("Normalcy: Never Again" is the actual title of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, I'm told. He gave this speech 47 years ago, on August 28, 1963. I was five months old.)
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Which Musical Are You?
So, following a bit more "churchy" discussion at church tonight, the topic moved to the less spiritual, "If you could be any role in a musical, who would you be and from which musical?"
My first answer right off the top of my head was Curly, from Oklahoma, as that is one of my favorite musicals. But then, as the discussion continued, I kept thinking, "Yeah! That's who I wanna be!"
I bounced over to Danny from Grease and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (I LOVE him in that!) and, finally, Kermit the Frog, from The Muppet Movie...
No, make that Gonzo! (I love I'm Going to Go Back There Some Day.)
For my church friends who might happen here, some of the other answers were:
Roger - Don Quixote
Brady - Maria's friend (whose name I forget) from West Side Story
Susan T - Maria from Sound of Music (or any Julie Andrews roles)
Susan B - Eva Peron from Evita
Tracy and Molly also offered opinions, but I'm forgetting them.
How about it, anyone? Who would you be?
My first answer right off the top of my head was Curly, from Oklahoma, as that is one of my favorite musicals. But then, as the discussion continued, I kept thinking, "Yeah! That's who I wanna be!"
I bounced over to Danny from Grease and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (I LOVE him in that!) and, finally, Kermit the Frog, from The Muppet Movie...
No, make that Gonzo! (I love I'm Going to Go Back There Some Day.)
For my church friends who might happen here, some of the other answers were:
Roger - Don Quixote
Brady - Maria's friend (whose name I forget) from West Side Story
Susan T - Maria from Sound of Music (or any Julie Andrews roles)
Susan B - Eva Peron from Evita
Tracy and Molly also offered opinions, but I'm forgetting them.
How about it, anyone? Who would you be?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Pharisee Heresy
Hey, gang! It's group participation time!
I was wondering if folk would like to put down what they know, have heard, have read, or just randomly think about the problem with being Pharisaical.
We all know that, in most places these days, to accuse someone of being a Pharisee is not a compliment. "Being a pharisee" has come to be known as being hypocritical or being judgmental or, something. And that's what I'm wanting you to share with me - What is the "sin of being a Pharisee?"
First off, the disclaimers: I understand from various readings and sermons over the years that the Pharisees aren't quite the bad guys we tend to make them out to be, at least not at their best.
In Jesus' day, the Jewish people were a subjected people, second class citizens under the thumb of the Roman empire and in danger of being assimilated and losing their religion. The Pharisees were a "back to the fundamentals" group who wanted to help the Jewish folk be true to their best ideals. It is my understanding that they tended to be simple living advocates, who shunned the excesses of materialism and that they were often quite good people who just wanted to be true to their God.
Nonetheless, we know that they took it overboard and became wrongly judgmental, sometimes hypocritical. But of course, we know that being "judgmental" is not a wrong in itself - we OUGHT to be discerning and make judgments on matters. Or not?
So, tell me what you think: Where did the Pharisees go wrong? What was/is their sin?
Thanks.
I was wondering if folk would like to put down what they know, have heard, have read, or just randomly think about the problem with being Pharisaical.
We all know that, in most places these days, to accuse someone of being a Pharisee is not a compliment. "Being a pharisee" has come to be known as being hypocritical or being judgmental or, something. And that's what I'm wanting you to share with me - What is the "sin of being a Pharisee?"
First off, the disclaimers: I understand from various readings and sermons over the years that the Pharisees aren't quite the bad guys we tend to make them out to be, at least not at their best.
In Jesus' day, the Jewish people were a subjected people, second class citizens under the thumb of the Roman empire and in danger of being assimilated and losing their religion. The Pharisees were a "back to the fundamentals" group who wanted to help the Jewish folk be true to their best ideals. It is my understanding that they tended to be simple living advocates, who shunned the excesses of materialism and that they were often quite good people who just wanted to be true to their God.
Nonetheless, we know that they took it overboard and became wrongly judgmental, sometimes hypocritical. But of course, we know that being "judgmental" is not a wrong in itself - we OUGHT to be discerning and make judgments on matters. Or not?
So, tell me what you think: Where did the Pharisees go wrong? What was/is their sin?
Thanks.
Monday, August 9, 2010
A Prayer for Peace
With the uproar about the Islamic Center being built in NYC, and with the remembrance of Peace Sunday and the horrors of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I offer a small prayer for peace...
The song is "Jerusalem," written by Steve Earle and sung here by Donna and Dan, with Jordan accompanying us on mandolin.
I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say
And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find
That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem
Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then
Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound
But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem
And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls
And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem
The song is "Jerusalem," written by Steve Earle and sung here by Donna and Dan, with Jordan accompanying us on mandolin.
I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say
And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find
That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem
Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then
Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound
But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem
And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls
And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Bewarr the Boogetymen!
Stupidest things I've read today...
About the plan to build a Muslim center near Ground Zero...
When Christians and Jews or any other non Islamic religion can have some kind freedom of worship then I will support the ground zero mosque, until then, it is our sacred ground.
Okay, this is just weird on so many levels...
1. Whose "sacred ground?"
2. Sacred ground, how? Is this person thinking that God has somehow sanctified the site where the Twin Towers fell, making it a special area for some Christians only (ie, Christians who agree with him)?
3. I'm thinking this person knows this, but we HAVE freedom of worship, which is why the drive to stop this Islamic center is so wrong - it's contrary to our basic values as a people.
