INTERNATIONAL
PASTORAL
CARE
NETWORK
FOR
SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
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INTERNATIONAL
PASTORAL
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~ PCNSR ARTICLE
I share with you some loosely knit thoughts (my own) that have emanated from my encounter with Joan through her book. I hope it might help you focus more clearly on those areas of interest that each of us hold dear. Joan posits that the primary spiritual problem of our time is denial. If that is so, then I would suggest that the major ethical problem of our time is injustice and that the greatest moral problem of our time is greed. In a very twisted kind of way, these three "horsemen" are sweeping through our culture, working their destruction separately and yet in harmony. Perhaps what they share in common is that each of these "horsemen" of destruction has carefully and insidiously redefined the meaning of the words and phrases we use in daily conversation until they are no longer anchored in their core values and contexts. Isn't "spiritual" a kind of "woo-woo" catch phrase for everything from mysticism, to forms of philosophical thought and belief, to meditative practices? Isn't "ethics" just another soft science, a discipline that is situational at best and demagoguery at worst? Isn't "morality" just a left over artifact, something determined by the cultural norms, or better yet, something defined by those who hold the power? Just like in science fiction stories, our language has been taken over by alien meanings from other planets. Everything has been turned upside-down and topsy-turvy. I knew we were in trouble the first time I heard a CEO tell his managers that the only thing that mattered was "perception." Today, we are inundated with messages created by "spin doctors" that are, by definition, lies and deception. It is considered the cultural norm. It has created an entire industry. Those who are reflective souls tend to just shrug their shoulders or shake their heads and mutter, "What can you do?" Those who don't give it any thought, believe whatever they hear and give blind allegiance to what they "perceive" to be true. As a feminist, Joan is offering a corrective to the patriarchal world in which we all live. As someone who values and seeks to live out the teachings of Jesus, she is offering a radical alternative, a reminder that this world is not our home, that our allegiance is to a king unlike any other, and that God's ways are not the ways of the world. As a time traveler, she is caught between two worlds, confronted with the wanton waste and destruction of this present world and the "not yet" promise of the next. To be true to her calling, it is necessary for her to take seriously not only the people who are broken and wounded, but also the systems imploding upon themselves that damage these very people. It is out of this context that she describes spirituality as faith and love in action (my interpretation). For her, spirituality is alive. It is a lifestyle. Spirituality is something you do in the larger context of a community, it is an activity that brings out the best in all of us for the good of the "other." Her call to action rides the undercurrents of our time. It is a poignant argument that ought to capture the hearts and minds of many. Those who claim to be Christians (as well as those who don't) can ill afford not to heed her call. In fact, we are exposed and humiliated by our failure to act, our lack of self-reflection and self-awareness, and our inclination towards violence, inequity, and self-absorption. Too many of us have joined the huddled masses who sit, stupefied and immobilized in our single-family living units, mesmerized by the screens filled with colorful pictures and sounds and words. We have been numbed by the onslaught of "talking heads," the intentional infliction of ceaseless chaos by "leaders," and the senseless sacrificing of millions of men, women, and children in the name of "progress" or "patriotism" for the aggrandizement of the privileged few. It has become nearly impossible to care about anything any more, because it requires us to think and feel and act - behaviors that are in direct opposition to our social norms. We are living in a time when the masses are cynically manipulated by the control and shaping of information by a handful of people, when there is sweeping but subtle disempowerment and disenfranchisement from the protections of government for most people, and when there is systematic gutting of fiscal and natural resources by the powerful who mistakenly believe that their "might" makes "right." These oppressive cultural realities have robbed people of passion and of caring for the greater good of humanity. Instead, we are left with mindless zealots, thirsty for power, desperate to control, and addicted to ill-gotten gain. Chittister contends that one of the main culprits in this sad scenario is the psychological disorder of narcissism or self-absorption. However, this presumes that we are dealing with adults, and I fear that, instead, we are dealing with adolescents who are terminally adolescent. It's not that we've grown-up and developed a characterlogical disorder, it's that we've never grown-up and have no intention of doing so. The maintenance of a culture of adolescents enables those in power to wreak their devastation with little consequence. The affects and the complicity of the "horsemen" of destruction is as insidious as anything imaginable. While Joan offers feminist spirituality as the corrective to our present state of affairs, she is sufficiently wise to suggest that what is ultimately needed is the transformation of hearts and minds by a power far greater than any movement, any system of thought, and any of us. Her call is to become human again, to discover new ways of thinking, new ways of feeling, and new ways of being that are life giving - ways that make all things new again. I take full responsibility for any misrepresentations or misinterpretations of her work, but this is what struck me and spoke to me and moved me over the course of several weeks as perhaps meaningful and motivational for all of us. I'd be interested in your responses to Joan's book and my ruminations. You can e-mail me at: lwhite@sleh.com .
