07 November 2008
Election Fallout and Strange Bedfellows
As the United States continues to take stock and begins to work into the shift involving new paradigms for government and society, I was caught by surprise this morning when I opened the daily paper to the Op Ed page and proceeded to do something I seldom do: read Cal Thomas' column. And as has happened once or twice in the past, I was doubly shocked to find that I agree with him. What could do this? Read his article. CLICK HERE.
15 September 2008
Combatting Ignorance and Biblical Illiteracy
I get lots of email. Some of it comes in the form of notes from colleagues on various topics in which we have common interest. Other notes contain the text of, or pointers to, ezines or other online periodicals.
Once such periodical is The Baptist Studies Bulletin, published monthly by some friends and colleagues of mine at Mercer University, in Macon, Georgia. The September issue, which hit my inbox just this afternoon, contains a couple of interesting and provocative articles on ignorance and biblical illiteracy.
Both of these articles weigh on the current political campaign being waged here in the good ol' US of A. These articles are well worth your time. Click Here to read them.
Once such periodical is The Baptist Studies Bulletin, published monthly by some friends and colleagues of mine at Mercer University, in Macon, Georgia. The September issue, which hit my inbox just this afternoon, contains a couple of interesting and provocative articles on ignorance and biblical illiteracy.
Both of these articles weigh on the current political campaign being waged here in the good ol' US of A. These articles are well worth your time. Click Here to read them.
27 August 2008
Checking the "Ground Signs"
Recently, we’ve explored the "Phoenix Affirmations" which provided us a "bird’s eye" view of ways our spirituality and our theology and our ministries work together. This year, Diana Butler Bass, in Christianity for the Rest of Us has shown us examples of healthy mainline Protestant churches and provides some "signposts on the ground" or "ground signs" which may prove useful to us in taking our pulse and gauging our health.
So far, we’ve convened two study groups for the "Passionate Christianity" course which uses Bass’ book as a text. In that study, we’ve seen how other churches express their life and witness in terms of the ground signs. The signs are:
The Phoenix Affirmations link our theology and spirituality together. Bass’ Ground Signs identify the ways we actually express theology and spirituality in our daily living.
As we move into autumn, once the second class has completed the study, we’ll have a better picture of where and how we may need to "tweak" a thing or two—or, perhaps, find that things are going well enough to not need tweaking.
Take a moment and consider these ten ground signs. Ask yourself, "When I hear or see these words, do they make me think of Pilgrims’ and our life together?" Let me know what you discover.
(This is a reprint of Ron's article in the Sept. 2008 issue of Pilgrims' Progress, the PUCC newsletter.)
So far, we’ve convened two study groups for the "Passionate Christianity" course which uses Bass’ book as a text. In that study, we’ve seen how other churches express their life and witness in terms of the ground signs. The signs are:
| Hospitality | Diversity |
| Discernment | Justice |
| Healing | Worship |
| Contemplation | Reflection |
| Testimony | Beauty |
The Phoenix Affirmations link our theology and spirituality together. Bass’ Ground Signs identify the ways we actually express theology and spirituality in our daily living.
As we move into autumn, once the second class has completed the study, we’ll have a better picture of where and how we may need to "tweak" a thing or two—or, perhaps, find that things are going well enough to not need tweaking.
Take a moment and consider these ten ground signs. Ask yourself, "When I hear or see these words, do they make me think of Pilgrims’ and our life together?" Let me know what you discover.
(This is a reprint of Ron's article in the Sept. 2008 issue of Pilgrims' Progress, the PUCC newsletter.)
21 July 2008
Practice vs Purity
If we consider that the Pilgrims and the Puritans came together in 1648 to form what became American Congregationalism, one of the main streams which ultimately formed the UCC, it might surprise some folks that, today, many of us who might be thought of as the "Puritan's spiritual children" are less concerned with purity in the church than we are with praxis (or practice).
Nearly every denomination large enough, or vocal enough, to demand media attention these days has been racking up plenty of airtime and column inches with stories of their internal disagreements between factions facing off---to put it very simplistically---over issues of purity vs praxis.
North American Presbyterians, United Methodists, American Baptists, and Episcopalians are awash over issues related to inclusion and biblical interpretation. The Episcopalian debate has spread to the worldwide Anglican Communion, where serious threats of schism are being heard.
No matter the particular issues today, or in the past or next centuries, we will probably continue to have debates over whether the church is the "hospital for sinners," or the "museum of saints."
I grew up in a denomination whose principal statement of faith declared that a church is "a body of regenerate, baptized believers," and who worked rather fervently to ensure that non-regenerate folk (that is unbelievers, sinners, and backsliders) did not have their names on the church roll. Yet history reveals that this was always a hope, an ideal, a goal, rather than a realized reality. In this model, one's baptism is intended to be the outward sign that, though one was once a sinner, one is a sinner no more. Yet the debates were many and intense about what cure there exists for those who "fall back into sin."
