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jon foreman



Last Updated: 11/23/2009

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Status: Single
City: san diego
State: California
Country: US
Signup Date: 6/2/2007

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Wednesday, October 07, 2009 
Dear Amigos -
 
Mark your calendars.  Switchfoot is confirmed to perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday Nov 12th.  The band will be performing on the outside stage, and we are able to offer tickets to this special performance.  However, because there are a limited # available, we are making these tickets available FIRST to anyone who purchases tickets to our Nov 11th show at the Roxy.  If you are in the LA area, make sure to buy your ticket now, and stay tuned for details on how you can join us at Jimmy Kimmel Live!
9:40 PM 
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Thursday, May 14, 2009 

I'm been very honored and humbled to join in the ongoing fast for those in Darfur who have no choice in the matter. In our global community, we cannot turn a deaf ear to those who are suffering. Today, I've passed the baton to Peter Gabriel, Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and the rest of you who are fasting alongside of those in Darfur. Thank you for filling in the gap, for praying and fasting and making your voice known to the media and to Washington.


In this brave new world of interconnectivity, we need each other more than ever. For all of my information about the situation in Darfur I have relied heavily on my friends who have been there. I have truly valued the information that many folks I've never met have offered to me over the course of the last few days. More than ever, we are the media. The media needs you to tell them that millions of refugees in Darfur is more important to you than whether Paris Hilton does this or that. Darfur was bombed again yesterday, why is that not making headlines?


We cannot be silent on the issue... this discourse is needed. It's a painful conversation, it's painful to see it on the news... I think the pain is what makes us turn to celebrity gossip or our own preoccupation. But we cannot run from pain.


I overheard a conversation a few years back. I was buying a greeting card in a bookstore downtown when I heard an old Morgan Freeman looking character talking to a pretty you blond girl. He had a low musical timbre from deep in his chest and his voice was clear, "Ask a weightlifter how he got so strong, he will tell you, 'I suffered.' Ask a runner how he got so fast, he will tell you 'I suffered.'  Ask my people how they got so strong, they will tell you 'we have suffered.' "


At this point I am staring blankly ahead at the greeting card, trying to take in every word without looking like I'm eavesdropping. The older gentleman continued talking, "Suffering is vital to growth. For the best fruit you must cut branches off of a tree. To build muscles you must break them down. Sure, this is painful but needed. And yet we fear pain, we run from it. Do not run from suffering," he said, "Do not run from pain. Every great civilization that runs from suffering has begun it's demise. Look as far back as you want: Babylon, Greece, Rome, or the British Empire, you'll find that the reason for every great civilizations demise is rooted in it's attempt to cheat pain."


"And now," he said, "If we're not careful we will follow quickly down in our self-absorbed disregard towards suffering. We ignore the suffering on the street when we're in line for an over priced coffee. We ignore the suffering overseas for a cheap pair of sneakers. We try to cheat suffering with technology, with medicine, with economic bandages. But greatness does not come from ignorance of pain. Greatness comes from wrestling with pain, wresting with the injustices of the world. You cannot cheat death. Suffering will find you. Pain will find you. Death will find you. Do not run from suffering, how else could character form?"


"Yes, suffering forms character, suffering forms patience, suffering forms perseverance, joy, grace- all these beautiful parts of a human soul that cannot come into being any other way in this life. No, no- you see suffering is not the enemy. Sure it hurts. It hurts a lot sometimes. But so does giving birth. So does playing football. So does growing up. In this life, my friend, do not run from suffering. You'll be running from yourself."


3:50 PM 
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Thursday, May 14, 2009 

so it's 11:56 on wednesday night... day three of the fast. I'm planning on breaking my fast at midnight.


I've just received word that the sudanese forces carried out a bombing raid on North Darfur today. And then this: In an IDP camp in west Darfur they ran out of water completely. I feel tremendously sad. Frustrated by the injustices and and feeling ridiculously small in the face of it all.


