where you go, i will go; where you lodge, i will lodge ... 2.pdfi will lodge; your people shall be...
TRANSCRIPT
W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * I
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.— Ruth 1:16
WORSHIP AND BIBLE STUDY SERIES #1
W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 1
Purpose of the General Board of Global Ministries The organization’s purpose is found within the expression of
the total mission of the Church. It is a missional instrument of The United Methodist Church.
Materials and resources that show how The United Methodist Church is working for God’s mission around the world.
Series #1 was created by a collaboration of a number of people: Mary Ellen Kris, Ministry with the Poor Consultant to the General Board of Global Ministries, who served as the overall editor; David Wildman of Justice and Discipleship at the General Board of Global Ministries, who developed the Bible Studies and related devotional materials; Jorge Lockward of Global Praise at the General Board of Global Ministries and John Thornburg, clergy member from the North Texas Annual Conference, who served as music editors; and Hal Sadler, with the design team of Mission Communications of the General Board of Global Ministries, who designed and produced the overall resource.
W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 1
© 2011 The General Board of Global Ministries. All rights reserved.
Material from this series may be reproduced without adaptation in accordance with the copyright restrictions contained on the music selections, and provided the following notice appears with the excerpted material: From the Ministry with the Poor Worship and Bible Series #1 Copyright © 2011 The General Board of Global Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
inistry with the Poor is one of the four priority areas of focus of The United Methodist Church. These focus
areas are meant to educate, inspire, mobilize, connect, and engage the people of The United Methodist Church in our common mission of becoming and helping others to become disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
“Ministry with the Poor involves ministries of love and justice where appropriate action is defined and taken in right relationship with, among, and by those who are impoverished — materially, spiritually, or otherwise. One way or another, all experience suffering and poverty, all are in need of grace, and all are called to minister to and show grace to others. Guided by love and grace, Ministry with the Poor requires mutuality of relationship with, by, and of the poor.” (Ministry with the Poor Guiding
Principles and Foundations, adopted October 29, 2010 by the United Methodist Interagency Task Force on Ministry with the Poor)
This Ministry with the Poor Worship and Bible Series #1 is the first in a series of worship and Bible studies to be used as spiritual resources regarding engaging in ministry with the poor. This series is composed of different units that can be used either as one unified series, or as separate, downloadable units that can be used on specific occasions. Each unit includes scripture verses to be read, an interpretive reflection based on those scripture passages, questions for discussion and action, a prayer, hymns (with sheet music) that complement the reflection themes, as well as a list of other hymns that lift up the same themes.
More information is available at: www.ministryWITH.org
INTRODUCTION
“�Remember the myriads of emigrants who are constantly crowding to our country. Let not their differences in language, manners, religion, or conditions in life throw us at a distance from them.”— Pastoral address, Methodist General ConferenCe 1852
2 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 2 3 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 3
hroughout the Bible, ministry with the poor includes widows, orphans, and migrant workers (i.e., sojourners, aliens,
foreigners, or strangers). The well-being of these economically vulnerable groups was considered the measure of how faithfully a community was fulfilling its covenant with God and neighbor.
In a desert climate that suffered regular droughts and
famines, people often had to migrate to another land in order to survive. Such migration could increase people’s vulnerability to forced labor and other forms of exploitation and discrimination. Under
these circumstances, an ethic of hospitality and mutuality
with migrants was critical for the survival of all the communities in the region.
The book of Ruth starts with Naomi, her husband, and two sons migrating from Bethlehem in Judah to Moab because of famine. The two sons marry Moabite women,
and when all three men in the family die, Naomi decides to return home to Judah. Ruth, one of her Moabite daughters-in-law, insists upon joining her: “Where you go I will go; where you lodge I will lodge; your people will be my people; and your God my god” (Ruth 1:16).
Ruth demonstrates faithful solidarity and accompaniment with Naomi in crossing borders and cultures. Not only are they both economically vulnerable as widows, but Ruth has now become a foreign migrant worker. Fortunately, Ruth finds work alongside other women in the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s. Naomi says: “It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise you might be bothered in another field” (Ruth 2:22). These ties of solidarity and kinship protect Ruth, a young, female foreign worker, from exploitation and abuse that she may well have faced at another work site.
Given the risks and realities facing migrants in biblical times, the Bible included many prescriptions to protect foreign migrant workers and their families. Remembering their past experience as enslaved foreigners in Egypt laid the foundation for the Israelites to practice a prescribed ethic of hospitality with foreigners.
