New American Dream
An interesting website with lots of ideas for changing our lifestyles to be more earth-friendly.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Ryan Rodrick Beiler: Christianity Today Challenges Dobson's Hard Line
From the God's Politics blog. It's good to see the editors of an important publication such as Christianity Today coming out on the side of those who believe that it's important to protect the health of the Earth, and of those who don't believe that evangelicals should restrict their social activism to the issues of abortion and the sanctity of marriage.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
All are welcome! Well, almost all ...?
Sex Offenders Test Churches’ Core Beliefs - New York Times (requires registration)
This is a really interesting story about a UCC church in California that is divided over the whether or not to admit a man to the congregation who is a convicted sex offender. Some people feel it is their duty to let him in. Others feel he endangers their children. Others, adult survivors of child abuse, feel that his presence is an affront.
I found this quote from the article really interesting and challenging.
I don't see that the church has a choice. If you say all are welcome, then all are welcome. Jesus welcomed the unclean and the guilty to follow him. At the same time, everyone understands the desire of parents to protect their kids. At a previous church, he made a deal with the congregation that he would never attend the church without another adult to chaperone him. That seems to me a good compromise.
For now, though, Pilgrim UCC won't allow him to attend services. And because he was open about his background as a sex offender, which led to media attention, he lost his job and was evicted. Now he's homeless and unemployed. He has suffered a lot of setbacks in return for being honest about his background.
I'll be interested to see how this turns out. I'm sure the church will be changed, no matter what happens. As the article points out some people have left because he might be joining, others have joined because they are impressed by the openness of the church. I pray that Mr. Pliska finds a place of peace and the faith of those struggling with this situation will be deepened and strengthened by the experience.
This is a really interesting story about a UCC church in California that is divided over the whether or not to admit a man to the congregation who is a convicted sex offender. Some people feel it is their duty to let him in. Others feel he endangers their children. Others, adult survivors of child abuse, feel that his presence is an affront.
I found this quote from the article really interesting and challenging.
“They are conflicting ministries,” the Rev. Patricia Tummino said about reaching out to sex offenders, to children and to adult survivors of abuse....“You can’t be all things to all people,” she said.Really? Are we going to pick and choose who we serve? I understand that churches have limited resources and can only offer so much in the way of specialized support, but the sex offender in the story is just talking about being allowed to join the church. Not asking for a counseling program.
I don't see that the church has a choice. If you say all are welcome, then all are welcome. Jesus welcomed the unclean and the guilty to follow him. At the same time, everyone understands the desire of parents to protect their kids. At a previous church, he made a deal with the congregation that he would never attend the church without another adult to chaperone him. That seems to me a good compromise.
For now, though, Pilgrim UCC won't allow him to attend services. And because he was open about his background as a sex offender, which led to media attention, he lost his job and was evicted. Now he's homeless and unemployed. He has suffered a lot of setbacks in return for being honest about his background.
I'll be interested to see how this turns out. I'm sure the church will be changed, no matter what happens. As the article points out some people have left because he might be joining, others have joined because they are impressed by the openness of the church. I pray that Mr. Pliska finds a place of peace and the faith of those struggling with this situation will be deepened and strengthened by the experience.
Lent is over
So, Lent has been over for awhile now. I'm asking myself how I did with my Lenten project, and I think I did pretty well. If you measure by results, the fact that J and I joined St Andrew tells you something. If you measure by output, although I didn't manage to post every day, I posted quite a bit. And I think I told the story pretty well.
A lot of the credit for my "success" has to go to other people though, like J, and Holly and St. Andrew, and people like Jim Wallis and Diana Bass. I've been looking for God for a long time and never finding him because there was this language barrier. I was like a tourist in a foreign country and the locals were nice but I couldn't understand the directions they were giving me. I'd end up going the wrong way, ending up in the wrong place and thinking to myself "This is not where I belong." And then having a hell of a time finding the way back to my hotel.
