In Praise of Pot-stirrers

A Poem in Praise of Pot-Stirrers

(To honor the UTO-4 and all those who brought their story to light)

I sing in praise of pot-stirrers

     those who cry out

     in the wilderness of

Nice and

Polite White,

'Pay attention!'
'Pay attention!'

     And,

          'If you're not outraged,

          You are not

          Paying attention."
 

I thank God for pot-stirrers
     who are

     Unashamedly and

     Appropriately

     The Anxious Presence

We need

     when the trumpet

     needs to be blown

     in Zion.

And,
     the alarm sounded

     on God's Holy Hill
 
They pray the arrogant
     and the stiff-necked 

Might

          tremble,

          tremble,

          tremble,

Before God.
 

I bless God for pot-stirrers,

   those who are

   Thorns in the Flesh

   of the Institutional Church,
 
For those who once
    'Cast their nets

    In Galilee'

And

    'Homeless in Patmos died

    Or head down was crucified'
 

We praise you and we bless you, God,

    For those pot-stirrers
    who teach us that

         'The peace of God

               it is no peace

               but strife clothed in the sod'.
 

Send us, we beseech thee,

More pot-stirrers

     And those who trouble
          the waters

          of our baptism
 

So we may know

       Your Peace

When we do

          Your Justice,
     Love

                    Your Mercy,

And

     Walk humbly
     (Attentively)

          With You. 

With acknowledgement of some of the words from Hymn 661 in The Episcopal Hymnal.

Words: William Alexander Percy

And, Micah 6:8.

The Caucus responds to UTO

THE EPISCOPAL WOMEN’S CAUCUS 

Advocating for Women since 1971 

Theologically, Spiritually, Politically

STATEMENT CONCERNING UNITED THANK OFFERING (UTO) 

October 13, 2012

We live as members of the Body of Christ in a time of low trust and excessive speculation where even those of good will find themselves too frequently at odds.

In the current resignation of four UTO Board members to protest the process of establishing new bylaws and a changed relationship with The Episcopal Church office (DFMS), we once again see these factors at work, undermining the Church’s witness to God’s transforming love.

The gap between the story each side tells of how the stalemate came to be is itself evidence of the general failure of relationships within the Body of Christ.

As members of the Episcopal Women’s Caucus Board, we have long been advocates for the work of women, both lay and ordained, within the Body of Christ.

It is therefore with great sadness that we watch this controversy unfold — a controversy which is subverting the important work of God's mission.

Those ubiquitous, little Blue UTO Boxes have been the means by which the laity (primarily women but also men and children) have participated in a powerful eucharistic act of transforming ordinary thanksgivings into tangible relief from suffering and for the work of mission.

It is our most fervent prayer that those in positions of leadership within the formal structures of The Episcopal Church will rise to the challenge of working to restore relationships which have been broken, regardless of where blame may lie for misunderstanding.

We appreciate that changing secular legal climates — as well as the need for the Church to adapt its structures to continue proclaiming the Good News in a rapidly-changing world — may necessitate changes in how relationships are structured and memorialized.

We also see the incontrovertible evidence of the work UTO has done, of its own ability to adapt to a variety of changes in its 125-year history.

The women who have voluntarily undertaken and shepherded this work are capable of continuing to do so to the Glory of God and to the benefit of those who receive their grants in the 21st century, as they have in the preceding centuries.

We are particularly mindful and concerned that this situation seems to represent one more instance in which the formal structures supporting ministry by and for women are in danger of being undermined.

A Church flexible for mission in the 21st century is a Church that is not wedded to formal structures or weighed down by centralized bureaucracies. It is a Church which fosters and collaborates with emerging structures, empowering indigenous leaders to use their gifts in new and creative ways.

The Episcopal Church Women and members of the UTO Board have both demonstrated their wisdom and capacity for indigenous, creative leadership. Good faith collaboration in shaping the contours of a mutually-interdependent relationship requires a responsive awareness of power differences.

To be credible and to foster the level of trust that bears fruit in ministry, those with formal institutional power may need to accept the wisdom and experience of those without formal institutional power.

The alternative risks the institution they serve becoming increasingly irrelevant and unable to par- ticipate meaningfully in God’s ongoing work of reconciliation.

CO-CONVENERS
Terri Cole Pilarski
Dearborn, Michigan Terri@christchurchdearborn.org

Pamela RW Kandt
Casper, Wyoming PamelaKandt@gmail.com

BOARD MEMBERS
L. Zoe Cole
Denver, Colorado LZoeCole@gmail.com

Margo McMahon
Amherst, Massachusetts McMahon@juno.com

Georgene Connor
Gulfport, Florida GigiPriest@prodigy.net

Babs Meairs
San Diego, California BabsMarie50@gmail.com

PAST CONVENER
Elizabeth Kaeton
Long Neck, Delaware MotherKaeton@gmail.com

STAFF
Business Manager
Chris Mackey
Pasadena, California Mackmay22@sbcglobal.net
Publications Editor

Karen D. Bota
Ionia, Michigan KDBota@aol.com

EPISCOPAL WOMEN'S CAUCUS - a 501(c)3 organization
1103 Magnolia St. South Pasadena, CA 91030
www.EpiscopalWomensCaucus.org
Twitter & Facebook too

Little Blue Boxes

You may know of the recent troubles in the church concerning UTO (United Thank Offering).

If you don't know about the United Thank Offering, and you are an Episcopalian, hie thee hence without undue delay and learn all about this incredible, historic ministry of women here. 

If you don't know about "the troubles" you can get some information at E-Women 125 Years of UTO.

Several people have asked me what do I do with those Little Blue Boxes where they have placed their coins of thanksgiving.  To my great distress, I've heard some say, "The church won't be getting another red cent from me!"

