The idea that we would bring forward would take aim at the despair, chaos and desperation that was becoming Auburn Avenue in Atlanta after the sun had gone down. Just blocks from the grave of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church so many lives were spiraling out of control. At night, gang activity, drug addiction, drug dealing and rampant prostitution was creating an atmosphere that only the bravest or the dumbest would dare step into. It remained to be seen, which of those two distinctions would apply to us. But, God reassured me of His will and with faith I proceeded.

The world we arrived in last fall found many of the street lights broken. Drug dealers and prostitutes sought to hustle us with every breath it seemed. I had attempted so many variations of service in this area and found it difficult to see any evidence of our work over the years. I was curious to see what God was up to and eager to see the results show up. So last fall, me and several students based out of the Catholic Center at Georgia Tech showed up under a dark bridge on Auburn Avenue and offered a warm meal to all who came. With love in our hearts we engaged the darkness well into the night and we brought Eucharist into the location in who we were being. On the first night the impact began to show up almost immediately. The warm meal we were sharing with love and hope caused something to shift. The shift was so dramatic that the police that patrol that area at night felt the need to share the next day how all types of crime and violence that area has known had subsided to almost nothing while we were present under the bridge. Clearly, the Hand of God was reaching into this community and we were the instruments of His peace.

The following week, we showed up as promised and those we served poured out their pent up hunger and frustrations and we listened and loved them. That same night, I knelt at the feet of a prostitute and washed her feet while her pimp urged her to get back to work from a few yards away. As menacing as he may have thought he was, we loved him and fed him and overlooked his attempts to intimidate us or the woman we were serving. And so, the work of Christ had begun in earnest to bring light into the darkness that we had found. Now, six months later, we are still going strong and we look forward to seeing our friends each Friday evening as we serve and we are served. The street lights are lit and maintained, and each face carries a smile and great affection for us, their brothers and sisters, their friends. A whole new future exists now for nearly 100 men and women as hope, faith and love returns to their heart. There dignity continually nurtured and they know they are loved and that they do matter. This is what Deep Waters Ministry does.

As you hear about the potential we provide for this world, I invite you to now bring forth from the abundance that God has given you. Bring forth your time, your talent and your wealth. Christ did not die on a cross so that we could claim hardship in lean economic times. We must be bold during feast and famine for the work of our faith is continual and our calling is to be a mission people. I invite you to participate now and ongoing in those manners that are appropriate and in that partnership you will find your Christian faith come fully alive before your very eyes. We welcome your contribution to the body of Christ and your rewards and blessings will be enormous. On that you have my word.

Reach out to me now and lets set this normal world ablaze with a crazy love like none other.

I encourage everyone to reach out to those that seem lost in this world. They may have burned the bridge, lovingly build it back. They may have caused you to close the door, lovingly open it. We continue to turn our backs on Christ for when He was hungry, we gave Him no food. When He was thirsty, we gave Him nothing to drink. When He was a stranger, we showed Him no love. When He was naked, we gave Him no clothing. When He was sick, we did not tend to His needs. And when He was imprisoned, we did not visit Him. We want our lives to be free of turmoil and strife and we must understand the reality of this world and know that God made no such promise. This is the face of one that so many have quit on this world and our inner city streets are filled with faces just like this. We must know the image and likeness these faces reflect and understand our obligation to them all. So the next time you hear the words crack head, pray for those that say such things for one day they will hear the voice of God say depart from me.

For our sins and for our salvation, God came down from Heaven in the form of a man named Jesus Christ. He gave us His wisdom and poured out His love as He endured a brutal death on our behalf. He showed us victory over death and gave us freedom over the trials of this world. All He has asked us, His creation, in return, is that we love Him and that we love one another. Do not let fear of eternal damnation be that which drives you to that love. Embrace God’s love fully, surrender to His will completely, and obey His commandments and you will receive the grace that causes our lives in this world to be amazing.

