The Episcopal Church Prays for Pakistan

I am so happy and grateful that The Episcopal Church included Pakistan in their Easter Season of Prayer this week!!! I hope they do this every year with a global focus. As you can read in my previous Pakistan blog post, everyone that I met asked for prayers and good wishes for peace. I'm also excited that they used my photo and included the prayer I wrote and my reflection! For me, this makes my year! I feel like I can be useful with my travels and what I have learned. I also actually want to work in global mission and I hope to study missiology and about global mission while in seminary at Sewanee! 
I am SO EXCITED about attending seminary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may even be able to have an international C.P.E. (Clinical Pastoral Education) assignment so we'll see! If that is possible, WOW, how amazing! I am particularly interested in the following locations, some due to my own travels, and some from watching global events unfold and my heart being drawn to some situations. I am sure everything will depend on accreditation, VISAs, and fine details, but the fact that Sewanee Contextual Education / CPE is willing to even consider an international placement, well, that is a true blessing and very exciting for them (and me!)

Card drawn by Junior Church of the Diocese of Raiwind to give to our students at St. Paul's Episcopal, New Orleans (Our kids drew some friendship cards for me to take to Pakistan after the bombing.)

Here is the link to the Season of Prayer Pakistan page

Here is my Prayer for Pakistan, approved by Bishop Samuel Azariah

For the magnificent and hospitable, yet besieged country of Pakistan, we pray to you Heavenly Father. For the cities steeped in the shadows of terror, for its peaceful people living in stress and fear, ever seeking stability and freedom - we ask for tranquility. Out of the depths of religious and civic turmoil, we cry to you for reconciliation, tolerance, and stability. For the victims and families of the bombed, we seek your comfort and healing. For those deceived from childhood and led into a life filled with the false glory of a paradise gained through self-destruction, we pray for new eyes to discover the truth and a safe way out of their current lifestyle. For those with terrorist connections, we pray they may act honestly and rightly. Grant an end to violence and a return to hope. Enable those who put loving first to be strengthened and to be confident enough to continue to live their faith out loud without fear and to continue to reach out to the suffering. For negative images of Pakistan held by others to be lifted and changed, we pray. We ask these things in the name of God - who is large enough to love us all and gave his son that we might live in him. Amen.

Altar at The Cathedral of Praying Hands, Diocese of Raiwind

Here is my reflection. I am honored that they published it! Mainly, I am happy that people will know a little bit more about Pakistan, the Christians there, and relationships with the Muslim community. PEACE is what we need these days, world peace. It CAN happen. I truly believe that with all my heart. Hopefully, people will read this and maybe have something open in their minds and hearts. 

Street view Lahore, Pakistan, April 2016

Dr. Caroline Carson, Postulant from the Diocese of Louisiana, shares a reflection this week.

"One must keep living" Such simple, yet powerful words uttered from so many Christians I met in Pakistan the day after the Easter bombing in Gulshan-I-Iqbal Park in Lahore. The absence of freedom of speech, the realities of inequality, and the constant fear of violating Pakistan's "blasphemy laws” are everyday tensions. Many Christians have been killed and buildings set on fire from mob attacks because these laws are regularly misused. 20-foot walls, assault-weaponed security on every corner, and barbed wire everywhere - these all regular sights for schools, libraries, stores, hotels, etc. Then the suicide bombers are expected and bring a despair that does not cease. A new and rising trend is that children are being used as bombers: the innocent killing the innocent. Everyone, Muslim and Christian alike, must look over their shoulders and live in constant fear of Taliban attacks at any time or place. Another aspect of this terror is the profound sadness that attacks have become so commonplace. After a couple of days in the news, things tend to be forgotten. Everyone I met asked for us to pray for them and/or for the energy of peace.

