Is Religion Changing?

This may be a somewhat controversial subject, and it depends on how one define's "religion" but I've wondered about this for some time. We've all seen the Gallup polls regarding the decline in worship attendance, but we've also seen a rise in people's passion for an evolving set of values namely politics on the left and the right, sports fanaticism, and idolatry of consumer capitalism to name just a few. The article link below to a Boston Globe article spells this out pretty clearly.

Boston Globe - "Religion in America"

If you can't view it through the BG paywall...here's the summary: A very different effect of religion’s disappearance is already all too visible: The unwavering faith and passion of true belief is increasingly being channeled not into religious observance but into identity politics and the culture wars.

Let me be clear and say at the outset, I am not suggesting that a Public Religious engagement of the issues of our day is not warranted. I believe speaking to matters of Social Justice, Economic disparity, and Environmental degradation are indeed consistent with a faithful biblical religion, indeed consistent with other religions as well including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism.

I, do, however think there is a loss of our encounter and engagement with sacred experience in contemporary US American religious life. An engagement with issues of the day that grows out of a spiritual foundation looks different than one that emerges from a political ideology or mere tribalism. Martin Luther King Jr and Mohandas K. Gandhi are 20th-century examples of a spiritually informed public religion. Today, as the Globe article suggests, we may be running the risk of our religionless society engaging important issues without a foundational frame.

“Political debates over what America is supposed to mean have taken on the character of theological disputations,” remarks Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution in The Atlantic. “This is what religion without religion looks like.” His article “America without God” in the Atlantic is another worthwhile read.

For a long time, people who did not wish to attend worship articulated a position that has been summarized as “I’m Spiritual but not Religious.” That seemed to suggest I’m not interested in institutional forms of religion, I’ll find my own way. But, one has to wonder if the now 53% of US Americans who do not attend worship are exploring something spiritual? Or are they, along with the many of us within institutional religion, simply embracing a new form of religion, one that lacks a spiritual core?

The Tragedy of Gun Violence

Yet again, we witness a tragedy of gun violence. “How long, O Lord, How Long?”

A few people have written to ask me for my thoughts, a statement, a clarification of the ELCA Lutheran Church position on this matter.

The ELCA Lutheran Church has numerous social statements that relate to gun violence, and they can all be found here. ELCA Social Statements

In particular, I’d point you to the ones on Criminal Justice, the Church in Society, and the Death Penalty. But, it’s not that simple cause one could also digest the statements on economic justice, race & ethnicity, and peace. My point is that Gun Violence is a result of a wide variety of contributing factors.

We should also ask other questions about why humans desire to harm other humans, what is the core of our violent impulses, and seek to understand the nature of evil? All these questions probe an anthropology that questions our very core.

Erich Neumann wrote a little book years ago titled Depth Psychology and a New Ethic. It helped me grapple with our challenges. A summary: “The modern world has witnessed a dramatic breakthrough of the dark, negative forces of human nature. The "old ethic," which pursued an illusory perfection by repressing the dark side, has lost its power to deal with contemporary problems. Erich Neumann was convinced that the deadliest peril now confronting humanity lay in the "scapegoat" psychology associated with the old ethic. We are in the grip of this psychology when we project our own dark shadow onto an individual or group identified as our "enemy," failing to see it in ourselves. The only effective alternative to this dangerous shadow projection is shadow recognition, acknowledgment, and integration into the totality of the self. Wholeness, not perfection, is the goal of the new ethic.”

My own position on guns could quite simply be: I have no desire to own or operate one, but respect those who choose to for hunting and sports activities. Beyond that, owning guns, especially automatic weapons designed solely for use in warfare strikes me as irresponsible, dangerous for society, and wrong. Full Stop.

Neumann pushes the deeper question whereby we are invited to understand ourselves, our own shadows, and our own propensity to do violence. That’s the hard work both individuals and society are called to do.

Remembering Ronnie Goodman Artist of and for the Incarcerated

I commend to you this retrospective on the artist Ronnie Goodman

Click the link here to attend

Ronnie Goodman was born in 1960 in Los Angeles and raised in San Francisco. He was a self-taught artist, long-distance runner, and urban bicyclist. His love of art began at the age of six when he started drawing. Growing up in San Francisco’s Fillmore neighborhood, he discovered his passion for jazz, and music remained a recurrent theme throughout his creative work. Life’s journeys took him away from art, but he rediscovered it through the Arts in Corrections Program at San Quentin State Prison. He continued to make art—including a number of murals—upon his release, often addressing mass incarceration and homelessness, both of which he had experienced personally. His work is featured in Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration at MoMA PS1, and has also been exhibited at The Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens; The Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco; and the San Francisco Public Library. His work has appeared in the New York Review of Books and the New York Times, and is held in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Goodman passed away in a housing encampment in San Francisco’s Mission District on August 7, 2020.

This program is presented in conjunction with Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration.

Tragedy again: Atlanta

As we witnessed the violence in Atlanta this week and the horrific murder of Asian American women and others, our hearts grieve with the families of the victims, and we stand in solidarity with members of the Asian American community and those facing discrimination and hate incidents.  We must speak up against any aggression and we must be active in our pursuit to end racism and discrimination of every kind. We must work to protect the whole community.

The tragedies and violence continue to mount. We grieve as the Psalmists expressed it well.

