Friday Five - More Randomness

 

So the RevGalBlogPals are into Spontaneous Thinking today...  In honer of that I offer a randam picture of a Goldfinch in a tree right outside my window.  I took it with a new camera I bought for myself because I was not happy with the zoom on my other cheaper one.  I keep an envelope stuffed with cash that people give me for gifts and save up until I want something for myself.  I thought this was a good use of that cash.  How is that for a random thought?
So...
1.  What religion/faith besides yours captures your curiosity and why?  Both Quakers and Roman Catholicism.  I know, they are totally opposite right?  That's probably why. I like Roman Catholic stuff in worship way too much to ever be a Quaker but I am appreciate their simplicity idea of just shutting up until the Spirit speaks and listening to other people speak.  I don't think I could ever do that which is why I think it's important. 
And sometimes I think the Roman Catholic church is really the one true church.  Just really screwed up. 

2.  What is the first or most memorable pop song you ever learned as a kid?

I remember watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show the first time.  And we all went to school the next day singing "She loves you YEA YEA YEA"

3.  If God were a color.....(finish this sentence creatively) Not a color - the RAINBOW.  Of course.

4.  If you were going to make a sandwich right now for lunch, and you magically had all the items you need for it, what would that sandwich be?

 Grilled fresh Sourdough bread from San Francisco,  smoked extra sharp ceddar cheese, applewood smoked bacon and thinly sliced honey crisp apple.

5.  How are you doing?  Really, how are you? Really?  Well I had a rough night last night as I suffer from acid reflex and I seemed to suffer all the ways you can from it last night.  Not just heartburn but nausea , coughing, burning throat.  Okay, well you DID ask! (And don't bother commenting all the things in my diet I need to give up--I won't do I tell you!)

But the good thing was as I was walking around (lying down makes it worse) I looked out my window where their is a light and saw my woodchuck wandering around looking for trouble.  He didn't seem to find any as my flowers were all intact this morning.

Bonus:  What are you enjoying/loving right now? 

Having always had a lot of cats and letting them roam pretty free (no comments about THAT either) I never felt like I should have a bird feeder.  My cats are all elderly and we live in open country now so they only go out with supervision now so I put out a finch feeder with thistle right out side my window.  It did not take long before I had goldfinches and house finches.  In an attempt to attract different birds I've put out sunflower seeds and grape jelly on my picnic table.  All that attracted was more finches but they are delightful to watch.  They are very busy.  I know there are blue jays and cardinals I see once in a while but they don't care to come.  But I'm happy with the finches.

  

And I'm taking off for the Synod Assembly and am expecting it to actually be an enjoyable experience.  And I'm convening the hearings for the Social Statement on Criminal Justice   It's been very stressful trying to decide what to wear.

And You Thought YOUR Confirmation Classes were Tough...

I've taken it upon myself to upload an image and short story of a commemoration from the Lutheran and any other Christian Calendar that interests me every day on Facebook.  It's really been fascinating.  If I can't find something uplifting and inspiring, I can find something downright interesting Like St. Dunstan who was known for being very good at outsmarting the Devil.  He was a blacksmith and the Devil asked him to shoe his horse.  Instead he shoed the Devil!  This, as you can imagine, was very painful and the Devil begged him to unshoe him.  Dunstan agreed, but only if the Devil agreed to never enter a building with a horseshoe over the door.  The devil agreed, and this is where we get the idea of a lucky horseshoe. 

St. Boniface, Apostle to the Germans, whom we commemorate today was killed while preparing some Frisians (a Germanic people from the modern day Netherlands to Denmark) for confirmation on Pentecost eve by a gang of pagan Frisians.  . Although his comrades were armed Boniface urged them to lay down their arms, saying "Cease fighting. Lay down your arms, for we are told in Scripture not to render evil for good but to overcome evil by good." All were massacred.

The story is told that his killers were looking for gold and silver but instead found pages of scripture in his bags.  There is also a story of Boniface attempting to save himself by holding a bible over his head.  

Along with the remains of Boniface, the Fulda Cathedral holds a slashed bible, known as the Ragyndrudis Codex, which is said to be the Bible which was held by Boniface when he died.  Father Anonymous will, no doubt, attempt to dispute the authenticity of this story but the association of this book with Boniface's martyrdom is goes back pretty far. 

