Putting it in Perspective

To-Night in Times Square: There the Crowds will See the Year in Ball of Fire To Annouce It
NY Times, December 31, 1908

The advent of 1909 will be announced to-night to the thousands assembled in Times Square and the thoroughfares stretching away from all sides of The Times Building by the falling of a great ball of light from top to bottom of the flagstaff surmounting The Times tower. This will be followed instantly by the flashing of “1909” in figures of light from the four sides of the copula.
The ball of light will burn from dark until midnight. Its 350 electric lights, forming a globe five feet in diameter, will be visible over a wide area of the city, and will beam down on all those in Times Square and the streets radiating there-from.
At midnight precisely, official time, this ball will drop. As it touches the base of the flagstaff it will establish an electric connection which will flash forth “1909” from figures six feet in height.
The Times Building will be illuminated throughout the evening. Light will shine forth from every window, and from the top of the tower will play a searchlight of 2,000,000 candle power, the largest on the Northern Atlantic seaboard with the possible exception of that of Sandy Hook Lighthouse. This great reflector will project a light twenty miles, and the beam when uplifted will be plainly visible in the remotest limits of the city.
As in each of the years since the Times Building was completed Times Square itself, surrounded by restaurants, hotels, and theaters, will be the center of the New Year festivities, to which the greatest crowds will flock.
Police Commissioner Bingham made elaborate preparations yesterday for handling the crowds, summoning all of his inspectors to Headquarters to receive their orders. “I want all to have a good time,” said he later, “but there must be no rowdyism. Ticklers and slap-sticks will not be tolerated. The police will be considerate, and will allow tin horns and confetti. They must allow these, I suppose, for people have to enjoy themselves.”

And on the list of things NOT to read...

After reading Lamb, also by Christopher Moore, I was excited to dive right into this holiday feature. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed. The plot is thinly woven together, at best. Moore employs a cast full of caricatures who all seem to fit the description of small town mis-fit. Theoretically, this could make for an entertaining tale, if they were effectively related to one another. The premise of the tale is based on a wish made by a young boy in passing. When the town drunkard, who is dressed as Santa, is killed, the boy wishes that Christmas not be ruined. The consequent events, involving brain-eating zombies, warrior princesses, and a talking Latio bat makes for a really bad fairy-tale, and nothing that resembles reality. The same archangel who appeared in Lamb is also featured in this book. However, his role remains unknown to the very end of the novel. To be frank, this tale of a stupid angel is stupid.

Afterlife?

Heaven for the Godless?
By CHARLES M. BLOW
December 27, 2008, NYTimes Op-Ed Columnist

In June, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a controversial survey in which 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life.
This threw evangelicals into a tizzy. After all, the Bible makes it clear that heaven is a velvet-roped V.I.P. area reserved for Christians. Jesus said so: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” But the survey suggested that Americans just weren’t buying that.

The evangelicals complained that people must not have understood the question. The respondents couldn’t actually believe what they were saying, could they?

So in August, Pew asked the question again. (They released the results last week.) Sixty-five percent of respondents said — again — that other religions could lead to eternal life. But this time, to clear up any confusion, Pew asked them to specify which religions. The respondents essentially said all of them.

And they didn’t stop there. Nearly half also thought that atheists could go to heaven — dragged there kicking and screaming, no doubt — and most thought that people with no religious faith also could go.
What on earth does this mean?

One very plausible explanation is that Americans just want good things to come to good people, regardless of their faith. As Alan Segal, a professor of religion at Barnard College told me: “We are a multicultural society, and people expect this American life to continue the same way in heaven.” He explained that in our society, we meet so many good people of different faiths that it’s hard for us to imagine God letting them go to hell. In fact, in the most recent survey, Pew asked people what they thought determined whether a person would achieve eternal life. Nearly as many Christians said you could achieve eternal life by just being a good person as said that you had to believe in Jesus.

Also, many Christians apparently view their didactic text as flexible. According to Pew’s August survey, only 39 percent of Christians believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, and 18 percent think that it’s just a book written by men and not the word of God at all. In fact, on the question in the Pew survey about what it would take to achieve eternal life, only 1 percent of Christians said living life in accordance with the Bible.

Now, there remains the possibility that some of those polled may not have understood the implications of their answers. As John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum, said, “The capacity of ignorance to influence survey outcomes should never be underestimated.” But I don’t think that they are ignorant about this most basic tenet of their faith. I think that they are choosing to ignore it ... for goodness sake.

to see graphic: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/opinion/27blow.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=heaven%20for%20the%20godless&st=cse

Christ-like Imagination

Holidays are prefect for reading books that I've had on my shelf for too long - waiting for a break from school. This gem, by Christopher Moore, was great fun to read! It's a make-believe, satirical account of the first 30 years of the life of Jesus Christ, according to his best friend growing up, Biff. Many popular stories from the Gospels are referenced. Mostly, Mr. Moore hypothesizes Jesus' early travels and studies. After all...he had to learn how to perform miracles, heal, and speak in tongues somehow! While most accounts are completely ridiculous, there are various components that come from Moore's historical research. Though "truthful" is a stretch, there are some character traits, like sexual promiscuity and Jewish rituals that play a part of the lives of several characters. Mostly, I found it great fun to imagine what the first thirty years of Christ's life might have been like. Moore's intelligent and entertaining plot provide a great companion for this enjoyable exercise!

Merry Christmas

Carol

Flocks feed by darkness with a noise of whispers,

In the dry grass of pastures,

And lull the solemn night with their weak bells.

The little towns upon the rocky hills

Look down as meek as children:

Because they have seen come this holy time.

God's glory, now, is kindled gentler than low candlelight

Under the rafters of a barn:

Eternal Peace is sleeping in the hay,

And Wisdom's born in secret in a straw-roofed stable.

And O! Make holy music in the stars, you happy angels.

You shepherds, gather on the hill.

Look up, you timid flocks, where the three kings

Are coming through the wintry trees;

While we unnumbered children of the wicked centuries

Come after with our penances and prayers,

And lay them down in the sweet-smelling hay

Beside the wise men's golden jars.

-Thomas Merton, 1946

Update: Inaugural Poet Announced

A few weeks ago I shared a BBC report about who would be the inaugural poet at the upcoming presidential inagruation. I found this article in the NY Times today. Below the article is a random excerpt of hers that I found on-line. Enjoy!

