TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022
Today was TechWomen Volunteer Day and twenty-three of us gathered at St. Stephen’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church – Community Garden in San Jose, California, to work together. We divided into three groups: the Hunters (looking for oak seedlings to pot), the Killers (taking down an oleander hedge), and the Diggers (making an accessible path for elder gardeners). We included technical leaders from the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, some of whom were novices and others who had deep gardening experience, as well as two regular community garden volunteers and four TechWomen mentors. My daughter, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, manages the community garden but she was managing another TechWomen volunteer group today, so I was in charge. It was a fun and productive day!
St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022Lizard, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022
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This semester, I am taking a class at the Graduate Theological Union called “Christian Ethics: Radical Love Embodied” from Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Professor of Theological and Social Ethics. One of the texts for this class is Dr. Moe-Lobeda’s own 2013 book, Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation. Chapter 4, “Unmasking Evil that Parades as Good,” has caused me to think deeply on how background social and cultural understandings perpetuate and affirm the way things are, even if those understandings are destructive or evil. The author characterizes this as “‘hegemonic vision’… the constellation of socially constructed perceptions and assumptions about ‘what is,’ ‘what could be,’ and ‘what ought to be’ that maintain the power or privilege of some people over others, and ‘blind’ the former to that privilege” (Moe-Lobeda, 88).
Dr. Matthew Clair, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, uses the word hegemony with regard to U.S. law, but does not use the phrase hegemonic vision in his 2020 book Privilege and Punishment: How Race and Class Matter in Criminal Court. He presents similar concepts, writing of how racism and classism intersect, “I found that the working class and poor, especially racial minorities, often sought to learn their legal rights, contest their defense lawyer’s expertise, and advocate for themselves in court. Meanwhile, the middle-class people I got to know found themselves in trusting relationships with lawyers and thus were more likely to defer to their lawyers and the court. Privileged people were rewarded for their deference, whereas the disadvantaged were punished for their resistance and demands for justice” (Clair, xv). That is, Dr. Clair reports that the U.S. justice system has a vision of how people should behave that is based in middle-class assumptions and communication patterns. He finds that those who are poor or working class who do not communicate as expected are disproportionately penalized.
The Prison Policy Initiative affirmed what Dr. Clair has written in their “Mass Incarceration: the Whole Pie 2020” in which Wendy Sawyer and Peter Wagner write, “People in prison and jail are disproportionately poor compared to the overall U.S. population. The criminal justice system punishes poverty… Poverty is not only a predictor of incarceration; it is also frequently the outcome.”
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“In this paper, I begin the discussion of my Doctor of Ministry project and dissertation for the Berkeley School of Theology. In the first section, I present the problem of creating a theological study program for use in jail and my vision for its solution. The second section considers my theological basis, including three inspiring scriptures that have influenced my thinking. These are followed by a summary and conclusion. My theological basis and the proposed project and dissertation are informed by my experience as a Santa Clara County, California, jail chaplain since 2015.” The three Bible scriptures are Matthew 25:31-46, Genesis 39-41, and Acts 16:22-40. Read the whole paper here.
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ProQuest has just published my Master’s thesis, “Range of Chaplain Engagement with Prisoners” – Hooray! I am still waiting for the 158 page document to appear in the Graduate Theological Union Library catalogue, which will be more easily referenced. I have been waiting since my thesis was signed off in February 2021 for the GTU and ProQuest to make my thesis available so I am very happy that this process is (mostly) complete.
Abstract
Most congregations interested in jail or prison ministry start slowly, with a desire to act righteously, with moral correctness and integrity but without a strategic plan, goals, or structure. The range of chaplain engagement with prisoners reflects aspects of both sociology and theology. This thesis presents data and a novel tool to extend ministry participation and best practices to benefit prisoners and those reentering society after incarceration.
