Monthly Archives: April 2021

by Dave John Cruz-Bustamante | Mar 30, 2021 11:29am

(24) Comments | Post a Comment | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Legal Writes, Opinion

(Opinion) As bodies continue to drop on the streets of New Haven, Connecticut as a result of gun violence, residents, community advocates, the police department, and local politicians scramble desperately to find a short-term band aid to apply to a heavily bleeding wound in the community.

A quick solution to give to neighborhoods heavy with grief, sorrow, and fear: more police and stricter prison punishments.

While police charts on homicide rates and gun violence continue to draw the fretful attention of the media and residents, our system of local politics overlooks the deep-seated roots of crime: poverty.

Increasing the amount of police officers will not decrease crime. It merely increases the amount of noise from the sirens after the fact.

True safety is silent; safety is not derived from armed reactionaries, it is derived from functioning infrastructure, accessible healthcare, stable and healthy climate, funded schools, rehabilitative social services, and interconnected communities.

We can observe this in American suburbs. Rarely do you hear the deafening sirens of police vehicles in the quiet, calm streets of the outskirts of the city.

This true and silent safety observed in the suburbs is not a coincidence. The United States has a long, dark history of denying funding to core governmental services and institutions on the basis of race and class, that continues to this day. The U.S. also has a long history of fighting against radical abolition: abolition of slavery, redlining, segregation, and instead implementing inadequate reforms, mass-producing and distributing nationalistic, feel-good propaganda that waters down its horrors, or outright not addressing misdeeds.

Money is power. Cutting a community off from funding, critical services, and necessities is like cutting the jugular vein of a body: they die. The rumbling stomach of the child, the frail body of the unsheltered, and the unheard cries of the addict breed violence. State violence as a response to need will not silence their rumblings, cries, and pleas. It merely moves them out of the way, out of sight, out of mind, to be heard, instead by the prison inmate or by the graveyard.

The police are used for perpetuating the systems of colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, racism, and white supremacy in our society. They were used for capturing enslaved people, union-busting during the Industrial Revolution, enforcing segregation during Jim Crow, brutalizing and intimidating queer and trans people, hosing down Civil Rights activists (some of whom are still alive), playing star actors in the theater that is the War on Drugs, and profiling and imprisoning people of color and the underclass who are surviving on the bare minimum.

How do we expect a group of supposed public servants to protect us, when they have a criminal history that is as long as American history? What is life if one is constantly surveilled? What does it say about our society if one is constantly spat on and looked down upon, with no hope of escape, help, or redemption promised by the nation that we are told are supposed to serve us, when we recite the Pledge of Allegiance?

In the short term, what the oppressed neighborhoods of New Haven need is money with deliberate spending into new preventative services, affordable and quality housing, effective and open education and schools, and youth programs.

Let us end the obsession with wanting to know an individuals reasons for committing crime and the respectability politics when it comes to human lives.

The bottom line is that a) poverty causes violence of all kinds, and b) we can end it.

This message is directed towards the establishment: Mayor Elicker, Governor Lamont, President Biden, Democrats and Republicans, Alderpeople and the Congress.

In the long term, we need the demands for the abolition of police, prisons, and the abolition of the system that forces one to choose between wage slavery and death; inequality and oppression for one for the profits and luxury of others, to triumph.

True equality is not found in becoming the oppressor, but in liberating and humanizing all, and abolishing the hierarchy that creates the oppressor and the oppressed, true meaning is not found in the weekly paycheck, but in community, and true safety is not only found in the silence of the gun, but in the absence of the sirens.

This message can only be rung true and carried out in the eyes, ears, and hands of the worker, the organizer, the oppressed, and The People.

Dave John Cruz-Bustamante is a freshman at Wilbur Cross High School, a coordinator and community organizer at Sunrise Movement New Haven, and the operations apprentice at Citywide Youth Coalition.

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Its time for New Haven to step up and like Oakland, CA give everyone at the poverty level $2,500 a month until they reach the $50,000 a year threshold. Tax the wealthy of New Haven to make this happen. Raise the mill rate by 35 points. Make the police drive to crime scenes with their sirens off. Extend the school day by three hours and hire the necessary support staff. Build community centers is all the neighborhoods of New Haven. Legalize drugs and subsidize them. Take all cars off the roads of New Haven, and give a bicycle to all residents. Free healthcare for everyone. Then if youre not happy, youll be banished to the suburbs where no one will give you anything, thats the way its been forever.

