Ethical Eating

So, I'm reading a book that seems to be all the rage in my community. It seems every time I turn around, someone else is reading it. Unless, of course, they are reading one of those vampire books.

Anyhow, this favorite author of mine is inspiring me -- as she always does. I'm thinking about how I eat, where I eat and how it reflects my commitment to God's created order. I'm soon heading to the Farmer's Market, but this is a gift that is offered to our community only in summer months. We don't get to have it much during the winter -- perhaps because the climate here is a little less than hospitable. So, I just did a little research on Community Supported Agriculture in our area. It turns out that there is one farm that offers winter shares. But, I've never done this before. I'm not sure the questions to ask. Or if there is something I need to know before I slap down a deposit to see three cheers for the farmers and local produce. Is there anything?

A Day to Be Proud

The President and General Minister of the UCC, Rev. John Thomas and Rev. Linda Jaramillo, the Executive Minister of the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries, arrived at the White House today with a stack of names. Some of those names belonged to members of our church. All of those names were against the war.

These two executive ministers were arrested today in front of the White House. They were trying to deliver the Pastoral Letter on the War on Iraq. Instead, they were arrested.

As Rev. Jaramillo said, "As a church, we can no longer be silent."

Amen. May it be so. Amen.

Donate a Mammogram

This has arrived in my inbox twice today so I feel the need to share it.

The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "donating a mammogram" for free (pink window in the middle).

This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising. I'm the daughter of a victim of this disease. There are too many that share a similar story. So, please click on the Breast Cancer Site and donate today.

The Curse of Email

I just wanted to say it was certainly a pleasure meeting you at the annual meeting this weekend. It is very encouraging to see young pastors such as yourself who are poised, articulate, and professional in both demeanor and dress taking leadership positions in the UCC. I hope we have the opportunity to cross paths again and I wish you the best always in your ministry.

This was the email that arrived in my inbox just now. Apparently, I met this person at our Annual Meeting this weekend. I don't remember who it was. But, I'm annoyed by this email. Why shouldn't I be "poised, articulate and professional" just because I am young clergy? And why is it necessary to comment on my clothing? I was actually pushing the envelope a little with what one of my colleagues called "catwoman boots." But, why is that needed? Why?

What Is the Meaning of Success?

President Bush said it last night. General Petraeus said it earlier this week. Perhaps others are saying it too -- and I'm too impatient to read the article or listen to the rest of the audio broadcast. But, President Bush is convicted in his belief that we are showing signs of success in Iraq. We can't back out now, he insists from his own logic that I cannot seem to grasp. But, in his speech last night (which I can't bring myself to actually get through without screaming), President Bush announced that our success in Iraq may allow gradual troop cuts. This number is not clear. The actions that need to be taken are incredibly vague. And like many others, I'm frustrated.

In the week of the sixth anniversary of 9/11, I find myself once again eager to be in prayer and fellowship with others who share my hope for peace. Perhaps that is why this digs me most. This news comes this week -- when our nation mourns our wounds. This news comes this week as if to placate our fears. It just doesn't seem right. And I know that I am not alone.

I got an email from Jim Wallis today. At the very end of the email, he asked for prayer. He reminded his email audience of the power of prayer and that prayer can and will change our world. But, this was after he asked for money -- twice. He asked for donations in particular increments to support Sojourners work toward peace and justice. I deleted the email in annoyance. As much as I value the work that Sojourners does, the double request for money hit the same nerve that Bush seems to disregard human lives. Is it money that will solve this problem? Has money ever solved any problems in our world? Didn't our nation's greed send us to Iraq in the first place?

I admit that I'm ranting. I admit that I may be unfair to Jim Wallis and the hardworking people at Sojourners. But, I can't help but wonder what it means to have success. What is success in this particular conflict? Can anyone be bold enough to assert that success has been obtained? Perhaps I'm still grieving 9/11 or perhaps I'm still thinking about the funeral that I officiated at earlier this week. But, these words by Ralph Waldo Emerson come to mind:

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

I wonder who is breathing easier on this day after President Bush and General Petraeus have annouced success. I wonder what part of the world is better. Where are the healthy children and blossoming gardens? Or where might we find a redeemed social condition? I cannot know. And this is why I join Sojourners and others in prayer. I pray with members of the United Church of Christ and I pray with friends who find the words for my prayer when I cannot. May it be so.