Here's my response:

Those little ubiquitous UTO Blue Boxes are a powerful, sacramental sign of a deep spirituality which arose from the institutional oppression of women.

The UTO Blue Boxes are an outward and visible sign of lay presidency in the everyday, common eucharistic act of turning thanksgivings into real relief of real human pain and suffering throughout the world.

Do. Not. Stop.This. Practice.

Please, keep giving thanksgiving for what God has brought into your life. Please drop at least one coin - a penny, dime, nickle, quarter, half-dollar or dollar - into the box every day. Surely, there is something - some little something that happens during the course of even the worst day - for which you can give thanks to God.

If it's someone's birthday or anniversary, consider dropping a coin of thanksgiving for their lives and their faithfulness.

If someone has done something unexpectedly nice to or for you, or you found yourself "rising above" a particular difficult personal challenge, or you discover that a prayer you thought had long been unanswered finally found at least partial fulfillment, please consider dropping a coin of thanksgiving.

Whether you know it or not, you need the spiritual practice and discipline of those little UTO Blue Boxes, because those prayers and coins of thanksgiving will be transformed into real, corporal acts of mercy for those whose basic human needs for food and shelter - or hope and possibility - have long been their supplication and petition to God.

What, now, to do with those UTO Boxes?

Hold onto them. Keep putting coins into them every day.

Wait and watch and pray as the Executive Council meets next week and deliberates on this issue.

Pray that the trust which is the foundation of Christian relationships which has been so seriously eroded may find healing.

Hope for the justice and mercy that brings reconciliation and the peace of God that passes all human understanding.

And, after everything has been decided or determined, you can make your decision as to where to contribute your UTO boxes. If not UTO then perhaps to your parish or diocesan efforts for mission.

Whatever the outcome, I repeat:

Do. Not. Stop. This. Practice.

Whatever the outcome, we will always give thanks to the ECW and the UTO for being our "spiritual mothers" and teaching us the deeper, everyday meaning and practical mysteries of eucharistic thanksgiving.

That's something that bylaws and regulations and all the other things that seem to delight church bureaucrats, while unfortunately necessary, can't possibly provide.

Humility

Every two weeks, before our IDT (Interdisciplinary Team) meeting, I, as chaplain, am asked to lead a brief meditation and/or prayer that honors and reflects our work with our Hospice patients. This can be challenging because the meditation/prayer to be fully inclusive of a broad spectrum of spirituality and the great variety of its expression.

And, it has to be brief. Very brief. Because, well, we have lots of work to do.

This past Wednesday, I felt called to offer this meditation, which I want to share with you.

This is a meditation on humility.

Some of you know that our Ms. Conroy is a member of the Anamchara Fellowship, an Episcopal religious order which tries to live out a monastic life following Celtic Spirituality. It is part of the new wave of communal religious life in which geographical boundaries are bridged through creative adaptation, using new technology like Skype and FaceBook and Listservs.

On the first anniversary of her election as Abbess of the Community, I asked her what lesson she had learned about having religious, institutional power and authority.

She smiled and said,

"Humility. I've learned that I am not that powerful. I can't possibly do all the things that need to be done. Empowering others to do the work of community is the only way it works. Power is just an illusion, like security. We only have control over what is before us and the best way to use power is to be the best we can be and help others be the best they can be, identifying and utilizing the skills and gifts and abilities they have in order that they might help still others be the best they can be."

A few days ago, as she was recuperating from surgery, I opened a card from one of her colleagues which asked, "Learned your lesson yet?" We both chuckled. I took the opportunity to ask her, "Well, have you learned any lesson from this illness and surgery?"

She smiled and said,

"Humility. I've learned that I am even less powerful than I thought. I've learned that there is great power in admitting that you are powerless and letting those who are skilled and knowledgeable at what they do, do their thing. Whether I think I'm powerful or completely powerless, truth is that I'm neither. I just am who I am. I can only control what I can control. It seems the universe is always teaching me about humility."

 She's right, of course.

Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. The rain falls on the righteous and the unjust and the sun shines on the good as well as the evil. And still, the world continues to spin, all on its own.

We seem unable to control much of anything - in our own lives as well as the lives of those we serve. Right now, much of our team is out with one illness or another - everything from a broken wrist to a TIA to a blocked coronary artery to abdominal surgery.

We are, as Ms. Conroy says, "one red hot mess."

And yet, patients are being seen and cared for with skill and dedication. They are living and dying with as much dignity as we can provide for them.  Staff are going the extra mile to help.

The Hospice Team is comprised of nurses - case managers and per diem - nurses aids, doctors, social workers, chaplains, administrators, program and clinical directors, medical records, admissions, bereavement counselors, educators.

No one person can do another's job. No one person can do the entire job of patient care by him or herself. Working together, we help each other be the best we can possibly be so that our patients get the best possible care we can provide.

Sometimes, that's in simple little ways. The way Susan always texts us with admissions or deaths. The way Mary makes sure we know about funeral arrangements. The way Joan spells out the patients name on the report line so we can understand even through her thick Maryland accent.

That all takes the humility of knowing that we are not in control of everything. We can only control what is before us and do the best with what we've got, being mindful to help others be the best that they can be.

And that, my friends, is my prayer for this team this morning. That we will know true humility which is not, as one wise person said, 'thinking less of yourself', but 'thinking of yourself less'.

When we live with humility, we often discover the secret of were true power lies.  Amen.

Dominion Theology: Spare us, Good Lord.

I have always been fascinated by the way our understandings and images of God influence the ways in which we understand and shape our lives.

Even more fascinating is the way our understandings and images of God shape and inform our perspective of the way the world works and the way we order systems of government.

