Loving Wastefully

The Other Wise Man

2012-01-13T12:30:00.002-05:00

Check out the inspiring story of The Other Wise Man, written by Henry Van Dyke in 1893, in abridged or full form here. We shared this tale to wonder and tears in worship at Douglas UCC this past Sunday, January 8, 2012, in celebration of Epiphany.

How to Become a King

2012-01-13T12:25:00.005-05:00

Part I

Tonight we lay alongside the story of Jesus’ birth the story of another king, another one through whom Divine Love entered the world. Come with me, back through time, back more than 1,000 years, back to a cold night, not unlike this one, one of the longest nights of the year.

Come across the Atlantic Ocean, where we find ourselves in Bohemia, in what we know today as the Czech Republic, more specifically, in Prague. A young couple of royal lineage, Wratislaw, Duke of Bohemia and Drahomira of the Veletians have just given birth to their first-born son, Vaclav.

Meanwhile, in a forest nearby, a young, poor farming couple gave birth to their first-born daughter, Gina, on a bed of pine needles.

Part II

Gina, the poor farm girl, lived a simple childhood, playing with the pigs her Dad raised, helping Mom cook and clean, watching after her little sisters and brothers.

Vaclav, son of the Duke of Bohemia, was taken under the care of his grandmother Ludmilla, his father’s mother. A good Christian woman (who would be officially sainted), she wanted to see the boy raised in the Christian faith - and didn’t believe his mother Drahomira, would see to that.

Ludmilla taught young Vaclav to read and write in Slavonic, the language in Bohemia of the Bible and the church, in addition to Latin and Greek. Each fall Vaclav went to his grandma’s country castle for the harvest. There he learned to make the bread and wine for the communion meal the church celebrated each day.

Part III

Then Vaclav was 13, his father Wratislaw was killed in battle. His mother Drahoomira ruled the land as Duchess of Bohemia until Vaclav would come of age. She repressed the Christians, persecuted the priests, and forbid the practice of Christianity.

In fear, Vaclav’s grandma Ludmilla fled the capital city of Prague to her caste at Tetin on the edge of Bohemia, where she hoped to live out her final days in quiet prayer and serving the poor. Instead, her daughter-in-law Drahomira, had her brutally killed.

Vaclav, though outwardly compliant with his mother’s anti-Christian actions, secretly continued to bake the bread and press the wine for communion and read his Bible.

For Gina, life became gradually more difficult on the hardscrabble farm. Her duties increased as the mouths to feed became bigger and more numerous. Every day was spent collecting seeds and berries, digging for roots, and hoping to find enough twigs and branches to build a fire, to stay warm.

Part IV

Life became even more difficult for Gina after her marriage to the son of another pig farmer. With two infants to care for, her husband’s legs were paralyzed in a hunting accident. He wouldn’t walk again. All the household duties fell to Gina.

Meanwhile, many of the nobles tired of Drahomira’s rule and organized a successful uprising, installing Vaclav as Duke of Bohemia at age 20. He based his political rule on his Christian faith, governing with justice and mercy. The people loved him for his generosity, his compassion, and his intolerance of oppression. He spent long hours in prayer. Though the nobles had exiled his mother at Budech, Vaclav pardoned her.

Part V

Soon after Vaclav began his rule, he faced a surprise military attack from Germany. Rather than fight and suffer even greater loss of lives, he signed a treaty of peaceful alliance with Germany’s King Henry I. This pleased the people, but upset the nobles, who wanted Bohemia to retain its fierce independence.

Gina was glad to not see her brothers and sons go off to battle. But still, life grew more difficult when a disease attacked their herd of swine, killing all but two. Winter fast approached, and she didn’t know how her family would survive.

Part VI

In Bohemia that winter nearly 1100 years ago, winter winds began to howl, the snow came down as fast as anyone could remember. With neither food nor firewood, Gina made one last venture to the woods to search any twigs or nuts or berries that might have somehow remained uncovered by the blizzard.

Finding only three wet twigs, she returned home, resigned to a cold and harsh end to their world.

Vaclav, Duke of Bohemia, watched from his castle window as the blizzard blew in. The nobles of his court built a roaring fire, noting amidst their reveling how this Christmas would be a dreadful one for those with no fire or no food stored up.

Out the window, Duke Vaclav saw the faint shadow of a figure searching the forest edge, barely visible through the blinding snow.

Jeff and Liz will continue our story by singing lyrics by John Mason Neale:

Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen,

when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.

Brightly shown the moon that night, though the frost was cruel, when a poor one came in sight, gathering winter fuel.

Hither, page, and stand by me. If thou know it telling:

yonder peasant, who is she? Where and what her dwelling?

Sire, she lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain, right against the forest fence by Saint Agnes fountain.

Bring me flesh, and bring me wine. Bring me pine logs hither.

Thou and I will see him dine when we bear the thither.

Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together

through the rude wind's wild lament and the bitter weather.

Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger.

Fails my heart, I know not how. I can go no longer.

Ark my footsteps my good page, tread thou in them boldly:

Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly.

In his master's step he trod, where the snow lay dented.

Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.

Therefore, Christians all, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,

ye who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing

Part VII

Thus began what became Duke Vaclav’s greatest legacy: he would bring provisions to the poor in the middle of the night, so they would not be shamed and embarrassed by others knowing how destitute they were. He regularly provided the poor of Bohemia with housing, clothing, food, and firewood.

On his midnight journeys, he gave alms to widows and orphans and visited the imprisoned. He became known as “the father of all the wretched.” He never forgot that his Lord, his God, his north star, was born in the lowest of human conditions - in a manger made for animals, far, far from home, and under dubious circumstances.

After Duke Vaclav’s death at the hands of his brother, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, son of Germany’s King Henry I, conferred on Vaclav the title King, and thus he became Good King Wenceslas.

Today, Czechs and Slovaks gather around a statue of the king in Wenceslas Square for celebrations and protests. In his words on the the celebration of Wenceslas feast day there four years ago, Apostolic Nuncio Diego Cansero spoke to us:

“Good King Wenceslas was able to incarnate his Christianity in a world filled with political unrest....His call for all Christians and people of good will is to become involved in positive social change and political activity, no matter how much it costs, in order to bring harmony and justice to society.”

Let us go to bless the poor, as God in Christ has come to us - all humanity and us as individuals - in the midst of our poverty, whatever shape our godforsakeness has taken. May we, too, walk in the footsteps of Good King Wenceslas, and know the warmth and blessings of God’s gift to us and through us.

Letting Silence Be Silence

2011-11-29T12:37:00.002-05:00

Preached on Nov. 27 at Douglas UCC by Rev. Andrew DeBraber, the first of an Advent series titled "Prepare the Way: A Spirituality of Emptiness."

Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9, Mark 13:24-37

Dale was a tree hugger. He hugged trees and he taught and encouraged others - especially children - to hug trees. He hugged big old maple trees and small birch saplings. He hugged dark, round black walnut trees and smooth, light beech trees. Nose to bark, he could smell the tree’s essence and feel its pulsating energy. Body pushed up against the trunk, he found support in the tree, not only for his leaning body but for his soul.

On one particular tree-hugging day - a day a lot like today, cool and cloudy, Dale prepared to grab hold of a decent-sized red oak. He stepped up close, put his arms gently around the tree, laid his head against the bark, and began to lean into the hug. Suddenly, Dale and the tree were on the ground.

Surprised, shaken, and dirty, Dale slowly righted himself. Looking down, it became clear: this tree, this promising mighty oak, had no roots. It looked fine from the ground up, but that which is unseen, that which is in the dark, that which sustains life, had been neglected. Without roots, the tree toppled easily.

Like, one might say, a Christmas tree. Or a Christmas people without Advent. Advent, these next four weeks, is about paying attention to the darkness, the places that appear to be filled with emptiness. Advent is about preparing the way by making space within our lives, our hearts, our souls, for the in-breaking of the Divine in new and surprising ways.

As a people, we are generally afraid of the dark. When this season rolls around, we put up as much light and glitz as we can. Yet there is a time to embrace the darkness. There is a time to let go of the need for light and noise, a time to let go of all images, if we are to birth authentic images in our lives, work, prayer, and art. For growth of the human person, like the roots of the tree, takes place in the dark. We are first developed in the darkness of the womb. Our bodies and psyches grow in the darkness of sleep. Our organs operate in the darkness of our bodies.

And just as God is Light, God is also Darkness. TS Eliot writes, “I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you, which shall be the darkness of God.” Drawing on the image of the tree, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, “Yet no matter how deeply I go down into myself, my God is dark, and like a webbing made of a hundred roots that drink in silence.”

The prophet Isaiah perceives God’s darkness as God having hid from the people. Or could it be that the people are hiding from God? Or looking only in the light, pushing over tree after tree?

A spirituality of emptiness does not mean being empty forever. “To be empty is to be available inside to attend to something other than the self” (Joan Chittister). To be empty is to prepare the way. A spirituality of emptiness asks if there is such a thing as emptiness. Can something ever be truly empty? Or is it only our perception of emptiness? Is is only that we are expecting one thing to be there and thus don’t perceive what is really there?

When we can be still enough and quiet enough, we can begin to let go of what we expect to be there - we can let go of our expectations. I remember once as a child at Christmas opening a bag from my Grandma with a gift in it - I don’t even remember the gift. But I remember after receiving it looking into the bag and voicing something to the effect of “What else is in here?” Only to find it empty. I was, as you can imagine, chastised for my ingratitude, for the bag was not empty, it was filled with what my eyes could not see: a love that cherished and blessed me.

Keep alert, keep awake, Jesus urges in our story from Mark. Both the Markan and Isaiah passages talk of great and noisy goings-on. Those things are happening even now. Apocalypse is happening at the hands of humanity and God is moving in incredible ways. Yet unless we let silence be silence, unless we are willing to delve into the darkness, we will not perceive God at work, we will not hear the creation crying out, we will not make room for God to be born in us again this season.

Keep alert, keep awake, for fresh possibilities for deliverance and human wholeness. Turn off the noise and light that, ironically, puts us to sleep to what is happen right next to us, right below us, right inside us. Keep alert, keep awake, for the Divine is happening.

Very practically, try turning off the radio or television or phone for awhile. Or not turning it on when the impulse strikes. But don’t turn it off just to turn it off. Turn it off to be present to the silence. Focus on your breath. Take some time in nature, which is so silent this time of year. Try reading small bits of poetry or Scripture. Or play with children and animals.

And if we’re really brave, we can join Meister Eckhart, who “prayed God to rid me of God.” Not even our names and symbols for God can go unchecked. We pray even to let go of God. Here, if anywhere, lies ‘sheer abandon.’ Here, if anywhere, stand trees strong enough and rooted enough to wait in silence, to let go of expectations, and to birth the Divine in most amazing ways. Let us attend to the silence, the darkness.

Transgendered Gratitude & the Region Between

2011-11-22T09:55:00.002-05:00

Preached at Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ by Rev. Andy DeBraber on Nov. 20, 2011:

Luke 17:11-19

¹¹On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, ¹³they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. ¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. ¹⁶He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? ¹⁸Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

In the end, this is a story about the “region between,” even though there is technically no region between Samaria and Galilee. There is only a border. And it is geographically a strange way to get to Jerusalem. But this “region between” is where we find ethnic tensions and outcasts from both sides. This “region between” is where Jesus tends to hang out. This “region between” points us to what the reign of God, reign of Christ, kingdom of God, queendom of God, kin-dom of God looks like: healing, gratitude, wholeness, and a whole new life.

This “region between” is well known to Tracy. She has been working for the past 17 months as a legal assistant in a large firm. She is liked by her co-workers and appreciated by her employers. Having worked in the Peace Corps in Korea, her resume shows fluent Korean language skills. So when one of the company’s clients opened a business in Seoul, S. Korea, Tracy was asked to serve on special assignment for two to three months as translator and legal advisor while the business was being set up.

She gladly agreed, until she remembered her passport, which shows her and identifies her as a man. How would she get into the country as a man and still be a woman with her coworkers and client? Hear her words:

“Here I am with a South Korean visa in one hand and a plane ticket in the other. I'm really puzzled as to how I'm going to get through customs/immigration, but I have a plan. I had to submit a photograph of me along with my visa application, and did myself up as a man quite well. The photos matched close enough, and I only had to practice my male signature a few times to get it right.

However, a photograph passing, and a living breathing (and potentially nervous) person passing are two TOTALLY different things. I've been practicing in preparation for the big day, and have a few tips on "reverse passing" as I'll call it.

First, anatomically there is the problem of the "units" attached to my chest (she had breast augmentation surgery and wears a 34C). That shouldn't be too much of a problem. I’ll just buy a very tight joggin bra and wear a really loose sweatshirt on the plane (corporate types don't care what you wear on a 14 hour flight).

Second, hair can be pulled into a tail and worn in a hat. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, besides, many men have ponytails these days. The biggest problem there would be the cut and style difference from the passport to the "actual head". Again, easily explained.

Third is the removal of all makeup and traces of ANYTHING. One thing I have been doing is wearing only one earring when "reverse passing", and then it is a simple gold hoop. If I let my whiskers grow for about 3 days, I look like an adolescent teenager with a light beard. With the singular earring the effect is pretty good.

In order to be ready for this experiment, Tracy decided to practice by purchasing wine and beer in the local supermarket as a man so that she would get carded and have to show her driver’s license, which pictures her as a man:

The first time I went to buy coolers as a man since living as a woman, I accidentally took my purse in. WHOOPS!!!! I didn't realize what I had done until I had gotten to the checkstand and had to actually take out my license. I had it in a Dooney-Burke billfold (very feminine looking) in my matching purse. I was so nervous I'd be "read backwards" (this does get a bit confusing) that I dropped my license on the floor. As I bent down to pick it up, I thought I saw the check-out boy look down my shirt and see my breasts. I could have died! I tried to regroup and just handed it to him with a $20. That's when I looked down and saw my well manicured nails. Luckily I only wear clear enamel, but no man I know of has nails this pretty! The checker gave me a quizzical look, but I rationalized that off as being an old ID. He didn't say anything, but I was so paranoid I was sure that he knew.

I hurriedly took my change and ID and stuffed them in my purse. I took the coolers, and BRISKLY walked out to my car. All the way out the door and to my car, I imagined a hand grabbing me on my shoulder and asking me to come back into the store for a "little chat." I got to my car and threw myself inside. My head was spinning, my heart was pounding, and I was nearly out of breath! I just sat in my car laughing/crying at myself for being so stupid! I am usually so methodical and plan things out, but I just got lazy and didn't think before actually going to the store.

The hand grabbing me on the shoulder, the “little chat”: these are constant concerns to those of us who are transgender, for whom there is no correct restroom to us and no way to simple check the boxes that ask “female or male.”

That’s not the end of Tracy’s story. She plans to have transitional surgery when she’s saved up the money. Being transgendered in any way, shape, or form - and there are many - means living in the “region between.”

Technically, the definition of transgender includes:

people whose identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender roles, but combines or moves between these.
People who were assigned a sex, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves.
Non-identification with, or non-presentation as, the sex (and assumed gender) one was assigned at birth.

The other nine lepers, presuming they were Jewish, could upon being inspected and washed by the priest go back to some former life, family, and community they knew. The Samaritan leper who was healed and returned with gratitude to Jesus and praise for God could not return to this same community. A Samaritan in Israel was a foreigner and an outcast, even without the leprosy. It is this one who found in Jesus not a way back to an old life, but a whole new life of welcoming the stranger and the outcast. This one was made well, made whole.

So, too, Tracy cannot go back to her old life. She is overjoyed - even with its many complications - to be finally living the life her heart and soul have known she was meant to live all along. She gives thanks daily in English and Korean. She is one of the strong and courageous ones to fight against a world whose circumstances are set up against her. Even as we remember and learn from her story, we remember on this Transgender Day of Remembrance the stories of so many transgender sisters and brothers who have been killed because they dared to live in the “region between” by people who did not perceive the incredible gift they are to humanity, by people who choice violence as a response to fear and difference rather than compassion, curiosity, and understanding.

Tracy makes it through each day by practicing a gratitude born out of trial. She could so easily choose to see the world through eyes of hostility. Yet she chooses instead to go to bed each night and wake up each morning by listing three things for which she’s grateful. A 2003 study by Robert Emmons & Michael McCullough shows the immense benefits of keeping a gratitude log and seeing the world with thanksgiving. Those who listed five things a day they were grateful for were compared to those who wrote down five complaints or hassles and those who wrote down five events that happened during the day. The gratitude listers exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week; they were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) and had higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy, and slept better. In fact, MJ Ryan, author of Attitudes of Gratitude, estimates that the effects of practicing gratitude add 6.9 years to life, greater than the effects of stopping smoking or exercising.

Neurobiologically, gratitude is felt in the same frontal regions of the brain that are activated by awe, wonder and transcendence. From these cortical and limbic structures come dopamine and serotonin, the chemicals for feeling good inside. Specifically, when we think positive thoughts such as gratitude, kindness, and optimism, we activate our left pre-frontal cortex and flood our bodies with the feel-good hormones, which give us an upswing in mood in the short term and strengthen our immune system in the long run.

So let’s give ourselves and others the gifts of gratitude. Let’s extend Thanksgiving for at least a month. Let’s be not only healed, but made well, made whole. Make a game of it if you need to: what can I find to be thankful about even in this most trying of situations? what can I find to be thankful about in this difficult relative of mine? How can I dwell in the “region between,” full of new life and positive transformation? May this practice bring us more in tune with the Divine and the reign of the Spirit in the world.

Candled Concentration

2011-11-11T08:34:00.004-05:00

Preached by Rev. Andy DeBraber at Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ on Nov. 6, 2011:

I Corinthians 9:19-27

19 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. ²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. ²¹To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some. ²³I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. ²⁵Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. ²⁶So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; ²⁷but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

Today is your lucky day! You have come to the right place. Because here’s what we have to offer you: the secret key to a whole world of possibilities. You can have a clearer mind, less stress, more serenity, and a better ability to cope with tasks. You can have greater peace of mind, greater inner strength, greater will power, greater self-confidence, and better functioning in daily life.

