It's Time to Do Something Now

Whatever Happen to Frogger or Jumping Super Mario?

                I have a new Surface Tablet by Microsoft.  As some of you know I enjoy a good game.  The gaming sight on my Surface led me to a list of XBOX games.  I stopped after reading fewer than 100 titles. I was nauseated by the preponderance of games that fostered violence.  Nearly 2/3 of the titles were designated “action” or “first person shooter.”  You have to love the “first person shooter” designation on some of these.  To make sure I was reading it correctly I went to Wikipedia to gain further insight.  "First-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre centered on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through a first-person perspective; that is, the player experiences the action through the eyes of the protagonist."  Well isn’t that special and disgusting!  There were five Assassin’s Creed related games.  There was Bayonet, a game that focuses on hacking and slashing your enemy.  In Battlefield 3 we are given assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, sub-machine guns and carbines, shot guns and pistols, rocket launchers, etc.  And I understand the graphics are fabulous. 

                I am sure that one loner, outcast person who has lots of time for interaction with his or her gaming endeavors can kill hundreds of people each day.  Donkey Kong and Super Mario never provided such “terminator” action as this!  I know that I’m just a fading preacher who has too much time on his hands.  Feeding the poor in soup kitchens and working with in need youth in values education through sports just can’t match the action of one “first person shooter” game.  Being a person who gets committed to things I am afraid that if I get hooked on one of these games I might want to go “first person shooting” in real life.  And if I would ever get angry because I didn’t fit in, I believe now I have a game plan how to get even with my enemies.  Forget the Jesus loving enemies stuff – let’s hack and slash and assault them with multiple weapons. 

                I think by now you can see where I’m going.  20 children and 6 adults are dead in Newtown, CT.  And I am getting angry about the violence perpetrated by lonely – possibly high-volume video game playing – youth.  It’s time to become an action figure in getting youth and their parents to halt the addiction to violent video gaming and movies.  Maybe we need parents and youth to go to war with the violent gaming and media industry by pledging to not purchase games that promote violence or attend movies that are filled with violence.  It’s Christmas and maybe that’s the best gift we can give to the Christ child, the Prince of Peace.

A Blessed Weapon Free and First-Person-Perspective Free Game Christmas to You,  

Bob,   The One Time Gun Owner of Several Cap Pistols

P.S. In all seriousness you will be hearing from me again about concrete actions – on individual and local church levels that need to be taken to stop this madness!

A Response to the Loss of Innocents

Are We Becoming a “Shoot Down” Society?

Maybe what follows is my way of dealing with the death of 20 young children and 8 adults – including a sad sole young man who turned to violence in dealing with the demons inside his soul.  I am trying to make sense of a senseless and truly unexplainable situation.  While even stricter gun control laws and mental resources need to be put into place, there is a  core issue that needs to be addressed!  We live in a society where children are exposed constantly to a “shoot down” society.  Increasinged exposure to anger and violence is their daily fare.  Whether it is shooting people down in the public or political arena of the exchange of ideas with less than civil words or the scenes of violence from around the world; whether it is visible increase in violence in sports or in film or in “shoot’em” dead video games where the more dead gives the gamer more points, children and youth are probably exposed to anger and more violent behavior than in any other time in the history of the world.  Before 24-hour news which can bring the bellicose, disrespectful words, dead bodies into our living room or the games that allow the players to kill the enemy without experiencing the finality of their actions, there was a greater possibility of innocent souls having a longer age of innocence.  Guns were for killing wild game for the dinner table or as sport.  Guns were used by soldiers in faraway lands to fight for freedom and justice.  Except for an occasional arcade sharp shooting contest, children had little exposure to a “shoot’em” dead world.  Yes access to guns needs to be more strictly controlled, but it is the mindset of those who would shoot that needs to be addressed.  Civility in speech and less access to violence in the media for children and youth needs to be unequivocally addressed.

In this season we need to commit ourselves more boldly to an action figure, the child of Bethlehem.  The Prince of Peace came to terminate hatred and anger through weapons of love and grace.  The Herods of the world will try to kill his message, but it is our duty to protect the Child and his message.   Violence in our society must subside and no children of God should suffer the fate of 20 little ones in Newtown, CT.