A few years back, I sat in a packed university auditorium and listened to Bill Clinton talk about the Government. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time he talked for over an hour, focused on the words from the preamble of the US Constitution, " . . . a more perfect union . . ." .

Not "more perfect" as in surpassing even perfection, but "perfected over time".

It was important because, in 2008, a certain Senator from Illinois, one Barack H. Obama who was running for President of the United States, had given a "Race Speech"  in front of the Liberty Bell, to give context to  some remarks made by his pastor at the time, Jeremiah White.

The title of that 'race speech' was "A More Perfect Union".

Mr. Obama said that the Constitution as written was "ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations."

He said:

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.

Not perfect. Not "more perfect" as in surpassing perfection, but "perfected over time."

In the speech I heard in 2010, Mr. Clinton picked up on that theme and talked about how important it is that this perfection ought to be "forged in the crucible of disagreement and debate". He underscored the importance of having a healthy, vital two-party system of government so that, in disagreement and debate, we might perfect a government "for the people, by the people".

That foundational idea of government resonated deeply with my understanding of what it means to be a Christian who is an Episcopalian and a member of the world-wide Anglican Communion.

It reflects my understanding of a God who is an active participant in our lives, but one who has given us the gift of free will. And, because God made us human, flawed and faulted as we are, God also gave us the gift of Jesus who, when we fail and fall short of the mark, provides us with grace to continue to grow and change and transform, as our Baptismal Covenant says in the words of St. Paul, "into the full stature of Christ".

Not perfect. "Perfected over time."

Yes, it's messy.  The human enterprise is very messy. So are our various systems of religion. So are our systems of government.

Unless, of course, you subscribe to the ideas in "Dominion Theology".

The term "Dominion Theology" is derived from the King James Bible's rendering of Genesis 1:28, the passage in which God grants humanity "dominion" over the Earth.

Most of the contemporary movements labeled Dominion Theology arose in the 1970s in religious movements reasserting aspects of Christian nationalism.

According to Wikipedia,

Dominion Theology or Dominionism is the idea that Christians should work toward either a nation governed by Christians or one governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law. It is a form of Theocracy and is related to Theonomy, though it does not necessarily advocate Mosaic law as the basis of government. Prominent adherents of Dominion Theology are otherwise theologically diverse, including the Calvinist Christian Reconstructionism and the charismatic/Pentecostal Kingdom Now theology and New Apostolic Reformation.

Understanding Dominion Theology is important if you want to know why the government has been shut down these past few days.

Dominion Theology is the animating force of The Tea Party segment of the Republican Party which has picked up the thread of the aversion of the GOP to "Big Government" and infused it with an understanding and image of God who has given "dominion" over the earth and all of the people of the earth - or, at least, to this country - to a few, select people.

Those would be Christian people.

Only those Christian people who have the "right" understanding of how God and Jesus want the world to be ordered, based on their interpretation - and only their interpretation - of Holy Scripture.

To get a theological perspective of the government shut down, consider reading this article, The Theology of Government Shutdown, which analyzes the Dominion Theology of Ted Cruz, son of a Texas charismatic ministry "Purifying Fire International" (there's your first hint) and a large faction of the Tea Party. It's very scary stuff. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that, if American Christianity has a Taliban, this is it.

Here's a snippet:

So to pull all this logic together, God anoints priests to work in the church directly and kings to go out into the marketplace to conquer, plunder, and bring back the spoils to the church. The reason governmental regulation has to disappear from the marketplace is to make it completely available to the plunder of Christian "kings" who will accomplish the "end time transfer of wealth." Then "God's bankers" will usher in the "coming of the messiah." The government is being shut down so that God's bankers can bring Jesus back.

And here's the thing. When you get a lot of people together in a megachurch, you can do some pretty impressive things with your mission projects. You can feed thousands of people and host ESL classes and job training programs and medical clinics. And I imagine that seeing your accomplishments could give you the hubris of thinking we don't need a government at all to make our society run; our church can be the new government.

Yes, I said "American Taliban".

No, I'm not exaggerating.

We're talking Theocracy here.

I don't normally like to quote Pat Robertson, but an undeniable millions of people listen to him and believe and hang onto every word he says.

So, here's that "perfect union" of Dominion Theology according to Pat Robertson.

God's plan is for His people, ladies and gentlemen, to take dominion. . . .What is dominion? Well, dominion is Lordship. He wants His people to reign and rule with Him. . . but He's waiting for us to. . . extend His dominion. . . .And the Lord says, "I'm going to let you redeem society. There'll be a reformation. . . .We are not going to stand for those coercive utopians in the Supreme Court and in Washington ruling over us any more. We're not gonna stand for it. We are going to say, 'we want freedom in this country, and we want power. . . .'"

 And that, friends, is what this government shut down, at least in part, is all about.

Those "coercive utopians in the Supreme Court and in Washington" have crossed the line in providing affordable health care to millions of Americans who are the working poor - except the Tea Party calls them something different.

"Takers" is what they are.  "Takers" who will always be dependent upon the Government. See? They need to be dependent upon "The Lord".  And, of course, they need to be dependent upon those whom God has "anointed" with power to bestow upon others who are deemed "deserving".

Our understandings and images of God shape and inform our perspective of the way the world works and the way we order systems of government.

Mary Daly said it best. "If God is male, then male is God."

And this particular male God, the God of the Tea Party, is particularly pernicious and wrathful and vengeful. He's angry about the disruption of the "natural order".  He's angry about uppity women and Blacks who are taking jobs and positions of power and authority away from White men.

He's angry about contraception and abortion.  He's angry because a Black man is in the White House. He's angry about "non-Christians" (read: Muslims and Jews) who are allowed to enter this country through a "broken immigration system".