You will be able to make your mind work for you when you need its services. You will be able to silence it when its services are not needed. Things, circumstances and events that used to agitate and anger you will not influence your inner calmness. You will experience happiness, contentment, and satisfaction. You will be more conscious of the choices being made in life, more self-determined than one’s life being determined by other forces. You will be able to attain your life goals, your “Bucket List,” if you will.

And all of this for just $69.99! No, despite all of that, I’m not trying to sell you something. However, there is of course a catch: you must tame the monkey - the monkey mind, that is. The one that wants to jump quickly from place to place to place, from one activity to another. The good news is that the monkey can be tamed.

In fact, we have all done it at times in the experience of what is called “flow”: those moments when we are so into doing something that nothing else matters. This usually happens when we are doing something we love. The rest of the world seems to stand still. Time does not exist. An hour might as well be five minutes. We are filled with energy. We give no thought to the lists of other things that must be done.

In those moments, our attention is hyper-focused, our concentration complete. We feel fully alive. The idea of today’s message, “Concentrating our Energy,” is that we can live this kind of life more often. The affirmation in the children’s curriculum is “I give full attention to everything I do.”

Paul writes to the Corinthians about exercising self-control, running the race to win it, enslaving the body. While that language may sound a bit harsh, he’s inviting us to channel our energy into what we really want to accomplish in life. We are not only our bodies. We are not only our minds. We are the ones who exercise self-control and can point our bodies and minds in the direction we want to go and keep them going in that direction even as they will naturally want to wander off, like Barnabas the monkey.

The concentration necessary for such self-control is like a magnifying glass on a sunny summer day: it takes the parallel rays of the sun, which might warm a piece of paper, and focuses them intensely in one spot, enough to burn that same piece of paper. Sometimes, the paper will even burst into flames. With concentration, we can burn with a particular passion, shutting out all negative and destructive thoughts. With concentration, our focused attention allows new insights to burst onto the scene.

We can train our minds to concentrate better, a skill so necessary in an increasingly fragmented world where so much calls for our attention at the same time: we have three windows open on the computer doing our email, banking, and facebook, when the cell phone rings followed by the landline ringing. Recent studies say we were not physiologically made for this. And learning to concentrate can help immensely.

The key to developing concentration is effort. It’s the effort to pay close attention, to keep coming back. Usually the energies of the mind are scattered in a thousand different directions. The mind is all over the place, and its energy is simply frittered away in random thoughts and desires, hopes, fears, feelings.

As concentration deepens, our minds become calm and centered. We’re less reactive. We come into greater emotional balance. We can more easily let go and let things be. The mind gains a spaciousness which gives room for pain and anger and fear all to arise and pass, without our being broken by them, or needing to act them out.

The choice is ours, to be a slave to the mind and its whims, or to be its master. Mind loves its freedom more than anything else, and will try to stand in the way of concentration whenever it can. The drift of thoughts that occurs in our minds is not necessarily a bad thing nor a disorderly one; it is the relaxed condition of mind, and we can use it for resting when we are mentally tired, as we do each night while dreaming.

In much of everyday life, most people are effectively day-dreaming - at worst we are sleep-walking automatons. Our minds flip mechanically from one thing to another, never resting on anything for very long or intentionally. Unless we can wake ourselves from this mechanicalness and sleep, we cannot begin work on ourselves and we cannot get things done in life.

As we are able to concentrate more, the subconscious mind will be less able to affect us. Really, only the ‘sleeper’ is affected by the subconscious mind. When we wake up, we are free of it. For instance, if you concentrate on a book, you are aware of the book and you are not thinking, looking, or listening to anything else. You are aware of the associations; in fact, you are more aware, but you are not distracted by them.

A person with good powers of concentration can shift their attention from point to point and return at will to the original center. A person with poor concentration wanders to distant matters: golf, income tax statement, the attractive person nearby, or anything at all. One disconnected thought leads to another, and in a little while this individual forgets what he or she was originally considering.

Concentration is a means to live life purposely and creatively rather than as a reaction to the flow of sensations, causatively rather than at effect. Our ability to pursue chosen goals irrespective of obstacles placed in our path is one measure of our freedom from slavery to the monkey.

Concentration is like a muscle, the more we exercise the stronger it becomes. We must engage in training. I have three practical skills for us today:

1. STOP!!!

which sounds very simple, but it works. When you notice your thoughts wandering, say to yourself STOP and then gently bring your attention back to where you want it to be. Each time it wanders bring it back. To begin with, this could be several times a minute. But each time, say STOP and then re-focus. Don't waste energy trying to keep thoughts out of your mind (forbidden thoughts attract like a magnet!), just put the effort into STOP and re-focus. To begin with you will do this hundreds of times a week. But you will find that the period of time between your straying thoughts gets a little longer each day, so be patient and keep at it.

2. Worry time

Set aside one or more specific periods in the day when you are allowed to worry. It can help to set them just before something that you know you will do, to ensure that you stop worrying on time - e.g. before a favorite TV show or a meal-time. Whenever an anxiety or distracting thought enters your mind during the day, banish it until your next worry time, and re-focus on what you are supposed to be doing. Some people find it helpful to write down the banished thought: it is easier to banish a thought if you are sure you won't have forgotten it when you get to your worry time. It is important that you keep your worry time(s), and make yourself worry for the full time. If you find that you can't fill the time available, then make a conscious decision to reduce it. You may notice, particularly if you keep a list, that certain things keep reappearing: this is a fairly clear indication that you need to do something about them.

3. Candle Concentration (I had people practice this at the beginning of the service and then referenced it here.

In this exercise, we will use the candle, although you can adapt the exercise to whatever object you are using. Sit with your back straight, and place the burning candle at eye level.
First bring your awareness to your breath. Gradually your breath becomes slower and more relaxed. Try to imagine a thread placed in front of our nose; you are breathing so quietly it will not move to and fro.
Now we look at the object. Gradually bring your attention to a tiny part of the candle flame, for example, the very tip of the flame.
When you breathe in, feel that your breath, like a golden thread, is coming from that point on the candle and entering into your heart. And when you breath out, feel that your breath, feel that the light is leaving the heart, passing through a point in your forehead between the eyebrows and a little above (in Eastern philosophy this is a powerful concentration point) and then entering into the object of concentration. Try to feel that nothing else exists except you and the object you are focusing on.
When you do this exercise, thoughts will invariably get in the way. When this happens, don’t be annoyed or upset, just bring your attention back to the exercise. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and similarly it will take time to rein in your mind.

After a couple weeks of this practice - first two or three minutes a day, then five, maybe increasing to 10 or 15 minutes, you should notice the progress -- a clearer mind, better ability to cope with tasks, less stress, more serenity. May it be so. Amen.

Faith: Divine Energy to Move Mountains (Yes, you can!)

2011-10-28T11:26:00.001-04:00

Preached on October 23 at Douglas UCC by Rev. Andy DeBraber:

Matthew 17:18-20: ¹⁸And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. ¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

We tend to think of this mountain-moving as some kind of magic: have enough faith and in an instant the mountain will disappear from one place and appear in another. Yet even a biblical literalist, while saying that God could do that if God wanted, cannot say she’s ever seen it happen.

We have instead been reminded this month of what we have seen happen by the unveiling of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial in Washington D.C. A mountain is moved stone by stone, shovelful by shovelful. The quote from King on which the monument is based comes from his “I have a dream” speech on the national mall in 1963, when he said:

“With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

Through the hard work of a myriad of God’s people, that mountain has been at least reduced to a hill. With our continued work, one day may it be fully moved.

Yet, we may argue, I am no Martin Luther King, Jr. That’s right. You are you. Stepping into the Divine Energy that exists always and everywhere means being yourself, doing what’s natural to you, even as we grow into newer skills and abilities.

Take Mary Manning, for instance. Born in the year King gave his rousing speech, this 21-year-old Irish grocery store clerk heard about the great injustice of apartheid in South Africa and a plea to combat the racial crimes there by not buying products from South Africa. So, as a store clerk that day, she rang up all her customers goods except the fruit that was imported from South Africa. Customers complained, managers came, she was fired.

Other clerks in the store then joined her in not selling South African produce. Soon, clerks throughout Dublin and Ireland wouldn’t sell the racist fruit. The country, through what began as one woman’s simple action where she was, came to know the true cost of cheap produce. Eventually, the company stopped selling the apartheid-produced fruit. Ireland banned the import of South African goods. Three years after standing up for justice, Mary Manning got her job back. And all of Ireland learned the power of one person’s commitment to act in solidarity with those who are oppressed. Ten years later, in 1994, apartheid in South Africa was dismantled, thanks to Mary Manning and many like her throughout the world and the courageous actions of those in South Africa.

And, as you know, she didn’t act alone. Not only did the store clerks join her, but others supported her while the protest continued and she had no job, giving her lodging, food, and money.

What we’re talking about here is faith. In our continuing series, “Becoming Like Children: A Joyful Path,” we’ve covered the topics of God, Jesus, the Bible, and Inclusion. Now faith. Or, as the TCPC Curriculum puts is, Discovering Divine Energy.

Faith, or Divine Energy, can be a slippery topic. Synonyms include trust and power. We can see that trust and power playing out with Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement, with Mary Manning and the anti-apartheid movement.

Too often, faith is understood as intellectual assent. Let us be reminded again (and again and again) by Jewish New Testament scholar Amy Jill Levine: God does not ask for our minds, God asks for our hearts.

The Chinese definition of power incorporates the heart God asks for. Power is moving forward, with heart, to achieve a goal. Jesus is not interested in moving the mountain simply to move the mountain. The goal in the immediate context is two-fold: cast out the demon and heal the person before him; and second, teach the disciples that they have the power within them to affect the world for better: healing, wholeness, peace, justice, forgiveness, grace. Believe this good news, get through your fear, and take responsibility.

It’s no mistake that Jesus then uses the comparison to a mustard seed. You already know that it’s a small seed that quickly grows into a large plant. But the Greek doesn’t talk about size at all. A more accurate translation is: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed.” Instead of focusing on size, the real call here is to focus on the type of faith a mustard seed has (remember, the type of trust, the type of power).

Anne Robertson, a United Methodist minister in Boston and director of the Massachusetts Bible Society, comments, “Suppose we had faith that could really believe in the far-reaching effects of our tiny little efforts. We are all too often shut down by thinking some version of, "Well, I'm just too small to matter." "What difference can I make? I am only one." "This problem is too big for me." That is not the kind of faith that a mustard seed has. It's own size has nothing to do with the question. It is the seed of a mustard plant, and mustard plants are big. It will grow...that is its nature.

“When we have the faith of a mustard seed, we recognize our nature. We are fully confident that we are made in the image of God and therefore the powerful love of God can and will be channeled through us. That's what the disciples forgot in the Matthew story. They thought that because they were only human they couldn't cast out a powerful demon. But that wasn't their true nature. They belonged to God and had the power of God at their disposal. It doesn't matter if we're only one. It doesn't matter if we're small or poor or uneducated or weak. It doesn't matter if we're facing demons. Our power is God's power, and with God all things are possible. We may just be a seed, but we are a mustard seed...and that means big things.

“More than that, the mustard seed knows that its destiny as a mustard plant comes at great personal cost. For the seed to become a plant, the seed must be broken apart, and yet the seed has faith that even in its own breaking and death, a magnificent plant will grow. We rarely think like that. When the breaking times come for us, that is when we tend to think God has gone on vacation without us...that we are being punished or abandoned or that people have lied to us about there even being a God. When we are breaking, we often stop believing in the plant that is to come. Not so the mustard seed. The mustard seed gives itself to the ground, to the breaking, to the death; completely confident that something incredible is going to come of it.”

Let us give ourselves to something incredible! Let us change the world together! This is faith, this is trust, this is power, this is tapping into the Divine Energy available to each person! Let us start asking each other, “How have you changed the world today?”

Some of us already think that’s a crazy idea. Others find ourselves on the defensive. But some of us have an answer at the ready: “I resolved a dispute with my neighbor.” “I said no thanks, I won’t use plastic bags.” “I smiled at the waiter and told him what a great job he was doing.” “I contacted my state rep about anti-bullying legislation.” “I dropped off food at Christian Neighbors.” “I took part in Occupy West Michigan.”

Robert Greenleaf, author of the classic book Servant Leadership, makes us aware of how many mustard seeds never get planted and mountains never get moved by reminding us that the problem is

“Not evil people. Not stupid people. Not apathetic people. Not the 'system’....The real enemy is fuzzy thinking on the part of good, intelligent, vital people, and their failure to lead. Too many of us settle for being critics and experts. There is too much intellectual wheel spinning, too much retreating into research, too little preparation for and willingness to undertake the hard and high risk tasks of building better institutions in an imperfect world, too little disposition to see the problem as residing “in here” and not “out there.” In short, the enemy is good people who have the potential to lead but do not lead. They suffer; society suffers.”

The solution is you: good people who have the potential and do lead, by words and actions. The solution is taking the mustard seeds out of the packets, out of the jars, and out into the world. Be planted. Take action for good. Discover the Divine Energy, the Power, that awaits. Relish the joy of moving mountains. Together, with faith, we can do it!

The Bible: An Act of Faithful Imagination

2011-10-28T11:22:00.003-04:00

Preached by Rev. Andy DeBraber at Douglas UCC on October 16, 2011

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-24 (Eve, Adam, the serpent, the fruit)

From the beginning of time, people have made up stories about the origins of humanity - why we are and why we are the way we are. We have just heard the ancient Israelites story about why we are the way we are. It involves not only Eve, Adam, God, and the serpent, but also an apple, sin, and the fall of humanity, right? Right? When you heard Mike read the story, did you hear those terms, or at least picture them in your head?

If you were listening closely, there was no apple. The words “sin” and “fall” were not spoken. In fact, those concepts were not applied until a couple hundred years after Jesus. The rest of the Hebrew Scriptures don’t refer to this story with reference to sin, original sin, or the fall.

But that’s what culture can do to a story. And it’s what we do as human communities in story-telling mode: we add on to and change the story, making it our own. We read into it our cultural biases. That’s how the Bible was created. As UCC scholar Walter Brueggemann says, “The Bible is an act of faithful imagination, rooted in memory and always pressing toward the new possibilities before us.”

Many of the stories in the Bible were told over and over again for centuries before anyone wrote them down. And many of the books of the Bible, when they were written down, were not written with any thought that this will be going into the permanent library of sacred Scripture. The Bible, with all its transformative, healing, and inspirational power - and it is all that - still reflects the prejudices of the people who wrote it (as does our faith; I am well aware that all the people I’m referring to in today’s homily are men).

Marcus Borg puts it this way: “The Bible is a human product (not a divine product) and a response to the experience of the Sacred/God/Spirit/Mystery.” Thus, the Bible tells us how ancient people who took God seriously saw things. The Bible communicates that God is real and can be experienced, not just known. And the Bible is, of course, made up of human culturally-conditioned words. That’s all we have!

So in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden with the serpent and the tree of life, we hear clearly from a people who believed God was experienced. We hear from a people who saw all of creation as teeming with life. We hear from a people who favored a nomadic hunting/gathering way of living rather than a settle agricultural life, thus the punishment was to be banished to the farm and work the land. We hear that knowledge and maturity, necessities for full human life, are often acquired painfully.

We also, should we listen really closely, hear a surprising truth about the persistence and survival of humanity. For what did God say would happen if they touched the tree of life, much less ate of its fruit? They would die. And the Hebrew here is emphatic. Literally, it means, on the day you eat of it, “dying you shall surely die.”

The surprising thing is not that the human beings disobey and eat (one might even argue this was expected; in the ancient Near East, human beings were often portrayed as a rebellious group, seeking to assert their authority over the gods). Rather, the shock comes from the fact that the humans, after eating the fruit, do not die, but continue to live! You might even say they not only survive, but thrive, being fruitful and multiplying. Surviving adversity is what makes Israel who they are and characterizes what humans have always done from “the beginning” (Frank Yamada).

Before offering a few tips on reading the Bible as progressive Christians, let me offer two more ways in which this story of our exit from the Garden is about new life rather than some kind of fall from grace. One, in ancient times the snake was revered and considered a magical animal personifying wisdom and the ability to see all sides of life (above ground and underground). It was a symbol of rebirth because it could lose its skin and grow a new one, like Eve and Adam did. Also, the words for Eve, snake, life, knowledge, and wisdom are all related.

Second, Eve and Adam were banned to the east, which was also symbolic of rebirth because that is were the sun is reborn every morning.

Okay, on to quickly cover four approaches to reading the Bible to help progressive Christians reclaim the book as their own. I am indebted to Rev. Thomas Cary Kinder of First Congregational Church in Thetford, Vermont, for these words. The four approaches are the Midrash Principle, The Good Parts Version, The Box of Lenses, and The Vision Quest.

First, the Midrash Principle. Jesus and Paul were brought up in a Jewish tradition of scriptural interpretation called midrash. The idea that there is only one right way to read a given scripture passage is utterly foreign to midrash. The midrash tradition believes that every interpretation is a gift from God, because God created the mind and enabled it to think up the interpretation and put it into words.

Midrash revels in coming up with creative readings. Entire books have been written with literally hundreds of different interpretations of a single verse. Midrash does not waste time arguing about whether one interpretation is right and all others wrong as so many Christians do. For one thing, that would insult God, who is the source of all interpretations. For another, it would take the joy out of all that creativity. And for another, it is the wrong question. The question that matters to midrash is not right or wrong, but which interpretations are more useful in this situation and which are less useful. The principle of midrash is to put the creative interpretation of scripture to practical use in our every day living. A progressive Christian should read the Bible remembering this, and approach it creatively, allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire intuitive interpretations that can be applied to the matter at hand.

The second approach is the Good Parts Version. The Good Parts Version of the Bible skips over the parts that any given reader finds useless or counter-productive.