4. Is this person suggesting that, if Christians can't freely worship in Muslim countries, then we won't allow Muslims to freely worship here?? Again, contrary to our values and laws.
Aside from this fella: On what possible bases are people opposing an Islamic center near Ground Zero? During the Bush years, they kept assuring us that we weren't in a war against Muslims. With these type of people, that seems to be exactly what they're saying.
What gives?
(And the fella who provided this quote is just one of many stupid things I've read on this topic, he's not alone. I leave him unnamed to protect the silly.)
The second dumb thing (series of comments, actually) I've read today is about the Gay Marriage ban being overturned over in California Land (and, by the way, a tentative YEAYYY! for folk interested in supporting justice and marriage, whether gay or straight-ish). Hold on to your hats...
* It's about a concerted effort to undermine marriage as a whole...
* don't expect all the homosexuals to go home then and be happy, no, that will be just the beginning. The schools, read, your children, will be the next target, judicial decree in hand, then your church should your pastor finally grow a spine and decide that appeasing God's enemy to win their favor is not where it's at, and so be deemed by the enemies of God to be evil and therefore outlawed...
* Having a gay judge rule on such a matter is also irrational. He should have recused himself....
*If she loves her cat and her cat does not protest, how can they possibly deny her under her right to life and liberty and the fundamental right to marry the right to marry her cat?...
Stupid, stupider, stupidest and stupidester.
Fear-mongering is alive and sick, unfortunately.
I'll let the goofy statements stand on their own, but for this: I wonder if these folk who think that gay judges can't reasonably sit on a case involving gender orientation, do they also think that STRAIGHT judges "can't possibly be unbiased," and therefore ought to recuse themselves? If so, who shall adjudicate this case?
Does this mean that black judges can't preside over cases with ramifications for black people? That male judges can't preside over cases involving men?
Where does the stupidity of that suggestion end?
Fear-mongering and stupidity notwithstanding, tentative congratulations (tentatively) to California and those everywhere interested in justice.
====
UPDATE: Okay, so I've just got to post this additional "professional-scale" stupid comment about the proposed Islamic center in NYC, from Sarah Palin, who apparently tweeted...
“Peace-seeking Muslims, please understand. Ground Zero Mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Please reject it in the interest of healing.”
And the stupidity rolls on...
About the plan to build a Muslim center near Ground Zero...
When Christians and Jews or any other non Islamic religion can have some kind freedom of worship then I will support the ground zero mosque, until then, it is our sacred ground.
Okay, this is just weird on so many levels...
1. Whose "sacred ground?"
2. Sacred ground, how? Is this person thinking that God has somehow sanctified the site where the Twin Towers fell, making it a special area for some Christians only (ie, Christians who agree with him)?
3. I'm thinking this person knows this, but we HAVE freedom of worship, which is why the drive to stop this Islamic center is so wrong - it's contrary to our basic values as a people.
4. Is this person suggesting that, if Christians can't freely worship in Muslim countries, then we won't allow Muslims to freely worship here?? Again, contrary to our values and laws.
Aside from this fella: On what possible bases are people opposing an Islamic center near Ground Zero? During the Bush years, they kept assuring us that we weren't in a war against Muslims. With these type of people, that seems to be exactly what they're saying.
What gives?
(And the fella who provided this quote is just one of many stupid things I've read on this topic, he's not alone. I leave him unnamed to protect the silly.)
The second dumb thing (series of comments, actually) I've read today is about the Gay Marriage ban being overturned over in California Land (and, by the way, a tentative YEAYYY! for folk interested in supporting justice and marriage, whether gay or straight-ish). Hold on to your hats...
* It's about a concerted effort to undermine marriage as a whole...
* don't expect all the homosexuals to go home then and be happy, no, that will be just the beginning. The schools, read, your children, will be the next target, judicial decree in hand, then your church should your pastor finally grow a spine and decide that appeasing God's enemy to win their favor is not where it's at, and so be deemed by the enemies of God to be evil and therefore outlawed...
* Having a gay judge rule on such a matter is also irrational. He should have recused himself....
*If she loves her cat and her cat does not protest, how can they possibly deny her under her right to life and liberty and the fundamental right to marry the right to marry her cat?...
Stupid, stupider, stupidest and stupidester.
Fear-mongering is alive and sick, unfortunately.
I'll let the goofy statements stand on their own, but for this: I wonder if these folk who think that gay judges can't reasonably sit on a case involving gender orientation, do they also think that STRAIGHT judges "can't possibly be unbiased," and therefore ought to recuse themselves? If so, who shall adjudicate this case?
Does this mean that black judges can't preside over cases with ramifications for black people? That male judges can't preside over cases involving men?
Where does the stupidity of that suggestion end?
Fear-mongering and stupidity notwithstanding, tentative congratulations (tentatively) to California and those everywhere interested in justice.
====
UPDATE: Okay, so I've just got to post this additional "professional-scale" stupid comment about the proposed Islamic center in NYC, from Sarah Palin, who apparently tweeted...
“Peace-seeking Muslims, please understand. Ground Zero Mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Please reject it in the interest of healing.”
And the stupidity rolls on...
Friday, July 30, 2010
Expert Blogger Testimony
A new report on global climate change is out from the NOAA (National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration).
Peter Stott, head of monitoring at one of the participants is referenced in the article...
