happy valentine's day

Like so many other holidays begun and sustained by the card industry, Valentine's Day is here to stay. So, last night I watched "A Charlie Brown Valentine" in order to get in the mood. I love this special! I love Charlie Brown! It's not sentimentalized at all. And, as anyone who's been around for a while knows, love is not a sentimental thing; it's scary and risky, and when it disappoints, it hurts!

There are a lot of us who are like Charlie Brown, Sally Brown, and Linus Van Pelt. I remember the anxiety of going to class on Valentine's Day. Like Charlie Brown, I hoped each year to be a member of the group, receiving a lot of notes telling me that I belonged. Inside, though, I still wondered if I would I get any cards. I often didn't get a lot of them. I was a little bit of an oddball - smart, read too much, and a little on the fringes of things. There have been times that I've been like little Sally Brown, so sure that the one she loves will love her back only to be disappointed. There she sits so proud to know that Linus will give her a big box of candy, but he runs out of the rooom to give it to their teacher. She yells, "Why is he in the parking lot with my box of candy?" And then there's Linus, reaching beyond his grasp to offer his love. He can't find the courage to offer his gift to the one who has captured his heart - his teacher. After finally settling on his presentation, he learns that she is gone. He runs to the parking lot to find her with her boyfriend, arriving just as they pull away in the car. He stands there with his heart in his hands - literally. What a genius cartoon. What a true commentary on life.

This Valentine's Day I am lucky to know where I belong and that I have special love in my life. I have places to offer my heart and people who will receive it in return. Too many of us don't, though. And, I don't think our churches are doing a good enough job to welcome love fully into our midst and share it freely with others. Our churches are too much like Charlie Brown's classroom where some are loved. some are left, and some are invisible. Good ol' Charlie Brown is a great prophet for our churches today. He reminds us of the deep marks that our thoughtlessness leave. I wonder if our churches change enough that one day I'll pop in my Charlie Brown movie and something else will show up on the screen with all of the kids loving and being loved without exclusion.

home from retreat

I returned home this afternoon after spending three days on retreat with other clergywomen/women in ministry in the PNW Conf of the UMC. This is one of the most important three days of my calendar year. Every February we head into the Cascade Mountains to a lovely retreat center called Rainbow Lodge. We sit in sacred space and share our life journeys with one another.

This year we discussed Diana Butler Bass's book "Christianity for the Rest of Us." We had great dialogue about tradition, call, and ministry. We played games, took walks in the woods, sang, and worshipped with one another. I love to hear the voices of the thirty-five or so women singing with gusto. We're a great choir!

The worship experiences that we have together always intrigue me. As a pastor, I hardly ever get to experience the worship creativity of my friends and colleagues. On the rare occasions when I am blessed to be led in worship by others, I realize that there are a lot of poets, storytellers, hymnists, and liturgical artists in our midst! The creativity that flows from the hearts of worship leaders is powerfully generative.

So tonight I am hungry to find new liturgical resources...for Eucharist, Holy Baptism, prayers... I wonder what joys are occurring in churches all around me. If you would like to offer a progressive liturgical resource that would help my community, please do so. I am always trying to find new ways for people to experience the transforming grace of God. And I am forever seeking new ways to engage the Christian passion for justice. This is a plea...Don't let me come home from retreat. Help me stay a little longer!

Update on Lutheran Pastor Bradley Schmeling

The disciplinary hearing committee has released its decision related to the Rev. Bradley Schmeling of St. John's Church ELCA in Atlanta, Georgia. Bradley Schmeling was charged with violating the ELCA's policy that bar practicing homosexuals from ordination. He was always open about his sexual orientation; it wasn't until he entered into a relationship with another man that his bishop charged him with violating the church's rule.

After meeting last week, the committee released its report and their findings. In essence, they determined that the Rev. Bradley Schmeling is a gifted pastor who possess all of the gifts and content of character necessary to be ordained and serving within the denomination. They called upon the denomination to change their policies, and they noted that the policy may be illegal given the denomination's constitution. However, seven of the twelve determined that if the oplicy is not changed then Bradley Schmeling will have to be removed from the ELCA's roster, in essence removing his ordination. They have delayed action against him until the denomination meets in early August in order to allow the necessary time for the policy to be changed.

As a gay identified pastor in another denomination, my prayers remain with Bradley Schmeling. As someone serving a church that supported a previous pastor under complaint for being gay, my prayers are with his congregation. But more than that, I pray for Christianity that has made itself so very small over this issue. God calls us into loving and caring relationships. If a pastor, or any person, finds a healthy, supportive, mutually respectful, loving relationship, as the body of Christ, we should support and bless that union. I am not going to debate the scriptural (un)reasoning used by those who continue to discriminate against GLBT folks. I just offer prayers for Christian unity, grace-filled encounters across diving, and for heaing of the wounds that too many GLBT people experience in the name of God.

Books I recommend:
"The Good Book: Reading the Bible With Mind and Heart" by Peter Gomes
"Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?: A Positive Response" by Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Virginia Ramey Mollencott
"The Children are Free: Reexamining Biblical Evidence on Same-Sex Relationships" by Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley

And, for a longer list of reading resources, including books mentioned above, the Episcopal Bookstore has a great selection.

give peace a chance - the church and war

"And the leaders of the world today talk eloquently about peace. Every time we drop our bombs in North Vietnam, President Johnson talks eloquently about peace. What is the problem? They are talking about peace as a distant goal, as an end we seek, but one day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. All of this is saying that, in the final analysis, means and ends must cohere because the end is preexistent in the means, and ultimately destructive means cannot bring about constructive ends."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., "A CHRISTMAS SERMON" 24 December 1967 from Standford University

Church and peace. One would think that these go together. After all, we call Jesus the Prince of Peace. However, preaching peace is a dicey deal for many pastors, especially when people in our pews have family members serving in the line of fire. Yet I would suggest that this is exactly the time to witness to peace. When our nation sends young and old, men and women, girls and boys across the ocean to take the lives of others and to risk their own lives, the church has a moral obligation to question the reasons why. It is our job to advocate for peaceful solutions to difficult problems and to stand in the public sphere as a relentless voice of shalom.

Recently I had a discussion with a United Methodist lay person about Army Lt. Ehren Watada who is undergoing a court-martial for refusing to deploy to Iraq. Not a coward, but an objector, Lt. Watada requested to be sent to Afghanistan instead of Iraq. Lt. Watada sought and received sanctuary in a United Methodist Church, and United Methodists have become especially involved in this struggle. The person I was in dialogue with was upset about an invitation that I extended to members of the church to support Lt. Watada and the church that offered him sanctuary. The invitation was perceived as overly and overtly political and, thus, inappropriate. This has been on my heart for a while, and it seems that I need to say without apology that the Jesus that I follow and the Christianity to which I have dedicated my life is entirely political...and it follows the politics of peace.

Churches shouldn't be Republican or Democrat. Nor should they be American (that's why I dislike the tradition of many churches of putting an American flag in their sanctuary). We belong to God - first and before all things. Peace does not belong to a political party; it is not partisan. Peace is a fundamental concept of the Christian identity, and it startles me when I see churches advocate war. Supporting those who have committed themselves to protect our nation is not the same as supporting policies that wage and sustain war. I, too, have members of my family who are serving in the military and who have served in Iraq. I pray for their safety and the safety of all with whom they come in contact. I pray that the experiences that they undergo and acts which they must perform will not scar their souls beyond repair. I pray for the wholeness of the world. And, I am not a pure pacifist; I understand that times arise when tyranny must be confronted with armed conflict. There are also times when our nation or our allies may be attacked and cannot resist the assault in any way other than by pressing down with great force. I am not anti-troop; I am pro-peace.

Peace is not easy. Coercion is always an easier road to take. Throughout the ages prophets have protested and railed against the powers and principalities of their times, especially their own governments, when they have chosen coercion and hard heartedness over peace and mutual care and respect. As we read through the lectionary during Ordinary Time, we find the call stories of some of our greatest prophets. They reluctantly answered their calls and went into the world to proclaim a difficult message of repentance and peace. Peace requires repentance. Peace brings us into conflict with those who would deny peace a chance. Peace. It is a short word. It is a hard word. It is a word at the foundation of our identity as the living body of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Recent article about Lt. Watada: Seattle Times - Feb 6, 2007

War and Just War from Stanford Ecyclopedia of Philosophy

Clashing Generations

I continue to explore how churches, especially small churches, might be a place for multiple generations. One of the hesitations that I have about the emerging church movement is that its particularity as a postmodern movement may make it inaccessible to people older than 40. Of course, I know the response to this hesitation of mine is that "regular church" is already for the over forty crowd. I get it...I get it. However, if we are trying to build a new approach to church, I think it's important to keep in mind the clashes of generations and how the differences between and among them could be part of their strength. Remember Pentecost? Difference is a gift from God.