Its hard to dispute (though some commenters will try) the proposal that the best and most lasting treatment for violent crime is some combination of lifting people out of poverty / reducing inequality, limiting easy access to guns, and reuniting families. (I include reuniting families because clearly locking people up at lower rates has had a beneficial effector, for the skeptics out there, no discernible effecton youth arrests and violent crime.)

That said, you should provide some good evidence to accompany a statement like, Increasing the amount of police officers will not decrease crime. The data shows otherwise.

P.S. OhHum: Watch out, youre straying into #accidentallyleftwing territory with your proposals to legalize drugs and give everyone free healthcare! Which you clearly view as satirical but which several other countries have done very successfully. (You may have heard of a little place called the Netherlands?) Of course Im sure you have some kind of reverse-American-exceptionalist/defeatist reasoning for why that just wouldnt work in this country, and I wont make you repeat it because Im sure Ive heard it before.

Omg is this what we are teaching these kids in school! Poverty does not make people criminal unless they were already predisposed to it. I suggest you study some real history like Cambodias Pol Pot, Chinas Mao and the Soviet Unions Stalin to get a glimpse of what is real oppression.

tell me, where does personal responsibility for your own destiny and those you may bring into the world with your partner come into play here? just another progressive manifesto from a young person brainwashed with this garbage.

@ethanjrtIm very serious about what I wrote above. I would like New Haven to try all the things I mentioned and more. I think New Haven should give the experiment a 2 to 3 three year chance to work. Hell, Im not by any means rich, but Id be happy to give my share to the City to do it. Truth be told I guess that Id benefit from it.

So at an estimate of 50 k families in New Haven at 2500.00 per month we need 15 million per year. How many rich people live in New Haven ( FYI the median income is 24,400.) The numbers clearly work

There was a time, in the not too distant past when the formula for getting out of poverty, or at least out of the lower class, was hard work. By hard work, I mean one or two-stepping stone jobs, save a little money, learn some skills and put yourself in a position for the next job up the ladder. Sometimes, maybe more often than I care to remember, the ladder was very tall and took a long time to reach the next rung. Success was a little bit of luck and a whole lot of planning and self-motivation, but available to any and all who could keep their eyes on whatever prize they considered a success. I firmly believe that poverty is a way of life that doesnt have to be permanent or fatal or imposed. Sometimes the next step is all you can reach for yourself in spite of trying really hard. So then, you are laying the groundwork for your children, so they can have a better life. It takes only one to instill in a family or an individual the idea that in America, anything is possible. America may not be color-blind, but as corny as it sounds, in America, anything is possible. Long-term handouts, money received but not earned, demonizing entire institutions and entire groups like the police because of a few bad actors is wrong-headed, naive, and dangerous. Mr. Cruz-Busamante sounds like an intelligent young man who seems ready to make something of himself. He also sounds wrong-headed and naive. He seems unaware of the old axiom, Do it the old-fashioned way, earn it.

Im very serious about what I wrote above. I would like New Haven to try all the things I mentioned and more. I think New Haven should give the experiment a 2 to 3 three year chance to work. Hell, Im not by any means rich, but Id be happy to give my share to the City to do it. Truth be told I guess that Id benefit from it.

There is no law preventing you from paying more in taxes. There is no law preventing you from just picking a family and send them money monthly. Let us know how it works out in two or three years.

As the idiom goes. put your money where your mouth is.

Peace

owen@large wrote:

Do it the old-fashioned way, earn it

Im not saying this is definitely you, but I tend to see this sentiment coming from people who havent internalized some pertinent realities:- In the past 20 years, the cost of the median home has increased about 25% relative to median income.- In the past 30 years, the real cost of higher education, adjusted for inflation, has more than doubled.- In the past 50 years, the average person has received almost none of the benefits of technological improvements (increased productivity), the wage-to-GDP ratio has plummeted about 20%, and economic growth has accrued almost exclusively to the very wealthy (see Chart 4).

