About This Website

My name is John H.D. Lucy.  Check out my official webpage at Writing To Live.  I graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 2012 with a Master's of Theological Studies.  Before going to Wesley I knew that slavery still existed as sex trafficking but, like most people, thought that it was isolated to a few areas of the U.S. and other countries.  While at Wesley, I attended the first annual D.C. Walk to End Modern Slavery and my eyes were opened.  From there I attended the  second and third annual D.C. Walk to End Modern Slavery and continued to realize that, though I'm generally a thinker and not a doer, I needed to do something more than attend some walks.

In the summer of 2011, I was given a Ministry Fellowship grant by the Fund for Theological Education to ride my bicycle about 2,700 miles across the United States to raise awareness and money for the fight against human trafficking.  This website/blog was originally launched to chronicle that two-month journey.  Since the journey's end, however, I have written a book of the same title as this blog, 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves, and people have continued to read the blog.  The blog is a little different than it once was, but hopefully it still serves to help people think about how we all can contribute to the end of the crime so monstrous: modern day slavery.

You can buy the book here: 27 Million Revolutions.  Or you can buy it in kindle or other e-book formats.

The reason I encourage you to buy and read the book is not so that I can make money by selling copies.  Rather, I encourage you to read the book because my perspective on slavery is unique.  You can read a number of books written by experts or by former slaves and learn more of the background and facts than I can give you.  They will tell you about tangible ways that you or others can end slavery.  I talk about that in the book, too, and a little bit here on the blog, but in general I am more of a layperson's philosopher: I talk about attitudes and moods and lifestyles that contribute to or combat slavery, and therefore how we, without ever really doing anything all that tangible, can help end slavery by simply changing the way we think and live out our daily lives.  This blog is a continuation of that project but the book will give you the most bang for your buck.

Why do I do this?  Well, I'm now the author of two books, including 27 Million Revolutions, and I have a master's degree, and I'm a pastor in the United Methodist Church.  First of all, as a traditional United Methodist, I am passionate about the problem of slavery.  It's the most cruel form of evil this world has ever known.  In Luke 4, Jesus makes it clear that freedom, physical and spiritual, is at the center of his mission, and it should be at the center of our life mission, too.  On top of that, my own life is also dedicated to helping people see that the way we believe and think have consequences for how we live our lives, and how we live our lives has an effect on how other people live their lives, too.  Everyone we interact, directly or indirectly, will be influenced in some way by who we are and how we live.  I realized how true this is when for two months I did nothing but pedal on my bicycle thinking about slavery.  That's a lot of time to be reflecting intensely on why slavery still exists, and my conclusion was and is that slavery exists in our world because we as individuals aren't aware enough and aren't living as if we aware.

Of course, I am just one voice in the wilderness.  On my two-month journey I teamed up with Polaris Project, a D.C. based and U.S.-oriented anti-slavery organization.  I raised a little over $3,100 for the Polaris Project.  I teamed up with them particularly because they are focused on slavery in the United States, where too often people think we are safe from slavery.  See the page "About Polaris Project" to read a little bit about what they do.  It's a good idea to check up on their website every so often to read what new legislation is being considered in Congress; it's also a good idea to sign up for their e-mail distribution list.  If ever you have questions, feel free to comment on this blog and I'll do my best to answer it, or check out Polaris Project.  You can also contact me at jlucy.wilde@gmail.com.

Why is this blog designed the way it is?  Two answers.  1) It's conveniently one of the set page designs of blogspot.  2) I wanted something like this anyway to represent the fact that slavery can exist in any community at any time.  No matter where we live we need to keep our eyes open and our compassionate hearts beating.