REFLECTION
Ministrywiththepoorinvolvessolidarityandaccompaniment–walkingwiththeeconomicallyvulnerable,marginalized,andexcluded,suchasmigrantworkersandtheirfamilies.
Biblical Readings:
Ruth — special focus on Ruth 1:16; Ruth 2:22; Deuteronomy 24:19; Ezekiel 47:22; 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7; Ephesians 2:19
2 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 2 3 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 3
In Deuteronomy, the well-being of the whole community depended upon compliance with covenantal obligations, including providing basic necessities to foreign workers and widows. When people harvested fields, olive trees, or grape vineyards, they were not to go through a second time to pick everything; instead, “it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings” (Deuteronomy 24:19). The prophet Ezekiel, addressing a Jewish community living under Babylonian colonial rule, even proclaimed that land shall be provided to foreign workers who live with the people. “You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten children among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel” (Ezekiel 47:22).
Today, an increasing number of governments, and employers, forget or ignore the biblical injunctions to treat migrant workers with dignity and equality. Most of the people we would call migrants today work long hours for minimal pay and no benefits, doing backbreaking work under arduous conditions. Mistreating and cheating these workers is not uncommon. In place of a prescribed ethic of hospitality, humane treatment, and inclusion, governments are enacting harsh anti-immigrant policies that divide families and deny basic human rights to many immigrants. In a global economy where goods, services, money, and jobs flow freely across permeable borders, it is sadly ironic that people who migrate across borders out of economic necessity are treated as outlaws, outcasts, or an underclass of workers to be used and thrown away.
Jesus and the disciples left everything and became migrant workers, traveling from one town to another. The apostle Paul was a migrant worker for the early church. Paul traveled thousands of miles and lived temporarily in many communities.
One of those communities in which Paul worked and spread the good news was Corinth,
a cosmopolitan trading city with many goods and many migrant workers. A diverse and often divided community, Paul counseled the Corinthians to draw strength from their diversity and stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable in their midst: “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit…To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:4, 7).
As in biblical times, most of the people we call migrant workers today have family in several countries, and in rural and urban areas. Many migrant workers go to great lengths to send remittances back to their families at home. As with Ruth and Naomi, family ties are just as important today, though often very difficult to maintain.
Today in communities with large immigrant populations like Corinth, the Church can become a kind of diverse, inclusive, extended family of people who come from many places. Unfortunately, like the early church, the Church today often is still divided in many ways along lines of ethnic background and nationality. That, too, is sadly ironic.
Where would the Church be without migrant workers? Without poor migrant workers, such as Paul and the other disciples, the early church never would have spread across the Roman Empire. Indeed, Methodism would not have become a movement without the itinerant ministry of John Wesley and many other migrant workers in England; and Methodism would not have swept across the United States without the migrant, itinerant Circuit Riders.
When we stand in solidarity with migrant workers facing exclusion, low wages, and harsh working conditions, and when we accompany migrant workers and their families in the quest for justice, then we open ourselves to the blessings of the Spirit promised in Ruth, in Deuteronomy, in Ezekiel and in Paul’s Letters to early churches. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
4 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 4 5 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 5
Prayer:
O�God�of�wayfarers,�orphans,�widows,�and�migrant�workers,�you�call�
us�all�to�walk�humbly�with�you.�Teach�us�to�walk�humbly�with�migrant�
workers�this�day,�we�pray.�Help�us�break�down�any�dividing�walls�that�
separate�citizens�and�immigrants�from�one�another�and�from�you.�
Bind�our�hearts�in�love�for�one�another�and�for�you.�For�when�we�walk�
together,�those�of�us�who�are�far�off�and�those�who�are�near,�all�find�
our�home�in�you.�Amen.�
Questions for Discussion and Action:
• Examine the labels in all your clothes and make a list of all the countries where things were made. We know the quality of the product and the price, but do we know the conditions of the workers who made them? Now think of the food you eat. How much is grown locally, and how much is imported? Why is it so much easier for goods, food, other resources, as well as companies, to cross borders than it is for migrant workers? What questions and concerns about migrant workers are being raised in your community? What role might the church play in supporting migrant workers and citizens alike?
• Are there migrant workers in your community? What are some of the hardships migrant workers face today? What are some strengths and gifts they bring to your community? In what ways might your local congregation accompany migrant workers and their families in the quest for justice?