This is not a plea on behalf of the poor and downtrodden that I am so honored to love and serve. This is my heartfelt plea for you! That’s right, for you! For I know whom it is that I serve! Each day I serve my Lord and Savior, where I find Him, amongst the least of these. And, each day, as I come face to face with the Risen Christ, I am served abundantly. So my deepest hope is that you may be served as well. For one day we will all meet Christ once again and He will remind us with stunning clarity of that which we did not do for the least of these we did not do unto him. So in my plea, I am committed to your being served by Christ, because I do love you enormously and you matter to me more then you can possibly imagine!

Please join me today as we prayerfully seek the Kingdom of God to draw near.

ABORTION ON DEMAND – THE GREATEST HOLOCAUST IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND

God gave men and women free will and we have chosen to be inauthentic about the conversation in this matter. We have framed the debate in this matter as PRO-LIFE versus PRO-CHOICE. The simple fact of the matter is that everyone I know is PRO-CHOICE and furthermore, I am eternally grateful to the mothers of those people I know for making the choice of LIFE! So I want to be clear that on the issue of abortion on demand we have two choices ; one being LIFE and the other being DEATH!

I know framing the debate in this manner is not nice and makes some people worry about their stand on this matter and whether it looks good or not.  I have to admit I would much rather be called PRO-CHOICE then PRO-DEATH! So I completely understand the opposition in this debate wanting to make their stand on this matter seem a lot nicer. But the reality of the matter is that it is death and it is an horrific one at that. Imagine the savagery of a procedure that shoves a sharp object usually scissor like in nature into the back of the unborn child’s skull destroying their brain, thus murdering them. Then their body is dismembered and the parts are removed from the mother’s womb into a basin, then the remains are put in a plastic bag and disposed of as medical waste. I openly challenge anyone to explain to me how that could be nice at all.

I go around all day long speaking to the dignity of the human person and allowing people to know themselves and the greatness they have been made to be. Standing for peace and love in the communities in an effort to bring comfort to those in anxiety and despair we establish the value of their lives as infinite in God’s eyes. Practices such as abortion on demand stand in stark contrast to that message and crushes the spirit of all mankind. If we say nothing about this practice which results in the murder of an innocent child, then our world is in great peril from the enemy within. For if that child is only as valuable as the medical waste label that is attached to them, then what can we say to keep another man from shooting to death a 19 year old college student because the man that killed him wanted his IPOD. I am told the value of that item was $40. Surely human life is worth more then that but as long as we diminish and destroy human life then none of our lives will ever have any value.

In the past I have tried to be nice on this subject due to the emotional response I get from those of an opposing view. But in recent years when I saw the number of children murdered by this evil practice cross the 50,000,000 threshold, I knew that I had been nice about this for far too long and I have no intentions of ever doing so again.

ABORTION IS NOT NICE AND ITS TIME WE STOP TRYING TO BE NICE ABOUT IT!

I believe that life begins with the divine spark as a man and woman join God in the co-creation of a miraculous child. And you will never get me to believe otherwise. Many people have given it their best shot and have described this miraculous unborn child as a clump of cells, fetus, parasitic growth and even a tumor. But I know that Truth comes from God and can be found in His word and He tells Jeremiah, ‘I knew you in the womb.’ David goes on to acknowledge in the Psalms that ‘You knit me in my mother’s womb.” So, if the pro-death advocates are accurate in their description of this child as something of no value, then who was there to know in the womb of Jeremiah’s mother.

WE MUST TRANSFORM THE CULTURE OF DEATH TO A CULTURE OF LIFE AND LOVE IF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS TO DRAW NEAR!

Hello and thank you for your time this Christmas Eve.

I come here with a message to remind you of who you are.

For I tell you, you, are a miracle standing!

You, who have been made by God’s hand, in His image and likeness,

reflect the presence of the divine in your being.

For you have been made in this image and likeness of

an all powerful God who created the universe.

The universe filled with hundreds of billions of galaxies,

each with one to two hundred billion stars

much like our own sun, Solaris.

You have been made by His hand to be creators

in your own right.