In my reading, I ran across an article published a couple of years ago in a local paper. While it concerns different attitudes toward and hopes for the working envirnoment, it offers me more to add to the growing pile of articles, books, videos, and notes about the active four generations (Greatest, Boomers, Gen X, and Gen y/Millenials/Nexters). The article, The War at Work, follows employment trends and how they are related to attitudes about life, work, family, and the world.

going to congo

I have signed up to go on a Volunteers in Mission (VIM) trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The trip will be this summer between Aug 2-Aug 24. We will be travelling to the southern province of Katanga, the same province which just elected United Methodist Bishop Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda as a senator. The DRC has made incredible strides toward stability after years of civil war and strife. Bishop Ntanda has been instrumental in the peace efforts within Katanga. He, along with the rest of the Senate, is expected to be installed on Feb 3.

While we call these mission trips, really they are expensive Christian education trips for us. The hope is to build relationships, for us to realize the interconnectedness of all life, and then to become invested in one another's well being. I am a strong supporter of this kind of Christian education.

We are going to Kolwezi, which is WNW of Lubumbashi, and has a city population of about 450,000 people. While there our team will work in a hospital/clinic and do some construction work. It is our hope to also visit the orphanage Jamaa Letu in Lubumbashi - an orphanage that United Methodists in the Pacific Northwest helped to build with our sister annual conference.

On the way home we are stopping in Kenya to debrief and to go on a brief safari. It is my hope while I am there to see first-hand the good work that MERC is doing to preserve the culture of the Maasai people and for the environment.

As time draws nearer for the trip, I continue to read more and more about the politics of Central Africa, the DRC, the mineral ventures in Katanga, and about the incredible peoples of that area. I really don't know why we call this a mission trip, unless we really mean that it's a mission for those of us going over there!

I would love to hear from folks who have been to Congo and would love pointers to reading materials or packing helps that might be useful.

what the heck is a methodist?

This post is in response to a question posed to me by several people. Sometimes I wonder myself what a Methodist is. I am one, but I meet other Methodists with whom I seem to share very little. That is one of the great things about Methodism. In theory there is a great deal of room for difference. There are contemplative UMCers, evangelical UMCers, postmodern UMCers, social justice UMCers, and even progressive UMCers. So what pulls us all together? To start looking at this weird experiment called Methodism, check out the newly redesigned denominational website. Specific to who United Methodists are and what we believe, I suggest you begin with here.

what does a healthy, small urban church look like?

Last week I had a pretty dissatisfying conversation with someone in the United Methodist Church's connectional system. We were talking about congregational development as it relates to the church that I currently serve. Increasingly I feel torn between wanting the patience to work within this system of ours and impatience at the lack of hope for small urban churches - lack of hope that I perceive is at work in my conference and in the denomination as a whole. I believe that there is an important - even vital - role for small churches in our urban areas. Small churches can be financially and spiritually healthy places that sustain full time ministry and fuction as hubs for social justice. I believe that small churches with a somewhat traditional liturgy and "feel" can be a place for GenXers and Millenials to redefine tradition and reassert the church as a location for social change and personal spiritual development.

Now I am at the way outer edge of what most of our culture would call "young" (I am 38), but, unfortunately, I still am younger than most folks in our denomination, especially those in leadership in our denomination. I don't hear anything particularly interesting or compelling coming from these leaders. It sounds like the same old thing rehashed. It seems that every couple of years we create a new "plan" for ministry, engage another 40-50 year old white male as a consultant (no offence white males), and then we do nothing. I want to hear from people actually engaged in active and vital ministry, especially those in healthy, small, progressive churches in urban areas.

Anecdotally, I see that there are some people my age and younger who are looking for church that feels like "church." By that I mean they want a sanctuary, stained glass, and hymns. They are searching for set aside space that is holy and sacred. I know that I certainly don't feel worshipful attending services in spaces that are constructed to be large gathering rooms. And I see others, maybe not the majority but others, who, like me, are looking for sacred space.

As part of this search for sacred space, some folks are looking for a progressive church that welcomes questions and encourages right relationship and right action (orthopraxy). This is where a small church can become a place for social change. Through our relationships with one another and through the sharing of events that have shaped our lives, we invest ourselves in working for a better world. Small churches offer a special place to make intimate relationships, where belonging comes readily, and where someone's passion can more easily spread to become the passion of the many.

I am hoping to get in touch with other heatlhy, small, progressive, urban churches, regardless of denomination, in order to discover how they do what they do. I am no longer willing to listen only to the data generated by BARNA or Alban or denominational sources. I want to know first hand what a small urban church looks like - literally looks like - and how it goes about the work of ministry. The Holy Spirit is alive in our churches, and it is calling us out of our fear and into radical ministry. I hope this journey that I'm beginning is rewarding, and I welcome all input that anyone may have to offer...

seattle's annual one night homeless count 2007

Each year hundreds of volunteers - students, teachers, city council members, churches, and synagogues - take to the streets to perform a head count with the hope of determining how many people are actually sleeping on the streets and in shelters in the greater Seattle area. This year the geographical area was extended to include growing outlying areas like Renton and other communities. This year the count yielded a total of 2,140 people.

The data collected last night, Thursday, January 25, report mixed results. While the numbers show an increase of homeless people counted, 289 of those were counted in new geographical areas. That actually indicates a slight decrease (5%) in areas counted in the past. Because not everyone without housing actually gets counted (for example, people staying on friends couches, in motels), the rule is to triple the actual count to arrive at a number approximating the actual number of homeless people in our area. Also not counted in the one night count are the number of people in shelters (although Tent Cities were counted). These numbers will be collected and added to the total. Of particular note to me are the twenty-two minors counted. This data, of course, is difficult to analyze. We have to ask if Seattle and King County's effort to end homelessness in ten years is starting to have an effect two years into the program? Are homeless people moving into outlying areas because of increased police intervention in the city? Did the weather affect the count?

As someone who has participarted in the count a number of times, I think that every church in Seattle needs to get its people to volunteer. This year there were 735 volunteers; wouldn't it be incredible if half or more of these were church people? The impact of walking around the streets in the early morning hours do perform this work is humbling, angering, and life-changing. Walking around looking for homeless people runs counter to what most people typically do - try to look away from and not see homeless people. The number of people living in cars, unable to access shelters, sleeping under overpasses is staggering. After the night of counting is over, it has been tradition to head to a local cafe and wait for the numbers to be totalled. A press conference is called and a quick summary of the night is offered. If this isn't what the church should be doing, then I don't know what our mission could be.

Go here to read more about the One Night Count. Tables of count categories as well as the press release are available.

millenials and the church

Typically I'm not a big fan of Christianity Today. Its theology tends to be a bit prosaic for my taste, but there's an article in the current issue called "Meet the Millenials." It is imperative that churches recognize the important contributions that Millenials can make for the body of Christ and in the world. It is fundamental that we understand the spiritual needs of Millenials. And it is absolutely vital that Millenials know that there are spiritual communities that welcome them (even if they are the only Millenial in the pews), that value their intellect, and that challenge them to offer their gifts.

"Meet the Millenials
Who They Are and Why Your Church Should Care
by Jeff Trubey and Ben Christy
from Outreach magazine, January/February 2007

They're socially minded, have a high interest in spirituality and chances are, they're not in your church. How can you reach the millennials? Over the next 20 years, college-aged young adults will be at the heart of this emerging generation. Read on to learn why these years of higher education are the optimal time to engage this often elusive group.

• Would someone please define "church community" for me?..." More

not because of fear: a god of wild love and wilder justice

This is a longer than usual post that comes in response to a couple of recent conversations. It deals with the importance of experience in our faith development. I meet more and more people - mostly people who fit in the "categories" of the GenX and Millenial generations - who would like to come to church, but the things they have heard in church keep them away. By and large I hear them say three things about Christianity that keep them outside of church doors.

1. They don't want anything to do with a God of fear. A God rooted in fear just seems too small. They have been told that the only reason to go to church, participate in Christian community, and learn the scriptures and traditions is to avoid a fiery pit in some other world. This makes no sense to them; fear doesn't speak to them. They have experienced some wonder in the world and have absolutely no desire to orient their lives around a belief system that begins with fear rather than this wonder.

