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?

A Faithful Response to a Recession

This is a column I wrote for the January edition of "The Anchor," the monthly newsletter for Christ Church, Exeter, New Hampshire. It seems fitting to post it here.

Unless we have our heads buried in the ground (a hard thing to do during the winter in New Hampshire!) we know that the economic challenges facing our nation are serious. We are living in a recession, perhaps the worst economic struggle since the Great Depression in the 1930s. People across the nation and the world are frightened, anxious, and uncertain.

Christ Church, like so many other congregations, is not immune from this. Endowment income will be down this year and, understandably given the economy, so will pledges. We are going to have to sustain ministry with less money. And I suspect it may get harder before it gets better.

So, what do we do, as individuals, as families, and as a parish community? I’m not an economist or a financial planner, so I cannot offer practical advice. So, let me offer three things we can do as Christians in the midst of challenging economic times. These ideas will not make us more economically secure, but they may serve to transform us and those in our community.

Express Gratitude – If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes in your closet, a bed to sleep in, and a roof over your head, you are richer than approximately 75% of the rest of the world. Over 50% of the world’s population lives on the equivalent of $2.00 per day. We live in a society that always tells us that we need more. Isn’t this the perfect time to appreciate what we have and to express our gratitude to God?

Pastor and theologian Brian McLaren says that expressing gratitude is an act of defiance. When we are grateful, we accept and appreciate what we have instead of focusing on what we do not have. When we express gratitude, we defy the messages and advertisements that tell us our lives are defined by the things we accumulate. We define our lives by our blessings, not our losses. What difference might that make in the way we see the world and live in it?

Give Generously – This may seem counter-intuitive, but if anything, this is a time to be more generous, to share our abundance with those who need it the most. The need of those who live on the economic and social margins is growing at the same time that the resources available to help them are decreasing. To give generously requires us to decide what we really need in our lives and to share in whatever way we can. In an article I read recently the author encouraged readers to “Give your passion. Give your time. Give your skills. And, if you still can, give your money.” New Hampshire ranks near the bottom of the United States in per capita charitable giving at the same time we rank near the top in per capita income. There’s no better time than an economic crisis to change that.

Live with Hope – Catholic theologian Walter Burghardt wrote this in 1982: “You must be men and women of ceaseless hope, because only tomorrow can today’s human and Christian promise be realized; and every tomorrow will have its own tomorrow, world without end. Every human act, every Christian act, is an act of hope. But that means you must be men and women of the present, you must live this moment – really live it, not just endure it – because this very moment, for all its imperfection and frustration, because of its imperfection and frustration, is pregnant with all sorts of possibilities, is pregnant with the future, is pregnant with love, is pregnant with Christ.”

We live in difficult and challenging times. Yet the light of Christ continues to shine. Let it shine through you. Be the light that illuminates the darkness. Express gratitude. Give generously. Live with hope. Be the presence of Christ in the world.

Reflecting on World AIDS Day

Well, I've been away from the blog for awhile. The fall has been full and I've focused my writing time on my thesis for my doctoral program (not as successfully as I might like). Today seems like a good day to jump back in.

I was home all day today, mostly resting from the impact of what I'm sure my doctor would tell me is a virus. So, following the orders I could hear without him saying it, I made sure I drank plenty of liquids and I rested. The resting part wasn't hard!

The irony of my day did not hit me until this evening. Here I am at home resting comfortably with a mild virus that will be gone quickly. I'll soon be back to my normal, healthy life (in other words, by tomorrow). I don't need to take any medication. I don't need to see the doctor. I don't need to worry about my health insurance. All of this on World AIDS Day, a day on which we remember the millions in the world who live with HIV/AIDS and the tragic loss of so many who have died because of this disease.

Perhaps what bothers me the most at the moment is that I did not spend any time today (until this evening) remembering or praying for those living with and dying from AIDS. It never entered my mind. I suspect I'm not alone. For those of us not impacted on a daily basis, it is too easy to forget. I find it difficult to forgive myself for forgetting because I lost a beloved uncle in 1999. Although the cause of his death was a heart attack, it had been brought on in large part because he had been living with AIDS for many years (15 or so). How could I not think of Gene today? How could I not pray for his soul and the souls of so many others? Over 33 million people in the world live with AIDS. It is so important to remember.

Wanting to make up for not remembering throughout the day I went on the Internet and googled "World AIDS Day." There were more sites than I could possibly look at this evening, but I found a couple of sites that struck me as important.

One was a video for World AIDS Day from Lambeth Palace featuring the Archbishop of Canterbury. While I'm not a big fan of the Archbishop I appreciate what he is doing through this video. It's not the most exciting video you will find (definitely too slow to appeal to younger generations), but the conversation he has with the four women who deal with AIDS every day in their lives and their work is important to hear.