Tonight I pass the baton to a hero of mine, peter gabriel who be fasting for the next three days. It's a sobering thought, the luxury of being able to go back to food and while millions cannot. 


I might be an idealist. I might not have a political mind. But I do know that something is off. 


And I take a look at a nation of excess, (including my own) and I wonder why we as a nation aren't involved in what many are calling the paramount international human-rights crisis -- the Darfur genocide. Speaking of Darfur during his campaign,  Obama said: "As president of the United States, I don't intend to abandon people." Yet he is. About genocide,  he said,  "We can't say 'never again' and allow it to happen again." But it is happening again. 


With the U.S. budget deficit on track to rise to a record setting 1.84 trillion dollars in the current fiscal year, we remain uncommitted to Darfur. As a nation we are literally living on borrowed money, borrowing from the future to pay for the present.  And yet, the staggering loss of human life in Darfur is not on our national priority list. With our budget we are declaring what is most important to our nation. In our excess we are abandoning Darfur. 


Mother Theresa said this: "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." I am so convicted by her words.


I want to be a part of the solution. I want to laugh with those who laugh, weep with those who weep, and suffer with those who suffer. I have lost much of my childlike faith in the government, but I have a hope for justice still. Maybe God alone can bring about final justice, but in this life I feel we are called to pursue it with our flesh and blood. If Christ was best known for his death, "laying down his life for his friends" then shouldn't his followers do likewise? serving and loving those in need? These are not things I can do on my own. I need your help. we all need a community to thrive in, to challenge us... to threaten us with abundant living. 


This is our world. It's what you and me and the millions of other souls on our planet make it. This is your darfur, my darfur... Our chance to act or pretend that we don't care. Whatever your personal religious convictions may be, the tragedy in Darfur is impossible to ignore. 


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



fastdarfur.org



here's a few things online that I found informative:



Civil Society Urges Obama to Adopt New Peace Strategy
AngolaPress - Luanda,Angola
... press for a settlement of what they describe as Sudan's “multiple, interlocking conflicts” – the war Darfur, the proxy war between Chad and the Sudan, ...
See all stories on this topic

Egypt dispatches official to Sudan for discussions on CPA
Sudan Tribune - Sudan
Egypt and the US also discussed Darfur and tensions between Chad and Sudan which they both agreed is a key element in resolving the crisis in the Western ...
See all stories on this topic

George Clooney Reacts to Mia Farrow's Fast
TheInsider.com - San Francisco,CA,USA
"I ran into Mia in Chad this January. She'd been living in the camps and villages on the border of Darfur for weeks," Clooney said of the actress. ...
See all stories on this topic

MOSSAD Active in Stalling Equipment on Sudanese-Chadian Borders
Sudan Vision - Khartoum,Sudan
Ma'areef Newspaper quoted military sources close to Chadian opposition as saying that the area along Sudanese –Chadian borders is witnessing intensified ...
See all stories on this topic

 

US calls on Sudan, Chad to stop support for violence in Darfur
Xinhua - China
The Sudan-Chad relations have been in tension due to the conflict in Darfur and a civil war in Chad, which both governments accuse the other of supporting. ...
See all stories on this topic

French, Canadian aid workers freed in Darfur
The Associated Press
France has been active in international diplomatic efforts with Sudan to end the conflict in Darfur. The semiofficial Sudan Media Center said 13 kidnappers ...
See all stories on this topic

First 100 Days - Obama African Report Card: D
Ethiopian Review - Washington,DC,USA
John Kerry's visit to Khartoum pushed the Sudanese government to agree to allow some of the expelled humanitarian and aid agencies back to Darfur. ...
See all stories on this topic

DARFUR: THE SHOCK OF RESPONSIBILITY
World War 4 Report - Brooklyn,NY,USA
Al-Turabi has a good number of people influenced by his thinking in all sections of the Sudanese elite, including among the Darfur insurgencies. ...
See all stories on this topic

