My faith compelled me to go.
I received the call in the middle of the Covenant Church’s 2005 annual meeting while they were voting on whether or not my wife should be on the executive board. Jim Stipe, the former New York organizer for Bread for the World, asked if Amy or I would like to go to Scotland—all expenses paid to advocate for poor and hungry people in Africa during the G8 (great eight) summit. My initial response was, “uhh…yeah!” A free trip to Scotland—of course I will go!
It did not take long for the realization to sink in that this was no ordinary trip to Scotland to see Edinburgh castle; this was a trip with weight and responsibility. Jim had told me that they wanted me to go because I represented the “normal” people and that, as a pastor, I represented the faith perspective. I would most likely be interviewed by media, but other than that he had no idea what the itinerary would be. I slowly began to feel much less like Isaiah who, when called by God in chapter 6 says “here I am, send me!!” (like an excited student squirming in his seat with hand raised high in the back of the room). Rather, I began to feel more like Jeremiah, who is much more concerned about the task before him, for he knows what it means to be a prophet, that it is not glamorous, and rarely “fun.” “Ah, Sovereign LORD," he says in 1:6, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." He protests, and yet still answers the call. I was beginning to feel the same weight that Jeremiah did.
After expediting my passport application in two days (you can get anything done in New York City), I was ready to head to Philadelphia for the Live8 concert after which we would head back to NYC and fly out of JFK international airport. Arriving late, I ended up sitting in the shade at the concert reading Fear and Trembling (Kierkegaard) and listening to Will Smith rock the home crowd with the “Fresh Prince” song. It was the perfect combination. That evening, Bread for the World held a dinner at the White Dog Café, a restaurant known for feeding those working for justice and advocacy. David Beckman, the president of Bread, told us that we as a delegation were much like Abram when told by God to leave his home—he just went, but didn’t know what to expect. In the same way we were going because God has asked us to do this work, but no one knew what to expect.
The next morning, as if the anxiety of not knowing wasn’t enough, we had a briefing on how to talk with the media, and what to do if they asked pointed or highly critical questions. We were told that all our local media venues were being contacted and that it was likely we would be interviewed. Live interviews were preferred so that nothing could be edited or slanted in ways that we did not wish, and the idea of going live before a Manhattan audience was at once exciting, but also intimidating. The rest of the day was spent traveling: by bus to JFK, and by Virgin Atlantic to Heathrow Airport in London.
At Heathrow we held a press conference with Sir Bob Geldolf, organizer of the Live8 concerts, and Kumi Naidoo, chair of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP). Kumi works closely with Nelson Mandela and told us that he went into exile when Mandela was arrested. After the press conference, we were off to Scotland, to our local hotels and then most went to bed because of jet lag. Mysteriously, I seemed to be someone who did not suffer from this form of exhaustion, and with a double espresso from the Starbucks (I got to use my employee discount!) I went sight-seeing with Michelle Tooley, a professor of religious ethics at Brea college (Kentucky). We went to Edinburgh castle, took a picture with a bagpiper, marveled at how the whole city was promoting the “Make Poverty History” campaign in its storefronts, on the streets, and how almost every church was involved in one way or another.
And then we stumbled across a park with probably 50 clowns in it. Now, I am one of those people who is unnerved by clowns, but Michelle walked right up to them and found out that they were the Clown army (you simply must check them out at www.clownarmy.org—especially their operation Brown Nose at the G8 in Edinburgh). We were told that they were clowns committed to non-violent protest and action, and that if either the protestors or the police were violent they would disrupt them. To quote their website: “Operation BROWN-NOSE will involve giving hugs to the needy, playing games with all our friends, and other similarly militant activities. We request full cooperation from the public for this operation.” It made me think about what it might mean to be a “holy fool” for God. Even if I didn’t have a complete itinerary, know exactly what to say to the media, or how to respond to the responsibility of advocacy, perhaps simply being the holy fool was a good place to begin.
Tuesday morning began with breakfast at the hotel, watching the morning news in which they went live to Africa and a social worker, who told us what was necessary for relief and the continuation of his work, and a briefing for the ONE campaign. Soon after the briefing began, Holly, a Bread organizer from California, came up to me and informed me that I was to be interviewed by a Manhattan TV affiliate and we had to leave right way to get to the hotel where the satellite feed was. This was it. I was about to talk to perhaps a million people watching the news on Tuesday morning (or at least this is what went through my head). You very quickly decide exactly what you want to say; it is true that necessity breeds inspiration and invention. We arrived at the hotel a few minutes before the scheduled interview and they were evacuating it. We later found out that it was a bomb scare (which is why all those evacuated were across the street while Holly and I ignorantly stood right in front of the hotel!) Unfortunately we missed our interview-window, and it was unable to be rescheduled.