Poet Chosen for Inauguration Is Aiming for a Work That Transcends the Moment
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
December 21, 2008

Elizabeth Alexander, who teaches at Yale, was plucked last week from the relatively obscure recesses of contemporary poetry for a moment on the world stage. President-elect Barack Obama has commissioned her to compose and read a poem for his inauguration, making her only the fourth poet in American history to read at one and elevating the art to unaccustomed prominence in the national psyche, at least for a day.

Ms. Alexander, 46, is the incoming chairwoman of the African-American studies department at Yale and the mother of two sons, 9 and 10. She writes often of race, gender and class, in both poetry and prose, nurtures young black poets through Cave Canem, a poetry workshop, and has been a friend of Mr. Obama for more than a decade.

Asked if she thought that the friendship played a role in her being picked for the inauguration, she said no. The Obamas have many friends and know other poets, she said.

“One of the things we’ve seen with every choice he’s made is that it’s based on what he perceives as excellence,” Ms. Alexander said. “I don’t think you would let friendship determine who you chose to do something like this. You can do lots of things to be nice to your friends — you can invite them to an inaugural ball. But I don’t think friends have to do each other this kind of favor.”

There was some question about whether Mr. Obama would include a poet at all in his inaugural program. There have been only three: Robert Frost in 1961, Maya Angelou in 1993 and Miller Williams in 1997.

And Ms. Angelou said that when she heard of Ms. Alexander’s selection, she smiled. “She seems much like Walt Whitman,” she said. “She sings the American song.”
After examining previous inaugural poems, she has decided that hers will be brief. “This is one small piece of many pieces and we know what the centerpiece is,” she said, referring to Mr. Obama’s inaugural address.

“President-elect Obama is extremely efficient with language,” she added. “It is tremendously rich and tremendously precise but also never excessive. I really, really admire that. That’s a poet’s sensibility. I’m going to follow his lead.”

A Poem for Nelson Mandela
Here where I live it is Sunday.
From my room I hear black
children playing between houses
and the El at a Sabbath rattle.
I smell barbecue from every direction
and hear black hands tolling church bells,
hear wind hissing through elm trees
through dry grasses

On a rooftop of a prison
in South Africa Nelson Mandela
tends garden and has a birthday,
as my Jamaican grandfather in Harlem, New York
raises tomatoes and turns ninety-one.
I have taken touch for granted: my grandfather’s hands,
his shoulders, his pajamas which smell of vitamin pills.
I have taken a lover’s touch for granted,
recall my lover’s touch from this morning
as Mandela’s wife pulls memories through years
and years

my life is black and filled with fortune.
Nelson Mandela is with me because I believe
in symbols; symbols bear power; symbols demand
power; and that is how a nation
follows a man who leads from prison
and cannot speak to them. Nelson Mandela
is with me because I am a black girl
who honors her elders, who loves
her grandfather, who is a black daughter
as Mandela’s daughters are black
daughters. This is Philadelphia
and I see this Sunday clean.

I'm not in Connecticut anymore, Toto...

President and First Lady George W. Bush came to the 8:00 service at my home parish, Christ Church, Alexandria, this morning. Mom and Dad and I were able to go. I thought we might have a hard time getting a seat, so I went early. Though I'm not sure the 8:00 service has ever had that many attendees, we still would have been able to find a seat. I was impressed that our Rector kept the service exactly as it had been scheduled before they received the news that the President was coming at 9pm last night. It was a straightforward Rite I Eucharist. The President and First Lady sat in the President's pew, where Winston Churchill, George Washington, Ronald Regan, and Robert E. Lee, among others, have sat. They were both friendly and amenable to a star-struck crowd. The integrity of the service was maintained quite well, I thought. I also don't envy the Clergy Resident, ordained priest last week, who celebrated for the first time today. (Not sure I would have made it through...)

The experience really made me think about how I might have reacted had I been preaching, presiding, or ushering. What would you say to the president, assuming you had his ear for 30 seconds? What would you preach? Does reverence and awe take over despite political differences? All good things to ponder! I would love to hear your thoughts...

Blessings to all on this Fourth Sunday in Advent

rowing humor

Missing Cuban Rowing Team Arrives In Miami

MIAMI, FL - The Cuban National Rowing Team, missing since the 2000 meter Olympic semifinals in Beijing last week, arrived in Miami Beach today to the surprise of hundreds of beach-goers. All nine members of the team, although quite tired, were in good health and spirits.

Although it is not an official Olympic event, it is believed that the team shattered the record for semi-circumnavigation. "It was a little tricky coming around Cape Horn." said Emilio Consuegas, coxswain for the team. "But we knew we were in the home stretch."The Cubans, with a proud tradition of rowing dating back decades, has had little success in competitive rowing since the Mariel Boatlift depleted the country of its best rowing talent. The situation was further complicated by a constant shortage of boats. This team however, training on land to comply with Cuban maritime regulations, worked tirelessly to regain that once proud rowing tradition."My uncle once paddled a '65 Rambler all the way to Key West." said Franco Huertaz, crew anchor and single scull specialist. "I dedicate this race to him."Other members of the team were just happy to be out of China. "It's really a repressive society." said Miguel Cervesa, who plans on seeking political asylum to avoid persecution for his anti-tobacco beliefs. "I'll bet it's hard to find a decent boat over there, too."

© 2008 - The Daily Redundancy "The Standard of Excellence in Pseudojournalism
http://www.dailyredundancy.com/archives/1123.html

Presidential Invocation

For Inauguration Prayer, Obama Splits Ticket

By RACHEL ZOLL

The Associated PressThursday, December 18, 2008; 9:00 PM

-- The clergy chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to pray at his inauguration fill separate symbolic roles: One is a nod to the civil rights activists who made Obama's election possible. The other is an overture to conservative Christians who rankles some Obama supporters.
The Rev. Rick Warren, who will give the invocation, is the most influential pastor in the United States, and a choice that has already caused problems for Obama.

Warren is a Southern Baptist who holds traditional religious beliefs and endorsed California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. But he also wants to broaden the evangelical agenda to include fighting global warming, poverty and AIDS.

The Rev. Joseph Lowery, 87, is considered the dean of the civil rights movement. For the benediction at the Jan. 20 swearing-in, he says he will pray that the "spirit of fellowship and oneness" at the inauguration endures throughout Obama's presidency.