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The Curse of Ham by Goldenberg, Stand Your Ground by Douglas
The Reverend Doctor LeAnn Snow Flesher was our professor for a Berkeley School of Theology class this summer called “White Supremacy and the Bible.” My final paper was “Ethnocentrism and Racism.” The paper starts:
“Are ethnocentrism and racism different or the same, and what difference does this make? I engage these terms regarding American social structures, biology, and power / domination, as well as considering to what extent ethnocentrism and racism are mutually exclusive or overlapping. I will focus on two of our class books that examine these and related concepts, the Rev. Canon Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas’s Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God, and Dr. David M. Goldenberg’s The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This paper starts by reviewing definitions of ethnocentrism and racism from a variety of sources, followed by a section on what Douglas and Goldenberg write and seem to mean by those concepts, concluding with a section that considers how these meanings make a difference.”
You can read the whole paper here. Below is the “Social /Cultural Group Evaluation – Ethnocentrism <-> Racism Scale” graphic, discussed on pages 19-20 of the paper.
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Daniel Vega Martinez 1969-2021, collage, from the Rev. Peggy Bryan
On Sunday, a group of family and friends gathered to remember Daniel Vega Martinez (1969-2021). Daniel or “Big O” was a beloved member of our Stepping Stones reentry community, and had been in my class at Elmwood county jail. The Rev. Peggy Bryan, who leads the Stepping Stones community with Jack Fanning, wrote this tribute and account of Daniel’s death.
“Sadly, we said goodbye yesterday to Daniel Martinez, one of the first men I met at Elmwood and who, in reentry, was my teacher about the authentic challenges faced by living on the streets. Daniel was handed a tough life and the demons of addiction and shame finally tracked him down. Sunday he was found in flames in the cab of the truck he was living in. He was transported to VMC’s Burn Unit but his injuries were deemed unsurvivable so yesterday I offered final prayers as his wife, children and sisters circled him with love…Expressions of condolences and love are pouring in from those incarcerated and those outside who knew, loved and respect Daniel, ‘Big O’, as a man of God and a real St. Paul when leading behind bars, in prison or jail. The cause of the fire is unknown—accident, suicide, homicide…Please keep everyone in your prayers, those who call him father, brother, husband, mentor, friend and teacher are spread far and wide. As plans for a service are known, I’ll let you know. My heart is broken, this has been beyond brutal, but it helps knowing Daniel finally rests In God’s perfect peace.”
Fifty of Daniel’s friends and family got together in the San Jose parking lot to honor his life and lay flowers at the burn site where he was fatally injured.
Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him
Daniel Vega Martinez 1969-2021, melted fence 2 May 2021
Daniel Vega Martinez 1969-2021, memorial flowers 2 May 2021
Daniel Vega Martinez 1969-2021, with family, from Peggy Bryan
Daniel Vega Martinez 1969-2021, at beach, by Peggy Bryan
Daniel Vega Martinez 1969-2021, with Kathy and Peggy, from Peggy Bryan
Daniel Vega Martinez 1969-2021, sunset, from Peggy Bryan
30 May 2021 Update: Daniel’s Memorial Service at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Daniel Martinez memorial, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 30 May 2021
Daniel Martinez memorial, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 30 May 2021
Daniel Martinez memorial, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 30 May 2021
Daniel Martinez memorial, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 30 May 2021
Daniel Martinez memorial, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 30 May 2021
Daniel Martinez memorial, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 30 May 2021
Daniel Martinez memorial, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 30 May 2021
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On 7 March 2021, I presented about my GTU Master’s Thesis “Range of Chaplain Engagement with Prisoners” to about forty people in my home parish, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (Saratoga, California) via Zoom (and broadcast to the church courtyard). I linked my slides here to make it easier to follow along. Here is the link to the video recording.
I have not yet posted the whole thesis – I think the GTU Library will be doing that eventually. I am still in the process of getting the final thesis signatures and the library is one of the last that needs to approve it.
22 April 2021 – This presentation has been given several times, most recently to the GTU Religion and Practice Department, and a Kairos volunteer group. Please contact me if you would me to speak.
8 March 2021 – updated text, added video link, and photo
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