@ethanjrt: Hey, thanks for your post. Listen My grandparents came to America, with no money, no English, no welfare, no gov handouts, but they but worked their asses off, very long days and with very little pay. Their dream of success wasnt for them, but for their children, These children made their way by becoming simple lower-middle-class citizens, becoming nurses, teachers, and plumbers. They were able to save a bit and send me and my bro to college. All through school we worked part-time jobs, as did most of my friends. Many of my friends (of several different colors and backgrounds), some of who were even poorer than my family, were able to find their own successes. I wasnt able to buy my own house until I was forty-three, and a small house it was. But, and this is very important - you dont have to buy a house to consider yourself successful. You dont necessarily have to go to Uni to make the grade. You just have to decide what you need to live comfortably, independently, and be thankful for a country that really does allow you to be whatever it is you want to be.

Im sorry, but Im not a believer in these unproven left wing theories that poverty creates criminals. P.J.Barnums statement that one is born every minute is much closer to the truth. That said, the way to reduce violent crime is to have, and enforce, a strict Three Counts and Youre Out Law. That way the innocent are protected from the guilty. By all accounts, New Havens present crime wave is due to the temporary release of the incarcerated so they dont catch Covid.

Whalley wrote:

By all accounts, New Havens present crime wave is due to the temporary release of the incarcerated so they dont catch Covid.

By whose accounts, exactly?

Have you tried charting 2016-20 urban crime rates by state against prison release metrics? No?

If youre not a believer in unproven theories, maybe dont offer them so freely

Thank you Bohica and Whalley!!!!! Poverty doesnt create criminals!!!!!

Dear Whalley- the issue is violence; poverty may correlate in some cases of violence but it is not a sure cause. There are endless stories of middle and upper and celebrities who are violent with their spouses and children and others. I think this proves my point.

Dear ethanjrt- there will never be a study to show the connection between released felons and our crime wave of 2020-2021 but it would be interesting to look into it.

@ pass the blame

As I said Im willing to do my share. But if WEre going to do this, everyone who grosses more than $50,000 a year is going to have to feel the pain. When we begin to share the wealth it necessitates sharing the pain also. Dig in brothers and sisters, we can only do this together. Those days of $3.75 artichokes, $8.00 craft beer, $3.50 lattes, and $2.50 croissants are over. Its back to Maxwell House and Budweiser.

I completely left out the temporary visitors at Yale. Well have to put a 5% luxury tax on tuition paid to the University. If they happen to be on a scholarship, etc. theyll pay on 5% on its worth.

Dear OhHum I disagree with your part 1. It is not for me to be punished because others were not fiscally responsibleeither in govt or in personal lives. Why should I share my little wealth because you didnt do the smart choosing in your life?

As to the expensive items you mention- I never did that and thats why I am OK in spite of having low paying jobs for most of my working life. Others might have learned that lesson earlier instead of trying to punish me for learning it in time. That is unjust! And it is mere class envy of the worst kind/

As I said Im willing to do my share. But if WEre going to do this, everyone who grosses more than $50,000 a year is going to have to feel the pain. When we begin to share the wealth it necessitates sharing the pain also. Dig in brothers and sisters, we can only do this together. Those days of $3.75 artichokes, $8.00 craft beer, $3.50 lattes, and $2.50 croissants are over. Its back to Maxwell House and Budweiser.

If you feel so strongly about your idea why not do YOUR share right now! You can run the pilot study with YOUR money for 2-3 years and let us know how it works out.

As the saying goes: put YOUR money where YOUR mouth is. Socialism is great until you run out of other peoples money.

peace out

CityYankee wrote:

there will never be a study to show the connection between released felons and our crime wave of 2020-2021 but it would be interesting to look into it.

Well then boy do I have some news that will surprise and delight you:

The rate at which those released from detention are rebooked into jail following release is one possible measure of the public safety risk of jail releases. To date, 30-, 60-, 90-, and 180-day rebooking rates among those released during the pandemic have remained 13% - 33% below pre-pandemic rebooking rates. To the extent that rebooking rates measure the average public safety risk of releasing individuals from jail, this risk remains lower now than prior to the pandemic.

This is preliminary and indirect data, of course. There will be plenty more studies but it will likely take 1-2 more years for really good data to become available. The one major area of research thats explicitly punished in the U.S. is gun violence, though that may be changingTBD. Other crime & prison policy is still fair game AFAIK.

Dear Pass the Blame- I think the more modern saying today is, Put MY MONEY where YOUR MOUTH is. Everyone is so generous with other peoples money; arent they?