But these people I listed above, they make sense. They are speaking of Jesus and the gospel in a way that I can understand, that resonates with me in the deepest recesses. Yes, the world as we have been given it is beautiful, and we are destroying it. Yes, there is terrible poverty and injustice and the powers of the world turn a blind eye to this suffering. Yes, there is prejudice and racism and hatred, and the powers of the world thrive on these things because they fuel the building of walls, the military machine, and territorial and economic conquest.
And it's been like this for a long time. Jesus fought against these things during his brief lifetime on earth, and he urges us to fight against them today. Not to wallow in our own sins. Not to preoccupy ourselves with securing our personal salvation in heaven. But to bring heaven back down to earth, to renew paradise, to fight for the salvation of all humanity from poverty and oppression in the face of terrible opposition. "On earth as it is in heaven."
I was watching a video last night about Christian Aid, and their motto is "We believe in life before death." Yes!! Yes, that's it. That's what's always been missing for me before. And I finally found it on my lenten journey, thanks to all the loving people I met along the way who have worked hard themselves to find the truth in the gospel, to redefine the problems and to seek real solutions.
In one of my earlier posts I think I mentioned that I didn't understand the concept of Jesus being my personal savior, or what I needed saving for. Now I think I know.
Thank you, Jesus, for saving me from a life defined only by my needs, my desires and my problems by your beautiful example and powerful witness against poverty and injustice. Grant me strength to walk in your way and to live beyond myself, to work for the uplift of others who are suffering and neglected, to make this world a better place, even as you saw it could be. Amen.
A lot of the credit for my "success" has to go to other people though, like J, and Holly and St. Andrew, and people like Jim Wallis and Diana Bass. I've been looking for God for a long time and never finding him because there was this language barrier. I was like a tourist in a foreign country and the locals were nice but I couldn't understand the directions they were giving me. I'd end up going the wrong way, ending up in the wrong place and thinking to myself "This is not where I belong." And then having a hell of a time finding the way back to my hotel.
But these people I listed above, they make sense. They are speaking of Jesus and the gospel in a way that I can understand, that resonates with me in the deepest recesses. Yes, the world as we have been given it is beautiful, and we are destroying it. Yes, there is terrible poverty and injustice and the powers of the world turn a blind eye to this suffering. Yes, there is prejudice and racism and hatred, and the powers of the world thrive on these things because they fuel the building of walls, the military machine, and territorial and economic conquest.
And it's been like this for a long time. Jesus fought against these things during his brief lifetime on earth, and he urges us to fight against them today. Not to wallow in our own sins. Not to preoccupy ourselves with securing our personal salvation in heaven. But to bring heaven back down to earth, to renew paradise, to fight for the salvation of all humanity from poverty and oppression in the face of terrible opposition. "On earth as it is in heaven."
I was watching a video last night about Christian Aid, and their motto is "We believe in life before death." Yes!! Yes, that's it. That's what's always been missing for me before. And I finally found it on my lenten journey, thanks to all the loving people I met along the way who have worked hard themselves to find the truth in the gospel, to redefine the problems and to seek real solutions.
In one of my earlier posts I think I mentioned that I didn't understand the concept of Jesus being my personal savior, or what I needed saving for. Now I think I know.
Thank you, Jesus, for saving me from a life defined only by my needs, my desires and my problems by your beautiful example and powerful witness against poverty and injustice. Grant me strength to walk in your way and to live beyond myself, to work for the uplift of others who are suffering and neglected, to make this world a better place, even as you saw it could be. Amen.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Hope
On Sunday, the folks who do adult education class at church decided to have some members get up and share stories of hope from their personal experience. This got me to thinking about what story I would tell, if someone asked me to speak about the manifestation of hope in my life.
The big story would have to be finding my way from the isolation I thought I was going to be in forever to the life I have today, with a loving husband and a new church family. But that's a highly personal story that I imagine most people could not relate to.