Psalm 130

Waiting for Divine Redemption

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2     Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my supplications!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
    so that you may be revered.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
    from all its iniquities.

God’s infinite and compassionate love is for ALL

Like many of you, I read the news. Some days it breaks my heart more than others. This week another part of the Christian community articulated a perspective on the blessing of LGBTQ weddings that is contrary to what we articulate in the ELCA Lutheran Church, as well as my own personal views. If I were to issue my own credo it would read something like:

I am blessed by family and friends who are gay

I serve in a church that is blessed by the LGBTQ+ community.

I know and love all the people across the whole spectrum of human sexuality.

I believe our world is enriched by all of God’s creation and the full expression thereof.

I believe God’s infinite and compassionate love is for ALL.

Jesus and the Disinherited

Howard Thurman has come across my desk many times in the past year. His book Jesus and the Disinherited is a small and readable guide to the experience, perspective, and theology behind the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. A few excerpts for you:

“Many and varied are the interpretations dealing with the teachings and life of Jesus of Nazareth. But few of these interpretations deal with what the teachings and life of Jesus have to say to those who stand, at a moment in human history, with their backs against the wall.”

Thurman proceeds to lay out what can fairly be called an early treatise of a US American version of liberation theology for the African-American church. Martin Luther King often carried this little book with him from place to place. Many considered Thurman the pastor, the mystic, and the chaplain to the Civil Rights movement. He was not the one marching, he was the one to whom those who marched would retreat for sustenance and resolve.

“Fear is one of the persistent hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the poor, the disposed, the disinherited.”

Herman’s style is accessible. No degree in theology is needed to understand his writing. He is direct and to the point with his analysis of the disinherited experience. But he is also one to turn toward solutions and strategy.

“Deception is perhaps the oldest of all the techniques by which the weak have protected themselves against the strong. Through the ages, at all stages of sentient activity, the weak have survived by fooling the strong.”

and

“The religion of Jesus makes the love-ethic central…To love such an enemy requires reconciliation, the will to re-establish a relationship.”

But, let’s be clear here, Thurman is not offering the love-ethic and reconciliation as an easy way of cheap grace. His book concludes with clear-eyed honesty that the disinherited must recognize the fear and hatred expressed upon them while engaging in the use of the tools at his/her disposal for living out a life in the Spirit and in the manner of Jesus

First published in1949, one could read this book with 2020 and 2021 in mind.

Thurman was also a mystic and a poet and a wordsmith. If you’d like more, I commend this interview with Rev Otis Moss III conducted on the On Being Radio Network. Thurman’s books can be found here

A Spirituality of Poetic Dreaming

The poet, book entrepreneur, and first amendment advocate Lawrence Ferlinghetti passed away last week at 101. After a stint in the military during World War II, he returned home a pacifist. He’d seen enough. While he was among the many post-war poets to take American poetry out of its stilted University conservatism and into the angst underlying Eisenhower’s suburban America, it was his bookstore and publishing house that changed America. Yes, a case could be made that everything of the free speech movement in the early 1960s can owe its origins to Sir Lawrence. He started a small press, New Directions, and among the early books published was a little-known book titled “Howl” by Allen Ginsburg. That book was the subject of a lawsuit, which Ferlinghetti defended as a right to free speech under the First Amendment. He won, and so did democracy.

While I lived in Berkeley, I had two stomping grounds; one was Moe’s on University Avenue, the other across the bay in San Francisco – City Lights. I once crossed the street in that neighborhood and found myself walking next to Allen Ginsburg. Our conversation was brief and mainly about the weather – an unusually hot day in the city accustomed to fog.

I might have been in seminary, but I wanted to be a writer…a poet but lacked the courage of my convictions to choose that path with questionable opportunities for remunerable work. Theology and Philosophy intrigued me, and the life of a Pastor offered a steady salary.

The first time I read a poem was in the fifth grade. My teacher, Mrs. Sylvia Vok, had us read a little Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman. I loved Whitman, such free and soaring language that took me places I didn’t even know I wanted to venture.  She then assigned a project of writing a poem. Mine was selected along with a few others to appear in published form in the class newsletter, a typed document reproduced on a mimeograph, circulation nearly 20. I’ve been writing personal poetry ever since. Now that I’m older, most of them make me laugh at my naivete. 

Later, a college professor introduced me to other works in a class called “The Literature and Psychology of Mysticism.”  Pablo Neruda's poetry, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Gary Snyder became staples of my reading diet and searched for used copies of their books at Moe’s. One day I saw a flyer for an evening of poetry with Robert Bly. I recognized the name as a translator of Rilke and Neruda’s work, so I went.

This irascible Nordic from Minnesota read his poems, played the dulcimer, and recited translations of others with such drama and passion. He offered insights into symbols and metaphors and laments for his fractured relationship with his father. Somewhere through the reading, he talked of dreams and the work of the psychologist Carl Jung.  I’d read his “Memories, Dreams and Reflections” in that college class. Now dreams and poetry were connecting in ways I’d never know.

I was a young man, maybe 23, struggling to assemble a structure that would allow me to manage my internal chaos with a world calling me to a career and a mortgage. After a marriage that had been an excuse for both of us to move away from our parents, I entered therapy. There I began an exploration of my life, my dreams, and a calling that I simply could not escape.

