Here's an email I received from an Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship person at my alma mater. (I don't know why they're still emailing me.)
Dear Christian Fellowship (CF) Alums:
As you may know, CF is going to Mississippi during the first week of spring break to help with rebuilding houses in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. We are working with a Christian ministry there. Their goal is to rebuild 200 houses in hurricane-affected areas.
[So far, so good.]
We had an unexpectedly large number of students who have registered for the trip. About half of the attendees are CF members and half are not. This is an excellent opportunity for CF students to engage their friends in spiritual conversations, and for non-Christians or non-involved students to experience a Christian community and be introduced to the person of Jesus. (In the evenings, we have "community time" which includes discussions of Jesus’ teachings about poverty, faith, and service.)
[A-ha.]
I would like to ask for your support in two specific ways:
1. Prayer: here are some specific prayer requests--
- safety in travel and while in Mississippi
- for effective organization of such a large group so that it remains cohesive and our work is effective and helpful
- for meaningful friendships to be built among Christians and non Christians
- for Christian students to be challenged to live out their faith by serving others and seeking justice
- for non Christian students to be drawn to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord through this trip
- for financial provision for this trip
2. Financial assistance.
We offer a discounted price to non-CF students so as to enable as many students as possible to come on this trip. Also, many students (including several international students and others on full financial aid) have requested partial scholarships for the trip. Because of the unexpectedly large number of students signed up and requesting scholarships, and because some of our former funding sources are not available to us this year, we are in need of approximately $4,000 to cover the expenses of this trip. Thanks very much for your consideration.
In Christ,
So, in case you missed that, this trip was only marginally to be about helping the good citizens of NOLA to rebuild after a devastating loss. It is not even about CF members building ties with the people of New Orleans or learning about how Christians there are responding to the disaster. It is about enticing "non Christians" into going on the trip in the first place, and then, once there, subjecting them to constant haranguing about Jesus.
I wonder if the "non Christians" knew what they were in for.
3 comments:
See, this is partly why I left the church in the first place. A literal, logical interpretation of a lot of protestant theology leads to exactly this kind of behavior. Why would it matter if we LIVE in poverty and squallor so long as, after our deaths, we ascend to heaven?
Still, even in that exceedingly narrow view, it's still pretty despicable that they care so little for NOLA residents.
OK, first - now I wish I'd bought that $10 used SAVED dvd I saw a few weeks ago. Great film.
And second, I had a conversation yesterday with a born-again Christian who regularly tries to convert me but who didn't seem to have much interest in Darfur, probably for this same pie-in-the-sky mentality. (Though, I want to quickly add, I know many Christians (and Jews), and people of other or no faiths) who are heavily invested in ending the genocide.)
Post a Comment