Prayer – God of Christmas, Good Friday and Easter, with the birth of a Child heal our broken hearts for we once again have experienced the pain of our loss of innocent children and our innocence.  More than ever, we now need the hope and joy of Christmas to enter our hearts.   May the child be born in us again so that we might be vehicles of your love and instruments of your peace.  Amen.

 

Trying to celebrate a birth of a Little One who brings a message that can bring true peace to a violent world!     Bob  

The 47% Up Close and Personal

                I opened the door with some hesitation.  I was greeted with a smile and a good word – “Would you like your room freshened up?”  The hotel employee – often called maid – was trying to make my stay comfortable and pleasant.  I spoke with her for a few moments.  She was married and her husband was a construction worker.  She had two children – one was in a subsidized pre-school and the other was a first grader.  She worked hard and took pride in changing and making beds, emptying waste baskets, vacuuming rugs, putting on new rolls of toilet paper and handling dirty towels.  She was one face of the 47%.

                The distinctive aroma of convalescent home filled my nostrils as I into walked to Bill’s room.  Bill was a retired school teacher who had educated our children and paid his local, state and federal taxes faithfully.  It seems that the health care costs of first his deceased wife and now his own had consumed all his assets.  He was receiving something that to him was an embarrassment – Medicaid.  He would never complain about healthcare costs and would only say that he had lived too long. He never saw himself as a victim.   He had done so much in giving meaning to so many young lives yet now he saw his life as meaningless.  He was one of the largest group (the aging) of the 47%.

                He was neatly stacking the cereal boxes on the shelf.  I had asked him where to find my gluten free Rice Chex.  He pointed to a shelf about a 1/3 of the way down the aisle from him.  I made some comment about his geographic knowledge of the store.  My words apparently opened a stream of pain.  He was quick to tell me that he wasn’t really a super market shelf expert but rather a laid off marketing “guy.”  He did feel he was a victim of a false economy that led to the major recession that took his job.  “Just trying to feed my family until a job it my field comes along.  It took a long time for the bottom to drop out.  I’m afraid it will take a long time until things get straight again.”  His broken soul was easily seen.  He was one of the 47%.

                He sat in my office with a glazy stare.  He was asking for financial assistance, surely a church in Greenwich could afford a few hundred dollars to help his family through tough times.  His story could have been the story of hundreds of Iraq War veterans.  Let’s try post traumatic stress syndrome.  He was on veteran’s assistance but he couldn’t make ends meet.  He had served proudly and put his life at risk for his country.  He was one of the 47%. 

                Some of the 47% are takers – a very small minority.  Most wish they could pay federal taxes because their incomes would then be high enough to live the American dream – maybe even make a six-digit salary.  But who then would clean the rooms and stock the shelves and sit in long term care facilities feeling embarrassed that life had come to this because of healthcare costs?

Blessed are the poor in spirit because they are humble enough to know that they need to do everything possible to bless the poor.

In Christ,    Bob

P.S. It might be interesting to check out the small percentage who are taking advantage of the system – some may look like the incorrect but classic stereotype.  Yet an equal number might look like high rollers who “massage” the lucrative tax breaks they receive.    

P.S. S. About 20,000 households who made over $500,000 are part of the 47%.  How come I pay more than 13% in federal taxes and don’t make 1/5 of those 47%.  I guess I need a better tax accountant.

 What to Do When Our Values Aren’t Working for Us!

