Sabbath Poems - Wendell Berry

As I've been thinking a lot about worship this Sunday during which we will remember our saints and as I've been thinking a lot about the election next Tuesday, this poem by Wendell Berry came to mind. It comes from the book "A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems, 1979-1997." Every Sunday after church Wendell Berry walks the grounds of his Kentucky farm and then writes. This is the collection of the ideas and thoughts that came to him during his walks. Here is one poem:

"A gracious Sabbath stood here while they stood
Who gave our rest a haven.
Now fallen, they are given
To labor and distress.
These times we know much evil, little good
To steady us in faith
And comfort when our losses press
Hard on us, and we choose,
In panic or despair or both,
To keep what we will lose.

For we are fallen like the trees, our peace
Broken, and so we must
Love where we cannot trust,
Trust where we cannot know,
And must await the wayward-coming grace
That joins living and dead,
Taking us where we would not go--
Into the boundless dark.
When what was made has been unmade
The Maker comes to His work."

Thank you, Wendell Berry.

progressive christians vote, too

I just want to remind folks that progressive Christians vote as well as Evangelicals. Today Anderson Cooper highlighted the defection of the Christian Right/the Evangelical vote from the Republican party as though that described all voting Christians, but there are all kinds of people who consider themselves Christian; Evangelicals are just one block of Christians. There are also progressive Christians with deep and abiding faith. I am one who gets tired of being lumped in with the Evangelical movement. "Christian" does not equal "Evangelical." I wish the media would learn this.

Progressive Christians are committed and deeply faithful. We follow the teachings of Jesus and believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. And, our faith leads us to reject the death penalty and war, and it leads us to believe in protecting the poor, providing a way out of poverty for those who are born there, supporting stem cell research, and including LGBT people in the full life of our society and churches (including the blessing of unions and extending the same rights as straight couples). Our faith tells us that war is incompatible with Christian teaching and that we must do all that we can to avoid war, resorting to it only as a last option. We find no conflict between our faith and the science of evolution (or the science that informs us about global climate change). The Bible that we read and study firmly and boldly states that God is against poverty. The Torah and the Prophets were clear and unequivocal in their condemnation of God's people when they turned their backs on the poor. Progressive Christians are Christians; our lives have been radically transformed by the birth, life, ministry and teachings, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We follow the healing Nazarene. We praise our Maker. And we are sustained by the Holy Spirit.

This rant arises out of my need to say once again that progressive Christians are here. We read. We think. We worship. We care. And...we vote.

the game is on...what will the dems do?

The election is over and the Democrats appear to have taken both the House of Representatives and the Senate along with the majority of governorships. Pundits last night and all day today have been remarking that this is a referendum on the president and on the war in Iraq. While I agree that both of these issues weighed heavily in the election, I believe that people voted out of their disgust at the overwhelming hypocrisy of the Republican Party. That leaves the following question: Will the Democrats be able to refrain from the same hypocrisy? While I voted along Democrat lines, I am not sure that they will.

The game is now on for the Democrats to set before the American people an agenda that is positive in nature for the entire nation. It is my hope, even if it is not my firm belief, that they will update our minimum wage, make strides in slowing the global climate change, move us toward sustainable energy and energy independence, and find some way for us to wade through the muck of Iraq. It is also my hope that they implement the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission and provide the necessary funding to safeguard our ports. In order for any of these goals to be accomplished, they will have to roll back the tax cut on the richest of us. Issues like health care costs and a just penal code should be addressed but not right away so that other more acute problems can be made manageable.

While none of these things is in and of itself a Christian or a progressive Christian issue, progressive Christians are - least this progressive Christian is - interested in being good stewards of the earth, offering fair wages for hard work (justice), making us as safe as possible without demonizing others, and providing for the weakest among us (the poor and the ill). We may find ourselves at odds on things like Gay marriage (personally I think that marriage is an issue for religious institutions and unions the province of the state), there is a healthy agenda before us on which we can make incredible strides. Most important of all, however, is the challenge before the Democrats to stay away from the lure of corruption. They need to heed the caution issued last night by the voters of this nation. We cannot stomach relentless corruption. Do not fall into the pockets of corporations and your own greed. Look at your agenda. Stick to your agenda.

Curious in the vote from last night was the evangelical defection. A full 1/3 (some sources report 1/4) of the evangelical vote went to the Democrats. This might be attributed to the social conservative stance of many of the Democratic candidates, but I believe it was a vote against the corruption rampant in the Republican party. The game is on, Democrats. What will you do? How will you lead? Conservatives and progressives alike are watching.

progressive christians have a conscience to vote this election

The November elections are getting ever nearer. Just this week I received my absentee ballot in the mail. Progressive Christians have the opportunity to connect our beliefs - the bedrock of our beliefs - with our ballots. The National Council of Churches USA has published a voting guide to help us remember our Christian principles in election time.

If you are like me then you are tired of the word "Christian" being equated with "Conservative Evangelical Christian" in the media and in the minds of the average American. We need to bring our voice loudly into the public square. We have strong beliefs on the environment, on equal rights, on peace, on tolerance, and on poverty. We have important things to say that need to be heard.

Since 1994 election time has been disappointing for many Progressive Christians. It may even be that some of us have started to avoid the voting box out of despair. I know when I look at the choices that are before me, it doesn't look like much of a choice. Too many people running for elected office capitulate to pressures to "move to the midde" (read, to the Right). Too many have been seduced into believing that economic growth regardless of cost should be the purpose of our government. Others are so afraid of their opponents that little difference appears to remain between them. But I know that withdrawing from the process is not a viable option. Too much work needs to be done; who else will do it? If I don't vote, how can I in good conscience hold my elected officials accountable? And if I don't do hold them accountable, who will?

I encourage you to vote. I encourage you to vote proudly as a Progressive Christian, committed to the radical politics of Jesus and sustained by the radical presence of the Holy Spirit.