"He gets a lot with these choices," said David Domke, author of "The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America."

"Here's a guy who wants to run a progressive administration getting a substantial lift in his wings from the nation's most popular evangelical," Domke said. "But he balances that with Joseph Lowery, who speaks to the more liberal, social justice and African-American heritage."

By picking Warren, Obama is sending another signal, about his willingness to upset liberals by tilting to the center. Gay rights groups are demanding that Obama rescind the invitation because of Warren's opposition to same-sex marriage.

"By inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table," Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a letter to the incoming president.

In a news conference Thursday, Obama said he is a "fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans." But he said he will build relationships with people of opposing views, and wants his inaugural to reflect that goal.

"That dialogue, I think, is part of what my campaign's been all about: That we're not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere when we _ where we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans," he said.

Warren praised Obama for "his courage to willingly take enormous heat from his base by inviting someone like me."

"Hopefully, individuals passionately expressing opinions from the left and the right will recognize that both of us have shown a commitment to model civility in America," Warren said in a statement Thursday night.

In the past several decades, inaugural prayer has most often been the job of evangelist Billy Graham, who forged relationships with every president from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush. Dubbed "America's pastor," Graham is now 90 and off the public stage. His son, Franklin, stepped in for his father and gave the invocation at Bush's 2001 swearing-in. Bush's personal pastor, the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, an African-American Methodist from Houston, was chosen to give the inaugural benediction twice. Caldwell supported Bush in both his presidential campaigns, then backed Obama this year.

But Obama no longer has a personal minister. He resigned his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago after an uproar over incendiary parts of sermons by his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama instead turned to two preachers who could set a tone for his administration.
"I'm overwhelmed. I'm very grateful. I'm humbled and honored," Lowery said in a telephone interview. "When we worked on the Voting Rights Act in the '60s, we hoped and felt that one day there would be an African-American president. I honestly can say I didn't think I'd live long enough to see it."

Lowery's biography reads like a history of the civil rights movement. As a young pastor in 1950s Alabama, he helped lead the Montgomery bus boycotts. With the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, Lowery created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which anchored the national civil rights movement. In 1965, Lowery played a key role in the bloody, pivotal Selma-Montgomery March. He led a delegation of marchers presenting their demands to then-segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace.

Lowery, a Methodist, expanded his agenda in later years to fight poverty, stop violence and end apartheid. In 2006, he drew criticism - and a standing ovation - at Coretta Scott King's funeral by condemning the Iraq war and poverty in the U.S. as Bush looked on.

Warren, 54, has become the most prominent clergyman of his generation. His Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, Calif., has grown to more than 22,000 worshippers each week. His book, "The Purpose Driven Life" is one of the best-selling books in the world, with more than 30 million copies sold. He is mobilizing churches around the globe to fight poverty and illiteracy through his P.E.A.C.E coalition.

Last month, he joined forces with Reader's Digest Association Inc., to launch a multimedia juggernaut based on his "Purpose Driven" writing. He and his wife, Kay, have become leading advocates for people with HIV/AIDS. On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, the Warrens gave Bush an award for creating a multimillion-dollar U.S. fund to combat the virus.

With Warren, "Obama shows he is willing to work with a new breed of evangelical and kind of move beyond the tired figures associated with the religious right," said Randall Balmer, a Barnard College professor of religious history and author of "God in the White House."

In August, before the party conventions, Warren hosted Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain at Saddleback, quizzing them separately on issues ranging from personal failures to Supreme Court justices. Obama's campaign had done extensive religious outreach. But he hurt his appeal to churchgoing voters when Warren asked when a baby gets human rights. Obama said it was "above his pay grade" to answer "with specificity."

Still, Obama and Warren, who does not make political endorsements, are friendly, and the two men pray together.

"It's nice to see a conservative evangelical pastor play such a prominent role in such an important event," said Tom Minnery, a senior vice president at Focus on the Family, which has fiercely criticized Obama over his support for abortion rights and other issues. "I think what it does is it underscores the importance of evangelicalism in the country."
© 2008 The Associated Press

Kenneth Hagood, Dr. King, Rev. Joseph Lowery, and Dr. Edward Hart in front of Willard Straight Hall, Cornell, April 14, 1961.

Inaugural Poet?

One of the stories on the BBC this morning was an interview with David Lehman, editor of The Best American Poetry series. He was reflecting on the tradition of poetry reading at presidential inaugurations. It has not yet been announced whether Barack Obama will have a poet to read at his inauguration. Any guesses as to who it might be if it happens? Or what poem might be read? It's daunting to think about who/what might eloquently capture the intensity of such an event. I'm glad the task has not been charged to me. But it is fun to think about!

I was privileged enough to be sitting on the platrform when Maya Angelou read at Bill Clinton's second inauguration. Below is the poem she read.

On the Pulse of Morning

A Rock, A River, A Tree

Hosts to species long since departed,

Mark the mastodon.

The dinosaur, who left dry tokens

Of their sojourn here

On our planet floor,

Any broad alarm of their of their hastening doom

Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.

But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,

Come, you may stand upon my

Back and face your distant destiny,

But seek no haven in my shadow.

I will give you no hiding place down here.

You, created only a little lower than

The angels, have crouched too long in

The bruising darkness,

Have lain too long

Face down in ignorance.

Your mouths spelling words

Armed for slaughter.

The rock cries out today, you may stand on me,

But do not hide your face.

Across the wall of the world,

A river sings a beautiful song,

Come rest here by my side.

Each of you a bordered country,

Delicate and strangely made proud,

Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.

Your armed struggles for profit

Have left collars of waste upon

My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.

Yet, today I call you to my riverside,

If you will study war no more.

Come, clad in peace and I will sing the songs

The Creator gave to me when I

And the tree and stone were one.

Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your brow

And when you yet knew you still knew nothing.

The river sings and sings on.

There is a true yearning to respond to

The singing river and the wise rock.

So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew,

The African and Native American, the Sioux,

The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek,

The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,

The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,

The privileged, the homeless, the teacher.

They hear. They all hear

The speaking of the tree.

Today, the first and last of every tree

Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the river.

Plant yourself beside me, here beside the river.

Each of you, descendant of some passed on

Traveller, has been paid for.

