When I started blogging Cheri’s sermons, I never in a million years thought I would have to do one on slavery. I mean, I know the United States has some real issues on Slavery in our past. Millions of men & women were ripped from their homes, beaten, brutalized and shipped to the United States to do work, breed, etc, but that was One Hundred and Fifty or so years ago.
Sure, as a Democrat, I have to atone for the fact that the KKK was once a recognized part of my party. As a Methodist, I have to atone for the fact that part of our church supported slavery, and even later, tried to segregate African Americans into a second class form of membership (If you’ve seen the AME church, you’ve seen the African American community’s response to form their own denomination rather than accept this). Both of these moves resulting in a split in the denomination. Fortunately, at the Village, we also have the United Church of Christ’s history, which includes being part of the abolitionist movement (if you’ve watched the movie “Amistad”, you’ve seen our denominational foremothers and forefathers in action trying to free the people who managed to take over the slave ship Amistad).
I hate to tell you, my readers, that the Bible has been used to justify the holding of slaves and by masters to keep slaves in line. Don’t believe me, open your Bible to I Peter 2:18 and Colossians 3:22. You’ll get some wonderful encouragement to stay a slave and justification for keeping your slaves. Even when you’re horrible to them, they should keep being loyal to you and fearing God. But that’s not something we have to worry about today, do we? At the cost of millions of America dead and wounded, we took care of that in the 1860's, right? I mean, I may not be the brightest person but I got A’s in advanced placement American History, and I read the books and watched the movies.
But then I learned something I wish I never knew, the slave trade is alive and well in this world and even in America. That’s right, in 2010 there are 27 Million (that’s 27,000,000 if you want to see the numbers spelled out, or more than the populations of the states of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana combined being held as slaves worldwide. Ok, but it can’t be that much in the US, I thought. Wrong again, there are over 2 Million slaves in the United States (2,000,000). In America? Did these people not get a copy of the proclamation from the 1860's?
In fact, one of the leading hubs for this trade, I’m embarrassed to tell you, is Toledo, Ohio, you know, that town I live in. That’s right, we’re a huge hub for this. In fact, per capita, more slaves come from and through Toledo than anywhere in the United States. Doubt my facts, the Toledo Blade article is dated February 11, 2010, here’s the link - http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100211/NEWS16/2110353/0/ART13
I like Toledo being in top 10, 20, 100 lists for things, but I was hoping for new job creation, most liveable cities, etc.
These slaves are mostly not working in fields, although some get to do that then do what I am about to tell you about. They are not cleaning houses, but again, some get that joy too. No, they are being used as prostitutes. Sometimes after a day of working in a field or shop or house they are being made to sleep with dozens (not a Kurt exaggeration) of men. This after a man named Jesus Christ tried to take care of the biblical justifications in this world (see Luke 4: 14-21, “let the oppressed go free”). Also, a man named Abraham Lincoln and an army of dedicated men (sorry, the women folk made tons of sacrifices, but not directly in combat yet) issued some laws.
My introduction was not in the Toledo Blade Article though. It was not even from being in the legal community in a city where we have a huge ICE (the Border Patrol’s new name) and FBI Task Force and offices to deal with this. No, as with many of the things in my life, they come from my dear wife being connected like very few others on the planet.
A couple of years ago, we went to the Change Conference at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church. If you want to see a place that is changing the world, go there with me some time. It is incredible. They draw incredible speakers too. I have been countless times. But to be honest, this time, I was pretty burned out. I had a ton of work to do for the day job and the dream that would be the Village, and found a quiet space in their coffee shop to work while one of the guest speakers spoke in their youth center (yes, they have their own coffee shop and a huge youth center). Then, I found myself meeting up with my wife when was clearly moved, to tears.