Seven indicators were rising, he said. These were: air temperature over land, sea-surface temperature, marine air temperature, sea level, ocean heat, humidity, and tropospheric temperature in the "active-weather" layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth's surface. Four indicators were declining: Arctic sea ice, glaciers, spring snow cover in the northern hemisphere, and stratospheric temperatures.
But that's not really what I wanted to note. What I wanted to note is that the article lists several "global warming skeptics" and lists their complaints with the study. Who do they quote in opposition to it?
One scientist ("ex-professor of environmental studies and fellow of the Cato Institute"), two economists (one who "follows climate science as a hobby") and one "Steve Goddard, a blogger..."
Really? THAT's newsworthy? That two economists and a BLOGGER question the science behind "global warming alarmism..." and this is who they cite from "the other side" of the issue??
For the record, none of the "experts" on the other side had anything to say directly about this particular study, they're just decrying "global warming alarmism" in general.
I dig my fellow bloggers as much as the next guy, but since when does being a blogger make you a credible witness or news source?
Peter Stott, head of monitoring at one of the participants is referenced in the article...
Seven indicators were rising, he said. These were: air temperature over land, sea-surface temperature, marine air temperature, sea level, ocean heat, humidity, and tropospheric temperature in the "active-weather" layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth's surface. Four indicators were declining: Arctic sea ice, glaciers, spring snow cover in the northern hemisphere, and stratospheric temperatures.
But that's not really what I wanted to note. What I wanted to note is that the article lists several "global warming skeptics" and lists their complaints with the study. Who do they quote in opposition to it?
One scientist ("ex-professor of environmental studies and fellow of the Cato Institute"), two economists (one who "follows climate science as a hobby") and one "Steve Goddard, a blogger..."
Really? THAT's newsworthy? That two economists and a BLOGGER question the science behind "global warming alarmism..." and this is who they cite from "the other side" of the issue??
For the record, none of the "experts" on the other side had anything to say directly about this particular study, they're just decrying "global warming alarmism" in general.
I dig my fellow bloggers as much as the next guy, but since when does being a blogger make you a credible witness or news source?
Prayers on a Bus
A prayer of joy and of lamentation from the middle of the Oak St Bus
The old man boarded the bus and greeted
His two friends
Hello there, hello there!
Hey. Hey. Howya?
How are you doin’?
Just fine. I just had me some lunch.
Yes?
I had myself some fried up chicken.
Fried up chicken?
Yes sir, some fried up chicken.
All right, some fried up chicken.
Yes, yes. I had me some mashed potatoes…
Yes?
And some fried UP chicken.
All right.
I had me some greens…
Yes?
And some fine, fine fried up chicken, oh my I did…
And on and on the prayer rolled between the three friends
like a sweet glazed doughnut.
Then:
Lookit there. James Ramsey St.
James R Ramsey St.
University President James R Ramsey St.
Yessir.
...
University of Louisville President James DAM Ramsey St.
mm-mmm.
Makes a million dollars a year and gets a street named after him!
James R god. dam. Ramsey St.
Lord…
And on and on the prayer rolled
Like a rusty wheel
Then:
It’s a shame about Leon
It’s a dammed shame.
Yessir.
Never bothered no one.
He never bothered NO one.
He NEVER bothered no one at all. And they went and killed him.
It’s a shame.
Yessir, it is. It’s a dammed shame.
Just doing his job…
Just doin' his dammed job…
Never bothering no one…
Never bother not a dammed person
And they went and killed him dead.
mm-mmm
...
It’s the kids, ya know?
Yes, it is. It’s the kids.
They got no respect.
No sir.
It’s a shame.
It’s a goddammed shame
And on and on the prayer rolled
Round and round
Like the moon passing through a dark night sky.
======
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.
Romans 8:26-27, The Message
The old man boarded the bus and greeted
His two friends
Hello there, hello there!
Hey. Hey. Howya?
How are you doin’?
Just fine. I just had me some lunch.
Yes?
I had myself some fried up chicken.
Fried up chicken?
Yes sir, some fried up chicken.
All right, some fried up chicken.
Yes, yes. I had me some mashed potatoes…
Yes?
And some fried UP chicken.
All right.
I had me some greens…
Yes?
And some fine, fine fried up chicken, oh my I did…
And on and on the prayer rolled between the three friends
like a sweet glazed doughnut.
Then:
Lookit there. James Ramsey St.
James R Ramsey St.
University President James R Ramsey St.
Yessir.
...
University of Louisville President James DAM Ramsey St.
mm-mmm.
Makes a million dollars a year and gets a street named after him!
James R god. dam. Ramsey St.
Lord…
And on and on the prayer rolled
Like a rusty wheel
Then:
It’s a shame about Leon
It’s a dammed shame.
Yessir.
Never bothered no one.
He never bothered NO one.
He NEVER bothered no one at all. And they went and killed him.
It’s a shame.
Yessir, it is. It’s a dammed shame.
Just doing his job…
Just doin' his dammed job…
Never bothering no one…
Never bother not a dammed person
And they went and killed him dead.
mm-mmm
...
It’s the kids, ya know?
Yes, it is. It’s the kids.
They got no respect.
No sir.
It’s a shame.
It’s a goddammed shame
And on and on the prayer rolled
Round and round
Like the moon passing through a dark night sky.
======
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.
Romans 8:26-27, The Message
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sabbath Economics
I'm going to post an excerpt from the sermon by my dear friend, Rick, who preached the last two weeks at Jeff St on the topic of the Sabbath. (That's Rick in the photo, barefoot and ready to preach!) The Bible passages he refers to are the story of Joseph the dreamer - found in Genesis 47 - and the story of the provision of manna to the people of Israel - found in Exodus 16.