Sudan peace accord at ..critical stage'
eTaiwan News - Taiwan
Rice said the United States is also concerned about the deteriorating relations between Chad and Sudan, saying the relationship between the neighbors ...
See all stories on this topic

Bono Questions George Clooney On Darfur

Look To The Stars - Chester,UK
... asked: “What went through your mind the first time you saw the squandering of human life that's an everyday experience in Darfur andSudan or in Chad? ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Mia Farrow Blogs Her Hunger Strike
New York Times - United States
Ms. Farrow's blog is otherwise devoted to what is happening in Darfur and in the refugee camps in Chad she visited for four weeks earlier this year. ...
See all stories on this topic

Darfur rebels resume talks with Khartoum
Africasia - London,UK
Sudan and Chad, whose relations are seen as key to ending the Darfur conflict, on Sunday signed a Qatar-brokered deal to end hostilities after the two ...
See all stories on this topic

Rebels clash with govt forces in Chad
RTE.ie - Ireland
... is regarded as essential to any lasting settlement to a six-year-old uprising in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, where Chad's rebels have bases.
See all stories on this topic

Hope & Despair
Santa Fe Reporter - Santa Fe,NM,USA
While “Darfur” has become a buzzword in current talks of genocide and human rights, few people truly understand the roots of the conflict in Sudan. ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Solidarités denounces its expulsion from Darfur
ReliefWeb (press release) - Geneva,Switzerland
We denounce the political instrumentalisation of humanitarian aid in Darfur. SOLIDARITES is still active in this region, in South Sudan, Chad and Central ...
See all stories on this topic

Sudan, Darfur rebel group resume peace talks
Reuters - USA
Wednesday's meeting follows reconciliation talks between Chad and Sudan that were held in Doha last week. The porous border between the two African ...
See all stories on this topic

'Exposing Darfur' Features Ann Curry Photographs
Washington Post - United States
The journalists, who are expected to attend, took the photographs while reporting from Chad and the Darfurregion of Sudan. The images illustrate the Darfur ...
See all stories on this topic


AFP

Peacekeepers patrol lawless Darfur nights
AFP
EL GENEINA, Sudan (AFP) — The peacekeepers' convoy enters the alleyways of Ardamata refugee camp, stirring up a cloud of dust amid the last rays of the ...
See all stories on this topic


Washington Times

Bashir defies war crimes process
Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA
In the meantime, the US is placing its hopes on negotiations, including talks between Chadand Sudan that are being mediated by Libya and hosted by Qatar. ...
See all stories on this topic

Mbeki Says AU Panel on Darfur To Meet ICC Prosecutor
Voice of America - USA
"For instance, a strong view that it's critically important that relations between Sudan and Chad governments, that those relations should be normalized. ...
See all stories on this topic

 

SUDAN: Too Many Tribes, Not Enough Cash
Strategy Page - USA
The representatives were protesting the war in Darfur. The congressmen also demanded that the Sudangovernment let NGO food and medical relief groups return ...
See all stories on this topic

Kids Collect Paperclips to Fight Genocide
KGMB9 - Honolulu,HI,USA
To understand project paperclip you first need to know about Darfur. "You see right here by the border ofChad and Sudan," said Tim Plick, 8th Grader. ...
See all stories on this topic

STAND simulates refugee camp to protest genocide
UNR The Nevada Sagebrush (registration) - Reno,NV,USA
The group hosted the demonstration in order to raise more awareness about genocide in countries such asDarfur, Sudan and East Burma. Photo by Amy Beck. ...
See all stories on this topic



http://www.nypost.com/seven/05112009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/bams_darfur_sins_168603.htm


http://www.whilewewaitsudan.blogspot.com/

8:00 AM 
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009 


I woke up early. It's day number three of the fast and I am definitely feeling it... I crawl out of bed and have four immediate thoughts:


My first thought: I have access to clean water and a roof to sleep under. I have a bed. I have my guitar. In this fast I was hoping to join in solidarity with those who are fasting without an option; and yet the hunger I have right now is nothing compared to the despair of Darfur. Robbed of dignity, robbed of their homes, these refugees are on the run from brutal violence and rape, seeking out any form of hope. The smallest bit of hunger that I feel this morning cannot even be compared to the hunger that Darfur woke up with today: a hunger for dignity, a hunger for freedom, a hunger for so much more than simply food.


