The Church is ALIVE through the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People!

Hey Friends!

We took a bit of a breather this past month, but now we're firing up the engines again for another season, so keep those submissions coming!

In the meantime, we've got a submission that we've kept on the back-burner for a while from the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People--Presbyterian Church (USA). They're doing AMAZING work all over the world (and they submitted some of their more recent work to us last year), and they've got four - count 'em, FOUR - videos to share with y'all.

The videos tell stories that cover the time gamut (some are several years old), but these tales of making the church alive through people are just at timely today as they were back then.

The submitter, Margaret Mwale, had this to say:

"The Presbyterian Church (USA) is engaging with and positively impacting disadvantaged communities through Self-Development of People. These videos share powerful stories of how the Church is alive in these communities!"

And now, the videos:

Story #1: In 1971, an association of Eskimos in Alaska were able to use a SDOP grant to help pay the legal costs in their battle to claim and keep their native land.

Story #2: A SDOP grant made it possible for Mapuche Indians in Chile to sustain their heritage through the building of a cultural center.

Story #3: In Virginia, a neighborhood group used a SDOP grant to buy and renovate houses and, in turn, provide affordable housing for themselves and others in their community.

Story #4: Kentucky tobacco farmers, faced with not being able to rely on the tobacco market, used a SDOP grant to collectively learn new ways to sustain themselves economically.

Awesome stories, right? You can find out more about what the SDOP does here and also apparently participate in their T-Shirt Design (which gets you money for college?!) contest here.

What I Want the Church to Be…A Prophetic Voice

Tina DeYoe - our on-the-ground report at this year's General Assembly of the PC(USA) - offers us the following report on this year's happenings.

At what pace are we as the Presbyterian Church (USA) to be prophetic? After attending the PC(USA)’s 219th General Assembly last week, this is the question I am asking. As a long distance runner throughout high school and college, I am used to pacing myself at a moderate speed. Sprinting is definitely not my cup of tea. However, when dealing with social justice issues in regards to society and the church I would rather be running the 100m race! When injustices are happening throughout the world I want the church to be a place that steps up and makes a statement or acts quickly! The 219th General Assembly (GA) did step up quickly on certain issues, but on others we were caught running the pace of a long distance runner.
This summer I have been interning in the Advisory Committee for Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) office within the PC(USA). What do we do? We are assigned to encourage the prophetic voice of the church on matters of social justice. We work with volunteer member-experts to write policies, resolutions, and study papers that are then adopted at GA by the PC(USA) as a whole. After these papers have been adopted the PC(USA) agencies are supposed to act in accordance to what is stated in the recommendations. The basis for most of the writings comes from applying the Bible, theology, confessions, and past policies to current challenges.

Sounds fun right? Think of having the grand assignment and scope of superwoman or superman fighting injustices and evil in this world, but instead of having special powers to fly and stop bullets we use words, research, and our biblical and theological texts to combat such evils like gun violence, domestic violence, usury, discrimination, oppression, immigration detention abuse, sex trafficking, torture, and pretty much any evil you can think of. I was lucky enough to observe and work with ACSWP during this year’s 219th General Assembly and also helped them get some of their policies and papers passed. Papers like: Loving Our Neighbors: Equity and Quality in Public Education; Becoming an HIV and AIDS Competent Church; Gun Violence and Gospel Values (a paper on gun violence prevention); Living Through Economic Crisis: The Church’s Witness in Troubled Times; Human Rights Report 2010.

Other awesome social justice papers, policies and resolutions that were passed by different ministries at GA include: Amending ordination standards which allows all people to serve the church no matter their sexual preference; Directing the PC(USA) Board of Pensions to Extend benefits to the same-gender spouses and domestic partners; Approval of a study group to study violence against women and children on the Mexico-US Border; Approval of refraining from holding PC(USA) national meetings at non-PC(USA) establishments in Arizona; Recommendations for the PC(USA) to work with local communities and the families affected by the Deep Water Horizon Oil disaster with finances and resources from the church; Directing the PC(USA) to call on the US Government to end military aid to Israel; Directing the PC(USA) to call on the US Government to impose a national moratorium on the imposition of the death penalty; the Belhar Confession to be included in the Book of Confessions; and many more pieces of legislation.

However, there were also papers, policies, and resolutions that were not passed by the GA or parts of the document were passed, but the main parts left out. Some of these include: Calling on the PC(USA) to divest from the Caterpillar Co. because their vehicles are being used by Israelis to bulldoze Palestinian homes; On amending the definition of marriage in the PC(USA) book of worship (which then would have included LGBTQ people); On Living a Human Life Before God study paper, which provides a well-reasoned base for churches to engage in moral discourse regarding life and death issues; and a key recommendation of Neither Poverty Nor Riches: Equity, Compensation and the Unity of the Church report, which would have prevented top salaries in the General Assembly Mission Council of the PC(USA) from being more than 5 times higher than those of the lowest paid, was removed from the document. These and several other papers, policies, and resolutions would have allowed the PC(USA) to have more of a prophetic voice in this world by more fully backing words with deeds.

