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Rev. Elder Diane Fisher
(Email)
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MCC'S EASTERN EUROPE
INITIATIVE
Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia, and
Latvia
"Tearing down walls. Building up
hope."
Romanian Day Post
Romanian Day Posting - May 17,
2006
From Rev. Elder Diane Fisher --
MCC's Eastern Europe Initiative
Romanian Day
As I walk through the
streets
Of Bucharest, the sun
is shining
I see smiling faces
around me
Opening up to the warmth of the sun
It seems idyllic
I walk down the steps to the
underpass,
To cross the street
I have to watch carefully as I go
The steps are missing portions
Like an ancient Roman ruin
Into the press of bodies,
rushing to get home
I emerge, back into the sun
I pass an elderly man begging
He is kneeling holding out a hat
Shoulders slumped, defeated.
The grandfathers and
grandmothers are forgotten
Old men and women have no money to live
Seemingly forgotten by society
There is no other way for them to survive
And I am going to an outdoor café
A Roma mother and her young
son
Are carefully picking through the garbage
As they pull it out, they sort
Precisely folding the paper, putting food and cans into piles
They place their finds in bags and carry it off
Today, the European Union makes
its decision
When will
Romania and
Bulgaria be ready
For entry into this
exclusive club
It means millions in aid
And hope for a stronger economic future
The Bucharest Daily
comments
On corruption in the judicial systems
It posts disheartening comments
From Romanian and Bulgarian citizens
They don’t dare hope, they doubt their readiness
I watch as the Roma mother and
son
Struggle down the street with their burdens
I wonder at my own privilege,
Because of a luck of birth,
I sit in a café
I wonder about the wealth of
the west
Our apparent lack of awareness of the rest of the world
I wonder, about comfort taken for granted
We have so much to be thankful for
We have human rights, homes, food
During this trip, I have heard
such hard stories
Fear of coming out and being attacked
HIV/AIDS infected young people with little access to treatment
The drugs used are cast off from the west, no longer in use
Struggles for food, housing, work, a safe place to worship
I hear people speaking English,
at the next table
Their voices fill the air and they call out,
Demanding attention from the harried waiter
They complain loudly about the service
As a child scrounges in the street for food, they don’t
notice
What can we
do? Can we help?
We can and we
must.
We can tear down walls
And build up hope
Christ calls to us, crying for the children
Our presence here, our
visibility
Our work, our willingness and openness
Is desperately needed
We are in this struggle together
Not separated by borders, but pulled together by common
purpose
We stand as one and can change
the world
With our mutual support and God
All this can change, we must be here
We must have a visible presence all the time
Offering hope, a voice of justice
All it would take, is a little
from each of us
Fifty dollars a month from thirty people or churches
Could employ a full time ministry in Easter Europe
An office, a staff person, supplies
A little goes a long way in this ministry
Metropolitan Community Church, the
human rights church
The church of
liberation
Tearing down walls and building up hope.
We, together, have made a difference already
And we can do so much more here and around the world
The Easter Campaign has made it
possible
For us to stand with those who have no
Anti-discrimination
law in Moldova,
Those without
adequate HIV/AIDS treatment in Bulgaria,
With those who
want Religious Freedom in Romania
Your generosity, your
commitment to justice,
Your support and love
Have already made a difference
In tearing Down Walls and
Building up
Hope. Thank you
The old man is still
begging,
The Roma woman and her son
Have disappeared in the distance
They need our support and we are called
To be the voice of hope.
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