Our readings these past Sundays have been very instructive. We heard abount discernment of God's mission for Jesus when he encountered the Canaanite woman. Then Paul tells us about how we are all connected as one Body of Christ and that we all have different gifts to share. This Sunday we will hear of Jesus talking about the inevitable suffering that comes with being one of his disciples.
As summer ends we are hearing great challenges in Scripture readings in our Sunday lectionary. Let's not forget whose we are as we come to an end of another summer season. We are the Lord's in every way. If you are away this Sunday, may your travels be safe. Come home to us as we will be gearing up for new challenges and new opportunites this fall.
Last Sunday I announced that the Sisters of the Order of St. Helena have decided to close the convents at Vails Gate and New York City. They will all move to August, Georgia. Beginning a week from Sunday we will have one of Chris Harrison's pen and ink drawings of the Chapel for you to sign. It will be our gift to the sisters who have given so much to this diocese, this region and this parish over the years.
And beginning a week from Sunday we will have a flip chart and marker where you can write down what name you think we should for a new Episcopal Church in Montgomery. You heard Bishop Roskam tell us at my installation what a unique opportunity it is for us to move forward with a new name and a new identity in the community.
So let's put the Holy Spirit in charge of our new life together. Let's let her speak through each of us, with our various gifts, to enlighten us as we discern God's call for this community at this time and in this place.
Peace and gratitude,
Pastor Dan
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Martyrs of Knoxville
My fellow believers in Tennessee were interrupted in their July 27 Sunday service by hatred, gunfire and death. I call them “fellow believers” because people of faith are united by a bond that cannot be separated by miles or denomination.
Every Sunday you find Catholics, Protestants, Unitarians, Mormons and others gathered in prayer and praise of the God we all worship and serve. We who do this are living out the dream of our nation’s founders to freely practice our religion.
Many of the millions of Sunday worshippers are seeking to build what Jesus called the Kingdom of God here on earth. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called it the “Beloved Community.” You find it outlined in the Hebrew prophet Isaiah (Chapter 61) and restated by Jesus in several places of the Christian gospels.
The gunman in Knoxville, Jim Adkisson, said he was angry at the “liberal movement” and found a target for his rage in a church that has expressed its witness to God in ways some have labeled liberal.
I don’t know whether the gunman listened to talk radio but the neo-conservatives there constantly fan the flames of hatred. They pour gasoline on the flames of discontent. Now they do so under the same protection the Constitution grants religious groups to worship as they feel called to do.
There used to be a time when the purveyors of hatred could not use our public airwaves with defamatory and inflammatory language. Until the 1980s-- when the patron saint of neo-conservative America, Ronald Reagan, removed the “fairness doctrine” from American broadcasters—the John Hagees, Pat Robertsons, Rush Limbaughs, James Dobsons and Michael Savages could not have said on the air what they have been able to say these past two decades.
Our government, our society, had demanded that if you were going to use our publicly owned airwaves you had to be fair. After all fairness is a noble and desirable goal for any society.
But no more. Now Lou Dobbs can keep ranting about the “war and the middle class” and scapegoating undocumented aliens with complete abandon. Mr. Adkisson also said in his letter he couldn’t get a job. Had he heard that because he was white and nearly 60 that his employment problems were because of liberals, or people of color, or undocumented workers who would work for less?
Nearly 30,000 people a year die from gun violence. Yet recently the U.S. Supreme Court said the Second Amendment—which clearly states gun ownership is for militias--allows anyone to keep and bear arms. Mr. Adkisson reportedly bought his shotgun at a pawn shop.
That Supreme Court decision coupled with the removal of the fairness doctrine, I fear, will create other such acts of violence.
What happened in Knoxville could just as easily have happened in my Episcopal church Sunday. Our church openly welcomes people of difference. Our church has a bishop who happens to be gay and lives in a committed partnership. And that bishop, the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, had to wear a bullet proof vest during the ceremony that made him a bishop because of death threats.
So I feel a great connection to the martyrs of Knoxville and the entire congregation there. I pray for them. And I pray for Mr. Adkisson and those like him who feel violence is the only answer.
And I pray for our country. The right of free speech must be tempered. (You cannot yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater). Free speech in the public square should be civil. The right to bear arms must be tempered especially when those who hear the hatemongers on radio and TV can so easily solve their perceived problems with guns rather than words.
This madness of allowing the words of fear and hate to be broadcast unchecked coupled with free access to instruments of death and vindication must be stopped. Otherwise a vortex of violence will envelope our nation like never before.
Every Sunday you find Catholics, Protestants, Unitarians, Mormons and others gathered in prayer and praise of the God we all worship and serve. We who do this are living out the dream of our nation’s founders to freely practice our religion.