His children, you have aspired to be,

brought into existence by His will,

knit in your mother’s womb, He knew you,

for with His purpose you were made.

You are a miracle standing!

And as you make your way through this

tapestry of the human experience,

the deep rich texture of the spiritual thread you provide

weaves an image of divine grace that the angels bow down before.

The cacophony of sounds that rise up from humanity create

a symphony that no great composer could have struck to paper or

ever hope to conduct.

This symphony of humanity rising to our  God in a joyful noise

relies on each of us to perform the note we are assigned.

Let me assure you that no note is greater then another,

and we are counting on you to perform your part

with bold crescendo as this glorious sound of mankind

rises to the heavens to please our God.

I remind you once again that you are a miracle standing.

And on this Christmas Eve do not despair the condition you are in.

For God provided the greatest gift ever to mankind in Himself.

For He came down, Emmanuel, and dwelt among us.

This is the great gift that I speak of.

Yet this gift came to us in the form

of an infant child, laid upon a bed of straw, in a manger;

surrounded by livestock and farm animals,

in an ancient Judean barn.

Yet He ruled the world,

in this lowest of conditions,

and He does so to this day.

So, on this night, this holy night,

this night divine,

we come together in celebration of that gift.

This night, when Christ was born.

Tomorrow, Christians and Catholics around the world will mark

the Feast Day of the Nativity in celebration of the Christ child.

But this eve, I am here with you,

waiting in anticipation of our Lord and Savior,

Jesus, the Christ.

I want you to know that there remains no place

I would rather be then with you right now.

It is my honor and privilege to wish you

a Merriest of Christmases.

I love you more then you know,

and you matter to me more then you can imagine.

So do not diminish yourself ever in this world,

for as I have told you,

you are a miracle standing!

May almighty God bless you now and always!

And again, Merry Christmas!

© Written by Joey Martineck

The two man play about three wise men.

I was amazed by the Wise Men show.  In a brief 45 minutes, the audience is invited to consider the deepest human questions in the light of faith.  Wise Men has us laughing, crying, and rapt in God-filled silence, sometimes all in the same minute.

~Father Tim Hepburn, Georgia Tech Catholic Center

Plot Summary:

How long is he going to take? Something is wrong with Melchior and it is driving Balthasar insane. Ever since Melchior went to see the baby, he has changed. After a long journey with his fellow magi travelers, Balthasar desires to experience what happened to his friend as he impatiently waits for his third companion to finish meeting the newborn “King”. And what could be more peculiar than the bright star shining above them against the dark night? Come and see the untold story of the magi in the two-man one act play “Wise Men.”

“Wise Men” first opened at the Georgia Tech Catholic Center in December 2009 performed by Bryan Lewis (Balthasar) and Joey Martineck (Melchior).  Bryan and Joey are two Catholic students at Georgia Tech that are “following the star” by taking this play to churches, theaters, and other venues to perform across the state.  Their mission is to allow the Holy Spirit to move through theatrical performance.

Past venues included:

• Georgia Tech Catholic Center: Atlanta, GA
• Prince of Peace Catholic Church: Flowery Branch, GA
• St. Benedict Catholic Church: Duluth, GA
• St. John Neumann Catholic Church: Lilburn, GA
• Catholic Church of St. Monica: Duluth, GA
• Killian Hall: Lilburn, GA
• New London Theatre: Snellville, GA
• St. Brigid Catholic Church: John’s Creek, GA
• St. Mark Lutheran Church: Tucker, GA

We do not charge a fee for performing.  For special venues, compensation for things such as gas money may apply.

What you need to provide:

• An audience
• A stage (if not available, two chairs is fine)

We bring all our costumes and props.  Past venues have provided some sort of sound system for entrance music and a set of a nativity scene.  These are welcome but not necessary.

Please email martineckj@gmail.com to request a date for a venue near you or if you have any other questions.  The play can be performed at any time throughout the year, but the Christmas season is filling up fast.  Thank you and we hope to bring the joy of “Wise Men” to your venue very soon!