You, who gave me my first name,You Pawnee, Apache and Seneca,

You Cherokee Nation, who rested with me,

Then forced on bloody feet,

Left me to the employment of other seekers--

Desperate for gain, starving for gold.

You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot...

You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru,

Bought, sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare

Praying for a dream.

Here, root yourselves beside me.

I am the tree planted by the river,

Which will not be moved.

I, the rock, I the river, I the tree

I am yours--your passages have been paid.

Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need

For this bright morning dawning for you.

History, despite its wrenching pain,

Cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage,

Need not be lived again.

Lift up your eyes upon

The day breaking for you.

Give birth again

To the dream.

Women, children, men,

Take it into the palms of your hands.

Mold it into the shape of your most

Private need. Sculpt it into

The image of your most public self.

Lift up your hearts.

Each new hour holds new chances

For new beginnings.

Do not be wedded forever

To fear, yoked eternally

To brutishness.

The horizon leans forward,

Offering you space to place new steps of change.

Here, on the pulse of this fine day

You may have the courage

To look up and out upon me,

The rock, the river, the tree, your country.

No less to Midas than the mendicant.

No less to you now than the mastodon then.

Here on the pulse of this new day

You may have the grace to look up and out

And into your sister's eyes,

Into your brother's face, your country

And say simply

Very simply

With hope

Good morning.

O Come, O Come

The artwork of John August Swanson has captured my heart and imagination lately. Last night, our Advent service at the Divinity School captured the artwork's colorful and joyful spirit. As we "Waited for New Heavens" underneath the star-adorned chapel ceiling, dancers flooded the room bringing light to the midst of our gathering. Beginning with a single soloist and eventually including a gospel choir, chapel choir, jazz band, two acapella groups, and the entire congregation, we beckoned Emmanuel to Come (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel) in a variety of styles of music. The celebration continued with reflections on the many songs we sing during the Advent Season. Our team-preachers reflected on songs of sorrow, wonder, community, and joy. Each of these reflections was accompanied by a visual embodiment of how we are or might become sorrowful, wondrous, community, and joyful. The service came to a climax with prayers for the community and the world, donating our prayer action to the fund to end New Haven homelessness program. I've never been so captivated by the spirit, vision, and full-bodied enactment of a liturgy in such diverse forms. It has given me new hope for what the church might be able to do!Below are some of the lyrics from our sending song. May your heart be captivated with the joy of new birth during as mine was this Advent season.

"Awake, Awake"

by Marty Haugen.

Awake! Awake, and greet the new morn, for angels herald its dawning,

Sing out your joy, the Child will be born, behold!

The Child of our longing.

Come as a baby weak and poor, to bring all hearts together,

to open wide the heavenly door,

and live now inside us forever.

Rejoice, rejoice, take heart in the night,

though cold the winter and cheerless,

the rising sun shall crown you with light,

be strong and loving and fearless;

Love be our song and love our prayer, and love, our endless story,

May God fill everyday we share, and bring us at last into glory.

"The Road"

Last night I finished reading "The Road," by Cormac McCarthy. It's a post-apocalyptic novel about the journey of a father and son across a decimated remnant of the United States. It's beautifully written, but not a page-turner in the traditional sense. Yet, the reader is constantly wondering what will come of this father and son duo. I appreciated the book for the questions it raised about relationships. In particular, between a father and son, who is taking care of who - emotionally, physically, and spiritually? I was also grateful for the slow paced plot that left time for reflection on the richly detailed landscapes and remnants of humanity.

I won't ruin it for those who haven't read it. But here's a favorite excerpt to get you interested. "Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery."

LIVE

I went to a Dar Williams concert tonight with some friends. Despite the fact that she played in at a really shady venue, it was quite delightful to listen to an entire acoustic set. Oh yeah...and she was good too! At the end of her second encore, she encouraged the audience to sing along, and break out their 21st century communication devices in lui of lighters, to set the mood. I'm not sure why it was so hilarious to me...but a skeezy bar, dimly lit by the glow of cell phones had me doubled over with laughter. I digress...if you haven't heard of Dar Williams before, check her out. I first found out about her when one of her songs was featured on an episode of Dawson's Creek (back in the day.) Below are two of my new found favorites. Enjoy!

The One Who Knows

Time it was I had a dream

You're that dream come true

And if I had the world to give

I'd give it all to you

I'll take you to the mountains

I will take you to the sea

I'll show you how this life became

A miracle to me

You'll fly away, but take my hand until that day

So when thay ask how far love goes

When my job's done you'll be the one who knows

All the things you treasure most

Will be the hardest won

I will watch you struggle long

Before the answers come

But I won't make it harder

I'll be there to cheer you on

I'll shine the light that guides you down

The road you're traveling on

You'll fly away, but take my hand until that day

So when they ask how far love goes

When my job's done you'll be the one who knows

And the mountains call to you

Before you leave this home

I will teach your heart to trust

As I will teach my own

But sometimes I will ask the moon

Where it shined upon you last

And shake my head and laugh and say

It all went by so fast

You'll fly away, but take my hand until that day

So when they ask how far love goes

When my job's done you'll be the one who knows

The Beauty of the Rain
And you know the light is fading all too soon
We're just two umbrellas one late afternoon
You don't know the next thing you will say

This is your favorite kind of day
It has no walls

The beauty of the rain
Is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls

And there's nothing wrong but there is something more
And sometimes you wonder what you love her for
She says you've known her deepest fears
'Cause she's shown you a box of stained-glass tears
It can't be long

The truth about the rain
Is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls

But when she gave you more to find
You let her think she lost her mind
And that's all on you
Feeling helpless when she asks for help
Or scared you have to change yourself

And you can't deny this room will keep you warm
You can look out of your window at the storm
But you watch the phone and hope it rings
You'll take her any way she sings
Or how she calls

The beauty of the rain
Is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls
How it falls, how it falls, how it falls

more from yesterday

Anglicans Toot Somebody Else's Horn

04 December 2008

Every major paper covered the formation of the Anglican Church of North America, comprised of 100,000 now-former members of the 2.3 million strong -- make that 2.2 million -- Episcopal Church in the United States. But only evangelical magazine Christianity Today, gushingly enthusiastic about the split -- the breakaway Anglicans seem motivated chiefly by anger over the Episcopal Church's acceptance of gays and lesbians and women priests, none of which are approved by most evangelicals -- notes that the new church declared its creation by blasting a shofar, a Jewish ritual instrument made out of a ram's horn, traditionally blown on certain holidays -- or, as in the Book of Joshua, as a sort of battlecry. Why did the mainstream press ignore this unusual detail? Did it strike the NYT as too absurd? The Washington Post as simply confusing? I suspect this may be a case of the press neatening up some strange religion for broad public consumption.