A mentor in seminary and local pastor, Don Green, took me under his wing and introduced me to ways of reading scripture that invited an entrance. I could put myself inside the story and let it do its magic. In one brief conversation, he commented, “I listened to a local rabbi speak last week. He was talking about Jacob wrestling with an angel and said: “You know, that’s what religion is all about, a wrestling with God.” I nodded as if I knew what he was speaking of, but on the inside, my head exploded.

“What is this story? Where can I find it? Why has no one told me this before?” I later searched and found the narrative in Genesis; I then discovered Martin Luther’s commentary. He said that essentially Jacob is wrestling not just with an angel but with the very word of Christ. I noted the tale involves Jacob's dream and later discovered that his discernment of dreams would be passed on to his son Joseph. The latter would later gain quite a reputation in Egypt as an interpreter of Pharaoh's dreams.

 While my classmates were reading a dreadfully boring two-volume faux leather systematic theology text, I walked the bay area streets and sat in cafes reading and writing my dreams and poetry. I snuck through those seminary classes that seemed stilted and stale with barely passing grades. But I devoured others that connected my world of poetry, prose, and the dream world. One professor sharply critiqued my performance, indicating I’d never be much of a pastor or preacher. I resented his words at the time but knew their accuracy based on my efforts in his classroom.

I spent time in museums, explored the burgeoning punk rock scene of the early ’80s, found escape in a sensory deprivation tank and an occasional hallucinogenic. My therapist would bring me back to earth in our sessions, and in many ways, kept me from moving to the coast, living in a motorhome, and drinking cheap wine at 7 a.m.

Slowly Jacob kept wringing in my head. The fact that people in the scriptures could wrestle with angels and demons and come away blessed. In that was hope, and hope was needling its way in me.

A friend got me a summer job working alongside a man who owned several properties. Mr. Lincoln was a silver-haired stoic Scandinavian type. I cut grass, repaired windows, and carted away junk in a wheelbarrow. He died at the end of that summer. His funeral service filled the church, and all I remember from that day was the cemetery on a beautiful sunny day in the hills on Oakland. After the graveside ceremony concluded, Mrs. Lincoln walked over to me to thank me for coming and then added, “you know, you’ll make a fine pastor someday.” I smiled, walked back to my car, and drove east for several hours.

A year later, I moved to the Midwest for an internship, met another woman whom I still love to this day, and made the shift into the blessing that Jacob taught was possible for those who wrestle. After four decades, the poetry and dreams, and scriptures remain, but the wrestling never goes away. For the longest time, I thought it was a match to conquer; now I realize it’s a life to live.

Recently, I had a dream that takes place beneath an ancient Roman city park in an underground cavern where I am speaking to a large group of people who have come at the birth of a new church. In the middle of my speech, I say, “This is not a church where you will find the answer, although there are answers along the way.”

Ferlinghetti's commitment to free speech and a small publishing house opened up a kind of democracy of thought in our nation and my soul.

 +

This led me to a lifelong interest in poetry and dreams...my own, others, and the deep connection between dreams and religion. Did you know that evolutionary psychologists theorize that humans gave birth to belief out of their telling their dreams around the campfire?

In my book, Everyday Spirituality, I discuss the value of attending to our dreams in the chapter on sleep.  You’ll also find a brief discussion of the frequency of dreams in the Bible. This winter, I’m slowly making my way through Kelley Bulkeley’s Dreaming in the World's Religions. Wow. Dreams are everywhere in the world. 

The poets have often connected us to the world in ways similar to the way dreams connect us to the underworld. Mary Oliver describes the complexities of a dream in which her deceased father appears in “A Visitor.”  The poet-philosopher David Whyte describes the conversational nature of life. He suggests our calling as humans is to be incarnational creatures who bring that which is deep within us to full fruition in the world while acknowledging how great a challenge those efforts be. 

Does this area of Poetic Dreaming interest you? 

I’m considering a new venture. Once a month, I invite a group of people who are interested in exploring their dreams. This dream group meets for one hour via Zoom. We’ll hear a dream from one of us and then reflect on it using the dream work technique developed by Robert Haden, who founded the Haden Institute, where I am currently studying Spiritual Direction.

This is not for everyone, and I get that. But, there may be a few of you who want to dive into this world of dreams. Drop me a line here.

What's Going to Happen after the Pandemic?

Introductory Comments. It’s easy to dismiss Rainer because he lives in a different branch of the Christian denominational tree. His language is not the same as ours in the mainline of Lutherans, Episcopalians, UCC etc. But, once you move beyond that, you’ll find something to chew on for 2021. For instance, I think he is on target for his predictions around digital use, membership & finances as well as further denominational erosion. But, I’m not sure how he determines an increase in conversions, perhaps that’s just his hope for his own Southern Baptist denomination.

As you read through these, I think it’s worth asking some questions:

•  If it’s going to be true that all churches will have to have both a digital presence and an in-person presence post-Covid19, what can your church do now to plan for that reality?

• What can you do now to strengthen the connectedness of your congregation now, as a way of minimizing the possible attrition Rainer references in # 7 below? 

•  As you read his comments about Adopted and Micro Churches, what intrigues you about this idea? Who could you partner with to share ministry?

•  One thing Rainer left off his list is the reality that churches connected with needs in their neighborhoods will find increased need going forward. How will your church respond?

