Apples to Apples in the Dark: The Side Benefits of Earth Hour

Earth Hour just ended on the East Coast. Throughout the world today homes, businesses, and cities have turned out their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 PM wherever they are in the world. The purpose, of course, is to raise awareness of the need to reduce our energy usage so we can take better care of our planet. I'm not sure how effective this sort of thing is, but it feels good to participate in a global event.

Perhaps the best part of this was the opportunity to spend an hour playing a game with my family. Now that Earth Hour is over we have each gone on to our separate "activities" (computer, TV, etc.). For that hour, however, without the benefit of lights (and choosing not to use computers and watch TV) we let go of the usual distractions to have some fun together.

Maybe that's as good a lesson as any from this experience. The power that consumes precious and non-renewable resources on our planet can also consume time and energy that we might otherwise spend together as families and communities. Technology provides so much that is positive, and I would not want to give up any of it. But occasionally "fasting" from all of it provides the opportunity for simpler joys in life.

Candlelight and a game of Apples to Apples provided an hour of laughter, conversation, time together, and, I suspect, some good memories. That is worth an hour in the dark. Reducing our carbon footprint a tiny bit at the same time makes the experience all the better.

Thanks be to God!

Can We Embody the Compassion of Jesus Without being Political?

The other day I participated in an ecumenical breakfast meeting with some of the local clergy. The clergy association, if one can even call it that, is very informal and does not gather much in Exeter. A primary challenge for us is a theological divide between mainline churches and evangelical churches. Most of my interactions are with the pastors and people of the Congregational Church (UCC) and the Unitarian-Universalist Society. The breakfast was a good event and showed some promise for how we might find some common ministries in which a broader group of churches could be involved.

As a follow-up to the meeting one of the pastors sent an email invitation to all of the clergy asking us to attend a meeting next month with our state senator. I'm not sure that I will attend, but only because the meeting falls on my sabbath day, a day I try to reserve for rest and recreation. Having told the other pastor I might not attend, I did not think any more about it.

I was surprised the next day to read an email from yet another pastor declining the invitation because one characteristic of her denominations covenant of ordination is that pastors will not be involved in politics or use the pulpit to endorse political candidates or directions. This surprises me not because of the commitment of a pastor to stay out of politics but because I do not see the meeting with the state senator as involvement in politics or endorsing a politician. For me, this is a way for clergy to stay connected to the systems of power in our state that influence the lives of our congregations and our members.

My intention is not to be critical. I respect this pastor's feelings and I agree completely that clergy should not make political endorsements (the IRS would agree with this, also!). I bring this up because it raises questions for me about the role of the church in society.

• Is there a difference between involvement in politics and partnership with political leaders to explore and deal with systemic issues?
• Am I being political if I speak out against injustice?
• Can I effectively proclaim the presence of the reign of God in the world without engaging political processes?
• Does the separation of church and state mean that the church needs to stay out of the state or does it mean that the state is supposed to give the church freedom to express and live out its beliefs and values?
• Is it truly possible to separate religion and politics?

I am not a particularly political person. I don't participate in campaigns and I don't endorse candidates. Although I am a registered Democrat that is only because I want to vote in primaries. I prefer to think of myself as an independent. I don't encourage people to vote one way or the other for candidates or issues. I would never preach a sermon that endorses any one person or issue.

For many years I believed that clergy should be pastoral, not political. But over the past few years I've come to a new perspective. I believe that congregations need to work for a purpose larger than themselves, for a common good that impacts the needs of society as a whole. This mission would be impossible if we failed to participate in conversations and actions in the political realm?

We are called not simply to announce God's reign. Christians are called to embody it as Jesus did. Is it possible to be the Body of Christ in the world without being political? Isn't being political really about how we interact with power and authority to bring about justice? Are we not called to meet that power and authority with compassion, grace, peace, and love?

Every denomination, every congregation, and every pastor needs to answer these questions as seems best for them. It is not my place to say which answer are right and which are wrong. As an Episcopalian whose denomination has a long tradition of bridging the religious and the political worlds, I believe we must participate in the political conversation. The church can not stay silent in the face of hunger, poverty, homelessness, and other issues of injustice in our world. Religion can not be a purely private endeavor in a world that yearns for meaning, compassion, and wholeness.

Sabbath day or not, perhaps I'll participate in that meeting next month. I want to make sure I'm a part of the conversation.