Far Away

This is how I feel today. Far away. In Maine, if you are not from here (meaning that your mother's mother was born in this state), you are from away. I will always be from away. But, today I just feel so far away. It really started yesterday when I was struggling to write my sermon for the funeral that I officiated at today. I didn't realize that my own grief about this day was getting in the way. I didn't realize that what was making this endeavor so diffcult might simply be that I'm far from NYC today.

There were no worship services in my area to memoralize the day. There were no churches open for prayer, including the one in which I serve. But, I wanted this. I desparately wanted an intentional space for this kind of prayer. Instead, I held the hands of four daughters who buried their father today while I tried not to convey my own grief. Instead, I stood in the rain and commended this 90 year old man into the earth. Instead, I read Ecclesiastes 3 and wondered what season this was.

I wasn't there when it happened. I was living in London at the time. At 3 PM, I was urged to turn on the TV to see the destruction of my home city. I spent the next several hours trying to assure the safety of my mother who worked in Midtown. She was with friends uptown. She was fine. But, I was scared. And I just wanted to go home. Instead, I went to Italy. On September 12, I wandered the streets of Florence (another home for me) as the reality of this disaster followed me through the streets. I was with my Italian family there. And for the most part, I felt safe and loved. Perhaps this is what I miss today. Perhaps this is what I miss for all of us -- for the Iraqis, Afghanis, Arabs and others who are mistreated because of our country's racist ignorance. Perhaps this is what grieves me today. It all seems so far away. New York is too far. Peace is too far. Understanding is too far. And though it grieves me to say it, hope seems too far away.

Good News in New York

A good friend in New York (and a former colleague when he was my boss at Common Ground) just sent me this New York Times article claiming that there is "only one first time for getting your name in the paper." Don't you love that? I love that he dreams so big -- not only in his personal life, but knowing that the work he does will change the world if not New York.

If you don't believe there is good news in the world today, read this for some gospel truth. My preaching professor in seminary told us to look for images of the resurrection in our everyday world. And this is surely going in my file.

To Do Justice

Until that equation changes, many analysts argue, nothing else will.

This is the last sentence in the New York Times article A Godsend for Darfur, or a Curse?. This last sentence makes me want to cry. It makes me wonder about hope -- and makes me wonder if my sermon on Sunday will be entirely hypocritical. But, I tend to think that the sermons we preach are the ones we most need to hear.

And I need to hear about justice (even though my sermon is not about justice). I need those moments that activate my faith by living that tenet in Micah 6:8. But, I need the study time first -- which is what my sermon is about. So, I wonder. Are any of your congregations studying water? My denomination has a couple of resources available about this topic. And I wonder about it. Have any of your churches partnered with Jewish congregations against genocide? Do you even know that the Jewish community is more active on this campaign than Christians? Do you have amazing stories to tell about it?

I wonder how it works in congregations that aren't jumping up and down about justice, but do want to do something. I'm planning on using the Dear Sudan program for Lent. And in my optimism, I hope it's too late because all of this will have changed. The entire equation will be resolved and the analysts will stop being so cynical. But, I know that won't happen even when I pray it will. But, I wonder. I wonder how we do justice and affect change. Because I believe that something will. Something will change.

The Things We Do For Love

Sometimes I think that the church gets mixed up in the wrong details. Sometimes I think that we worry about things that really don't matter. And more often than not, it seems that we get most concerned about love. We worry about how God loves the world or how God defines love in the divine relationship with humanity. And sometimes, we even have the audacity to determine how humanity should celebrate the gift of love that God has given us.

I wish I had my Book of Worship now to remember the exact wording of the vow that I took at Ordination. As I imagine they are to many clergy, these vows are very important to me. I reread them when I need to focus on a bad day in ministry. I reread them and pray that I might live more deeply into these vows. But, there is one vow that has something to do with being called to guide God's people to live joyfully as God created them. That's not the right wording and if I remember it on Sunday, I will actually look it up at church. But, it's something like that. It's mixed in their with the vows to read and study and pray. To offer sacraments and preach the word. And then, the United Church of Christ reminds us that we are called to lead people on their spiritual journey -- wherever it might lead.