This is just a very brief excerpt from a larger and wonderfully challenging sermon...
...In one of the great ironies of literature, Joseph is praised for resisting the designs of his boss’s wife, while his role as the inadvertent catalyst for the eventual enslavement of his own people is ignored.
Of course, Joseph probably couldn’t have known what his program [gathering together huge amounts of grain, centralized in Egypt - dt] would lead to. But future generations in Israel reflected on their long nightmare in Egypt and filled their literature with warnings about concentrated economic power.
Of course, the Hebrews finally escaped from Egypt. The Exodus from enslavement was the great liberating event of their history. And in the lore that developed about their deliverance, Hebrew storytellers emphasized some intriguing imagery that signified a different way. Manna in the wilderness.
The tale of the manna is much more than a miracle story. It envisions an economic alternative! It’s the symbolic charter for what we call “Sabbath economics.”
*Work in the place where you are.
*Take just enough for your family’s needs.
*Depend on the abundant provision of creation.
*Hoarding and excess result in rottenness.
The dream of Joseph envisions more and more.
The vision of the manna says enough is enough.
The dream of Joseph is take all you can.
The vision of the manna is share what you have.
Accumulate or cooperate.
One dream uproots - and turns into a nightmare for others.
The other dream plants - and prioritizes the needs of others.
The symbol of the manna is the visionary charter of an unseen conspiracy, the seed of change, quietly operating just below the surface.
The manna imagery even takes root in Israel’s national covenant as they develop the Sabbath economics consistent with their faith a God who liberated them from empire.
*Their gleaning laws allowed the poor to gather food off the land. (Deut. 24: 19-22)
*They outlawed interest rates that might lead people into spirals of debt servitude. (Ex. 22: 25)
*They set aside Sabbatical years to protect the land and to free the poor from debt. (Ex. 23: 10-11).
*Even the Sabbath has a humanitarian function (Ex. 23: 12).
*They envisioned periodic years of Jubilee to challenge accumulation of wealth, by redistributing land to level out patterns of concentrated ownership (Lev. 25: 10, 13, 28).
Some Jews even rejected monarchy itself, because it grafted political authority onto economic power. It was too much like Egypt’s system of an all-controlling center, enriched by an impoverished periphery...
So what do these ancient stories mean for us?
Of course, the same competing visions grow in the soil of our history as well. In our society, wealth has been redistributed upward for 30 years, toward greater concentration at the top, and increasing dependence at the bottom. Our nation has the largest gap between rich and poor in its history. The top 1% of Americans now possess 40% of the nation's total wealth.
We’ve been through the worst economic crisis since the Depression — an era also characterized by excess and scandal on Wall Street. Our largest banks are under investigation for complex financial maneuvers that profited from misleading their investors.
We’re now accustomed to terms like hedge funds, derivatives, debt swaps, and mortgage-backed securities — which symbolize the flagrant unchecked greed of an unfettered oligarchy, speculatively gambling with the nation’s wealth for the enrichment of a few, profiting even from the nation’s housing meltdown.
The other side of this coin is millions of homes in foreclosure…
Today, the reintegration of commercial and investment banking has yielded mega-banks so gigantic that their collapse threatens the entire financial system. And most of us are carrying their credit cards — our money, our homes, our welfare all tied up with their power.
We can scarcely imagine an alternative.
Now considered “too big to fail,” the mega-banks appropriate even more of the nation’s wealth unto themselves, gobbling up tax-funded bailouts while awarding themselves multimillion-dollar bonuses. And the recent financial regulation bill may not change as much as we’d hope.
So we’re faced with the age-old choice:
The dream of Joseph or the vision of the manna.
More and more, or enough is enough.
Take all you can, or share what you have.
Accumulate or cooperate.
The danger is more than economic. Justice Louis Brandeis was right when he said: "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.”
With millions spent on lobbyists, the mega-banks aren’t just “too big to fail,” but too well-connected to fail.
It’s a dream come true.
The trouble is, while modern-day Josephs dream of profit piled upon profit, we can’t seem to do without a system we now depend on.
For three months, we’ve watched as the BP oil spill has exceeded 100 million gallons, leaving 11 workers dead, unparalleled damage to an ocean ecosystem, fragile wetlands polluted, pelicans and sea turtles coated with petroleum, fish suffocating in underwater plumes of oil.
It’s the terrible price of a crude addiction we cannot shake...
The official history of our era is the story of the powerful — bank bailouts, financial flows, military campaigns, election returns… But do not be deceived. There’s another story.
There’s something going on underground.
It’s the quiet revolution of mustard seeds. The conspiracy of the seemingly insignificant...
It’s the story of countless unnamed midwives to a history flowing forward in a simple basket of reeds.
It’s the story of Shiphrah and Puah, Moses and Amos, St Francis and Dorothy Day, Gandhi and Wilberforce, Sandino and Mandela, Cesar Chavez and Rosa Parks.
What’s happened at Vacation Bible School this week (the kids collecting money and things for the needy) doesn’t seem like much. The gardens we’ve planted in our back yards seem so small. The Tuesday Farmer’s market you’ve worked so hard on is tiny.
But in a concentrated agro-industrial system, these mustard seed realities are nothing less than a new vision germinating in the midst of the old.
Yes, three corporations control the world’s grain trade.
Yes, Monsanto controls three-fifths of the world’s seed production.