Enjoy the read, as well as the conversation

James Hazelwood

12 Major Trends for Churches in 2021

By Thom Rainer

While escaping 2020 has been a stated goal for many people, there will still be challenges in front of us as we move into 2021. Churches will be among the organizations to confront clear and present challenges.

Of course, the topic of COVID is unavoidable as congregations move forward to a new year. The devastation the pandemic has wreaked among people and organizations has also been acutely felt by churches and their leaders. 

While predicting future trends is never a precise effort, we do see enough data points to suggest these twelve trends are potentially powerful movements that will affect congregations, some for better and some for worse. They are not listed in any particular order.

1. Massive growth of co-vocational ministry. It will be increasingly common for churches to have fewer full-time staff. Some will hold other jobs because churches cannot afford full-time pay and benefits. Some of the staff will choose to be co-vocational so they can have a marketplace ministry. Both of these factors will result in a massive number of staff moving from full-time to co-vocational.

2. Baby boomers will be greater in number than children in the majority of churches. This demographic shift has three causes. First, the birthrate is declining. Second, the boomer generation is large in number, second only to millennials. Third, increasing longevity means boomers will be around for a while. If a church is not considering what senior adult involvement looks like, it’s already behind the curve

3. The micro-church movement begins in about 5,000 North American churches. A new manifestation of the multi-site movement will be multi-site campuses with 50 or fewer congregants. The early adopter churches, estimated to be around 5,000, will define this movement and become the models for future micro-churches.

4. Digital church strategies will complement in-person strategies. We’ve seen some leaders advocate a “digital first” strategy while some insist on an “in-person first” approach. As we have followed thousands of churches, we are seeing more strategies where neither approach is a priority over the other. Church leaders are moving toward blending these two important areas in a complementary fashion. We will be looking at this reality in future articles.

5. The number of adopted churches will begin to catch the number of closed churches. This trend is very positive. While we are not seeing a decline in the numbers of churches on the precipice of closing, we are seeing a major trend develop as more of these very sick churches get adopted by healthier churches. This development means more neighborhoods will have a gospel witness.

6. Church fostering will move into the early adoption stage. Church fostering takes place when a healthier church helps a less healthy church for a defined period, usually less than a year. We anticipate 30,000 churches (meaning 15,000 foster churches and 15,000 fostering churches) will enter into this relationship in 2021. Again, this trend portends well for the overall gospel witness of local congregations.

7. Once the pandemic stabilizes and the number of cases decline, churches’ average worship attendance will be down 20% to 30% from pre-pandemic levels. As of today, we are seeing quicker recovery among smaller churches. If this pattern continues, churches over 250 in attendance (before the pandemic) will have the greatest challenge to recover.

8. The new definition of a large church will be 250 and more in average worship attendance. These “new” large churches will be in the top ten percent of all churches in North America. Before the pandemic, a church would need an average worship attendance of 400 to be in the top ten percent.

9. Denominations will begin their steepest decline in 2021. In terms of membership and average worship attendance, denominations overall will begin a greater rate of decline. This negative trend can be attributed to three factors. First, the churches in the denominations will decline more rapidly. That factor is the single greatest contributor. Second, there will be fewer new churches in the denominations. Third, the combination of church closures and church withdrawals from denominations will be slightly greater than previous years.

10. Giving in churches will decline 20 percent to 30 percent from pre-pandemic levels. For the most part, the decline in congregational giving will mirror the decline in attendance in churches.

11. Overall conversion growth in local churches will improve. This indicator is mostly positive. We define conversion growth as the average worship attendance of the church divided by the number of people who became followers of Christ and active in the church in one year. For example, if a church has 20 conversions and an average worship attendance of 200, its conversion rate is 10:1 (200 divided by 10). Lower is better with conversion rates. We say “mostly positive” for this trend, because some of the improvement in the conversion rate is due to lower worship attendance.

12. Nearly nine out of ten North American congregations will self-define as needing revitalization. Though this trend is troubling, it does indicate at least one silver lining in the cloud. Congregational leaders, particularly pastors, are more open and willing to admit they need help.

Originally published

https://churchanswers.com/blog/twelve-major-trends-for-churches-in-2021/

Grateful for Problems?

What we have before us are some breathtaking opportunities disguised as insoluble problems.

JOHN W. GARDNER

Every morning the good folks at gratefulness.org send me a short quote. Some days they are spot on, others not so much. This past week I received the above attributed to John W Gardner.

Upon first read, I thought it naive and overly idealistic. But then, I paused, and thought no, this is actually an honest assessment of your times while pointing to a chance to do something. But life is overwhelming these days, and I’m now old enough to realize that I’m not going to change the world. But I can change some things in my own world.

Here’s what I’m tackling in three spheres -

1. Seek first to Understand. I’m spending time learning about what’s going on in our US American society. This means engaging in conversations, reading, and reflecting with those who see life differently than I do. Yes, I’m spending time outside my bubble. This is hard work. Whether the person is an African American preacher serving an urban congregation or a White working class Trump supporter, listening to their life experience challenges my over-educated white middle class comfort zone.

