"In Celebration of Ubuntu" -- by the Rev. Dahn Dean Gandell

I first heard the word “ubuntu” during the walkabouts prior to the election for Rochester’s 8th bishop. The Rev. Dr. Prince Singh spoke about ubuntu—the idea that “I am because You are”—the interconnectedness of us all. We elected Prince to be our bishop on the second ballot and he will be consecrated and installed in 12 days (Thanks be to God!)

When I opened the May, 2008 edition of Episcopal Life Monthly, I was thrilled to see that “Ubuntu” will be the theme for our General Convention in 2009. I am definitely sensing a movement of the Holy Spirit here. It seems to me that a commitment to the MDGs is a way of living into the spirit of ubuntu.

I don’t spend too much time on my computer. I always prefer talking to folks on the phone or seeing them in person. I had a friend introduce me to Yahoo Messenger and when I was signing up, I found that one of the options is to “appear invisible to everyone.” I was horrified. I know it’s just a way to manage availability, but the thought of appearing invisible to everyone made me really sad.

And then I got to thinking about the millions, perhaps billions of people on this planet who feel like they’re invisible to everyone every day, like no one really sees them or cares about them. The past two weeks have brought heart-breaking stories of cyclones, earthquakes, terrorist bombings, and wild-fires. My prayer is that we keep our eyes and hearts open and try to BE God’s hands at work in the world about us. We may not be able to travel to China or Myanmar or India to do relief work but we can pray for and financially support those who can. We can look for those folks who seem lonely or isolated in our own parishes or schools or offices or grocery stores and start a conversation. We can embody ubuntu.

p.s. Last month I wrote about introducing the MDG’s to some 8 o’clockers at a parish in our diocese. There were 7 people who attended that service and about 75 at the 10 a.m. service. After the 8 a.m. service, one of the women came up to me and pressed a twenty dollar bill in my hand and asked me to do something with it. I added $5 and funded a kiva loan to a 49 yr old woman with 6 children living in Cambodia.

The Rev. Dahn Dean Gandell is rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Honeoye Falls, NY, and the MDG coordinator for the Diocese of Rochester.