Shofars have become popular in evangelical circles in recent years, and with them some very muddled notions about Judaism, Israel, and the role of the ram's horn in Hebrew Bible wars. The shofar blast that heralded the new Anglican Church doesn't align them with Jews, or, for that matter, conservatism, since there's nothing conservative about schism. Rather, it marks the breakaway church as part of a new religious movement within evangelicalism. Just as these Anglicans are drawn to the cultural politics and political theology of evangelicalism, many evangelicals are increasingly attracted by the pomp and mystery of high church services, and the intellectual traditions inherent in Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism. There's a slow merger going on, but to achieve it, all sides will have to abandon a lot of tradition -- a big sacrifice for believers who see themselves as hewing to tradition against the currents of liberalism. That's where the shofar -- one of the oldest instruments of religious mediation -- comes in. I saw it -- heard it, rather -- a few years ago at another schismatic event, a gathering of ultra-right Christians from around the country who blew the shofar as a summons to spiritual war against what they viewed as a liberal conspiracy to write Christianity out of history. The shofar, one of history's most enduring instruments, was a symbol of their determination to claim history as on their side. So it seems to be here. Even as these Anglicans create something new -- a church actually founded on its rejection of queers, a movement opposed to the marriage of two men growing out of a denomination built on a divorce -- they declare themselves part of something very, very old, as if Joshua's men blew their horns outside Jericho because they foresaw Bishop Gene Robinson several thousand years down the road.

--Jeff Sharlet
the Revealer
http://www.therevealer.org/archives/timely_003140.php

today in the Episcopal Church

Episcopal Split as Conservatives Form New Group
A group of conservative bishops met on Wednesday at the Resurrection Anglican Church in West Chicago, Ill.
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: December 3, 2008
The New York Times

WHEATON, Ill. — Conservatives alienated from the Episcopal Church announced on Wednesday that they were founding their own rival denomination, the biggest challenge yet to the authority of the Episcopal Church since it ordained an openly gay bishop five years ago.
The move threatens the fragile unity of the Anglican Communion, the world’s third-largest Christian body, made up of 38 provinces around the world that trace their roots to the Church of England and its spiritual leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The conservatives intend to seek the approval of leaders in the global Anglican Communion for the province they plan to form. If they should receive broad approval, their effort could lead to new defections from the Episcopal Church, the American branch of Anglicanism.
In the last few years, Episcopalians who wanted to leave the church but remain in the Anglican Communion put themselves under the authority of bishops in Africa and Latin America. A new American province would give them a homegrown alternative.
It would also result in two competing provinces on the same soil, each claiming the mantle of historical Anglican Christianity. The conservatives have named theirs the Anglican Church in North America. And for the first time, a province would be defined not by geography, but by theological orientation.
“We’re going through Reformation times, and in Reformation times things aren’t neat and clean,” Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, a conservative who led his diocese out of the Episcopal Church in October, said in an interview. “In Reformation times, new structures are emerging.”
Bishop Duncan will be named the archbishop and primate of the North American church, which says it would have 100,000 members, compared with 2.3 million in the Episcopal Church.
The conservatives contend that the American and Canadian churches have broken with traditional Christianity in many ways, but their resolve to form a unified breakaway church was precipitated by the decision to ordain an openly gay bishop and to bless gay unions.
The Rev. Charles Robertson, canon for the Episcopal Church’s presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, said Wednesday, “There is room within the Episcopal Church for people of different views, and we regret that some have felt the need to depart from the diversity of our common life in Christ.”
He added that the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada and La Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico will continue to be “the official, recognized presence of the Anglican Communion in North America.”
In a news conference on Wednesday evening, the conservative group unveiled its new constitution and canons at a large evangelical church here in Wheaton, near Chicago.
The proposed new province would unite nine groups that have left the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada over the years. This includes four Episcopal dioceses and umbrella groups for dozens of individual parishes in the United States and Canada.
Besides Pittsburgh, those dioceses are Fort Worth; Quincy, Ill.; and San Joaquin, in the Central Valley of California — representing 4 of 110 dioceses in the Episcopal Church. But not all the parishes and Episcopalians in those four dioceses agreed to leave the Episcopal Church.
The new province would also absorb a handful of other groups that had left the Episcopal Church decades earlier over issues like the ordination of women or revisions to the Book of Common Prayer. One of the groups, the Reformed Episcopal Church, broke away from the forerunner of the Episcopal Church in 1873.
Conservative leaders in North America say they expect to win approval for their new province from at least seven like-minded primates, who lead provinces primarily in Africa, Australia, Latin America and Asia.
These are the same primates who met in Jerusalem over the summer at the Global Anglican Future Conference and signed a declaration heralding a new era for the Anglican Communion. Most of these primates a few weeks later boycotted the Lambeth Conference, the international gathering of Anglican bishops in England held once every 10 years.
Bishop Duncan and other conservative leaders in North America say they may not seek approval for their new province from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, or from the Anglican Consultative Council, the leadership group of bishops, clergy and laity that until now was largely responsible for blessing new jurisdictions.
Bishop Martyn Minns, a leading figure in the formation of the new province, said of the Archbishop of Canterbury: “It’s desirable that he get behind this. It’s something that would bring a little more coherence to the life of the Communion. But if he doesn’t, so be it.”
Bishop Minns, a priest who led his large, historic church in Fairfax, Va., out of the Episcopal Church two years ago and was subsequently ordained a bishop by the Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria, said in an interview: “One of the questions a number of the primates are asking is why do we still need to be operating under the rules of an English charity, which is what the Anglican Consultative Council does. Why is England still considered the center of the universe?”
Jim Naughton, canon for communications and advancement in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, and a liberal who frequently blogs on Anglican affairs, said he doubted that a rival Anglican province could grow much larger.
“I think this organization does not have much of a future because there are already a lot of churches in the United States for people who don’t want to worship with gays and lesbians,” he said. “That’s not a market niche that is underserved.”
Since the Episcopal Church ordained Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly gay man who lives with his partner, in the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, the parallel rifts in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion have widened.
In the first years after Bishop Robinson was ordained, bishops representing about 14 dioceses in the Episcopal Church joined meetings to explore the formation of a new Anglican entity in North America.
Asked why only four dioceses broke away, Bishop Minns said: “It’s one thing to feel distressed. It’s another thing to do something about it.”
He added: “There’s some people standing back to wait and see if we pull this off, which I think we’ll do. Then others will join us — parishes, and maybe dioceses.”
If the conservatives try to take their church properties with them, they are likely to face lawsuits from the Episcopal Church. The church is already suing breakaway parishes and dioceses in several states to retain church property.
Bishop Duncan said members of the proposed province would spend the next six months discussing the constitution, and would meet to ratify the document next summer at a “provincial assembly.” He said it would probably be held at the Episcopal Cathedral in Fort Worth.
The Episcopal Church is also holding its General Convention next summer.
The founding members of this new province have major theological differences among themselves on liturgical practices, and whether to ordain women.
Bishop Duncan, whose theological orientation is more evangelical, has ordained women in the diocese of Pittsburgh. Bishops of other breakaway dioceses, like Jack Iker in Fort Worth and John-David Schofield in San Joaquin, are more “Anglo-Catholic” in orientation, modeling some elements of the Roman Catholic Church, and are opposed to ordaining women as priests or bishops.
Under their new constitution, each of the nine constituent dioceses or groups that would make up the new province could follow its own teachings on women’s ordination. Each congregation would also keep its own property.
Told of this new Anglican entity, David C. Steinmetz, Amos Ragan Kearns professor of the history of Christianity at the Divinity School at Duke University, said in a phone interview, “It’s really an unprecedented and momentous event,” that all of these dissident groups had agreed to bury their differences.
“It’s certainly going to be deplored by one part of the Communion and hailed by another,” Professor Steinmetz said. “Are we going to end up with two families of Anglicans, and if so, are they in communion with each other in any way? There are so many possibilities and geopolitical differences, it’s really hard to predict where this will go.”