But the dream that envisions a local, sustainable food economy can reconnect more and more of us with the source of our food and the rhythms of the earth. This is the odd vision of Sabbath economics, the peculiar practice of the manna alternative.
======
Thanks, Rick!
This is just a very brief excerpt from a larger and wonderfully challenging sermon...
...In one of the great ironies of literature, Joseph is praised for resisting the designs of his boss’s wife, while his role as the inadvertent catalyst for the eventual enslavement of his own people is ignored.
Of course, Joseph probably couldn’t have known what his program [gathering together huge amounts of grain, centralized in Egypt - dt] would lead to. But future generations in Israel reflected on their long nightmare in Egypt and filled their literature with warnings about concentrated economic power.
Of course, the Hebrews finally escaped from Egypt. The Exodus from enslavement was the great liberating event of their history. And in the lore that developed about their deliverance, Hebrew storytellers emphasized some intriguing imagery that signified a different way. Manna in the wilderness.
The tale of the manna is much more than a miracle story. It envisions an economic alternative! It’s the symbolic charter for what we call “Sabbath economics.”
*Work in the place where you are.
*Take just enough for your family’s needs.
*Depend on the abundant provision of creation.
*Hoarding and excess result in rottenness.
The dream of Joseph envisions more and more.
The vision of the manna says enough is enough.
The dream of Joseph is take all you can.
The vision of the manna is share what you have.
Accumulate or cooperate.
One dream uproots - and turns into a nightmare for others.
The other dream plants - and prioritizes the needs of others.
The symbol of the manna is the visionary charter of an unseen conspiracy, the seed of change, quietly operating just below the surface.
The manna imagery even takes root in Israel’s national covenant as they develop the Sabbath economics consistent with their faith a God who liberated them from empire.
*Their gleaning laws allowed the poor to gather food off the land. (Deut. 24: 19-22)
*They outlawed interest rates that might lead people into spirals of debt servitude. (Ex. 22: 25)
*They set aside Sabbatical years to protect the land and to free the poor from debt. (Ex. 23: 10-11).
*Even the Sabbath has a humanitarian function (Ex. 23: 12).
*They envisioned periodic years of Jubilee to challenge accumulation of wealth, by redistributing land to level out patterns of concentrated ownership (Lev. 25: 10, 13, 28).
Some Jews even rejected monarchy itself, because it grafted political authority onto economic power. It was too much like Egypt’s system of an all-controlling center, enriched by an impoverished periphery...
So what do these ancient stories mean for us?
Of course, the same competing visions grow in the soil of our history as well. In our society, wealth has been redistributed upward for 30 years, toward greater concentration at the top, and increasing dependence at the bottom. Our nation has the largest gap between rich and poor in its history. The top 1% of Americans now possess 40% of the nation's total wealth.
We’ve been through the worst economic crisis since the Depression — an era also characterized by excess and scandal on Wall Street. Our largest banks are under investigation for complex financial maneuvers that profited from misleading their investors.
We’re now accustomed to terms like hedge funds, derivatives, debt swaps, and mortgage-backed securities — which symbolize the flagrant unchecked greed of an unfettered oligarchy, speculatively gambling with the nation’s wealth for the enrichment of a few, profiting even from the nation’s housing meltdown.
The other side of this coin is millions of homes in foreclosure…
Today, the reintegration of commercial and investment banking has yielded mega-banks so gigantic that their collapse threatens the entire financial system. And most of us are carrying their credit cards — our money, our homes, our welfare all tied up with their power.
We can scarcely imagine an alternative.
Now considered “too big to fail,” the mega-banks appropriate even more of the nation’s wealth unto themselves, gobbling up tax-funded bailouts while awarding themselves multimillion-dollar bonuses. And the recent financial regulation bill may not change as much as we’d hope.
So we’re faced with the age-old choice:
The dream of Joseph or the vision of the manna.
More and more, or enough is enough.
Take all you can, or share what you have.
Accumulate or cooperate.
The danger is more than economic. Justice Louis Brandeis was right when he said: "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.”
With millions spent on lobbyists, the mega-banks aren’t just “too big to fail,” but too well-connected to fail.
It’s a dream come true.
The trouble is, while modern-day Josephs dream of profit piled upon profit, we can’t seem to do without a system we now depend on.
For three months, we’ve watched as the BP oil spill has exceeded 100 million gallons, leaving 11 workers dead, unparalleled damage to an ocean ecosystem, fragile wetlands polluted, pelicans and sea turtles coated with petroleum, fish suffocating in underwater plumes of oil.
It’s the terrible price of a crude addiction we cannot shake...
The official history of our era is the story of the powerful — bank bailouts, financial flows, military campaigns, election returns… But do not be deceived. There’s another story.
There’s something going on underground.
It’s the quiet revolution of mustard seeds. The conspiracy of the seemingly insignificant...
It’s the story of countless unnamed midwives to a history flowing forward in a simple basket of reeds.
It’s the story of Shiphrah and Puah, Moses and Amos, St Francis and Dorothy Day, Gandhi and Wilberforce, Sandino and Mandela, Cesar Chavez and Rosa Parks.
What’s happened at Vacation Bible School this week (the kids collecting money and things for the needy) doesn’t seem like much. The gardens we’ve planted in our back yards seem so small. The Tuesday Farmer’s market you’ve worked so hard on is tiny.
But in a concentrated agro-industrial system, these mustard seed realities are nothing less than a new vision germinating in the midst of the old.