Someone who is as sexually obsessed as a seventh or eighth grade boy should probably leave the highly erotic Song of Solomon out of his Good Parts Version, as I learned the hard way in confirmation class this week. People who believe in the loving God of Jesus Christ should probably leave the book of Joshua out of their Good Parts Version, because it is not useful to hear God telling the Israelites to batter down the walls of a town and kill every man, woman, child and animal there. Maybe if you did midrash long enough on that you could come up with some useful interpretation, but why bother? There are lots of other verses in the Bible. The Good Parts Version is based on the principle that you do not have to buy it all, and that it is far better to skip the bad parts than to throw away the whole book in disgust.

Like midrash, this, too, would be familiar to Jesus and Paul. The Jews started disregarding parts of the scriptures almost as soon as they were written. Jesus himself has his arguments with passages relating to the Sabbath and the touching of lepers, to name only two. The Good Parts Version is nothing new. Martin Luther did it. Thomas Jefferson did it. You can do it, too.

The third approach is The Box of Lenses. The image here is of that little box of lenses the eye doctor has. She pulls out two at a time and puts them in the device in front of your eyes and flips them back and forth asking, “Which is clearer? This or this?” There are many different lenses available for reading scripture, and some may make the meaning and usefulness clearer than others at any given time. There are all kinds of lenses that you can apply to scripture: a political lens, a history lens, a feminist lens, a geographical lens, a literary lens, a wisdom tradition lens, a mystical lens, a linguistic lens, a liberation theology lens, and on and on.

The more lenses we have in our box, the more clarity and usefulness we will find in what we read. Also, the more aware we are of our lenses, the more honest we can be with ourselves about the slant we are giving to our reading, and the more respectful we can be of others who see things differently simply because they are looking through a different lens. As with midrash, this can make reading the Bible together much more creative, mutually enriching, and fun, once we stop worrying about who’s right and who’s wrong.

The fourth approach is the Vision Quest. We can just open the Bible and start trekking through, scanning a page or leafing along until something leaps out at us. The reason this works is that we are dealing with a living word here; we are dealing with a real, live power. The same Spirit of God that is in us was in the people who wrote the Bible, and when we come to it on a deep spiritual level it is like hooking up jumper cables: sparks fly, power surges.

If we use these four approaches (Midrash, the Good Parts Version, the Box of Lenses and Vision Quest), the Bible can be a tool for transformation and healing, a source of guidance and power. It was these kinds of approaches to reading the Bible that fueled the revolution of values that took place in the Roman Empire, springing from Jesus and the disciples and apostles like Paul.

The Bible is a tool. A hammer in the hands of a vandal may smash a window. That does not make the hammer bad. It should not lead us to try to build a house without a hammer. Let us take up this tool and go out and use it in the weeks ahead, looking to it for the inspiration we need to make this world a little more like the realm of God that we find described in its pages, a realm of mercy and justice, compassion and love.

Jesus According To...?

2011-10-05T21:44:00.002-04:00

Preached at Douglas Congregational UCC on Oct. 2, 2011, by Rev. Andy DeBraber with the text from Matthew 17:1-8 (The Transfiguration).

At the base of the grand staircase entrance to Lincoln High School, one of those grand old architectural gems they used to build, stands a monument to its namesake, Abraham Lincoln. “In front of Lincoln is a large tree stump. Kneeling on the other side of the stump from Lincoln, eyes looking up in hope and expectation, is an African American slave. The slave’s arms are stretched wide so that the chains linking his wrists rest on top of the stump. Feet planted firmly, lumberjack Lincoln stands poised with an axe above his head ready to come down and shatter the chains of the slave....

“Now did this really happen? No, not literally. But is it true? Absolutely. The language of metaphor, parable, and artistic representations often express profound truths better than the raw historical data - a reality that the evangelist authors of the gospels knew well.”

So, did the encounter we know as the Transfiguration, the story we just read, really happen? No, not literally. But is it true? Absolutely. The transfiguration is a vivid story picture to convey what the people following Jesus saw and experienced: here is one who is full of God, who is a great leader like Moses - freeing the people from oppression, who is a prophet healer like Elijah - calling for justice, who is blessed of God, who spreads the good news that we are beloved of God, whose words are wise and deep and meaningful. And all of this is life-changing, world-changing stuff. The images and words used to draw this story picture are taken directly from the well of their own Hebrew Scriptures and other religions of the time.

This picture - and the many others in the gospels - shed light for us on the questions “Who was Jesus?” and “Who is Jesus?” even as these questions demand distinctly different answers. The answer to “Who was Jesus?” implies a look at Jesus of Nazareth who walked this earth. That fascinating study informs, but is far different from, the answer to “Who is Jesus?”

For us right now, right here, I ask, who is Jesus? As you consider your answer, know this: we are not looking for Sunday School answers. If those are your answers and they are meaningful for you, thanks be to God. But what I’m saying is that we want honesty here. And we are working in a realm and a belief system that says, contrary to what is so often projected, that there are many legitimate answers to the question, “Who is Jesus?”

This has been true throughout the history of the church. The great scholar John Dominic Crossan, to whom I owe the story of Lincoln High School, notes that while there is only one Jesus and only one Gospel (which according to him is that God looks a whole lot more like Jesus than like Caesar or Pharaoh), there are in the Bible four “according to’s.” We are always needing to reinterpret and reapply Jesus and the Gospel to our time and setting, just as the writers of the four gospels took their understanding and their community’s memories of Jesus and put them into four very distinct story pictures.

So again, I ask, “Who is Jesus?” for us sitting right here right now. The Jesus of history, the “who-was” Jesus, was a Galilean, Mediterranean Jewish peasant wisdom teacher, healer, and mystic. Our children’s curriculum says in its instructions to the teachers: “scholars...in the last 30 years...have discovered that a vast amount of the Jesus story that we have shared over the centuries is made up of a conglomeration of history, allegory, and myth borrowed from other ancient religions of the time.” Sorting out this Jesus of history and Jesus of story is no simple task. Some of us find this task entertaining. But what’s the point. The point would be to strip from Jesus all the cultural baggage that has accumulated on him over the ages to get down to some of the core truths.

One way of doing this, popularized by Marcus Borg, is to distinguish between the pre-Easter Jesus and the post-Easter Jesus. The pre-Easter Jesus is, of course, the Jesus of history. The post-Easter Jesus is the Jesus of Christian experience and tradition -- all the ways that the followers of Jesus have continued to experience him after his death.

How we continue to experience Jesus after his death is the ongoing story of the resurrection. In other words, getting caught up whether the tomb was really empty and whether Jesus rose in a physical bodily way from the dead is a distraction that turns Christian faith into believing all this really spectacular stuff that happened a long time ago (walking on water, feeing the 5,000, the virgin birth). Rather, Christian faith is about our relationship to Jesus as a figure of the present. This is true regardless of what may or may not have happened on a particular morning in the past, which is where so many get hung up, rather than what it might mean to follow the Way of Jesus today. Many of you are aware, of course, that the earliest Christians were called “followers of the Way,” drawing on the frequent allusions in Hebrew Scriptures to the Way of Life as opposed to the way of death.

So again, what is our “according to” gospel? What would the Gospel according to Douglas Congregational UCC look, sound, and read like? How would Jesus figure in?

For all my years in ministry, I’ve wrestled with who Jesus is. I’ve dug deeply into the “Who-was-Jesus” work. I’ve sought him in the least of these. I’ve memorized the stories. What I have yet to experience is a personal relationship with Jesus. I’ve told you that before. Yet what I have discovered and believe with all my heart and soul is that Jesus offers the best way to live a deep and meaningful life full of God, both for individuals and for societies. People experienced Jesus as the fullest manifestation of the Divine in human flesh -- and many continue to experience Jesus this way. As Crossan puts it, Jesus is what God would look like with sandals on.

So when people ask (or more often insist on) whether someone has accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior as their ticket to heaven (as happened at Mike’s Mom’s funeral Thursday), the question doesn’t compute. I don’t know what good simple assent does. I don’t know what it would mean to have my ticket stamped. I can’t believe all this spectacular stuff literally happened hundreds of years ago. I can’t believe the nets of God’s grace aren’t wide enough to encompass the many understandings of faith and faithful ways of living.

What I do know is that if we want to live life to its fullest possible depths and heights, to its fullest possible meanings, following the life and teachings of Jesus will lead us there.

What I do know is that if we want to know what it is to be most fully human, if we are finding life lackluster and boring, if we are trapped in certain ways of being, feeling, thinking, or living, listening to and reflecting on and acting according to the life and teachings of Jesus can be incredibly healing, freeing, and life-giving beyond measure.

What I do know is that living life on the margins, hanging out with or being one of the has-beens or the never-were’s, bringing healing in places of pain, speaking truth about injustice to the powers that be, and calling out the religious centers to live not by law but by grace, can get us killed - metaphorically for most of us here today, thanks be to God, but for others literally.

What I do know is that when that happens, death will not be the last word. Love, joy, peace, justice, compassion, forgiveness, healing, and grace - call them Jesus if you want - will never be held long in the grave. Amen.

God in 100 Words or Less

2011-09-27T13:02:00.003-04:00

The first in a series of homilies titled “Becoming Like Children: A Joyful Path,” based on the curriculum for children from The Center for Progressive Christianity (www.tcpc.org), preached at Douglas UCC by Rev. Andy DeBraber on Sept. 25, 2011

Matthew 18:1-5

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Luke 17:20-21

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”

Psalm 82

“Who is God?”

That was the question the web site Patheos put before seven bloggers on spirituality. “Who is God?” in 100 words or less (http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/God-in-100-Words-or-Less.html). Here’s my go at it:

God is that love that will not let us go. God is the one who sits in divine and human council arguing for those who have no voice. God is the beauty that catches us up in divine rapture and timeless moments. God is the one who wants the best for us and all the world. God is always within all parts of creation and is so much more than all the parts of creation added together. God is evolving with us and all the world. God is Mystery. God is the Love that will not let us go.

For those counting, 99 words.

Two major traditions in the Christian faith when it comes to describing God are the kataphatic and the apophatic. What I’ve just done is the kataphatic - try to describe God’s attributes and what God is like. We say what we can about God. The apophatic approach is to say what God is not, acknowledging that the Divine is Mystery. So let me expand on the 99 words above with two sentences about what God is not.

God is not....

Wait a minute. I’m not sure you’re ready for this. Remember that in the UCC tradition, what is spoken from the pulpit is meant to be discussed, argued, debated. Preachers have the right, the necessity some would say, to be provocative. So now maybe you’re ready to hear this.

God does not know the future. Let me say that again. God does not know the future. Second, God does not control the weather.

First, God does not know the future because God is in intimate relationship with the creation. In cooperation, in a call and response form of liturgy, we are creating the future together. Everything we do and say has an effect on God. All that has been and all that is in this moment are within God. The future is within each of us in collaboration with God and one another: the kingdom of God is within you. God feels with us, reacts to us, and works to move us to a future that is more loving, beautiful, complex, kind, just, and gracious.

When I grew up, I was taught that God was omniscient, that all of time past, present, and future were within God. This raises serious questions about fatalism and whether our actions, prayers, and lives have any effect on God. I find the God who is moving with us into the future a much more exciting, alive, creative, and interactive God.

Second, God does not control the weather. We seem to have a hard time letting go of the idea that natural disasters are acts of God, as if God were somewhere “up there,” controlling some kind of mega-thermostat. God has set the universe in motion and science helps us explain most of what happens within it and is learning more all the time.

What this really gets to is that God is not all-powerful, omnipotent. While God is omnipresent, everywhere, all the time, God is not omnipotent. If God was omnipotent, we would be puppets. We are not. God’s love and power are not coercive, but rather persuasive. God tries to love us into being, not beat us into being. If God was omnipotent, then we must believe the corollary that God allows senseless suffering. Rather, God does everything divine power can do to defeat the world’s pain and suffering.

This God, as we read in Psalm 82, has a particular concern for those who are powerless, poor, and without adequate human protection. This God is, to quote Bruce Epperly, “the ‘most moved mover,’ shaping all things and, consequently, being shaped by all things.” This is a progressive God, a God who is evolving over time -- or at least our understanding is evolving and progressing over time to take in all we have learned and are learning. We see this evolution happening in Scripture itself.

What we are describing, to get technical, is a school of thought known as Process Theology. God is in process with us. This God is relational. And this God is, you might say, slippery.

It’s our human nature to want to grasp on to some little piece of God we know and declare that to be all of God. Our certainty and truth should be everyone’s certainty and truth! The invitation to us today is to continue to hold on to our knowledge of God, but to do so lightly. Let us hold to our sacred center while remembering there are other parts of God we may not yet see. And let us listen to others so that our picture of God might become more complete.

Let me conclude with Christine Valters Paintner’s response to the Patheos invitation of God in 100 words or less. Paintner is the founder and director of Abbey of the Arts, a non-profit ministry integrating contemplative practice with the expressive arts.

God Is...

The One who pulses through the ancient blood of our ancestors,
and births newness in holy ecstasy.

The ticking of time through each mundane minute,
and the spilling open into eternity's wide expanse.

The long naked branch, black against the winter sky,
and the petaled profusion of spring's blossoming.

The beggar's bowl
and the fountain overflowing.

The aching arms reaching out in lonely longing,
and the tingle of skin against skin in a lovers' tangle.

The One who draws us to the sacred center of the world,
and lures us far beyond the fertile edges of our imagining.

Amen.

Making the Tough Call

2011-09-02T12:48:00.001-04:00

preached at Douglas UCC by Rev. Andy DeBraber on Aug. 28, 2011

Exodus 3:1-15
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain."

But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I am has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name for ever, and this my title for all generations.

Matthew 16:21-26
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

During one of my first years as pastor here, a situation arose in which someone was not happy with the work I was doing. This person made their opinions clear and then stopped coming to church. Being a person who is naturally conflict-avoidant, that was fine with me. At first. But whenever I would stop the busy-ness of work and life, this nagging thought that I should call this person wouldn’t let me go. However, I would simply find something else to keep me busy. So for weeks, I kept putting off making that call.

Right about then, one of you called me on the carpet. You knew the situation and gave me advice I’ve not forgotten: make the difficult call. While I’ve not lived up to this advice perfectly, by any means, its echoes have had me picking up the phone more often than not.

We have before us in the story of Moses and the burning bush a conversation between Moses and God. In so many ways, this story is central to the Hebrew Scriptures. One of the greatest leaders of Israel is called by God. God gives the name by which he is forever after known, variously translated as “I am,” “I am who I am,” “I will be who I will be,” “I am becoming.” It is the unpronounced name, YHWH, the sound of the human breath. That’s the first part of the name, and the part we usually focus on. The second part, you may recall, goes like this: “the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” the God of Sarah, the God of Rebekah, the God of Leah and Rachael, the God of St. Francis, the God of St. Terese of Liseaux, the God of Mother Theresa, the God of Martin Luther King, Jr., the God of Cesar Chavez, the God of Rosa Parks, the God of _________[insert your name].

And the God of Moses.

This God asks Moses to make the difficult call, to say the least. An argument ensues. In the transcription as we have it, God asks and the next line is usually “But Moses said to God.” Moses has a million excuses why he isn’t the one to do this. The good news is, God has a million and one reasons why Moses is the one. None of them, however, are particularly good reasons. Let’s see:

Moses has trouble speaking in public
Moses’ face has been hanging on post office bulletin boards throughout Egypt as a man wanted for murder
Moses returned the favor of being a Hebrew boy raised in Pharaoh’s family by killing an Egyptian and then running away
Moses has compassion for those being beaten up and oppressed
Moses did take the time to turn aside to see what was happening in this bush that burned but was not consumed (although rabbis have argued over the centuries that it had been burning there for months)
Moses knows that he’s walking on holy ground and so takes off his sandals

It’s so nice that we have this all wrapped up in 15 verses. I imagine Moses did tell the story this way. In reality, I think this sequence took more like 15 years - enough for Moses to come somewhere near forgiving himself for killing another human being, enough for Moses to remember how lucky he was to survive the killing of the Hebrew baby boys, enough for Moses to no longer be able to live with how harshly his nation was being treated by the Egyptians.

Enough for Moses to spend day after day tending sheep and arguing with God: Can I go back home again? I can go back home again. I can’t go back home again. Can I walk into the court of Pharaoh again? I can’t. I can. No other Hebrew will be able to walk the walk or talk the talk in Pharaoh’s court. No other Hebrew will get the time of day. I know how to play that game. Am I the one? If not me, then who? Then how? Surely God has a better place and a better plan for my people than this land of slavery and inequality.

Fifteen years of arguing in wilderness. Fifteen years of coming to terms with who he is. Fifteen years of realizing that while tending sheep is a good life, it’s not the life Moses was meant to live. Fifteen years of figuring out what he did wrong the first time in trying to defend his people and how he might do it differently the next time. Fifteen years of figuring out the right words to say to his brother Aaron and the people of Israel so they might believe that now was the time. Fifteen years of figuring out how to make this God’s decisive act in history, not the great act of Moses. Fifteen years of figuring out that a lifetime of being the one who never fit in shaped him perfectly for this moment.

And who knows, maybe fifteen years of the bush burning without being consumed by the fire (Rabbis argue about how long the bush was burning before Moses noticed and turned aside). But this year, this month, this day, something caught Moses’ eye. And then his ear. And then his mind. And then his heart. His sandals came off. As he merged with the Holy One on holy ground, he saw a vision of a land flowing with milk and honey, a land meant for all people, not just those in power. He had tasted this land, and having been born with a compassionate heart that burned with justice, he wanted a taste of this land for everyone.

Moses didn’t know how it could be done. But in that moment, he knew he had to make the difficult call that he had been considering for years. The Pharaoh who was his grandfather had passed away. A new regime was in power. Even though power is always power, this was a chance for change. A risky chance but a chance nonetheless.

"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?”