Communion process presents challenges for proposed province
Dissident Anglicans must conform to established guidelines for official recognition, Lambeth says
By Matthew Davies and Mary Frances Schjonberg,
December 04, 2008

Despite claiming to have God and history on their side, proponents of a new Anglican province in North America could face a years-long process for gaining official recognition by the rest of the Anglican Communion.
A statement from Lambeth Palace, the London office of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, responded to the Common Cause Partnership's (CCP) December 3 proposal to form a new Anglican province in North America. The statement said that there are legislative procedures to follow in such instances.
"There are clear guidelines set out in the Anglican Consultative Council Reports, notably ACC 10 in 1996 (resolution 12), detailing the steps necessary for the amendments of existing provincial constitutions and the creation of new provinces," the statement said. "Once begun, any of these processes will take years to complete. In relation to the recent announcement from the meeting of the Common Cause Partnership in Chicago, the process has not yet begun."
However, at least one leader of the movement has questioned the London-based ACC's process, asking "Why is England still considered the center of the universe?"
Members of the 11 self-identified Anglican organizations that form the Common Cause Partnership (CCP) announced December 3 the creation of what they called an Anglican "province in formation" for those who say that the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada promote erroneous biblical interpretation and theology, particularly in terms of the doctrine of salvation and acceptance of homosexuality.
Former Episcopal Church Diocese of Pittsburgh bishop and CCP moderator Robert Duncan, who will become the proposed province's first archbishop and primate, told a December 3 news briefing that the movement he leads is a descendant of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Both periods in history required Christians to reassert the power of revelation that some of their leaders had lost, he said.
"That, brothers and sisters, is what I would submit is happening right now in the 21st century across the whole Christian church, particularly in the West," he told reporters. When asked, Duncan refused to claim that the announcement amounted to a schism of the Anglican Communion. Cynthia Brust, communications director for the Anglican Mission in the Americas (a member of the partnership), told reporters that the communion "has been fractured, it has been damaged, it has been in disarray, it's been coming for a long time."
"Rather than today being about division and breaking apart in disunity, it's the day that the Anglican Communion began to be healed," she said.
The leaders of the movement released a "provisional" constitution and canons during the meeting in the suburban Chicago community of Wheaton, Illinois. The two documents are due to be ratified by participants in a planned summer 2009 "provincial assembly" at St. Vincent's Cathedral in Bedford, Texas. (St. Vincent's is in the Diocese of Fort Worth, one of four Episcopal Church dioceses in which many members have realigned with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.)
The leaders also signed onto the Jerusalem Declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) and affirmed GAFCON's Statement on the Global Anglican Future (both available here). The GAFCON documents said "the time is now ripe for the formation of a province in North America for the federation currently known as Common Cause Partnership to be recognized by the [GAFCON] Primates' Council."
Duncan claimed that statement and a higher authority as the authorization the group needed. "It's the Lord who's called us to do this work" after the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada caused a "crisis," he said.
"The Lord is displacing the Episcopal Church," Duncan said, adding that "it's our anticipation" that the archbishops and the provinces representing what he called the majority of the Anglican Communion "will begin to recognize this province."
Duncan appeared to lay down a challenge to the Archbishop of Canterbury. "We stand where the mainstream of Anglicanism stands," he said. "The question will of course be will the archbishop recognize those who stand where the mainstream of Anglicans -- or the mainstream of Christians -- stand, or not."
On December 3, prior to the release of details of the proposed province, the Rev. Charles Robertson, canon to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, noted in a statement that "the Episcopal Church, along with the Anglican Church of Canada and La Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico, comprise the official, recognized presence of the Anglican Communion in North America."
"And we reiterate what has been true of Anglicanism for centuries: that there is room within The Episcopal Church for people with different views, and we regret that some have felt the need to depart from the diversity of our common life in Christ," he added.
Recognition of any new province by the official structures of the Anglican Communion is complicated. The ACC, the communion's main policy-making body, meets every three to four years and has the authority "to advise on inter-Anglican, provincial, and diocesan relationships, including the division of provinces, the formation of new provinces and of regional councils," according to its constitution.
The ACC legislation about new provinces cited by Williams' spokesperson refers to provinces being created on a geographical basis as opposed to on theological grounds such as the Common Cause Partnership's proposed province.
"Once initial consultation had taken place, and it was agreed in principle that it would be expedient to form a new province in the region, the promoters would appoint a drafting committee, to consider the outline draft constitution set out by the ACC," the resolution says, noting that "the drafting process in itself is likely to take some considerable time."
ACC resolutions have repeatedly stated that before the creation of a new province there should be consultation "from the earliest stages in their discussions" with the secretary general of the Anglican Communion or the Anglican Consultative Council "for guidance and advice, especially in regard to the form of constitution most appropriate."
Asked whether the secretary general had been consulted by any member of the Common Cause Partnership, a spokesman for the Anglican Communion Office said December 4 that there has been no approach.
Martyn Minns, a former Episcopal priest and a bishop of the breakaway Convocation of Anglicans in North America, told the New York Times December 3: "One of the questions a number of the primates are asking is why do we still need to be operating under the rules of an English charity, which is what the Anglican Consultative Council does. Why is England still considered the center of the universe?"