2. Church has been a place filled with hurtful and meaningless platitudes. The concept that "it's all in God's plan" doesn't fit with their experience of the world. The sorrow they've felt in their own lives and tragedies they see around the world just don't fit with this view. If it's all in God's plan, God seems to be a pretty mean deity - sadistic even. They have heard, upon the death of a loved one, "It's all for the best." Or they have heard after some kind of tragedy that "It's all in God's plan." Wow! These platitudes hurt people and don't add meaning to life. People are looking for a place that will welcome honest and real questions about life, death, and all that happens in between. They are looking for a place that will welcome their doubts and offer a way to deal with them. They are not looking to have the most important and fundamental struggles of their souls dismissed.

3. The God of the churches they have known has been described as "all powerful." This means that God either makes all the bad things in the world happen or allows them to happen. This doesn't work with their hopes for a deity. It just doesn't seem right.

Of course there are lots of other reasons that people stay away from church, but these are some of the ones that I hear most about. And I have to say that if I had been raised in a church that promulgated them I probably wouldn't go to church, either. My experience of God - the Divine, the Ground of Being, the Source of All that Is, the Great I Am, the Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, the Holy Spirit, the Great Love (you get my drift) is that our words will always be insufficient to capture the wildness of God. God is the wildness of love and the passion at the heart of justice. In them we find a holy combination that is magnificent and miraculous. God is personal and corporate. God is inclusive - radically so. And God convicts our sins - yes, I said sins. Sins of injustice, of apathy, greed, violence, fear, and hate. We do sin. We miss the mark all of the time, but my experience (thank goodness) is that that God's grace overwhelms my sins. God invites me into full communion with the universe and all that is in it. At the heart of Christianity is a radically inclusive and relational God who loves this world and burns with a passion for justice.

Here are some responses to the three reasons people stay away from church:

1. "Fearing God" - which is in the Bible quite a bit - is to hold the purity of God's holiness in awe. It isn't an invitation to be afraid. It is an invitation to hold God and all that God has made in wonder and to look upon it all with reverence.

2. My experience of God tells me that there are no easy answers to life, just an invitation to live. The sorrows that we experience aren't sadistic gifts from God, but through them we may find our ability to withstand grow stronger. Sometimes, though, they will almost destroy us. Our community is there to hold us up when we can't stand on our own. Christianity is a pathway and Jesus is our Way. Together we ask questions and stumble along.

3. God's power is overwhelming. I have experienced God's power is a lot of ways. Living the Pacific Northwest, it takes just a glance at Puget Sound, Mt. Rainier, or at the salmon making their way home to spawn to see God's power at work. When I see oceans spinning with hurricanes, I see God's genius at work as the Earth tries to right itself back into balance. But somtimes God's power lies in the tear of someone aching and mourning. God's power is not our power. It is divine. It is generative, invitational, convicting, and persistent. It is not coercive - at least not in my experience.

I have experienced God's love as something wild and God's passion for justice as even wilder. I tell those coming back to church - those who dare to step across the sanctuary threshhold - that God invites us into community to seek together what we haven't found alone. I tell them that church isn't perfect - it is political and flawed and filled with difficult personalities. Church isn't a place to come a order up a slice of personal fulfillment. Church is a community that stumbles together to discover over and over the wildness of God and ways for us to extend that love, grace, and justice into the world.

praying for and with lutherans

Yet another clergy person is being brought to trial for expressing his authentic self. The twist is that this time it isn't a United Methodist. ELCA pastor Bradley Schmeling of St. John's Lutheran Church in Atlanta, Georgia will be undergoing a hearing beginning January 19. "On August 8, 2006, Bishop Ronald Warren of the Southeastern Synod filed formal charges with the ELCA against Pastor Schmeling because of his committed relationship with Rev. Darin Easler. Currently, the ELCA has a policy that excludes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in relationships from the ordained ministry" (St. John's website).

I have pledged to be in prayer for St. John's community, for Bradley Schmeling, and for the ELCA. Our communions are coming apart at the seams, bursting with the ignorance of many and the prejudice of some. I hear people raise up the Bible as a defense for their hurtful attitude toward and sometimes violent actions against GLBT people. While I could argue (and win, I must say) a prooftexting fight with these folks, what astounds me the most is the amount of weight they have given to seven scriptures that have been cherry picked from the Bible. I have to say that I've never seen a pastor on trial for encouraging her/his affluent church to remain aloof, bigotted, and segregated. And yet the Bible is clear, consistent, and unrelenting on the moral failure of those who oppress and refuse aid to people most vulnerable. I've never seen a denomination take a stance outlawing behavior that harms our environment. Yet the first thing that Adam and Eve are told to do is to tend to God's creation. I've never heard of someone being forced from office or removed from their orders for not loving their neighbor as themselves. So,while I heartily disagree with those who find GLBT folks in a state of sin just for being who God has made them to be, it is the unbelievable hyprocrisy of those who have made this so great a sin that it overshadows much more fundamental moral failings listed consistently in the Bible.

I pray that Lutherans will find their way to the light even if we Methodists are still living in shadow. I pray for bitterness to remain far away from the hearts of those who attend St. John's; it will be tempting to hate those who hate you, to hold in contempt those who hold you in contempt. I pray for strength and good humor for Bradley Schmeling, someone I have never met and who I consider my brother. I pray for all of us to stop manufacturing prejudice and exporting bigotry and to learn to struggle together toward full communion in God our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sustainer.

The world is vast. And in it we have many opportunities to grow in faith and life. Some of those opportunities are painful and are born from the womb of Injustice. Other opportunities, thank heaven, we welcome more easily. These arise from the womb of Joy. Both Injustice and Joy give birth every day. But won't heaven sing with delight when Justice and Joy are the mothers of this world? Until then I will continue to pray for Methodists, estranged from one another, and for Lutherans, who struggle this week to find a new path.

You, too, can sign up for the prayer vigil!

powerful community, strong communion

This is the article that I wrote for my church's January 2007 newsletter. This year our church's theme is "Beloved Community," and we will spend the whole year exploring King's hope for the world and how one local congregation might better embody the beloved community. In order to step into this path of exploration, we have started asking, "What is community?" It is my hope that we will learn that the power of our community arises out of the strength of our communion.

"As we close the book on 2006 and move into 2007, I wonder what the new year will bring. It is my deepest hope for WPUMC that we find new and meaningful ways for us to grow closer to one another and closer with our God. Many of you have told me about your desires for stronger community and how you hold hope that this place might offer it to you. I share your hope and invite you to walk with me through this year on a journey - an exploration - into community and sharing.

I have heard you ask for more community - stronger community. As we continue to explore the power of the beloved community, we will begin with the question, 'What is community?' This question will be addressed in our all-church retreat in January and we will talk about it at our first church council meeting of the year. The idea of community will resurface throughout the year, and I invite you to speak with me about your ideas for strengthening our community for the building of the beloved community.

In the church we refer to the sacrament of Eucharist as 'communion.' In the sharing of the bread and wine, we enter into God's holy mystery, seeking union with God and with one another. The power of the church doesn't reside in our beliefs (which we could hold separate from church); our power arises from the strength of our community, our communion - our shared life with one another and with God. Community is fundamental to our health. Communion is fundamental to our identity. Without it we are an assembly of individuals with individual aspirations. With it we are a body that is as diverse as the number of people who are part of our community. When our communion is strong, we are able to advocate for others, include others without fear, and move into the faithful work into which we are called as the body of Christ. When our communion is strong, our community is powerful.

I wish you a Happy New Year! And I also hope that you allow yourselves gentle time to rest from the busy-ness of Christmas. Restoration of our souls - of our "selfs" - is necessary in a healthy community. So, I invite us all to take care and to enter the new year expectant of the mysteries that await us as the year unfolds."

The United Methodist Church's understanding of Holy Communion can be found in "This Holy Mystery."
The King Center contains more about the Beloved Community.

pastor/congregation relationship

I am posting an article here by The Rev. Dennis R. Winkleback, assistant to the Bishop, New York Area of The United Methodist Church. It is something that would benefit small churches as well as large ones:

"Commentary: Want a better pastor?

Do you want a better pastor? Or is your pastor already great, and you just want to help him or her feel content serving your congregation? The truth is, you have a lot of power to make it happen.