Most of us have lived very frugally and worked very hard now ; they want to punish us for that. People will leave the state before they let that happen, if pushed hard enough. It wont be easy but we may not have much choice

It is not for me to be punished because others were not fiscally responsibleeither in govt or in personal lives. Why should I share my little wealth because you didnt do the smart choosing in your life?

@ CityYankee, this assumes that everyone currently experiencing poverty is there entirely through direct faults of their own, and as the author says, we know this to be untrue. Data can clearly show us that numerous historical events, such as excluding agricultural and domestic workers in the first minimum wage laws in the 1930s, redlining in the 1950s, and the War on Drugs in the 1990s made it so that only some of us were even able to do the smart choosing you allude to. Those who did not have the choice to become a homeowner, or go to college, or save for retirement so that they could alleviate the need for their children to care for them in old age, those people became trapped in a cycle of poverty where they were not able to make the steps up the ladder that we think of as living the American dream.

Became trapped: meaning it happened to them. They did not cause it.

Hey thank you, ethanjrt. Glad to hear there is some data. lets calculate how many rearrests there would have been had the police not had their hands tied

CityYankee, none of the data in the link I shared covers the period since CTs new police accountability law was partially implemented, so that would be a moot point. (Plus, the most sweeping provisions, on use of force, have been delayed to next year.) I cant speak to new laws in other states specifically, but I am fairly confident that the vast majority of states did not implement significant new police accountability measures during the period covered by this data.

Theres clearly a bit of a fixation on police accountability legislation in your mind (and the minds of some other NHI commenters), even when it cant possibly have any relevance to the period thats being discussed because there was no overlap between the two. But repeatedly crime on police accountability laws doesnt make your argument strongerit just makes you wrong more often.

When the economy was good pre pandemic New Haven had some of the lowest crime rates in decades. Then the pandemic hit, the economy tanked with massive job losses for many lower wage workers, and the world broke out in social unrest, prisoners were released with little prospects for supporting themselves, schools went remote, many parks and playgrounds were closed, people were stuck inside with each other for months while trying to survive, anxiety and depression rates rose, and substance abuse rates rose up. It has been a perfect storm of poverty and lack of constructive things to do. Historically when the economy tanks, and prohibition reigns, and jobs are lost, and pandemics hit, crime goes up. When the economy bounces back, and jobs become plentiful, and prohibition ends, and the formerly incarcerated get employed, and pandemics end, then crime goes down.

Here is the original post:

Opinion: Want To Stop Violence? Address Poverty First - New Haven Independent

opinion

Christe Lunsford and Eve MacMaster| Guest columnists

I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed … without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s words delivered at New York Citys Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, exactly one year prior to his assassination in 1968 resonate even more deeply now than when he first spoke them.

Dr. Kings address was controversial at the time because it marked his articulation of the relationship between the struggle for civil rights domestically and the global struggle against what he referred to as giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism and militarism.

At the time, his speech, known as Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, drew intense criticism from institutions ranging from The New York Times and The Washington Post to the NAACP. Many felt he had moved outside of his narrow lane. As America exports that toxic cocktail abroad and continues to wage war against the poor, Dr. Kings words still ring as prophetic.

As representatives of both the Jewish and Christian faith traditions, it is also significant that the anniversaries of Dr. Kings Riverside Church speech and his assassination this year happen to fall on both the final day of Passover and Easter Sunday. On the same day that Jews recall their Exodus from slavery and Christians celebrate Jesus resurrection, we are reminded that Dr. King used the language of faiths to condemn violence and injustice perpetrated in our name by the government of the United States.

Surely this madness must cease. We must stop now, he said. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor in America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home, and dealt death and corruption in Vietnam.

Kings target in 1967 was the escalating American war in Vietnam while decreasing the war on poverty but in 2021 we could just as easily substitute Black Lives, Native Americans, or the poor and his charge would ring true as ever in the United States. Clearly, it is our own humanity that is at stake.

We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society, he preached. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

That night in 1967, Dr. King offered us a vision of how we might come closer to a culture of peace with justice. Over a half-century later, that vision has an urgency in terms of racial, social, economic, and climate justice for our daily lives and our future that he couldnt possibly have imagined.