But then I thought of this story.
My mother is a very difficult person. She is angry and argumentative. She is anxious most of the time. She is obsessive. She remembers little slights forever. She herself can't say she's sorry.
On the other hand, she can be delightful. She's funny and musical and uninhibited. She feels things deeply. Hence the anger and resentment that linger for years, but also she can feel great joy. She loves with all her heart, so much that she can't really express it.
She and my aunt Carole had not spoken for quite awhile when mom got the news from her other sister that Carole has breast cancer. She told me (because I always hear family news from my mother, it's the way my family works) and I could tell how upset she was, how worried, and how angry and hurt that she had not heard about it from Carole herself.
Well, I decided to break the rules and call Carole to talk to her. And this set off a tirade against my mother that I won't soon forget. I couldn't get a word in edgewise. My husband could hear Carole haranguing me on the phone from the other side of the room. When I tried to tell Carole that my mom loved her and was worried about her, she rejected that notion out of hand. The part that really stuck in my mind was her saying: "Your mother's never gonna change. We've been making excuses for her all these years and I'm sick of it!"
She's never gonna change. There's no hope.
I've been where Carole is now in relationship to my mom. There was a time when I was so angry with her I couldn't stand it. When I felt like having her in my life was toxic to me. And it's true that some things will never change. Like the fact that she brought me into the world. She is and will always be my mother. There came a point where I had to ask myself: "do I really want to give up on one of the most important relationships I will ever have in my life?"
The answer was no. So, rather than wait for her to change, I changed.
I let go of some of the expectations I had for her. How I thought she should behave. How I thought a mom was supposed to be. In some ways, I think of her less as a mom today than as a very good, old friend. Someone I can laugh with, and complain about the government with, and enjoy good music with. And the other stuff, well, I try to let that slide. My husband will tell you I'm not always successful. But I try.
Funny thing is, when I changed, she changed. It was like there was a new atmosphere between us that allowed her the freedom to try a new way. She's not nearly so demanding or angry with me. She seems to enjoy our relationship more, and to feel less disappointment with me. There's a level of comfort between us that has not been there since I was a child.
So, I guess the moral of the story is that there is hope for a relationship that is bruised or broken. Fixing things with my mom seemed impossible to me only as long as I insisted that she be the one to change. When I acknowledged the value of our relationship and my own role in the brokenness, and took it on myself to do things differently, things did indeed change - for both of us.
The big story would have to be finding my way from the isolation I thought I was going to be in forever to the life I have today, with a loving husband and a new church family. But that's a highly personal story that I imagine most people could not relate to.
But then I thought of this story.
My mother is a very difficult person. She is angry and argumentative. She is anxious most of the time. She is obsessive. She remembers little slights forever. She herself can't say she's sorry.
On the other hand, she can be delightful. She's funny and musical and uninhibited. She feels things deeply. Hence the anger and resentment that linger for years, but also she can feel great joy. She loves with all her heart, so much that she can't really express it.
She and my aunt Carole had not spoken for quite awhile when mom got the news from her other sister that Carole has breast cancer. She told me (because I always hear family news from my mother, it's the way my family works) and I could tell how upset she was, how worried, and how angry and hurt that she had not heard about it from Carole herself.
Well, I decided to break the rules and call Carole to talk to her. And this set off a tirade against my mother that I won't soon forget. I couldn't get a word in edgewise. My husband could hear Carole haranguing me on the phone from the other side of the room. When I tried to tell Carole that my mom loved her and was worried about her, she rejected that notion out of hand. The part that really stuck in my mind was her saying: "Your mother's never gonna change. We've been making excuses for her all these years and I'm sick of it!"
She's never gonna change. There's no hope.
I've been where Carole is now in relationship to my mom. There was a time when I was so angry with her I couldn't stand it. When I felt like having her in my life was toxic to me. And it's true that some things will never change. Like the fact that she brought me into the world. She is and will always be my mother. There came a point where I had to ask myself: "do I really want to give up on one of the most important relationships I will ever have in my life?"