Tuesday afternoon was a free afternoon so a group went out to talk with local Edinburghans and sightsee. As we were walking past city hall, Kumi leapt out of a cab, and began to talk with Tim King, a fellow Covenanter who had sat with him on the flight to Scotland. Kumi was heading to a reception thrown by the Provost (Mayor) of Edinburgh and invited us to come. It was at this reception that we met the most wonderful people who were doing amazing work throughout the world. We spoke with Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and now High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations, Bob Geldolf, organizer of Live8, and many more people who are local organizers in their respective countries. From there it was off to the Natalie Imbruglia concert because Tim (God bless Tim King) had also talked with the organizer of the concert and scored us free tickets (there were only about 200 seats). The concert was amazing as Natalie integrated music with stories from youth that she brought in from South Africa. After the concert, there was a reception where we met the band (both guitar players were Pastor’s kids!) before heading off to the ONE party at a local club. Honestly, if Tuesday was any better in terms of making connections, talking with media, and being floored by the amount of passion and work in those around me, I think I would have had to be in heaven.
Wednesday began a prayer service, followed by a press conference featuring Djimon Hounsou (star of Amistad and In America) and George Clooney. It was a time for the celebrities to speak about their involvement and for the delegates to share their stories. The celebrity factor is important for the ONE campaign because we recognize that in the United States our media is celebrity-driven, so we need our celebrities to be good stewards of their influence in order to advocate and make others aware of issues of global importance. It was during this briefing that the moderator made a statement to the effect that many of the ONE delegates had a faith perspective and then said, “I’m wondering if Adam Rohler is here?” I raised my hand. I was sitting right in the front—five feet from George Clooney when she handed me the microphone and I said what I was there to say: “I am Adam Rohler, pastor of a small Evangelical church in Manhattan, New York. I am here because my faith compels me to be here. As Christians it is our responsibility to pursue shalom in this world; Shalom is more than simply peace or the ceasing of violence, but it is really about the flourishing of all of life, a kind of harmony of life together. This is what we long for, this is what I preach about back at home, this is what I would love to preach about if given the opportunity to the G8, and this is what we are here to proclaim.” And George Clooney looked right at me and said, “That’s great.”
That evening was the final Live8 concert in Edinburgh with a slew of musicians, most of which were unknown to me. But we had our curry fries (curry on fries is wonderful), bought souvenirs and half way through the concert were informed that the senior advisor to President Bush on development, John Simon, wanted to meet with us, have an open discussion, and hear what we had to say. We met with him for two hours on Wednesday evening, discussed what our goals were with the ONE campaign: to increase the national budget giving to African by 1% (approximately 25 billion dollars), eliminate debt to countries who will never be able to pay off their debt, and increase trade so that Africa can become self-sustaining by participation in global markets (a 1% increase in trade would be around 70 billion dollars, which would basically lift the continent out of extreme poverty).
Thursday morning we found out, while waiting at the Edinburgh airport, of the terrorist attacsk on London’s public transportation system. The mood was somber; we were flying into London in the next couple of hours. The terrorist attack was terrible and saddening, but I was also impressed with the way the media covered the event. We consistently heard reports making a distinction between Islamic fundamentalists and Muslims in general, to make the point that not all Muslims were to blame. I saw a report with a psychologist who explained what the symptoms and signs of shock were and some basic tips on how others could help those coming out of shock, and there was an ethos of professionalism and courage. Much of the reporting claimed that the emergency response teams did well and acted efficiently and that those in the midst of the explosions were calm and orderly. I was impressed with the way the media assuaged fear and offered suggestions for care of victims. It felt very different from the American media.
Friday morning we flew home to JFK in New York City.
The trip was event-full and celebrity driven and an education on what it means to work in advocacy and on political campaigns, but overall I realized that for the most part I was there to be a pastor and to speak about shalom—perhaps not always to the media, but also to the hearts of those who work in advocacy. I had numerous conversations with people who came up to me, impressed that I was willing to talk about faith publicly, and wanting to explore how faith might further sustain them in their work. For me this is the job of a pastor and I was delighted that God used me as such. Moreover, it was also a time of doing what we talk about when it comes to faith, about living into the claim that my faith compels me to go and act, like the wise man who hears the words of Jesus and acts on them—the one who built his house on rock (as opposed to the foolish man who builds on sand, who hears the words of Jesus but does not act on them). I am attempting to be that wise person even if sometimes I feel like Jeremiah, or a holy fool, or a pastor, or an advocate, in the end it is about serving God and attempting to live into a calling that will be for God’s glory and for neighbor’s good.
To read an article on the Evangelical Covenant Church website about Pastor Adam's trip, click here.