We invite you and the communities you lead or are part of to join us on April 4, 2021, at 7 p.m. EDT for our national webinar where a diverse group of leaders, luminaries, and thinkers from all walks of life will recreate his prophetic speech and discuss its relevance for organizing today. Learn more and register for the free webinar at http://www.kingandbreakingsilence.org.

This piece was signed by The Rev. Christe Lunsford, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville, and The Rev. Eve MacMaster, pastor of the Emmanuel Mennonite Church of Gainesville, and more than 60 other religious leaders from across the country.

Here is the original post:

Breaking the silence an intergenerational call for unity and action - Gainesville Sun

People are being encouraged tobe alert of signs of modern slavery, as Police Scotland launch a campaign to raise awareness of the criminal human exploitation.

Last year 228 referrals were made to the police which warned of potential victims of labour exploitation across Scotland.

However, there are fears that many potential crimes have gone unreported as victims were less visible during lockdown and resultantly the figure is expected to rise significantly when restrictions ease again.

Men, women, and children from all ages and backgrounds can fall victim to exploitation at work, according to the police.

READ MORE:Rise in human trafficking into Scotland sounds alarm bells

Victims could be paid little or no legal wage, be controlled and their choices limited, and/or be working in poor conditions which jeopardise their safety.

Labour exploitation often occurs in criminal enterprises but it can also happen in legitimate industry sectors.

The highest risk sectors in Scotland are considered to be agriculture, including fruit picking and food processing; construction; packaging; and offshore fishing.

Credit: PA

Police Scotland has launched a campaign to highlight the issue, which asks people to be aware and vigilant of the signs of exploitation and explains what you should do if you have concerns.

Assistant Chief Constable, and Police Scotlands lead for Major Crime, Public Protection and Local Crime, Judi Heaton, said: Modern slavery is a crime and its happening here and now, in Scotland.

Many people may think it wont happen where they live or work, however the reality is it can happen anywhere in your community, in your industry and you can help stop it.

READ MORE:Scottish school fears: Racism remains a blight, warn experts

Not all victims see themselves as victims they may have made a choice to come to Scotland on a promise of a better life, fallen into the hands of traffickers and then found themselves victims of horrific deception and exploitation.

It is absolutely vital that we increase awareness of the warning signs so that reporting can increase.

In particular it is absolutely crucial that the business community is aware of the important role they must play in identifying and reporting exploited workers and business owners, employees, trade unions, bank and benefits staff to name just a few, can all play a vital role by reporting their concerns.

Take a close look at supply chains, tell your customers and suppliers what youre doing to prevent exploitation, and make it your duty to protect all workers.

Police, other enforcement agencies and partners cannot tackle this issue alone.

We also need the public to work with us if we are to identify and help vulnerable individuals being exploited.

READ MORE: Dundas key to Britains slave army, investigation finds

If you suspect exploitation is happening in your community, please report it to police.

According to the force, victims of labour exploitation are mostly - but not exclusively - men and boys.

Additionally, intelligence shows that traffickers target the most vulnerable such as migrants and the unemployed.

Both UK residents and foreign nationals can be targeted, with many victims controlled long before they reach the UK.

In other instances victims are targeted after they arrive in the UK either as legitimate works or illegal migrants.

Police said that the key signs to look out for include people who work but have little or no money to buy basic necessities, and people who are nervous or scared of authority.

Other signs to be alert for are workers who are force to live in poor and dirty conditions, and workers who have their time on and off-duty dictated to them.

As part of the campaign, adverts will run on television and social media over the next five weeks and a dedicated website has been created containing further information and advice.

Read the rest here:

Modern Slavery: Scots urged to be alert as police campaign launched | HeraldScotland - HeraldScotland

It has been a little over a year since COVID-19 forced a statewide shutdown for all non-life-sustaining businesses and shelter-at-home orders. Worshippers struggled to stay in touch with their religious congregations. Churches, synagogues and other houses of worship were forced to conduct services over the Internet, adopting an approach new to everyone.

During that difficult time, PennLive reached out to area religious leaders to share a message with their flock as the holy seasons of Easter and Passover approached. No one could imagine then a pandemic that would continue for the next 12 months, leading to more than 1 million cases statewide and 25,000 deaths.

A year later, much has changed. Pennsylvania has started to slowly open up thanks to the distribution of vaccinations to more than 5 million residents. We have contacted some of the same religious leaders to ask what 2021 message they wished to share with people, regardless of creed or denomination.

