Not Independent, But Dependent

The United States of America is getting ready to celebrate Independence Day, but many Americans don't feel independent or free. They feel trapped, or enslaved, because they are without sufficient income, a decent job, a reasonable outlook, and are oppressed by financial worries. Such a burden makes them feel as if they are held captive by stress, colonized by woe.

Lifestyles have changed drastically since the economic collapse. Once thriving households are now single-parent income, not double-parent income (some have no working parents). Vacation plans have been scrapped because rent can't be paid. Nights out on the town have been replaced with meager dinners at home. Many areas of individuals lives are made to suffer because of a lack of sufficient income.

Thankfully, unemployment benefits became a reality for many, offering a cushion during the trying months of unemployment. Families were able to depend on the weekly benefits to make it through. Rent was able to be paid, Metrocards were purchased so job-readiness training could ensue, tithe was returned, and other activities could happen. Such was the case for a while. At some point, though, the money to fund unemployment benefits ran out. Lights out, the show's over.

Temporary extensions did materialize, but they were not to last. For whatever series of complex political and economic reasons, the decision to reinstate and/or continue unemployment benefits for the millions of unemployed could not be made. That, coupled with the lack of sufficient jobs for workers, created a devastating situation for the American people, New Yorkers in particular.

Next week, Congress will be taking a week-long break. If the house and Senate cannot come to a positive decision before then, another week of missed benefits will be the reality for the unemployed whose benefits have been terminated. Another week with no money means it will be harder to eat. It will be harder to make ends meet. It will be harder to sleep at night, too.

Why should you care? Laughably, for many reasons. One reason is that you may be next! There is no such thing as job security anymore. Even "good" jobs, like working for the city or state, are not guarnteed anymore. Another reason is that we are our brother's keeper. We have a moral obligation to assist them when they fall upon hardships like these.

So, what can we do? Why not turn to the most effective strategy available to us, as Christians? Let's pray and depend on God. Let's all join together and ask the God of heaven to work the situation out on behalf of the unemployed. For five days straight—July 5th through July 9th—let's pray once per day to God, asking Him to:

• Restore unemployment benefits to those who are without until they find work
• Open up a job for the unemployed so that they can resume a normal American way of life
• Heal the nation's economy so that fear and lack of faith doesn't drive many to despair
• Allow the unemployed to see God's Hand of Mercy throughout this ordeal

We don't know how God will resolve the issue, but we know that he will resolve the issue. This is a time to depend on God, even more than before. Let's turn the matter over to Him and await a positive answer. Whatever the outcome, trust that God is in charge and is doing the best thing for us all.

God bless you, as you bless others.
Elder Scott Hampton

Dirty Hands

As the First Elder of South Brooklyn, I maintain regular office hours. This time is set aside as a ministerial service on Friday nights from 7:00PM to 8:30PM for consultations, prayer, and encouragement for the church members and general community.

While I prefer to be on time for my appointments, I understand that distractions do come about (Murphy's Law, anyone?), so I expect to see distractions. I don't always know what to expect, though. In one instance before office hours I was confronted with Murphy's Law and received a very powerful object lesson for my time.

I was busy grouting tiles earlier in the day with a rich, dark, charcoal grout. I am more flexible and dexterous using my bare hands, so I did not wear gloves. I had a great time spreading the grout and working it in between the tiles with the grout float, my hands getting messy from the grout. When I finished, I stood back to admire my hard work. Then I realized the time. I was late to pick up the children from school, so I quickly showered and got ready to leave, not realizing that my hands were still terribly stained from the grout.

Even after the shower, the edges and under my fingernails looked terrible. It looked as if I had been digging for diamonds in a mine. I scrubbed my hands as hard as I could, even using an old toothbrush to scrub away at my hands. It didn't work. I tried using oil to emulsify the grout residue. That didn't work, either. Despite my best efforts the grout simply would not come out.

I rushed to pick up the children and had to sign them out. Embarrassed, I signed the sheet to claim my little ones. I saw the after-school teacher's face when she saw my hands. "Odd", she must have thought, "this fellow is dressed up but his hands look atrocious". I couldn't hide my filthy hands, no matter what I tried to do.

