Christian Food for Thought from Anne Magierski

"Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." James 1:22

Familiar words, but how many of us have deluded ourselves by hearing only and not doing? Let me tell you about one young lady, Kirsten Brydum, age 25, who took these words to heart and devoted her life to helping others. She was a prolific activist in San Francisco who inspired and empowered countless people through her work with The Really Really Free Market, the All Access Cafe, and as co-founder of Collective Autonomy.

The Really Really Free Market (http://www.reallyreallyfree.org/) was set up as an exchange of free goods and services designed, in Kirsten's words, "to move us from competition to cooperation, from selling to giving, and from expecting the government to care for us to doing it ourselves." The Collective Autonomy Network "refers to a strategy: collectivizing our energy and resources in order to approach autonomy from forces of oppression. It is self-sufficiency achieved through cooperation."

She was visiting New Orleans as part of a cross-country tour promoting this very purpose, but on September 27, 2008, Kirsten was murdered, shot multiple times in the head. She was a tireless and selfless community activist. Close friends remarked that "to know her was to be awed and inspired by her wisdom and generosity." "Kirsten dedicated herself to fighting the very social ills of poverty, racism, and systemic violence which helped cause her death," said her friend, Tyson Ayers. "She was not naive, she was streetwise and aware. Don't fault her for refusing to be paralyzed by fear, which only reinforces the gross idea that violence against women is an immutable risk in society, and therefore the woman's responsibility to avoid it instead of society's responsibility to counteract it."

In an open letter posted on the family's memorial site (http://kirstenbrydum.virtualmemorials.com/), Kirsten's partner John Viola called upon her death to help him find a line between "righteous anger" and hatred. "There should be no room left in this world for hatred," he wrote. "That is what took you from us and it will not bring you back. Now more than ever I know that we need to put more love into the world and that you cannot fight hatred with hatred."

Her death leaves an entire community in mourning and her loss will be deeply felt for a long time to come. A memorial Mass was held at St. Bernadine Catholic Church, Woodland Hills, CA on October 4.

This poem was posted on her memorial website by Rabbi Jack Reimer, and all should read it:

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war;
For we know that You have made the world in a way
That man must find his own path to peace,
Within himself and with his neighbor.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end starvation;
For You have already given us the resources
With which to feed the entire world,
If we would only use them wisely.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to root out prejudice;
For You have already given us eyes
With which to see the good in all men,
If we would only use them rightly.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end despair;
For You have already given us the power
To clear away slums and to give hope,
If we would only use our power justly.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease;
For You have already given us great minds with which
To search out cures and healing,
If we would only use them constructively.

Therefore, we pray to You instead, O God,
For strength, determination, and willpower,
To do instead of just to pray,
To become instead of merely to wish.