LETTER TO THE
EDITOR U.S. Must Not Become Threat to Peace In being among the 100,000 people who marched in Washington on Oct. 26 to protest the possibility of a U.S. war on Iraq, there were many questions that accompanied my joining such a vast and hopeful throng. Will pre-emptive action cause our beloved land to further become transformed into the world's bully by its roguish violation of diplomacy, being a fair-minded performer in the world community, and international law? Since a half-million children have died in Iraq due to U.S. economic sanctions, and since nearly 6,000 children die monthly there due to contaminated water and malnutrition, how many more young ones will be wiped away from the face of the Earth by U.S. arsenals? How many more new terrorists will be spawned throughout the world because of such a war? What causes the current administration not to pay heed to the top religious leaders in the majority of the nation's religious faith groups in their dire warnings that such militaristic action is unjustified on moral, democratic, and diplopmatic grounds? Would Americans really want to give up blood for oil if indeed one of the strongest drives in this war effort is that of controlling Iraq's oil, as it sits on a significant amount of the world's oil reserves? How much longer can we tolerate the lack of financial attention given to our nation's human needs in housing, employment, education, health care and fighting for the defense and extension of democratic rights when our military budget has already swollen to more than the next-closest 15 countries combined? As the drumbeat for war
continues, will our nation become the greatest threat to the peace of the world?
I hope not. ~ PASTORAL CAREGIVERS RESPOND TO THE SHADOWED MYSTERY The huge shattering tragedy of 9/11 changes our country and world radically. It also challenges 21st century holistic pastoral caregiving in profound way. On a personal level, 9/11 awakened painful memories of collective trauma spanning six decades. Beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor, these memories include two visits to Hiroshima's Peace Park and several Holocaust death camps. Also included are the assassinations of national heroes JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr., the Viet Nam tragedy, and, more recently, a series of school shootings, and the Oklahoma City bombing. In addition, I was reminded of the staggering reality of global collective trauma that has hit me repeatedly during volunteer teaching I have done in some 20 developing countries. This was especially true in South Africa during the Apartheid era and in Latin American nations that had suffered military dictators, death squads, and countless "disappeared." In "Crossroads", a shantytown community near Capetown, I was scared and deeply moved during an illegal protest meeting that the police nearly broke up with their dogs, fire hoses, clubs, and guns. Nearly 5000 people from countless religious backgrounds were attending at a "prayer meeting" called to protest the government's oppressive policy of bulldozing the shantytowns where families of the poor, underpaid workers lived in order to be near their husbands and fathers. When the police demanded that the leaders of the huge gathering order all the people to go home because it was illegal to meet, the leaders responded that even if they told them to leave they would not go because this was a religious meeting. The police chose not to use their weapons on us and the meeting went on with three hours of powerful singing, drumming, and orations and prayers of protest from a long series of spokespeople from the diverse faith groups all united by opposing the injustice of Apartheid. In Buenos Aires I was deeply touched by having the privilege of walking in a weekly protest march in front of the presidential palace in the beautiful city plaza, joining with the mothers, wives and children of thousands of persons who had simply disappeared at the hands of the oppressive police and soldiers. I also had an opportunity to meet with and learn from mental health professionals and clergy who were trying unsuccessfully to bring healing to the infected grief wounds of the families of the disappeared. Each of these rude encounters with reality over the last three decades awakened a vague sense that something crucial has been largely missing in caregivers' responses to collective trauma. 