My second though was this: I need so much grace. I need so much patience. I need so many second chances. Even in this fast, I'm sure my motives are impure most the time. I might be drinking only water but it's my mind and my heart that are corrupted and impure. I would like to think that I have it all together but I don't- from the little things: I screw up the time and end up running late way too often- to the big things: I get overwhelmed at suffering and sorrow in the world and sometimes would rather turn the other way. And in my hopes to get things right I can be extremely judgmental of everyone everything around me. Dang it. I'm sorry all. God is so patient with me. My friends and family are so patient with me. I need to learn how to pass this grace along.


My third thought was along these lines: we are meant to live and love in community- to grow old together having shared laughter and pain and joy- to love each other through the painful spots. But we're so bent and hurt that we drive each other away. We've been so broken and shattered (Speaking out of experience here!), that we are driven to break and shatter the ones around us. Call it our fallen nature, or look to Freud and call it our death urge... might as well call it the front page of the newspaper. The fact is: we are driven to pieces, destroying ourselves and those around us in the search for meaning. No life is meant to be lived alone. We know this and yet on a planet with millions of people we drive lonely cars and work lonely jobs. We start lonely wars and buy lonely houses.


My fourth thought: Everything on this capital planet is worth what we will pay for it. The "worth" of gold rises and falls according to public opinion. The housing market, meats and vegetables, vintage guitars, oil... The trouble is that people fall into this category as well. The value of human life and dignity... What's it worth? Is it worth my time? Is it worth risking national security? Is it worth more than oil?  Is it worth getting out of my comfort zone to help someone out? What we ascribe worth to is what we "worth-ship" - and what we worship is most evident with our time and money. Stock up treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy.


What's the meaning of life? What's worth living for? We live out those answers everyday in our choices. It's a tremendous amount of power, (accompanied with fear and trembling). The staggering realization is this: you've been loaned the power to determine what's "worth it" in your lifetime. Every hour of life affords a tremendous amount of spending power; choose wisely with your time, it's one of your most valuable resources.



3:09 PM 
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009 


I got this letter today:
  
This is kinda weird. I'm all for publicity -- especially when artists are speaking up for the downtrodden in Africa -- but when somebody's fasting, it just doesn't seem right to publicize -- at least not during the fast. From Matthew 6:
 
16  “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17  But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18   Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 
Please take this in the right spirit. You know I'm a big Switchfoot and Foreman fan, and not just because of their music. I'm passionate about a lot of the same things Jon is passionate about, and I have the utmost respect for him. But this seems like, well, not your typical publicity fodder.
 
Feel free to tell me to take hike! ;-)
 

--------------------------------------------------------- 
 here's my response:


Hola friend,

thanks for your thoughtful email. I think understand your feelings about the publicity element of this fast. I have thought this through and would like to offer a few thoughts of my own.

First off, if the term "fast" throws you off, try a different term- maybe hunger protest. Or maybe this one: hunger strike.

The all-informative wikipedia says this:
 A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest,  or to provoke feelings of guilt in others,  usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal,  such as a policy change. A hunger strike cannot be effective if the fact that it is being undertaken is not publicized so as to be known by the people who are to be impressed, concerned or embarrassed by it.

Or maybe try this term instead: 30 hour famine.
The 24-hour famine, the 30-hour famine, and the 40-hour famine are all very public attempts (most often within the church), to raise awareness and join in with those who are starving. Literally starving. The Global Food Crisis is in year two... And none of my friends really knows about it; to do nothing at all feels wrong. 