While the Diocese of Peshawar is one of the most hostile anywhere, on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and encompasses a region where there is barely any civil law, anyone who comes to them is a welcomed child of God. The Diocese of Raiwind in Lahore mimics this in a time where terror attacks are rising at an alarming rate. The Diocese of Raiwind provides education, health care in outlying parts of Lahore (including the malaria-endemic brick kilns areas where children as young as six and women work in the kilns to pay off family debts they know nothing about), rehabilitation programs for victims of sex trafficking, and pastoral care to thousands. The Diocese of Raiwind also continues to be extremely active in peace building and reaching out to fellow religious leaders in the city and region. They hold regular gatherings to try and determine what can concretely be done to stave off terror and oversee what can be done to help victims of bombings. They live life and faith "above ground" as Bishop Mano Rumalshah (bishop emeritus of Peshawar) says. Moderator Bishop Samuel Azariah is an amazing leader with a terrific and dedicated staff. The feeling from all of them when asked about putting their lives on the line for the diocese was that they would "rather die doing something good than to be sitting in the corner, frozen in fear."

It is of utmost importance to realize that religious leaders and practitioners of Islam are not inherently violent and all Muslims are not against Christians. They consider us brothers and sisters. There has long been an underlying current that each religion is set out to convert each other and this creates continuing suspicion. The Taliban know that if they attack Christians, the Western media will make it a huge event and they get what they want - fear and anxiety to win over stability and peace.

The links below provide information and opportunities to follow along with our brothers and sisters and to reach out and get connected and involved.

Please tell your elected officials to support peace building in South Asia and the Middle East. All world governments should stand with peacemaking, especially in areas afflicted by daily tensions and bombs.

Get Involved:

It is vital to tell your elected officials to stand for peace in Pakistan. If you live in the United States, this includes urging the President, Secretary of State, and the United States Congress to support peace building in Pakistan. If you do not live in the United States, your voice is just as important: all world governments must stand with peacemakers in Pakistan.

You can find contact information for the President, the Secretary of State, and your members of Congress below. We encourage you to call or write to express that as a person of faith, you support peace building.

The President: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

The Secretary of State: https://register.state.gov/contactus/contactusform

United States Senate: http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/

Your Local Representative: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

If you would like to stay up to date on advocacy and receive resources around international and domestic issues, you can join the Episcopal Public Policy Network.

Bishop Sammy Azariah, Caroline Carson, and Bishop Mano Rumalshah

So, thank you for reading! Go and LIKE the Global Mission of The Episcopal Church Facebook page. They are doing fantastic work! I could not be more proud to be an Episcopalian!!!!!

A Journey to Pakistan

(from Nov. 2015)
Pakistan!

I'm excited to share that I've been invited to visit and present choral workshops and church music training in Pakistan! I am thrilled to have this unique opportunity to visit this country, meet tons of people, including Pakistani Anglicans, and to learn about The Church of Pakistan!

Pakistan is a country I've been curious about visiting for a few years and, while I considered applying for the VISA in 2014, I did not. I was in India at the time and learned that Indo-Pak relations aren't the best. The VISA application was also pretty daunting... As it turned out, I now have an official letter of invitation and sponsors!

So what is this all about? 

Last summer (June 2015), I was very fortunate to be an Alternate Delegate to the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, held in beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah. While there, I was representing our Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana (EDOLA) as Media in addition to serving as an Alternate. I was able to meet with friends, the fabulous and friendly group of Episcopal Communicators, and also various church leaders and representatives. I interviewed some folks and shook hands with or had coffee with others. One person I met was Bishop Samuel Azariah, the primate and president bishop / Moderator of The Church of Pakistan. His home Diocese is The Diocese of Raiwind. Here is some information about the Diocese, directly from their website: 

" The Church of Pakistan is the result of the union of four denominations: Anglicans, Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterians (Scottish), which took place in 1970. Initially, there were four dioceses in the Church of Pakistan, i.e. Karachi, Multan, Lahore and Sialkot, but in 1980, through a special resolution and for better ministerial work, four new dioceses were created: Hyderabad, Raiwind, Faisalabad and Peshawar. There is a presiding bishop for the Church of Pakistan who is known as the Moderator and has responsibility for a three year term. The united Church of Pakistan is the second largest church in the country after the Roman Catholic Church."