Now, there are dangerous places that this journey might go. You can imagine those situations yourself without my naming them. And we can all pray that we have the strength to deal with those dangerous places. We can all pray that we can lead, encourage, guide and love. After all, that's a big part of our call as clergy: to love.

And love can be dangerous. It can take some amazing turns. Some frightening and unexpected detours that we might never have planned for. This part of the journey is not only about loving others, as it is for Kate. This journey can also take us to deeper places of loving ourselves, like it has for Drew. Perhaps there is a need for boundaries so that no one is in too much danger.

But, I wonder. I wonder about our Stillspeaking God who has yet more "truth and light to shine upon God's word." I wonder if we are just not yet ready for all that God has in store for us. I wonder if those things that some of us find uncomfortable and being transgender or polyamorous are part of the audacious nature of that 16th verse in the third chapter of John that we love to quote so much. Perhaps. I admit that I'm still not sure. But, perhaps. Perhaps God loves the world so much that we are pushed to new places to explore what that kind of love might mean. Perhaps God dares us to imagine more truth and light in places that we think we have placed neat boundaries for our own safety and protection. Perhaps God calls us to be more dangerous. Perhaps.

Unanswered Prayers

I just signed a petition to Save Darfur. It's a simple request. Or at least, this is what I pray. It's a reminder to President Bush to make peacekeeping effective. Of course, it seems that peacekeeping is not something that the present administration does effectively, if at all. But, I can still pray.

The petition asks for these prayerful petitions:

1. A strong mandate to protect civilians.
2. Management of the mission by the United Nations.
3. A sufficient level of troops and police drawn from around the world.
4. Mobile resources and equipment needed for quick response across Darfur's challenging terrain.
5. A strong emphasis on civilian and humanitarian needs.
6. Sufficient funding from the international community.

And then, the reply came from the White House. Too quickly, I might add. There isn't even a glimmer of hope that this message was read. It's just an automated reply, reading:

On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence.

We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions.

Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House cannot respond to every message.

Thank you again for taking the time to write.

I Oppose Immigration Reform

Do you? I'm not going to tell you how to vote or what you should think. But, in my humble and uncomplicated opinion, I think this legislation is awful. Or as my friends at Interfaith Worker Justice call it, "mean-spirited." I imagine these justice seekers trying to come up with the right word for their horror. And "mean-spirited" was the best they could do to supress their outrage. And we should be outraged.

Children of God, our fellow humans are being demoralized in horrifying ways. This guest worker program flirts frightening closely with slavery. This is not OK. This is not what we hope for in our world or how we abide by the golden rule.As Christians, we are supposed to welcome the stranger. Our Christian call is to offer a home for pilgrims in a foreign land.

And Children of God, we are called to speak to power. Do it early this week. This bill is being debated this week. Tell your senator what you think. And pray for justice for our immigrants, our pilgrims and all that wander without welcome.

Oh Jesus!

I live in a "questionable" neighborhood. One of my friends refers to it as the "ghetto" which frustrates me. It's not that bad, I say. It's just not that bad. Besides, I'm a city girl.

I had to answer these constant questions again yesterday as a church member asked me if I felt safe. And I do. I like coming home to a place with real people (not that church people are not real, mind you). But, I do like my little neighborhood.

Now, I'm waiting for my phone to ring. I'm waiting for the series of concerned congregants that might call to see if I'm OK. To see if I survived. To see if I'm safe and alive. Because last night, apparently, there was a shooting on my street. Three blocks from my home. The route I often take to my gym. Are you kidding? It was in the police blotter even. See for yourself:

Police probe shooting in Parkside neighborhood

Police were investigating a shooting on Lee Street late Sunday.

Few details were available by press time because police were investigating at the scene. The shooting was reported around 10 p.m.

There are safe houses on that side of the street. And I don't really want to draw conclusions about the people involved in the shooting. I don't want to assume that there were issues with drugs or alcohol or other complicated matters. But, I worry about them. I was thinking about this as I was watching Law & Order last night. Must all of these complicated matters be settled with guns? It would be nice if it were not on my street. But, perhaps this is an opportunity to talk about larger justice issues. Hm.

And then, I lament again. Oh Jesus!