Grace in 30

On a cold night this past February, our guest shed his business suit, put on the most beat-up clothes he could find, and hit the streets for a night of homelessness.  Dr. Matthew Shank is the President of Marymount University, and the idea of doing this occurred to him after receiving an invitation to speak at an A-SPAN fundraiser.  A-SPAN is a local nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness in Arlington, and after accepting the invitation Dr. Shank realized he didn't know a thing about being homeless.  He also felt compelled to heed Pope Francis' call to stay close to the marginalized and to be shepherds living with the smell of the sheep.

Tim Sample is an Arlington resident and the CEO and Co-Founder of 72 Africa, a non-profit committed to conflict resolution and promoting peace in Africa.  We asked Tim to join us and talk about some of the sustainable peacemaking lessons he’s learned over a 40 year career working mostly in the intelligence and policy communities, and how those lessons can help us work through the current challenges we’re facing as a nation.  Tim talks about the danger and promise of an increasingly young African population, the threat of influence by violent extremists, and how this threat could affect our country.  

“This man’s grandson killed this man’s son.”  This is how our guest, Azim Khamisa, is often introduced when he appears before groups gathered to hear him speak.  His story begins back in 1995 when his only son, Tariq – a 20-year-old student – was shot and killed while delivering pizzas in San Diego. His killer, Tony Hicks, became the first 14-year-old to stand trial as an adult in the state of California.  Tony received a 25-year-to-life prison sentence.  Not long after his son’s death, Azim founded the Tariq Khamisa Foundation – an organization committed to stopping children from killing children.  He also invited Tony’s grandfather and guardian, Ples Felix, to join him in this cause, and the two of them have since been sitting side-by-side on stages across the country sharing the power of forgiveness. 

Our country is in need of a reset.  We are divided on numerous fronts including politics, race, socioeconomic status, and religion.  Our government is broken, our nation is broke, and there's a rising sentiment that our country and the world are spinning out of control.  Against this backdrop, a young man named Nick Hall has sparked a movement to put Jesus Christ in the pulse of our nation.  Nick's organization (PULSE) has orchestrated a large gathering on the National Mall on Saturday, July 16th, where they are inviting Christians throughout our nation to set aside their denominational and theological differences and come together for a day of thanksgiving, prayer, and praise.  They are praying for one million people to come and have lined up an outstanding group of speakers and performers including Hillsong United, Ravi Zacharias, and DC's very own Mark Batterson from National Community Church. 

Our country is in need of a reset.  We are divided on numerous fronts including politics, race, socioeconomic status, and religion.  Our government is broken, our nation is broke, and there's a rising sentiment that our country and the world are spinning out of control.  Against this backdrop, a young man named Nick Hall has sparked a movement to put Jesus Christ in the pulse of our nation.  Nick's organization (PULSE) has orchestrated a large gathering on the National Mall on Saturday, July 16th, where they are inviting Christians throughout our nation to set aside their denominational and theological differences and come together for a day of thanksgiving, prayer, and praise.  They are praying for one million people to come and have lined up an outstanding group of speakers and performers including Hillsong United, Ravi Zacharias, and DC's very own Mark Batterson from National Community Church. 

Today we hosted Michelle Haworth, Executive Director of Commissioned by Christ (CBC), and Kathryn Hogan, the Christian Service Coordinator at Bishop O’Connell High School.  CBC is an 8-year-old, local non-profit that has organized 16 international mission trips over the past 6 years, and numerous local one-day service projects.  Until last year, they were completely volunteer-led when they hired Michelle as Executive Director.  Bishop O'Connell is an Arlington-based Catholic High School where all 1,100 students are required to complete ten hours of community service work per year - and many students choose to go well beyond this by participating in things like short-term mission trips overseas.  Their organizations recently joined forces on a trip to Peru and they are working to collaborate on more projects in the future.  CBC is a great example of the impact a few college students can make when they determine in their hearts to serve; and Bishop O'Connell is a great example of what can be accomplished when a school makes community service a priority.