If none of those terms work, I understand. Don't talk at all about my hunger strike if you don't feel comfortable with it. But instead I ask that you would write a whole article about Darfur. Save every dot of ink and every scrap of page for the ones I'm trying to draw attention to. Fast with me (in public or private). Join in with those who need your help. This would be my ultimate goal...

I thought about matthew 6 before I began this fast and feel comfortable with my decision to make this fast public. Fasting is one of the only ways I could think of to enter into the suffering of darfur. Like I've said earlier- I honestly don't have a better idea! If you or anyone else has any better ideas as to how to end the cycle of violence and despair I'm all ears. Or let me know how to support what your doing over there and I will try my best to lend my songs to the cause.

To bring it back to the specifics of this fast, Darfur remains the United Nations' largest relief operation. More than 2.7 million civilians have been driven from their homes, and about 4.7 million rely on humanitarian aid to this day.


and that is why I cannot eat...
jon


http://fastdarfur.org/?cat=39

1:28 AM 
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009 
As a musician, I have a natural aversion to politicians. In fact, I believe in democracy simply because I distrust all politicians equally.

And yet, I have a tremendous amount of faith and belief in humanity. When it comes to folks outside of the power schemes I might even trust people too much. I am ruthlessly idealistic, hopelessly optimistic. I believe the best in people. That's why I have to do something, because I feel that if people knew the truth, they would feel the same as I do. They would feel that something has to be done. They would care and things would change.

President Barack Obama last week requested a $1.5 billion emergency appropriation to deal with a flu outbreak that has killed 3 people in the US. I believe this action was in response to a nation experiencing "what could potentially be the biggest national emergency since Y2K" (genius comparison courtesy of glenn phillips.)

An estimated 300,000 folks have already died in Darfur and we do nothing... $0.00. And three people die of the flu and we spend $1.5 billion to figure things out. $1,500,000,000.00

I understand the need for precautionary measures but this feels like reactionary spending when I am reminded of the 2,500,000 people whose lives hang in the balance in displacement camps? What can be done for them? don't tell me nothing.

Obama: "We can't ignore the genocide in Darfur... We have to do everything in our power to make it stop. We have to act. Now."

Nothing? Years and years go by...  and still... nothing...

Our national inaction sends the simple message that a whole crowd of Sudanese souls are not worth as much as an American with the flu. "Surely this is not true!" we protest. And yet our actions speak louder than our words.

There's something broken with the system.

We the people of the united states of america... We are the system. We are the media. We are the government. We are the twittering public. We the people of the united states of america... we own this place. We decide who is president. We pick the next american idol. Obama our leader, is in many ways a follower of his people. In a state where the vote of the populous determines the next face of the government, a politician must listen to his/her constituents to remain in power. I believe nothing was done for Darfur because Obama doesn't think the public cares about Darfur.

Perhaps we can blame the media- perhaps the public doesn't care because they are uninformed, or at least under-informed? Yes, but in many ways "the news" is simply a vendor trying to sell a product, we tell them (with our viewing, purchasing power) what product sells. Britney, Brangelina, or Bosnia. we choose the news.

And now for the staggering fact: you and I are the problem and the solution.

3:41 AM 
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Monday, May 11, 2009 

I arrived home in San Diego early this morning, back from a run of shows up the coast with Switchfoot. The sun is setting over the pacific and my hair is still wet from an evening surf. In the distance I can hear the whistle of the Amtrak from LA heading south. I'm grateful to be home, grateful to have a place to live, grateful to have been given another breath alive on this planet.


But today my thoughts are divided, split between two worlds. As the sun sets over California it begins to rise over Darfur. The same sun. The same planet. Can it be possible that right now, two and a half million people are waking up in camps and refugee camps having been driven from their homes by violent means? Under the same sun, could it be true that almost half a million people have died of starvation, violence, and disease over the past six years in Darfur?  Is this true?!


