Week of November 22-28

CIA Agents have been present at the Gates of Fort Benning in Columbus, GA for the last two years. We stand next to our friends at Café Campesino, serve coffee, engage in conversation, and share our ministry with others.

 

Fort Benning is the home of the Western Hemisphere Institute of Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) or what others may have known as the School of the Americas (SOA). 

 

We are present for a rally of social activists that seek the closing of the school and the end of federal spending on torture and other war crimes in other nations through the support of past graduates of the SOA.

 

Just as we are present in New Orleans to shine a light of unfairness on New Orleans and other communities along the Gulf Coast, we are present at Fort Benning to highlight the number of innocent lives lost over the decades at the hands of SOA graduates and the tactics of torture they learned on US soil.

 

But, I can’t help but smile when I tell people we are here to serve coffee. Some may expect us to do GREAT things simply because they just can’t imagine how you survive 4 years in a broken city… but we just take a moment and serve and sell fair trade coffee partly because it provides a great opportunity to chat with people, partly because we want to offer some sign of relief amidst the overwhelming chaos. Coffee is a bit of home for folks. And perhaps that is our GREATEST act.

 

We serve coffee so that others can be present with the people they serve, advocate with, and [sometimes] speak for. Our leadership is not one based on a hierarchy of power. Our leadership is modeled after Christ… and this week, we reflect on Christ the King…

 

What kind of King is Christ? What kind of Kingdom do we hope for? 

 

Our King is compassionate, merciful, gracious, attentive, and kind. Our King would do anything to have us feel welcomed and loved. Our Kingdom is a place where everyone can be heard, listened to, and appreciated. Our Kingdom offers comfort and solace amidst the pain, hurt and brokenness of failed relationship and/or violence.

 

Our King would be serving coffee along the gates, accompanying those who suffer at the face of injustice. Our Kingdom would be hopeful, vibrant, energizing, and life-giving.

 

Who’s lead would you follow? Where would you go for this leader?