Unity, then progress

Last week I attended the 60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The topic for the conference was "Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All." At the opening session Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, gave the keynote speech.

The world is in a special situation, he said, because of global warming. No individual, no country — whether rich or poor, or black or white or brown, or North or South — can escape the realities of global warming The problem can never be solved unless every single one of us is in agreement and on board, so we find ourselves linked together like never before.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians reminding them to join together in their actions as well: "I appeal to you, brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought" (1 Corinthians 1:10). One of the greatest things about the Disciples denomination is that we affirm all points of view and opinions, accepting that sometimes we just have to agree to disagree. But other times there are issues that are just too important for us to let differences get in the way; sometimes we have no choice but to seek unity in order to make progress.

All of this makes me think about my own Leadership Project for the year. I am going to be organizing several social justice events every month for the United Methodist and Protestant Community on campus. While my faith is what makes me so passionate about social justice, not everyone comes from the same background. The other justice coordinators and I have chosen some relatively controversial things to work on this year such as boycotting Coca-Cola for unfair labor practices (though our campus has an exclusive contract with Coke), reconciling ministries, the war in Iraq, and Native American caricatures as sports mascots.

I realize that if we're going to accomplish anything, we're going to have to work not only with each other, but also with lots of other individuals and organizations on campus. I know it will be a challenge to bring so many people together on these issues, but I am excited to take on this challenge and see how united American University can become.