2. Digging Deeper. There’s a layer underneath the sociological descriptions that reveals some significant shifts. I’m unclear on all this but depth psychology, evolutionary anthropology and the study of religion are one way of getting at all this change. We are in a time of dramatic transformation. I’m not satisfied with “the world is in a technological revolution.” Yes, that’s true, but why and how is that impacting all of us.

3. Conclusions are tentative. It seems that at ever moment, an answer is elusive. I’ll arrive at a point of satisfaction only to have it blown up the next day. This is frustrating, but also indicative of something a foot. However, I am increasingly convinced that the great divide in US America today is between those who have a capacity to engage change and those who resist it. Obviously this is not either-or, it’s a continuum, and I have days where I drift along that line. The wave of change is a Tsunami and we each have a choice. We can attempt to ride the wave or just be plowed over.

Am I grateful for the problems of living in our modern age? Candidly, No. I’d rather it all be easy and without challenge. Really? Even gravity is a challenge we fight every moment of life. To live is to face change and resistance, the question is how we face it. I’ll tag this with another quote from JRR Tolkien

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while we once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

Words for our Time from Martin Luther King Jr

On this day when we remember the birth of Martin Luther King Jr, let’s also recall his words have application to our time as much as they did fiifty or more years ago. Today’s New York Times has a fine article on this subject. You can read it here.

Some quotes from that article include:

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

— from Dr. King’s speech in St. Louis on March 22, 1964.

“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.”

— from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

— from Dr. King’s speech at the Washington National Cathedral on March 31, 1968.

“Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through”

— from the last speech given by Dr. King, on April 3, 1968, in Memphis, the day before he was assassinated.

The march on Washington was about economic equality as well as civil rights. The two go hand in hand

How 'Anxiety' is our new Drug of Choice

Breathe. Calm. Breathe

Apparently a single social media post has gone rampant like a virus and raised everyone’s anxiety about this weekend and this week among our churches across the country. One denomination, not the ELCA, decided to post an alert on their website in bright red letters.

Let me be clear, according to FBI statements there are, as of this moment that I am writing on Saturday evening, no credible increases in threats in our New England states. While I understand everyone is on edge, and that’s justifiable based on last weeks events, let’s all take a step back from social media, Fox News and MSNBC.

Tomorrow in worship, likely you’ll be in your home, pause and pray. Breathe deeply, repeat a word of peace like Shalom or YahWeh or Maranatha. Then go outside for a walk, get some fresh air. Yes there will be a time of acting, but may I advise that tonight and this weekend we enter into a time of prayer.

I’m also mindful of the words of Edwin Friedman who years ago accurately described our society. I think if he were alive today, he’d liken our level of anxiety to an addictive drug. I wonder if we seek it out because of something in our brains that can’t get enough, even though we know it’s not good for us.

“Those five characteristics (of a chronically anxious family/system/church/nation) are: 1. Reactivity: the vicious cycle of intense reactions of each member to events and to one another. 2. Herding: a process through which the forces for togetherness triumph over the forces for individuality and move everyone to adapt to the least mature members. 3. Blame displacement: an emotional state in which family members focus on forces that have victimized them rather than taking responsibility for their own being and destiny. 4. A quick-fix mentality: a low threshold for pain that constantly seeks symptom relief rather than fundamental change. 5. Lack of well-differentiated leadership: a failure of nerve that both stems from and contributes to the first four.”
―Edwin H. Friedman,A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix

For now, let’s step back from the computer and catch our breath. Yes, we have work to do, but right now our work is to pray.

Calm

Daily Prayer at 12 noon for the Coming Week - an invitation

I invite you to join me everyday for the coming week at 12 noon for a time of prayer for peace and calm in our nation.

Whether you choose to read/pray one of the prayers below, or simply pause for a moment of intention, silence, meditation. It doesn’t matter. Just let us all enter into a moment where we ask the Peace and Calm prevail.

The nation

Holy Trinity, one God, you show us the splendor of diversity and the beauty of unity in your own divine life. Make us, who came from many nations with many languages, a united people that delights in our many different gifts. Defend our liberties, and give those whom we have entrusted with authority the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our sovereign and our Savior. Amen. (ELW, p. 77)

Responsible citizenship

Lord God, you call your people to honor those in authority. Help us elect trustworthy leaders, participate in wise decisions for our common life, and serve our neighbors in local communities. Bless the leaders of our land, that we may be at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (ELW, p. 77)

Conflict, crisis, disaster

O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted, grant courage and hope. Where anxiety is infectious and widening, grant peace and reassurance. Where impossibilities close every door and window, grant imagination and resistance. Where distrust twists our thinking, grant healing and illumination. Where spirits are daunted and weakened, grant soaring wings and strengthened dreams; in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. (ELW, p. 76; ELW Prayer Book for the Armed Services, p. 30)

Bitterness, anger

Lord God, when we are assaulted by the troubles of life, and the deep waters of anger threaten to overwhelm us, do not let us sink. In your great compassion, hear us and help us. Deliver us from anger's power over us. Lead us out of bitter silence and hurtful words so that we may speak the truth in love. Heal every heart set on vengeance, and show us the way to honesty and reconciliation; through the one who has shown us both impassioned zeal and forgiving love, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (ELW Prayer Book for the Armed Service, p. 29)

Lament, Anger, Grief and the Longing for Justice and Peace

To the New England Synod,

Like you, I have been overwhelmed with what we have witnessed in our nations’ capitol. As one of my colleagues recently put it, “we are all in a state of collective Trauma.” I have spent time in the Psalms where the range of human responses to world events are well articulated. Lament, anger, grief, despair, longing for justice, longing for peace; it’s all there, in those Psalms and in my heart. Please know that I have great admiration of the sermons our Pastors and Deacons have delivered this past weekend. You have spoken words that both articulate the gospel and speak to our times. Thank you. On Friday, the member denominations of the National Council of Churches (including the ELCA) released this statement, which I believe captures well my thoughts in these days.