And if this is true, why has the media remained almost completely silent on the issue? Why has our government maintained it's current stance of inaction?


When presidential hopeful Obama was running for office he stated that "We can't ignore the genocide in Darfur. The international community can't turn a blind eye when children are being slaughtered and women are being raped. We have to do everything in our power to make it stop. We have to act. Now."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjSy_-yet9w&feature=player_embedded


Nothing has happened.


And yet the sun is still rising over Darfur. And the sun still rises over me. And the sun still rises over capital hill... the same sun.


Today we celebrate mother's day with our moms and grandmothers. My thoughts drift overseas to the mother who is just now waking up, wondering whether she'll be able to give her children anything to eat.


Tomorrow I begin a three day fast for Darfur. Why fast? Because quite frankly, I can't think of a better idea. I reckon the best way to enter into the suffering of a group of people halfway around the world is to start with the basics. These folks are fasting without alternative, for three days I will fast with them.


http://fastdarfur.org/?cat=39


3:29 AM 
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Sunday, January 11, 2009 
Jon Foreman will be performing tonight at the House of Blues in Orlando, FL as part of Heavy and Light, a concert benefitting the organization To Write Love On Her Arms.  Joining Jon will be Aaron Gillespie of Underoath/The Almost, Dustin Kensrue of Thrice, Anthony Raneri of Bayside, Josh Moore and Zach Williams.
LOG on to any of the following sites to watch:
twloha.com <http://www.twloha.com>
synclive.com  <http://www.synclive.com%20>
myspace.com/towriteloveonherarms <http://www.myspace.com/towriteloveonherarms>

8:09 PM 
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Thursday, January 08, 2009 
The WB's ONE TREE HILL will use Jon Foreman's "Behind your Eyes" in the Jan. 12th episode. Check out http://www.thewb.com/shows/one-tree-hill/ for more details on the show.
3:20 AM 
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Tuesday, January 06, 2009 
happy new year all!

and I know that it's about a week late but better late than never. And besides, in spite of the crazy times we're in, there's a lot to be thankful for. second chances. third chances. 734th chances. sunsets. sunrises. sunsets. And the passing of time begins to make a lot more sense to me in the context of grace instead of karma. Under a rule where love triumphs over justice...

Speaking of love, I have the honor of playing the heavy and light event presented by TWLOHA alongside of some of my favorite folks. If you live near florida (or if all that snow is making you think about moving to a warmer clime) you should hang out with all of us. It's a great community- check out more here...

www.twloha.com
www.myspace.com/towriteloveonherarms

What's after that you ask? well, I'll tell you: I'm setting out with a merry band of men called Fiction Family to traverse this democracy with songs of good cheer!

Jan 13 - The Ark -Ann Arbor, Michigan
Jan 14 - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jan 15 - Abbey Pub - Chicago, Illinois
Jan 16 - The Union @ N Central College - Naperville, Illinois
Jan 17 - Ransburg Auditorium - Indianapolis, Indiana
Jan 18 - Mountain Stage - Morgantown, West Virginia
Jan 20 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, New York
Jan 21 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, Massachusetts
Jan 22 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 23 - Crawford Auditorium - Grove City, Pennsylvania
Jan 24 - Jammin Java - Vienna, Virginia
Jan 25 - Brubaker Auditorium - Grantham, Pennsylvania
Jan 27 - Gravity Lounge - Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 29 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, Georgia
Jan 30 - Belcourt Theatre - Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 3 - Neumos Crystal Ball -Seattle, Washington
Feb 4 - Aladdin Theatre - Portland, Oregon
Feb 5 - The Independent - San Francisco, California
Feb 6 - Anthology Live - San Diego, California
Feb 7 - Largo @ Coronet Theatre - West Hollywood, California


peace in the mideast, literally and figuratively, my brothers.

jon
9:26 AM 
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