By running away to Midian, marrying the priest’s daughter, and tending his father-in-law’s sheep, Moses had saved his life. Now that very life was slipping through his hands. Now was the time to lose life as he knew it. It might mean a painful, torturous, untimely death. It might mean glorious resurrection.

I made the call that day. And like 95 percent of the difficult calls I’ve made over the past seven years, it turned out better than expected. A land of milk and honey? That might be pushing it. But better than the desert wilderness. Even if little changed in the relationship I had with this person, I was freed from the bondage of fear and guilt. This emotional and spiritual freedom gave me renewed energy for life and work, clearing the way that had been blocked. Life is too short and too precious to waste wondering what if.

The cross is an exciting path of service to the world in the way that most deeply suits who you are. And, that which is so often forgotten when people speak of their “cross to bear,” the way of the cross ends in resurrection, new-found life. Moses was deeply suited to be the deliverer of Egypt - a man of both cultures with entry to Pharaoh’s court and a man with a heart from the oppressed and a burning desire for justice. In bearing that cross, in making that call, he and the people of Israel found resurrection, new life.

Maybe you have a difficult call to make, letter to write, or person to visit. Do it today. What’s the worst that can happen, really? People change. Maybe they’re just waiting for you. And if nothing comes of it, if nothing’s changed, you’re not out much, either. The situation’s the same.

However, there’s a good chance that by making that difficult call, you will lead a person, a group, or even a nation out of bondage, slavery, or oppression. Maybe that freedom will be in a very tangible release: marriage equality for all, release from addiction, just treatment for people of all colors and income, release of those unjustly accused or convicted. Maybe that freedom will be the emotional and spiritual release that comes from breaking the bondage of fear, anger, guilt, or shame so often inherent in broken relationships.

Life’s too short. Make the call. As author Madeleine L’Enlge said in preaching this passage: “God always asks the impossible. If it's possible, if it's easy, we can be pretty sure that it's the tempter who's asking us, not God.”

So let’s take up our cross and follow those who have gone before us and put their lives on the line. Let’s turn aside and see where God is calling us to holy ground. Let’s have faith that resurrection freedom awaits to surprise us more than we can imagine. Amen.

The Wasteful Sower

2011-07-15T14:05:00.002-04:00

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!

"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

We planted a full garden this year for the first time ever. We have tomatoes, cucumbers (pickle and eating), eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, watermelon, hubbard squash, honeydew, cantaloupe, peppers, red and green cabbage, lettuce, swiss chard, spinach. sunflowers, turnips, kale, basil, carrots, cilantro, rhubarb, raspberries, and, let’s not forget, pumpkins. Giant pumpkins.

All this in a backyard that measures 15x25 feet.

Buying seeds this spring, there were two things I didn’t expect: first, the price. I was surprised how much it cost us to buy seeds for most of those plants. Seeds don’t come cheap. Second (and the gardeners among you have figured this out by now), I didn’t anticipate how BIG all these things would get! Our backyard is full of of greenery and yellow flowers, just packed to the gills. We can hardly walk now. In another month, we’ll need a machete to get through.

So, clearly, I’m a novice gardener. But I’m nowhere near as novice as the sower in this parable. I prepared my beds of rich soil by turning them over and watering them. We carefully planted the seeds in little cups indoors before transferring them outside. I planned the garden to be in places that receive just the right amount of sunlight and rain.

I did not plant any seeds in the pathway from the house to the chicken run. I did not plant any seeds in the chicken run (chickens love seeds - and anything green). I didn’t plant any seeds on our driveway or sidewalk. I didn’t plant any seeds on the north side of our house that receives no sun. And I didn’t plant any seeds on the south side of the garage that is covered with rocks and receives all sun. I was not going to waste a single one of those precious seeds. It was all I could do to thin the carrots and lettuce.

Yet here we have this story that Jesus tells, this parable, in which the sower casts the seeds indiscriminately, with no apparent concern for where they end up. What kind of wasteful gardener is this!? What kind of deep pockets are behind this type of sowing!? As Jesus goes on to explain, nearly three-quarters of the seed never bears fruit.

Scholars debate the value of the seed that does bear fruit. The majority these days say that yields of a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold are average to above average. Others argue that this is a magnificent, miraculous yield far beyond anything possible.

What they don’t debate is the waste of seed. Whether in our day or 2,000 years ago, seed was a most precious commodity. And yet here is the sower casting it carelessly on every type of ground.

It’s like the wise sage, maybe an aunt, uncle, or friend, who came along and offered you some career advice early on because of the gifts that person saw in you and what they knew about the world after years of experience. In pride and stubborn independence, you couldn’t, or wouldn’t even consider taking such advice. Seeds sown, seeds wasted.

It’s like friend you made for awhile. The two of you were close. But then she took an unpopular public stand. Or he befriended someone you couldn’t stand. That which was once valuable passed away. Seeds sown, seeds wasted.

It’s like your zeal for changing the world, be it by eradicating poverty, ending homelessness, creating beauty, saving the environment, or fighting for justice. That was all well and good for awhile, but then the practical affairs of living life got in the way: bills to pay, family to take care of, politics, the law. A little change happened, but never a full yield. Seeds sown, seeds wasted.

Yet the Divine, the Universe, God, the Great Mystery, the Wasteful Sower, continues to fling seed at us, hoping some will stick and start and grow and bear fruit. The great 20th-century mystical theologian Thomas Merton writes:

“Every moment and every event of every person’s life on earth plants something in her or his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men and women. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the good soil of freedom, spontaneity and love.”

Carl Gregg goes on to comment: “Merton is inviting us to see that Jesus’ Parable of the Sower is not about the occasional moment when God or a human evangelist sows a seed about God. Rather, everything at every moment of every part of our lives is a seed suffused with life-giving spiritual import. This claim is not to say that everything that happens is good or controlled by God; instead it is to say that the sort of soil that we are — good or bad, rock-filled or thorn-infested — in each arising present moment effects how we receive the seeds of experience that are always being sown around us and within us.”

In other words, why is it when that sage advice comes around again later in life we accept and relish it with joy? Why is that when a friend challenges you the next time, you learn from it and grow and the friendship deepens? Why is it that when another chance comes along to change the world, you leap at and cling to the work like your life depended on it until it’s finished?

Because then, we are receptive soil. Our lives, in Merton’s words, are open with “freedom, spontaneity, and love.” The seeds are always raining down from the Wasteful Sower. And finally, by God’s grace, we are not too attached to our ego or to the bottle or to needing to maintain appearances or to a certain lifestyle. We are ready. We are free, spontaneous, and loving. We read a book we’ve read before, and suddenly it’s meaning is clear and forceful. We choose to give up an addiction we’ve tried to give up before, and this time it sticks and a new day dawns. We sing a song we’ve sung a hundred times before, and this day it brings us to our knees with tears in our eyes. Grace, pure grace, and a yield that is a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold. The seed sticks, grows, and bears fruit. Whether that yield is average or way beyond normal, seeds bearing fruit is ever a miracle.

As we consider and prepare the soil of our lives, the soil of freedom, spontaneity, and love, take heart also in the fact that no matter what kind of soil we are at any given moment, God is still working. Remember this, too, when trying to live with challenging friends, family members, and coworkers. You and I might not waste our efforts on the downtrodden, the thorny, and the hardened, but God does.

And even in my well-planned garden, tomatoes are springing up on the pathways, cilantro is growing up between the cracks in the cement, and snapdragons push up among the weeds.

What Yoke Have You Chosen to Wear?

2011-07-08T15:43:00.004-04:00

Preached July 3, 2011, at Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ (www.douglasucc.org) by Rev. Andy DeBraber

Matthew 11:25-30 (Inclusive Text)

Jesus exclaimed, 'I bless you, O God, Ruler of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. It is true, Abba, because you have graciously willed it so. You have given everything over to me. No one knows me but you, Abba, and no one knows you, Abba, except me and those to whom I choose to reveal you.'

'Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.'

My friend Kate moved to Germany at the end of April. Some of you may remember her. She visited us here once or twice. She was the interim director of the Triangle Foundation and previous to that led the AFSC LGBT Issues Program, a statewide faith group working for inclusive justice of which I was a part.

About living in Germany, she recently wrote: “It's been almost two months since I came and I am finally feeling like I am not just functioning on adrenaline anymore...ahhh... It's so good to have the mental space to listen to the birds again, sleep soundly (not just pass-out because of exhaustion) and to have time to share with people.”

Doesn’t that sound like a picture of life lived well and fully? “To listen to the birds, to sleep soundly, to share with people.” We could make an advertising campaign out of it: “Tired? Overburdened? Weary? Come and listen to the birds. Come and sleep soundly. Come and share life with those you love.”

For some of us, this is a choice we can make each day. Just as I put on this stole each Sunday morning to mark my being yoked to the Spirit of God, so too each one of us has taken a yoke upon our shoulders this morning. The question is: are we aware of the yoke? Are we laboring under and with the masters we desire?

One of us got up this morning and put on the yoke of worrying what other people think: how will I look if I wear this? what about my hair this way? or that? If I wear red, white, and blue, am I too patriotic looking? If I don’t, will they think I’m disloyal or unpatriotic?

Another of us got up this morning and put on the yoke of keeping up with the Joneses: I’ve got to have that kind of car, this kind of wine, that brand of clothes, and a dwelling place that is just so.

A third person got up this morning and put on the yoke of all the things that need to get done: dishes and dinner, mail and email, pay the bills and polish the brass, pull the weeds and mow the grass, sweep the floor and call my mom, the list goes on and on.

A few lucky ones of us might have awakened this morning and asked, “How can I live in Love today?” A few lucky ones of us might have awakened this morning and put on the yoke of Love, saying, “Today, I hitch myself to the one who calls me “Beloved...the one in whom I delight.” The burden of this yoke is simple, easy, and light: love God, love neighbor, love self. All who are weary and heavy burdened, come to this place. Hitch on to this yoke, and find rest for your souls.

I would love to end this homily right here and practice putting on this yoke. Some of us can do that. Many of us. In fact, it may be helpful for you to have a rope or piece of fabric or wood that you can take each morning and place around your shoulders, remembering, “Today, I yoke myself to Love. Now what can I do to live in that space?”

But I can’t stop there. You know the saying, “Give someone a fish and they eat for a day; teach them to fish and they eat for a lifetime”? Well, as I’ve said before, that’s all well and good as long as they have access to a lake or river. In other words, who owns the lake? Will they let us on it?

There are some here (or more likely not here) because they cannot rest. They work on Sundays and holidays. We live in an United States of America on this Independence Day weekend that is for so many not the land of the free but the land of the overworked. There is no time for rest.

One of the reasons my friend Kate finds Germany to be a place where she can “listen to the birds, sleep soundly, and have time to share with people” is that we in America work an average of 378 more hours per year than those in Germany. That’s nearly 10 forty-hour work weeks, almost a week off per month. Six weeks paid vacation is the norm there, and working on the weekends only happens by strictest necessity.

On the contrary, at the altar of efficiency, we worship the God of productivity. More and more, people are being asked to take on two jobs as people are let go or retire and are not replaced. And without some kind of assurance of continued employment, when the boss says you have to work the next two Saturdays in addition to two hours overtime every day for the next month, what choice do you have? Say no and get demoted, docked pay, or fired. One might argue that corporations love high unemployment because they can so easily find replacement workers.

This is the great American Speedup, according to an article in Mother Jones Magazine. Formerly a household word, Webster's defines speedup as "an employer's demand for accelerated output without increased pay.” Bosses would speed up the line to fill a big order, to goose profits, or to punish a restive workforce. Workers recognized it, unions (remember those?) watched for and negotiated over it—and, if necessary, walked out over it.

The writers of the article continue: Does this “Sound familiar: Mind racing at 4 a.m.? Guiltily realizing you've been only half-listening to your child for the past hour? Checking work email at a stoplight, at the dinner table, in bed? Dreading once-pleasant diversions, like dinner with friends, as just one more thing on your to-do list?”

Sounds like time to check the yoke, to me.

“To balk at working hard—really, really hard—brands you as profoundly un-American. Who besides the archetypical Japanese salaryman derives so much of his self-image from self-sacrifice on the job? Slacker is one of the most biting insults available in polite company.

“And so we kowtow to—nay, embrace—a cultural maxim that just happens to be enormously convenient to corporate America. "Our culture has encouraged me to only feel valuable if I'm barely hanging on to my sanity," one friend emailed as we were working on this article. In fact, each time we mentioned this topic to someone—reader, source, friend—they first took pains to say: I'm not lazy. I love my job. I come from a long line of hard workers. But then it would pour out of them—the fatigue, the isolation, the guilt.”

I don’t need to tell you how dangerous this is to our society and how unhealthy it is for individuals and families. We are talking about people working in professions in which one mistake can have tragic effects, such as surgeons, air traffic controllers, and firefighters.

If you are in this camp, know that it’s not just you nor is it a personal failing. It’s happening everywhere - to hotel maids and sales clerks, to project managers, engineers, and doctors.

And we can do something about it. One, we can practice healthy habits ourselves: putting on the yoke of Love at all times, even when the yoke of work is much easier and concrete and, sometimes, more rewarding (it can be easier to answer emails than deal with the real live person in front of us). Relationships suffer when we’re constantly online or checking email or have no time for anything but working, eating, and sleeping. Our society, culture, and nation suffer.

Two, if you are in corporate leadership or business for yourself, take the lead of firms like Mule Design Studio, a web-design shop with a number of blue-chip clients, which has the following policy: "Our office hours are Monday through Friday 9-6. We do not hand out our cell phone numbers. On the weekend, we cease to exist."

Three, we can advocate to change three dubious statistics we hold as the US: We are one of 16 nations that don’t require time off each week; one of nine that don’t require paid annual leave; and one of six that don’t require paid maternity leave.

Finally, we can make choices about our lifestyle, requiring less cash and work, more sharing, and increased time to listen to the birds, sleep well, and be with the people we love.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” Let us heed this personally and make it possible for all in this great country.

Killing the Gods who Kill

2011-07-08T15:35:00.002-04:00

Preached June 26, 2011, at Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ (www.douglasucc.org)

Genesis 22:1-14

After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you." So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you." Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place "The Lord will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."

Matthew 10:40-42

[Jesus said:] "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."

God has given you the most precious gift. God has given you the thing you most wanted in a all the world, something you thought you could never have. Then God comes along and says, “Nope, I want it back. Go to the holy place and sacrifice that most precious gift to me; destroy it for my honor.” Would you do it? Or would you give God the finger and walk away?

How many people don’t we know who have given God the finger and walked away. And why not? If God acts like the God in this story, I don’t want to serve or worship that kind of God, either. This is a bait-and-switch God. This is a God who tests people’s faith. This is a God who asks us to kill. This is a God who demands ultimate obedience. This is a God who would have a man kill his own son as a sacrificial offering. This is a God who would kill his (and it’s always “his”) own Son as a sacrificial offering.

This is a false God. Honor this God and die.

A story like this one in the Bible asks us to consider not only the nature of our God, but also the nature of our Scriptures. Why include a story like this? What does it mean? What does it have to say to us today? Is it merely to say, “Look, this Abraham guy was really serious about his God-business. He was really faithful and incredibly obedient”?

I don’t think so.

Instead, it is a story about the Israelites changing understanding of God. A “progressive” understanding of God, we might assert.

This could be understood in at least two ways:

First, it could be that this story was written decades or centuries after Abraham and was written as a way to explain why the Israelites did not practice child sacrifice like the peoples around them. In other words, the story never happened, but was inserted into the Scriptures to explain a past decision from a future perspective.

Second, it could be that this story has Abraham hearing one type of God in the beginning and another in the end. In other words, at the beginning of the story, Abraham hears what is essentially the voice of the gods of the peoples around him who practiced child sacrifice, while at the end of the story he hears the voice of the true God, who would never have us kill another human being. In fact, the word used for God at the beginning of the story and the word used for God at the end of the story are different.

What is the nature of your God? Are we willing to have our understandings of God changed? Are we willing to stand up against the gods of the world who would kill their own children and ask us to sacrifice ours? Or are we willing to stand up for a God who would have all killing of human beings come to an end?

I dare say that the gods of this world have asked you to sacrifice some precious goals and dreams and even people and friends on their altars:

“You can’t make a living at that.”

“Did you see what she just did?”

“No one cares about your paintings, your music, your dance, your dreams.”

“How can you hang out with someone like that?”

“Don’t you know what they’ll think if they see you with him?”

“You can come to the family reunion, but don’t bring your ‘friend.’”

How many countless stories I can tell of spineless church executives and pastors who wouldn’t fight for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, despite the fact that those people are their own sons and daughters. I heard just another one this week. Her dad said that now that he’s retiring he would speak out for her. “No thanks,” she said. “Don’t do that now that it’s not going to cost you much and you don’t have the influence you once did.”

No, these are not the gods we serve. We serve the God who says through Jesus, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me and the One who sent me.” We serve the God of the end of the story, who says stop, don’t kill the child, there’s another way. We serve the God who says that whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones will never lose their reward.

Our reward is neither in riches nor in the number of friends we have nor in how people view us. Our reward is in giving life to others, in serving others, in even the simple act of sharing a cup of cold water with those in need. For in so doing, we will meet the God of Living Fully and Loving Wastefully. Who do you know that needs that welcome right now? Make a promise to yourself today to share with them a cup of cold water. In so doing, you will counter the gods of the world, who kill for power and profit. In so doing, you will encounter the God who speaks and acts for life, always and everywhere. In so doing, you might find one person who will lower their finger and return the the embrace of a loving God, who would never kill anyone, much less that God’s own child.

Finding Peace on Retreat

2011-01-13T11:04:00.003-05:00

Sunday after church, I packed up my bags and headed down to the Gilchrist Retreat Center near Three Rivers for a silent retreat. Twice a year I make time to get away for two to three days of silence, reflection, and renewal. One of those times often follows the holidays.

Gilchrist consists of eight individual hermitages -- small, one-person brick cabins, encircling a central field called the Laura. A small stone prayer chapel and communal building are also available.

