The Bread Shed feeds the hungry, both spiritually and physically, in Southeast Missouri. The Bread Shed is a volunteer organization made up of churches and community members, local and regional social service organizations all working together to help to ensure that the needs of children and families are met.

The Bread Shed does this through Sunday community meals, a regular food, clothing diaper and Bible distributions, and ABC, A Better Childhood food distribution.

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The half hour broadcast version will air every Sunday at noon in December (beginning this Sunday) on ABC 7.2 Live Well Network Chicago.

A longer version will be offered on DVD this spring, available through the Lombard Historical Society.

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With all the talk this week relating to the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, I decided to dig up Peace, Arms and a Test of Faith, a 1992 documentary I produced for Jean Martensen and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, through the ELCA Department for Communication and the Division for Church in Society.

We recorded most of this program in the Rocky Mountain Synod of the ELCA at a conference attended by ELCA members who were actively engaged in social opposition to the nuclear arms industry and specifically the re-opening of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Arsenal near Boulder, Colorado. The conference was also attended by members of the ELCA who were then employed in the U.S. nuclear defense industry either in formal military roles or as scientists.

The keynote speaker at the event was the late Dr. Timothy Lull, then Academic Dean and Professor of Systematic Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. Lull was a prolific writer and widely sought speaker with a particular interest in the life and work of Martin Luther.

During filming at a protest, I was nearly arrested along with peace activists as we recorded their provocation of Rocky Flats security personnel and successful attempts to get arrested themselves. At the time, I was struck by the contrast in costumes between the two groups; the peace activists with their Birkenstock sandals and tie-dye shirts and the security personnel with their camoflage uniforms and aviator sunglasses. Everyone has their herd.

Interviews included:
Mag Seaman, American Friends Service Committee
Dr. Gary Rochau, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rev. Nelson Bock, Araria Higher Education Center, Denver, Colorado
Melody Buck, Peace and Justice Activist
Dr. Timothy Lull, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
Janet Miller, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
Lorne Matheson, NOAA Space Environment Lab Boulder, Colorado

Typically I misspelled Matheson’s title using the name “NOAH” instead of NOAA, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Oh well, it was a church video…

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Franciscan Outreach 2018 V2 from Tim Frakes on Vimeo.

Franciscan Outreach is a leading provider of homeless services in Chicago. This is the second year they have asked me to produce their annual gala video. Every day, Franciscan Outreach provides critical, life-changing services to hundreds of men and women in need.

Throughout Chicago, at their emergency shelters, day programs soup kitchen, Franciscan Outreach serves more than 8,000 of Chicago’s most vulnerable people.

In this video, three Franciscan Outreach guests share their personal stories and how, with a little help, they’re moving forward and making positive changes in their lives.

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On January 1, 2018 US President Donald Trump published a Twitter message stating, “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

Two days later, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley confirmed the administration will withhold $255 million in aid to Pakistan.The Pakistani government responded that recent comments from US leaders were “completely incomprehensible” and could damage the trust between the countries.

Launched in 2011, the US-Pakistan Interreligious Consortium, (UPIC) became a nonpartisan, interreligious alliance consisting of religious, academic and community leaders from over fifty Pakistani and American civil society organizations and I’m proud to be a part of it.

In 2013, 14, 16 and again in 2017 I had the privilege of traveling to Pakistan with the UPIC team. We met with a broad range of Pakistani civil, government, military, and religious society. We witnessed first hand the passionate desire on the part of Pakistani’s to reach out to the global community with a message of good will and cooperation. We also interviewed Pakistani’s who risk their lives confronting extremism and destabilization brought on by instability in neighboring Afghanistan.

The topic of Bin Ladin in Pakistan is interesting. It’s worth noting that since 9/11, Pakistan paid the terrorism butchers bill at a far higher rate than has the the United States.

The annual death toll from terrorist attacks has risen from 164 in 2003 to 3318 in 2009, with a total of 35,000 Pakistanis killed between 11 September 2001 and May 2011. One estimate shows a total of more than 60,000 to date.

According to the government of Pakistan, the direct and indirect economic costs of terrorism from 2000–2010 total $68 billion.

Shortly after our team departed Lahore, Pakistan in 2016, terrorists detonated a bomb in a crowded park filled with families (many Christian) celebrating Easter. Hundreds were killed and maimed. This spike in terrorism in Pakistan coincides with the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Imagine an insurgent group operating inside US territory, but before the US had full control of its vast western territory. Say, Arizona in the 1870’s. Then imagine a foreign invasion of Mexico forcing tens of thousands of refugees sprinkled with insurgents and other foreign fighters seeping over the Arizona/Mexico border.