“Blue skies up above, everyone’s in love…..”  These idyllic words from the light jazz song “Up a Lazy River” seems to be the antithesis of what is the reality for Americans when the date 9/11 arrives on the calendar.   9/11/01 – Hatred raises its ugly head in the heinous atrocity at the World Trade Center.  9/11/12 – Hatred leaves four Americans dead at the American Embassy in Libya and diplomats under siege in Cairo!  There were blues skies up above and not everyone was in love.  And one major catalyst for the loveless tragedies of 9/11/12 is our American values.  We hold as a beacon for all to see our “freedom of speech and assembly!” - even for American-Israeli nuts who use the internet for broadcasting  a hate filled - religion degrading film that could be construed as attack on the faith of a significant faith group in the world.  If the reaction to the gone viral film vignette were not such a tragedy some Americans might possibly say:  “I don’t agree with his opinion but he has a right to say it!  That’s freedom of speech!  That’s what democracy is all about! “  And then we have democracy Arab Spring style.  We sympathize with “those longing to be free” until we realize that those whom we expected to govern rather turn out to be those that we did not expect to govern.  And what is even more disquieting is that some zealous nuts – a miniscule minority – feel  their right to free speech and assembly  includes climbing walls, burning flags, and killing good people.  Freedom of speech, the internet, a nut and a group of nuts – that’s a formula for disaster.

What do we do when our values aren’t working for us?  What do we do when democracy rears its head in the ugliest of forms?  We can theorize about what is happening is not what true democracy is all about!  We can condemn the nuts for their misinterpretation of democracy.  But then they retaliate by reminding us of the violence we have been a party to throughout our history.  Or we can further cast a wider net in demonizing all people who have a similar racial, cultural, or religious hue to the few nuts who perpetrated these acts of hatred and violence.  Or we can go angry and speak and post vindictive tirades that make us look as inhuman and nutty as those who have proven themselves insane by the atrocities they have committed. 

Then again as Americans and people of faith maybe all we can do is:

·         Model out love through praying for those who persecute us

·         Model out responsible democracy by praying for those who lead realizing there are no easy answers to the complexities of getting this thing called democracy right

·         Accept the fact that human sin – even in us – will sometimes rear its ugly head and we are almost helpless to do anything to halt it

·         Live out the basic principles of our faith – justice led by and tempered by love / non-violence in word and deed

·         Remember that our small actions can cause collateral damage – so pray and think about the larger good before acting

·         Avoid defining the many by the actions of a few

·         Respond to hatred with words that unite us as a nation and not divide us

·         But in the end all we can do is pray for those whose lives are impacted by the tragedies brought on by nuts who fail to understand that with democracy comes personal responsibility

Our values got the best of us this time, but let us not give up on them!

Bob Naylor (9/12/2012)

Let’s Have a Show of Hands

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’²⁷Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’²⁸Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’  -  John 20:26-28

I recently received a phone call from my daughter-in-law.  She was asked to preach in the church where she and her family are members.  The text she wanted me to reflect upon with her was from John 20 – “doubting” Thomas.  She has a her own dark time of doubt having miraculously fought back from a life-threatening lymphoma.  Wouldn’t anyone have their doubts when God seems to have abandoned them?

In the church calendar Thomas appears on the scene in Lent or just after Easter.  Yet, Thomas is truly a “saint for all seasons.”  He is our kind of person.  He is a realist.  He wants empirical proof.  “Yes, I believe, but could you give me some hard facts.”  For some reason Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus made his first post-resurrection appearance to the rest of the disciples.  Maybe he was out on an errand or just was doing some good deed or just needed some space from the tension and confusing that came with the trial and crucifixion of the One he called Teacher and Lord?  We are told that Thomas didn’t believe the disciples’ account of Jesus coming to them.  He tells his comrades in following:  ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’  Jesus is always accommodating to the requests of the trusting and the doubting, so he makes a return engagement with the primary intention of getting the realist Thomas on board.  John tells it this way. ‘Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you. ’²⁷Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ ²⁸Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’

“Show me your hands!”  Several years ago I lay in a hospital bed fighting for my own life.  I will spare you the gory details.  I have to be honest when I say that in my occasional moments of lucidity I had my doubts about this loving God that I proclaimed week after week from the pulpit.  But amid my doubts nurses came and used their hands to make me comfortable and clean up my weak and tube laden body.  Family came and gently touched me reminding me that I was loved and not alone.  Faithful souls came to my room and met in small groups and put their hands together in prayer or used their hands to write encouraging letters, notes, and cards.  Amid my doubts, it was their hands that gave me the strength to believe.