Jeremiah House, where I stayed, sits in a hollow surrounded by oaks and maples. A fireplace rises through its center. Cardinals, chickadees, blue jays, mourning doves, tufted titmice, a variety of woodpeckers, and even one goldfinch frequented the bird feeder outside the south window.

After going into town for a pizza and watching sports on television, I returned and settled in. As usual, I had alongside me a number of books to read, my journal, and my journals from the past year. I had also picked up three books from the library at WindHill, the common building.

I began by listening and considering and writing about what this retreat might focus on. Retreats offer a step away from the busy-ness of life to consider bigger-picture issues. I often leave them reinvigorated for life and work, with a new sense of purpose and sometimes new goals.

I also end up sleeping a lot. We are a sleep-deprived society always on the go. I recently read that when asked what we could do to better our spirituality, the Dalai Lama answered, “Don’t go to bed so late, eat less, and sleep more.” So I go to bed early and get up late on retreat.

The first full day, Monday, I chose to fast, a discipline I’ve practiced regularly in the past but not lately. Fasting from food offers the opportunity to notice how often I think about food whether hungry or not. It invites the question, “What are you really hungering and thirsting after?” The question becomes a prayer.

Fasting also resets the body. The stomach shrinks and I need less to satisfy my hunger the next day. By drinking plenty of liquids, the system is flushed. And by making it through from dinner the previous night to breakfast (break the fast) the next morning, I again learn that I control my appetites instead of the other way around.

Another fruitful practice on retreat is to get outside. The Gilchrist property adjoins two other retreat centers, the Hermitage (Mennonite) and St. Gregory’s Abbey (Episcopal). The three of them share multiple hiking trails and a pair of labyrinths, as well as invitations to worship and prayer gatherings at each. So I went for a two-hour hike, getting lost, seeing deer, being startled by a flock of about 20 wild turkeys, and finally making it back.

That first day, most of my reflective time was spent reading my journals and considering ways I want to live my life more intentionally. This was aided by reading “Living the Good Life,” by Helen and Scott Nearing about their 20 years of homesteading in Vermont. They built their home and outbuildings and roads. They raised almost all their own food, ate simply, produced maple syrup for a small cash income, and tried to build community in their valley. They usually worked four hours of “bread labor” a day and spent four hours a day in other avocations, hobbies, and interests.

The two major areas of life I considered were food and sports. I want to eat more intentionally and in a healthier manner, which for me means eating as much fruits, nuts, and vegetables as possible and as little processed food as possible. And just less food period. I find myself reaching so often for a bag of chips or a cookie when the real issue isn’t hunger.

As for sports, I was raised watching, listening to, and reading about major college and professional sports teams. I’ve noted before how sports are for me a comforting escape full of drama, black and white results, and new hope each season. Yet I need to ask, “What am I escaping?” and “What am I missing out on?” If this is what I do as a default and unintentionally, what might I do intentionally during that time that could be even more life-giving?

As much as I wish to reduce my time spent with sports, I know it will take great intention to make different choices rather than fall into comfortable and familiar habits. I will need specific positive and rewarding habits to put in that place, like cooking or getting outdoors or writing or playing with Anna and Ezra.

Tuesday then I spent considering church and ministry. In reading the book “Love Meets the Dragons: A Field Manual for Ministers,” by Tom Owen-Towle, the phrase “freethinking mystics with hands” jumps out at me. That’s what we are and are creating: a congregation of people who think and express themselves freely, who experience the Divine Mystery in a multitude of ways, and who love, serve, and play. What can I and we do to live more fully into that vision?

I go for another hike, nap, take a bath, and watch the birds at the window.

On Wednesday morning, I leave the retreat less with concrete ideas of what I will do than with a greater sense of peace, well-being, and centeredness. All of the areas I am working on -- food, sports, church -- will come up multiple times each day. Living each day with greater awareness and intention, more fully present in the moment, I will be able to make the small and numerous choices that add up to big differences.

Some of you have been on retreats -- alone, with me, with others. I’d encourage you to give it a try. It usually takes at least a day to unplug from life and slow down enough to listen and be silent. I recommend taking at least two days if possible. I’d be happy to recommend places near and far to retreat as well as help you put together a retreat program that you will find helpful in living life fully, loving wastefully, and having the courage to be who God made you to be.

Power in the Blood, Part 2: The Anti-Sacrifice

2011-01-13T10:51:00.002-05:00

Today, as promised, we look at sacrifice. We do so with story, which begins as all good stories begin, “Once upon a time....” We need to understand the context of Jesus’ life if we are to have any idea what jesus or his followers meant by suggesting we eat his body and drink his blood. So...

Once upon a time, in a land far, far way, people like you and me walked the streets of the city. This time was long before automobiles. Even horses were rare. One’s geography was restricted by how far you could walk.

Walking through the city, these people-like-us would often smell the sweet, sweet scent of burning meat: goat, bull, sheep, ram, quail, lamb. It hung in the air like sweet morning dew. And it stuck in our noses like the scent of desire.

We are peasants, living in a peasant agricultural society. The divide is great between rich and poor. The rich are few; the poor are almost everybody.

But that smell of meat: to our hungry bellies is was the clarion call to worship at the altars of the day’s gods. For this scent of meat came not from the butcher shop or the restaurant but almost always from the temples scattered throughout the city. Meat was sacrificed to the gods. These were the finest meats -- respectable and clean -- and the sacrifice invited participation from the respectable and clean.

Hungry, for our diet was primarily grain, vegetables in a good time, fish as a luxury, and meat unheard of, we would, could, and did line up at the temples we thought we could get into. Some were clearly beyond our means or relationship circles. On good days, we would get the last bits of scraps of meat. We drooled at the tables of the gods, and they gave us just enough to keep us coming back -- because we were hungry and because we wanted to appease the gods.

The Judaism of the day wasn’t much different. Until Jesus came along.

Oh, what I forgot to mention is that while we got some scraps of meat, others were never let into any ritual meal: lepers, the demon-possessed, foreigners, women, children, the homeless, street urchins, tanners, prostitutes, and tax collectors. And, of course, slaves.

This whole sacrificial system is how they kept us in place. Chaos, they said, would be the result of no worship. Rome didn’t care who we worshipped, just so we did. So they kept up the barbeque, and we kept coming. And at least we weren’t like the people who didn’t get in at all.

Then Jesus comes along and starts hanging out with these people! He says the unclean are clean and sinners are forgiven! He makes of them examples in his stories -- examples of goodness, not shame. He brings all of us a dignity we had never known before.

Then, after he’s killed, we continue to gather. We talk about his life, how he touched us, how he gave his life -- like the sacrificial meat of the temples around us. They united in a barbeque; we united in Jesus. They separated the clean from the unclean; we separated nothing. Many of us had no other group to return to.

So we stayed. And we ate a meal together. Instead of eating meat, we ate bread. The authorities were puzzled: “They gather like the rest, but they don’t eat meat.” Instead of drinking the drained blood of the sacrificial meat, we drank grape wine. We called it sacrifice because it united us and made us again realize we were and are whole and clean and beloved of God.

Yet we knew that clearly this was not a sacrifice. Jesus died on a cross, not an altar. He died battered, pierced, and torn, neither a perfect and unblemished lamb nor a virgin nor even a hero. The place of his sacrifice wasn’t anywhere near the temples’ holy of holies but rather on a rotting pile of bones outside the city.

This sacrifice was clearly an anti-sacrifice.

We called it blood. That was the language we had -- and the most powerful language. It also gave the authorities the impression that we were like the rest. But the irony was that it was never blood, like the other worshipping groups drank.

Here, it was love -- a love that included all. We could never go back.

PS: I am indebted to Dr. Stephen Patterson and his book "Beyond the Passion: Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus" for many of the ideas in this message.

Power in the Blood, Part I: The Anemic Eucharist

2010-11-14T16:59:00.002-05:00

preached on November 14, 2010

Epistle: Colossians 1:11-20

Gospel: John 6:51-63

First off, we have to clarify that the earliest followers of Jesus were not a bunch of bloodthirsty vampires. He says, “My blood is true drink.” They don’t reply, “I vant to eat your blood.” Okay, we’ve got that off the table.

Over the years, I have encouraged us as individuals and as a community to face that which we fear. Today and next week, in this two-part homily series “Power in the Blood,” I take up that challenge. Certainly most of you have noticed that we rarely speak of or sing about the blood of Jesus. I avoid hymns with blood language. I don’t use the word “blood” in the communion liturgy, opting for the more feel-good term “love.” Substituting the word “love” for the word “blood” works well nearly every place in the Christian tradition.

But what is it we are avoiding and what is it we are missing in this practice?

Besides the fact that I get pretty queasy around blood, especially my own.

During my sabbatical, worshiping elsewhere and reading two books have caused me to reconsider whether returning to using the word blood would be helpful. The first book is Breathing Space by Heidi Neumark, the story of her years pastoring a church in the poorest and most violent sections of the Bronx in New York City. The second book is The Vegetarian Myth, by Lierre Keith, in which she meticulously calls into question the idea that anyone can live life without killing, without shedding blood, so to speak. We’ll look more closely at her ideas next week, when we consider how this all relates to the sacrificial system and what surprising relevance that has for us today.

Interestingly, both books are by women, the gender most likely to speak against using the word “blood” in the liturgy -- mostly because it’s been misused to justify abuse and cheap forgiveness: in essence, “Jesus died for my sins, I’m covered by his blood, so it doesn’t matter what I do. You have to forgive me even when I beat you.” Stephen Patterson, a professor at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, calls this bad credit card theology in which daddy always pays the bill. I couldn’t agree more.

But back to Heidi Neumark. She takes churches to task who omit blood language in worship (I summarized rather than read portions of this in worship, but cite it all here):

“‘This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you.’ These biblically recorded words are repeated in Christian churches of all denominations when Holy Communion is celebrated. At least that’s what I thought until i visited a megachurch in Las Vegas that featured a sanitized eucharistic prayer with no mention of blood. The pastor explained the ‘seekers,’ people unfamiliar with church traditions or people who’ve found the church irrelevant in the past and are searching for spiritual meaning in their lives, would be turned off by the mention of blood. I looked around at the gleaming floors and plush carpeting. No doubt, blood would be an unseemly intrusion.

The pastor continued to explain how we needed to take people’s culture and context seriously. On that note, he was preaching to the choir, but where we differed radically was on what that means. Is bloodless Communion really so culturally relevant? What culture would that be? People in Las Vegas don’t bleed? I know that most of the architecture is fake, but it seems an insult to imply that the people are, too.

Ignoring pain has serious consequences. If our sanctuaries remain bloodless enclaves of sweetness and light, we risk far more than offending spiritual seekers. Cutting, a form of self-mutilation most commonly practiced among teenage girls, is on the rise. Girls who cut often explain it as a way of externalizing pain that they don’t feel able to express otherwise. These girls sometimes describe the cutting of their bodies as a way to feel real, seeing their own red blood. Watching the blood is an important part of the behavior. It is often done by girls who have kept their pain long submerged

I think that bad theology -- and I put bloodless Communion in that category -- can carry with it an edge of pathology, however well-intentioned it may be. Communion is not about wearing a smile on the outside when you’re dying inside, like the decals plastered on broken buildings. It’s about finding life in a power that has proven to be stronger than any wounding force.

There are others who find offense in the blood and body language for very different reasons than those voiced by the pastor in Las Vegas. Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza speaks for many feminists when she asks: “How can we point to the Eucharistic bread and say, ‘This is my body’ as long as women’s bodies are battered, raped, sterilized, mutilated, prostituted and used to male ends?” Some feel that lifting up the cross implies the elevation of victimization and abuse. Tragically, it is all too true that many women have suffered, and even died, as victims of domestic violence under the rubric of ‘bearing their cross.’ But that is a twisted use of the cross.

When we sing about ‘power in the blood’ here in the Bronx, we’re not glorifying suffering and advocating victimhood. We’re taking life seriously. Blood is not just death. From the womb, life and blood are inseparable. My babies came out shining with my blood. Burnice’s were born bright with hers. I’m sure it is also true in Las Vegas. I bleed every month. My heart bleeds with pain when blood is spilled. This doesn’t make me a victim. It makes me a woman. It makes me human. Jesus’ blood made him human. Without it, he’s no better than a molded action figure. Our faith is that he died in the fight for life -- and that he didn’t die in vain. He didn’t die as a passive victim. he died because of his powerful passion for us, resisting all dehumanizing powers. His blood doesn’t call us to lie down and rest in peace, but to rise in strength.

This is what drew me back to Christianity, knowing a God who could bleed to death and yet live. We who bleed in the Bronx want to live, too. We want ‘power in the blood.’ Middle-class megachurches have many good and necessary things to teach the rest of the church about mission. I admire their passionate, creative efforts to relate the faith to contemporary contexts. I applaud their removal of many sacred cows overdue to be toppled into the wadi. We try to do the same. I simply don’t know a context on the face of the earth where bloodless Communion is relevant to human life. It is precisely that cup that Jesus agonized over on the Mount of Olives. The anemic Eucharist prayer of a bloodless church dishonors Gethsemane where Jesus struggled and Golgotha where Jesus died. It dishonors those who have died in the fight for justice and truth. And it fails to take our own wounds seriously, whatever zip code we live in.

Before she died, before I realized she would die, my childhood friend Tracy and I made small cuts in our arms and rubbed our bleeding flesh together, mixing our blood, sealing our sisterhood. In Holy Communion, we also mix blood. Jesus rubs his flesh against our own in solidarity. It is not his death, but life that fills our mouth and enters our hearts with power” (257-259).

So what are we avoiding by not using the word “blood” in the Eucharistic liturgy.

Like the pastor in Heidi Neumark’s story, I do not want to offend those who might be visiting the church or considering (or reconsidering) Christianity for the first time. I’m very sensitive to the language we use and the power of words. When people walk in and hear us talking about eating the body of Christ and drinking the blood of Christ, we may sound like a bunch of cannibals.

I also worry about the children and what they’ll think. “How scary is this that we’re eating this guy! Maybe I’ll be next!”

I am also concerned about the tremendous amount of bad theology out there around the blood of Jesus. Most of this is related to the sacrificial model of atonement or the substitutionary theory of atonement, in which an angry God requires the blood of a perfect sacrifice and therefore kills his son (never hers). Not only does this require a God I don’t believe in and lead to the kinds of abuse I mentioned above, it also focuses 99 percent of one’s faith on the death of Jesus and the expense of the life and resurrection of Christ.

Ironically, by using the language of body and blood, however, the earliest followers of the Way were emphasizing the life of Christ. They wanted to drink from that same river, that same well, that same Spirit, that same lifeblood that enlivened the One who had given them new life. Even Jesus says, according to the writer of John in our reading today, “The flesh is useless; it is the Spirit that gives life.” It wasn’t about reliving his death over and over again. Neither was it about bathing in his blood, being washed clean from their stains and sinfulness. At the same time, it was about recognizing the bloodshed in their own life, often as a result of society’s injustice, and about recognizing the real danger that came in following one who was killed by the state.

As for the children, we too often underestimate their abilities, especially when it comes to the use of metaphor and imagination. They know it’s not the real flesh and blood of somebody. I’m reminded of Marcus Borg’s helpful categories when it comes to the life of faith: we usually begin in naivete (Jesus walked on water -- cool, neat), proceed through critical analytical thinking (often literalism: nobody can walk on water, that’s not how the world operates), and, if we’re lucky, come out with a kind of post-critical naivete (hearing again with the eyes, ears, and wonder of children the story of walking on water, asking what message the tellers of this story might be trying to communicate). I confess, I’ve been thinking in a critical literal way of blood. I want to call us to a re-imagining.

And for those returning to the church or new to Christianity, I would rather redeem the blood language than ignore it or substitute for it. While it’s clear in other parts of our liturgy that we do not ignore pain and bloodshed at Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ, why not make it so in the Communion liturgy as well?

We live in a culture that has an aversion/attraction relationship with blood and bloodshed. Don’t let me see a real drop of blood anywhere, mine or anything else’s. But I will be fascinated by it in television shows, movies, and the news. By using healthy and carefully chosen blood language in the Eucharist, we can cultivate a new and more balanced relationships to this most basic element of life. We recognize again in this metaphor our union with Christ, the image of God, Sophia Wisdom. We recognize and honor, with Paul in his letter to the Colossians, our connectedness to all things, for all things are One.

Election Redemption?

2010-11-13T12:01:00.004-05:00

preached on November 7, 2010

Gospel Text: Luke 20:27-38

A group of politicians came to Jesus and asked him a question. “The American way says that one must belong to either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. If someone leaves one party, they must join the other. While we may be interested in which party they are affiliated with after death (it’s said to have helped especially in Chicago at times), we are more interested in them remaining in our party now. How can we keep them faithful to this system -- and thus keep them in their place?”

The Republicans are feeling good this week. The elections Tuesday obviously swung widely in their favor. The federal level is no longer dominated by the Democrats and Michigan now has Republicans in power in the governor’s office and both the House and Senate. A new day has dawned. They are feeling just as good as the Democrats did two years ago -- and may feel again two years from now.

Anger and change have been the rallying cries of the past two elections. Whether rallying around Obama or the Tea Party, we the people have spoken: we want change. Feeling the economic crunch of what has become known as the Great Recession, we vote with hope that somehow our elected officials will be able to put more money in our pockets. The only way to get elected is to pledge “no new taxes.”

