Staying Out of Ditches

Thankfully, as one friend recently noticed, I'm not dead in a ditch. =)

About 5 weeks ago, I left this house (I'll be in Akron, PA and NYC and Goshen, IN over the next few days; the joys of holiday!) to walk. While that's not a full explanation, at the time it was enough, and it was all I had to tell. Walking allowed me to slow down, get away from technology and simply listen, in other words a spiritual journey. Ultimately, the goal was to meet people along the way, to share and connect with them; walking was also the vehicle that started conversation, the icebreaker.

Out of this beginning, a question: What is the purpose of this walk?

I arrived in Philadelphia almost four weeks ago. There as everywhere is a suffering city, but in the midst of it people live in hope. Here is a small map of the places I encountered hope.
In North Philly, on Norris Street, is New Jerusalem Now a very literal place of recovery and rebirth.
To the east in Kensington is The Simple Way house, where they practice being good neighbors and advocates for change.
Nearby, on Lehigh Ave is a Catholic Worker house that runs a free clinic for the community.
In Center City, I visited Broadstreet Ministries that daily welcomes and feeds anyone who walks through their doors.
Farther south, on the corner of Broad and Alter Street, is one of many places that Circle of Hope worships and builds community.
Over the Schuylkill, in University City, is a Vineyard Community Church congregation that welcomes and reaches out to college students and neighbors.
Just a few blocks west, on Baltimore and 48th, is where West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship worships and works for peace.

Far from a complete list, in the end these are just places; what matters are the relationships started here. I could also mention all the chance encounters on the street, the small group and cell meetings and the meals shared, which all occurred outside of these spaces.

And then over the past two weeks I've been pondering this question: What was the purpose of making these connections and acquaintances? I know I am called to return to Philadelphia, but meeting people and making connections is no longer enough. It's like a treasure hunt. I'm not given all the pieces. I have to go searching for them.

The miracle is that a picture is forming, as I walk, a vision is revealed. The writing is on the wall. But it's in a language in which I'm not yet fluent. Yet, I'm not the only one who feels it. Coincidences happen daily: Strangers tell the same anecdotes my friends spoke about days ago, newspapers print stories on the conversations we had in living rooms, institutions implement plans I had secretly dreamed of while walking. What exactly is happening? Is this 6 degrees of separation in action? Am I seeking out people and groups who are unknowingly connected to each other? How sensitive are we to the trends around us? Do we really share the same ideas? The idea of justice in an world that acts unjustly. Or peace in a world that lashes out with violence. Is this Christ and God, hidden, but ever present in our lives?

How many times these past few months did you feel that something odd, something new is happening? From the highs of President-Elect Obama's acceptance speech in Grant Park to the lows of a system so clearly broken that even the comfortable, the intellectual, the rich are unsure of the future. Do you see the same signs of hope I see? Is this mess of a "filthy, rotten system" just chaos or is it also the labor pains of a new birth?

I look forward to seeing you all again soon. Many blessings this holiday season.

In Peace, Hope, Faith and most of all Love,
Curtis Villanueva Jantzi