As we move toward the end of the first decade of this new century, the church is being faced with a major shift in perceptions of what "church" is and should be. Some have hastened to brand this time as a new reformation. One movement which is gaining a recognizable shape and identity is referred to as the emerging church. (The emergent church is a similar, but, so far, different movement.)
From her study of 300 healty, mainline Protestant churches, Dr. Diana Butler Bass, focusing principally on exemplary subgroups of 50 and 10 churches (composed mainly of United Methodist, UCC, Presbyterian (USA), Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran (ELCA), and Disciples of Christ congregations), discovered a number of characteristics these churches mostly share. In general:
Nearly every denomination large enough, or vocal enough, to demand media attention these days has been racking up plenty of airtime and column inches with stories of their internal disagreements between factions facing off---to put it very simplistically---over issues of purity vs praxis.
North American Presbyterians, United Methodists, American Baptists, and Episcopalians are awash over issues related to inclusion and biblical interpretation. The Episcopalian debate has spread to the worldwide Anglican Communion, where serious threats of schism are being heard.
No matter the particular issues today, or in the past or next centuries, we will probably continue to have debates over whether the church is the "hospital for sinners," or the "museum of saints."
I grew up in a denomination whose principal statement of faith declared that a church is "a body of regenerate, baptized believers," and who worked rather fervently to ensure that non-regenerate folk (that is unbelievers, sinners, and backsliders) did not have their names on the church roll. Yet history reveals that this was always a hope, an ideal, a goal, rather than a realized reality. In this model, one's baptism is intended to be the outward sign that, though one was once a sinner, one is a sinner no more. Yet the debates were many and intense about what cure there exists for those who "fall back into sin."
As we move toward the end of the first decade of this new century, the church is being faced with a major shift in perceptions of what "church" is and should be. Some have hastened to brand this time as a new reformation. One movement which is gaining a recognizable shape and identity is referred to as the emerging church. (The emergent church is a similar, but, so far, different movement.)
From her study of 300 healty, mainline Protestant churches, Dr. Diana Butler Bass, focusing principally on exemplary subgroups of 50 and 10 churches (composed mainly of United Methodist, UCC, Presbyterian (USA), Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran (ELCA), and Disciples of Christ congregations), discovered a number of characteristics these churches mostly share. In general:
- they exhibit a profound spiritual vibrancy, Christian authenticity, coherent faith, passion and purpose that is open and generous, intellectual and emotive, beautiful and just, moving into the future by reengaging their best past.
- they call their members to lives of transformative engagement with authentic Christian tradition as embodied in faith practices, and encourage them to express their transformation in new ways and directions, "rebirthing tradition" rather than maintaining or improving inherited ways.
- they focus more on God's grace in the world than on the eternal state of their own souls.
- their churches are sacred spaces where saints and sinners gather to hear God's word, engage practices of prayer and service, and are transformed through active participation.
- their churches are communities formed around Christian practice rather than moral or theological purity.
- they understand that thinking theologically does not mean "arriving at certain conclusions," that their goal is not to arrive at doctrinal certainty, but at awe-filled action.
- they understand that, though Jesus may be the same yesterday, today, and forever, we change from moment to moment.
- they adopt a pragmatic approach toward ideas and practices, both new and old: adopting them when they feed the spirit and shedding them when they no longer contribute to life.
- they understand church as an adventure into creating authentic spiritual community, as a matter of transformed traditions rather than as a matter of organized structures.
These congregations have no desire or interest in "separating saints from sinners." Just as in yesterday's gospel lection from Matthew 13, they are content to let "the wheat and the weeds" grow together, trusting that God's spirit will be at work transforming lives. For my own work, I've come to embrace this parable as definitive for linking what we, here at Pilgrims', and what these other emerging congregations are becoming.
He's Baaaaaaack!
I just realized that my last post here was on May 29. Since then I've been writing, just not for this blog. Following the seminars and the reading which accompanied them, I've spent considerable time and energy writing two papers, one concerning the emerging polity of the UCC, and the other on lessons those of us in the church who've come from mostly west- and northern-Eurpoean climes and persons of other ethnic backgrounds.
The first paper traces the development of polity in the UCC from the 1957 merger which formed this denomination, from a polity with a presbyterian-accented congregationalism to a new model--still evolving--of what we've come to call "covenantal congregationalism" or "covenantal polity." Since this is still a work-in-progress, there's much more to be said and done.
The second paper examines some of the "hidden histories" of groups and movements within our predecessor denominations and the racial/ethnic groups with which they came in contact, through missionary activity and by other ways. The prayer which arises here is that we and our children not repeat the same mistakes and that we find better ways to interact with others we perceive as different.
The first paper traces the development of polity in the UCC from the 1957 merger which formed this denomination, from a polity with a presbyterian-accented congregationalism to a new model--still evolving--of what we've come to call "covenantal congregationalism" or "covenantal polity." Since this is still a work-in-progress, there's much more to be said and done.