So where has this gotten us? A few numbers from along the way:

over the past six years, the American economy has lost 15 million jobs
in that sime time, 7 million more people have entered the work force and been unable to find work
one out of eight breadwinners is out of work
53 percent of Americans worry about making their mortgage payments
one in 11 homes in Kent County was foreclosed on over the past six years

Now another set of numbers:

in 2009, investors and executives at the nations 38 largest companies earned a record amount of $140 billion
the investment firm Goldman Sachs paid its employees bonuses that averaged nearly $600,000 per person last year, its best year since being founded in 1869
overall compensation in financial services will rise 5-15 percent this year, while most wage-earners take pay cuts or freezes and make contract concessions
corporate earnings are up and CEO pay continues to skyrocket

In Jesus’ day, the Sadducees and Pharisees were the ruling parties, beholden to the Roman governing power. They helped to keep the peace, maintain the status quo, ferret out any revolutionaries, and most importantly, keep the money flowing from their province to the Roman imperial power. As our text states, the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection. So they didn’t care about the answer to their question. They just wanted to keep Jesus and his followers distracted and perhaps catch him in some kind of trap with a wrong answer. When Jesus wouldn’t play the “angels-on-a-pinhead” game, they left for the time being.

And Jesus went on cultivating his flock of followers, his family, his sisters and brothers from among those who did not benefit from the system, from the status quo the Sadducees and Pharisees sought to keep in place. Jesus was pursued, persecuted, and executed for a lot of reasons, but chief among them was this: he organized a group of followers whose lot depended neither on a particular place nor on anything the status quo had to offer. The followers of the Way were largely sociey’s castoffs and those brave enough to extract themselves from a society where they benefitted but saw so many cast upon the trash heap of humanity. Roman rule depended upon keeping order. Jesus pulling his followers from that order posed a huge threat. If they weren’t dependent upon the feeding troughs set up by Rome, they weren’t beholden to them, either.

After Tuesday’s election, I found myself in despair: not so much about the results of the election but about the brokenness of the system. Article after article has affirmed that it doesn’t matter which party is in power. The system has been set up over the past thirty-five years to benefit the wealthiest among us and keep those who live in the poor to middle class range from gaining ground. Tough investigative journalism has shown how corporate wealth has organized itself in politics over the past three decades to dethrone organized labor and concentrate our country’s finances in the hands of the few. To even get elected to anything beyond local offices requires amounts of money inconceivable to most people.

One caveat: it does still make some difference, clearly. Whether it’s progress on the gay rights front or benefits for the poor among us, the party in power does sway social policy. For instance, a six-percent swing in food assistance would either wipe out or double the efforts of all the nation’s food pantries. However, these types of policies are not foremost on the minds of the majority of people. We have transformed ourselves into a thoroughly capitalist society concerned almost exclusively with the economy. And we are reaping the “rewards.”

Author, poet, farmer, environmentalist, and theologian Wendell Berry puts it best when he writes in Another Turn of the Crank about what he calls “cut and run economics,” in which corporations come into communities, fill their pockets, and move on, leaving the ecological debt to be paid by someone else’s children and the local communities to deal with the social and economic carnage of lost jobs. These corporations also manage to remain anonymous by spreading the blame and accountability so wide that there is no one to answer to. Berry writes:

“This economic system persists because, embodied in multinational corporations, it has discovered a terrifying truth: If you can control a people’s economy, you don’t have to worry about its politics; its politics have become irrelevant. If you control people’s choices as to whether or not they will work, and what they will do, and how well they will do it, and what they will eat and wear, and the genetic make-up of their crops and animals, and what they will do for amusement, then why should you worry about freedom of speech? In a totalitarian economy, any ‘political liberties’ that people might retain simply cease to matter. If, as is often the case already, nobody can be elected who is not wealthy, and if nobody can be wealthy without dependance on the corporate economy, then what is your vote worth? The citizen thus becomes an economic subject” (34-35).

I’m tired of being an economic subject. And I sense that many of you are too. Democrats or Republicans, Pharisees or Sadducees, it doesn’t matter. We follow the one who came proclaiming, revealing, and creating a different kind of kingdom. His way on earth and the way of his followers since has been to gather the outcasts of the day’s domination system, what John Dominic Crossan calls “the normalcy of civilization.” This system will constantly attempt to co-opt the Jesus Way for its own ends.

The leaders asked Jesus, you may recall, “How can we keep the people faithful to this system -- and thus keep them in their place?”

He answers, “Those who belong to this age pledge allegiance to parties and nations and governments. But those who belong to the coming age, to the kingdom/queendom/reign of God, remain bound to neither party nor nation. Indeed, they cannot buy fully into the domination system of this age as they watch it choose profit and greed and destruction over people and justice and abundant life for all.”

Our success and fulfillment depend neither upon the domination system of our day nor our pocketbooks. Rather, we take comfort and joy in knowing that we are part of a church and a beloved community that will care for us and love us regardless of our wealth or status -- or who is in political office. We find meaning in serving the least among us and in seeking justice for those denied. And we find our worth in the God who proclaims steadfast love and faithfulness over and over again for a world where so many are lost and lonely.

Join the Douglas UCC Family Week Parade Delegation Thursday at 6 p.m.

2010-07-08T16:02:00.002-04:00

Each year during family week (www.rfgl.org) a parade is held through the streets of Douglas. Come and represent our church in offering a big show of support to the families that come from throughout the country to this incredible week by marching with us at 6 p.m., Thursday, July 15. This is also a great show of support to the many people who put countless hours into organizing Family Week. See you in front of the Retreat House at 5:45!

Baptism, Annual Meeting, Potluck Highlight Sunday!

2010-07-08T16:00:00.002-04:00

What an exciting day we have planned this Sunday, July 11! We will be celebrating baptism and reception of new members in worship - always a highlight! Then we will join together in thanking those who have served the church in the past year and look ahead to the coming year as part of our Annual Meeting following worship. We will then end with a potluck in the Retreat House yard. The grill will be ready to go if you wish to bring meat to throw on. Come and join us!

Check Out Charter for Compassion

2010-07-08T15:48:00.003-04:00

From our friend, Rev. Randy Smit and Compassionate Connection:

Are you the kind of person who's resistant to jumping on bandwagon's? Me too. However, through several affiliations and friendships, this one keeps coming up and I've grown a little tired of avoiding it. I've signed on, in fact, and encourage you to do the same.

It all started with the 2008 TED prize winner Karen Armstrong. Her wish was to "create, launch and propagate a Charter for Compassion" that could stand as something of a universal declaration of compassion throughout the world. Pooling together some of the finest "thinkers and doers" from around the globe, TED (short for Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a U.S. private non-profit foundation that is best known for its conferences, now held in Europe, Asia the U.S., devoted to what it calls "ideas worth spreading."

Armstrong, and the growing charter community, commit themselves fervently to an interfaith movement of global compassion based upon the practical and timeless Golden Rule, "a principle embraced by every faith and every moral code."

I have thoroughly enjoyed and invite you to explore the Charter for Compassion website, to familiarize yourself with its bold, clear and infectious aspirations for a more peaceful and humane world.

An excerpt...

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

To learn more and to check out the Charter for Compassion video go to www.charterforcompassion.org

Brueggemann to Speak in Lansing

2010-07-08T15:22:00.002-04:00

Truman A. Morrison Lecture Series

Saturday, October 9th

Renowned biblical scholar

Walter Brueggemann
Edgewood United Church UCC

469 N. Hagadorn Rd.

East Lansing MI 48823

A clergy lunch with Walter will be at noon on Saturday. Please call the church at 517.332.8693 for a reservation and for more information. Cost for lunch is $8.

An evening lecture open to all takes place at 7p.

UCC Churches Share Message of Equality in Pride Events All Over

2010-07-08T15:19:00.002-04:00

Written by Jeff Woodard
June 29, 2010

Celebrating with purpose and pageantry and energized by a buoyant UCC presence, hundreds of LGBT communities across the nation have marched, sung and reflected their way through the June commemoration of Gay Pride.

Tradition held strong in Boston, where the Pride theme of "Riots to Rights - Celebrating 40 Years of Progress" took to various venues. Among the estimated crowd of 35,000 at the Pride parade on June 19, was Sen. Richard Tisei, a gay Republican who is the minority leader of the Massachusetts Senate and a candidate for lieutenant governor of the state. "A lot of people have done a lot of work over the years to get to where we're at as a state, and I'm proud to say I'm from Massachusetts," said Tisei.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick marched in the parade as a candidate for re-election – and as the parent of a lesbian daughter. "We have been working very, very hard to assure true equality for all residents of the commonwealth," said Patrick, whose daughter Katherine is a member of Old South Congregational UCC in Boston.

"I give thanks to God every day for living in a Commonwealth in which queer people are, and are becoming ever more, integrated into its fabric," said the Rev. Quinn G. Caldwell, associate minister of Old South and the church's first openly gay pastor. "I also give thanks for the UCC, with our 350-year commitments to education and dialogue, and our more recent commitments to tolerance and diversity, all in God's name."

Read about the rest of the country at: http://www.ucc.org/news/ucc-messages-of-equality.html?autologin=true

Quote Time

2010-07-08T15:18:00.000-04:00

Change starts with
one person questioning,
challenging, speaking up
and doing something
to make a difference.

~ Paul Kivel

Independence Day Speech by Frederick Douglass, 1841, Rochester, NY

2010-07-08T15:06:00.006-04:00

Excerpted as a part of Sunday's homily on July 4, 2010:

Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, "may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!" To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world.

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival....

...Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented, of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. "The arm of the Lord is not shortened," and the doom of slavery is certain. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from "the Declaration of Independence," the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age.

Read the full text at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html

Quote Time

2010-07-08T15:06:00.001-04:00

It's a good thing
to have all the props pulled
out from under us occasionally.

It gives us some sense of
what is rock under our feet,
and what is sand.

~ Madeleine L'Engle

Come Explore "Countering Pharaoh's Production-Consumption Society Today" in DVD Class

2010-06-04T16:33:00.004-04:00

At 10 a.m. this Wednesday, June 9, we begin the video class "Countering Pharaoh's Production-Consumption Society Today" in the Retreat House. The DVD features UCC pastor and well-known Hebrew Testament Theologian Walter Brueggemann, who says, "It is a journey from slavery to covenant that we keep making over and over again... [because] Pharaoh has immense power always to draw us back into slavery."

This study for Progressive Christians has five sessions:

Session One: The Way Out
Session Two: The Decalogue
Session Three: Countering Caesar
Session Four: An Act of Imagination
Session Five: On Not Doing God Any Favors

WARNING: THIS PROGRAM MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR CHURCH, SOCIETY AND THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE, AND COULD POTENTIALLY HELP RESTORE THE MEANING OF COVENANT.

See a brief video preview at http://www.livingthequestions.com/xcart/home.php?cat=262

Eat the Wind, Walk the Walk, Fight the System

2010-06-04T16:31:00.001-04:00

The first in a series of homilies on Luke 6 and Ecclesiastes

Luke 6:20, 27-28: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God....I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Ecclesiastes 1: The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: Meaningless, meaningless, says the Teacher, Utterly meaningless! All is meaningless. What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? Everything is meaningless and a chasing after wind (or “feeding on wind”).

Those of us raised in a liturgical tradition know that today is Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday also follows the week after Pentecost. It’s as if the compilers of the lectionary wanted to make sure we didn’t get too much Spirit or spend too much time with the Holy Ghost. One week -- that’s plenty! This could get out of hand!

So instead of continuing for at least a few weeks to emphasize and explore the role of the Spirit, they move us on to the doctrine of the Trinity -- that God is three-in-one, traditionally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or often Creator, Redeemer, Comforter or as in our Call to Worship today, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, and Life-giver. Now I know that most of you are here because of our doctrine of the Trinity. You were attracted to becoming a follower of Jesus and a part of Douglas UCC thanks to the beauty of our doctrine of the Trinity. See us sashay now!

The truth is that the doctrine of the Trinity is not even biblical in the most literal sense of the word. You will nowhere find a verse that God is from now on forever to be known as a mysterious three-in-one by the names of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Try arguing that one with our more fundamentalist friends. Oh, the slippery slope begins...lest we should actually take the Bible seriously.

Certainly we find in Scripture places that intimate this relationship, that hint at something like what we know as the Trinity. The early church was caught in a dilemma. They were accused on the one hand of being poly-theists, people with three Gods -- Creator, Jesus the Christ, and the Spirit/Comforter/Advocate, and on the other hand, if they claimed to be monotheistic (one God) than how could Jesus be divine. So they came up with this elaborate, complicated, and often hard-to-understand (especially if you read its earliest variations and explanations) concept of the Trinity, one God with three parts. Almost any way of trying to explain exactly how this works without the use of very exact and precise language soon puts is into one heretical camp or another. We are either saying God isn’t one or that Jesus and the Spirit aren’t God.

Now being a progressive Christian and knowing that the Trinity is not solidly biblical, I don’t necessarily have a problem with either of those heresies. Being a progressive Christian, I also believe that being a follower of Jesus has very little to do with what we believe and much more to do with how we act and live out our faith. Jesus didn’t say, “Go believe!” He typically said, “Go do...” or “Come and follow.”

That being said, the Trinity does have a richness and complexity that gives God depth and gives us a great deal to explore. God is not always the same. God is in community. God lives in relationship with God-self. The strongest form is a triangle.

Today we begin a homily series based on the Hebrew (Old) Testament wisdom book of Ecclesiastes and the Gospel of Luke, chapter six, which includes Luke’s version of the beatitudes and the sermon on the mount, which for Luke is the sermon on the plain. I have to admit that Ecclesiastes has long been one of my favorite books of the Bible. How much more real can it get than “Meaningless, meaningless, utterly meaningless”? And the frequent conclusion that we are to eat, drink, and enjoy our toil under the sun.

"Utterly senseless" says Qoheleth, "Utterly senseless, everything is senseless!"

The word translated senseless, הבל (hevel), literally means vapor, breath, but it could also mean "absurd".[14] Qoheleth uses it metaphorically, and its precise meaning is extensively debated. Older English translations often render it vanity. Because in modern usage this word has often come to mean "self-pride," losing its Latinate connotation of emptiness, some translators have abandoned it. Other translations include empty, futile, meaningless, absurd, fleeting, evanescent, or senseless. Some translations use the literal rendering vapor of vapors and so claim to leave the interpretation to the reader.

Also comforting while I was in school and now in studying the doctrine of the Trinity and being tempted to stay in the world of intellect and reading are these words from the end of Ecclesiastes:

“Of making many books there is not end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

The end of the matter: all has been heard. Fear God, and keep God’s commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.”

Throughout this series we will explore the themes of Ecclesiastes, which many wonder if it should even be in the Bible. Those themes include wisdom, pleasure, enjoyment, realism (life is not easy and often difficult), a balance of mind and body and soul, and the burden of riches. Paradox infiltrates the book of Ecclesiastes. The writer holds one thing to be true in one place and its near-opposite to be true in another: on the one hand...on the other hand, without have to solve or resolve this paradox.

Jay G. Williams writes of Ecclesiastes: "Such wisdom may not bring salvation or even peace, but it is better than blind folly which holds up false hopes. The wise know, at least, the limitations of their own wisdom, and perhaps are enabled thereby to laugh at and with life a bit." (Understanding the Old Testament, p. 300).

And Samuel Sandmel adds: "If it is countered that the literal meaning of much of Ecclesiastes is hostile to religious faith, one must reply that all too often religious faith is misconceived of as a sombre gloomy matter, never lightened by the spice of wit or made tolerable by a little malicious but healthy doubt. The genuinely religious do not blot out the doubts that are to be found in Ecclesiastes by pretending that they do not exist. They tolerate them as part of the normal expression of perceptive and thoughtful people. These words of doubt do not defeat genuine religious faith, but form that counterbalance that keeps religious faith effective and suitable for human beings." (The Hebrew Scriptures, pp. 273-274).

In addition to the phrases mentioned above -- Meaningless, meaningless, all is meaningless and our duty is to eat, drink, and enjoy our toil -- a third phrase appears frequently in Ecclesiastes: “a chasing after wind,” which is also translated, “a feeding on wind.” As you recall, wind is equivalent in Hebrew to breath and spirit. So again there is this paradoxical meaning: chasing after the wind seems futile, while feeding on wind (aka, breath and spirit) is essential to life.

During our exploration of Ecclesiastes and Luke 6 over the next seven weeks, let’s live into a different Trinity. You’ve seen it on the insert in your bulletin: Eat the Wind, Walk the Walk, Fight the System. I just talked about “eating the wind,” feeding on the Spirit. Walk the walk is trying to live as Jesus taught. Pick one of the phrases from today’s Gospel and really try to live it this week. Pick someone who is to you an enemy, who curses you (or has), who has hated or abused you (or is). See what kind of transformation happens within us and within a relationship if we love, bless, and pray for these people. Let me state clearly: that doesn’t always mean we need to stay in close relationship with them.

Finally, fight the system. I struggled with this one, but want to try it on for size. We tend not to be fighters here. I want to stay away from violent imagery. Can we redeem the word “fight” in a nonviolent way? Didn’t Ghandi and Martin Luther King and Harvey Milk and Dorothy Day fight the system? Transform the system, change the system didn’t sound quite right or quite active enough.

Both Luke 6 and the book of Ecclesiastes offer counter-system voices and actions. The subvert the conventional wisdom of their day and ours. We are called to be a different kind of people. A people who live by a different set of values and systems. We can fight the system in the little ways it impacts our own lives each day and by working to change its larger manifestations as well.

The Great Misunderstanding & the Pentecost Paradox

2010-05-28T09:25:00.001-04:00

Preached on Pentecost 2010, May 23, at Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ by Rev. Andy DeBraber

Scripture: Acts 2:1-21, John 14:8-17, 25-27

Have you ever been misunderstood? I mean really misunderstood, like no one ever understands you and no one ever will. Certainly we identify this with teenagers who feel like their parents will never “get them.” Maybe you’ve seen the youngest among us struggle to communicate as they just begin to grasp the language; and seen them throw their hands up in dismay or cry in frustration or yell out in anger, even repeating what they are saying over and over and over again, as if somehow repetition would bring clarity.

We may have experienced being misunderstood, or may be experiencing it now, in the relationships to those closest to us, in relationship to our coworkers, or in relationship to what we do for a living. “Why can’t you just see it my way?” “Don’t you understand I have a job to do?” “Is this really what I’m meant to be doing with my life?”