To me it doesn't matter whether or not it REALLY is the very book, anymore than if the chains in the Church of the Chains of Peter and Paul are really the actual chains.  Peter and Paul were held in chains and seeing them makes it real.  Looking at that slashed manuscript makes it real to me that there was a man who was slashed to death while trying to each people about Christ.  To me, relics are not magic  nor history, they are icons we need the same way we need water and bread for the sacraments.  We are earthly people and earthly things help our faith.

Which is why I use power point and pictures in Confirmation, to bring this back to my heading.

HOW DID I MISS THIS???

More importantly, how did Father Anonymous miss this?

A few years ago I lived within range of a Catholic Radio Station and I listened to it all the time.  It was the fundi Catholics but was just much more fascinating than your typical Christian radio.  Some of the stuff they taught was right out of the stuff Luther railed against and I thought had been explained away in all of our ecumenical agreements.  

One of the preachers I loved to listen to was Father John Corapi.  Just for his voice alone.  Deep and gravely.  He was funny and a good speaker.  I didn't agree with much of what he said but sometimes he'd talk about basic faith stuff, like the need to lean on God that we all can agree on.  He was like the EWTN's pitch hitter.  The great defender of Mary, the Pope and the Catholic Church.  Not afraid to call a sin and sin and tell us all how bad this liberal, morally lax culture was. 

And apparently last year he was found guilty of sexual immorality and drug abuse.  And then he up and quit the church.  I just read about this yesterday.  I know this is an old story in more ways than one, but I was shocked.

I'm not above entertaining a little schedenfruede, but this was really disillusioning for me.  I can't imagine how this hit the people who agreed with him and admired and looked up to him.  I have to wonder... is EVERYONE screwing around?  Not to over share but I must assure you, I'm not.  I don't even have time.  How did he find the time?

And why is the Vatican going after the poor nuns when this seems to be a much bigger problem for them?  Maybe they should be doing a better job of watching over the boy stars.  

Oh and mister anonymous atheist  whatever you are calling yourself right now who always likes to post some smug anti Christian stuff on the comments that I never approve anymore.  Just don't bother.

Tradition, Vestments and Doing Whatever the Hell You Like

This post has been a long time coming.  I have been thinking about vestments for some time now.

It’s become quite fashionable for both pastors (often younger ones but not always) and lay people to decry vestments as somehow creating a barrier to “authentic” ministry because they create an artificial divide between pastors and lay people in worship.  What is a bit amusing is they always talk like they are the first ones to think of this.  Please.  

Anti-vestment sentiment is as old as anti-catholic prejudice.  

A former congregation of mine had it in their founding minutes in the 1830s that “no clergy shall wear vestments as there is nothing in scripture about this”

As one person put it “It makes it look like you are having a different experience in worship than the rest of us” My response to that is “Um, well, yea I am having a different experience.”  I’m leading the worship.  My view is literally different.  I’m saying and singing different stuff than everyone else.   That doesn’t make me better.  It makes me, um…the pastor.  The Pastor is different.  

New Lent Stole

I never thought of vestments as elevating me or making me special, I always thought of them as making me blend in more with the worship and furnishings.  I’m now serving where two of the churches do not have air conditioning and sometimes to keep from passing out (or distract the worshipers who fear I may pass out) I have to forgo the alb and I really do feel naked and self-conscious up there without my uniform.  

When I wear my vestments it’s not really me anymore.  I’m just part of the worship.  My part is to lead.

Another observation I find interesting is that the very pastors who argue that pastors are just like everyone else and should claim no special authority are the very ones who feel free to break with tradition and pretty much do whatever the hell they want. 

I hear of clergy wearing whatever they want, doing whatever they please with creeds, liturgies, even lighting the paschal candle every Sunday of the year for no other reason that I can surmise other than they feel like it.    That seems like using your pastoral authority to me.  Not in a valid way to my mind.  

Scapular

But I must confess to doing something similar when I began ministry.  When I started out buying vestments I decided I liked scapulars better than stoles.  They fit women’s bodies better than stoles.  

My justification was that they were aprons and that was just a valid symbolism of service as the stole.  

I did what I see a lot of younger pastors do now.  I broke with tradition to do what I liked and I made up my own symbolism to justify it. 

 I kind of regret that now.  I’m in the process of replacing them all now with stoles.  Which is kind of a shame because I really like a lot of the designs on them. 