He's angry about multiculturalsim and diversity and globalization. He's angry about gun control and hate-crime legislation.  He's angry about "global warming" and evolution. He's angry about radical egalitarianism and feminism.

He's angry about LGBT people whose perversion of the natural order is a "real and present danger" to "family values" and are tearing at the very fabric of this nation and the world.

God is one Really Pissed Off dude who is relying on His "Christian Soldiers" to bring about a "Holy War" (Jihad) against the "coercive utopians" in Big Government and return it to HIM.  Or, through them to him.

Hyperbole and exaggeration on my part?

If you don't believe that this is the line of thinking and belief - the theology and ideology - of the Tea Party, just line your headphones with fire repellent and anti-toxin agents and listen in to local radio stations which carry preachers and politicians along with their listening audiences who tune in and call in to have these conversations.

It's pretty scary, but it will give you some sense of what would otherwise appear to be utter nonsense.

Beneath the smug, arrogant tones and the sharp, angry words you'll hear lies a clear image of the God of the Tea Party.  Listen up!

Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost. As the vice regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors—in short, over every aspect and institution of human society.  —D. James Kennedy

As scary as all of this is, I keep coming back to an understanding of "a more perfect union".  Perhaps this time is all part of the "refining fire" in the crucible of democracy.

We need to understand Dominion Theology so that we don't cave into it or allow it to crush our democratic system of government.

If our legislative process is "dysfunctional" - and I believe it is undeniably so - that is so because we do not have a healthy, vital two party system. There are three parties at play here: Democrats, Republicans and The Tea Party.

We are far from perfect. We're not supposed to be. We are human beings, flawed and faulted.

Our goal is a "more perfect union" - with ourselves, our neighbor, our nation and the world.

And, a more perfect union with the God of our understanding, in whose service is perfect liberty.

The Obvious Truth

The obvious truth (Luke 16:1-13)

September 21, 2013 – Proper 20 C RCL

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Georgetown, DE

(the Rev’d Dr.) Elizabeth Kaeton

Sometimes, the obvious truth is the easiest to avoid.

You have to know the whole story before you can understand one piece of it.  Or, in other words, context is as important as content.

This morning’s gospel is a good example. If you found this Parable of the Unjust Steward confusing, take heart! You’re not the only one. Many people throughout the ages have puzzled over how it is that an unfaithful steward, about to be relieved of his position, gains praise from his employer when he ends his career by stealing more from him?

This is especially confusing because it is Jesus who is telling the parable. Is he somehow condoning this deceit? Is he saying that it’s okay to cheat God, as long as we’re clever and creative and shrewd about it?

Well, before you can answer those questions, you have to know the whole story. You have to go back to the 15^th Chapter of Luke when, “….all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1-2).

It’s an old trick: If you can’t attack the person, attack him by ‘guilt through association’. If the man hangs out with sinners, he must also be one.   

So, Jesus responds by telling the Pharisees and scribes four Parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7), The Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10), the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and then this one, The Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-3).

While we might be confused, keep in mind that, when Jesus says, “And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light,” remember: Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and scribes.

Jesus goes on to say, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” 

In this morning's first lesson, I hear the cry from the heart of Jeremiah (8:18-9:1) as the cry from my own heart about the status of the poor in this country. It's tempting to think that Jesus is talking to those politicians who voted to cut into the Food Stamp Program – the very governmental subsidy that is keeping 4.5 Million Americans from sinking below the poverty line. 

Or, perhaps we might imagine Jesus is speaking to the politicians who voted to shut the government down unless the Affordable Care Act is de-funded.

It’s important not to take the story out of context. Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and scribes of his day. Keep in mind that they knew that Jesus was talking about them. 

Indeed, in the very next verse we read, “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.” (Luke 16:14).   

Let those who have ears, hear. 

It’s easy enough to take things out of context, to lose our focus, and to make mistakes. Take me, for example. Even though I am passionate about injustice wherever I see it, I’m far from perfect. Being zealous about injustice can also be blinding. 

Let me tell you a personal story.

Ordained less than five years, I found myself Vicar of a small, struggling congregation in the inner city of Newark where I was also Executive Director of the AIDS Resource Center. The church and their agency decided to pool resources and provide Thanksgiving Baskets to those in our neighborhood and those who were our clients. 

Actually, I was pretty shrewd, if I don't say so myself in convincing my brothers and sisters who were rectors of affluent congregations to contribute money and frozen turkeys and fixings for Thanksgiving Day. We got lots of both, which allowed us, in turn, to be generous.

By some small miracle of Loaves and Fishes we came to the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving Day having distributed 250 baskets filled with frozen turkey, stuffing, fresh and canned vegetables and fruits, and even an apple pie for each basket. We were exhausted but thrilled, feeling we could go home to our families and truly give thanks for God’s bounty.

Until SHE came in. At exactly 3:55 PM.  Just five minutes before I was to head out the door, stop by the grocery store for a few last minute items, and then home to prepare for my own family. 

She was out of breath and waved a slip of paper in her hand as she announced, “Wait. Don’t leave. I’m here for my turkey basket.”

My heart sank. I had nothing. No turkey. No stuffing. Not even a can of string beans. I put my coat over the chair and said, “I’m so very sorry. We have given out our last turkey.”

She was enraged! “But, I’m homeless! I don’t have anything. I need that turkey. I have a slip from my social worker and everything. You’re a priest. You HAVE to find me a turkey.” I flushed with frustration and shame because I didn’t have anything to give her.

I took the slip of paper while she went on and on about her homeless plight, thinking of various alternatives, when she encouraged me to call her social worker to verify her claims. Hoping that he has already left for the day, I was surprised to find him still at his desk. When I told him the situation, he also started to berate me, “But, she’s homeless! What kind of priest are you, anyway? How can you be so heartless? It’s Thanksgiving! And she’s homeless.”

