Kyle Meyaard-Schaap is the new executive director for ASJ-US. He likes to think his role is that of a cheerleader and storyteller. He gets to tell the amazing story of ASJ’s work to people around the world and cheers on all of the dedicated people in the US and Honduras who are making that work happen.
Songs of Justice / A Simple Faith
February 1, 2024
“At its simplest, justice is the way God intended for things to be.”
-Kyle Meyaard-Schaap
Dame una fe sencilla
“Give Me a Simple Faith”
Lyrics by Santiago Benavides
Translation by Julián David Salinas
Excerpt from the song:
Give me a simple faith
That sits at the table of the poor,
That rejoices in gladdening hearts,
And that weeps also with their sorrows.
A faith like that, similar to you.
Simple, just like your coming to earth was,
Just as your peasant stories were,
Just like your home in Palestine was.
Give me a simple faith
That does not give place and space to lie,
That can’t live with injustice,
And doesn’t keep silent about what it knows gives life.
Simple, like your compassionate look,
Like those villages traveled,
Like the love that led you to give your life.
When did your justice journey start?
I admire my older brother a lot. I was 17 years old when he came home from a semester abroad in New Zealand and announced to the family that he was a vegetarian. When he shared why, he connected dots for me that had never been connected for me before between global food production, land rights, environmental destruction, and human exploitation and oppression. He connected the kind of person I wanted to be with the choices that I make every day. It’s a connection that has grown stronger and stronger as I’ve had my own encounters with injustice.
What does justice sound like to you?
To me, justice sounds like a belly laugh. No sound to me better reflects joy, delight, fulfillment, and right relationship than a knee-slapping, eye-watering laugh.
What is your hope for justice in your context?
I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a city that is deeply racially segregated. One of the most polluted waterways in Michigan runs behind my backyard. Affordable housing is in short supply.
My hope for justice here is not just that these injustices would be remedied but also that it would be my neighbors and I who do it. I hope that barriers of suspicion and distrust can be dissolved as neighbors build meaningful relationships. I hope that all of us can come to see that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I hope that we can all come to see that if our neighbor is oppressed, if our neighbor is poisoned, if our neighbor is unhoused, then so are we all.
Thank You for Moving Forward With Us this Summer!
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Dear Friend, On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Hondurans flooded their streets with prayer and peaceful demonstration. Reports from our team members who attended said it was like an inspirational sea of people all wanting the same thing for their country: peace. One of our ASJ-US colleagues said he walked past Pentecostals dancing and playing music, a woman praying the rosary, nuns walking, and priests and altar boys in full robes–all walking in the same space together for peace.
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