Thomas reminds us that doubt will always be a part of a dynamic faith journey.  The second post-resurrection visit of Jesus challenges us to remember that our hands used with the compassion of Christ in our hearts, can help the doubting to believe again.  Look at your hands – they are instruments of healing that can help others to overcome their doubt.  We are called in all seasons to be Jesus’ hands, so now let’s have a show of hands.

Ever present God, even though we don’t always believe help us through our doubts to grow in our faith and call us to use our hands in simple service in your Name.  Amen.    

Christian?

Lord, I Want to Be a Christian

                It was painful and made me angry.  I am a daily viewer of MSNBC’s Morning Joe.  It is one of the most balanced and insightful politically focused shows on television.  I have heard high praise from people of all political persuasions – including friends who worked in the Reagan White House.  The main commentators represent both sides of the majority political scene – Joe Scarborough, a one time Republican member of the Congress from Florida, and Mika Brzezinski, an ardent but reflective Democrat.  The interviewees also reflect the show’s intent to let all spectrums of the political dialogue  be heard.  This morning the Rev. Dr. Franklin Graham was interviewed.  Naturally he was asked about  Rick Santorum’s words about whether President Obama is a Christian.  His answer was very circumspect.  When asked about Santorum’s and even Gingrich’s faith, he was very direct in affirming that they are “Christian.”  The more he talked the more he alluded to his opinion that Obama (That’s how he addressed the President of the United States) was not governing like a Christian.  When he described what a Christian was he used the traditional language that a Christian is a person who at a definable moment in his or her life has accepted Jesus Christ as her or his personal Lord and Savior.  Consistent church attendance also appeared to be a secondary criteria. 

                Well by the time he was finished, he had placed me on the fringe of Christendom and eliminated most of my friends from eternal salvation – both Tea Partyers and Progressives, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and all other eclectic political thinkers, Jews as well as Mormons, Muslims, Christian Scientists, Hindus and all loving agnostics and, oh yes, Sunday morning golfers.  To all my friends who read this blog let me say – “Sorry about that!”  Naturally one of Jesus’ best remembered teachings came to mind – “Judge, lest you be not judged.”  I could go on in my own judgment of the Rev. Dr. Franklin Graham, but I would prefer to let grace abound.

                Amid my stewing over the Rev. Dr. Graham’s words and the recent pontification on things theological spoken by some in the Republican presidential race as well the trivializing and questioning  by some of President Obama’s soul bearing faith journey at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast,  the words of an African American hymn came to mind.  “Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart…….Lord I want to be more loving….Lord I want to be like Jesus.”  I want to be a Christian in my heart, not just in my words!  I want be like Jesus – more gracious than judgmental in the words I speak, more concerned about the poor, more concerned about loving my neighbor (Which includes enemies in our family and around the world – yes, that’s in the Bible), more forgiving, more generous in the use of my giving (Remember if you have two robes it is good to share one to another who has none – I am still working hard on this one), …….you probably by now get the message. 

                Christians with a different perspective than Dr. Graham on the issue, now is the  time to stand up and without apology say “Even if my way of building the realm of God is different from yours and even if I can’t identify the exact moment when I said I am going to follow Jesus, I am still a journeying Christian, seeking the Spirit’s guidance.  I do want to be like Jesus!  God bless you Dr. Graham and others who think like you!  I am glad we are part of a diverse family of Christ-followers.”  Now let’s all join together – Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart.  Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart. 

P.S. Prayers for the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham who was the catalyst for millions of people considering being like Jesus. 

Thoughts on Sport from a Whistle Blower

I have a striped shirt that I put on at least once a week.  I now officiate recreation league basketball games.   Nine-to-fifteen-years-old children and youth heed every word when I blow on my Fox 40 whistle.  Ah, such power.  This past week I officiated a 9-12-year-olds girls’ basketball game.  I have always loved girls’ basketball – particularly the UCONN Huskies.  I like the female game because it plays itself out below the rim.  Plays are set and run – no dunk, dunk and more dunks; few one-on-one isolations. There is also a spirit of “team” that is often absent in the men’s game.  This past Saturday a little girl came to the sideline to take a throw in for her team.  Her demeanor was so refreshing and delightful that I share this free flowing prose with you as a hymn of praise to the essence of sport. 