In this, scenario, would Washington struggle to control insurgents who were launching attacks in both the US and Mexico? I think so.

Interestingly, a large percentage of Pakistanis reject the idea that Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan. It’s sort of the Pakistani version of “Fake news”.

I’ve no doubt that Bin Ladin found quite refuge in Abbottabad under the noses of the Pakistani military. It’s even likely some members of the Pakistani military were complicit in aiding and abetting him. This likelihood however, does not justify the inditement of an entire nation.

In response to the recent escalation of rhetoric and the potential for a destructive erosion of future US/Pakistan relations, I encourage members of the UPIC team, Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and all people of good will, to call on US and Pakistani leadership to reflect on the faithful foundations of their respective societies and renew efforts to find sustainable paths toward a just constructive and peaceful relationship between both societies. In honor of the late Dr. Mumtaz Ahmad, whose guiding spirit helped launch and sustain UPIC over the six years of its life, we cannot remain silent.”

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In this edition of Sanctuary I produced for Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries, we meet the Alkhoury family, and take a closer look at growing evidence of widespread persecution of religious minorities, as well as efforts by faith communities here in Chicago, the United States government, and the United Nations to find ways to support and protect some of the worlds most vulnerable people.

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Here is a piece I produced in Pakistan in March 2017 for Intersections International. Intersections led a group of more than 30 delegates from 12 countries to Pakistan (Lahore and Islamabad) as part of the ongoing US-Pakistan Interreligious Consortium (UPIC) program. UPIC brings religious and academic scholars from the US and Pakistan together to foster mutual respect and shared goals for the future.s

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Liz Dong is a member of Wheaton Chinese Alliance, part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance – the same denomination I am a part of.

Following the November election, I was eager to find a way to voice my dissent in positive ways. When World Relief called, I jumped at the opportunity to make a resource that speaks both to my political views and my calling as a Christian to “do” justice, love mercy and walk humbly.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, is an executive order implemented by President Obama in 2012 to temporarily protect from deportation undocumented immigrants who were brought into the US as children.

To qualify for DACA, candidates must have come to the US before age 16, are in school or have a high school degree or GED or have been honorably discharged from the US military, and are no threat to national security or public safety. DACA applicants go through biometrics background checks and pay a few hundred dollars in processing fee every two years for application and subsequent renewals.

Under DACA, qualified individuals have been able to attain work permits, driver’s license, and pursue higher education, allowing them to come of the shadows, out of constant fear of deportation and separation from family, to lead productive lives and contribute more to their communities. To date, over 740,000 individuals have been approved for deferred action. DACA recipients, also known as DREAMers, are working as teachers, doctors, artists and starting businesses as entrepreneurs and innovators.

President Donald Trump has promised to undo all executive orders, including DACA, immediately upon assuming office. Cancelling DACA or letting it expire without a permanent solution in place will remove temporary legal status and work authorization for DREAMers.

This would not only devastate the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals who did not have a say in coming to America as children, but also harm the US economy by removing these productive workers and consumers. One study has found that ending DACA would wipe away at least $400 billion from the U.S. GDP cumulatively over a decade.

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Friday, December 2, 2016, I recorded Illinois Senator Richard (Dick) Durbin at the Chicago Leadership Prayer Breakfast.

The program airs twice. December 18 and December 25 at noon on ABC-7.2 Live Well Channel.
In his remarks, Durbin challenged assembled Chicago business and religious leaders to remember “…the 40,000 people who awakened this morning in our state of Illinois in fear. 40,000 dreamers. Forty thousand young people protected by President Obama’s order. They are undocumented. They are in America. They know no other county. They were brought here as children. and they are asking for a chance to be a part of our future. 40,000 in Illinois, 740,000 nation wide. It will take prayers and good work to make their dreams a reality. Let’s remember them in our prayers this morning.”

Be sure to watch the next Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries, Sanctuary now on the ABC Live Well Network. Greater Chicago Broadcast has partnered with the Chicago Sunday Evening Club to present their annual Chicago Leadership Prayer Breakfast featuring keynote speaker Cardinal Blase Cupich.
The program airs twice. December 18 and December 25 at noon on ABC-7.2 Live Well Channel.
In Chicago, the Live Well Network is on the following channels:
Over the air: 7.2, 7.3
Charter: 608, 968
Comcast: IL- 193, 217, 244, 345; IN- 217, 345
Kraus Cable TV Systems: 45
Mediacom LLC.: 102, 723
RCN: 618
TV Cable of Rensselaer/Morocco (IN): 7
WOW!: 101, 219

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