The answer was no. So, rather than wait for her to change, I changed.
I let go of some of the expectations I had for her. How I thought she should behave. How I thought a mom was supposed to be. In some ways, I think of her less as a mom today than as a very good, old friend. Someone I can laugh with, and complain about the government with, and enjoy good music with. And the other stuff, well, I try to let that slide. My husband will tell you I'm not always successful. But I try.
Funny thing is, when I changed, she changed. It was like there was a new atmosphere between us that allowed her the freedom to try a new way. She's not nearly so demanding or angry with me. She seems to enjoy our relationship more, and to feel less disappointment with me. There's a level of comfort between us that has not been there since I was a child.
So, I guess the moral of the story is that there is hope for a relationship that is bruised or broken. Fixing things with my mom seemed impossible to me only as long as I insisted that she be the one to change. When I acknowledged the value of our relationship and my own role in the brokenness, and took it on myself to do things differently, things did indeed change - for both of us.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
YouTube - Beyond Vietnam: 40 Years Later
YouTube - Beyond Vietnam: 40 Years Later
Dr. Martin Luther King's Beyond Vietnam speech, given on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in NY, with video from Iraq.
Dr. Martin Luther King's Beyond Vietnam speech, given on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in NY, with video from Iraq.
The End Times
My boss believes we are living in the End Times.
I found this out yesterday when we were having a conversation about the situation in the Middle East. She said: "I believe the hand of the Lord guides the heart of the King." God led George Bush to get us involved in this stupid war to precipitate a conflict that would result in Iran's use of nuclear weapons and the eventual end of the world because it was time for the Apocalypse.
...
Her God is one twisted bastard.
I found this out yesterday when we were having a conversation about the situation in the Middle East. She said: "I believe the hand of the Lord guides the heart of the King." God led George Bush to get us involved in this stupid war to precipitate a conflict that would result in Iran's use of nuclear weapons and the eventual end of the world because it was time for the Apocalypse.
...
Her God is one twisted bastard.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Stations of the Cross
Found a link to this interpretation of the Stations of the Cross on the God's Politics site. So much good stuff in it.
"The God of peace is never glorified by human violence." - Thomas Merton.
"The God of peace is never glorified by human violence." - Thomas Merton.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Dazed and confused
Ok, so something's confusing me. Lately I've been trying to wrap my head around the idea that Jesus is "the son of God." What exactly does that mean? If you gave God a paternity test, would it come back positive? They have the same DNA? He wasn't even raised by God, he was raised by Mary and Joseph. And I'll bet he was quite a handful.
So in what sense, exactly, was Jesus God's son? Maybe the logic goes like this: I'm omnipotent, and I say he's my son, so that makes him my son. QED.
What's even more confusing to me is the idea of the Trinity. That God and Jesus are "of one being", along with the Holy Ghost. We usually refer to this sort of thing as split personality, and it's usually considered a problem.
Ok so I'm reading Verse and Voice from Sojourners today, and there's this quote from the bible.
This sort of thing makes my head hurt.
So in what sense, exactly, was Jesus God's son? Maybe the logic goes like this: I'm omnipotent, and I say he's my son, so that makes him my son. QED.
What's even more confusing to me is the idea of the Trinity. That God and Jesus are "of one being", along with the Holy Ghost. We usually refer to this sort of thing as split personality, and it's usually considered a problem.
Ok so I'm reading Verse and Voice from Sojourners today, and there's this quote from the bible.
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." - Mark 10:17-21Wait. I thought Jesus and God were one being. But here's Jesus saying that no one is good but God. So Jesus apparently doesn't think of himself as being the same as God. Maybe when he was at least partially human he wasn't perfectly good precisely because he had taken on human form. Now that he's died and shed that body, he's just as good as God again?
This sort of thing makes my head hurt.
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