• The United Methodist Social Principles state: “We call upon governments and all employers to ensure for foreign workers the same economic, educational, and social benefits enjoyed by other citizens. Foreign workers also need a religious fellowship, and we call for the churches to include these in their care and fellowships and to support them in their efforts for better conditions” (Paragraph 163F). What changes are needed in public policies to realize the values expressed in the Social Principles? How are churches offering hospitality and standing in solidarity with migrant workers?
4 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 4 5 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 5
Charity(DoNotOfferMeYourMoney)
1. Do2. Do3. Do4. Do
Cm
notnotnotnot
ofofofof
ferferferfer
----
memememe
Ebyouryouryouryour
monpian
com
ey,ty,
swers,fort,
--
--
ifififif
that’sthat’sthat’syou
allallallwill
Fm7
youyouthatnot
haveyougive
have
toto
canyour
give,spare,do,love,
Gm7
thoughthoughthoughthough
Cm
myI’myouI’m
clothes
spatsee
bleed
mayupmeing,
-
beonas
brok
Eb
-inandaen,-
tattauntprobhelp
tersed,lemless,
----
andand
incaught
mynothe
which
-
-
flesh
bounev
Fm7
toodyemer
---
seemsployway
frail
-
toto
mentI
-
live.care.
queue.move.
Fm/Bb
ForFor
IOh,
Bb7
mytheama
diglightper
wake
Eb
-
nithatson,your
-
-
tyshines
notheart
- will
withstato
clotheintis
cour
Cm
--
me,me,tic,age,
--
remy
itflectslifedo
-
doestheis
not
notglo
pleassoothe
Ab
dery
ingit
--
pendthat
toin
- on
istheto-
you.God,Lord,sleep,
Fm/Bb
Godandbyfor
Bb7
inal
thatto
tendthoughgrace
live
Eb
-
-ed,
II
in
- Godwalkam
faith
Bb/D reinofis
vealdarkvalcost
Cm7 - ing,
ness,ue,ly,
----
itit
hobut
Abaug/Gb willcanly,in
-
-
-
1.2.3. 4.letnothudif
Fm7
myex
manfer
--
spirtinis
ence
Fm/Bb
-
-
itguish
theis
--
through.God.Word.
Eb
G7b5
G7
cheap.
B
Db'9 Eb
Words: Kathy GallowayMusic: Jackson Henry
Words © 2003 WGRG, Iona Community. GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Users must contact OneLicense.net, 1-800-663-1501, [email protected] for congregational reprint permission, including overhead projection. Music © 2011 Jackson Henry. Administered by the General Board of Global Ministries t/a GBGMusik, 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10115. All rights reserved.
6 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 6 7 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 7
Charity�(Do�Not�Offer�Me�Your�Money)�—�Keyboard Accompaniment
1. Do2. Do3. Do4. Do
notnotnotnot
ofofofof
ferferferfer
----
memememe
youryouryouryour
monpian
com
ey,ty,
swers,fort,
--
--
ifififif
that’sthat’sthat’syou
allallallwill
youyouthatnot
haveyougive
have
toto
canyour
give,spare,do,love,
Cm
Eb
Fm7
Gm7
thoughthoughthoughthough
myI’myouI’m
clothes
spatsee
bleed
mayupmeing,
-
beonas
brok
-inandaen,-
tattauntprobhelp
tersed,lemless,
----
andand
incaught
mynothe
which
fleshbounev
-
-
toodyemer
---
seemsployway
frail
-
toto
mentI
-
Cm
Eb
Fm7
live.care.
queue.move.
ForFor
IOh,
mytheama
diglightper
wake
-
nithatson,your
-
-
tyshines
notheart
- will
withstato
clotheintis
cour
--
me,me,tic,age,
--
remy
itflectslifedo
-
doestheis
not
Fm/Bb
Bb7
Eb
Cm
Words: Kathy GallowayMusic: Jackson Henry
Words © 2003 WGRG, Iona Community. GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Users must contact OneLicense.net, 1-800-663-1501, [email protected] for congregational reprint permission, including overhead projection. Music © 2011 Jackson Henry. Administered by the General Board of Global Ministries t/a GBGMusik, 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10115. All rights reserved.
6 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 6 7 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 7
Charity�(Do�Not�Offer�Me�Your�Money)�—�Keyboard Accompaniment
notglo
pleassoothe
dery
ingit
--
pendthat
toin
- on
istheto-
you.God,Lord,sleep,
Godandbyfor
inal
thatto
tendthoughgrace
live
-
-ed,
II
in
- Godwalkam
faith
reinofis
vealdarkvalcost
- ing,
ness,ue,ly,
----
itit
hobut
willcanly,in
-
-
-
Ab
Fm/Bb
Bb7
Eb
Bb/D
Cm7
Abaug/Gb
1.2.3.