The second paper examines some of the "hidden histories" of groups and movements within our predecessor denominations and the racial/ethnic groups with which they came in contact, through missionary activity and by other ways. The prayer which arises here is that we and our children not repeat the same mistakes and that we find better ways to interact with others we perceive as different.
29 May 2008
Holy Conversation on Race
Our denomination has been called to comment on and engage in a "Holy Conversation on Race" during these weeks following Pentecost. Our Florida UCC Conference Minister, Kent Siladi, has posted on his blog (click on the Progressive Revelation link to visit and read it) an excerpt from an article on Race and White Privilege.
During our cluster's clergy fellowship meeting this week, we discussed how it seems that in some of our congregations it's easier to address and resolve issues concerning ONA and LGBT than issues of race. We also reminded each other that race, fundamentalism, and even denominationalism are quite modern constructs which didn't exist as we know them more than a couple hundred years ago. They, as are so many other sociological concepts, products of our post-enlightment culture.
Several members of our congregation have connected with one or another of the projects seeking to map matrilineal, or mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) which is that part of the genetic code of every living person which lives in the nuclei of the cells of our bodies and which we get only from our mothers. mDNA is passed mother to child, and can be passed generationally only from mother to daughter. This means that women who had no children or who had only sons who survived to puberty to reproduce did not pass on their mDNA. This also means that women who abort their female fetuses or kill their female infants fail to pass on their mDNA.
In the larger picture, this means that every person now living is descended from a single female ancestor, dubbed "mitochondrial/matrilineal Eve." mEve lived in east Africa between 100,000 and 400,000 years ago and all of us trace our ancestry to her through six (or seven) of her daughters whose children migrated out of east Africa and eventually populated the planet, replacing other inhabitants with whom they were genetically incompatible.
As these migrants moved and settled in various places, they developed secondary characteristics which we now see in variations principally in skin color/texture, hair, stature, and facial and other bone structure characteristics. However, we have to realize that, as scientific studies have shown, interbreeding has been so extensive that "racial purity" has always been nothing more than a myth. War and conquest with their consequent rape, enslavement, and seduction, not to mention commerce and trade and intermarriage between peoples have served to thoroughly blend the genetic heritage of Earth's population.
The genetic code we receive from our parents helps shape our physical appearance and provides the large part of our personal predispositions to behavior, health, and taste. And our environment provides the rest, shaping our rhythms, associations, language, ethnicity, and familial norms. Who and what we believe ourselves to be is a greater factor in how we live and behave than some set of arbitrary categorizations based on those secondary physical characteristics.
Lots of people eat "grits and greens." Lots of folks enjoy "rap and rhythm" or the classics. Others order their lives according to sexual identity. And how this gets done may have little to do with skin color, facial characteristics, or our "family of origin" or the neighborhood we grew up in.
So one of the first decisions we need to make as we take up a conversation on race, is what do we really mean in the first place by using and defining the term, and whether or not it provides a useful frame of reference in categorizing and identifying people in our day and time. Is "race" a useful classifier or is it yet another tired and hackneyed term best left for dead?
During our cluster's clergy fellowship meeting this week, we discussed how it seems that in some of our congregations it's easier to address and resolve issues concerning ONA and LGBT than issues of race. We also reminded each other that race, fundamentalism, and even denominationalism are quite modern constructs which didn't exist as we know them more than a couple hundred years ago. They, as are so many other sociological concepts, products of our post-enlightment culture.
Several members of our congregation have connected with one or another of the projects seeking to map matrilineal, or mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) which is that part of the genetic code of every living person which lives in the nuclei of the cells of our bodies and which we get only from our mothers. mDNA is passed mother to child, and can be passed generationally only from mother to daughter. This means that women who had no children or who had only sons who survived to puberty to reproduce did not pass on their mDNA. This also means that women who abort their female fetuses or kill their female infants fail to pass on their mDNA.
In the larger picture, this means that every person now living is descended from a single female ancestor, dubbed "mitochondrial/matrilineal Eve." mEve lived in east Africa between 100,000 and 400,000 years ago and all of us trace our ancestry to her through six (or seven) of her daughters whose children migrated out of east Africa and eventually populated the planet, replacing other inhabitants with whom they were genetically incompatible.
As these migrants moved and settled in various places, they developed secondary characteristics which we now see in variations principally in skin color/texture, hair, stature, and facial and other bone structure characteristics. However, we have to realize that, as scientific studies have shown, interbreeding has been so extensive that "racial purity" has always been nothing more than a myth. War and conquest with their consequent rape, enslavement, and seduction, not to mention commerce and trade and intermarriage between peoples have served to thoroughly blend the genetic heritage of Earth's population.
The genetic code we receive from our parents helps shape our physical appearance and provides the large part of our personal predispositions to behavior, health, and taste. And our environment provides the rest, shaping our rhythms, associations, language, ethnicity, and familial norms. Who and what we believe ourselves to be is a greater factor in how we live and behave than some set of arbitrary categorizations based on those secondary physical characteristics.