Here are a few of the uplifting thoughts from pastors, priests, rabbis and other religious leaders in our region.

Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer, Bishop of the Harrisburg Diocese

Photographer: Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Jesus said: I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live. Our Lords words in Johns gospel are more than a celebration of Christs victory over death. They are a reminder that because of Christs sacrifice we have the gift of eternal life with our Heavenly Father. They also serve as a reminder that there is no force, not even death, that can defeat our Lord and Savior. Christ is risen! Christ has won the ultimate victory.

Throughout the past year, we have all been faced with what has seemed like endless waves of darkness. This darkness in our present moment might have felt like a tomb of our own. This Easter, let us remember that Christ is the Light of the World and He brings the light of hope and love to even the darkest of times. He has defeated death, and through Him, we can have everlasting life. May the peace, light and hope of this Easter reign in your hearts and homes, today and always. Christ the Lord is risen!

Bishop Audrey Scanlan of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania

Photographer: Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

For me, the most resonant theme of the past COVID-year has been love your neighbor or do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Matthew 7: 12 KJV) This Golden Rule is found not only in the Christian tradition but in other faith traditions across the world, as we are called to a consciousness that extends beyond self and loved ones to embrace all of humanity.

Love your neighbor and wear a mask to protect them. Love your neighbor, work for racial justice in our country so that all of Gods children are honored and oppressive systems are vanquished. Love your neighbor and find ways to make healthcare accessible to all, to fund education for our children by equitable means, and to deliver a livable minimum wage.

Loving ones neighbor is a spiritual practice that requires the sacrifice of our privilege, time, resources and power. And, it is modeled for us by Gods Son who gave of his life that we might have eternal life. On Easter, we see how God transformed a life that was lived in a holy and sacrificial way. May we give glory on this Easter Day in the fellowship of Gods creative power as it transforms us.

Rev. Brenda Alton, Manager, UPMC Pinnacle Spiritual Care Services and founder, Kingdom Embassy in Harrisburg

Photographer: Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com

When we look back over our lives and we think things over, we can honestly say that we have been blessed. We have survived but now it is time to thrive.

SURVIVAL is the ability to continue to live or exist despite difficult circumstances. The year 2020 was a difficult and very dark time in our lives. Bishop Desmond Tutu posits that Hope is being able to see there is light despite all darkness.

Hope allows us to thrive. THRIVE means to grow and develop well, to prosper or flourish. Many people survive but then they do not thrive; they simply exist. I encourage you to move into SURTHRIVAL mode. Now that you have survived do not dwell on the past. We have been blessed with an opportunity to flourish, that is SURTHRIVAL.

Romans 6:4 (NIV) says, We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Walk into SURTHRIVAL; you have survived, now thrive, and live life loud.

Rev. Roque Santiago of the First Bilingual Christian Church in Harrisburg

Photographer: Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

What a year it has been, the world has gone through this pandemic, politics and everything in between. As Christians we need to put our trust in our Lord.

We thank God for the doctors, nurses and frontline workers. Know that were praying for them every day. As we approach a new season I like to share the story in the Bible about what Jesus went through.

Were celebrating Holy Week and in our churches we preach about everything that happened that week.

First, He was received in Jerusalem triumphantly on Palm Sunday then He was crucified on Friday but on Easter Sunday He was resurrected in victory (He is Risen) Luke 24:1-12. The Resurrection Sunday is about Jesus dying at the cross for our salvation. We celebrate Jesus life and death. We believe in the power of prayer and in the One who is risen.

May the world come together as we celebrate this special day of the One who dies for the world. Our Hope of Glory, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Rev. James Jackson of Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church in Harrisburg

Photographer: Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com

For Christians, this holy season is a time of renewal and rebirth. But this sacred season is also about re-emerging. In our faith tradition, our Savior Jesus had never experienced death; He had been alive with the Lord God since creation. When He closed his eyes and released His Spirit in death, He was entering a new situation. When He opened his eyes, He emerged from death ready to help humankind. He came out of the tomb with a sense of purpose, not to better Himself but to change the world around Him because of living through that experience of death.