Global Warming and God's Covenant with Creation

At Christ Church, one of our parish commitments for Lent both in 2008 and 2009 has been to look for ways that we can be better stewards of the environment. In my sermon on the First Sunday in Lent (March 1) I focused on Lent has a season in which we seek to renew the covenant God created not only with humanity but also with all living creatures. This covenant with all of creation is made clear in Genesis 9:8-17. Notice how many times in a few verses God refers to creatures other than humans.

God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

So, how do we renew this covenant and our interdependence with God's creation? At Christ Church we are collecting ideas for what individuals and families have done, continue to do, or will do to take better care of our planet. Understanding our stewardship for creation as a way of re-establishing our covenant with God helps us to understand that reducing our carbon footprint is not simply a social action to reduce global warming. It is also a faithful action of partnership with our Creator to bring wholeness to our home. Simple steps such as changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs, lowering your thermostat to save energy use in winter, walking instead of driving, reducing use of plastic bags, and increasing the amount you recycle become acts of love for creation.

Here's something else you can do. I just signed up to participate in Earth Hour on March 28. Earth Hour began in 2007 when 2.2 million homes and businesses in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for one hour. In 2008, the movement went global with 50 million homes and businesses in the world turning off their lights for one hour. This year, the goal is for 1 billion people to participate. Earth Hour this year will be on March 28 from 8:30-9:30 PM (in whatever time zone you are in, I believe).

Why not add your name to the list and participate? Go to www.earthhour.org for more information. It's a simple action, really, and it won't make a great deal of practical difference for global warming. But symbolically it is a way we can act globally to make a difference. This is one way we can stretch our community boundaries in order to work interdependently for a common good.

So, what are you doing to reduce your carbon footprint, to renew the divine covenant with God and all of creation? Or what action will you take for Lent and beyond? Leave a comment and share your ideas and actions. The more ideas we share the more we can learn from each other and the bigger difference we can make.

Finding the New Commons in the Congregation

This post is adapted from a recent column I wrote for the newsletter of Christ Church in Exeter, New Hampshire.

As I write this I’m sitting in rehearsal for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This was Christ Church's third annual Youth Theatre production. I had the privilege of being a part of the cast this year. Another adult and I have shared the parts of Jacob and Pharaoh. I can not put into words what a joy and inspiration it has been to share this experience with the youth and adults (about 170 volunteers in all) who made this production possible.

Over the past few months I have spent a great deal of time writing and talking about the church as a “new commons.” While this has been the primary focus of my doctoral thesis (which has taken so much time I've not been posting much in my blog!), it has also been a part of Christ Church's discussions about our identity and mission as a parish community. For a fuller description of the “new commons” you can see read my annual address to the parish from the annual meeting (you will find a link online at www.christchurchexeter.org).

Participating in Joseph, I have come to realize that our youth theater ministry is a perfect example of a new commons. It exhibits what I believe are the six essential characteristics of the new commons.

• Through their work together to prepare a show the cast and crew created opportunities for conversation and connection that bind them together in transformed relationships.
• These relationships deepen trust and agency – through this deepened trust they empower each other to offer their best for the good of the whole.
• While there are well-defined boundaries, the ministry is inclusive, welcoming a wide range of people to participate in virtually infinite ways.
• Diversity is a hallmark of the youth theater community. Only a little over 25% of the cast comes from Christ Church. The youth who participate represent a variety of faith communities in the Exeter area. Some of them do not participate in any faith community at all. Yet all are welcome and valued.
• For several weeks they have worked interdependently. I have listened as the director and musical director have solicited the ideas of the cast and put them into the show. I have seen crew members find solutions to challenges in the sets and costumes. This is a community in which each person’s gifts are honored, valued, and incorporated into the whole.
• Finally, they are working for a common good, a good beyond themselves. Joseph reached out into the community in ways that are impossible to measure. People have been touched and changed. The youth themselves have been transformed in ways we cannot imagine or predict, but ways that will impact the common good of our society for years to come.

This ministry is but a microcosm of Christ Church. It represents the best of who this parish is and what it can do in the world. This ministry helps us to see what congregational mission and purpose can be, the reason God has placed the church in the world. Imagine what might happen if we applied the same creativity and energy to all of our communities. Imagine what might happen if, instead of focusing on polity and property, we focused on fostering these six characteristics in the church as a whole. How might we be transformed? What a difference might we make in the name of Jesus?