Lots of people eat "grits and greens." Lots of folks enjoy "rap and rhythm" or the classics. Others order their lives according to sexual identity. And how this gets done may have little to do with skin color, facial characteristics, or our "family of origin" or the neighborhood we grew up in.
So one of the first decisions we need to make as we take up a conversation on race, is what do we really mean in the first place by using and defining the term, and whether or not it provides a useful frame of reference in categorizing and identifying people in our day and time. Is "race" a useful classifier or is it yet another tired and hackneyed term best left for dead?
24 May 2008
World Economics
I rarely write on this and related subjects, but the continuing rise in energy and food costs has, I believe, captured everyone's attention. Many of my neighbors are seriously engaged in selling their more fuel-inefficient vehicles; a number are getting measured for helmets and are checking out motorcycle and bicycle dealers.
When I think of gas and food in the same breath, my mind travels back to the winter of 1972. We'd just received a settlement from an auto accident and were finally able to purchase a good car. When my eyes fell on that red 1973 Pontiac Grand Am--one of the first off the line of that model--it was (since I was a male of that generation) love at first sight. With gas at 25 cents a gallon who cared that this car with its huge engine got 8 mpg city and, on a good day, 13 highway?
Only months later came the 1973 gas crisis and suddenly this grad student on partial scholarship and an assistantship was paying 400 percent more to feed this baby. In short order it became a "pleasure vehicle" and I adapted to the joys of urban transit. Even after the pump prices receeded to only 300 percent of their prior level, I had to keep my bus pass and use it daily.
But in 1973, just before gas prices skyrocketed, Texas panhandle wheat was going for upwards of $3 a bushel, which meant that a regular loaf of bread was running at about 30 cents. And West Texas crude oil was going for $3.55 a barrel.
Late in 2007 as headlines screamed that, due to numerous factors, wheat was soaring to "record" prices of just over $10 a bushel. Shortly after that the headlines began screaming that oil prices could rise precipitously, sending the prices of gas up and over the $4 per gallon mark. This week, in our area, we're almost there and crude oil is hitting $135 or more per barrel.
Obviously, I'm no economist, but I do possess some basic math skills. Adjusted for inflation and cost of living, a bushel of wheat, $3 in 1973, should be selling for $14 today and a barrel of that crude, then at $3.55, should now be at just over $16.
Yet, the price of wheat, even at "record" 2007 highs, has failed to keep even with inflation, while the price of oil is off the charts. So the farmers and the citizenry of the world in general are even deeper in the hole and the oil barons are riding even higher on their wave of prosperity.
What this means for interstate, much less, international trade, I'm not exactly sure. But I've said for years, since the first gas crisis in 1973, that the price of wheat should be tied to the price of oil as an international standard. Perhaps then, we could have some equity on both ends. So then we say to the oil producers, "Go ahead and set any price you want for your oil, but remember, you're also setting the same price you're going to pay for the wheat you buy." So that, however you cut it, the standard becomes, again as it was in 1973, a bushel of wheat for a barrel of crude. Seems fair to me.
We now return you to the usual daily insanity.
When I think of gas and food in the same breath, my mind travels back to the winter of 1972. We'd just received a settlement from an auto accident and were finally able to purchase a good car. When my eyes fell on that red 1973 Pontiac Grand Am--one of the first off the line of that model--it was (since I was a male of that generation) love at first sight. With gas at 25 cents a gallon who cared that this car with its huge engine got 8 mpg city and, on a good day, 13 highway?
Only months later came the 1973 gas crisis and suddenly this grad student on partial scholarship and an assistantship was paying 400 percent more to feed this baby. In short order it became a "pleasure vehicle" and I adapted to the joys of urban transit. Even after the pump prices receeded to only 300 percent of their prior level, I had to keep my bus pass and use it daily.
But in 1973, just before gas prices skyrocketed, Texas panhandle wheat was going for upwards of $3 a bushel, which meant that a regular loaf of bread was running at about 30 cents. And West Texas crude oil was going for $3.55 a barrel.
Late in 2007 as headlines screamed that, due to numerous factors, wheat was soaring to "record" prices of just over $10 a bushel. Shortly after that the headlines began screaming that oil prices could rise precipitously, sending the prices of gas up and over the $4 per gallon mark. This week, in our area, we're almost there and crude oil is hitting $135 or more per barrel.
Obviously, I'm no economist, but I do possess some basic math skills. Adjusted for inflation and cost of living, a bushel of wheat, $3 in 1973, should be selling for $14 today and a barrel of that crude, then at $3.55, should now be at just over $16.
Yet, the price of wheat, even at "record" 2007 highs, has failed to keep even with inflation, while the price of oil is off the charts. So the farmers and the citizenry of the world in general are even deeper in the hole and the oil barons are riding even higher on their wave of prosperity.