No Dancing Matter?

She danced and whirled toward me smiling attired in her gold uniform of battle!

Did she not know that this was serious business?

The parents knew the gravity of the matter.

Those volunteer teacher- tacticians – so they thought  - pacing the sideline knew the magnitude of the moment.

Did she not know the propriety expected of her?

She was entranced with the thoughts of some delightful deity who cared little for the physical dexterity expected of her, let along what the score happened to be!

She was experiencing joy as she came to collect the tan, leather sphere that rested in my open palm!

Did she not realize that the numerical differential was not in her favor?

This was the simplest of arithmetical activities to understand.

She was oblivious to winning and losing and its dreadful consequences……..

As some thought.

She giggled, she laughed as she hurled the sphere in the direction of someone else adorned in matching attire to hers!

And then with a spin and a laugh she danced back onto the field of battle.

She was wrapped in the celestial glow of playing a child’s game; others were wrapped in the thrall of lost innocence that believed that the number of times that pre-pubescent females hurled a circular object threw a steel and string cylinder really mattered.

When the contest was completed few who competed cared little about the numerical differential brightly illumined from above for all the world to see.

They embraced and danced and laughed while those who encircled the venue of battle pondered the consequences of what had happened.

Fluidity of the spirit vs. brittleness of the soul.  The eternal contest.

The losers were obvious to all who would see with innocent eyes.

The Loss of Decency

“The Loss of Decency”

                If I must be classified by political party, I guess I would be called a moderate Democrat.  My familial political lineage is filled with all sorts of Republican, Democrat, Populist, and even Socialist sympathizers.  To use the image of Tony Campolo, I am a “red letter Christian.”  Such a term transcends any political branding.  For those of you who are un-schooled in the theology of Eastern College, Evangelical Christian professor Campolo, let me explain. By “red letter Christian” he means that the words of Jesus (in red in many Bibles) are the foundational source of authority for people of faith.  Paul’s theological ruminations on Christology and ecclesiology, etc. are nice, but it is what Jesus is given credit for saying that is at the heart of Christian behavior.

                Where is all this leading?  A few days ago at the conservative political coalition, CPAC, there was a panel discussion on the Catholic church’s disagreement with the recent health care ruling concerning the inclusion of contraception care within health insurance coverage – even in Catholic employers such as colleges, hospitals, and social service agencies.  I believe there is room for debate on the church and state and rights of women components around the coverage issue.  But what happened at CPAC turned my stomach and again angered me toward strident fundamentalism of any kind but particularly the Christian right.  Fox media commentator, Cal Thomas, after watching a video clip of MSNBC Rachel Maddow supporting the rights of women for the inclusion of the contraception component in the plan – even for Roman Catholic related institutions – made the sarcastic remark  “I’m really glad, Genevieve, that you played the original Maddow clip, because I think she is the best argument in favor of her parents using contraception. I would be all for that. And all the rest of the crowd at MSNBC, too, for that matter.”  Many in the audience applauded.  I was appalled!

                The red letters that Jesus spoke talked about the divine worth of every human being.  They spoke of kindness and grace as the foundation of any words spoken or actions taken.  Mr. Thomas or any others who applauded such remarks surely cannot claim the mantel of Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Where has the decency of people of faith gone?  While I may not agree with the opinions of some who see the world differently from me, I pray that God will help me to always look for the divine within them.  

An Apologetic without Apology

A Good Word for the Local Church – An Apologetic but not an Apology

                I guess I have grown tired of the continual articles about faith is good – organized religion is bad journalistic efforts.  It seems that an increasing number of people who say they hold to a faith-based perspective on life are offering demonstrative critiques of organized religion as found in the institutional church.  Church bashing is increasingly in vogue. While in my lengthy journey as an ordained minister serving for over 35 years in local churches I have seen some of the “less-than-Christian” behavior that the faith-without-religion critics are using as their thesis for being “unaffiliated.” I feel I still need to offer a good word for organized religion’s basic unit of operation.  It has been my contention all along that the church doesn’t receive the immense credit it deserves for its role in society – in the past and in the present.  So I offer an apologetic for the church without apology.