Almost a year ago, like Jesus, we entered into an experience weve never been in before, and as we re-emerge this holy season, lets emerge better than we were. Let us emerge with a sense of purpose, to make the lives of the people better. Lets commit to being aware of the needs of others around us. Lets commit to trying to live in peace with our neighbors. Lets commit to showing more love, mercy, and grace to those we may not know. Why? Because if the past year has shown us nothing else its that our lives can be changed in the blink of an eye.

Jesus faced death alone so that we may face life together as one people for a greater purpose. Whatever your faith tradition, and even if you dont have a faith tradition, lets commit to being people who are kinder to one another.

Rabbi Ariana Capptauber of Beth El Temple in Harrisburg

Photographer: Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

The breath of all that lives praises God. Nishmat kol chai tvarech et shimcha Hashem (Hebrew). Take a deep breath, and let that breath praise God as we enter this season of spring, full of fresh air and flowers, and the goodness of new things. In this spring season, the Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Passover in which we recall the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the redemption from slavery into freedom. But freedom was not a simple time, rather it was a wilderness in which the Israelites wandered for 40 years.

We could say that we ourselves in this time, beginning to be freed from the grip of the COVID-19 virus, are entering into a kind of a wilderness of our own. Some of us are vaccinated and some are still waiting. We are in a place where we do not know exactly which way to turn, but we recall that when the Israelites were in the wilderness God was with them. By day, they had a pillar of cloud to protect them from the sun, and by night a pillar of fire to illuminate their tents.

Today we ask God for protection in our own Jewish liturgy, in our prayer services, where we say, ufros aleinu sukat shlomekha (Hebrew) spread over us Your shelter of peace, Your tent of protection. So as we continue through this wilderness of COVID-19 and its aftermath, lets pray for God to spread over us a shelter, a Sukkat shalom, just as God did in the wilderness. And may we all make it through this wilderness together in peace and tranquility and praise God every day with our breath.

Rev. Kathryn Johnston, Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church

Photographer: Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com

Reflecting on this past year, a lot came down to what did you believe and when did you believe it. Wearing masks, wiping down groceries, staying away from gatherings even of family have all been up for debate. What is not up for debate is that jobs have been lost, loved ones have died, and lives and quality of life have been forever altered. Last year we declared boldly, Christ is risen! This year it feels a bit more like were coming out of the tomb ourselves blinking at the harsh, bright light, asking: Christ is risen?

The Good News is that the truth of God-with-us is not up for debate. It is not subject to our interpretation of the rules or our opinion on the matter. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our Lord stands forever (Isaiah 40:8). And that Word very clearly tells us how to love God. Love our neighbor. Feed our neighbor. Clothe our neighbor. Give our neighbor something to drink.

Have no doubt.

Christ is risen!

Christ is risen indeed!

Rawaa Mahmoud Hussain, Imam at Islamic Center Masjid Al-Sabereen

Photographer: Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com

In this challenging time that the world is going through due to the pandemic, it is necessary to present some words to make people feel hopeful again despite the difficult circumstances now.

God celebrates the human being and considers him honored. God says in the Quran: And we have honored the children of Adam. Islam teaches us that disease can afflict any person and that he who cures illness is God. However, it believes that God is the one who heals, but at the same time, it calls for what is termed (causes) such as going to the hospital, visiting the doctor, and taking the prescribed medicine. It calls for the preservation of human health, body, and soul, and it strongly demands that a person be protected from anything that might expose him to harm. Yet, it requires the sick person to be patient while he is recovering. It promises the ill person that God forgives his/ her sins because of his/ her illness and exposure to ill health.

Giving hope to people today is very important because it helps everyone overcome the ordeal we all experience.

Pastors John and Patty Leach of Life Center Ministries in Swatara Township

Photographer: Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

In this past year, we have had a front-row seat to the power of Gods unstoppable life. Weve witnessed the increase of His love and expansion of His kingdom in the lives of our people. From healings to salvations to provisional breakthroughs, our congregation has experienced His presence. Most overwhelming has been peoples hunger for God and a return to faith.

The depth of hope and love that we have experienced has been refreshing and deeply encouraging, as evidenced in the generosity in our food outreach and corporate commitment to prayer. This past year has removed distractions and indulgences, and many have rediscovered what is most important: an abiding faith, a love of family and friends, and a greater purpose for their lives. These truths will always sustain us in a grave season. As we turn to Christ, He gives us new life.

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The season inspires these messages of hope from religious leaders - PennLive