At one point in the video the Archbishop says, "The Body of Christ lives with HIV." Yes. That's true. And this is why we need to remember on World AIDS Day. The church, the Body of Christ, is filled with all sorts of people: black, white, Asian, rich, poor, middle class, gay, straight, bisexual, etc., etc. It certainly is filled with people who live with AIDS. If we accept that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, that we are members of the same body, then as long as one member lives with AIDS, we all live with AIDS. I don't understand this to mean that we all suffer from HIV/AIDS equally. We clearly do not. I understand this to mean that we all share responsibility for remembering those who have died from AIDS, caring for those who live with AIDS, advocating for better healthcare for those with HIV/AIDS (especially in the global south where so many suffer), teaching our children ways to prevent the spread of AIDS, encouraging research that will produce a cure for AIDS, and praying for those who live with AIDS.

Here's the challenge I am setting for myself: What can I do during Advent that will have some impact? What can I do to make a tangible difference? I have some ideas, but perhaps I'll share those in another posting.

The second site I found helpful contained a variety of prayers offered by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (there are links on this page for other information on HIV/AIDS, some of which is outdated). What I want to offer from the ELCA site is a beautiful and comprehensive prayer that articulates a vision of a loving, merciful God, of a community bonded together in hope and purpose, and of a society in which barriers are broken down so that creation is whole. This prayer comes from the Maryknoll sisters of the San Salvador Diocesan HIV/AIDS program and the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance. Perhaps you can pray this prayer this evening or whenever you read this. We don't, after all, need to restrict our prayers concerning HIV/AIDS to one day a year.

God of all compassion,
Comfort your sons and daughters
Who live with HIV.
Spread over us all your quilt of
Mercy,Love and Peace.

Open our eyes to your presence
Reflected in their faces.
Open our ears to your truth
Echoing in their hearts.
Give us the strength

To weep with the grieving,
To walk with the lonely,
To stand with the depressed.

May our love mirror your love
For those who live in fear,
Who live under stress and
Who suffer rejection.

Mothering, fathering God
Grant rest to those who have died
And hope to all who live with HIV.

God of life, help us to find the cure now
And help us to build a world in which
No one dies alone and where
Everyone lives accepted
Wanted and loved.
Amen.

How Do We Find Unity in the Midst of Animosity and Division

The current tenor of the presidential campaign has become disturbing. Negative political campaigning is not new in the United States. Historians can point back to the early 19th century to find negative (and untrue) claims made about opponents.

This year feels different and, in ways, frightening. On the one side we hear angry outbursts against Barack Obama at Republican rallies, including reports of people yelling "Kill him!" On the other side, people at Democratic rallies boo when they hear John McCain's name and some are accusing McCain of being the next George Wallace.

These reactions are caused to some extent by current political ads and accusations. According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal online edition ("Hopes Quickly Fade for a Postpartisan Era"), Democrats are accusing the McCain campaign of character assassination and Republicans are increasing security at campaign offices because of acts of vandalism and intimidation by Obama supporters.

While the line between reality and misperception is very blurry here, I believe the cause of so much unrest runs deeper than the current political campaign. Both the campaign and the uncertain times in which we live stoke the fire of fear and anxiety about the unknown or the unfamiliar. The still burning embers of discrimination and prejudice kindles the rage and hopelessness that can make some feel trapped while they watch others prosper.

Pollster Peter Hart, quoted in the article referenced above, asks a profound question: "How do you knit a nation back together with this kind of animosity?"

I'd really like to answer this question by pointing to the Church. Perhaps you might remember that old song which I sang growing up, "They will know we are Christians by our love." For years I said that one of the characteristics I appreciated about Anglicans was our willingness and ability to hold together a variety of theological and doctrinal perspectives within a common practice of worship and community. I believed the Anglican Communion stood as a witness of unity to the rest of the Church and the world.

For anyone who has been paying attention the past few years, the Anglican Communion is hardly a witness of unity. Anglicans seem to be caught in the same cycle of fear, anxiety, anger, and accusation that characterizes the presidential campaign. I'd like to claim that we are at least a bit more polite when we point the finger at "the other side" but I'm not sure that's true.

Paraphrasing Archbishop Desmond Tutu (who once wrote of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that he was not optimistic about peace but, because of his Christian faith, he was hopeful), I'll write here that I'm not optimistic about how we knit our nation together or how we restore the Anglican Communion ... but I am hopeful.

My hope is found not in the larger society or communion, but in my local congregation. In a recent forum discussion on a Sunday morning a group of parishioners and I listed the variety of ways we are diverse here in Exeter. While on the surface most of us look the same (this part of New Hampshire is about 96% white) when we dig deeper we find a great many differences in background, family status, economic status, worldviews, and theological perspectives (just to name a few).

Despite our differences, we seem to have found a way to be in community with each other. I'd love to list the reasons for that, but I'm not sure I can, not in a simple way at least. In a variety of ways we manage to hold together the community while also remaining open to what is new and possible. We both maintain the boundaries and live inclusively. We are certainly not perfect and we have had our low points. People have come into the community and people have left. Through it all, we just keep trying.

So, how do you knit a nation back together with this kind of animosity?

I always find these words from the letter to the Colossians a helpful reminder.

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17)

What might happen if we lived this way? What difference might it make? I'm not sure I'm optimistic, so I'll stick with hope. And next time I'm in conversation with someone with whom I disagree, I'll start trying to follow these words myself.