Yes, three corporations control the world’s grain trade.
Yes, Monsanto controls three-fifths of the world’s seed production.
But the dream that envisions a local, sustainable food economy can reconnect more and more of us with the source of our food and the rhythms of the earth. This is the odd vision of Sabbath economics, the peculiar practice of the manna alternative.
======
Thanks, Rick!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Time to Eat Crow?
The AP, reporting on the deceptive video that cost a government employee her job and slandered her good name...
The two-minute, 38-second clip posted Monday by BigGovernment.com was presented as evidence that the NAACP was hypocritical in its recent resolution condemning what it calls racist elements of the tea party movement. The website's owner, Andrew Breitbart, said the video shows the civil rights group condoning the same kind of racism it says it wants to erase. Biggovernment.com is the same outfit that gained fame last year after airing video of workers at the community group ACORN counseling actors posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend [which turned out ALSO to be a slander job -dt]...
Reacting to the video on Monday, the USDA asked Sherrod to resign and the NAACP sent out a statement disavowing her comments, which were made at a local NAACP event. Sherrod then took to the media airwaves Tuesday, saying she was unfairly attacked and that the entirety of her remarks, delivered in March in Georgia, were not about racism, but part of a larger story about racial reconciliation and learning from her mistakes.
People who knew Sherrod were quick to defend her, including the wife of the white farmer who she discussed in the speech.
"We probably wouldn't have (our farm) today if it hadn't been for her leading us in the right direction," said Eloise Spooner of Iron City, Ga. "I wish she could get her job back because she was good to us, I tell you."
Both the NAACP and the USDA pulled back on their criticism after learning details about her speech and viewing the full video, which the NAACP posted on its website Tuesday evening...
When will we stop listening to obviously edited fake "news" published by non-news groups who have an agenda? When will they be held accountable for their slanderous actions? When will decent conservatives start apologizing for the actions of their comrades and denounce such behavior as the garbage that it is?
This makes me sick.
The two-minute, 38-second clip posted Monday by BigGovernment.com was presented as evidence that the NAACP was hypocritical in its recent resolution condemning what it calls racist elements of the tea party movement. The website's owner, Andrew Breitbart, said the video shows the civil rights group condoning the same kind of racism it says it wants to erase. Biggovernment.com is the same outfit that gained fame last year after airing video of workers at the community group ACORN counseling actors posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend [which turned out ALSO to be a slander job -dt]...
Reacting to the video on Monday, the USDA asked Sherrod to resign and the NAACP sent out a statement disavowing her comments, which were made at a local NAACP event. Sherrod then took to the media airwaves Tuesday, saying she was unfairly attacked and that the entirety of her remarks, delivered in March in Georgia, were not about racism, but part of a larger story about racial reconciliation and learning from her mistakes.
People who knew Sherrod were quick to defend her, including the wife of the white farmer who she discussed in the speech.
"We probably wouldn't have (our farm) today if it hadn't been for her leading us in the right direction," said Eloise Spooner of Iron City, Ga. "I wish she could get her job back because she was good to us, I tell you."
Both the NAACP and the USDA pulled back on their criticism after learning details about her speech and viewing the full video, which the NAACP posted on its website Tuesday evening...
When will we stop listening to obviously edited fake "news" published by non-news groups who have an agenda? When will they be held accountable for their slanderous actions? When will decent conservatives start apologizing for the actions of their comrades and denounce such behavior as the garbage that it is?
This makes me sick.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Signals of Oddity: Sabbath
I mentioned in my previous post that our church has begun our year-long look at our "Signals of Oddity" - those practices we have that make us peculiar. This Sunday, we began with our dear brother Rick leading us at a look at the notion of Sabbath. I wanted to provide an excerpt from that excellent sermon here, but the whole thing can be found at the Jeff St blog...
Terri reminded us last week of Flannery O’Connor’s famous quip, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you odd.” I love that oddity is the theme for our sabbatical period.
This year, we're considering our “Signals of Oddity: Worship as a Counter-Cultural Practice.” The idea is to study how worship functions as an alternative to the dominant culture. It says that one of our church’s challenges is to preserve our radical edge, our salty flavor, our oddity, our peculiarity.
Now on one level, a quick glance around the room suggests that peculiarity should not be a challenge for us! We are indeed an odd bunch. And the idea of Sabbath is pretty odd and counter-cultural too.
So what are we doing here? Really. Here we are, this odd collection of people — male and female; black and white; gay and straight; single and coupled; older and younger; homeless and housed; people with psychological and physical challenges; students and professionals, employed and unemployed, believers and seekers…
The welcoming diversity of this church, in itself, is a blessed oddity. One reason we’re here is the people we’ve come to love.
And there’s something pretty special about being with people with whom we can share our joys and concerns, knowing there’s a place where we belong. In this individualistic society, that’s pretty odd too. But to clarify why Sabbath signals a blessed oddity, I want to go back to the beginning – all the way back to Genesis 1 and 2, where Sabbath is first established. Because the Hebrews were saying something that’s remarkably relevant to our time.
So turn to Genesis 1, the first of two creation stories in the opening chapters of Genesis. They come from oral traditions of two different regions of Israel in two different centuries. They even use different names for God (1:1—God/Elohim—and 2:4b—Lord God/YHWH Elohim). They’re different stories. So we can’t read them as science or historical reporting of actual events. That would misunderstand the nature of this literature. These stories present a worldview—symbolically.