 But it is fun to buy new stoles.   

I also bought a cassock.  Which is really pretty silly where I am.  I wore it with a surplice this Lent and I wear the cassock for funerals.  Being someone who spends a lot of time deciding what to wear – a cassock can be quite a relief.

I think this is what getting older does to you.  It makes you appreciate tradition more.  

It also makes you grumpy when you see others breaking with it so easily. 

 I suppose this is the way God planned it.  Younger people challenging the boundaries, older folks defending (yes I know that’s a stereotype, there are young conservatives and old iconoclasts) and somehow it is supposed to balance out. 

 I am more worried about pastors writing new creeds and new liturgies every week than what they wear.  I don't even like to worship at a strange ELCA church on vacation because I have no idea what I'm walking into.

  Anyway, I will probably wear my scapular with the cool three crosses this Sunday and my green one for a while as I still haven’t ordered a new green stole.

Friday Five-Inspiration and Catching Up

Taking a little credit for my daughter's cap and honors stole

The RevGalBlogPals are talking about Inspiration.  Well it's been a very inspiring weekend for me but I'm just going to go off script and not really answer the questions other than to say that first of all the RevGalBlogPals Friday Five have encouraged and inspired me to get back on my blog.  I have things I've wanted to write about but you know, serving three churches for a year and a half is starting to wear on me and I've had a lot of things going on.

I finished my training for Intentional Interim.  The final week was at Mount Olivet Retreat Center in Farmington Minnesota.  Talk about inspiration.  It's beautiful facility on beautiful grounds and the food is wonderful.  Their dining room is surrounded with big windows with bird feeders that are miked so you can hear the birds inside.  

The intentional interim training was really really intense but excellent, good learnings even if you aren't going into interim.  I really think I'm suited for that ministry but I do have worries of how the bills get paid if there is ever a time when there is nothing available.  OTOH I am reminded of how difficult it seems to be to find ANY kind of a call and how tenuous a so called "permanent" call is.

This weekend was very inspiring.  My daughter graduated from Augustana in Sioux Falls.   My sister flew out from California to come see it.  They really make a weekend out of it.  There was a reception for the Civitas Honours Program she was part of. 

 And then a fancy Senior dinner Friday night.  I bought these extremely cool five inch platform heel animal print shoes just to wear that night.  Because where else am I going to wear five inch heels?  Oh I wore them to the church Mother's Day brunch, but I digress.  Well believe it or not I actually have another pair of animal print shoes, but they have a lower heel and are old.  So I get to the hotel and realize I must have packed in the dark because I packed ONE OF EACH SHOE!  Oh I was so annoyed.  Bad words were uttered.  Fortunately I did pack another pair of decent shoes.  But see, I still looked good. 


 My sister never dresses up so we got her a new outfit.  We were just going out the glass revolving door, and BAM she walks into the glass door.  Bloodies her nose.  She had blood all over her shirt and we were not even sure it was not broken.  I had to leave her behind with my son (who does not have the patience for "Senior Nights").  The good news is that not only did she not break her nose, but there was no feared black eye either and she was able to attend the festivities the next day.

Altar at baccalaureate

Then there was the Baccalaureate, which honestly I think was more moving than the Commencement.   Beautiful Orchestra and Choir music.  Very inspiring.  Very cute when my daughter and her friends (who could choose who to process and sit together with for this) all decided to rhinestone their caps.  This is what comes from being a figure skating and learning to stone everything

Isn't she beautiful?

What has brought a lump to your throat or a tear to you eye in a good way?  Oh and did I mention the graduation was actually on her late father's BIRTHDAY?  I'd say there was more than *a* tear.  But all of it was in a good way.

 

Taking Sides

I've been meaning to say something about the Trayvon Martin case for a long time.  It's just been hard to get it out in a calm and rational way.

When I first heard that a young man was shot and killed for no real reason and the one who did it was let go on his own say so I was appalled.  What?  I just presented what happened in a biased manner?  I'm not being neutral?  I'm not acknowledging I don't really know what happened?  

Damned straight.  Because I am also appalled at the number of white people, white Christians, white ELCA members committing on Bishop Anderson's statement one facebook and the number of white ELCA pastors who all of a sudden are so interested in nuetrality and not taking sides.  Who are so unwilling to listen to the vast experience of African Americans when they say "HEY! Racism is alive and well.  This IS a race issue!  This happens more than you know!"  