As I was deliberating whether or not to take my last $20 bill and give it to her, or to take her shopping and let her buy $20 worth of food in my sight, I suddenly heard something. Something obvious I had completely overlooked. 

Perhaps you’ve already figured it out and you are silently snickering at me in your pew. Go ahead. Twenty-five years later, I’m looking back on that well-intentioned, passionate young priest and snickering at my own naivety.

Homeless. “Homeless,” I said out loud. “Homeless,” I said, looking at her while talking into the phone. “Yes, “ her social worker said sarcastically, as if he were talking to a moron, “she’s homeless. As in SHE HAS NO HOME.” 

“Well,” said I, clearing my throat, “If she’s homeless, and I believe you when you tell me she is, she has no home. Right. That means she has no oven in which to cook the turkey; no stove on which to cook the vegetables, not even a table on which to serve this meal or the dessert. Is that right?”

There was stunned silence on the other end of the phone. The woman stood in front of me, slack-jawed. We had, all three of us, stumbled onto an inconvenient truth: The obvious truths are the easiest to avoid.

I don’t blame the woman. Hunger and poverty can make you crazy – or make you think there’s something wrong with you that you don’t have at least the very basics of what everyone else in America has on Thanksgiving Day.   

Her social worker and I were so focused on filling voids and solving problems that we had forgotten that before you can do that effectively, you have to sit and listen to a person’s story. Before whatever help you are offering can be effective, you have to understand the context.  

Context is as important as content. Sometimes, even more so.

So, I assured the social worker I was on it. I brought the woman into the parish hall kitchen and we talked while I fixed her a cup of tea. We sat and talked for a while. She told me her story. How she had lost her job and her apartment and was living in her car. How she was mortified and embarrassed. How she hadn’t told anyone in her family – especially not her kids. How she had promised to bring a turkey to her sister’s house where she would spend the night.

After we finished our tea, I took her in my car to the supermarket where I spoke with the store manager – the guy from whom I and my parishioners had bought all those turkeys with the money I had cajoled our sister suburban congregations to donate. He quickly put together another couple of bags of Thanksgiving stuff, including a 10 pound frozen turkey.

Was I, in my shrewd handling of suburban congregations and local markets, just as guilty, at least in principle, as the Pharisees and scribes? I’ll leave that for God to judge. 

What I do know is that I – and that social worker – were like the Pharisees and scribes. The true problem was that we were all too caught up in our current lives. We had lost the proper perspective.

I suppose the politicians who voted as they did to cut Food Stamps and to hold the economy hostage to their ideology about the Affordable Care Act have also lost proper perspective. Many of them claim to be Christian and often quote scripture but I wonder if they are aware of the hungry face behind their vote. The face of a man. Or, woman. Or, child. The face of Jesus.

It’s easy to lose sight of the spiritual goal and make a priority of living in the physical realm. Jesus says, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You can not serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13).

Something must give. We all must make a choice regarding who we will serve – our own anxiety or the peace of God that passes all human understanding. You can’t make that decision without hearing the content of the whole story in its proper context.

And so, we must listen to each other; to hear each other into the ability to tell our stories. It’s not easy. It’s so much easier to live in a world of forms and criteria and check marks. 

Jesus did say to his disciples, “So be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.” We need to make the most out of the resources God has given us to our best advantage. 

That takes being clever and creative and yes, sometimes, shrewd.  If it is done for God’s glory and not our own, I believe God blesses it.

Sometimes, the obvious truth is the easiest to avoid. Amen.

Non tenere spiritum

Well, if you believe what you read, Francis is The. Best. Pope. Evah.

He's a "breath of fresh air" and is "leading the church in a new direction".

Well, there IS this:

"We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel," the pope said in the 12,000-word article . . . .

 . . . . . and, this . . . . .

"The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules," Francis said. "The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all."

And then, immediately following, there's this:

The comments contained no change in church teaching, and the pope said reform should not happen quickly. Still, it was the pope's clearest declaration yet of a break in tone and style from his immediate predecessors.

My Italian is not very good, but I think this translates:

I'm gonna change the content and my tone in the hope that those who have been disaffected will return, but I'm not changing anything else anytime soon.

I think, in Latin, he said "Non tenere spiritum."

Which translates: Don't hold your breath.

The man's not a dummy. Indeed, he's a Jesuit.

It's the Jesuits who always say, "We have to distinguish what's primary from what's secondary." And, of course, most of it is secondary. You can hear that ringing through in Francis' statements.

The very next day, the headline from NPR was: Pope Blasts Abortion After Decrying Focus on Rules.  Some of us were not at all surprised.

First things first, and all that Jesuit stuff.

It was, of course, an olive branch of sorts to the doctrine-minded, conservative wing of the Catholic Church, in which he denounced today's "throw-away culture" that justifies disposing of lives, and said doctors in particular had been forced into situations where they are called to "not respect life." 

He said: "Every child that isn't born, but is unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of Jesus Christ, has the face of the Lord," he said.

He urged the gynecologists to abide by their consciences and help bring lives into the world. "Things have a price and can be for sale, but people have a dignity that is priceless and worth far more than things," he said.

I get it. I'm no Jesuit but even I know that you can't turn an ocean liner around on a dime. You've got to go waaay off course before you can turn around and get back on the right course. It takes a Very Long time.  And, the Roman Catholic Church is a Very Big boat.

I get it. Change takes time.

Non tenere spiritum.

Oh, it's not that I'm not grateful for the change in tone. I am. It is a welcomed relief from all the harping that has been vaguely disguised as preaching that has been the case for RCs for the past 8-10 years or so.