Back at home, I tried scrubbing again. Nothing worked. I only got frustrated with my unsuccessful attempts. I thought of many different ways to hide my hands so no one would see them: keep them in my pockets, keep them under the desk, hold them at odd angles...anything to detract from the pitiful condition of my hands so that no one would notice them.

Finally, it dawned on me. Jesus was trying to reinforce a major truth to me in a remarkable object lesson: "What can wash away my sin? Nothing, but the blood of Jesus!" Isn't that the way it goes with sin? Typically, when someone is confronted with their sin, they do their best to discount or belittle the effects and impact of their sin. There's cover up. There are excuses. There is denial. Through it all, the sin is seen by others and there's no escaping it.

That, my friends, is where Jesus comes in. Listen to what He says in the Bible: Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." That's a relief, not just from the fruitless scrubbing and fig-leaf knitting, but from the problem of trying to hide the sin! Jesus says that we can just sit down and have a good, old-fashioned pow-wow with Him, Mano a mano. He tells us to come to the negotiating table and He'll assume all of the odds, all of the losses, and let us emerge as a winner. Now that's a deal!

I have some dirt to scrub off. Some crimson stains, and I want to get this embarrassing dross off of myself, once and for all. How about you? Remember, there's not much to it. Just ask Jesus to clean you up and start over fresh. Tell Him your sins, ask to be forgiven, and walk away clean. If you ned help, stop by our church. Our Pastor and Elders are more than willing to coach you along.

God bless you, as you bless others.
Elder Scott Hampton

Pathfinder Camping Trip

Special Guest Blog Post
On the Friday of Memorial Day weekend 2010, the South Brooklyn Cougars, Hanson Place Constellations, and Shiloh Chrysolites were on their way to Alpine Scout Camp. South Brooklyn provided twelve Pathfinders and one parent. There was a total of fifty Pathfinders and staff on this outing.

Press the white triangle to start the slideshow.


No one was prepared for the long hike to the camp site with their personal belongings. Fortunately, a ranger assisted with the transportation of our camp equipment: tents, food, stove, tables, etc. Our goal was to make certain that all our tents were pitched before it got dark. To our dismay, we were still setting up when it got dark, but learning to adapt is very important in Pathfindering.
On Sabbath morning, those in the Friends class were indoctrinated to the early morning routine of showers at 5:30AM. It took about fifteen minutes just to get to the showers. This was followed by a delicious breakfast of scrambled tofu, eggs, turkey bacon, and bread. Hanson Place then led out in a wonderful devotion where animated discussions took place among four groups about peer pressure, dating, role models, respect, etc.

After a short break, the Junior Pathfinders worked on the honor worms (this involved finding worms and racing them). Meanwhile, the senior Pathfinders worked on the honor orienteering where they used compasses to locate hidden balloons filled with candy. Later, we all enjoyed a sumptuous lunch of yellow rice, dinner roast, chick peas, and tossed salad.

Each class (Friend through Ranger) worked on their camping skills. They focussed on how to preserve the outdoors so others could enjoy it and how to survive in the outdoors. We then went for a short hike on the Red Dot Trail. When we got back to our campsite we enjoyed a necessary break. At this point, we were honored to have President Jones, Coordinator Burns, and Secretary Phillips join our camp. As President Jones inspected the campsites, he advised South Brooklyn to stake their tents. Sound advice, since it began to rain shortly after. To close the Sabbath, Shiloh led us in a rousing devotion. Afterwards we started bonfire time, which included making s’mores and storytelling with President Jones.

On Sunday morning, Director Charles “mushed” those who were asleep with lotion. Some of the campers were getting the hang of early morning rising for showers, so they escaped a dousing of lotion on their face.

After breakfast, Hanson Place led out in devotion. Then we were off to the day’s activities. We were divided into two groups: one group learned rock climbing and the other group learned archery. The groups switched places after an hour. Both activities were fun. Some of the campers found out that the activities looked easier than they really were, while other campers found that they were a natural and enjoyed every moment.

We spent a few days bonding, enjoying nature, having fun, and developing our skills as Pathfinders. We took tons of pictures to remember our good times by. Unfortunately, our time at Alpine was over before we realized it and we had to head back to regular life. We packed our belongings, hit the trail, and bid Alpine Scout Camp adieu until another year.

Pathfinder Director Simone Charles