                The local church is the place where unique and diverse community is encouraged and fostered.  While many churches lack racial-ethnic diversity as we define it today, it is still the place where young children, inquisitive teenagers, young and middle aged parents, singles and couples, and seasoned citizens meet and greet and share their life stories.  It is the place where seeking souls from across the economic spectrum sit side by side in the worship of the One who tears down the dividing walls.  It is increasingly the place where people of different racial, cultural, and sexual preference backgrounds study the Word together and work for the social welfare of the greatest in need together.  There are very few places in our society where people of different ages, economic circumstances, and racial and cultural backgrounds gather.  Very few other organizations and institutions bring such divergent people together in search of the meaning of life.  Not even the educational system – particularly around age diversity – can claim to be the place for building community.

                The local church is the place where preventative holistic healthcare is always available.  Whether it is the wisdom shared about living a fulfilling life from words spoken from a pulpit or a sharing of life’s trials with someone at a fellowship hour or in a pastor’s office or the community support in a time of illness or bereavement, the church is a primary healthcare provider.  I cannot imagine how many times I have seen a word spoken, an embrace offered, and a counseling insight shared where some form of emotional, spiritual, or relational healing has taken place.  Visiting the sick; communicating with the lonely; welcoming with equal love and care each person regardless of their status in the world’s eyes; offering a space and a place for organizations that bring wholeness to the addicted and conflicted, that is the essence of the local church I experienced.  Maybe the problem is that all of this is done through simple acts of goodness that bring no fanfare.

                The local church is a place that calls us to remember and to serve those in greatest need in the wider world.  While attending to the well being of its community, it also challenges those who dare to hear the Gospel call to think globally and to offer not just heart but hands in service to those in greatest need.  It offers hands on opportunities to experience the realities of the wider world and to work for changing the forces in the world that cause oppression and division in the global community.  It is a place that comforts our hurting souls and disquiets us from becoming too comfortable in a world where so many suffer.  The church (particularly my United Church of Christ) has historically been the catalyst for societal action in the areas of quality education, racial and ethnic discrimination, women’s and sexual preference equality and rights, quality healthcare delivery, and so much more in the area of human service providing.  Again the church goes about its outreach and justice ministries seeking little public recognition. 

                The local church is a place where eternal values are taught.  While some would be fair in their critique of the church occasionally becoming involved in theological trivia and strident judgmentalism on some issues that Jesus himself would concede as unimportant, the church does offer a constant reminder of the values that are important for the salvation of our souls and the world.  I once told a parishioner who asked about the many facets of my “job” on Sunday mornings that I have the role to remind all who will hear, including myself, of those things – compassion, grace, forgiveness, kindness, patience, humility – that make for a truly good and blessed life.  All of us need a refresher course in holy living on a regular basis and the church provides that values education.

                And maybe the complaint by many faith-without-church advocates “that the church is filled with hypocrites” is yet another reason why the church is so valuable and essential.  We need a place in the world that offers grace and calls for repentance.  In remembering the church in which I grew up I recalled the funeral of one older member who constantly complained about almost everything the church did and supported.  Yet, at his funeral the pastor while acknowledging some of the man’s shortcomings said that he had been a good man and a child of God.  Maybe the church’s major gift to the world is to welcome soiled and broken souls – probably in some way all of us – with a word of grace and, when necessary, a loving call for repentance.  In my ministry I have felt that it was my role to try to seek the God-ness and the good inside of the most cantankerous and mystifying souls who crossed my path.  The church is a place of grace and grace again.  Where else is such compassion offered?

                Maybe the faith without church advocates don’t want to have their opinions challenged or shallow holy moments tested.  Maybe it is the “other-centered-ness” of the church that keeps those seeking individual salvation from entering into Christian community.  I have a personal belief that in our attention deficit, “myself first” world that many critiques of the institutional church have not given participation in a community of faith a fair chance.  Yes, the church must always be seeking to be relevant in every age, but also those desiring the benefits that the local church offers must take the time to dig into the life-enhancing realities that being part of a true community of soiled-saints has to offer.  It is time that the “churched” speak out without apology about the blessings of being part of that community of seeking souls that is call the local church.