You can rest assured, however, that the prelates of Holy Mother Church will still be backing politicians who are opposed to contraception (Really? In 2013? We're still having this conversation?), abortion, and, of course, marriage equality.

Some of the Princes of the Church will even threaten excommunication to those RC politicians who are supportive of reproductive justice and marriage equality.

And, no woman has a prayer of being ordained to the diaconate or the priesthood - not in my lifetime - while the harassing of Roman Catholic Religious Women (nuns) will continue unabated.

Change takes time.

As someone who left the RC Church of my youth because I was excluded on two counts - and "officially" prohibited from ordination in The Episcopal Church on one count (with lingering hostility because I was a woman in the first place) - I hear "change takes time" as the refrain of one who does not want change at all, and will do so very reluctantly and only on HIS terms.

In "A Priest Forever", Carter Heyward's book on her experience as one of the Philadelphia Eleven, there is a cartoon that someone sent to her prior to her priestly ordination. I don't have the book here in front of me, so I'm doing this from memory.

It's a picture of an elephant, sitting in a small pond, holding an umbrella, trying to cool off under the hot Indian sun. The elephant has taken up the entire pond.

A small mouse on the edge of the pond is saying, "Excuse me, good sir, but it's beastly hot, may I come in?"

The elephant turns to the mouse, looking down his long nose, and says, "Well, I say, I do so understand, you poor dear. Quite hot, yes. But, I'm not yet ready. You must learn to have patience. All in good time. All in good time."

This pope is playing a very dodgy game. It's classic Jesuit-Jedi-Knight mind trick. He's got everyone cheering so hard at the change in tone that not many have really paid attention to the fact that nothing of substance has changed. At. All.

I'm just the wee mouse at the edge of the pond saying, "Excuse me, good sir. I do so appreciate your pleasant tone, but, you know, it's still beastly hot and you won't let many of my friends into the wonderful, refreshing water of our baptismal pond."

Then again, it has ever been thus in terms of my role with the institutional church.

See, I'm smiling.

But, I'm not holding my breath.

It only takes a spark . . .

Gather 'round the campfire, kids. 

We're going to hear a story and sing a song.

First, some context.

Ms. Conroy (AKA "Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, AKA "The Abbess of All Anamchara"), had a non-life threatening illness which required a trip to the Emergency Room for medication, hydration and diagnostic tests. 

All's well that ends well and this did. So, now we can tell the story and laugh.

Oh, I also need to tell you that Bill, our dear friend and brother, sure and true, took Ms. Conroy to the ER. And, that Bill, who is Irish and a member of God's Rainbow Tribe, as well as a life professed member of the Anamachara Fellowship, frequently wears kilts. 

Kilts. You know. Celtic skirts for men. Has 'em in all different colors and plaids. Wears 'em with working boots and a T-shirt. Wears 'em everywhere. (No, I have no idea what he wears under the kilt.)

He lives here in Lower, Slower Delaware. That would be Sussex County, DE. The only one of three counties to vote for Christine ("I'm-not-a-witch") O'Donnell.

You might say he's making a statement. 

So, here's the story:

Ms. Conroy is in the ER and the Admitting Nurse (ERAN) says to her

Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy

ERAN: "Are you married?"
Ms. C: "Yes."

ERAN: "And, the name of your . . . (pause, first clue) . . . spouse?"
Ms. C: "Elizabeth Kaeton"

ERAN: (inhaling anxiety, exhaling) "Okaaay . . ." 
Translation: "No, it's not okay, but okay, I'm a professional. I can deal with this. Okay."

ERAN: "And, is . . . (slight pause) . . . she here?"
Ms. C: "No."

ERAN: "Did someone drive you here?"
Ms. C: "Yes. My brother, Bill."

ERAN: "And, is he still here?"
Ms. C: "Yes. He's right there. Around the corner. He's the guy in the skirt."

ERAN: Dissolves into laughter, pulls herself together quickly, says, "I'm sorry. (Giggle) I'm sorry. (Giggle) Ahem, I'm so sorry."
Ms. C: "Its okay. It's a brave new world."

ERAN: "Yes, it's a lot to get used to in such a short time."
Ms. C: "Yes, yes.... since June . . . But, just imagine OUR adjustment."

ERAN: (Looking perplexed) "I'm sorry . . .?"
Ms. C: "I mean, look at it from the other side of this issue. You know, my side."

ERAN: (Looking perplexed) "How do you mean?"
Ms. C: "Well, you know. Finally getting respect and decency after all these years. For us, it's almost 38 years of being together . . . with six kids . . . and, you know . . . . five grandchildren."

Anamchara Fellowship Gathering 2013

ERAN: "Oh, I see . . .Yes, I see . . ." 
Ms. Conroy: (Smiles) "Could I have that pain med soon?" 
ERNA: "Yes, yes, of course . . ."

Angels sing: "AH -le-lu-ya! AH -le -lu-ya! Ah-le-lu-ya! Alleluia! AH-le-lu-YA!"
Light dawns on Marble Head!

Okay, this is where we gather round the campfire, boys and girls, and together, let us sing . . . .

It only takes a spark, to get a fire going.
And soon all those around, can warm up to it's glowing.

Chorus:
That's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it, it's fresh like spring, you want to sing, you want to pass it on.

Pass it on, friends. Pass it on. 

Step by step.

Spark by spark. 

Mending the heart

Four men convicted of a brutal gang rape and murder were sentenced Friday to die by hanging, a decision met with satisfaction on the part of the victim’s parents and triumphant cheers from the crowd outside the courthouse, where some held up makeshift nooses and pictures of hanging bodies.