The first story uses old Babylonian imagery by starting with a formless watery void, and portrays the whole drama of creation as a triumph of order.
1:2—“The earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
The chapter shows God simply speaking Order into existence. It’s one of the most carefully designed literary units in the Bible, with a structure crafted to reinforce its message—that we’re part of this marvelously complex patterned structure, an abundant, harmonious order. It’s amazing how the text’s form serves its function. Notice:
1) There are seven days—each paragraph set apart with repeated refrains in a richly patterned prose. You can see the order on the page.
And each paragraph has three repeated refrains, giving a symmetrical pattern to the whole structure:
*Each paragraph begins with, “And God said.”
*Each repeats: “And God saw that it was good.”
*And each day ends with the refrain, “And there was evening and there was morning, (another) day.”
The intentional sense of Order is impossible to miss.
2) But there’s another layer below the surface, adding a deeper complexity of more profound patterns. The structure includes two 3-day sets —the first set (days 1-3) introduces created contexts, and the second set (days 4-6) introduces the inhabitants of these settings.
For example, 2 and 5 are parallel to each other. The sea creatures and the birds created on the 5th day fill the sea and the heavens created on the 2nd. And the land animals created on the 6th day inhabit the dry land set aside on the 3rd. It’s an amazing symmetry!
3) And it gets more complex. At a deeper level, each paragraph contains structured pairs of opposites—darkness/light, heaven/earth, male/female.
It’s an intricate, multi-layered creation unfolding its richness as each interconnected level reveals deeper structures, carefully designed order — so many patterns in each layer that we can’t help but marvel at the intricate complexity of this literary creation, even as we do when we observe the perfect pattern of a snowflake, the colors of a prism, the interconnectedness of a forest ecosystem.
Textually, the chapter’s refrains, parallels, and pairs speak to us on a level beyond words of something that’s beautiful in its symmetry, and dependable in its complex patterns. The passage itself reflects the order of the natural world. Its form evokes its message: We live in a stable, ordered, abundant world that reflects the goodness of a loving God.
Now, just as we’re marveling at the design of this amazing literary creation, something breaks the pattern! In most Bibles, you can see it on the page. Your eye is drawn to something new and different inserted into this carefully patterned prose—verse 27.
So God created humans in God’s own image,
in the image of God, God created them;
male and female God created them.
The creation of humanity is the appearance of something entirely new, so special that it can only be expressed as poetry in the midst of prose.
Here, the written form contains the message about the Hebrew view of humanity: In this marvelously ordered creation, humans are God’s poetry. YOU ARE GOD’S POETRY!
The God who speaks in beautifully structured prose in the created order, switches to poetry in the creation of humanity.
Look at the faces of the people around you. Each one divine poetry. Creation’s lyric verse.Each one an ode to the divine consciousness, reflecting the mind of a Master Poet. Here, the text says “very good.”
Then, after all the action, all the ordered patterning, the parallel structuring, the now familiar routine, the next paragraph doesn’t follow form.
The seventh day doesn’t have the same refrains as all the other days.
It throws out the pattern. It’s got a different rhythm. No structure. The routine is dropped.
That’s Sabbath. So the passage isn’t about creation, it’s about our lives.
Our need for a break in the routine. We stop. We rest. We ponder the patterns of which we are a part. And we worship...
Terri reminded us last week of Flannery O’Connor’s famous quip, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you odd.” I love that oddity is the theme for our sabbatical period.
This year, we're considering our “Signals of Oddity: Worship as a Counter-Cultural Practice.” The idea is to study how worship functions as an alternative to the dominant culture. It says that one of our church’s challenges is to preserve our radical edge, our salty flavor, our oddity, our peculiarity.
Now on one level, a quick glance around the room suggests that peculiarity should not be a challenge for us! We are indeed an odd bunch. And the idea of Sabbath is pretty odd and counter-cultural too.
So what are we doing here? Really. Here we are, this odd collection of people — male and female; black and white; gay and straight; single and coupled; older and younger; homeless and housed; people with psychological and physical challenges; students and professionals, employed and unemployed, believers and seekers…
The welcoming diversity of this church, in itself, is a blessed oddity. One reason we’re here is the people we’ve come to love.
And there’s something pretty special about being with people with whom we can share our joys and concerns, knowing there’s a place where we belong. In this individualistic society, that’s pretty odd too. But to clarify why Sabbath signals a blessed oddity, I want to go back to the beginning – all the way back to Genesis 1 and 2, where Sabbath is first established. Because the Hebrews were saying something that’s remarkably relevant to our time.
So turn to Genesis 1, the first of two creation stories in the opening chapters of Genesis. They come from oral traditions of two different regions of Israel in two different centuries. They even use different names for God (1:1—God/Elohim—and 2:4b—Lord God/YHWH Elohim). They’re different stories. So we can’t read them as science or historical reporting of actual events. That would misunderstand the nature of this literature. These stories present a worldview—symbolically.
The first story uses old Babylonian imagery by starting with a formless watery void, and portrays the whole drama of creation as a triumph of order.
1:2—“The earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
The chapter shows God simply speaking Order into existence. It’s one of the most carefully designed literary units in the Bible, with a structure crafted to reinforce its message—that we’re part of this marvelously complex patterned structure, an abundant, harmonious order. It’s amazing how the text’s form serves its function. Notice:
1) There are seven days—each paragraph set apart with repeated refrains in a richly patterned prose. You can see the order on the page.