Many of the millions of Sunday worshippers are seeking to build what Jesus called the Kingdom of God here on earth. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called it the “Beloved Community.” You find it outlined in the Hebrew prophet Isaiah (Chapter 61) and restated by Jesus in several places of the Christian gospels.
The gunman in Knoxville, Jim Adkisson, said he was angry at the “liberal movement” and found a target for his rage in a church that has expressed its witness to God in ways some have labeled liberal.
I don’t know whether the gunman listened to talk radio but the neo-conservatives there constantly fan the flames of hatred. They pour gasoline on the flames of discontent. Now they do so under the same protection the Constitution grants religious groups to worship as they feel called to do.
There used to be a time when the purveyors of hatred could not use our public airwaves with defamatory and inflammatory language. Until the 1980s-- when the patron saint of neo-conservative America, Ronald Reagan, removed the “fairness doctrine” from American broadcasters—the John Hagees, Pat Robertsons, Rush Limbaughs, James Dobsons and Michael Savages could not have said on the air what they have been able to say these past two decades.
Our government, our society, had demanded that if you were going to use our publicly owned airwaves you had to be fair. After all fairness is a noble and desirable goal for any society.
But no more. Now Lou Dobbs can keep ranting about the “war and the middle class” and scapegoating undocumented aliens with complete abandon. Mr. Adkisson also said in his letter he couldn’t get a job. Had he heard that because he was white and nearly 60 that his employment problems were because of liberals, or people of color, or undocumented workers who would work for less?
Nearly 30,000 people a year die from gun violence. Yet recently the U.S. Supreme Court said the Second Amendment—which clearly states gun ownership is for militias--allows anyone to keep and bear arms. Mr. Adkisson reportedly bought his shotgun at a pawn shop.
That Supreme Court decision coupled with the removal of the fairness doctrine, I fear, will create other such acts of violence.
What happened in Knoxville could just as easily have happened in my Episcopal church Sunday. Our church openly welcomes people of difference. Our church has a bishop who happens to be gay and lives in a committed partnership. And that bishop, the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, had to wear a bullet proof vest during the ceremony that made him a bishop because of death threats.
So I feel a great connection to the martyrs of Knoxville and the entire congregation there. I pray for them. And I pray for Mr. Adkisson and those like him who feel violence is the only answer.
And I pray for our country. The right of free speech must be tempered. (You cannot yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater). Free speech in the public square should be civil. The right to bear arms must be tempered especially when those who hear the hatemongers on radio and TV can so easily solve their perceived problems with guns rather than words.
This madness of allowing the words of fear and hate to be broadcast unchecked coupled with free access to instruments of death and vindication must be stopped. Otherwise a vortex of violence will envelope our nation like never before.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Parents and Children
I just returned from a wonderful week at Pawleys Island, SC, with my parents - we stay at an inn (no shoes, no tv, no computers, no cell phones, no locks on doors, shower down the hall) with 3 meals a day and no obligations other than snoozing, sunning, rocking on the porch and reading. One of the highlights is Miss Frances, who manages the staff and also sings her own amazing version of Happy Birthday to anyone celebrating during the week. In a conversation with my mother on the last day there was mutual head-shaking over children who don't "do right" and Miss Frances gave my mother several examples of Bible offspring (both children & adults) who stray from the path. And then she cited Adam and Eve, whose parent was no other than God - and who still messed up. So as parents we can only do our best and then put our children in God's hands. At the end of the conversation, Miss Frances blessed my parents in song - bringing my mother to tears.
During the week I read Grapes of Wrath, this Fall's Big Read for Orange County. There's a big difference between reading it in high school and as an adult! There are some amazing Biblical associations and tremendous richness of language, symbolism and feeling. I highly recommend reading the book and/or taking in some of the programs planned for September & October (movie showing, dramatic reading, book discussions, art exhibits) - check with your local library to find out what, when & where. Everything is free and some venues will be accepting donations of canned goods for local food pantries.
During the week I read Grapes of Wrath, this Fall's Big Read for Orange County. There's a big difference between reading it in high school and as an adult! There are some amazing Biblical associations and tremendous richness of language, symbolism and feeling. I highly recommend reading the book and/or taking in some of the programs planned for September & October (movie showing, dramatic reading, book discussions, art exhibits) - check with your local library to find out what, when & where. Everything is free and some venues will be accepting donations of canned goods for local food pantries.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Summer
I hope everyone is having a great summer. I am happy to see that attendance hasn't dropped too much this summer. It has been wonderfull seeing people every week. We do have our vestry meeting on Mon. Aug 11 and our cleaning day is the 4th Sunday of the month. We could really use help cleaning up the closets and stuff in the parish hall and in the entry area.
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