The four men — a fruit vendor, a bus attendant, a gym handyman and an unemployed man — were found guilty on Tuesday of raping a young woman on a moving bus last December, penetrating her with a metal rod and inflicting grave internal injuries, then dumping her on the roadside.

Defense arguments were drowned out by cries for execution — including from the victim herself, who before her death told a court official that her attackers “should be burned alive.” Protesters have congregated regularly outside the courthouse, chanting “Hang the rapists,” and on Friday they turned their wrath on the defense lawyers, forcing one to rush from the crowd.

“This is the beginning of freedom for Indian women today,” said Raman Deep Kaur, 38, a cosmetologist. “Today we are free, because these men are going to be killed.” 

I have strong emotions and zero tolerance for rape/sexual assault. I understand all too well the emotions in this case. 

I am confounded by the sentence. 

Will the death of these four men stop the rape of women in India? I fear not. Obviously, it will stop those four men from raping again. 

Is that enough? 

Are rapists able to reform in prison? Do prison sentences for rape act as a deterrent to rape? 

Statistics here do not bear out that hope. 

How much of what punishment is enough for rape?

On friend on FaceBook wrote: 

"Furthermore, how can death for these rapists achieve a reform of something deeply ingrained in Indian society (and, I should add, ours as well)? Could it carry enough symbolic weight to force their society (and ours) to face itself regarding its regard for and treatment of women? 

Women all over the world - India and Uganda and the United States and Mexico and Sri Lanka and South Africa and Russia - want deep and abiding change. How do we make that happen when a patriarchal court condemns four rapists to die to make examples out of them but does not fundamentally change in the ways that it sees women (here seen as the victim of male aggression)?"

As I wandered around in my thoughts, I suddenly remembered a story told by John Claypool in his book, Mending The Heart. 

Claypool offers three meditations which speak eloquently of the wounds all of us carry through life—the wounds of grievance, guilt, and grief—and how they can be healed. The wound of grievance comes from our suffering at the hands of others, we are pierced by guilt when we inflict pain in return, and we suffer grief when we are hurt by loss.

In his meditation "The Wound of Grievance," Claypool offers a powerful story about mending the heart of a man and the community in which he lived which was torn by greed and racism.

"Years ago, I saw an old movie entitled “Stars in My Crown” about the life of a nineteenth-century Methodist circuit rider on the American frontier. An elderly black man who lived in the little community that the circuit rider served was on of its most beloved members, for he had taught a whole generation of children to hunt and fish and enthralled them with his gift of storytelling.

It so happened that a valuable deposit of copper was found in that community and it ran straight under the little parcel of land on which the old man lived. When several local business leaders cane and offered to buy the black man’s property, however, he refused – it was the only home he had ever known and all he wanted to do was to  live our his life there in peace.

Naturally, his refusal threatened the whole mining enterprise, and when a great deal of money is at stake, dispositions have a way of growing surly. When the business leaders could not buy out the old man, they resorted to intimidation, posting a note on the door that if he was not off the property by sundown the next night, then members of the local Ku Klux Klan would com and hang him from the nearest tree.

The local minister got wind of what was happening, and the next night he was there at the house with the old man when the hooded figures arrived. He told them his friend knew full well that they had come to take his life, and had asked him to prepare a will to read to them before they hung him.

John Claypool

The old man willed the property to the businessmen who seemed to want it so badly, some of whom were standing right there in the lynching mob. He went on to leave his rifle to another person, his fishing rod to a third, and son on down the line, lovingly relinquishing everything he had to those who had come to take his life.

The impact of this act of goodness in response to evil was more than even those greedy hearts could stand. One by one, in shameful silence, they turned away and slipped into the darkness.

The minister’s grandson, at the time a twelve-year-old boy, had watched the whole drama from afar and when it was over he bounded up the porch and said to his grandfather wonderingly, “What kind of will was that?” The old minister answered softly, “The will of God, son, the will of God.”

I do not offer this as the answer - or even an answer - to the problem of rape, or what ought to be done to deter rape or change our cultures and subcultures (like the Armed Forces or Athletic Events) to have zero tolerance for rape.  

I do not offer this as an indication of what victims of rape ought to do in response to rape. I hear the dying words of the victim of this brutal rape - that her attackers "should be burned alive" - as the completely understandable, deeply human cry of anguish and pain and unmerited suffering which led to her death.

I offer this to underscore the fact that, when someone is raped, it's not just the body that suffers. It is the mind and the soul and the spirit and the heart.

I offer this to remind us that, when a someone is raped, it is not just the person's body, mind, soul,  spirit and heart that suffers - it is the heart of the entire community.

There seems to be no end in sight to the violence - sexual, physical, emotional, and spiritual - against women.

How will we find healing?

How will we mend the heart - that of those who have been raped as well as our own?

We remember 9/11

From 'Story of the Day' by StoryPeople

Good girls and bad girls

There are still many questions and concerns swirling around in my head about the whole mess with 815 and the Executive Council and the Board of UTO (United Thank Offering).

I am deeply concerned that, in 2012, the Executive Council's Advisory Committee may have inadvertently and unknowingly set up the UTO by it's recommendations. The advice was to live into the "creative tension" between the "autonomous nature of mission" and the "increasingly regulatory nature" of the institutional church and find a way to the path that leads to good old Anglican both/and: autonomy and interdependence.

Any lawyer who works with contracts and bylaws would have a good laugh at that.

Laws are laws. They are pretty black and white. They are not marked by "creative tensions". It's a great idea - indeed, a noble idea - but these don't always find their way into the "Article I, Section 2" model of laws and bylaws.

I'm also struck by the irony that, while this conversation was going on, the COO of The Episcopal Church was talking about eliminating CCABs (Commissions, Committees, Agencies and Boards) so we could be more "nimble for mission". Indeed, at the 2012 GC, we voted to form our own Task Force to revision and restructure the church.