The Great Misunderstanding may also come around the health of our bodies, minds, and emotions: “Do you know how badly I want that next drink?” “How can you really understand what it’s like for me to be so depressed?” “You don’t know what it’s like for me to have to live in a body that’s like this.” “Do you know that sometimes I think about just driving off the road?”

With Pentecost, the early Christian church converted the Jewish Festival of the Weeks into its own festival. The Festival of the Weeks happened seven weeks after Passover and was a celebration of the first fruits of each year’s harvest. Thus pente-cost, fifty days.

The Church’s festival of Pentecost also became a celebration of the first fruits of the harvest. The story Ron read for us this morning later concludes that 3,000 people “were added,” the first additional followers of Jesus since his death and resurrection, at least on the record. Thus this is sometimes called the “birthday of the church.”

How did it happen? With the promised gift of the Spirit. As evidenced most clearly by what? Languages. Many languages. The followers of Jesus speaking in tongues previously unknown to them. And those gathered in Jerusalem, having brought the first fruits of their harvest for the Pentecost celebration, heard this speaking, each in their own language.

Not unlike the experience of walking around in another country, feeling lost because you can’t read the signs. Whenever you try to ask a question, people just look at you quizzically. Walking by certain places, you see people talking and laughing and pointing, and you worry that they are laughing at you, but you have no clue because you can’t understand what in the world they are saying!

Until one moment you think you hear something familiar. Walking past the open door of the local pub and grub, a word catches your ear. And you can understand it! Glory be! Hallelujah! You rush in, happy to have found someone to connect with -- finally, someone who understands!

Now imagine that scene again, except this time, suddenly it’s you who, upon seeing a stranger lost in the Great Misunderstanding, begins to speak a different language. Something somehow comes over you (read Spirit) as the Divine Translator. You speak another’s language. They understand. They feel welcomed. They feel heard.

One of the miraculous truths of Pentecost is not that everyone understood the same language, but rather that God’s Spirit delighted in and joined in the great diversity of languages present that day. One common language would have been another way to pursue the same end, but at the cost that some would become dominant and others subservient. Pentecost restores the dignity of each language and recognizes the beauty and necessity of the many.

Many of us have been attracted to this community, Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ, because we have been understood for the first time in a place where for so long we have felt misunderstood. Whether it’s our gender, gender identity, intellect, sexual orientation, or open-mindedness, we have been heard and spoken to here in a language we understand, in a language we haven’t heard in many other places that call themselves “church.”

The paradox inherent in our welcome here, in the Great Misunderstanding, in Pentecost, is that we are never alone -- someone somewhere always understands and speaks our language -- and that we will never be fully understood -- we are complex beings full of mystery and changing by the day.

Living in this Pentecost Paradox means finding someone, or a group of someones, who understand at least in part and who are willing to listen to my language. Such people don’t always simply appear. Often, we must seek them out.

Living in this Pentecost Paradox means being someone who understands, learns to speak other languages, and truly listens, trying to understand those who “speak” differently than we do. When we see another caught in the Great Misunderstanding, into which they will often offer fleeting glimpses to those with eyes to see, the imperative is upon us to trust that the Spirit will give us ears to hear their language and voice to speak it. They will know again they are not alone. Someone cares. Someone understands. This might mean inviting others to this place, that speaks a Progressive language of faith not found many other places in west Michigan.

Finally, living in this Pentecost Paradox means putting ourselves in the presence of this Spirit, this Advocate, this one who understands us fully and fully desires the best for us, this God who Loves us, each day. Breathe it in. Know it. Let its peace dwell in us, that we might share it with all the world. Let us practice this now.

Worship Team Training Coming Up

2010-05-28T09:19:00.002-04:00

We have a baker's dozen of folks who have signed up to help plan and lead worship during Pastor Andy's sabbatical in August, September, and October. Those folks are:

August: Mike VerMerris, Dan Mack, Rachael Overweg, Rodney Terwilliger
September: Lynne Snyder, Robert Trenary, John Kempf, Barb Lucier, Dick Lucier
October: Gwenda Schmidt, Kathy Austin, Laurie Van Den Beldt, Marilyn Fox

We will hold two identical training sessions for the people on these times and anyone else who would like to take part on Sunday, June 6, after worship (11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.) and Wednesday, June 9, 7-8:30 p.m. Folks can still join these teams or just come to learn more about worship and worship leadership. People are free to attend one or both of these sessions. Here's what will be included:

--walking through the elements of the worship service: what it is, why is it here, what does it do, how do we lead it, can we move it around
--coming up with a leader for each month's team
--presentation of ideas for the homily each week, i.e., a guest speaker, one of our own, one of you, music, creative interaction
--lectionary readings for the weeks
--possible themes and special services (i.e., Labor Day, Worldwide Communion Sunday, Coming Out Day)
--music planning
--how to make sure all areas are covered seamlessly (or as much as possible)
--how we can practice during June & July what you'd like to put in place or lead

The Council decided against hiring someone to see us through this period because we believe we have such capable leaders on these planning teams! Thank you! This puts the reponsibility on us to make sure we have these 13 weeks planned by the time the sabbatical begins on August 1.

If you'd like to come to one of the sessions, please RSVP to pastor@douglasucc.org by June 4 via email or phone (269.857.2085) which session you will be attending so we can plan appropriately.

Clean-up Day Thank You!

2010-05-28T09:17:00.002-04:00

Thank you so much to everyone who worked on our clean-up day this past Sunday! The yards looks so much better, the Memorial Garden is beautiful, and we can see out the windows again! What a great bunch of workers!

Pentecost!!! Wear Red, Bring Red Potted Flowers, & Stay for our Spring Clean-Up

2010-05-21T09:05:00.003-04:00

This Sunday, May 23, is Pentecost, the day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church. We will have a new liturgy for the season and great new music with the choir returning.

The color of Pentecost is red, symbolizing the Spirit coming as tongues of fire upon the people present that day. Red is also the color of passion and of our life-blood. Let's join in this living symbol by wearing red Sunday. If you can, also bring a red potted flower to beautify the sanctuary during worship and then to beautify our church and retreat house yards afterwards in preparation for the big Memorial Day weekend and summer in Douglas!

We will have a BBQ Potluck in the Retreat House yard following worship. Then, if you can stay to help, we'll have a grand time at our annual Spring Clean-Up. Please wear or bring clothes you can work the yard in. Also, please bring any tools you think might be helpful -- garden spades, rakes, gloves, etc.

Let's make it look like the Spirit has swept over our property!

E-Waste Recycling Opportunity in Douglas June 5

2010-05-21T08:56:00.002-04:00

Saturday, June 5, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., DeMond's SuperValu Parking Lot, Douglas

Put Saturday, June 5, 2010 on your calendars! A free E-WASTE RECYCLING OPPORTUNITY is coming back to Saugatuck-Douglas for a second time. Last year we collected close to 9,000 pounds. This year we want to get the business and residential community involved in recycling. We are setting a goal to collect 15,000 pounds! Electronic waste is a growing concern to our environment. When put in landfills, e-waste can leak harmful toxins into our soil and water. You can help make a difference on June 5.

All Saints' Episcopal Church in Saugatuck is partnering with West Michigan Creation Care to bring e-waste recycler, Comprenew Environmental, to hold another drop-off collection in DeMonds Grocery parking lot for many business and household electronic items as well as computer components and accessories.

You clean your attics, basements, or garages of your e-waste and bring it to us to load in a huge Haworth trailer. All is free to you with the exception of a $10 donation for each television. TVs have dangerous chemicals that need to be processed in a much more rigorous manner.

Lists of appropriate items for recycling will be available in local churches, stores and city offices. Please help us reach the 15,000-pound goal, and clean out those old items taking up space!

Quote Time

2010-05-21T08:48:00.000-04:00

While I am busy
with little things,
I am not required to
do greater things.

~ St. Francis de Sales

PFLAG Lakeshore to Watch "Through My Eyes" from Young Gay Christians

2010-05-21T08:41:00.001-04:00

Today, Friday, May 21, at 7 p.m., PFLAG Lakeshore will show "Through My Eyes" a 2009 DVD created by Christians for Christians struggling with their sexuality and their love of God. Two dozen young Christians agreed to share their private feelings, struggles, and experiences on camera. All of them hoped that their stories might make a difference. This 46 minute DVD is sponsored by the Gay Christian Network. We were going to show it in March but were not able to show it due to so many new people coming that evening.

Our original program on the book Love Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey will be given at a future time. Remember to bring a snack to share - beverages are provided, 7-9 p.m., Grace Episcopal Church basement, 555 Michigan Ave. Hope to see you there!

Leading Anti-Gay Voice Break's Heart of HRC's Harry Knox

2010-05-21T08:32:00.000-04:00

Leading anti-gay voice involved with male sex worker

5/5/2010

WASHINGTON – Upon news that George Alan Rekers – a founder of the Family Research Council and a leading voice in the anti-LGBT movement – vacationed in Europe with a male sex worker, Human Rights Campaign Religion and Faith Program Director Harry Knox made the following statement:

“My heart is broken as I read of Rev. George Rekers’ hypocrisy. I hurt for the thousands of lesbian, gay and bisexual people he has caused to be put through discredited pseudo-therapies in an attempt to change the God-given gift of their sexual orientation. I hurt for the children who are still in foster care that Rekers helped prevent from finding permanent loving homes with gay parents in Florida and Arkansas. And I feel pain for George Rekers himself, who is the first and worst victim of his internalized homophobia.

“Jesus said, ‘You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.’ The truth has come out about George Rekers. Let us pray that it sets him, and the rest of us, free.”

The story was first reported earlier this week by the Miami New Times. Rekers is a leading proponent of discredited “change” therapies that have been proven to be damaging for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. He testified in court in favor of keeping Florida’s ban on gays and lesbians from adopting children.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Represent Douglas UCC at "The Caring Society" Conference in DC

2010-05-21T08:28:00.002-04:00

Consider attending the conference

Creating "The Caring Society": A Progressive Alternative to Tea Party Extremism and Corporate Domination of American Politics and Culture

June 11-14 in Washington D.C. Come back and share with us what you learned, saw, and did. Financial assistance may be available. Read more about the conference at

http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php/2010conferences

A Unique Strategy Conference Bringing together Religious and Spiritual Progressives with Secular Liberals and Progressives in the Age of Obama to explore strategies appropriate for the complexities of a period in which the failures of the Democrats to present a coherent progressive vision and program has created the space for the rise of a quasi-fascist and racist movement on the Right that threatens to move all of American political discourse in violent and destructive ways, and simultaneously to strengthen corporate dominance. We will address strategy both in response to the immediate crisis of 2010, and also in regard to building a long-term vision of the economic, spiritual, and ethical dimensions of a democratic society that could re-inspire people to fight for fundamental changes and societal transformation beyond the limits of "inside-the-beltway pragmatism" and "being realistic" in terms set by the corporate media.

D.C. June 11-14 (and demonstration at the White House June 13)

Countering "Tea Party" extremism and corporate dominance with a coherent and attractive alternative that addresses the pain people are feeling in American society today
Explore the new vision for liberal and progressive politics: The Caring Society
Constitutional Amendments to Restrain Corporate Power and Require Corporate Environmental & Social Responsibility
Move politics beyond the "Inside-the-Beltway realism and pragmatism" that has undermined hope for real change
The Global Marshall Plan--and the primacy of ending Poverty and Economic Despair in the US and around the world
Middle East Peace
Other Strategies for the Obama years ahead

At the site above you will find:

1. Speakers (an incredible list!) 2. Description of our Goals 3. Tentative Agenda for the conference 4. Tentative version of the Enviornmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Out of the Shadows: Understanding & Meeting the Needs of Older LGBT Adults

2010-05-21T08:07:00.003-04:00

Check out this new report from the wonderful Center for American Progress:

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/04/lgbt_elders.html

Older LGBT Americans have been largely invisible until very recently. Yet they make up a significant and growing share of the LGBT and over 65 populations. LGBT elders are gaining visibility with the aging of LGBT Baby Boomers, who are the first generation of LGBT people to have lived openly gay or transgender lives in large numbers.

These individuals confront all the same challenges of people who age. But they also face unique barriers and inequalities that stem from the effects of social stigmas and prejudice, their reliance on informal “families of choice” for care and support, and inequitable laws and programs that treat LGBT elders unequally. These barriers can prevent LGBT elders from achieving three key elements of successful aging: financial security, good health and health care, and social support and community engagement.

That’s why Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Elders and theMovement Advancement Project recently released “Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults” in partnership with the Center for American Progress, the American Society on Aging, and the National Senior Citizens Law Center, which provides an overview of LGBT elders’ unique needs and the policy and regulatory changes that are needed to adequately address them.

Read the rest at the above web site, including barriers and solutions in the areas of financial security, good health and health care, and social support and community engagement.

Quote Time

2010-05-21T07:56:00.000-04:00

Perfectionism is
the voice of the oppressor.

~ Anne Lamott

Rainbow Family Week Coming July 10-16!!

2010-05-21T07:45:00.002-04:00

We are excited to once again be one of the major hosts of Family Week this year. Families from around the country will descend with joy and exuberance on the church, retreat house, and all of Douglas and Saugatuck for the week of July 10-16.

If you know families that same-gendered parents or transgendered parents, please encourage them to come to this most amazing week. Watch for the schedule posted soon to see how you can be involved. Or contact Greg Gerrans or Becky and Julie Carten-Crandell to ask how you can volunteer. See more at the Rainbow Famlies Great Lakes web site:

http://www.rfgl.org/FamilyWeek/family_week.html

Support UCC Efforts in Arizona with Ad

2010-05-21T07:40:00.002-04:00

Dear UCC friend:

While immigration debates are always complex and often heated, there are certain pivotal moments in our life together when the church is asked, "Do you care?" This is one of those important moments.

We have heard clearly from Hispanic members of the United Church of Christ and those who minister with them that a visible, pastoral and dignified word needs to come from the UCC to those who are hurting, fearful and left vulnerable by the passage of Arizona's stringent immigration enforcement law, including those who are U.S. citizens.

"God's love knows no borders" is the headline of the United Church of Christ's message, one that underscores the UCC General Synod’s support for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level. See the full ad at http://www.ucc.org/news/images/arizonast2large.jpg

Already, we have commitments to cover nearly half of the $22,000 needed to purchase this full page ad in the statewide Arizona Republic newspaper. Our hope is to run this ad on Saturday, May 29, the day when 500,000 protesters are expected to gather in Phoenix. But we need to raise at least $12,000 more over the next seven days.

We need your help to share this pastoral message of solidarity and support. Will you help make this ad possible with your gift of $10, $25, $50 or even $250 dollars? Please go to https://secure3.convio.net/ucc/site/Donation2?df_id=1244&1244.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=isosnruwn1.app332a

By Wednesday, May 26, we will need to determine if we have sufficient money to place this ad buy. This is why your timely response is necessary. In addition to online support, checks can be made payable to United Church of Christ (Tell Our Story Fund), 700 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115-1100.

Thank you for this and all the ways you work to support and proclaim the "God is still speaking" message.


The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black General Minister and President United Church of Christ		The Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo Executive Minister UCC Justice and Witness Ministries

P.S. Any additional money raised will enable us to purchase a Spanish-language version of this same ad in several regional and national Latino/a publications. We need and appreciate your support!

Making Change Happen: A Moving Experience!

2010-05-21T07:15:00.004-04:00

By William H. Tweedley (www.WHTcoaching.com; William and his partner Dan have been regular visitors to Douglas UCC)

In the last month or two I have made numerous large transitions in my life: I resigned from my 'stable' work of hospital chaplaincy, moved out of the place my partner and I called home for the last 7 years and we moved - with two cats that were unaccustomed to travel - to Washington DC, where we have established our new home.

Any one of those transitions is a major change. Any change in life can be challenging - even the changes we choose. Change is unsettling, energy-zapping, energizing, exciting, scary, freeing, joyous, depressing, and full of rich possibility. We survived our move and lived to tell the tale!

During this time I noticed what has allowed me to step into these changes with (mostly) enthusiasm. Whether you are looking to undertake a major change in life, or plan change on a smaller scale, here is what I discovered in my own transition:

We know in our hearts when it is time to change our life. There is a stirring within us that says, "This situation no longer honors my values", or "This task is no longer good for my wellbeing" or "This pattern is no longer acceptable to me. I'm ready for change." This inner awareness can happen even though your goal is uncertain and the outcome unclear. What is no longer acceptable in your own life?
Choosing our perspective is important. I saw that lived out in the voices of friends and colleagues. Some were excited and saw the positive that change brings, the exciting possibilities that lie in doing a new thing. Others were afraid of the change I had freely chosen for my life. Others were only focused on their own sense of loss, and not on what it meant to my life. None of these are wrong - just different perspectives. And in times of change the voices that you hear on the outside probably reflect your own thoughts happening inside your head. You get to decide which voice(s) you choose to listen to when you have decided on a change. What is your perspective on the change you want to make in your life?
It won't always go to plan!! And you will survive. The Icelandic volcano's eruption meant we had family stranded with us for 5 days longer than planned - just as we prepared to pack. The movers took longer than planned to load the truck, delaying our planned departure. We had 7 days with almost empty rooms as the mover delivered later than we had prepared for. The cable company (now Former Cable Company!) took 5 days and 5 engineers to connect our internet. With all that, we still made it work. We adapted, improvised, we learned for any future move and we used some of the time to go explore this new city. And to catch up on sleep. What positive thing has come from unplanned situations in your life?
People want to help - but you have to take the initiative. My main focus has been taking the initiative to ask the few people I already knew in Washington to help me connect to others they knew - in order to get grounded, establish some community, know the needs I can serve, and to think about what comes next as I create my future here. I've been astonished at how helpful people have been in introducing me to friends, colleagues and business acquaintances. And I've had to be willing to do the leg-work to keep this moving forward. How does the leg-work that change look different when you know you have 'unseen' waiting to meet you?
Take a risk. And then another. As I reach out to people and new contacts, I have been willing to take a risk, ask for what I want, and be prepared to hear the response: 'absolutely' or 'no - sorry'. I have not taken 'no' as a personal slight - because it isn't. It is also important for you to keep taking those risks if you want to be creating something new in your life. What risks are you willing to take, even if it is a small one?
They say moving home is one of the most stressful events in life. Yes, it is. Any change can be stressful. Yet change is inevitable in life - either it happens to us, or we make it happen. Most often life is a combination of both. When you invite change into your life journey, seeking to engage life at a richer, deeper level, you will find more fulfillment, confidence, achievement as you offer your abilities to the world around us.