The Diocese of Raiwind experienced several bombings in the spring of 2015 that had remained in my thoughts. We lifted them in prayer at St. Paul's Episcopal. The two churches that were bombed were St. John's Roman Catholic Church in Peshawar and Christ Church in Lahore (a Church of Pakistan church and a member of the Anglican Communion.) At the time, I couldn't get over how resilient those affected were or how awful the situation had become with regards to religious intolerance. Just how does one recover from a suicide bombing and retain faith in the community? This kind of thing means that the community needs you even more.

The Diocese of Raiwind is extremely active. They are leaders in peacemaking efforts and often hold conferences which involve international guests. Bishop Azariah told me about some of the activities, including a small group from Sweden that visited and taught about music. I was intrigued. The Diocese regularly holds educational gatherings and gatherings to promote peace and well-being. They love music and sometimes hold Christian music conventions. HERE is the link to their blog post describing the activities. Their Facebook page is very active and describes events taking place around the Diocese. 

The hospitality and friendship to me has already been amazing and I am super excited about having such a wonderful opportunity!

* Basic info and some interesting statistics here about Christianity in Pakistan.

The Episcopal New Service article HERE about the 2015 Pakistani bombings is eye-opening. In 2013, there were also bombings in Peshawar and Lahore. An article by the Episcopal Digital Network has details HERE. In looking for other info about the bombings, I also found this.

Pakistan's notorious Blasphemy Laws are also still in effect. Created to prevent blasphemy against any religion, these laws have been used differently in various situations by various groups over the years with most of the accusations against non-Muslim minorities, resulting in life in jail or death penalties which many believe were not warranted. Though I'm not sure if the death penalties have actually been carried out, I have read that Pakistanis have been killed as a result of blasphemy via mob attacks and similar events. Here is a recent story (Nov. 2015).

Photo of Christmas festivity in Christ Church, Lahore - by Shekeel Medeeha - http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/christmas-festivity-in-lahore/ 

How Safe is Pakistan?

Well, that varies depending on your source. Keeping a low profile, avoiding crowds and heavily-populated places, and limiting publicity/media/social media about the trip and details is recommended. In spite of U.S. Dept. of State Travel Warnings to defer non-essential travel to Pakistan, few Americans have been affected by incidents.

I'm very excited for the possibility of taking this trip! I feel called to share my gifts in my own special way and to talk to the people there, make new connections, and show them that we are the same. Because there are not very many Americans in Pakistan, I feel like having this chance to make a good connection is a unique and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am especially honored and blessed to be doing it as an Episcopalian and with the connections that will be made. We have the chance as travelers (different sometimes than tourists) to stand up to society's fears, bust through stereotypes, create goodwill, and see beyond the cover of the book. It helps us see life for the beautiful, diverse, wonder that it is.

~ Caroline

(written Nov. 2015 and slightly updated March 2016)

A Peace Building Meeting

This evening, I had the honor of attending a meeting hosted by (and at) the Diocese of Raiwind and sponsored in part by the NCA (the Norwegian Church Association) and the Royal Norwegian Assembly. I did not get all of the names of everyone in attendance so I will, update this document as I can! I was an avid listener and had a couple of questions, but overall was there to listen and learn. Peace and bridge building are some of the things I am intensely interested in and since I am here, the Diocesan staff thoughtfully included me in the meeting.

People in attendance included: Raheel Sharoon (Development Officer for the Diocese of Raiwind), Noman Sajad (Raiwind Peace Building Department), Naufil Naseer (Programme Advisor of the Royal Norwegian Embassy), Thor Danielsson (Norwegian Church Association and Pakistan representative for the NCA, living in Islamabad), Thomas Berdal (First Secretary:Political for the Royal Norwegian Assembly), Amal Zara (Forman Christian College student in sociology and studying political science - and she's singing in my young adult group here at the diocese!), Rev.d Samuel from south Punjab, Ahmed from the Muslim community, Prame Prakash from the Sikh community, myself (a Postulant in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana), and others including members of the Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian Communities.