Mary, the BVM

And yet, what is being proposed by the institutional church is to have the UTO become a CCAB - instead of encouraging the UTO to incorporate as a 501 (c) (3) and have the same kind relationship the church has with, say, Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD - formally, Presiding Bishop's Fund). Or, for that matter, the way hospitals and clinics and educational institutions have with congregations and/or diocese.

As one wise woman once whispered to me at the end of a Very Long and Non-Productive diocesan meeting: "This is why God so loved the world that God sent an Only Child - and NOT a committee."

There will be more information revealed in days to come. This situation didn't happen overnight. Indeed, it's been going on at least since 2007 when the Presiding Bishop first called for a study to learn about CCABs and their relationship to the institutional church.

Here's my deepest concern: Women. Women and their ministry and sense of mission. Women and their autonomy and power and their relationship with the institutional church.

That is not going to be a surprise to anyone who knows me or reads this blog.  I am a self-avowed, unrepentant feminist. I am a feminist because I am a Christian. I am a feminist because I believe Jesus was a feminist in his own way and for his own time. I believe there are more than a few men in The Episcopal Church who are feminists.

So, if a feminist perspective isn't your thing, stop reading now. You'll only make yourself upset. 

The institutional church will do what the institutional church will do, and the institutional church still operates, for the most part, on the dominant male paradigm. Yes, we have a woman who is Presiding Bishop and the last two Presidents of the House of Deputies have been women. Yes, the ordination of women is not the Very Big Deal it once was.

Jezebel

That does not mean that there isn't misogyny and sexism in the church. That does not mean that we aren't still a hierarchical church, with all the attendant structures and canons.

Indeed, it does not mean that women have the same opportunities for advancement within the institutional church. We don't.  In fact, in terms of the election of women to the episcopacy as compared to the rate of women in the episcopacy who are retiring, we are actually losing ground.

It also doesn't mean that changing the faces at the top necessitates change within the system. There are still far too many women in the church who know how to play hardball with the big boys and "go along to get ahead".

Which may be one reason it's so hard to get women to stand for election as bishops.  Too many women don't want to play the game. They'd rather focus their energies on the work of the Gospel.

That's not to say that there haven't been women in leadership who have made systemic changes and have taken prophetic roles in the church. Barbara Harris, of course, springs immediately to mind, but there are others who - lay and ordained - in small, quiet but significant ways, are making changes.

Slowly, slowly, slowly.

It takes time, I know. Here's what else I know: Patience has never been my strong suit.

So, here's my concern: There were eight women on the UTO Board. Four resigned in protest.

Let me say that again: Four resigned IN PROTEST.

They did not simply resign. They did not whine or snivel. They resigned because it was the only way they knew to bring to light that which had been going on in secret.

Remember: the UTO board was required to sign a Statement of Confidentiality in which they pledged not to discuss their .... 'negotiations'.... outside of their group. 

Raise your suspicions much?

So, four resigned and four stayed on. Let me say this: It takes courage to do both.

Delilah

It takes courage to blow the whistle and call attention to something going on that's wrong with the process. It takes courage to stay and hold a place so that the UTO might continue to have something of a Board of Directors.

The UTO now needs to elect eight more women, in accordance with the bylaws that were approved by their organization as well as General Convention in 2012. I hope everyone will keep them in the deepest part of their prayers.

The danger here is to see "good girls" and "bad girls".  The good girls stayed. The bad girls left.

That is NOT true and don't buy into that crap for one red hot New York second.

We've seen this dynamic many times in the church.  Here's one example.

The original plan for the "Philadelphia Eleven" was to have twelve women irregularly ordained to the priesthood at the Church of the Advocate. Elsa Phyllis Walberg - the first woman to be ordained to the diaconate in the Diocese of Massachusetts in 1972 - was supposed to have been among the twelve but, at the last minute, was persuaded to decline. She had the unanimous approval of the Standing Committee to be ordained to the priesthood.

What I remember (some of my books are still in storage) is that her bishop wrote a public letter, lauding her decision and calling her "one of the good deacons". Elsa was furious! She wrote back and said, in essence, "Do not ever again put me in a situation where I have to choose between my sisters and the church."

That's the real danger of this whole mess that keeps me up at night - that women will be pitted against each other in the name of the institutional church.

The "good girls" in scripture are those who were obedient: Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Ruth, and the ultimate "be it done to me according to thy word," Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

The "bad girls" are those who were disobedient or selfish or "wanton": Eve, Hagar, Bathsheba,  Jezebel, Rehab, Delilah, Sapphira - to name just a few.

And then there are those who present ethical dilemmas - like Judith or Ester who committed murder in order to save their people.

Mary and Martha

Their stories - even the ones about the "good girls" - are only known to us through the perspective of men.

All of them - even the "bad girls" - have a role in the ongoing story of our redemption. 

I hope we don't get caught up in the male-constructed tension we see in the two sisters from Bethany. 

We are Martha.  We are Mary. 

We are Episcopal Church Women and Episcopal Women's Caucus  and the Daughters of the King and the National Altar Guild, and The Women's History Project and Girls Friendly Society and the Church Periodical Club and Anglican Women's Empowerment and the Commission on the Status of Women, and, and AND . . . the United Thank Offering.  

The words of Elsa Walberg continue to ring in my ears: "Do not ever again put me in a situation where I have to choose between my sisters and the church."

We women are beloved of God who seek to prosper the Gospel of Jesus, in and through the church. Each in our own way. Living in the "creative tension" of the autonomy necessary for mission and the regulatory nature of the institutional church .

And, don't let anyone tell you anything different.