church off campus that he recently went to and enjoyed. After my first visit, there was something I really liked about the church and I tried to make it a habit to go every Sunday. This past Sunday, however, something happened in church that never happened before. Nearly the entire congregation was propelled to a state of worship that involved mostly crying, but also some vocalized statements of faith in God. Growing up, these were the types of church services I had become accustomed to, so I felt right at home during this particular service. What captured me the most, however, was how this state of being "moved by the Spirit" (as we tend to say in church) came about. No, the pastor didn't deliver a stirring word that resonated with the congregation but in fact, it was through the gift of song. The praise and worship team (or the choir) sang all of two or three songs and from there, people began to "feel the Spirit moving in the church" or some message from the song began to resonate with their own lives, which brought about tears (at least that was definitely the case for me). I know I devoted a previous blog to the rhetoric found in a Whitney Houston song but I think this is a different type of example that has the ability to "touch" people in such a deeper way.
Sometimes when I'm going through things and school starts to feel overwhelming, I tend to look forward to going to church because it provides an escape from the stresses I'm experiencing as I remind myself of all of my blessings. Then, whatever I'm feeling just does not seem so bad because I begin to realize that even through my tough times, I am still being blessed. For me, gospel songs have always been able to speak to my soul far better than any other song and far better than some pastors in church. On Sunday, I found it absolutely amazing how the words of a few songs could resonate with an entire congregation to the point where nearly everyone was in tears. For me, it was absolutely amazing to experience something like that because for us Christians, it's a testament to God's grace and goodness in our lives. Furthermore, it was great to see how the words of the song managed to resonate with so many other people as well, which enabled many of us to release whatever we were bottling inside. Ultimately, it was just an amazing experience and what made it all the more astonishing was that the pastor did not even have to preach a word.

Justice for Trayvon Martin

Recently, a 17-year old boy by the name of Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida by a local neighborhood watchman who claimed the boy looked suspicious. The story has taken the news world by storm considering Martin was merely walking in the neighborhood wearing a hoodie and holding a bag of skittles and a bottle of Arizona iced tea. People have been left to question if wearing a hoodie is really so "suspicious" or if this was an act of racism. The shooter, George Zimmerman, has been identified by police as white although his family says he is Hispanic. To make matters worse, Zimmerman has not been arrested or indicted for this crime. Here on Penn State's campus, there will be a march held tomorrow at 1pm, entitled "Silent Voices: Silent Hoodie March," in an effort to take a stand against this injustice. For this blog, I just wanted to talk a bit about these methods of public awareness, such as marches and protests. I believe they are a vital part of our civic engagement as a people. Although we live in a very individualistic society, I believe it is still our responsibility to support one another. When an injustice occurs, especially one like this where an innocent person is left dead, it is our responsibility as fellow citizens to bring awareness to the issue and try to make a change. I think throughout history, we have also seen that when a situation like this occurs and it seems to involve race, people are even more compelled to protest, rally and march in an effort to make society better. I believe it is such a great part of being an engaged citizen in America. Yet, it is also rather sad that typically, we are most willing to partake in a protest or rally when it is under such sad circumstances. Nevertheless, while the situation is heartbreaking, I think it is great that people are willing to come together to try to make a change. After all, if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.

Kony 2012

Recently, there has been a huge viral movement involving Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan guerilla group. Kony is known throughout Uganda and now, throughout the world, thanks to a 30 minute video by the organization, Invisible Children, Inc. The video aims to spread awareness about Kony's vicious military tactics, namely, his treatment of children as sex-slaves and child soldiers. Since the video's release last week, there has been non-stop talk about the documentary and every one is trying to "make Kony famous". In other words, the ultimate goal of the video has been successfully met.
There are a number of things that I find especially interesting about this issue. First off, the viral sensation that this video has become reminds us just how central the internet has become in our lives. Without the internet, I'm more than certain that this issue probably would not have been able to spark the interest of the 75 million people it did. What's also really noteworthy is how one of the major foci of the video is how Kony treated children. While it is a huge issue that Kony is treating children as he is, I think it's also important to realize that it's largely due to the fact that this involves children that the video has become such a sensation. We've seen it so many times in society, when an issue is centered on the ill-treatment of children, everyone cares. And rightfully so, considering children are so innocent and should be protected. Yet, I do believe that if this video exposed Kony and how he treated adult-aged men, some people would still be interested, but I do not think there would be as much of an outpouring of support. By no means am I suggesting that the video is bad or anything of that nature, I am just taking notice of some of the elements of the video that caught my attention, besides the issue itself. Overall, however, I do believe that it is important that we are made aware of some of the serious issues of other countries because unlike many of the people in Uganda, Americans do have the resources to make some sort of contribution and we are better capable of aiding the Ugandans in making a change.

Wait, Was That A Kairotic Moment?

Since we've learned about kairos in class, I've found it so interesting, although I cannot exactly explain why. I guess the overall concept of taking advantage of an opportune moment is intriguing to me and more importantly, how someone decides to approach said moment. But for this blog, I wanted to explore the concept of "missing", if you will, a kairotic moment. What happens if a moment is there but you don't take advantage of it? Is it no longer a kairotic moment if you decide to address it hours, days or weeks afterwards?
I understand that there are some kairotic "moments" which are longer lasting than being merely a moment. For example, I'm sure if Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on December 2nd instead of December 1st, the Civil Rights Movement would have still proceeded as it did, regardless of the one day delay. However, there are those moments where something happens and we might not say or do anything in the heat of the moment but later, we reconsider the situation and realize we should have done something. Then, if you do something later, is the moment still kairotic? Here is a personal example to really capture what I am trying to get at.
So lately, my roommate and I have not been getting along very well. We don't speak to one another when we come in and out of the room and things have just been tense. Over THON weekend, my younger brother came to visit and while he was here, my roommate barely spoke to him and came across rather rude. My brother felt so uncomfortable (as if she really did not want him to be here) that he would find any and every reason to leave my room. At the time, it really bothered me that my roommate treated my brother this way. I believe, regardless of whatever problems she and I might have, she should not take those problems out on my brother. However, I never mentioned anything to her about how her rudeness towards my brother made me upset. Now, it's been about 2 weeks since my brother has been here. Since I let so much time pass, have I missed a kairotic moment by failing to address how I felt when the situation was actually happening? Would it be awkward or even unnecessary to address the problem now?
I think it's interesting to consider how much a situation changes when we allow time to pass and how we deal with missing a kairotic moment. It seems like often times, if we don't address a problem at the moment, it's no longer important to us some time later. Ultimately, we missed the moment so we have to move on. But I'm wondering, is that really the case? Can a moment still be kairotic if we let some time pass and then decide to address it?