I share these notes as they are and with very little of my own commentary. I found it absolutely fascinating to hear the voices of many different religions in one room and to discuss the needs of people affected by terrorism. In Lahore, where most of these incidents are targeted, there is a great deal of grassroots work being done in peacemaking and connecting communities. The Diocese of Raiwind has been extremely active in creating, hosting, and continuing talks, community activities to build relationships between various groups, and in organizing events related to peace building. The day before I arrived, they had gathered local religious leaders together to discuss how to handle, examine, and move forward with regards to the Easter Day bombing in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park that claimed the lives of 74 people and injured hundreds of others.

Raheel Sharoon began by describing the history of what the diocese has done in peace building. In 2004, the diocese began its work with the religious leaders and called it "interfaith diologue". In 2007, they started working with women and young people, primarily teachers. They trained teachers so that they would have some sort of knowledge and plan when an incident happened and know what their resources and connections would be and to have a plan. Pakistan has a reputation for marginalizing groups. (So does the USA). The country's textbooks have grossly distorted portions of history. The diocese has had most successful results from working with young people and women. Geographically, they concentrate on Lahore and immediate environs because it is such a large city and resources and range are limited.

The first question came from the Norwegian First Secretary Ambassador: 
? With attacks on the city and the recent Easter Day bombing, how has the blast affected your diocesan work, the city, etc.? Was it an attack on Christians?
Responses from the room:
- There are two perspectives: 

1. It was an attack on the Christian community and 

2. It was an attack on Humanity itself.
- The damage is done, but the interfaith coalition of religious leaders has come out of it.
- This was decidedly an attack on children. (I've heard this since I arrived....that the blast was done in the center of where young children were playing and the rides were not meant for adults to ride.)

                               

- The main threat is to the children as soft targets
- This was an attack on Humanity to create fear
- The people crating this terror are NOT connected with any religion, in fact they may not be able to be considered humans
- We do not need to be fearful, we need to strengthen our faith and we should be united
- It was an attack on Christians, in part
- When there are so many great things happening which create peace and goodwill, the terrorists try to create a rift.
- This did not weaken our resolve.
- Recently, Bishop Samuel Azariah held a religious leaders meeting after the Easter Day attack. One of the things he asked the group in and out of the official meeting was "Should we be asking - who are the true Muslims? Or What is the true Islam?"

- We are in denial if we say that the people who did this are Muslims.
- Many of these suicide bombers come out of small "homegrown" churches that are disillusioned with the mainline denominations and choices of religions
- The Madrassa area happens to be where many of the Taliban come from.
- We MUST be building connections, trust, and friendship between groups so that those who feel marginalized may have another outlet.
- There is a deeply-ingrained mentality from many that other countries are to blame.
- We must engage all the religious leaders
- When a blast happens, first there is condemnation and then the people get together. They try to make an action plan
- Back to the question and including: How does an incident impact peace building? 
- The international media reports the attack as (primarily) "against Christians"

WHAT STEPS CAN MAKE OUR PEACE BUILDING  MORE LASTING AND EFFECTIVE? 
- Events such as last Sunday's interfaith payer vigil at the site of the bombing.
- Events such as this a public walk comprised of religious leaders down one of the busiest roads in Lahore.
- These events show solidarity with each other.
- It took us many years before the Christian and Muslim guests would eat together on our campus.
- Often, we we reach step #5 (out of 5), a terrorist attack is made and it takes us back to step #1.
 - We must also talk to our fellow peace builders in many places so as to keep our hope alive when something terrible happens (the world is indeed our community)
- Do you feel like the walk will cause you to become a target?
- If they (the terrorists) are being so relentless in their attacks, then why should we not be?