Harry's Theology 101

Have been working on some writing.  Looking at the "Soiled and Sacred Saints" from my Ministry Journey....Here's one of them.

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

                I first met Harry as I was leaving from a “homebound” visitation at the subsidized senior apartment complex in Danbury, CT.  “Have a joyous day young man!”  The words were spoken in a proper Boston accent.  Turning to see where this pleasant greeting came from my eyes landed upon a seasoned citizen sitting on a green wooden bench in front of the apartment complex.  Attired in a white opened collar shirt and brown pants held in place by cordovan-colored suspenders  Harry Green sat with a smile on his face.  His arm-clasped crutches leaning on the bench announced the fact of what I was to learn later that he had polio as a child.  “Come join me.  You look like you’re rushing and need some bench sitting time” was his invitation.  In spite of a full schedule I accepted his offer of a little bench time.  I learned that Harry was a Massachusetts’ Yankee to the core.  He spoke fondly, yet sorrowfully, of the love of his life, his wife, Martha who had died several years earlier.  His face lit up when he regaled me with his “work” history.  “I was a piano player and entertainer.  I spent much of my life in vaudeville.  My claim to fame is that I know over 2,500 songs by memory.”  “Never made much money, never had anything all that fancy…….. but Martha and I were happy being together and I loved my music and the interesting souls I met along the way.”  After finding out that I was clergy, he offered his basic theology 101 truth which he had learned from growing up in “his” New England Congregational Church.  “Bob, I have had everything I need – I am one of those birds of the air you talk about.”

                His theology lesson made me feel a little uneasy, because in spite of all the words that I spoke about God providing for my every need, I too often had bought the prevailing belief of most people “Don’t be satisfied!  You need MORE if you want to find a fulfilling life.”  While I felt blessed to have many of the creature comforts that the world offered, there was  still a yearning for wanting more.  Harry reminded me again that my “wants” exceeded my “needs.”  The love of his wife; the companionship of friends he made from all walks of life; the shelter of a small subsidized apartment; and, oh yes, his music….from the melodic to the bawdy – Harry had “all that he needed.”  This Congregationalist vaudeville entertainer entertained God with his thankful heart.  Today let us go and do likewise!  Even if we don’t have everything that we think we want, God has given us everything that we need.

God, Composer of the melodies of the Spirit, instill in us the wisdom to know what we really need and to sing our praises to you because we have been blest.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen. 