Congregations can enhance their pastor's effectiveness and contentment, but too few church members think intentionally about doing so.

To help your pastor be happy about being your pastor, consider the following 'Be-Attitudes.'"

More

mlk day - the vision of the beloved community

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Most people have the day off from work, but I have a meeting with the facilitator of our upcoming all church retreat to discuss our retreat's theme "The Beloved Community." The Beloved Community is a radical vision of the world that King challenged us all to embrace.

I love the vision of be Beloved Community; that may seem ironic when looking at my blog's title and reading what the the King Center's site says about Beloved Community:

"For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal to be confused with the rapturous image of the Peaceable Kingdom, in which lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony. Rather, The Beloved Community was for him a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence."

I actually think there's not a large difference between the "utopian goal" of the lion and lamb lying down together and the US and Al Qaida laying down arms. Most days it seems more realistic to expect the lion and lamb to play chess together while lazing under a tree somewhere.

The Beloved Community is a real vision. When I talk to church people and ask them what their vision for their local congregation is, I am stunned at the lack of real vision. After allowing the silence to sit for a while, I use these follow up questions, "When you visualize your perfect church community, what do you see - actually see? A big facility? A modern facility? Lots of programs? What color are the people? How old? What are you doing together? What is happening in worship?" Too many of us - all of us - lose vision. We lose vision of vibrant, socially active, relevant, life-transforming Christianity. The Beloved Community reintroduces us to a beautiful vision of how the world (and our churches) might be. In the Beloved Community puts forth a vision in which the world's wealth is shared, war is unncessary, and all people are valued and valuable. The Beloved Community lies at the heart of social justice. It's a perfect start for churches to discuss the Beloved Community when trying to see their own possibilities and what the gospel calls us into.

While King did not originate the idea of the Beloved Community (he borrowed it from FOR's Josiah Royce), King is the one who popularized the notion. On this day of remembering the importance of Martin Luther King, Jr. I am spending today reflecting upon the Beloved Community, what its implications would be in our individual lives, in the workings of our churches, and in the midst of our world.

For more substance on the Beloved Community, I refer you to:
The King Center
religion-online

faith, budgets, and the small church

I have a great deal of faith in the power of God. I believe strongly in the presence of the Holy Spirit. And I know that Jesus invites us all into difficult places to do important work on behalf of God's peaceable kindom. So, if my faith is so strong, why do I totally freak out about my local church's budget? What is the right balance between 1) faith in God's call, the power and presence of the Holy and Spirit, and responding to Jesus' call to unwavering discipleship, and 2) responsible stewardship, responsible bookkeeping, and realistically understanding the reality before us?

The church that I serve is filled with wonderful people. We are getting younger and more active each year. Yet we also face the stranglehold of the high cost of building maintenance, the expensive nature of having a full time ordained clergyperson, and the associated costs of other staff. I have no idea how to sort through the interaction of faith and reality, of risky ministry and responsible stewardship, of moving forward boldly and maintaining the community already assembled.

Tonight I'm not someplace that I had planned to be. My stomach is too upset, and I know 100% that this is stress related. We will find a way through this year; that much I know. What I don't know about are following years. Further, I know that our work to pare down our budget to meet what we can spend entails the devastation of line items that support certain missions and all programs and activities that support growth. We must find a way to support growth, not just maintain what we have. Even small churches need some growth, even if they intend to remain small.

My church is small. The people want it to remain small. In the intimacy of this community many people find family, support, and community. They have no desire for this to turn into a place where they are lost. How do we do this and also have financial health?

seattle's homeless struggle in the unusually cold weather

Here is an article by Seattle Times writers Amy Roe and Sara Jean Green called Homeless on a quest for warmth about the plight of homeless people during our unusually frigid weather.

As I write this, it is snowing outside and 23 degrees, and I feel a bit chilly in my warm, heated, insulated home. Tonight 20 men will arrive at my church for a warm place to sleep. On this street alone, three churches are hosting shelters this evening. It's not nearly enough, but what else can small (even large) churches do? Perhaps we should get together and make emergency plans for unusually extreme weather of all kinds. It's a thought.

Children of Men - the Perfect Nativity Story

I absolutely LOVED "Children of Men!!"

I almost called this post "Children of Men v The Nativity: Supernatural Smackdown." In such a smack down, "Children of Men" kicks "The Nativity's" behind. The problem with this, of course, is that Children of Men isn't supernatural at all. It is Alfonso Cuaron's latest film in which the world has lost all hope - for a future and for its present. It is brilliantly held together by Clive Owen who plays Theo, a once-activist turned beaurocrat devoid of hope. Throughout the film we see Cuaron's take on the present and how much struggle we go through to recover hope. I am not going to write a review; I'm just urging you to see it. It's difficult to watch, but in a recent interview, Cuaron said that there is a lot in this world that is difficult. He got that right!

Here are some great interviews about the movie:
Cinematic Happenings Under Development interview with Cuaron
About.com's interviews with Cuaron and Clive Owen
BBC interview
Alfonso Cuaron on Charlie Rose

joan says it right

"National budgets are a nation's theology walking."
-Joan Chittister, OSB in an article in the Progressive Christian Witness

why can't enough be enough? my musings on consumerism, wanting, and the iphone

For Christmas I received the one thing that I wanted all year long - a video ipod. I love digital stuff. If it's cooler, quicker, and easier I want it. It's a fun way to be; it's also a little frustrating, given all of the competing technologies that are available. So, now I have a BlackBerry and a video ipod. I wondered, "Why can't these be smushed together into one thing? Well, at least I have two of the coolest things that I've seen." And then...the iphone was unveiled. What is Apple trying to do, give me a heart attack? My mouth began watering, my eyes got rounder, my pupils dilated. My hand reached out to touch the picture of the new iphone on my computer screen. "Must have," my greedy brain chanted, even grunted. Why isn't what I have enough for me? Given that I just received the one thing that I've wanted all year, what is happening in me? I feel as though I've betrayed the goodness of my cute little video ipod. It does everything it's supposed to and more. Why have I turned my emotional back on it?

We live in an upgrade world. It seems that every time I purchase something, I buy it a little too early and an upgrade is announced a month later, or I purchase it too late and something completely new is just around the corner. When I spend 2, 3, 4, or 500 dollars on something, I'd like it to be relevant for just a little while. But even beyond that, why are these little toys so important to someone who claims to desire a simple life, led by the example of Jesus, and filled with the passion of the Holy Spirit?

There seems to be a pretty big disconnect going on. Cable isn't enough, digital cable isn't enough, my ipod isn't enough. I need the DVR, need the laptop, need the MacBook, need the BlackBerry, need the vidio ipod, need the hybrid car, need the scooter for short trips, need snowshoes for two trips a year, need, need, need. But these aren't needs. These are wants. And mostly, they are greedy little wants. They remind me that I have a constant struggle inside my heart that pulls me into the consumerism of the hyper-abundance of America and the simplicity of the message of the gospel.

The iphone is now the icon of my meditations. I'm not yet sure whether it symbolizes heaven or hell. It seems to do everything wonderfully. That should be heavenly, right? But it seems to symbolize all that tempts me. Well, that indicates someplace else.

For those who can withstand temptation, see the whole thing at www.apple.com.

poverty in america...what can we do?

Every night in my church about 20 men come and sleep. We aren't a shelter; we are their home. Just a block down the street a local Lutheran church is hosting Tent City 3, a moveable tent community that relocates every few months to another church, synagogue, or park. They are a community - with rules and leadership and all that is needed to form and maintain a community. Both the men who stay in the church that I serve and those living in Tent City 3 are part of the same organization: SHARE, Seattle Housing and Resource Effort. SHARE is only one of multiple organizations in Seattle working to advocate and provide shelter for homeless people. Poverty crushes both the soul and the body, and it is inexcusable that the United States would have 37 million people living below the poverty line...and that assumes that the poverty line actually measures the point at which poverty begins, which it doesn't.

Every night in Seattle about 8,000 people are homeless; many more live beneath the poverty line. Across the United States too many people, far too many of whom are children, survive in poverty rather than live with enough. Raising the federal minimum wage doesn't even begin to seriously address the growing problem of poverty in the wealthiest nation in history. Yet it is the first and most basic thing that we as a people concerned for the common good should do. What family of four can live on $19,971 (the government's determination of poverty for a family of four) a year? How can we stand to live in the midst of such abundance while withholding the most basic necessities to one another? Our metrics for determining impoverishment are woefully inadequate, but the government can't bear the consequences of changing them to accurately reflect the point at which people feel the crushing weight of poverty.