WHAT IS YOUR PEACE BUILDING GOAL? HOW DO YOU MEASURE RESULTS?
- Others asking questions about each other's faiths.
- "yes, my faith may be the right one, but it is not the only one"
- The number of people attending your events increases
- social media impressions
- On March 16th, 2016, The Diocese of Raiwind held a peace building conference and invited a member of the transgender community. (Here in Pakistan, the trans community is ostracized, refused basic living conditions, and refused most jobs.) This was the first time in our country that a church has invited them into this kind of interaction and we did it because they have been marginalized. We held a session on "getting rid of the victim mentality" When you have acceptance of groups and they listen to and learn from each other, you;be made a difference and this is an indicator of peace building results.
- Madrassa is showing signs of cooperation and community efforts to make connections with one another.
- Things happen slowly
- We must share our success stories
- Acess the roots of the people involved and not just the obvious religious leaders.
- Sometimes there must be a language change.

ARE MOSTLY CHRISTIANS BEING AFFECTED AND WHY IS IT MOSTLY IN THE PUNJAB AREA?
- There are higher numbers in this area.
- Other reasons include evangelizing religions.
- There has long been a mindset that each is trying to convert each other and there was a feeling of a long time that Muslims were forceably being converted by Christians. "We are the only way and the rest are heretics"
- When terrorists want to make a larger incident, they target Christians because they know that the West sometimes exaggerates this and that they make a huge picture of it.
- Our mindset is the issue. True religious leaders and these religions are peaceful.
- Young kids coming from poverty fall into bad groups. Sometimes it's because they have food.
- People are touchy about their religions because it has been used to divide  and control people.
- ASK QUESTIONS
- Why you do what you do...
- Even though you may have security, it is extremely expensive and if someone is going to come to you, expecting to die, they almost cannot be stopped. There comes a time when you either sit in a corner and close your eyes or you stand up and live. "I'd rather die by doing something good than to. Be sitting in my corner"
- Respect each other, religion is not responsible for what is happening these days, people are, especially when religious leaders criticize other religious leaders. 

                                     

Easter Tidings, 2014

I wanted to post this photo that was taken by Carolina Roehner on Easter Day at St. Paul's Episcopal. Fr. Rob has this fantastic idea last year of having the whole church turn around and wave! I LOVE IT! What a terrific sense of community it conveys! It made everyone smile and came at the end of a fabulous service so what's not to like?! I like how it's informal too.

Easter Sunday, 2014. Photo by Carolina Roehner

I decided to make a collage of Holy Week photos and it came out rather well! :-)

My Collage of Holy Week 2014 :-)

 Here's my choir and here I am conducting, woohoo!

Me conducting my St. Paul's Episcopal Choir and Brass on Easter Sunday, 2014. Photo by Carolina Roehner

Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana Racial Reconciliation Service - Jan 18, 2014

On Saturday January 18, our Diocese (EDOLA) held an historic service at Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans. The Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev'd Katharine Jefferts Schori preached and witnessed the gathering. The purpose of the service was to mark several years of conversation surrounding the issue of racism and explore how The Episcopal Church (TEC) can more fully live into the calling of Christ. From what I understand, this was a national initiative. I remember at Gen Con 77, the theme was reconciliation and involvement was with the Native American community. Those services were AMAZING. This special service, entitled Seeking Christ in All People: A Service of Commitment to Racial Healing, Justice and Reconciliation  was both a culmination of the Year of Reconciliation and a celebration of the life and ministry of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
All were welcomed and we had a jazz reception following the service.

Rehearsal Fri night, me w/ Jarrett Follett (Dir of Music of Christ Church Cathedral), Jazz reception (Victor Atkins behind piano), and Tyrone Chambers (Excellent tenor and friend living in NYC)

I was VERY fortunate to be a team with that makes up the EDOLA Music & Liturgy Commission. It literally makes my heart sing to be able to share ideas at the diocesan level! My dear friend Jarrett, who is music director at the cathedral, invited me to conduct the service on Saturday. YAY! SO EXCITED! Over a period of a few months, we gathered a few folks from around the choirs of the diocese for a large group of singers. Our choirs: St. Paul’s Episcopal in Lakeview and the Christ Church Cathedral, were the two main choirs and the hosts. Friday’s rehearsal was terrific and I was truly able to bring out some very nice things in the music. Everyone was super excited to be there and I was able to make some music and bring alive the spiritual connections from the texts and our purpose that weekend!