What this means for interstate, much less, international trade, I'm not exactly sure. But I've said for years, since the first gas crisis in 1973, that the price of wheat should be tied to the price of oil as an international standard. Perhaps then, we could have some equity on both ends. So then we say to the oil producers, "Go ahead and set any price you want for your oil, but remember, you're also setting the same price you're going to pay for the wheat you buy." So that, however you cut it, the standard becomes, again as it was in 1973, a bushel of wheat for a barrel of crude. Seems fair to me.
We now return you to the usual daily insanity.
12 May 2008
07 May 2008
11 April 2008
Politics, Religion...and Athletics
It seems that hardly a day has passed since Christmas that we haven't had to wade through stories of the entanglement of religion in the American Presidential process. For as long as I can remember there have been tensions between the officially athiest government on the Chinese mainland and the people and religious leadership of Tibet---that struggle from China's claim of ownership of Tibet.
Enter the modern Olympics, which, since its inception has always managed to include some significant component of religio-political turmoil. From Jesse Owens and the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with its headon confrontation over Nazi Arianism to the Cold War boycotts which affected the games in Moscow and Los Angeles, we come to the Beijing Olympics of 2008 and the odyssey of the Olympic Torch.
It's unlikely that separating religious interests and politics will ever be fully realized, especially not when we have the quadrennial political, er--religious, er--Olympic, games to arouse nationalistic and athletic fervor.
There were rumors earlier this week that there's a new song being sung on the West Coast, "I left my torch in San Francisco," but this morning's headlines seem to suggest that it did actually make its way out of town.
Closer to home, the UCC ran a full-page ad in the New York Times a week ago, as an attempt to clarify the denomination's perspectives on church polity and conduct. There's another ad running in USA Today this weekend on the call for a national dialog on race. I'm not suggesting that you buy a copy to see the ads---I don't buy either of these papers but that's because I don't buy papers which don't have a comics page---but keep your eyes and ears peeled for any mention of the ads in the media.
Use these links if you want to see the ads without buying the papers. You'll need Adobe Reader to view the PDF files, though.
CLICK HERE to see the NY Times Ad.
CLICK HERE to see the USA Today Ad.
Enter the modern Olympics, which, since its inception has always managed to include some significant component of religio-political turmoil. From Jesse Owens and the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with its headon confrontation over Nazi Arianism to the Cold War boycotts which affected the games in Moscow and Los Angeles, we come to the Beijing Olympics of 2008 and the odyssey of the Olympic Torch.
It's unlikely that separating religious interests and politics will ever be fully realized, especially not when we have the quadrennial political, er--religious, er--Olympic, games to arouse nationalistic and athletic fervor.
There were rumors earlier this week that there's a new song being sung on the West Coast, "I left my torch in San Francisco," but this morning's headlines seem to suggest that it did actually make its way out of town.
Closer to home, the UCC ran a full-page ad in the New York Times a week ago, as an attempt to clarify the denomination's perspectives on church polity and conduct. There's another ad running in USA Today this weekend on the call for a national dialog on race. I'm not suggesting that you buy a copy to see the ads---I don't buy either of these papers but that's because I don't buy papers which don't have a comics page---but keep your eyes and ears peeled for any mention of the ads in the media.
Use these links if you want to see the ads without buying the papers. You'll need Adobe Reader to view the PDF files, though.
CLICK HERE to see the NY Times Ad.
CLICK HERE to see the USA Today Ad.
04 April 2008
Sounds of Life
I've written recently of the pair of cardinals who come to play outside my window every so often. They were back today playing tag through the trees and vines in the side yards definitely brightening the day here even as the clouds rolled in setting us up for an afternoon "light show" and thunderstorm.
Meanwhile grandson Wyatt, who will be 2 soon, still making wonderful discoveries about his world was captured on video enjoying the "family cardinal" who comes to sing his song in their backyard. Enjoy life and this brief clip about nature's songs and a toddler's joy of life. (Video by Wyatt's mom, Lisa.)
31 March 2008
Sunday of Doubt
Yesterday, being the Second Sunday of Easter, we considered according to our tradition, the gospel story (John 20:19-31) relating to the disciple most often referred to as "Doubting Thomas."
Some modern scholars, with whom I agree, believe that Thomas got a bum rap. We believe it was his profound grief over the lynching of his long-time friend and teacher which made him refuse to believe second-hand information (in court, that's called "hearsay"), waiting until he could see for himself.
The church of my youth insistently taught that "doubt" was something I should avoid like the plague---that no matter how preposterous or unbelievable a doctrine or religious tenet might be, my job was to swallow my doubts and believe it all---just like it was taught.
But now I've come to believe that doubts, rather than being "the enemy" are really some of our best friends. They help us sort truth from fiction, faith from fantasy, and help us work our way toward resolution of the issues before us. So I've fallen in with Progressive Christians and am not only surviving, but thriving. And now I have the opportunity to encourage others to embrace their doubts, examine the skeleton-filled closets of fact and fancy, and dare to bring their questions out into the light of day where we can, together, squarely face the issues and build a stronger, more robust system of faith, belief, and practice.