Are you ready for some change in your life? Believe in yourself, set your goal and go for it!

Thoughts, reactions or comments?

What other topics would you like to read about in these columns? Write to me at William@whtcoaching.com and let me know.

Come Learn and See the Michigan UCC Family at Conference Annual Meeting May 14-15

2010-04-23T10:33:00.004-04:00

The Michigan Conference United Church of Christ Annual Meeting, themed “Unbinding the Gospel,” will meet in Rochester, Michigan, Friday and Saturday, May 14-15. Everyone is welcome to join this remarkable event bringing together our larger UCC family for inspiration, education, worship, and meeting. The registration deadline is May 1 and registration cost is $40 plus meals. Each church can have two official delegates and as many visitors as we like. Consider joining us! Mike VerMerris and Pastor Andy have both attended in the past, so feel free to ask them any questions.

Workshops include

Unbinding the Gospel
Becoming an Open and Affirming (ONA) Church: Why and How and What Now?
Using Technology in Worship
Introducing Faith Practices
Finding Your Purpose: A Taste of Appreciative Inquiry
Planting Seeds for Growth: Church Multiplication
Let’s Not Waste a Good Recession
Serving the Underserved in Health Care: An Alternative Approach

See full workshop descriptions and the entire registration packet at

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4NXxw2lWIdWMWIzNzdjOWUtMzBiYi00NTA4LTg5NGItYTZkMzczMjJkMjQ0&hl=en

or www.michucc.org

See "Painting Revelation" at the Library Wednesday!

2010-04-22T17:06:00.002-04:00

Painting Revelation, a 45-minute video and discussion based on a painting of the Book of Revelation by local artist Debby Topliff was chosen by the American Library Association as one of the top ten spiritual videos of the past two years. To celebrate, the Sauguatuck Douglas Library will show the video Wednesday night, April 28, at 7 p.m., followed by a discussion. Come engage and enjoy this most interesting book of the Bible with the artist and presenter, Debby Topliff.

West Michigan Gay Men's Chorus Presents "Family"

2010-04-22T11:17:00.002-04:00

The West Michigan Gay Men's Chorus will perform the concert "FAMILY" at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 15, in the East Grand Rapids Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $15 each, available at the door (though it may sell out again) or atwww.wmgmc.org

We will also be hosting a “BASKET BONANZA” from 7:00 – 7:50 p.m. in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center prior to the start of the show. Concertgoers can bid via silent auction on a number of gift baskets from local Grand Rapids donors and businesses.

And then at 7:50pm doors will open the doors for our concert! The first half of the concert will present music which is touching, thought- provoking, and intended to encourage audience member to reflect on their own families, and closely examine the families and the community around them. The second half of “FAMILY”requires you to only decide when to tap your foot, clap your hands, or jump up and dance in the aisles! The selections are fun, entertaining and designed to bring a smile to your face.

2010-04-22T11:16:00.001-04:00

Spring is Natures way of saying, Take risks, break rules, get dirty, its time to party!!
--- Robin Williams

Quote Time

2010-04-22T11:08:00.001-04:00

Nothing's beautiful
from every point of view.

~ Horace

(editorial comment: "Conversely, everything is beautiful from some point of view?"

How Can I Become a Better Listener: 6 Ways to Improve Your Empathic Reach

2010-04-22T11:03:00.002-04:00

by Rev. Randy Smit (listen to Randy at http://revrandy.podbean.com or contact him at ransmit@charter.net with questions, comments, etc., and to sign up for his occasional Compassionate Connection email newsletter with helpful articles like this one.)

Let's say a friend asks you over for coffee, wanting to share something that's been bothering her. In this instance, we'll also assume this is not a person with whom you're frustrated or in conflict, but simply someone you'd like to offer some empathy. Still, you know how pesky distractions can become, how challenging it can be to "be with" someone without doing, commiserating or fixing their problem. Here are a few things you may want to try...

-- Check in to see if this is really a good time for you. Your calendar may be open, you may want to be a good friend. But if you're keenly aware that your own inwardness is full of its own noise or tangles, perhaps it's better to wait until a later time when you can be more present.

-- Check your gut. To extend empathy is to be fully present to the other person. As we speak with someone, one of the best indicators of our connection with the other is our body. If, while listening, I begin to feel tight or experience pressure in different parts of my neck or back, I want to pay attention to this. I want to ask myself -- "Why is there pressure now? What's alive inside? What am I telling myself? Am I becoming resistant to what I'm hearing or trying to solve this problem? Why?"

-- Fully Present!? "Is that even possible? How can I keep my mind from speaking to me while I'm trying to listen?" You can't, nor do you have to. In fact, observing your thought and paying attention to what's alive inside can be a very good way of staying connected to the other. Because it's important to you to extend this kind of empathic care, it's good to hold that desire and to stay with it in a very intentional way. Thoughts and questions may come, but checking in can keep us tuned in to our desire to simply hold space for the other. Although it seems strange, deep self connection is really the only way to offer the other a caring, nonanxious presence. This can take on a feeling of prayerfulness. For me it can sometimes come to life as a mantra of "check-in... reach out... check-in... reach out..." or "I'm here with you, I'm here with you."

-- It's not about me. In my effort to empathize, what the other person is offering may trigger all kinds of strong feelings within me. I may even be tempted to over identify and begin telling stories if I find a strong resonance with them. It usually comes out something like this: "That happened to me once, you wouldn't believe it, there was this one time..." and then I'm pretty clearly done being present, at least until I wake up again. Identifying with someone is wonderful, but over identifying always implies a shift back to myself.

-- What if they ask for advice? It's often helpful to hear the experience of others as we address daily challenges. If your friend genuinely wants to know about some of your own experiences, simply make sure you've received a clear invitation to do so. A good friend of mine, when feeling the strong desire to offer input or an idea, tries to ask herself seven times "am I sure that this is important enough to offer?" She then asks if it would be okay for her to offer something and tries to remain open to a "no."

-- Enjoy the experience. Don't forget that this is about the beauty of human connectedness. It can often feel very freeing to give oneself permission not to solve the other persons problem or become a champion of their cause. Being freed up from this assumed responsibility can put us in a place of full availability, a place that's free of pressure where the love that is in us can flow freely.

Quote Time

2010-04-22T10:56:00.000-04:00

Celebrate
what you want
to see more of.

~ Tom Peters

A Christian Diet: The Case for Food Rules

2010-04-22T10:40:00.003-04:00

This article below is a wonderful reflection for Earth Day on our responsibility to the planet, the others who live on it, and ourselves, especially when we consider that according to the author of this article, David Grumett, "Worldwide, animals farmed for meat generate more pollution than motor vehicles and consume vast quantities of food while elsewhere people are going hungry."

Grumett traces the history of Christian food practices and makes a wondeful case for eating locally. It's summed up best when he cites how many monasteries eat: stressing simple menus, local produce, and communal dining.

Below are excerpts from the article. Read the whole piece from The Christian Century at:

http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=8333

This [monastic and early Christian] ban on what we today call red meat...shows how, through avoiding the food typically thought of as high-status food, Christians may resist the networks of oppression which such food symbolizes and on which it depends. To eat meat frequently requires significant quantities of land, feed and water—either your own or those belonging to someone else, who might, on a good day, be paid a fair price for them. Worldwide, animals farmed for meat generate more pollution than motor vehicles and consume vast quantities of food while elsewhere people are going hungry.

Benedict saw lack of dietary discipline as a sign not of strength but of weakness. In particular, he restricted meat to children, the sick and the elderly. By eating meat unnecessarily, healthy adult members of his community would enjoy a level of luxury inappropriate to their calling. It must be remembered that Benedict expected monks to undertake manual labor as part of their daily routine, so he likely would not have been open to the idea that meat eating is essential to an active lifestyle....

What traces remain of a Christian spirituality shaped by food rules? One place to look is in monasteries, which often stress simple menus, local produce and communal dining. These practices point to an integration of faith and daily life from which many of us could learn....

Modern Christians, in contrast, are in danger of slipping into a fast-food mentality: speed, convenience and illusory abundance rule, regardless of the consequences for the planet. It is as if we are stuck in an Exodus moment, with no time to wait for the bread to rise as we hurry to escape captivity. Our use of food to escape the places and communities in which God has placed us is our problem. How often do we look beyond the rushed or incidental meal to celebrate our own Passover Seder, pausing in prayer and fellowship to celebrate the abundance of the promised land into which God has already led us?

Complete agreement on the place of food in Christian spirituality is unlikely to emerge. Even the New Testament suggests different views. At the Council of Jerusalem, James affirmed some of the existing Jewish rules, whereas Paul is often taken as saying that all foods are clean to those who regard them as clean. This kind of debate is the stuff of everyday, practical spirituality. What is important is not agreeing on detail, but recognizing the link between food and spirituality and subjecting eating to the scrutiny of Christian conscience and tradition. By reflecting on the connections between food and spirituality and making concrete changes in our lives, we can do more to support the everyday, incarnated lives of our sisters and brothers.

Quote Time

2010-04-22T10:31:00.000-04:00

When
I let go of what I am,
I become what I might be.

~ Lao Tzu

Quote Time

2010-04-15T14:59:00.000-04:00

The only ones among you
who will be really happy
are those who will have sought
and found how to serve.

~ Albert Schweitzer

Out of the Closet, Into the Light: a conference on sexuality, inclusion and spritituality

2010-04-15T14:54:00.003-04:00

Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Brookview School (501 Zollar Drive; Benton Harbor, MI). 10am-4pm, lunch will be served.

Have you ever wondered how religion and LGBT communities can support one another? Have you ever wanted to learn more about what LGBT-affirming faith leaders in your community are saying today? Do you want to learn how to make your faith community more welcoming?

Come join us in a thought-provoking, informed forum where we begin to explore the positive relationship between spirituality and sexuality.

Workshops will be led by local clergy and community members and will include

What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality
A brief exploration of the commonly used Scriptural texts used to justify the exclusion of LGBT persons from the life of the church
Presenter: The Rev. Melanie Lawrence (Pastor of Pilgrim Congregational UCC - St Joseph)

Reflections on a Hate Crime
A recent local victim shares insights beyond physical acts of violence.
Presenter: Keith Sliter, local activist

Strategies for Dealing with Our Closest "Enemies"
Practical strategies on dealing with non-supportive family and friends, especially those with religious objections to homosexuality.
Presenter: The Rev. Kevin McLemore (Pastor of First Congregational UCC - Coloma)

Exploring Other "Spritual Frontiers"
A representative of Spiritual Frontiers shares its message of inclusivity and openness to others exploring alternative spiritual paths.
Presenter:

Race, Religion and Sexual Orientation
A dialogue on the intersections of race, religion and sexual orientation and exploring the potential points of connection.
Presenter: Jo Ann Mundy and Joy Bailey, community organizers withEliminating Racism And Claiming/Celebrating Equality: ERAC/CE(Kalamazoo, MI)

In Search of Radical Reconciliation
Pastor Dan Smith explores how reconciliation can occur between those who are worlds apart as he share his research on the work of reconciliation of members of the Benton Harbor and St Joseph communities.
Presenter: The Rev. Dan Smith (Pastor of Zion Evangelical UCC - St Joseph, MI)

One Congregation's Story on Becoming a LGBT Welcoming Congregation
One congregation's move toward becoming Open and Affirming with insights on how you can facilitate that process in your own congregation.
Presenter: Fred Gibby, Pilgrim Congregational UCC

10:00am Plenary Speaker Jon Hoadley
11:15am Workshop Session I
12:30pm Lunch
1:15pm Workshop Session II
2:45pm Workshop Session II

Practicing Resurrection Retreat April 24 at East Congregational UCC in GR

2010-04-15T14:36:00.004-04:00

Saturday, April 24, 2010 - 9:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Siloam Spirituality Center located at East Congregational UCC

1005 Giddings, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506

$40 covers program, materials and lunch

Group is limited to 16 participants. Registration needed. You may send your check (made out to Siloam Spirituality Center) and name/address/phone information to the above address to reserve your spot.

Beverly Zell is a retired minister in the United Church of Christ. She is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and most recently served as pastor of St. Peter's United Church of Christ in Grant Park, Illinois. She and her husband Gary reside on the lakeshore in Holland, Michigan. She attests to the experience of resurrection in her own life, including much time spent in the in-between places.

You will enjoy Beverly, her style of presenting and her outstanding abilities in group leadership. To quote Beverly:

"The language of resurrection conjures up images of Easter, yet it should not be limited to a specific day or time. Resurrection is all around us. It is possible in every transition of life, those we anticipate and those thrust upon us unexpectedly. When one chapter of life comes to an end, we may find ourselves face-to-face with the possibilities of resurrection, of becoming something new. Broken relationships, retirement, marriage, the birth or departure of children, job change or loss, failed dreams and serious illness are but a few of the significant endings in life that make way for the hope of resurrection.

"In this retreat time we will reflect on the experience of resurrection in our lives through the three-fold movement of grace: letting go of the past, navigating the in-between time, and emerging to new life. We will ask important questions about each movement: How do we let go? How do we cope with the chaos and uncertainty of in-between places? How do we nurture and practice resurrection in our lives? Our time concludes with a non-threatening, creative ritual to express and celebrate our hope of resurrection."

by sending your check for $40 to
East Congregational

UCC, 1005 Giddings, Grand Rapids 49506

Sincerely,

Ann P. Slade alpslade@sbcglobal.net
Patricia Stirling pstirling@comcast.net
Siloam Spirituality Center

Quote Time

2010-04-15T14:24:00.000-04:00

Love is the ability
and willingness to allow
those that you care for to be
what they choose for themselves
without any insistence
that they satisfy you.

~ Wayne Dyer

Why Help Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and Re-Member?

2010-04-15T14:16:00.002-04:00

Check out Re-Member's new web site at www.re-member.org. We've taken two trips here and would be interested in another if anyone would like to organize and lead it!

From 1980 to 2000, the counties that make up Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota comprised the poorest of our nation's 3,143 counties. The 2000 census found them the third poorest, not because things got better on Pine Ridge, but because things got worse on two other South Dakota Indian Reservations.

The poverty on Pine Ridge can be described in no other terms than "third world." It is common to find homes terribly overcrowded, as those with homes take in whoever needs a roof over their heads. Many homes are without running water, and without sewer.

While the 2000 census reported a population of 15,521, a study by Colorado State University and accepted by H.U.D. estimated the population at 28,000. Tribal Government records show 38,000 enrolled members living on Pine Ridge Reservation.

Pine Ridge Statistics as of 2007

Unemployment rate of 80-90%
Per capita income of $4,000
8 Times the United States rate of diabetes
5 Times the United States rate of cervical cancer
Twice the rate of heart disease
8 Times the United States rate of Tuberculosis
Alcoholism rate estimated as high as 80%
1 in 4 infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome or effects
Suicide rate more than twice the national rate
Teen suicide rate 4 times the national rate
Infant mortality is three times the national rate
Life expectancy on Pine Ridge is the lowest in the United States and the 2nd lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Only Haiti has a lower rate.

Soulforce Hires New Director

2010-04-15T14:13:00.000-04:00

Rev. Dr. Cindi Love begins her new duties as Executive for Soulforce on April 22, 2010.

Dr. Cindi Love brings a wide range of leadership, management and organizational experience to her new role as SOULFORCE’s Executive Director. From January 2005 until April 2009, she served as the Executive Director of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC). Prior to MCC, she served as an Executive Dean in the third largest community college system in the United States, as a Senior Executive of The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) and CEO and Founder of several award winning corporations, including one named to the INC 500 in 1990. In 1990, Dr. Love was named one of the "Top 50 Entrepreneurs" in North America by Inc. Magazine, the Young Entrepreneur’s Organization, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Love is the creator of the Would Jesus Discriminate? campaign and author of a book by the same name.

“I am really excited that Dr. Cindi Love has accepted the call to serve as Executive Director of SOULFORCE," said the Reverend Dr. Mel White, co-founder of SOULFORCE. "She is the ideal person to continue to lead our non-violent struggle to end misuse of scripture and religion to discriminate against God’s LGBTQ children.”

Chuck Phelan, Chair of the Board of SOULFORCE said, “As SOULFORCE transitions from its entrepreneurial stage of development, we are delighted to have Dr. Love in this crucial position of leadership. She brings a unique sensitivity to the issues facing both the gay rights and civil rights movements. She fully embraces the essential need to engage people in understanding the intersectionality of oppression, particularly within the context of organized religion and its contributions to institutionalized and systemic racism, heterosexism, classism and sexism.”

Rev. Gil Caldwell, member of the SOULFORCE Advisory Board, said, “I am convinced as never before that the nation, faith community and beyond needs SOULFORCE! The alienation between and among persons for racial, gender, sexual orientation, political, religious, regional, class, age and other reasons is as great today as I have seen in my 76 years. I am thrilled to hear that Soulforce is committed to challenge anti-black racism as an important component of the fulfillment of its mission. We welcome Rev. Dr. Love to this work and to our SOULFORCE community of activists." Rev. Caldwell is a retired United Methodist Minister who participated in the "Mississippi Freedom Summer” of 1964, the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965, and the March on Washington.

Learn more at www.soulforce.org

Quote Time

2010-04-15T14:12:00.000-04:00

You never lose by loving.
You always lose by holding back.

~ Barbara De Angelis