Today, I want to lift up Curtis and the work he is doing, not just in Colombia, but also for the ELCA. On Saturday, a devotion that Curtis wrote was sent out as part of the ELCA's '40 Days of Giving' Campaign. Curtis walks the walk. He lives his life faithfully according to his convictions and the way Jesus taught us to live.
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| Curtis holding the '40 Days of Giving' calendar where the devotion is published (devotion copied below) |
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Poverty is not some original state of nature in which all of humanity began and some groups have overcome due to their own hard work and ingenuity. Poverty is about lack of power. It is the lived-out reality of the consequences of specific decisions and policies – locally, regionally and globally. In this sense, it is no coincidence that those segments of humanity suffering from hunger, thirst, inadequate health care and more are the very same that hold no voice and are marginalized by those who make the decisions. How can we support ELCA World Hunger to be a wrench thrown into the cycle of voicelessness, deprivation, exclusion and insecurity that defines the lived experience of impoverishment?
"Speak out for those who cannot speak.” Will we allow our voice to drown out the cries of the poor and those in need or offer our voice to them as an instrument to defend their rights?
Curtis is a peace-building and human rights trainer in Colombia as part of the ELCA’s missionaries program.