Garrison Keillor had something to say about doubt recently. If you'd like to read his comments, CLICK HERE.
Some modern scholars, with whom I agree, believe that Thomas got a bum rap. We believe it was his profound grief over the lynching of his long-time friend and teacher which made him refuse to believe second-hand information (in court, that's called "hearsay"), waiting until he could see for himself.
The church of my youth insistently taught that "doubt" was something I should avoid like the plague---that no matter how preposterous or unbelievable a doctrine or religious tenet might be, my job was to swallow my doubts and believe it all---just like it was taught.
But now I've come to believe that doubts, rather than being "the enemy" are really some of our best friends. They help us sort truth from fiction, faith from fantasy, and help us work our way toward resolution of the issues before us. So I've fallen in with Progressive Christians and am not only surviving, but thriving. And now I have the opportunity to encourage others to embrace their doubts, examine the skeleton-filled closets of fact and fancy, and dare to bring their questions out into the light of day where we can, together, squarely face the issues and build a stronger, more robust system of faith, belief, and practice.
Garrison Keillor had something to say about doubt recently. If you'd like to read his comments, CLICK HERE.
21 March 2008
A Stroke of Insight
Often we get lost in the babble of trying to discuss and explain experience and even to sort out our experience, to try to make sense of life.
Today's New York Times online carries a remarkable article and video clip about a "Brain Scientist" who describes her own experience during and following a stroke and the insights she gained. I encourage you to take the 20-30 minutes to read the article and view her presentation, especially if you or someone you love has ever experienced any brain-related condition.
And if you have time, you can scroll through the (at this moment more than 60) comments posted by readers, some of whom just try to relate, and others who launch into heated "right versus left brain" battles.
I immediately began to process my own perceptions of how I acquire, store, and use data flowing in, through, and out of me, particularly religious or theological data---plus all that other stuff which interests me.
Read. Watch. Enjoy. Ponder. Here's the link:
Brain Scientist Suffers Stroke
Today's New York Times online carries a remarkable article and video clip about a "Brain Scientist" who describes her own experience during and following a stroke and the insights she gained. I encourage you to take the 20-30 minutes to read the article and view her presentation, especially if you or someone you love has ever experienced any brain-related condition.
And if you have time, you can scroll through the (at this moment more than 60) comments posted by readers, some of whom just try to relate, and others who launch into heated "right versus left brain" battles.
I immediately began to process my own perceptions of how I acquire, store, and use data flowing in, through, and out of me, particularly religious or theological data---plus all that other stuff which interests me.
Read. Watch. Enjoy. Ponder. Here's the link:
Brain Scientist Suffers Stroke
03 March 2008
Feel the Awe
Having passed the midpoint of Lent, we find ourselves observing the return of life all around us. Living in Florida, we are always surrounded by things that are green and growing, but there is still a lot of plant and animal life which responds to the seasonal rhythms. Stalks and deciduous trees which have stood bare for several months are displaying that first burst of pale spring green as leaves and buds appear. The pair of cardinals have returned to the yard outside my window looking for tasty tidbits and nest-building materials.
And we in the mist of our Lenten meditations, with the warmth of the spring's morning sun on our faces, pause to consider the life that energizes us and the life around us.
Rabbi Jonathan Case, a longtime friend, has an interesting web site, Life's Pathway, where he posts meditations and MP3 clips of his reflections on life and Scripture from his perspective. The web site also provides a link to his blog which contains commentaries on Torah and life.
But for today, with the spring sun peering in my window, the cardinals on the lawn, and the squirrels out digging for last season's nuts because the nut tree is only now budding, Rabbi Case's words on Psalm 4 call me to ponder with awe the great love of God which embraces me. Click on the link and join me in this meditation. Psalm 4 link.
And we in the mist of our Lenten meditations, with the warmth of the spring's morning sun on our faces, pause to consider the life that energizes us and the life around us.
Rabbi Jonathan Case, a longtime friend, has an interesting web site, Life's Pathway, where he posts meditations and MP3 clips of his reflections on life and Scripture from his perspective. The web site also provides a link to his blog which contains commentaries on Torah and life.
But for today, with the spring sun peering in my window, the cardinals on the lawn, and the squirrels out digging for last season's nuts because the nut tree is only now budding, Rabbi Case's words on Psalm 4 call me to ponder with awe the great love of God which embraces me. Click on the link and join me in this meditation. Psalm 4 link.
06 February 2008
Blessed Dust
We come to Ash Wednesday, the First Day of Lent. We come with a sense of humility (most of our English words that begin with "hum-" are from the Greek/Latin root for "dirt") and we hear and say that line from Scripture "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return." But if we think about it for a moment, we can also approach the day with a renewed sense of wonder and awe when we think of the "dust" that composes our physical selves.