And I'm so overwhelmed and discouraged that we can not move forward with race relations in this country.  And I don't know what I can do.  But I can do this.  I can take a side.  I can look into the grief filled eyes of a mother, the grace-filled, dignified face of Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton and believe her.  Because one of the consequences of being on the margins of society is that no one believes you.  Well I can believe her.  

I'm not a judge or a jury so I get to make a judgment.  I get to take a side.  And I choose to believe Sybrina Fulton when she says her boy was an innocent victim.  I believe her when she says she knows that is her boy's screams on the 911 calls for help.  She doesn't believe her boy attacked George Zimmerman and I believe her.

I mean seriously.  Everybody felt free to judge that Casey Anthony was guilty of killing her daughter, even after she was pronounced not guilty by a jury of her peers.  But now all this "caution" for the sake of George Zimmerman.  Let's not rush to judgment for him.


Now I don't know that I believe Zimmerman consciously killed Travyon because he was black.  I think Zimmerman is a man who needed to feel important and strutting around the neighborhood watch with his gun made him feel important.  Tracking down a thief made him feel important.  I kind of feel sorry for him.   Yes I believe he got himself into this mess but I think of him as a sad little man who just wanted to feel important.  I think Trayvon died so he could feel important.  I wish there was some other way we could have made George Zimmerman feel important.  


I am convinced race had everything to do with the Sanford Police taking Zimmerman at his word, dumping young Trayvon in a morgue and making absolutely no effort to find out who he was until days later his parents had to file a missing person's report to find out where he was.  I do not believe for one second a white boy would have been treated that way.

I'm taking sides.  I believe Trayvon's mother.

Friday Five - Holy Week

So the RevGalBlogPals are talking about Holy Week:

I invite you to share five favorite Holy Week things, five things that are truly worshipful for you

1. I think its' possible that my very favorite worship service of the whole year is The Sunday of the Passion.  What I do every year is take whatever Gospel we are in for the lectionary - this year it is Mark and I just take the whole passion story beginning with the entry with Palms, divide it up among readers for the various characters and I read the narrator, and intersperse Lent and Holy week hymns.  I always end with "Ah Holy Jesus".  I find it very moving.  It may be the one worship service I lead where I can actually worship.

2.  Art:I love to find Holy Week art.  So many different representations of the events of Holy Week. I've recently discovered Pinterest.  Oh have I discovered Pinterest.  Here's my Holy Week Board 

3. Handel's Messiah  I'm going to put Bach's St. Matthew Passion for the bonus, which I love, but really what I do during Holy Week is play all of the second part of the Messiah during Holy Week.  I just couldn't put all of that on here.

4. Holy Thursday:  the beginning absolution, when people come up and I place my hands on them and say "In obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins"  I have done it for the first time at most of the congregations I've served.  That first time I always worry that no one is going to come up.  But they do come up.  They are hungering to hear those words.  I am humbled to say those words.

5. Holy Saturday - I like to hold my first communion workshop on Holy Saturday.  Here's a post from last year.  I always think about finding a church that holds an Easter Vigil but when it comes down to it, I just want a quiet Saturday evening and try to go bed early for the sunrise Easter worship.

Bonus:  a piece of music that "is" Holy Week for you: 
Bach - St. Mattew Passion

Just What IS the Point of Foot Washing?

Foot washing at 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly

I suppose I should begin with a confession/disclaimer.  I have issues with being touched by people I don't know.  

This did not use to be a bad thing.  We used to have certain social boundaries that I kind of wish we still had. 

Like I don't appreciate the store checker, whom I do not know, reading my check and calling me by my first name as though we were good friends.  It used to mean something when you called someone by their first name.  It meant you had a relationship.  But you had to earn that relationship.  It didn't' just happen because you started calling each other by first names.

This is what I'm getting at.  Everyone wants community and God forbid "intimacy" but they don't' really want to work at  it.  

The guy at the large public worship service wants the right to hug me without earning my trust.  I don't understand how the fact that we are both at a public worship service gives him the right to grab me and force his body against me in a hug during the peace after I've kindly extended my hand to him for a handshake.  That's not peace.  It's not community.  It's certainly not intimacy.  It's rude and selfish.  The opposite of what the peace is supposed to be about.