And each paragraph has three repeated refrains, giving a symmetrical pattern to the whole structure:
*Each paragraph begins with, “And God said.”
*Each repeats: “And God saw that it was good.”
*And each day ends with the refrain, “And there was evening and there was morning, (another) day.”
The intentional sense of Order is impossible to miss.
2) But there’s another layer below the surface, adding a deeper complexity of more profound patterns. The structure includes two 3-day sets —the first set (days 1-3) introduces created contexts, and the second set (days 4-6) introduces the inhabitants of these settings.
For example, 2 and 5 are parallel to each other. The sea creatures and the birds created on the 5th day fill the sea and the heavens created on the 2nd. And the land animals created on the 6th day inhabit the dry land set aside on the 3rd. It’s an amazing symmetry!
3) And it gets more complex. At a deeper level, each paragraph contains structured pairs of opposites—darkness/light, heaven/earth, male/female.
It’s an intricate, multi-layered creation unfolding its richness as each interconnected level reveals deeper structures, carefully designed order — so many patterns in each layer that we can’t help but marvel at the intricate complexity of this literary creation, even as we do when we observe the perfect pattern of a snowflake, the colors of a prism, the interconnectedness of a forest ecosystem.
Textually, the chapter’s refrains, parallels, and pairs speak to us on a level beyond words of something that’s beautiful in its symmetry, and dependable in its complex patterns. The passage itself reflects the order of the natural world. Its form evokes its message: We live in a stable, ordered, abundant world that reflects the goodness of a loving God.
Now, just as we’re marveling at the design of this amazing literary creation, something breaks the pattern! In most Bibles, you can see it on the page. Your eye is drawn to something new and different inserted into this carefully patterned prose—verse 27.
So God created humans in God’s own image,
in the image of God, God created them;
male and female God created them.
The creation of humanity is the appearance of something entirely new, so special that it can only be expressed as poetry in the midst of prose.
Here, the written form contains the message about the Hebrew view of humanity: In this marvelously ordered creation, humans are God’s poetry. YOU ARE GOD’S POETRY!
The God who speaks in beautifully structured prose in the created order, switches to poetry in the creation of humanity.
Look at the faces of the people around you. Each one divine poetry. Creation’s lyric verse.Each one an ode to the divine consciousness, reflecting the mind of a Master Poet. Here, the text says “very good.”
Then, after all the action, all the ordered patterning, the parallel structuring, the now familiar routine, the next paragraph doesn’t follow form.
The seventh day doesn’t have the same refrains as all the other days.
It throws out the pattern. It’s got a different rhythm. No structure. The routine is dropped.
That’s Sabbath. So the passage isn’t about creation, it’s about our lives.
Our need for a break in the routine. We stop. We rest. We ponder the patterns of which we are a part. And we worship...
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Signals of Oddity and Whatnot
My church, Jeff St Baptist, has just begun a year in which we shall consider our "signals of oddity," those signs, practices and behaviors that we have as a church that set us apart (to be a "peculiar people" as the Bible has it).
We had a kickoff for this process - and a Goodbye For Now send off for Pastor Cindy, who has left for Sabbatical - this last Sunday. To begin the year, we looked back and remembered stories of our oddity from our history and shared them with one another.
A grand, rollicking, beautiful, powerful time was had by all and I've posted many of those stories in videos at the Jeff St blog, if you're interested.
=======
Speaking of Oddities, the NAACP has received some heat from some of our friends on the Right this week for having the audacity to challenge the Tea Party to stand against the racist elements that fringe their movement. They quite specifically did not call the Tea Party racist, rather, they challenged them to repudiate racism along with them by taking this "radical" pledge...
* I believe all Americans have equal rights and equal value.
* I cherish the diverse cultures, beliefs, and values of America.
* I believe we can disagree without being disagreeable.
* I repudiate all acts of racism and hate, both in words and action.
* I have faith in the promise of America – a promise built on mutual respect, common civility, and hope for a better tomorrow.
* I commit to building that better America by participating actively and peacefully in the democratic process.
We are one people. We are one nation.
Amen!
Is that so hard to agree with?
We had a kickoff for this process - and a Goodbye For Now send off for Pastor Cindy, who has left for Sabbatical - this last Sunday. To begin the year, we looked back and remembered stories of our oddity from our history and shared them with one another.
A grand, rollicking, beautiful, powerful time was had by all and I've posted many of those stories in videos at the Jeff St blog, if you're interested.
=======
Speaking of Oddities, the NAACP has received some heat from some of our friends on the Right this week for having the audacity to challenge the Tea Party to stand against the racist elements that fringe their movement. They quite specifically did not call the Tea Party racist, rather, they challenged them to repudiate racism along with them by taking this "radical" pledge...
* I believe all Americans have equal rights and equal value.
* I cherish the diverse cultures, beliefs, and values of America.
* I believe we can disagree without being disagreeable.
* I repudiate all acts of racism and hate, both in words and action.
* I have faith in the promise of America – a promise built on mutual respect, common civility, and hope for a better tomorrow.
* I commit to building that better America by participating actively and peacefully in the democratic process.
We are one people. We are one nation.
Amen!
Is that so hard to agree with?
Monday, July 12, 2010
Is nothing impossible?
If an overpowering hot summer morning -
wilting grass baked dry in the fierce glare of a fiery sun -
can be bested
by even a slight breeze in the shade
Is nothing impossible?
wilting grass baked dry in the fierce glare of a fiery sun -
can be bested
by even a slight breeze in the shade
Is nothing impossible?
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