4.
letnothudif
myex
manfer
--
spirtinis
ence
-
-
itguish
theis
--
through.God.Word.
cheap.
Fm7
Fm/Bb
Eb
G7b5
G7
B
Db'9
Eb
Words: Kathy GallowayMusic: Jackson Henry
Words © 2003 WGRG, Iona Community. GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Users must contact OneLicense.net, 1-800-663-1501, [email protected] for congregational reprint permission, including overhead projection. Music © 2011 Jackson Henry. Administered by the General Board of Global Ministries t/a GBGMusik, 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10115. All rights reserved.
8 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 8 9 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 9
Carnavalito
La
RefrainEm
la la la la
la la
la
la
D
la
la
Em
Fine
Portuguese: Dá
English: Give
Em
tu
me
a
your
- mão,
hand,
va
we
mos
will
- se
go
guir,
on,
-
jun
jour
D
tos
ney
-
-
i
to
re
geth
-
-
mos
er
-
-
an
as
dar.
one.
Em
-
3. Lu
1. Com2. Com
1. Walk2. Walk3. Fight
Em
toa
tan
inginging
-
---
ledo
inwith
in
da_a---
fégricon
faith,joy,jus
-
-
que
tra
emas
tice,
a,--
-
--
te
comto
powsured,lead
G/D
mosa
da_in
ereduning
-
-
-
-
numcerjus
bya
the
-
-
Deusteti
God,fraid:way:
--
-
cazaça,
whothe
God’s
--
pazde_umque_há
makessunjus
Am
- de
solde
allwilltice-
lique_ainda
peoshinewill
se_a
B7
ber
vai bril
ple
prea
ca
-
-
-
tar.
free.
har.
vail.gain.
bar.
Em
--
--
-
D.C. al Fine
Words: Felipe Centeno and Leonardo Fagundes; English trans., Jorge Lockward and Debra Tyree.Music: Leonardo Fagundes
Words and music © 1983 Felipe Centeno and Leonardo Fagundes. All rights reserved. Used by permission. English trans. © 2011 General Board of Global Ministries t/a GBGMusik, 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10115. All rights reserved.
Carnavalitodeandar/CarnavalitofortheJourney
8 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 8 9 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H * 9
Carnavalito�de�andar�/�Carnavalito�for�the�journey�—�Keyboard Accompaniment
Carnavalito
La
Em
la la la la
la la
la
la
D
la
la
Em
Fine
Dá
Give
Em
tume
ayour- mão,
hand,
vawe
moswill
- sego on,
guir,
- jun
jour
D
tosney
--
ito
regeth
--
moser
--
anas one.
dar.
Em
-
3. Lu
1. Com2. Com
1. Walk2. Walk3. Fight
Em
toa
tan
inginging
-
---
ledo
inwith
in
da_a---
fégricon
faith,joy,jus
-
-
que
tra
emas
tice,
a,
--
-
tecom
to
powsured,lead
G/D
--
mosa
da_in
ereduning
-
-
-
-
numcerjus
bya
the
-
-
Deusteti
God,fraid:way:
--
-
cazaça,
whothe
God’s
--
-
pazde_umque_há
makessunjus
Am
desolde
allwilltice-
lique_ainda
peoshinewill
se_a
B7
ber
vai bril
ple
prea
ca
-
-
-
tar.
free.
har.
vail.gain.
bar.
Em
--
--
-
D.C. al Fine
Words: Felipe Centeno and Leonardo Fagundes; English trans., Jorge Lockward and Debra Tyree.
Music: Leonardo Fagundes; harm., Jorge Lockward
Words and music © 1983 Felipe Centeno and Leonardo Fagundes. All rights reserved. Used by permission. English trans. © 2011 and harm. © 2002 General Board of Global Ministries t/a GBGMusik, 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10115. All rights reserved.
10 W A L K I N G I N S O L I D A R I T Y W I T H *
Additional Music Resources:
The United Methodist Hymnal
434�Cuando�el�pobre/When�the�Poor�Ones
561�Jesus,�United��by�Thy�Grace
The Faith We Sing
2223�They’ll�Know�We�Are�Christians�By�Our�Love
Zion Still Sings
89��Koinonia
219�I�Need�You�to�Survive
Worship and Song
3152�Welcome
Global Praise 2
#119�There�Are�Tables�in�Our�City
Global Praise 3
#172/173�En�medio�de�la�guerra/Amid�the�pain�of�war