People of faith have a particular responsibility to act for change nationally and in our smaller communities. I remain astounded and ashamed at how much time we spend debating "family values" that don't include the immorality of poverty. January is Poverty in America Awareness Month, and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)has a great website packed with important information and ways to get involved. It's user friendly and is the best site I've seen on poverty in the US. They also have a great two minute video. Watch it and see how you would budget for a family of 4 on $19,971 a year. People of faith, progressive Christians and evangelicals alike, have a moral and spiritual responsibility to be active and relentless to end poverty in our communities. Why not start the new year right by getting involved?

http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/press.shtml

progressive christians can help raise the minimum wage

A job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it.

The U.S. House will vote on raising the minimum wage on January 10.
Be a part of this long-overdue step towards justice.
Be a voice for a new direction for Congress.
On Tuesday, January 9, tell the House to vote for a clean increase in the minimum wage.
Use this toll-free number: 1-800-459-1887

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on January 10 on a bill to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 over two years. Help us generate thousands of calls in support. Do not allow special interests to load up a modest minimum wage increase with billions in unnecessary tax breaks.*

This is no time for silence! Call your Representative January 9:
Step 1: Call 1-800-459-1887, toll-free, to be connected to the U.S. Capital Switchboard.

Step 2: Ask to be connected to your Representative's office.

Step 3: Tell the staffer who answers the phone:

Hi, my name is _______________. I'm a constituent. Please tell Rep. _______ to vote for H.R. 2, the bill to increase the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years. It's the most basic justice and long overdue. Please pass a clean bill, with no tax breaks for business and no changes that hurt worker rights. Will Rep. ___ vote in favor of H.R. 2?


*President Bush has already said he wants Congress to attach business tax breaks and regulatory "relief" to the minimum wage increase (see Washington Post, Bush Supports Democrats' Minimum Wage Hike Plan, December 21, 2006). Your call will tell Congress that enough is enough. Congress has ignored the needs of minimum wage workers for 10 years. Workers need a clean increase now.


Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign and the Coalition on Human Needs are urging all in their networks to call Congress and to forward this alert to everyone they know. The toll-free number is provided by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization whose work for social justice, peace, and humanitarian service includes campaigns for a moral budget and a fair minimum wage (www.afsc.org/economic-justice/). AFSC welcomes groups to circulate and use the toll-free number to support specific policies that promote economic justice and human rights, and without linking the alert to a website soliciting donations or actions which may be used to support partisan lobbying or work.

The Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign (www.letjusticeroll.org) is a fast-growing nonpartisan coalition of more than 80 faith, community and labor organizations, as well as business people who know that a higher minimum wage is vital for workers, communities and our economy.

The Coalition on Human Needs (www.chn.org) is an alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies which address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations. The Coalition's members include civil rights, religious, labor and professional organizations and those concerned with the well being of children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities.

back to "normal"

We waited during Advent, sang during Christmas, partied for New Year, rejoiced at the Epiphany, and remembered on Baptism of the Lord. Now the holy days are over and we go back to "normal." In the church we have entered normal time or ordinary time. What is wonderful is that we are invited during "ordinary time" to focus on our spiritual growth as we follow the stories depicting the life and ministry of Jesus. This makes "ordinary time" extraordinary.

One of the gifts of being in a small church is that we have the opportunity to get to know one another very well and to embark upon our spiritual journeys together. The intimacy of a small church puts us in much closer relationship with one another than a large, programmatic church. Ordinary time offers those of us in small churches a special time to read and reflect upon the stories of our tradition and to question them together. We have a special gift - those of us in small churches - to dig into the depthes of our faith tradition and to engage one another along our spiritual journeys. There's not much "ordinary" about it at all.

Note for those not raised with a liturgical calendar: The colors of our worship space have changed from white to green. Around my neck, my stole will probably use multiple colors or depict children from around the world.

a society of wanderers

Yesterday I returned home from a week long break. The planes were fairly crowded; the airports were, too. We are a society of wanderers. The gift of easy travel (despite how it feels sometimes) has taken us far from the homes of our childhoods. Sometimes this frees us to be who we know we are. Sometimes it removes us from our anchors. We have become wanderers, pilgrims, nomads - even homeless. I wonder how different our wandering is from the journey of the magi, who set off to find the King of kings, the Christ child. Our wanderings may feel more like meanderings than journeys, but I believe we all set off for a reason. It's this reason that determines whether we are aimlessly meandering or wandering with a purpose...journeying, if you will.

I'm too tired to write much about this, but as I climbed aboard the plane yesterday to cross time zones, mountains, and over a thousand miles, I knew that I was crossing more than geography. I left behind the family with whom I share a history that stretches to the beginning of humankind. While I love the life that I've chosen and that I've worked hard to establish, I know that I, like many others, live a somewhat dislocated life. Maybe my dreams will make this more clear for me. All I know is that as I think of the magi this Epiphany I think of some books on my bookshelf, including "The Homeless Mind" by Peter Berger and "Cadences of Home: Preaching Among Exiles" by Walter Brueggemann.

Note to those not raised with a liturgical calendar: Epiphany, for those in the Western Church, ends the Christmas cycle. It is the feast day on which we remember the arrival of the magi. While pictoral representations typically show three "wise men," the Bible doesn't enumerate them nor does it name them. Tradition has given them the names Gaspar, Malchior, and Balthazar, and they have come to represent the gentile's, i.e. non-Jewish people's, recognition of Jesus as the Anointed One, the King of kings. One this day we celebrate the hope of the entire world worshiping the God of peace. The origin, calendar date, and meaning of Epiphany differs between the Eastern Church and the Western Church. The meaning has also changed over time. But, for all intents and purposes, Epiphany marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas, is followed by Baptism of the Lord, and then we begin "Ordinary Time" or "Kingdomtide."

So...as I celebrate this feast day I will also celebrate those who have given me life and love and those with whom I seek that now. I remember that Christ came and offered all people home in the covenant community. And I hold a hope for the Church that we will provide a place of belonging and home for all who come searching for it.

twelve days of christmas (christmas just started!)

I didn't think that I would post again before going on vacation, but there is something that I want to highlight, especially for people who have not been raised in a liturgically based denomination. Christmas is not a day. It is a season just like Easter, Lent, and Advent. As a season, Christmas lasts twelve days and ends when the magi, bringing their gifts, appear to the Christ child - Epiphany. So, when we sing about the twelve days of Christmas, we are singing about the days after Christmas, not the days before.

Even more little known among people is Twelfth Night, which falls on January 5, the day before Epiphany. Twelfth Night is a great time for feasting, celebrating the King of kings and looking ahead to the joy of Epiphany, which arrives the next day. Feasting on Twelfth Night is both an English and a French custom, which includes eating a King's Cake. Some have also reserved the King's Cake for Epiphany; both customs are traditional (FYI, King's Cake is part of Mardi Gras in the USA...this is where the custom comes from).

Remember, Christmas has not ended; it has just begun. For each of the twelve days of Christmas, we are invited to experience the miracle of the heavens and the earth co-existing in new and unimaginable ways. Many Christians, especially progressive Christians, have spent such a great deal of time demythologizing our faith that we have lost the mystery and miracle of our story. It is possible to separate myth, legend, and fable from fact and still hold to the truths of our myths, legends, and fables. The truth of our story doesn't reside in its factual accuracy; it resides in the ageless truth that life is stronger than death, that our worth doesn't arise from our birth or cultural position but out of God's grace, that God's deepest desire is for shalom - peace. Christmas has come. Let's not pack it away unmindfully, too quickly. Advent invited us to prepare for these twelve days. Let's enjoy them and marvel at how the heavens crashed into the earth, and the Prince of Peace struggled into the world amid the violence and greed of politics, amid the mess and stink of poverty, amid the scandal of his parentage, and amid the condition of humankind.

merry christmas...time to rest

Merry Christmas! Like many of you, I am tired after Christmas services, spending time with family, wrapping presents, cleaning house, entertaining visitors, and anticipating the Day! Christmas has finally come. We sang carols, lit our candles and raised them high to the heavens, and toppled from our beds on Christmas morn to open presents and spend time with folks we love. For me, at least, it's time to spend time remembering the power of the miracle of Christmas. I am taking a week away from the office, meetings, parties, and all engagements. I am heading south to visit my family and to re-experience the joy of being in a small town. The days are longer and life is clearer...it's something that feeds my soul, being in that place where I grew from a child to an adult. So that's where I go this week. It is my wish that we all would have such an opportunity - to slow down, feel the joy of belonging and love, and remember where we came from and where we have come to.