Cheri had just heard David Batsone of Not For Sale speak on human trafficking and tell the story of Kru Nam, who is working in Thailand to save young boys from the trade. A home was being set up for these children called “The Village”. So imagine, how moving this was to woman who was about to leave her former church to form a new church to save the world, which she had named “The Village”. So, it was a no brainer for The Village Church to get involved in this. Especially as Cheri described her “Village” to David who had just described the Village in his life. Cheri got to meet with David for some time I was not sure whether this man thought my wife to be an inspired leader, a crazy woman or something in between.
Today in worship we talked about this problem from first hand experience. Mary Schmidbauer, who played music at our first Easter service, long before many of you had heard of the Village, back in 2008 (there were about 12 of us there), not our larger 2009 service (about 65), is the Executive Director of Second Chance. Started in the 1990's, Second Chance was originally targeted at getting men & women a way out of prostitution. But in 2006, with a huge human trafficking bust happening in our area, and the realization that all of the 33 young women rescued from this horrible world were American Citizens, and 22 were citizens of Lucas County, Ohio, Second Chance became linked with this issue.
Mary told us about why Toledo is such a hub for this. It truly is a perfect storm. First, we are centrally located, with several key highways nearby, destination cities within a day’s drive any direction, and an international border. Second, there’s our economy, which in case you missed it, puts us in one of the bottom twenty in the country. Finally, add an educational system in crisis and put it with in easy reach of places where slaves are needed (big cities, near casinos, etc). Well, you quickly see why.
Mary talked about how these traffickers are targeting young women (and to a lesser extent men, but they have little success reaching the young men to give them help) as early as 7th & 8th Grade. They are going after teenagers because this is when they’re most vulnerable. A time when these children are defining themselves, are insecure, have parents who don’t understand them. This is a time where children find themselves, even in good families, alienated and feeling apart. It’s also a time when kids are dreaming dreams of fame and fortune, and when they are saturated with media imagery of materialism, instant gratification and broken relationships. This is a time when they’re easy pickings to these animals.
The traffickers offer these targets a voice of understanding, a voice of encouragement, a change to get out of poverty, a chance at fame. With that, they’re off and running. The next thing they know, the victim, who was supposed to be whisked off to Atlanta to record a demo, is stuck in a different life. We don’t see this underbelly of the world in most of our lives, but it is there.
Cheri asked Mary what discouraged her most about the problem she helps battle every day. Mary’s response was the scope of this problem: How long it’s been around; how large it is; and the path to death it leads to (e.g. most serial killers target these young women). Cheri then, thankfully, asked about what gives Mary hope. Her answer was that the attention this problem needs is starting to come around. That churches like the Village are helping get this problem media attention, resources and volunteers to combat it.
At the Village, we want to “follow Jesus and change the world”, and this is one of these opportunities to do so. To help make that happen, we first took the “Freedom Sunday Pledge”. As you, reader, are a part of the Village from afar, I’m giving you the opportunity to join in, so if you agree, say “I pledge to value and affirm the worth of every human being in my life. I will express appreciation especially o the youth around me so they know they are loved and they are priceless. I am not for sale. No one is for sale”.
Now, that’s a nice little start, but we’re not about saying some words and feeling good. We need to help change the world. So, our next little step, is to take up a collection (offering for you church folks) for Second Chance the next two weeks at the Village. Finally, we will be offering opportunities to partner with Second Chance locally and Not for Sale nationally later.
Sadly, these are big steps for a church and tiny steps in changing the world for the better. That being said, every journey starts with steps and these are our first down this path. The great movements to change our world for the better have all started in churches: the original push to abolish slavery, the push for voting rights for women, the push for civil rights for African Americans, etc. Now, along with our efforts to ensure civil rights for GLBT persons, the Village is adding this to our agenda. Come, join us as we follow a man named Jesus who proclaimed “release to the captives and recover of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free”. Let’s see if we can change the world together, starting with the corner of Monroe & Central in Toledo, Ohio, one of America’s poorest cities and one of America’s worst places for human trafficking.
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