Weekly Reflection - 2/14/2023

St. Mary's Reflection: David Crosson, Co-chair Justice Ministries

The Kingdom of God is Like a Cat’s Cradle?

Paul pictures the church as a human body in which every member has its own purpose, but each is interdependent with all others. (1 Corinthians, 12:12-26) Author Kurt Vonnegut offers the more secular metaphor of a cat’s cradle, a complex yet subtle web of human interconnectivity. Here is how it works with Sherith Israel-St. Mary’s Nueva Esperanza Accompaniment Team (NEAT).

In 2019, a recently released asylum seeker named Carlos sought St. Mary’s assistance in obtaining freedom and asylum for his Adelanto cellmate, a twenty year old Guatemalan named Marcony, who received both and today is a treasured member of our community. Six months later, members of Congregation Sherith Israel’s justice team attended the Cristosal presentation at St. Mary’s, which resulted in formation of our remarkable interfaith NEAT partnership.

Next, a NEAT member participating in a virtual meeting of Episcopal Migration Ministries connected with Interfaith Welcome Coalition of San Antonio, which two months later helped bring Venezuelan Rodnoell to San Francisco. Through the assistance of Marin NEAT, Noel found a job and rented an apartment in San Rafael.

Last year, Edward, a Columbian who had befriended Marcony in Tijuana, sought asylum in the U.S. After he entered through a Texas border station, the San Antonio team flew Edward to the Bay, where he has been living with a member of Marin NEAT in Mill Valley. Ten days ago, Interfaith Welcome flew Honduran Elbin, another Tijuana associate, from Houston, and he is now living with Edward. They hope soon to move into the San Rafael apartment that Rodnoel has vacated.

Follow the thread. This is how a cat’s cradle works. Could this also be how the Kingdom of God becomes a reality? Through an invisible web of human connectivity, a vital and thriving community is born: God’s Kingdom on earth . . . here . . . today. Won’t you join St. Mary’s Justice Ministries in making it happen?

David Crosson, co-chair
Justice Ministries