City Church Thoughts

Recently Cameron Trimble was the catalyst for a lively discussion on Facebook concerning the realities and vagaries of the urban church….particularly the United Church of Christ version. As is with most mainline denominations – those who say “Jesus” in two syllables, there have been few successes in developing a dynamic Christian presence in the city. Having been blessed to serve a parish in a midsize city, having been again blessed to serve in a large urban rim church which was open to making significant connections with churches in the city, and having been called to assist as a reflective resource with several urban churches in my conference and national roles, I have nurtured an increasing passion for the need for a progressive church presence in the city. Rather than abandoning the city – as I believe is being done by most mainline denominations, I am adamant in my belief that it is THE time to plant and renew some of the most import “mission outposts” that are essential for “well-being” – shalom – of the human race. I know what you are thinking – that sounds preposterous! The city is a microcosm of the global community and therefore provides insights on addressing the prickly realities of the world which seem beyond our grasp – ethnic, cultural, religious diversity, economic disparities / haves and have nots, quality educational and healthcare issues. The urban church needs to be the “sacred space” that ministers to the divergent populations of the city and offers an “insight place” where these global realities need to be openly and honestly discussed with grace abounding. It needs to be the safe space for dialogue on the issues of what it means to be human and to live in community with others.
At the same time that I was following Cameron’s Facebook thoughts a painful e-mail arrived. The first church that I had served was a struggling small city church. Over my ten year ministry there the congregation developed into a strong church with a commanding presence in the community. The e-mail from a former and current leader in the church announced the resignation of its pastor and the harsh suggestion that the church would die within the next half-decade. In close to 30 years membership had dwindled from over 1,000 members to a precious few and the pledge units had fallen from over 300 to under 50. What happened? If the truth be told with full candor, it was the choice of the wrong pastoral leadership at a critical time in the church’s ministry that led to a downward spiral. While I believe that a renewal could take place with some very strong pastoral leadership and significant risk taking on the part of the congregation, I am broken hearted about the state of decline that the church is experiencing.
Leadership – that is the key component for a vital church in an urban setting. My concern is that most mainline denominations (the UCC being my preference) do little in the identifying and training of clergy for urban churches. In large part most seminary education does not help candidates for the ordained ministry to discern whether she or he might have the gifts essential for ordained ministry in an urban setting……some of those gifts being – a passion for diversity; an optimistic openness to outlandish creativity; an uncanny ability to study the unique sociology of the urban scene; a gift for hearing the voices of others and often allowing the marginalized to bring their wisdom to the shaping of ministry; an ability in building alliances with other sacred and secular institutions – including government. While most of our seminaries do an excellent job in training those seeking ordained ministry in the “generic” local church – usually in a suburban, town, or rural setting, the nuances of ministry in the urban setting are given little visibility.
Alliances – this is the second key component to enriching the ministry of churches in urban settings. “We covenant together….” are foundational words on which the United Church of Christ is built. Yet too often “autonomy” is the operative practice by a majority of local churches. A covenantal, an alliance building ecclesiology is essential for the health and witness of the urban church. As I have alluded to, covenants with sacred and secular institutions who share the city-space are primary. Still I believe that alliances with churches on the sub-urban rim of the city are an often neglected opportunities for strengthening the ministry of churches in both settings. For the challenges of the city are real world challenges. The city church offers access to diversity training in a “micro” perspective. I remember well the relationships that allowed a large suburban church I was serving to gain a new perspective on living in a global world. A significant parabolic moment took place in a shared Bible study in a predominately African-American church. As we worked our way through the Beatitudes, one of the women from one of our partner churches said sternly without animosity in her voice: “This passage about blessed are the poor has little to do with you my friends who live in the suburbs – it ain’t about being poor in spirit – it’s about being poor. Jesus has a preference for the poor.” There was silence and then grace-filled, soul changing dialogue. The blessing of understanding from such alliance building took on a more humorous perspective among a group of five churches who were gathered together around racial tensions in the small city of my first church. Following a time of racial tension at the local high school, I challenged four other churches to join in a “Cross Connections” ministry. The connection partners were an African-American Baptist Church, an Orthodox Arabic Melkite Church, an Hispanic Baptist Church, and two “Anglo” (as we were called) churches. Along with establishing youth service programs together we covenanted together to have a series of Lenten meals with Bible Study. At one of these “heavenly banquet” feasts my dear friend and pastor of the Hispanic Church made a comment on the variety of foods on the serving table. “Bob the foods we bring might say a lot about the way we go about living out our faith. Notice that we Hispanics bring spicy foods. Our African-American friends bring some spicy and some earthy foods. Our Orthodox friends bring foods that are earthy and rich in flavor. And what do you Anglos bring – jellied salads and baked beans. Enough said? You folks might learn a little something about delicious food and rich and hot faith from the rest of us.” What touched my soul was the reality that amid the levity, there was an honesty he felt comfortable in sharing with me. And the reality that we had much to learned from our others brothers and sisters in Christ. An openness to listen was the only requirement. Alliances – covenant relationships lead to vitality and new understandings for all who are willing to risk setting aside their control needs and preconceptions in the pursuit of God’s justice and grace. Such alliances are particularly key for the strengthening of the ministries of the city church.
Let me offer a word of thanks for a Facebook posting that called me to remember the costs and JOYS of discipleship that I experienced in my times of ministry in the urban church. I hope this humble effort on ministry in the city – I feel like breaking out in the song by The Eagles – will foster further dialogue. And unlike The Eagles song, I hope the United Church of Christ will not seek to flee from providing its inclusive and justice based ministry in the city!