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By William K. Kay

 
There was fire and rain that year. The last big religious revival in Wales ran from the autumn of 1904 until the summer of 1905. On the 10th November, 1904, the Western Mail, a newspaper that circulated mainly in the south of Wales, reported:

One night so great was the enthusiasm invoked by the young revivalist that after a sermon lasting two hours the vast congregation remained praying and singing until half-past two o’clock next morning. Shopkeepers are closing earlier in order to get a place in the chapel, and tin and steel workers throng the place in their working clothes. The only theme of conversation among all classes and sects is “Evan Roberts.” Even the taprooms of the public-houses are given over to discussion on the origin of the powers possessed by him.

Evan Roberts was the ‘revivalist’ whose preaching triggered off intense religious reaction. In the pubs and factories mysterious powers are attributed to him.

By the end of the year, even the London papers were curious. The Times dispatches a reporter to find out what is going on. Attending one of the meetings he files an eye-witness account:

Presently a young man pushed his way through the crowd and, kneeling in the rostrum, began a fervent prayer of penitence and for pardon. Once again, in the midst of his prayer, the whole congregation break forth into a hymn, repeated with amazing fervour and vigour eight times.

The crowded meeting is silenced by a young’s man prayer. When he has finished, as a kind of collective endorsement, the congregation sings a hymn (which they must know by heart) again and again.

A man in the gallery raises his voice to speak. The people listen, and meanwhile Mr Roberts has resumed his seat and watches all with a steady and unimpassioned gaze. The man confesses his past – he has been a drunkard, he has been a Sabbath-breaker, he had known nothing of a Saviour, but now something has entered his heart and he feels this new power within him compelling him to speak. While he is speaking the people give vent to their feelings in a hymn of thanksgiving, repeated as before again and again. Thus the hours creep on.

The pattern is repeated as the man in the gallery confesses to drinking heavily and breaking the Sabbath. The confession demonstrates the weight of expectation placed on the male population: beer money is money taken from the family budget; Sunday should be occupied with rest and chapel-going.

It is long past midnight. Now here, now there, someone rises to make his confession and lays bare his record before the people or falls upon his knees where he is and in loud and fervent tones prays for forgiveness. (The Times, Jan 3rd, 1905)

This spontaneous form of Christianity results in church services with three characteristics: anyone can take part, anything can happen, and congregational singing expresses collective emotion. The professional clergy find themselves displaced. Even Mr Roberts simply watches for most of the time. The hidden springs of events well up in the troubled hearts of men who feel impelled to public penitence. And, once they have done this, they feel joyful relief. About 100,000 people made their confessions and their commitments to Christ in this way. Historically, the Welsh crime statistics show a fall in these months while, in the mines, industrial unrest was quelled.

When the Welsh revival had run its course the churches were, for a while, fuller. But there were also institutional and organizational consequences. This was most obvious in another religious revival that was linked with Wales and which broke out in the burgeoning city of Los Angeles the following year and ran till about 1

Each year my office sponsors a back-to-school project where we collect donations from local attorneys and spend the money on school supplies, which we give to the children of our poor clients and other needy families. And each year, I end up with too many pencils, not enough book bags, and at least one child who stresses out!

This year, we started late because I was on vacation. And school started so early--August 3! But we've collected $750 plus in-kind contributions from donor attorneys, assembled 36 bags, and distributed most of them so far. Today, one woman arrived at the speed of lightning after receiving the telephone call that we had school supplies for her 4 children, and she had tears streaming down her face as she practically danced out of the office with the box. Another just kept saying thanks over and over again.

Saipan is depressed economically, but there are still generous people out there helping make this project a success, and still good manners and gratitude that make us smile. And there will be at least some kids who have a little reason to go to school and try harder--if just to sharpen those new pencils, uncap the highlighters, or play with the zippers on the book bags.

While I was away enjoying vacation, MLSC was busy!

Our executive director, Ben Tured, worked with former MLSC attorney Chuck Greenfield, who is now program director at Hawaii Legal Aid, and convinced the LSC Board to allow Legal Aid programs across the U.S. to represent Micronesians.
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In the past, only MLSC could represent Micronesians, even if the Micronesians were living in the U.S., entering pursuant to the rights negotiated in the Compact of Free Association. This meant that Micronesians living and working throughout the U.S. who needed any legal help, and who were poor enough to qualify for free legal aid, still couldn't get help from their local legal aid organizations because they hadn't been admitted to the U.S. under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the portal to benefits. And MLSC limited help to those Micronesians living in the CNMI, Palau, FSM and Republic of Marshall Islands, because that's where we have attorneys and that's where our attorneys are licensed to practice. We just never had a budget that would allow us to represent people all over the U.S.!

Now (well, actually, in October 2007) Micronesians will be treated the same as all legally admitted residents of the U.S. for purposes of getting free legal help. They can qualify for benefits if they meet the other program requirements, where ever they live.

It's all about access to justice.

Way to go, Ben and Chuck!

Friday was a perfect day, especially at Managaha, which is as beautiful as ever.

My office had its annual "burn-out" day on Managaha.

This is the time we talk about what we've done right and what we need to do to improve our services to the community.

And we relax and have fun together as a means of avoiding "burn-out," that common ailment that gets the best of advocates and providers in the social-welfare field.

I found out that others in the legal field use Managaha for their austerity Fridays, too. Some of the clerical staff from the Attorney General's office and the CNMI Bar came to picnic.

The Public Defenders office showed up, too.

Where were you on austerity Friday? Preparing for the March Against Cancer? Enjoying beautiful Saipan? Doing what?

Wednesday, 10 AM.

At Home:

Burglars stealing from the impoverished. Upsets me terribly.

Micronesian Legal Services Corp, Marianas Office, was broken into last night and two desktop computers were stolen. MLSC is a non-profit agency operating on a shoe-string budget. The Marianas Office is located in Civic Center, a space provided gratis by the CNMI government. MLSC has requested government help in renovating the space, which is deteriorating badly from termites and age, and security is a problem. This is the third break-in in about a year, and all three times computer equipment has been taken. One time the thieves stole a computer that had been loaned to the financially strapped organization by then-legislator Janet Maratita.

Now poor people will have lawyers without computers. How are we supposed to provide quality legal representation to the people who need it most under these circumstances?

I hope the thieves get caught.


Close to home:

Read this article: WashingtonPostArticle and this: MarianasVarietyScoop

It tells the lovely story of the recent conviction of Mark Zachares, former CNMI attorney general, former CNMI chief of labor (if I recall correctly). The conviction is part of the on-going Abramoff scandal. Mark first met Jack Abramoff while he was working here, and that's probably when he fell into his pocket.

I remember Mark's tenure in the CNMI. He blatantly abused the power he had. Why didn't we ever investigate him? The CNMI needs to be more attentive to corruption, which is insidious and grows into worse problems.

At least the Abramoff noose is tightening. Wonder who else with CNMI connections will be rounded up.