Walking Shoes

On November 4th 2008, millions celebrated the election of Senator Barack Obama to the office of President of the United States of America. As I watched the crowd in Grant Park and felt the irrepressible hope at a chance for change, I realized that no group nor person has a monopoly on hope. Even though I did not vote, I fully agree that the election of Sen. Obama is a move in the right direction as a nation.

Nevertheless, I am not the first to recognize that he will be unable to fix the social ills we suffer from: sexism, racism, homophobia and poverty. Nor is it his job as President, to fix these problems. True change doesn't come from the top, but from the bottom. As anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” It is my view that the Church, those of us who call ourselves believers in Christ, must be on the front lines of social change.

I believe the US church has forgotten our role to be different, radically different, from the world we live in; we are to be set apart by our love and compassion. A love so powerful we cannot abide to see the hungry, and homeless on our streets, nor a woman being abused by her partner, nor the rich family suffering because they are isolated in their wealth.

For that reason, I have decided to walk from now until our hearts have changed to reflect the love we believe is real. It will be a purposeful walk, in the hope of building a community on and along the way. I'm very hopeful that some of you will join me if not physically then in prayer and spirit. Ultimately, this is not something I can, nor want to do on my own. I will be looking for others who want to see the same change and we will walk together, even if only for a short time.

Tomorrow I'll be heading down to Lancaster, PA and spending a couple of nights there before making my way towards Philadelphia. I'm extremely excited about the journey and I'm looking forward to sharing the stories of my travels with all of you. It is a goal of mine to keep you all updated whenever I have access to a computer.

Joyfully,

Curtis Villanueva Jantzi