9/11, the "day that changed the world," pushed me harder than ever before to ask myself yet again: What is the missing piece in facilitating holistic healing of collective trauma and systemic grief? Here are a few tentative reflections on this question: + The missing piece is an in-depth understandings of the unique dynamics and process of healing collective as compared with individual trauma, anxiety, terror, rage and grief. Both the PTSD and the CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) literature focus mainly on individual and family trauma. Although collective trauma trigger many responses like those elicited by trauma in individuals, the unique dimensions must be understood more fully and addressed effectively by caregivers who strive to be truly holistic. + The key dynamic in collective trauma are terrifying, disorienting shattering of the collective identities that give large social systems like nations a sense of shared security, meaning, and superiority. In trauma produced by violence from external enemies, as in the Pearle Harbor and the 9/11 trauma, this identity shattering produces intense, defensive in-group bonding. This defense is expressed in uncritical flag waving and immediate, non-rational transference elevation of key leaders (like the president), along with self-righteous glorification of "us" versus the totally evil "them". All this feeds the collective ethical craziness of the social psychology of wars. + The unique role of pastoral psychotherapists is illuminated by awareness of the tidal wave of collective existential anxiety triggered by the terrifying awareness of our extreme human vulnerability and the unpredictable nature of death for all we love and for ourselves. This Urangst creates a wave of defensive religious passion and expressions intertwined with intense, uncritical patriotism. Mobilizing our expertise in diagnosing and treating pathogenic faith and value systems will enable us to help care-receivers eventually move toward more salugenic faith and values systems. Our knowledge of the healing potential of group rituals should equip us to coach clients in creating and participating in healing rituals for PTSD responses long after 9/11. I was pleased to discover in Walter Brueggemann's meditation given on September 12th a keen awareness of the collective grief in the 9/11 trauma. He points to healing resources in the collective grief for the destroyed Jerusalem temple expressed in Psalms 44, 74, 79, 137, as well as in Jeremiah. + 9/11 and other collective trauma highlight the inadequacy and incompleteness of stand-alone, intrapsychic pastoral counseling and the urgent necessity of integrating systemic, prophetic strategies in our caregiving responses. The good news is that the International Pastoral Care Network for Social Responsibility, the multi-guild network working for prophetic caregiving (started in AAPC) was awakened to new life by 9/11. The challenge of 9/11 for pastoral caregivers is immense and many faceted. Let's hope that we who are trained to think in disciplined ways about cultivating spiritually-centered, holistic healing will use this window of opportunity to make innovative discoveries of healing modalities for countless wounded persons and families but also for our deeply and collectively wounded nation and global community. Let's hope and pray that we can somehow use our expertise to help our country stop contributing to the widespread causes of terrorism in poor countries by increasing the violence of poverty and economic exploitation. If we do this, we will help many individuals and families experience healing of their collective grief and, equally important, we will perhaps also help our country to grow into a more mature and ethical member of the family of nations. We members of IPCNSR with our expertise in facilitating individual and family grief work are challenged to enlarge our horizons of healing and circles of caregiving to develop effective pastoral responses to the collective grief that is epidemic in this country and around the planet.