Victor Atkins took this picture, from the piano, of me conducting :-)

This kind of work is THE BEST and again, it literally makes my heart sing! Our anthems were:

1.    Amazing Grace – Stephen Hatfield

2.    My God is So High – Moses Hogan (Tyrone Chambers, tenor soloist)

3.    Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether – Harold Friedell

"Amazing Grace" by Stephen Hatfield. Maria Elliott, Oboe

I felt that Amazing Grace needed to be included in the service, BUT I wanted a combination of the non-traditional and the hymn we all know. So, how about something where the choir NEVER actually sings the melody in its entirety?! The Hatfield arrangement allows for an instrument to perform the melody and I chose the Oboe, loosely reminiscent of the strength and edginess of bagpipe, but way more manageable J

Here is the program booklet for the service: http://cccnola.org/BULLETINS/011814.pdf

Here is a link to the audio from the entire service: http://cccnola.org/RECORDINGS/RR.mp3

Here is Presiding Bishop Jefferts-Schori’s sermon: http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2014/01/21/presiding-bishop-preaches-on-racial-reconciliation-in-new-orleans/#.Ut5nmEEX6Z4.twitter

Here is the link to the EDOLA Facebook page album of pictures from the event: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151842759416227.1073741832.110612321226&type=1

She did a really fantastic job with this. It wasn’t a “comfortable” service for many people, but she stressed that we were leading The Episcopal Church in speaking on this issue and in reconciliation. She named the provinces around the globe and I think that some who never realized the breadth of places in the Anglican Communion, well…their eyes were opened.

Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori. Photo by Debbie Edens

One of the difficulties in the service was when the litany spoke of guilt associated with current people for past slavery. This made a LOT of people uncomfortable and one of my students said he was looking around and actually saw a lot of red faces. We personally may not have been responsible for the acts of our grandparents and / or other relatives or even – OUR OWN ORGANIZATIONS such as the Episcopal Church itself in Louisiana (and New Orleans proper), BUT it is amazing to see what a bit of give in that area makes. It makes a difference to those whose lives HAVE been affected in the past, present, and I daresay – the future. It also seems to me that one of the first steps in healing is to recognize the NEED for healing, regardless of situation. For this, I am so proud to be a part of The Episcopal Church. We are willing to come to the table, to discuss, to question, and to challenge ourselves and others. This kind of tolerance and openness is certainly not unique to TEC, but it is a most definitely a strength of it.

This strength and spiritual confidence is something from which I can learn. I sometimes forget that I can proactively apply this example to my own habits and my spiritual life. It’s a good reminder. Being open and willing to present an idea and perhaps to argue a point - with the understanding that there are varying facets of any argument - is a huge risk. I will never EVER forget when one of my friends working in TEC described death threats that he had received. They were from people whose opinions were different.

Katharine Jefferts Schori with Bishop Morris Thompson

I admire our PB. She’s a scientist, a warm and kind person, an introvert, thoughtful, BRILLIANT, a great writer, she’s a pilot (so cool and I’m slightly jealous), a runner, and a woman. Her office ends in 2015 and the new PB will be installed that Fall. I was not able to snag a picture with her this visit, but I did the last time she was in New Orleans and I’m happy to have had the opportunity to meet her during the House of Bishops in 2007 and at Bishop Thompson’s consecration three years ago. I also greatly admire our Bishop Morris Thompson and what he and the diocesan clergy and staff are doing here in Louisiana!

I’m going to sign off with a prayer that has been in my life for the past twenty years and that speaks to me deeply. After Bp. Thompson’s first annual visit to St. Paul’s, I Iearned that he also uses it and that makes me very happy!

My friends,
Life is short, and we do not have
much time to gladden the hearts of
those who travel with us, so be quick to
love and make haste to be kind.
And may the blessing of the One who
... made us, and the One who loves us, and
the One who travels with us, be with
you and those you love this day and always.
AMEN.

Adapted from Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)