Bishop James Hazelwood,  New England Synod ELCA

January 8, 2021

Our faith instructs us to take seriously positions of leadership, not to lead others astray and to be careful about what we say and do. In Philippians 2:3-4 we are taught to, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

President Donald J. Trump’s actions and words have endangered the security of the country and its institutions of government by inciting a violent, deadly, seditious mob attack at the U.S. Capitol. His words and actions have placed the lives of the people he is supposed to serve in grave danger to advance his own interests. Further, he not only failed to stop or condemn the attack after the Capitol had been stormed but instead encouraged the mob by calling them patriots. This domestic terrorist attack resulted in at least five deaths, including a Capitol Police Officer, and more than a dozen police officers injured. The desecration of the Capitol building was also disgraceful and reprehensible. 

For the good of the nation, so that we might end the current horror and prepare the way for binding up the nation’s wounds, we, as leaders of the member communions of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC), believe the time has come for the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, to resign his position immediately. If he is unwilling to resign, we urge you to exercise the options provided by our democratic system.

In addition, we recognize the need to hold responsible not only those who invaded the Capitol, but also those who supported and/or promoted the President’s false claims about the election, or made their own false accusations. 

We grieve for our country at this difficult time and continue to pray for the safety and security, and ultimately the healing of our nation. Holding those who have abused their power and participated in these immoral and tragic actions accountable, in particular the President of the United States, is one step toward healing.

A Labyrinth in the midst of Chaos

I never thought of myself as a Labyrinth kind of guy.

For those of you not familiar with a labyrinth, let me take a brief moment to explain. You’ve likely seen photos of them, perhaps you’ve even passed by one. They are more common than you think. They are also quite ancient, and in recent years have experienced a bit of a resurgence. Early versions of Labyrinths appeared in ancient Egypt and Greece thousands of years BCE. They’ve also been found in India as well as Europe. This online article (link here) gives you a nice historical summary. Note: If you do a Google search you are likely to find images and links to the 1986 movie starring David Bowie. I’m not sure of the connection to what I’m describing here.

An Example of a Labyrinth in the Classical Design

A labyrinth looks like a maze, and there is some connection between the two. The difference is that a maze is intended to lock you in, confuse you and make it difficult to escape. A labyrinth has one entrance and one exit, usually it’s the same way you entered. In other words, retrace your steps and you return to where you began.

As a part of my training program in Spiritual Direction with the Hadden Institute I spent an evening with Rev Lauren Artress, an Episcopal Priest, author and principal founder of the movement establishing labyrinths throughout North America and beyond. I confess to entering the evening in a spirit of significant distraction as the events in Washington DC occupied my mind. Nevertheless, I listened and engaged as best I could.

In the middle of her presentation something jumped out at me. Lauren honestly reflected on her own challenges with traditional forms of prayer. Sitting and reading prayers just didn’t work for her, she needed to be in motion.  My ears perked up. I could relate as I’ve written about in my recent book Everyday Spirituality. She went on to describe walking in a labyrinth as a way of practicing walking prayer. 

Hmmm, I thought.  I should try this out. Using the online tool Labyrinth Locator (link here) I discovered there was a small one located within ten minutes of my house. Despite the cold day, I made it to the church where a Labyrinth occupies a part of its grounds. Lauren had advised that we simply experiment, walk in, see what happens, do it several times. I followed those directions and added the form of prayer I describe in my chapter “breathe” which I learned from Richard Rohr.  For roughly 20 minutes, I walked in to the labyrinth followed the path to the center, paused, closed my eyes. I continued the breathing prayer and repeating the word “Yahweh”. Obviously, I often became distracted, my mind rushing off to tasks, people and errands. But I just coming back around and around. 

A small Labyrinth at St Peter’s by the Sea in Narragansett, RI provided an opportunity to experiment

After several entrances and exits, at a moment I was about to just give up and say “ok, enough, I’ve got to go” I reached the center again.  I closed my eyes but this time I decided or something in me decided to slowly spin around.  There in the center of the labyrinth with my eyes closed I rotated fairly slowly.

Because of the time of day and the winter light, the sun was low in the sky and to the east. As I rotated I could sense the warmer light to one side and the darker cooler shadows to the other as I rotated. All the time my eyes were closed. Something spurred me on to continue. I gradually had the sensation of being a part of the rotation of the earth with the sun setting, this moved to the seasons of the year and next the earth within the solar system. Was fully conscious and could even hear a dog bark on a street nearby, yet I was simultaneously aware of a vast interconnectedness of time and space. What Richard Rohr has described as the Universal Christ, and St. Paul captured in parts of his letter to the Colossians. 

Eventually, the reality of cold temperatures, and a sense that I had been given what I needed prompted me to eventually pause myself as this twirling compass, this modern slow motion swirling dervish, walk out of the labyrinth and off to the grocery store.

