Message from the Executive Director

In our country, we always wait in expectation for particularly this week of the year. We gather with friends and family to celebrate the abundance of material and spiritual blessings we enjoy. These joys are ours not because of how good and gracious we are or have been. The privileges we enjoy in one hand are solely because of the pure grace of God, in the other hand, our joys and celebrations are possible because of the sacrifice of those that came before us.

The truth is that when we look back at the history of America, the cost of our privileges has been more than the sacrifice of previous generations. The history of how we have arrived at this point and place is tied to the suffering and literal sacrifice of millions of human beings. During this time of year, we also commemorate the "discovery" of America. The morning when I wrote this short reflection, I read an article about one of the saints during the period in which America was "discovered". Bartolome de las Casas was a Dominican friar and one of the fist Europeans to set foot on this hemisphere. Soon after arriving in the "new continent", he became horrified by the cruelty exerted on the local inhabitants. Commenting about the "evangelical motivations" of the conquest, this quote from De las Casas can summarize his position: "In order to gild a very cruel and harsh tyranny that destroys so many villages and, solely for the sake of satisfying the greed of men and giving them gold, the latter, who themselves do not know the faith, use the pretext of teaching it to others and thereby deliver up the innocent in order to extract from their blood the wealth which these men regard as their god."

Thanksgiving festivities then should be more than a celebration of the good life but a time to ponder on what kind of effect our socio-economical and political life has on others.  As I write, news about the situation in Gaza fills the airwaves. Regardless of our political views, as people of faith we must confront and resist violence. We cannot settle for a world in which the only response to conflict is violence. As Americans, have we learned anything during the last 500 years? Dr. King reminds us "Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Dr. King's principles are an inspiration to the project of Christian Churches Together. The Church in our country is still un-reconciled. As we attempt to promote relationships that could lead us to reconciliation, we cannot dare to suppress history or ignore the sin of previous generations. We must deal with past hatred and present indifference or ignorance. Few want to engage in this venture because it is too messy. Many think it is not worth the effort.

I refuse to give up on hope. Even more so, I refuse to give up on the power of the gospel and the capacity of the human soul summited to the will of the Holy Spirit.

Rev. Carlos L. Malavé