If the Common Cause Partnership were to abide by the ACC's procedures, the process could take several years, according to the schedule outlined in the resolution. "Having agreed on the form of the new constitution, the proposers are asked to submit their application ... to the ACC not less than 15 months ahead of the next meeting of the full council," the resolution says. The ACC's next meeting will be held May 1-12, 2009 in Jamaica. According to the resolution's schedule, any formal attempt by the Common Cause Partnership to have the ACC accept its proposed constitution would need to wait until the following meeting, presumably in 2012.
Two-thirds of the primates would also have to approve such a constitution before it is presented to the ACC for consideration.
ACC resolutions on the creation and division of provinces date back to its first meeting in 1971 and have been reaffirmed by subsequent meetings of the council. At the first meeting, the ACC resolved (resolution 21) that when creating and dividing provinces "there must be the good will of the existing province in order not to create difficulties of disunity after division." (A first set of guidelines for drafting and revising provincial constitutions was developed at the fourth meeting of the ACC in 1979).
While the new province would be based on theological commonality rather than the geographical proximity that generally shapes the rest of the provinces in the Anglican Communion, the members are not united in all of their theological positions. This is especially true on the issue of women's ordination.
"Scripture is unclear" on the subject, Duncan said in response to a reporter's question. He noted that both the Old and New Testaments give women leadership roles and that "clearly it is the case that women had an apostolic function in the New Testament" even though all the apostles were male and the church has "traditionally" defined the priesthood as all male.
"Whereas some issues are quite clear in Scripture, others have a complexity," Duncan said.
Noting that some members ordain women only to the diaconate and not the priesthood, Duncan said they agreed that women could not become bishops in the province. To allow female bishops "wouldn't bring unity and it wouldn't be universally accepted," said Duncan, who has ordained women as priests. "We've submitted to one another on matters that make for unity."
Questions about that issue evolved into a larger discussion about the authority of Scripture. Duncan accused the Episcopal Church of being unwilling to adhere to what he called the clear biblical "standard" that defines marriage and the family as a lifelong union that mirrors Christians' relationship with God.
"Scripture makes it plain that homosexual relations are not in God's will," Duncan told reporters. "Jesus' love is for absolutely everybody. Jesus meets people where they are and then he says 'go and sin no more.' What the Episcopal Church has done -- and the Anglican Church in Canada -- has been to leave the whole scriptural notion of transformation in the power of the Holy Spirit out of the equation. The gospels being preached particularly in the West -- and it's not only in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada -- [are] a gospel of acceptance, a gospel of affirmation. The classic gospel is a gospel of transformation where people are delivered out of their own desires into God's desires for how we live our lives."
The group's provisional constitution and canons have several differences from those of the Episcopal Church, including:
an archbishop elected to up to two consecutive five-year terms only by his fellow bishops (Episcopal Church bishops elects not an archbishop but a presiding bishop for one nine-year term and the General Convention's House of Deputies ratifies that election);
all congregational property is owned by the congregation and not subject to "any trust interest or any other claim of ownership arising out of the canon law of the province" (the Episcopal Church asserts such trust interests);
member groups (known as diocese, clusters or networks) can leave the province at any time (the Episcopal Church maintains that while people may leave dioceses and parishes, those entities remain a part of the church unless they are dissolved or otherwise reconfigured by their governing bodies); and
"an ecclesiastical court of final decision," to be known as the provincial tribunal, to settle all disputes arising from the constitution and canons (the Episcopal Church has no such court).
The actions in Wheaton are the latest in a more than two-year-old effort to create an alternative province in North America for those Anglicans who disagree with the theological and biblical interpretation stances of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. The outlines of that effort are available at the end of this story.
The Common Cause Partnership's members include the American Anglican Council, the Anglican Coalition in Canada, the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (also known as the Anglican Communion Network), the Anglican Mission in the Americas, the Anglican Network in Canada, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, Forward in Faith North America, the Reformed Episcopal Church, and bishops and congregations linked with Kenya, Uganda, and South America's Southern Cone.
Common Cause says that together the groups represent 700 congregations and more than 100,000 Anglicans. The Episcopal Church includes some 7,600 congregations and 2.4 million Episcopalians. There are an estimated 77 million Anglicans in 164 countries worldwide.

-- Matthew Davies is editor of Episcopal Life Online and Episcopal Life Media correspondent for the Anglican Communion. The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is Episcopal Life Media correspondent for Episcopal Church governance, structure, and trends.

Turkey Trot Hazards

Today we started a new family tradition – running the Alexandria Turkey Trot. Great fun was had by all! Even more impressive, Aunt Avis, Grace and I all managed to run the entire 5 miles. Granted…our finishing times were not “impressive.” But considering we decided to participate less than 12 hours before the race started, we were pretty proud of ourselves.

There were many, many folks running, walking, jogging, and everything in between. I was really impressed with the wide variety of ages, fitness levels, and dedication on the course. However…there was one contingency that I could have done without – the strollers and their “pushers.” These parents were a healthy dose beyond intense – dare I say they were the epitome of “extreme strollers.” Keep in mind, we were on narrow roads in Del Ray, Alexandria, with thousands of runners desperately trying to keep two feet on the ground and make their way through the crowd. Highly motivated, over-achieving Washingtonians pushing their way through this crowd, using small babies as leverage is less than helpful to an already treacherous situation.