So what's this got to do with foot washing?  Well, it's a long-standing church tradition to follow Jesus' example and wash each others feet on Maundy Thursday.  No church I've served at has had that practice and I haven't felt called to introduce it.  I would do it if I had to.  But I would not like it.  

So that fun new ELCA clergy facebook likes to argue about this a lot.  Some people do a hand washing because people are kind of funny about having their feet washed.  Some say this an innovation that is not helpful and not scriptural (unless you want to remember Pilate washing his own hands).  Me?  I don't want to do either one but if pressed, I'd have to go with the traditional foot washing.  

What bothers me about the argument is how many people say this is such a powerful, moving "intimate" practice.  And there's always that hint that people like me who  don't want people touching my feet are being like Peter who didn't want Jesus to wash his feet.  

But this practice is not about intimacy or having a "powerful experience" in worship.  

It's a symbol of humble SERVICE.  I'm not even sure Jesus meant for us to copy it and do exactly that in a liturgy.  I think he meant for us to,  you know, go out and SERVE people HUMBLY.  Like maybe we should go wash each others toilets.

Kings and Popes used to go out and wash beggars feet on Maundy Thursday.  

That was very nice.  Of course, at the end of the day, Kings were kings and popes were popes and beggars were beggars.  Probably the beggars did not feel as warm and fuzzy as the kings and popes did.

So it's fine to wash feet on Maundy Thursday and if I had to I would.  But if we really want intimacy and community, we don't achieve that instantly by a festival of inappropriate touching. 

I think the best way to create community is to work together in service, working together to make a world where there's an equal place at the table for kings and popes and beggars.  

We do it by the hard work of humility, of kings and popes and beggars, and everyone between, working together, listening to each other.  Instead of washing feet, let's listen to each other.  

The latest horror of the killing of Trayvon Martin showed me  whites need to listen to blacks more.  

Instead of washing someone else's feet, maybe we all need to just clean out our ears.  

And then, after we've worked together, learned to trust one another, listened to each other, then probably you can hug me AND wash my feet.  Or not.

What does this Facebook Urban Legend and The Help have in Common?

I think I'm annoying my friends with my insistence on pointing out most of the amazing photos and inspiring true stories that get posted and reposted on facebook are not true.  The latest is this one:  With this photo

A 50- something year old white woman arrived at her seat on a crowded flight and immediately didn't want the seat. The seat was next to a black man. Disgusted, the woman immediately summoned the flight attendant and demanded a new seat. The woman said "I cannot sit here next to this black man." The fight attendant said "Let me see if I can find another seat." After checking, the flight attendant returned and stated "Ma'am, there are no more seats in economy, but I will check with the captain and see if there is something in first class." About 10 minutes went by and the flight attendant returned and stated "The captain has confirmed that there are no more seats in economy, but there is one in first class. It is our company policy to never move a person from economy to first class, but being that it would be some sort of scandal to force a person to sit next to an UNPLEASANT person, the captain agreed to make the switch to first class." Before the woman could say anything, the attendant gestured to the black man and said, "Therefore sir, if you would so kindly retrieve your personal items, we would like to move you to the comfort of first class as the captain doesn't want you to sit next to an unpleasant person." Passengers in the seats nearby began to applause while some gave a standing ovation.
If you are against racism, share this

Oh my God - if I don't' share it does it mean I'm not against racism? 

According to Snopes.com - this has been around a while, at least since 1998.  The villain started out as a South African.

Well so what if it didn't happen, what's wrong with sharing it?  I dunno..aren't' there any TRUE stories of people standing up against injustices and discrimination?   And what is wrong with this picture?  It's All WHITE people. 

It's the opposite of the story of the Good Samaritan where the hero is a marginalized outsider.  Here the hero is the white attendant who has the power and authority to resuce the poor oppressed black man by sending him on up to the first class, and all the WHITE people cheer.  And don't we white people feel good about ourselves after reading this.  Share this if you are against racism.  There I've posted it.  I've done my bit for the cause.  Good for me.

I have a lot of Black friends on Facebook.  None of them have posted that story.   Maybe because they have stories of REAL heroes to share.  Maybe we should listen to their stories instead of passing around fake stories of white heroes that make us feel good and let us forget that racism is a lot more complicated to deal with than finding a Black man a seat in First Class.