(Let's see if I feel so romantic after being gone for a week!)

If the picture on this blog is of interest to you, I strongly recommend the art work of He Qi, a phenomenal artist.

the bible experience

Denzel Washington reading the Song of Solomon? Well, that might be enough to get The Bible Experience, published by Zondervan. This is a 70 hour dramatic reading of the Bible by an all African American cast - the only such project ever done. Dramatic readings of the Bible are not typically something I go for; it's even a little possible I would find a project like this, well, "hokey" or silly. However, the caliber of artists involved in this one makes me wonder just a little. I've heard a few excerpts and it's actually pretty interesting. Of course, I've only heard excerpts that lend themselves to performance. I wonder how riveting Deuteronomy will be...

A few things that are rolling around in my head are:
1. I believe that the Bible can be a performance piece. (Certainly the power of performance is missing in most of our churches! Maybe hearing good "productions" might help people remember there are feeling and meaning in the words. Some are humorous...some words are sarcastic...some are playful. Do we always have to read as though each word were serious and somber? But I digress...) As such, some license has to be made with the text. Therefore, a performance of the Bible should not be considered something for study. Rather, it's to learn the general stories, for devotion, and for pleasure...basic education, yes, okay.
2. This is the NIV or the tNIV...not particularly scholarly works, but then, if #1 above applies, this shouldn't matter. It is important, though. As dull as it sounds, textual variance and translation issues significantly impact (even make or fundamentally change) meaning.
3. A woman asked to play God and was denied. God is a dude in this play. Hmmm... This raises the age old issue of genderizing God and who has access to speak for God...
4. It's a great cast with really high production value.
5. What would someone do with 70 hours of the Bible? I mean, really, what would someone do?
6. Denzel Washington, Blair Underwood, Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding, Jr, and 76 of your fave actors are in it...not shabby.

Is anyone going to buy or download this? Oh, just in time for Christmas, Angela Bassett telling the birth of Jesus is free from itunes.

UPDATE: I am almost finished listening to the story; I've not heard Angela Bassett yet...hmmm...not great advertizing...

short shrifting christmas

Christmas is almost here. Throughout Advent I have been one of many pastors asking parishioners to wait patiently; Christmas will come. Protestants and people who have come to the church without a childhood background of learning Advent rituals want to skip right past Advent. Why focus on the darkness? Why hold at a distance the joy and happiness associated with Christmas, especially if all we're doing is holding it off for the sake of waiting?

Over and over pastors like me (and, well, me) have told people to wait, so why, then, have I called this article "short shrifting christmas" when it seems like what I really mean is that we short shrift Advent? Well, it's because I think that in our rush to Christmas we lose the heart of Christmas. We are so weary by the time Christmas Day arrives that many of us are relieved to tear down the tree and toss it out back. We're beat. We're irritated with the Christmas carols that play relentlessly on the radio, in the elevator, at our doctor's office, in department stores, and even walking down city streets...Our minds are screaming, "Make this stop!!!!" while we plaster the Christmas smile on our faces. The jump to Christmas before Thanksgiving robs us of two beautiful liturgical seasons, neither of which have a whit to do with presents - or even family for that matter. Advent invites us into a season of prayer and preparation for the coming of God Among Us. What a holy season! Christmas is the inbreaking of God into the world - your world, my world, the world torn apart by ruthless killing, heartless prejudice, and barbaric war. We short shrift Christmas because we forget that, at its heart, it is a holy day in a holy season that demands for us to look at God - and to see, really see, God in the midst of the weakest and most vulnerable.

Christmas is a justice holiday. God breaks into the world and forces us to see how the most vulnerable are tossed aside (a child born in a barn? a cave? pick your story). This leads to the inevitable questions, "How do we respond to the most vulnerable? Do we perpetuate systems that create the injustice that marginalize and oppress? How might we live differently by recognizing the holiness in all of life, not just the strong, the pretty, the grand, and the convenient?"

We short shrift Christmas when we don't wait for God to act in God's time - to break into our world with an invitation to become something new, something we have yet to imagine. Christmas begins on Christmas Day; it doesn't end there. We have twelve days of it. It's too bad we're sick of the idea of it before it's even begun. I wonder how we might be in the world if we let Christmas come to us rather than grabbing for it every November, greedily grasping at saccharine images that offer us no real hope, no real transformation. Christmas, if we let it, gives us a young woman Mary frightened and faithful, Joseph confused but persevering, Elizabeth and Zecheria stricken dumb by his incredulity and sent singing with his joy, Elizabeth pregnant with a prophet, King Herod filled with fear, wise astronomers on a mission, shepherds unceremoniously - strike that...very ceremoniously - taken from their work and sent on a weird journey, and a messy birth in bad circumstances. This story invites us into the mess and filth of life, into the fear that accompanies every life changing journey, into a story of hope and wonder and awe at the idea of life emerging...without apology. The grandeur of angels crashing into our world of shepherds. The heavenly host with harps of gold clattering against our reality of poverty and homelessness.

It's too bad that we short shrift Christmas - tired of it before it comes. It really is something great.

Awe

My vocation is seeking God.
In the warmth and simple love of my cats. Georgie, neurotic from who knows what, whines until his back is scratched, right in front of his tail. And Fred, curmudgeonly Fred, he picks with his nails until welcomed under the covers, to flip and roll with delight in the warmth of my body.

My vocation is seeking God.
In the struggles between wills in my church,
In the streets dappled with newly fallen rain,
In each face I see: smooth and not yet weathered by time and experience,
wrinkled and battered like a well traveled suitcase.
It's a good job.

But too often I miss God for the things in front of me.
I forget to look up to the sky: blue, white, magenta, gray,
dotted with birds of all kinds - airplanes zooming people near and far -
stars filled with mystery far and long ago.
I forget to find the miracle in a smile or bitter hot coffee or the home which steadfastly shelters me every night.
How can I miss the miracle of life wrestling all around me?
But I do. My eyes lose the wonder they once had
when every day I awoke to say, "What a beautiful day."
And my mom shook her head in wonder at me.

On the street corner, in front of the local market, is a homeless woman
in her heavy ski jacket, with wiry gray hair.
She is there most days
selling a newspaper
written to remind people like me that not every one can forget life's wrestling matches; that there are people who watch the sky every night, when the rain falls to dapple the grass, bend the trees, and soak the evergreens. They are there to see the stars in the nights so cold the air burns our lungs. She is John the Baptist.
Less crazy
Less loud
But a prophet
Telling me something important about God.

I rejoice.
Time stands still.
Every time I look her in the eye.
There is God.
Not in my sanctuary.
Not in my ideas.
Not in doctrine.
There.
She stands before me when I need a quick lunch or milk,
reflecting the expanse of the sky
and bending under the weight of my forgetfulness.

Her beauty,
Her sorrow,
Are both there - Divine and relentless.
I should buy milk more often.

We all need awe.

home from "joy" worship - i received some unexpected gifts today

I just got home after going to adult Sunday school, leading worship, hanging out after church, and then having our annual all church meeting (called the all church conference in Methodism). There weren't a lot of people in worship today, which is quite disappointing when it's the week before Christmas. But there was something good happening at church today that overshadowed the low attendance and overcame the weariness of the long day.

During the pre-worship meeting that I have with the folks involved in leading the service, I mentioned that today is "joy" Sunday, which made someone laugh as though today and today only are we to have joy in worship...and joy we must have. It set the mood for the rest of the morning; everything just seemed to fall in place. There were errors on the bulletin...and we just moved on past them. Some potentially difficult situations seem to resolve themselves. Even the all church conference had some moments of real joy as we discussed the things that we need to move or change in order to better live into our mission as Christ's church. We also listed the ways in which we are already gifted as Christ's church. I really valued hearing people speak passionately about their church home and about our potential. People shared honestly about some things that they find difficult, especially the challenge of telling those who haven't found our little church that there is a house of worship where you can find tradition, but find it reinvented and revisioned. During Sunday school, we discussed the concept of the Kingdom of God and the Jesus movement of the kingdom. It was a wonderful conversation - one I hope continues into and through the new year.