Those of us who are able to ponder the age of the universe realize that the physical matter we encounter today has been around a long time and has been used over and over again. Just as may of us who today try to trace our family trees hoping to find we're descended from ancestors of note, we should also pause and consider that some part of our flesh may once have been matter from the heart of an ancient star on the other side of the galaxy, or that our enzymes or the water in our cells was once part of the makeup of Leviathan or another of earth's ancient and fabled creatures. "We are stardust" is more than just a line in one of Joni Mitchell's songs.
But we teach that we are also the people of God--a God who loves and cares about us. We may, indeed, be stardust, but we are loved. Beloved, blessed dust. So we may come to this day with humility, wonder, and awe. We are dust--one with the universe--and to dust we shall return. And what then shall our dust become when our spirits are at home in God?
Those of us who are able to ponder the age of the universe realize that the physical matter we encounter today has been around a long time and has been used over and over again. Just as may of us who today try to trace our family trees hoping to find we're descended from ancestors of note, we should also pause and consider that some part of our flesh may once have been matter from the heart of an ancient star on the other side of the galaxy, or that our enzymes or the water in our cells was once part of the makeup of Leviathan or another of earth's ancient and fabled creatures. "We are stardust" is more than just a line in one of Joni Mitchell's songs.
But we teach that we are also the people of God--a God who loves and cares about us. We may, indeed, be stardust, but we are loved. Beloved, blessed dust. So we may come to this day with humility, wonder, and awe. We are dust--one with the universe--and to dust we shall return. And what then shall our dust become when our spirits are at home in God?
29 January 2008
Being Part of the Story
It's a wonderful moment when a Christian actually wakes up to realize that "the Story" isn't about someone else someplace else, but integrally includes each of us wherever we happen to be. We cannot afford to be spectators, cannot sit on the sidelines while others take an active part, but we each need to make ourselves ready to take up our part of the story as our turn comes.
Rev. John Thomas, General Minister and President of the UCC, was in Florida over the weekend to take part in and to preach the sermon at the installation of Rev. Kent Siladi, our new Conference Minister.
Rev. Thomas took time to remind his listeners--and now readers have the chance--to think of ourselves and our role--as individuals and as members of congregations--in "the Story." To read the text of his sermon, CLICK HERE.
Rev. John Thomas, General Minister and President of the UCC, was in Florida over the weekend to take part in and to preach the sermon at the installation of Rev. Kent Siladi, our new Conference Minister.
Rev. Thomas took time to remind his listeners--and now readers have the chance--to think of ourselves and our role--as individuals and as members of congregations--in "the Story." To read the text of his sermon, CLICK HERE.
24 January 2008
Beyond the Fear and Terror
Fourteen of us from Pilgrims' had the opportunity this week to spend several days with Walter Brueggemann and Barbara Brown Taylor as they discussed "Spiritual Maturity in a Time of Christian Conflict and Change."
In their talks and discussions Brueggeman and Taylor gave us insights into the life and times of the Prophet Jeremiah--and into our own life and times. His day was certainly one of "orange and red level alerts" and with high government officials exploiting fear and terror to press their own agendas.
We were given insights in working through and past the terror and fear and pain and in affirming our own identity, our need for--and place in--community, and in arriving at the place where hope dwells. And we were given oh, so much more, than platitudes and practical advice. It isn't easy to look in the windows of one's own soul, but it is life-affirming and hope-full.
How's your "hope level" today?
In their talks and discussions Brueggeman and Taylor gave us insights into the life and times of the Prophet Jeremiah--and into our own life and times. His day was certainly one of "orange and red level alerts" and with high government officials exploiting fear and terror to press their own agendas.
We were given insights in working through and past the terror and fear and pain and in affirming our own identity, our need for--and place in--community, and in arriving at the place where hope dwells. And we were given oh, so much more, than platitudes and practical advice. It isn't easy to look in the windows of one's own soul, but it is life-affirming and hope-full.
How's your "hope level" today?
14 January 2008
Survey says: "Church is full of hypocrites"
Talk about a non-news item. Religious News Service, in a Jan 9 article titled "'Unchurched' Americans say church is 'full of hypocrites'" reveals what I've been hearing on a consistent basis for more than 50 of my 60 (so-far) years.
Surprise: There are hypocrites in the church. So where else should they/we be? The church is full of sinners of all kinds, so why should we be surprised that it contains (at least) its fair share of hypocrites.
One of my friends used to tell me that every time her brother (who was "unchurched" by his own choice) went off on hypocrites in the church, she would remind him that there's always room for one more.
I think we should be shocked and surprised if we should find a church without any sinners/hypocrites--now that would be news--or any household in America (or the world), for that matter.
"Church" is not about perfect people, it's about a community of imperfect people drawn together, under God, to "bear one another's burdens," "bind up each other's wounds," and seek to help each other live lives of worth and purpose--"warts and all." Come to think of it, here at Pilgrims' we still have a few empty seats. Hypocrites (and any others) welcome!!
