I just got off from being on Zoom from the US to women in Uganda. Each Saturday morning we get together, at their request, to bring a scripture and a message. I am an interfaith/interspiritual minister, and my message is always anchored in Light and Love.
This morning, however, they were late getting on. I wasn’t concerned, as sometimes the weather affects their internet connection. They come on from the bush — the back villages of Uganda where there is no electricity or running water. My Ugandan daughter, Joan, charges up her phone and laptop before going out, so that we can have a good hour or more to connect spiritually and virtually.
This time, however, it was not the weather. It was because in the sugar cane field next door to the Hope Empowerment Foundation Organization’s property, were children, ages 5 to 9, using machetes and cutting down the sugar cane for their guardians. Joan spoke with the guardians about how inappropriate this is. I asked her if there were child labor laws in Uganda, which there are. But, in the bush, it is like what we call in the States, The Wild, Wild West. In other words, anything goes.
So, this became part of our worship. We began with breathing in the Light and Love of God, into our hearts. We remembered God, not as a man with a white beard in the sky, but instead as all of consciousness, imbued in all that exists in the Universe. For 5 minutes we meditated in this way.
Then we remembered that our hands are used to bring God’s Love to the earth and its inhabitants. Our feet is how we walk in the Way of Jesus, with Love and compassion. And our voice is how we bring protection to the children in the field next door, and how we bring knowledge to their guardians.
We then gave peace to the community, the 50 women (including 2 men), sharing Peace with each other. The prayer was to our Mother/Father God, All That Is, Was and Will Be, asking for protection of the children and change in the guardians, so that the children might be able to attend school and play. We ended with the Lord’s Prayer.
The final part of every service is when the women in their very own style and language, praise God through song and dance.
In a country where women are regarded as disposable property, where children are used as work horses, where many do not know what their next meal is or where it will come from, there is a community that lifts up the women, teaches them skills so they can earn self-esteem as well as income, and where there is a community school that does not rely on outside donations to keep it going. Here is HOPE. Here is LIGHT. Here is LOVE.
Please keep these children in your mind and in your heart. Please send them your Light and Your Love. Together, let’s change the world!
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