I am tired this third Sunday of Advent. It's been a long few days, but I am blessed to have experienced the joy of this turning point in the season of preparation. Today was one of those days when God's grace overwhelmed my "stuckness" and brought with it unexpected gifts. It almost always happens that as soon as I want to give up on the struggle of being in a small, progressive, urban church I am caught up in the goodness around me:
the adults coming forward because many of our kids were gone
the choir that offered the best of their spirit to the worship of God
the words of wisdom from unlikely people
the presence of a child I wish to know better
the faces of older adults, queer folks, little ones, and straight folks in one community
sound of great Advent hymns sung by people bursting to get to Christmas
the power of holy conferencing - of dreaming God's vision
the beauty of the struggle toward wholeness

Despite what it could have been, today was indeed a joy Sunday for me.

'tis the season for "o holy night" as sung by cartman

Okay, so there's nothing "progressively Christian" about this...or particularly "holy"...I just wanted to hear it this year.

progressive christianity and the prince of peace

I've been busy trying to finish getting out all of my Christmas cards. Almost every card that I am sending this year wishes the recipient peace in the new year. However, while we call Jesus the Prince of Peace, we hardly ever explore in our churches what that might mean for us. During a time of war we may spend a little time expressing our wish that our troops will be safe, that innocent Iraqis won't be killed, and that we hope for the war to end soon. These are worthwhile wishes, but peace extends much further than a hope for the end of war. Peace is not the absence of war; it is the presence of a different way of living. Peace is a state of being of total welfare, security, and justice. There is no real peace without justice. There is no real peace without welfare for all. Peace is a relational word and it implies that we are concerned not only with our own security but the processes that we use in order to safeguard it. It implies concern and care for others. And it implies a state of rest and community with the Divine.

Christians - especially progressive Christians - have a special opportunity this time of year to reflect upon the power of the Prince of Peace being born into our world, into our communities, our nations, our earth...into our hearts and minds. The Prince of Peace would challenge much of how we live - including the wars that wage, yes, but so much more. One thing that has been on my mind is the cruelty of the death penalty. Regardless of the legal reasoning for it, the death penalty flies in the face of the Prince of Peace who himself was the victim of capital punishment. Capital punishment is based in an ethic of retribution and cannot be tolerated by a people who value peace. Capital punishment and peace are mutually exclusive.

Two articles about the death pentalty have caught my eyes this week. In a New York Times article called "Death Sentences Decline, and Experts Offer Reasons" Neil A Lewis takes a look at the death penalty in the United States. He writes, "At the Justice Department, the Bureau of Statistics reported last week that there were 128 death sentences in 2005, down from 138 the year before." There are many reasons why fewer convicted people have received the death penalty, but most of the reasons do not deal with the morality of the death penalty itself. The other article was an AP story that reported the decisions by Florida and California to temporarily halt executions. Just this week an execution by lethal injection in Florida took 34 minutes - twice the amount of time that most executions take. Apparently the needles were inserted too far and went through the veins, forcing the body to absorb the chemicals rather than allowing them to move through the body via the blood stream. California, as well, has had difficulties with its execution process. Both of these articles haunt me. They call me to confession. Every time that we look at a cross we should see not only a symbol of resurrection and new life but also the mechanism of torture and death brought to the Prince of Peace.

Why, during this season of the Prince of Peace, do we live in a nation where the church, especially the progressive church, is virtually silent about the death penalty? Why don't we engage in debate about the morality of the death penalty? Is the church too afraid to stand firmly against this practice? Have we forgotten the system of oppression into which the Christ child was born and in which he died...himself a victim of capital punishment? How can people of faith, especially those who profess an ethic called "pro-life" support the death penalty? I remain dumbfounded at the tolerance that we have for such cruel and anti-Christian acts like the death penalty. As I look at my Christmas cards I wonder if we really want "peace for all." What can progressive Christians do to speak out against the barbarity of the death penalty and proclaim the arrival of the Prince of Peace?

the vicar of dibley's christmas nightmare

It's a good thing Methodists don't drink. For more British humor, buy the whole series...

the small urban church...when is it healthy?

When is a small, urban church healthy? Is it possible to have a church with under 200 members, with between 50 and 100 people in attendance, and maintain a full-time pastor and an active church program? These are questions being asked by several researchers. They have been written about extensively in the past ten years. They are in the back of the mind of every parishioner and pastor in small urban churches. However, there are almost no metrics for determining whether a church is healthy or not. Strike that...there are so many metrics out there that a church's "health meter" is dependent upon the tool used to review it.

I serve a small church, one where people come to find "tradition with a twist," and while we have some interesting "twists" on traditional Protestantism, we are still a small, urban, mainline Protestant church. Like many small churches in mainline denominations, we are "aging" more quickly than we are "getting young." Like all urban churches, we are in competition with multiple activities scheduled on Sundays - activities that tend not to be scheduled on "church day" in smaller towns. My church, like many urban churches is a neighborhood church turned commuter church. While we are surrounded by homes - single family homes, apartments, and condominiums - most of the new folks who are coming do not live within walking distance of the church. We have a lot of clear challenges that we must face in the near future. In reviewing all of the literature out there on church growth, membership, evangelism, church health, and church transformation, I am overwhelmed by the number of books, studies, and articles that tell me how to fix the church. Unfortunately, they offer differing (and often contradictory) ideas. Unfortunately, the are often based in a world other than the one that I live in.

I do not have the data to support it, but I believe that there is a vital and necessary role for the progressive, small, urban church. When so many people are rootless - living in the city without extended family, living in the city without a sense of deep community, living in the city overwhelmed by work and financial struggle, living in the city and raising a family without enough friends and family to offer enough help, living in the city as exiles from smaller towns where one's "difference" was too noticeable - small progressive churches can offer a home for one's spirit and one's family. The small church can be a safe place to unpack and undo bad theology - theology that has rubbed someone's soul raw. The small church can be a place to let go of the polish and gloss of our cities' downtown experience and bring us back to simpler ways of relating. The problem, of course, is that our challenges scare us so much that we do nothing to take advantage of the great promises that our small churches can offer. Often all we can see is the emptiness in our pews and our bank accounts. Being small is not our problem; being fearful is.

Small churches, like David so long ago, have to stand up to the giants in our midst and defeat them. I believe that we will be healthy when we begin to act and worship from a place of deep longing and deep faithfulness. We will be healthy when we have enough committed folks who have the passion to reach out in love and compassion to our neighborhoods. There are lots of metrics out there, lots of studies that tell us why the small church is doomed to fail, and lots of denominational tugging and pulling. However, almost all of them are fear-based. My challenge to my local church and to myself is to let go of the "fluff" and to act with determined faith in the coming year. Instead of looking at the bare wood in our pews, we would do well to see the Holy Spirit at work. Instead of focusing on the bank account every month, we would do well to ask ourselves if we are being good stewards. Even as we utilize tools prepared by others, we would do well to remember that our real standard is faithfulness. Perhaps this is too vague to be a good measure of our health, but I know that it's a step in the right direction.

Do you have an idea of how small urban churches might step forward into better and more robust health?

why "take this away"? gay evangelicals and progressive christians

Progressive Christianity has a special opportunity to witness to our evangelical brothers and sisters in the wake of two evangelical resignations due to "gay activity." Being gay is no less prevelant in the evangelical world (and it seems more prevelant if you are watching the media closely) than it is anywhere else. The problem, of course, is that in evangelical circles being gay is a nasty little secret that needs to be hidden until, somehow, it goes away. The reality is that being gay isn't terrible, it isn't bad, and it needn't be hidden. The moment someone retreats into a closet - especially if they turn to a life of gay bashing - the darkness will envelop you and begin to kill you and all those close to you.

Progressive Christians would do well to witness with love that a person can both be gay and Christian. We can be loving parents, faithful partners, and committed disciples of Jesus. The sin isn't being gay; the sin is hiding the gift of God which is yourself. The church has functioned for too long as a place of violence, spiritual and physical, when it comes to people who are LGBT identified. Our theologies have fostered atmospheres that have been at best oppressive and at worst violent. We have tried to change, transform, and reform LGBT people. And yet the reformation that needs to occur has nothing to do with sexual orientation. Rather, we need to reform the sin of hate and intolerance perpetuated by our theologies and perpetrated by our churches. Progressive Christianity needs to step forward and to declare with a strong and pure voice refutations of the theologies which hurt and mame LGBT people, and to proclaim a gospel of inclusion and wholeness.

