The second week of the
CRC’s Sea to Sea bike tour is in the books. The second leg of the journey took the bikers from Kennewick to Boise, a total distance of 321 miles.
There’s a basic theme in the daily prayers from the
“Shifting Gears” devotional. There is a fundamentally environmental focus, and by that I mean not just the natural environment, but the economic, political, and social environment of the areas through which the bikers progress.
For instance, the day 1 prayer (from week 1), notes the “controversial residential and building projects” that are faced by the community of Sultan “as its economic foundation erodes and the suburbs spread into the countryside.” On day 8 we are reminded to “thank God our provider today for the ability to produce and distribute food within a local setting.” On day 10, on the stretch between La Grande and Baker City, we are informed that “in areas like this, water runoff is a serious problem.”
One basic point this underscores is that effective compassion has to be fundamentally local, in the sense that it is intimately familiar with the local contexts of the problems that need to be faced. So far the devotional has maintained a somewhat neutral attitude about the various environmental problems, which is important because it is all too easy and simple to preemptively come in from the outside and tell communities what the solutions to their problems are.
One way to help communities around the world where we don’t have local knowledge is to partner with local groups who do have that expertise. Affiliation is the
first principle of effective compassion, and we ought to ask of a program, “Does it work through families, neighbors, and religious or community organizations, or does it supersede them?”
The second week of the bike tour took the participants through the state of Oregon. To find groups that are focused on making compassion effective in these areas, see
the Samaritan Guide’s listings for Oregon, including Salem’s
“Mentoring Women in Prison and Released” program of
Freedom in the Son, Inc., rated “excellent” in the 2004 Samaritan Guide.
Mon, 10/13/2008 13:58
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