Author : Valencia Clement
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 77 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (934 download)
Book Synopsis Chan Desperans by : Valencia Clement
Download or read book Chan Desperans written by Valencia Clement and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chan Desperans means "songs of hope" in Haitian-Creole. Growing up, I always saw "Chant D'esperance" hymnals in my home, in churches and whenever I was in community with other Haitian diaspora members. I always wondered why the title was in French when most of the people in my church spoke only Haitian Creole (many did not know how to read and write). So in honor of Creole Heritage Month, I began doing some research. I learned that while Catholicism has been the national religion of Haiti since the 1600s, there was not a Haitian Creole translation of the Bible until 1985. A Haitian NIV wasn't published until the 2000s. This means that although 95% of Haitians Speak Haitian Creole as their primary tongue, and most only speak Haitian Creole, a critical mass of Haitians on the island had to rely on third party sources to help understand the religious text. For me, Religion, especially spirituality, has been about creating an individual relationship with God so I was very surprised that many Haitian people had to rely on others' interpretations to make sense of their faith. It bothered me deeply to see folks denied the ability to read, critically think and apply their experience and unique spirituality to their faith practice. It's a spiritual wound and trauma to deny folks divine agency to make sense of themselves in relation to divine power especially during times such as these where pandemics, politics and environmental disaster have ushered in a new normal shrouded in uncertainty. I wrote these Songs of Hope to take back my Songs of Hope. I wrote this book to exercise my agency and ignite my rehumanization and re-spiritualization. After conducting years of research, I found one thing in common between the diverse biblical authors, they were met with challenges and by connecting to the divine, they were able to share testimonies with the world about the miracles of our God. As we are facing unprecedented times, it's important for us to know, we all have the power to share our testimonies and songs of hope that help us journey towards a more just future. As God guides us through these times and reveals lessons to us about who we are and what our ministries are, we author contemporary theologies that fit our modern context. When the Torah talks about creation, it says God breathed "nepsheh," divine breath or the Holy Spirit into us. We have the ability and the authority to leverage that spirit or utopian longing to turn our freedom dreams into liberative theologies, ontologies and epistemologies. This book is about hurting, healing and growing Godward. It reminds us all of our divine power to navigate complexity and reclaim things taken from us by racialized capitalism, imperialism and spiritual violence. The text brings readers in to process the following questions:How do we process trauma after unprecedented trauma and still rise again? How do we communicate our deepest anguish and blues with divine powers around us? What songs of hope will carry us to tomorrow?