September, 2001 Several days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon a student in my Philosophy of Education class asked me to share my thoughts on the events. I was not surprised by the request. I am one of two North Americans that teach at the Methodist University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Still, at first I did not know what to say. What follows is based on my response to the question. It's strange. I was sitting in the old town square in Basel, Switzerland when I heard the news. I was drinking coffee. I was safe. It took a while to sink in. Then I cried. The people sitting at the table with me were all good friends from Europe. They did not know what to do or say. At first they were quiet. My closest friend hugged me. It felt unreal. Now I am sitting in a classroom in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and it is all too real. I guess my answer is that the world changed forever a few days ago. I do not know what the future holds, but it frightens me. The attack on the World Trade Center was an act of terrorism. It was terrorism because it was an attack on a civilian population. Maybe the attack on the Pentagon can be considered an act of war, since it was against a military target. Still, how can you consider the act of a relatively small group of people against a nation as a declaration of war, in the classic sense? For me, both attacks were acts of terrorism. Civilized nations do not make war against civilians or use lethal force based on ideologies, but then I have to ask: "What does it mean to be civilized?" The attack on the World Trade Center was not "civilized" in any sense of the word. Still, what worries me now are not questions about the difference between "war" and "terrorism." What worries me now is whether or not the United States will respond in a "civilized" manner. I do not think war is "civilized," so watching CNN reports on the "War Against Terrorism" frightens me. Listening to various government officials talk about "Declaring War on Terrorism" frightens me. Hearing interviews with US citizens talking about "Vengeance" frightens me. While war may, at times, be "unavoidable", it still is not "civilized." While vengeance may be a first response to a horrible act, it still is not "civilized." A "civilized" response would be a call for "Justice." Yet when I hear the word "Justice" used in relation to the World Trade Center attack there is almost always the clear implication that it means "Vengeance" or "War." While "Justice" is not always blind, fair, possible, reasonable or totally just, it is a "civilized" response to any act of violence against another. What "Justice" means at this moment, I am not sure. However, I sincerely doubt it includes war or vengeance. However, I am sure that it does include "proof," "evidence" and a "fair and impartial trial." While the United Nations is not a legal body, it can work to seek Justice where nations are involved in violence against others. We have International Courts that are designed to deal with individuals and groups that commit violence against others on an international scale. It seems to me that using these two and other similar bodies offers a far better chance of obtaining "Justice" than does "Declaring War." One other thing that I am certain of is that confusing a group, or various groups, of terrorists with a religion is a profound mistake. It is not "Just." Such confusion will only lead to greater divisions in the world, and more violence. There is one other element that we have to take into consideration. There are many people in the world who do not like the foreign policies of the United States. Many people perceive the United States as acting as the "Policeman of the World." One of the best commentaries I have read regarding the current situation was written here in Brazil. Basically the author was saying that in the midst of this tragic terror he hoped the United States would learn that it is not invulnerable. It is part of a larger world. It cannot impose its will on others. Going to war is another way of trying to regain a sense of control and omnipotence. Seeking justice would be a profound statement that the United States understands that it is part of a world community, and wants to act as a responsible and equal member of that community. In the midst of all of this I have to return to my pastoral roots and identity and ask: "What would be a pastoral response to these acts of terror?" I know that the word "pastoral" is very complex, but everything in me says that it has much more to do with the search for Justice than with the declaration of war.
~
We all remember where we were when we first started watching the news coverage of the terrorist attacks of September 11. Many people who have never been to New York, and perhaps didn't even like that city, suddenly felt like it was a personal attack on them. I was born in the Brooklyn area of New York and have long loved re-visiting Manhattan. It is a very special place for me. As the world news seemed to threaten world catastrophe I would look for some signs of hope in the churches and museums and institutions in the city. Cathedrals like St. John the Divine and St. Patrick's and out of the way small churches like the John Street Methodist Meeting were very special; and touring by city bus revealed many large and small churches; many faiths, all seeking some sense in the world. I am old enough to remember the Second World War, and also living on Long Island in the mid 40's saw the United Nations in Lake Success, before the large structures on the East River were built. I have visited the UN in New York many times over the last fifty years and continue to hold out the hope that the peoples and nations of the world will find that we can and must learn to live together in peace. But even with all of this enthusiasm I was not sure I should make a trip to the city. Before the attacks I had been planning to fly there in order to attend a mid-October reunion at the Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey. Judy and I thought