Surprise: There are hypocrites in the church. So where else should they/we be? The church is full of sinners of all kinds, so why should we be surprised that it contains (at least) its fair share of hypocrites.
One of my friends used to tell me that every time her brother (who was "unchurched" by his own choice) went off on hypocrites in the church, she would remind him that there's always room for one more.
I think we should be shocked and surprised if we should find a church without any sinners/hypocrites--now that would be news--or any household in America (or the world), for that matter.
"Church" is not about perfect people, it's about a community of imperfect people drawn together, under God, to "bear one another's burdens," "bind up each other's wounds," and seek to help each other live lives of worth and purpose--"warts and all." Come to think of it, here at Pilgrims' we still have a few empty seats. Hypocrites (and any others) welcome!!
01 January 2008
Thoughts on New Year's Day
Today I am 60; today my son is 33. New Year's Day has a special meaning in my family. But also years and birthdays ending in "zero" have a meaning all their own as well.
"Zero years" are years for looking back, taking stock, and looking ahead, pondering what the future may hold. I remember my 10th birthday when I counted up how old I'd be in the year 2000 and thinking how positively ancient that seemed. Now I look back on the year 2000 and still remember how relatively young I was then, that my hair was much darker--and there was more of it.
So 2008 is another "zero year" for me, personally; and a "zero year" professionally--it is the 20th anniversary of our ordination. (Inga and I were ordained together and have worked together most of these past 20 years as a clergy team.) In those 20 years we have moved--literally--across the continent and back, "from Maine to California," and "from border to Gulf" (Wisconsin/Michigan to Florida), pastoring churches and ministering in communities in all four "mainland timezones."
In these 20/60 years, there have been many opportunities to make acquaintances and friends everywhere we've been. I'm still in contact with some of my high school classmates--many the same kids from my church youth group. I'm still in contact with my college roommate, also clergy, who's a pastor of a church near enough that we can meet for lunch occasionally. My contact list still holds the names of clergy, church members--former and present--and folks from across the country who maintain contact and whose prayers and encouragement I deeply appreciate.
In an earlier post I commented on the saying that "The best things in life aren't things." Indeed, the best things in life are the people you gather to travel through life together, most cherished are those you are privileged to keep through the years, and yet more than that, those whose lives become utterly intertwined.
May God keep us and bless us in this year of grace, 2008.
"Zero years" are years for looking back, taking stock, and looking ahead, pondering what the future may hold. I remember my 10th birthday when I counted up how old I'd be in the year 2000 and thinking how positively ancient that seemed. Now I look back on the year 2000 and still remember how relatively young I was then, that my hair was much darker--and there was more of it.
So 2008 is another "zero year" for me, personally; and a "zero year" professionally--it is the 20th anniversary of our ordination. (Inga and I were ordained together and have worked together most of these past 20 years as a clergy team.) In those 20 years we have moved--literally--across the continent and back, "from Maine to California," and "from border to Gulf" (Wisconsin/Michigan to Florida), pastoring churches and ministering in communities in all four "mainland timezones."
In these 20/60 years, there have been many opportunities to make acquaintances and friends everywhere we've been. I'm still in contact with some of my high school classmates--many the same kids from my church youth group. I'm still in contact with my college roommate, also clergy, who's a pastor of a church near enough that we can meet for lunch occasionally. My contact list still holds the names of clergy, church members--former and present--and folks from across the country who maintain contact and whose prayers and encouragement I deeply appreciate.
In an earlier post I commented on the saying that "The best things in life aren't things." Indeed, the best things in life are the people you gather to travel through life together, most cherished are those you are privileged to keep through the years, and yet more than that, those whose lives become utterly intertwined.
May God keep us and bless us in this year of grace, 2008.
More on Collateral Damage
In my earlier post on "Collateral Damage" and in my sermon on Sunday, Dec 30, 2007, with the same title, my intent was to focus in somewhat narrowly on the issue of murder and of softpedalling a particular form of murder by calling it "collateral damage."
My comments were not about warfare in general, nor about the justification for war, nor the fact that freedom comes with a price.
Yet I did intend to raise the question that, when we consider the price of liberty and measuring that cost in human lives, we must be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and know that we haven't bought our freedom at the cost of innocent lives.
Accidents happen, in peacetime and in war, but the morals and ethics upon which our society is supposed to be founded should/would argue that those "accidents" be strictly minimized and investigated and, if found that the acts are, indeed, wanton and murderous, prosecuted.
My comments were not about warfare in general, nor about the justification for war, nor the fact that freedom comes with a price.
Yet I did intend to raise the question that, when we consider the price of liberty and measuring that cost in human lives, we must be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and know that we haven't bought our freedom at the cost of innocent lives.
Accidents happen, in peacetime and in war, but the morals and ethics upon which our society is supposed to be founded should/would argue that those "accidents" be strictly minimized and investigated and, if found that the acts are, indeed, wanton and murderous, prosecuted.
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