Human Rights Day is celebrated every year on December 10. It commemorates the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This historic document reflects the well-established and honored ideas of ”inalienable rights which everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”
Take a few minutes to read this historic document. You will find it here in over 500 languages!
Perhaps a bit intimidating, this document does make us feel like there is so much to do we cannot take it in, much less act in any way to improve the lives of those who are suffering the most. However, Eleanor Roosevelt reminds us where we must begin our work:
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. […] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.
Greystone ministers to folks in the Raleigh area in many ways, small and not so small. There are multiple opportunities to love and serve the people God brings to our attention. This is how we at Greystone celebrate human rights. Bring your gifts, time, talents, energy, and ideas to the community and help serve our world. You might find you are being called to lend a hand in the Greystone garden. Deliver a bag of fresh produce to North Raleigh Ministries. Hammer a nail. Pull up some carpet. Help set up an apartment for refugees arriving from Afghanistan. Tutor a child. Assist in an adult ESL class. Provide books for children at Cedar Point. Bring food, gift cards, or a check and donate to the holiday food drives. Prayerfully consider how God is asking you to support the rights and dignity of his people in our little corner of His kingdom.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship home page states that we are partnering in renewing God’s world, and through the Wyatt ministry, God has delivered the world to our door. For more information, training, and community, spend some time on the CBFNC website. You will be amazed at what we can do together to support human rights at home and around the world.