through this and decided I should go in part to give support to friends who live in the area, and to have a chance to prove that it is safe to travel. I had sent e-mail messages to friends back in New York and they commented on being pleased with the fine Oregonians coming to show their support, while wearing "Oregon loves NY" shirts. Travel is not the same. Armed reservists stood in the airports and in front of train stations. But I began to relax and got to the city and to prove to myself that much of the city is running as usual I went to see St. Patrick's and Rockefeller Center with ice rink, and was feeling better, until I noticed the news reader board above the studio for the TODAY show saying that the Senate leader had been exposed to anthrax. It was obviously too soon to be hoping that all would be well. Not to be discouraged I got the U.N. the next day, and found large sand filled trucks blocking all traffic except pedestrians. It was possible to enter the U.N. for a tour, after going through airport type security checks. The tour group was small and included a couple from Russia, our new ally in confronting terrorism. Another day I stood on line at 47th Street to get a half price ticket to see Kiss me Kate, and while waiting conversed with a woman who it turned out was from Myrtle Point, and we were both impressed with what a small world we live in. I had time to wander in Central Park, to see Strawberry Fields, and the memorial to John Lennon, with the word Imagine the sole reminder. Not until it was time to leave did I have the courage to go to Ground Zero and since I went in the evening the area was dim and access was blocked by barriers and New York's finest; but from two blocks off I could see into the rubble, with steam and smoke wafting upward five weeks after the tragedy. Bright lights spotlighted the area and construction workers continued round the clock carting away the sad rubble. I found myself with a lot of observers and there was a somber feeling, as people did not talk, just stared in disbelief. Later I visited with friends on Long Island and it was the homes where the tragedy came home. Neighbors across the street from my boyhood home have grandsons in the New York fire department and they told me how Scott had rescued one person near the Tower and took him to the hospital where the doctors insisted that Scott stay to be treated for the burns he had from his rescue effort. Had he returned immediately the story could have been tragic. Now that I'm back in Oregon I think fondly of our brave City of New York, of its people. I recall walking past fire stations with candles and posters and flowers on the steps. I think of posters at Grand Central Station asking if persons who had worked in the Towers had been seen. And I also think of the sights of life going on and of buildings going up, which I managed to capture with a photo of myself in front of construction at Columbus Circle. The tragedy is very real, and hurts deeply, and I was pleased to be able to be in the city and to be in touch with some of the brave people there. ~ A
CONTEXTUAL PERSPECTIVE While reading an
article in a recent issue of Christian Century I was struck by a phrase I'm sure I have
heard before but perhaps not with so much meaning as it presently had for me and I think
for others as well: "contextualized theological reflection." The author
was referring to the general area of pastoral care and counseling as the place where our
intellectualized ideas and thoughts are refined and clarified as they confront people's
lives, especially the pain and the anguish that inhabit their living. Through that
refinement process, ideas take on meaning and validity. Through that refinement
process ideas confront and are in turn confronted by life. I am confronting my life and others' lives as they have been now impacted by the emotional response of fear and anger. There exists within this nation the awareness that as a nation we will never again be immune to the events of the world, which we have impacted but not been impacted by. I feel that it is essential that, in confronting these events that I raise the "contextual" issue. I need to ask myself in what context they have occurred. For these events are not insulary or isolated events but events in a world where hatred and suspicion have been by bywords that define our mutual response to one another. Some might accuse me of blaming America, that is a phrase one hears frequently these days, as in "don't blame America for the actions of others." And I do not wish to blur responsibility in one person, group, or nation for the actions of others. But I do want to look clearly and definitively at what has occurred, and which I think describe the actions that occurred on September 11, and since then. When I do so I see a world in which the poor have been powerless, in which the disenfranchised have been homeless, making them particularly vulnerable to the outrage expressed on their behalf and the retribution promised for their suffering. And the contextual examination speaks a truth that acknowledges that all of us have a responsibility for creating that world. And that if another world may be created it will take the joined effort of all persons to care for one another, rather than wreak vengeance and retribution on one another. Contextually speaking, we need together to take steps to create a different world. And that world will in fact take on meaning where each and all of us live our lives. If pastoral care
and counseling are "contextual reflections" then it is in fact that context that
needs to be addressed and in which healing will occur, if in fact it occurs anywhere.
Pastoral care and counseling, as it takes shape in a "Pastoral Care
Network" move toward people where they hurt, where they are in pain, and where they
live. The principles that define those places, those lives, are principles where the
mighty take power unto themselves. And new principles of caring, of justice, leading
toward peace need now to rise and be seen and heard.
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