I am writing this because yet another evangelical pastor in Colorado has resigned, saying that he has struggled with homosexuality since he was five years old. He is married and has been unfaithful to his wife. And he has prayed to God to "take it away." I feel deeply for him and for his family. His life journey must have been fraught with difficulties as he has tried to deny one of the deepest parts of his own self and soul. Yet his first infidelity wasn't to his family, it was to himself and to his maker. A gay person typically shouldn't marry someone of the opposite sex; it is a set up for disaster. One might believe, given the media attention, that LGBT people cannot be faithful in their relationships. That simply isn't true. If given the chance to partner with someone out of love and desire, LGBT people can be as faithful as anyone else. It's time to stop trying to change gay identified people and to start changing the systems and institutions - the church being at the top of list - that wound, stagnate, oppress, and violate them. It's time to stop trying to "take this away" and instead teach people how to embrace their most authentic selves, build faithful and healthy relationships, and love God rather than fear God.

an adventless post: the role of clergy

I am an unusual United Methodist clergyperson. And while many people may tell you why they think I'm unusual (or just odd), in this post I am referring to my preference to wear a clerical collar. I wear one every Sunday. There is a growing movement in our denomination away from ordained clergy in general, and there has certainly been a long tradition of clergy not wearing clerical collars.

When I answered the call to ordained ministry I did so understanding that I was stepping into a "set aside" way of being in the world and in my church. Wearing a collar - or being ordained for that matter - isn't hierarchical for me. It reminds me - it reminds my congregation - and it tells my community - that my presence in a given place is because I have been called there by God and sent there by my denomination. It helps to create and establish healthy boundaries. It tells others and reminds me that I serve a particular function in our community. I teach. I preach. I preside over sacraments. I represent my denomination and local congregation in the wider community. I tend the ill. And I administer and order the church. It's too bad that collars have gotten a bad rep. I think they serve an important function.

There are more and more people within the UMC who believe that ordained clergy are an unnecessary burden to the body of believers. These same people also believe that ordained clergy are out of touch and out to lunch. I agree that many clergy people whom I know are definitely out of touch, but I don't believe that we are an unnecessary burden. Rather, I believe the difficulty begins in seminary and continues in the larger "institution" of the church. Since seminary is a graduate program, we are expected to write like academics. The problem, of course, is that we graduate and head to the local church where most people aren't thelogians and couldn't care less about the jargon of our profession. The other problem is that as our denominations fail to bring in new members, we place increasing pressures on the local pastor to do absolutely everything. We're simply not all evangelists, preachers, counselors, administrators, entrepreneurs, and activists. Each of us has a special gift; our denominations' fearfulness is robbing them of the ability to be creative, to take risks, and to proclaim the gospel passionately and compassionately.

The one fault that I lay squarely on the shoulders of the clergy is that we are simply too old and too insulated. All of us need time on the street learning from our brothers and sisters who are much more apt to have been the ones sitting with Christ at a supper table than we are. We need to remain invigorated with and alive in the Spirit. We are in trouble when we wake up and believe that our job is the same as any other; it is not. We are called to serve God as revealed in Jesus the Christ. That is simply not the same as anything else on earth. The day we stop being in love with our vocation (despite our struggles with it and our frustrations with our institutions) we have some reckoning to do. We cannot be old in spirit. We cannot be removed from the streets we are called to repair. We cannot trudge to work and expect anything other than to see the backsides of people as they flee to some place else.

I believe there is an important and vital role for ordained clergy, clergy unafraid to be clergy, clergy happy to be in love with their vocation, clergy young in years and young at heart, clergy in collars presiding over sacraments, praying at bedsides, singing in worship, marching in protests, sitting at coffee shops, and clergy listening to the wisdom of those who live in our streets. Clergy can be important in our congregations and communities. The problem is not ordination and certainly not collars; the problem is insulation.

a book of poetry for advent...

Yesterday I stepped in poo - actual crap. That's always frustrating enough, but I didn't realize it and I went a good part of the morning tracking poop around with me. What a humbling reminder that I carry too much poop around all of the time (now I'm being metaphorical...just thought I'd clarify). Advent is a great time to shake it off, reach into the winter of my heart, and wait for God to arise in the most unexpected of places. Advent is the time for me to prepare for the collision of two diametrically oppsed realities - the reality of this world and the kingdom (not kin-dom, in this case) of God. God's ways are different from ours, and when God comes among us, it changes everything. There's no room in God's reality for the smelly stuff I track around !

I've already written how I keep an Advent calendar and light candles in my home, but there are all kinds of things to do during Advent that will shake the mess of the world off from our heels and remove a little of the stink that we carry with us. Reading poetry is something that I want to lift up as a good Advent practice.

Mary Oliver has a new book of poetry out called "Thirst." Clearly it is written in response to the death of her partner Molly Malone Cook. She is working through a lot in her writings, but she remains, as ever, the perfect observer of nature. Oliver is one of the best poets of our time. "Thirst" does not disappoint and offers us a great collection of reflections this Advent. I picked up a copy yesterday and have read it all through...twice. I recommend "Making the House Ready for the Lord" - a lyrical and visually compelling Advent poem. Poetry is perfect during Advent because good poetry is always pregnant with possibility; it looks around at the world and gives us a new view of it; and, it lifts up the hope for newness without forgetting the darkness of our souls and the frightfulness of the world. And, when someone like Mary Oliver is behind the pen, the humor of our lives eeks out into her observations.

"Thirst" invited me into the details of the world and away from the poop that I drag around with me all too often. Thank you, Mary Oliver.

advent's here

I love this photo by Ben Bell. Advent is here and I actually should be in bed resting before worship tomorrow. I'm going to be wasted; I was up late trying to write a sermon that would capture the thoughts rambling around in my head. I won't know until after tomorrow if I succeeded or not. I'm often quite wrong about my sermons - whether they'll connect or not.

Advent is a fave liturgical season for me - much more interesting than Christmas. I wish Protestants wouldn't skip right over the fast of Advent and gorge on the crazy abundance of Christmas. For many of us, Advent is a great reminder to slow the heck down, to find Sabbath again, to rest in God, to remember that Christmas is about the birth of justice and righteousness, to prepare our hearts for God Among Us, to find the quiet center, to savor anticipation, to delight in God's joy, and to labor in God's work.

I love the rituals and songs of Advent, too. I love my Advent calendar. I just got a new one. It's a wooden house with different animals inside. Each day you take out a new animal and hang it on the day's door. At the church I have a manger calendar that's magnetic. Each day supplies a new part of the nativity story. It's great. I also love my Advent wreath. It's smack in the middle of my dining table. I use purple candles; I haven't been able to make the switch to blue. I get that blue symbolizes hope, but I still find meaning in remembering God's dominion over the earth, which is symbolized by the purple.

Happy Advent! I hope we all find a little quiet in the over-commercialized, shopping frenzy that has eaten up the days that used to be Advent. I hope we all find a little bit of the fast that lies at the heart of Advent so that the miracle of Christmas holds some actual meaning. I'm going to bed...

aids quilt showing in seattle

The church that I serve, Woodland Park United Methodist Church, is blessed to host two blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt from December 1-10. The AIDS epidemic is not over despite gains made in medicine. In a nation that has become obsessed (and rightfully so) with the recent elections, the war in Iraq, and the president's visit to Jordan, World AIDS Day has not received a great deal of attention this year. We thought that it to be important to spend time this year remembering that too many people have died as a result of AIDS and that too many people live infected. We have covered the east wall of our sanctuary with blocks from the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the beginning of this year's Advent to remind us also that as we prepare for the coming of King of Kings the world is still in pain. At our brief service this evening we will pray prayers of lament and prayers of hope. Wherever people are this evening, we hope that prayers will be said for healing and for hope.

If you are someone living with HIV or AIDS, we want you to know that churches exist that welcome you and love you. Even today too many people living with HIV/AIDS are stigmatized; that is unfair and unloving.

As I sit and write this blog, two people from my church sit in an empty sanctuary, witnessing to the presence of the quilt and awaiting any who may show up to view it. Even if no one comes to see the quilt, we hope to have honored those who have fallen to this disease. The panels on the quilt blocks on our east wall contain loving comments and memorials to people from the Seattle area who have died. By placing it in our sanctuary we rememer that God's sanctuary is for all people and that one day we will all be reunited in God's love. While we hope that people come to view the quilt, light candles, and pray, mostly we are blessed to participate in the AIDS Quilt project by offering our space as a sacred place of sanctuary for the people represented on these panels.