Fellow Turkey Trotters be warned of the parentally-operated carriages of the baby variety!

*Imagine inserting a stroller (as pictured below) into the close-knit crowd (as pictured above).

Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy; Stunning Break with Last Eight Years

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS' "Sixty Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth. But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.
According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a President who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate - we get it, stop showing off."

The President-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

[I didn't write this, but it made me laugh!]

Descending Ascents

Which way are you headed??

Are you sure?

Saints

Today was beautiful in a hopeful sort of way. It was still somewhat warm, but a crisp was creeping into the air. It made me think of Fall retreats that I've been on at Shrine Mont. We all know summer is over, but being back on the mountain for one last grasp of mountain air somehow gets us through the winter until spring is upon us. I started feeling sorry for myself - being far away from home and camp folk. I went to a jazz Eucharist this morning (which, as a side note, was fantastic!) The last song the Gateway Jazz Band played was "When the Saints to Marching In." This is the song we sing as an opening for all of the closing Eucharists at St. George's camp at Shrine Mont. It was incredible to me how much I was missing "home" and found this familiar song in a new place. It made me think anew about the saints by whom I am constantly surrounded.

This clip is obviously not the Gateway Jazz Band, but I figured Louis Armstrong's version, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGDA can't be half bad either. Enjoy!

My Virgin Eyes

Is this sculpture offensive because it's made of chocolate and not vanilla?

Is it offensive becuase Jesus is fully human, and not even a loin cloth can hide us from that fact?

Is it offensive because he's made out of a perishable food?

Is it just offensive because it's Jesus?

Or is this sculpture divinely delicious?

Change

There are few words I could add that would capture the significance of this day. Everywhere I went and everyone I talked to today was full of anticipation and hope. In class this morning, one young African American woman shared her thoughts. She expressed the excitement and privilege she felt to be able to walk onto the Yale campus on this day, when the first African American man was on the ballot as president of the United States. Although early this morning the outcome of the election was still quite unsure, she was grateful that the community, and the country felt more like her own than any other day in her life. She said, "I have hope for today, if nothing else." The good news is, her hope can extend far beyond the end of this day.

At the end of this historic day, there is much to be joyful for. Watching Oprah and Jesse Jackson weeping in the crowd in Chicago was moving. Getting a glimpse of the Obama family and what they may do to change this family is inspiring. There is a great deal of transformation that is yet to take place. Each of us will have to be a part of that change. In the words of our 44th President elect, "Let us summon a new spirit."

gods

"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do."*

It seems so obvious, yet SO many people create a God of convenience. I'm beginning to think that if you don't walk away from church or some other spiritual encounter, deeply troubled and challenged, then something isn't being done properly. Either you're not listening, or the message isn't truly being preached. Christ was crucified to save our sins - that's not light stuff. In fact, it's really heavy. This evening I'm preaching on the Beatitudes. Christ tells us how to live our lives as Christians - no bones about it. Yet what he mentions is not simply, "love other people, especially when it's self-gratifying." But, Christ tells us we will be persecuted, we have to be meek, we have to mourn, we have to be peacemakers - none of which are social norms or priorities. In fact, the quieter and less noticeable we are as we move about our days, the more acceptable we are for society. That is not how Christ calls us to live in the world.

So where have the Christians gone?

*(Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life)

Modern Inequality

What does it mean to be subject to the norms of society - both in principle and in our daily lives? As a young woman getting read to enter the job market, I have already seen a few real challenges. I was talking with a female graduating senior tonight who was reflecting about an experience at a reception with a company for a job interview. As she was standing in a group of men listening to one person talk, she realized she was getting edged out of the circle. Her arms were crossed and her feet were taking up little space. As she realized that this was happening, she put her hands on her hips and stood with her feet shoulder width apart. She distinctly reclaimed her place in the circle. Stories like hers are not uncommon. I do recognize that the equal opportunities are much more readily available today than decades ago. Yet, there are still implicit and explicit barriers. How does one begin to play within the system for the sake of getting by, yet not remain complacent to unfair treatments and policies? I hate the idea of asking for an exception for any reason - the idea that I might not be able to play by the same rules by which others abide. So when is it asking for an exception, and when is it reacting to the realities of inequality?

"Heart of Gold"

I want to live,

I want to give

I've been a miner for a heart of gold.

It's these expressions I never give

That keep me searching for a heart of gold

And I'm getting old.

Keeps me searching for a heart of gold

And I'm getting old.

I've been to Hollywood

I've been to Redwood

I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold

I've been in my mind,

it's such a fine line

That keeps me searching for a heart of gold

And I'm getting old.

Keeps me searching for a heart of gold

And I'm getting old.

Keep me searching for a heart of gold

You keep me searching for a heart of gold

And I'm growing old.

I've been a miner for a heart of gold.
-Neil Young

Chickens...or Dogs?

I started reading this book on the way home from New Mexico on Saturday afternoon. I'm quite addicted, and almost finished. It's written from the perspective of a 15-year old autistic narrator, Christopher. Christopher is incredibly gifted mathematically, has a photographic memory, and has a knack for murder mystery stories. When a murder happens in his own neighborhood, he sets out to solve the crime on his own. In the process, he discovers the ugly truths about neighbors and family members. [You should probably stop reading here if you don't want me to ruin the rest of the novel for you.] Along with being completly taken by Christopher's talents and personality, his character has also made me wonder how honest we are with one another in every day life. It's easy to assume that his mother and father were dishonest about extra-marrital affairs and the consequences becuase Christopher is autistic. But I feel like his character is sharing deeper truths with us. In efforts to be polite and politically correct, I often feel like we're doing a deeper disservice to one another by not sharing the whole truth. Yet, are our actions any more innocent than that of Christopher's parents who are seemingly attempting to protect their son?

I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a friend a few months ago where I was called out for making polite platitudes for the sake of saving her feelings. At the time I had thought I was doing the right thing. But I do wonder if it wouldn't have been better to speak the truth in full. I think my hesitancy to share the full truth was for fear of how that person would react in the moment. What is this fear that has seemingly taken a hold of us to remain polite and courteous even to those with whom we are close? What is it that has become so unacceptable about disagreeing with one another? After all, isn't it through difference that we are strengthened by those around us? Maybe I'm the only one that has turned into a chicken...