I believe there is a Zen saying that goes something like, ‘first the prayer then the dishes.” Maybe another version could be “first the prayer then the the work..clearly in our time, it’s the work of peace, equality, justice and just plane sanity.

We all need to find spiritual practices that will give us resilience in these most challenging times. It can also be the calm we need to help us return to the action that’s needed for the healing of our broken world. Looks like the Labyrinth might be a practice for me.

Washington DC Epiphany 2021

In Washington D.C. today there is violence and turmoil as people breached the security of the United States Capitol interrupting the process to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. 

The images coming from the Capitol are a tragic example of what happens when one allows rhetoric to fan the flames of hysteria. Words matter and we must choose them carefully whenever we speak or write. The attempted insurrection of the Capitol of the United States is inconsistent with our nation’s tradition of law and order and with our understanding of who we are as Lutheran Christians. 

I am asking all of the people of the New England Synod to exercise the gift of the Holy Spirit and Pray for Peace.

Let us pray for peace and calm in our nation’s capital.

Let us pray for safety for those in harm’s way, and especially for the protection of law-enforcement professionals called to guard the people and places of our government. 

Let us pray for peace and calm in our congregations as members express their own opinions in civil discourse and dialogue. 

Let us pray that our nation’s leaders will exercise appropriate authority to de-escalate the violence in Washington D.C. 

 Let us pray that peace will prevail so the joint session of Congress may reconvene in order to ensure a peaceful transition of power in our nation.

Bishop James Hazelwood

Some Good Things from 2020

A look back over 2020? Perhaps that’s something you’d rather not do. We all hope we won’t have a repeat of that year. But, there are some things about 2020 worth lifting up. Some are personal, others are broader. Rather than a “Best of” I’ll lean into “My Favorites.”

First, I must confess to reduced travel as my number one positive for 2020. Since 2012, I’ve put an average of 35,000 miles a year on my car, slept an average of one month per year away from home and sati in uncomfortable cramped seats on airplanes an average of 12 flights per year. I recognize there are others who could easily double or triple those figures. But for me, the novelty of the travel for work wore off a while ago. When the Pandemic hit last spring and I was forced to work from home, I realized how much I needed a break from the road.

Second, I began a training program Spiritual Direction with the Haden Institute in 2020. The program shifted from in person retreat to Zoom. Candidly, it worked fine for me. This program has reconnected me with several of the major influences that brought me into a life of faith. Namely, the Spirituality of the Christian Mystics and the Depth Psycholoogy of Carl Jung, Marie Louise Von Franz and Anne Belford Ulanov. I connected with a new Spiritual Director which has been very helpful.

Third, I rediscovered nature. That sounds odd, but it’s true. I spent more time outside in 2020 than I have in decades. This included building a raised bed vegetable garden, walks in a nearby Wildlife Refuge as well as bicycle rides throughout Rhode Island. Along with these activities, or maybe because oof them, I reconnected with Larry Rassmussen’s excellent book Earth Honoring Faith. Larry was my wife’s PhD professor, and his work in the connection between ecology, ethics and theology is some of the best writing.

Fourth, I’m learning more about Race relations and I notice more of our congregations are engaged in this important topic. I read several books and had more honest conversations with people who have a different life experience than I do. Fanny Brewster’s The Racial Complex has helped me understand some of the deeper roots of racism. I know a lot of people who are older and white and raised in middle class or up households have a hard time with this subject. One of my challenges is how to help us engage this topic in a way that allows for honesty and growth.

Fifth, we got our financial house in order. This has been a four year project for my wife and I. We made a commitment to this project following our sabbatical in 2017, and the plan worked. I’ve learned a ton about personal finance, retirement planning and the psychology and spirituality of money. One of the surprising, though it shouldn’t be, lessons of this project is that when you get your S&!+ together financially, you realize a whole lot of emotional and intellectual freedom.

There are other lessons learned, movies watched (have you seen Soul on Disney +) books read, etc. But these are the top five. A reminder for me that even in the midst of all that was awful about 2020 (and it was just plane horrible) I was able to find some good things. I hope you can find some as well.

Why is Christmas on December 25th?

Why is Christmas, the birth of Jesus the Christ, on the morning of December 25th?

Does this mean December 25 is actually Jesus Birthday?  The short answer is No. The medium answer is there is no trustworthy evidence for pointing to the precise date.  The longer answer is that it doesn't matter, and you're missing the point if you are focused on the literal and the actual.

Christmas is about the birth of Christ, as an archetypal incarnation of eternity, a motif of the redemption of all life by joining the divine with the temporal. "The Word made Flesh and dwelled among us." as in John’s Gospel. Or T.S Eliot’s lines from the Four Quartet’s 

Time past and time future

What might have been and what has been

Point to one end, which is always present

The primary symbol that contains this revelation of redemption is light and darkness. John’s gospel continues, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

When Christianity migrated north out of its Mediterranean and Jewish cultural background, it encountered the Celts, primarily in Ireland. The cycles of the moon were dominant in the Jewish calendars. Still, the seasons' processes were prevalent in the northern lands where winter, spring, summer, and fall and the accompanying planting cycles were more dominant. As the two world views interacted, they merged some of their rituals.

