Communications Blog
by Eileen Hodgetts

Thought for the day:
God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are a gift of God?" (Thomas Jefferson,)

We are being visited by the "cousins" from the UK. It's great fun, and we're all being very British about it, and having numerous cups of tea, and the steak and kidney pies they carried in their suitcases, not to mention, chocolate digestive biscuits, and Oxo cubes. You just have to be an ex-patriate to understand the joy of recieving a box of Oxo cubes!

So, we met the cousins when they flew into Washington, DC and we stayed the night and took them to see the sights. Nine of us riding on the top of a double decker bus and, in the case of the older ones, reminiscing about riding such buses to school, or to the shops or wherever. Strangely enough, I remember riding quite frequently on an open top bus, but I also remember that it seemed to rain every day, so I'm not quite sure how to equate those two things in my mind. Ah well! Perhaps it didn't actually rain every day.

The last time I was in Washington was in 2002 to visit the State Department with Bishop Nathan Kyamanywa from Uganda, and the whole experience was very saddening. It was just a few months after 9/11 and Washington was like a city under siege with hastily erected cement barriers, soldiers and police everywhere, streets blocked off, and a palpable shock still hanging in the air.

It's not the same now. The security systems have been very nicely landscaped. The roads have been pedestrianized (is there such a word?) and on the surface it looks really lovely. BUT, looking at the graceful classical government buildings, one can't help but notice that they were constructed with wide front doors, and sweeping staircases to invite the people in. Those doorways and staircases are now chained off. Entrance is around the back, through a guardhouse, and after a thorough security check. Inevitable but sad.

However, one thing has not changed, and that is the number of buildings that have prayers or praises to God engraved in their marble columns, or at the base of statues, or on the war memorials. It is obvious that that our predecessors, even quite recently, intended that God would be part of our public life.

Why am I saying all of this? It is not to frustrate you, it is to bring you the good news that Christ Church now has a way for you to learn more about public policy. Our Culture Impact Ministry has been created to help us be more effective and informed in the way we interact with our government, and our elected officials at all levels and to learn what we can do as Christians to have our voices heard on the important issues of the day. Click here to learn more about this new ministry, and plan to attend the Kick-Off Breakfast on August 21.