If the light coming into the world is the central message of Christmas, then it makes sense that this event would happen when northern European tribes celebrated the birth of light in the winter solstice. Now to the naked eye, it seemed that time stood still in the four days following the winter solstice. Those days of Dec 20-24 had no discernible change in the quality or quantity of light, but on December 25th, ah then one could see the light growing.

While some people view Christianity as a relatively rigid dogmatic religion, its history is much more pliable. Many of our religious and cultural practices are mergers and adaptations to existing cultures.

If you’d like to read more about the evolution of Christmas, I commend you to the work of Alexander John Shaia https://www.quadratos.com.

In the meantime, let the light shine in you and our world.

My Ridiculous 2021 Predictions

After last year, when no one predicted 2020 accurately, it just seems ridiculous to make any predictions about the future. Yet, that seems to be part of the annual ritual. Who am I to be left out of such frivolity? Here are some thoughts inspired by one aspect of the newly released LiinkedIn 2021 survey. (The portion was written by CFA Devin Banerjee) Banerjee writes about the generations and his view of how they will impact investing. I’ve taken his comments and added my own thoughts on each generation and their broader life perspective.

• Millennials — born between 1981 and 1996 — are about to enter those transition years where they start buying homes in the suburbs and buy SUVs and even Mini-Vans. Like many whoo hit the 30’s they’ll discover the three truths of life. 1. Life is not Fair. 2. I’m more like my parents than I realized. 3. I guss I do have a Soul after all. These three eventually translate into the proverbial mid-life crisis, but the M’s still have time before that hits. What the three life lessons they’ll discover will translate into is a hunger for ways to explore questions of ultimate meaning. While a smattring of M’s will migrate to traditional church/temple/synagoguee, it’s more likely they will find their way via alternative communities. These will include yoga studios, social justice movements, online communities, storytelling centers, and yet to be invented ways of exploring soul, spirit, values and depth. Many readers of this blog will ask what about the church? My view is that unless we dive deep into alternate forms of community with M’s it’ll be dissmal. Personally, I’d love to launch something like WildChurch, a community that centers on a regular outdoor ritual, creative interfaith storytelling and make a difference justice work. Anyone interested?

• Boomers (born 1946-1964) are not only retiring at a rate of 10,000 a day; they’re dying as well. While Banerjee focuses on the flow of inheritance money to younger generations, II think he neglcts the fact that Boomers are not done yet. They are currently age 56 to 74, and considering increases in longevity, likely to be around AND active. Some are working out of neeccisity and others out of a desire to make a difference. This is the generation that engaged in Civil Rights, Free-Speech and Anti-War movements in their youth, and they still want to make a difference. As they age, the questions of ultimate meaning are moving to the forefront of their minds. Covid19 has also reminded them that life is short. II expect some with resources will return to a life of travel, restaurants and leisure. But others will be looking for something of substance, depth and impact. Again churches would do well to engage Boomers, not just in their church buildings but also in the places where Boomrs are showing up in the neighborhood.

• Gen-X (1965-1980) AKA thee neglected generation. Banerjee doesn’t include them in his short piece, and this reflects how the Gen-Xers are often forgotten, but these folk are now in positions of influence. We now have a Gen-X Vice-President elect and many Xers are in their peak earning years. Yet, we often neglect them because of demographics. Yes, they are fewer in number, but they offer perspectives that older generations need. The challenge is that many are absorbed in their work-life right now, along with helping their teenage kids navigate the transition to post-home life. The big hunger of these folk is the proverbial life-work balance.

• Technology is ever more front and center in all our lives. Zoom and its variations are here to stay. Rather than comment on all the obvious implications of this for life, I’m going to be a bit contrarian and suggest what we might need is a form of digital minimalism. Our phones nd various apps re coming to dominate our lives to a degree that dramatically impact soul-work. With 24/7 digital activity, our minds have less time to reflect, meditate, walk in natural environments. Carl Jung noted this concern some 70 years ago. "All time-saving devices, amongst which we must count easier means of communication and other conveniences, do not, paradoxically enough, save time..." ~ C.G. Jung from 'Return to the Simple Life' in Collected Works, vol. 18. Obviously, we are not going to return to a simpler life, but we can create opportunities for people to glimpse the value of time - what the Greeks called Kairos Time, and II’ll translate as Grace time. One of the greatest gifts I ever gave youth at the churches I served as a pastor, was a week each summer at a camp that includes boat loads of unstructured time. It took them a few days to figure out what to do, but eventually, they lived into play, and chances to BE not just DO. That’s something we could all benefit from.

I’ve likely failed in my predictions, actually come to think of it, I don’t believe I really made any predictions above. OK here’s one. 2021 will be a lot more like 2020, but with new surprises that we didn’t anticipate.

Next up…New Year Resolutions…ugh

Story in a Nutshell

I’m working with a group of about 15 wonderful people on Monday evenings this December on storytelling. They are a great group of people with sweet, painful, grateful stories. Then today I discovered this delightful summary of Story Telling by Donald Miller.

“Here is nearly every story you see or hear in a nutshell: A CHARACTER who wants something encounters a PROBLEM before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a GUIDE steps into their lives, gives them a PLAN, and CALLS THEM TO ACTION. That action helps them avoid FAILURE and ends in a SUCCESS.”

What are great guide for anyone telling stories, which is…well, all of us.