Looking back at all the resolutions adopted, the church can be rightly proud, but again at what pace is the PC(USA) church to be even more prophetic in this world? I look to the prophet Micah as being a voice and example who can lead us in the right direction -- out of the corruption of power so visible in a lot of today’s society. It is a voice, which states, “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God,” Micah 6:8. This is a prophetic voice that can lead us out of fear and into hope.

Yes, I am disappointed in the PC(USA) for not having been as prophetic as I would have liked; however, I do have hope for what our church did accomplish at this year’s assembly. Throughout my life I will continue to advocate for the church being a prophetic witness to the world. I will push the pace of policies, resolutions, and papers so that those who are being oppressed will be oppressed no more. I will live in the light of hope even if sometimes that light seems to fade only to a peep hole. I will keep running the race and will sprint when necessary, and will continue to help others sprint to the finish along with me in order to help bring God’s kingdom closer everyday. It is our job as prophetic Christians in this word to help push one another to run and sprint to the makings of a just and peaceful world!

What do I want the church to be? A joyful chorus of prophetic voices, that comes together to end oppression, evil, greed, hate, and violence in this world.

Tina DeYoe is a seminary student at Princeton Theological Seminary and an intern for the Advisory Committee for Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) of the PC(USA). She is also - generally speaking - awesome.

Photographs courtesy Danny Bolin and the PC(USA).

Your Responses, Round 4 (Woah!)

These videos of super excited and passionate people exclaiming their wishes for what they want church to be energize me. Just sayin'.  Here are some (MORE) video responses from Presbyterian (USA) General Assembly attendees Alex, Benjamin, and Lindy. Feel inspired? Record yourself and submit it to us!







Send us your response! What do you want the church to be?

Your Responses, Round 2

We have a BUNCH more responses from people about what they want church to be! We figured we'd share a few of them below:

I want it to be something that helps develop our relationship with God and Christ. Although I don’t think that something has to be a place or an organization, nor does it necessarily have to have walls or even a name. I want the church to be that entity that connects us to each other so we can worship and minister and grow in our relationship with God and Christ together. I want the church to be about love, with no place for judgment or hatred. I want the church to be that thing that teaches us that the best way to teach others about God and Christ is through our actions. I think the church can be in a building with an organization that has a name, but it can also be everywhere…just like God.

- Sue

A community that welcomes people for who they are and loves them like the children of God they are, but might not know yet.

- Anonymous

A place for open spirituality and serious engagement with people, God, text, spirit, and self.

- Anonymous

If it were my church, I'd have an answer. Actually, I don't give a rip about what I want the Church to be. I'm wrestling with the question: What does Christ want the Church to be? Striving to answer this question is much more important in my opinion.

- Jim Truesdell

Keep 'em coming, folks! What do YOU want church to be?

We've been thinking...

Some of you might have noticed we've been a little lax in posting lately, but while we haven't been writing we have been doing quite a bit of thinking! Two topics have been on our minds this summer: 1) the 219th PCUSA General Assembly and 2) the question of what we - and you - want the church to be.

But what does this mean, you ask? Well, here's the rundown on how these topics will impact The Church is Alive:

Firstly: The 219th General Assembly - a.k.a. "GA" - of the Presbyterian Church (USA) - a.k.a. the PC(USA) - kicked off 2 days ago in Minneapolis. This is a big deal for us at CiA (that's our fun acronym - use it :D) as many of us call this denomination home, but it is also a real-world example of a group of people deciding what they want "church" to be. To clarify: GA is a gathering of people who want to keep the PC(USA) alive and well by deciding on its future endeavors. This, of course, affects all of us, including other denominations - we all pay attention to and learn from each other!

Naturally, we here at the CiA wanted to be at the center of this actions. As such, we placed a few friends of the CiA on the ground at GA who will be sending us updates and reflections from the GA floor for the next couple weeks. (Hopefully we'll get a few of those up soon! Check back!)

Secondly: We don't want to just hear from the PC(USA) General Assembly - we want to hear from YOU! We'll be posting a whole slew of blog posts on this topic all summer (and, if you want to submit a blog post yourself, click here and let us know!), but we encourage all of you to check out the right side of the Church is Alive homepage. Just click on the question mark and send us a few words on what you want church to be. We really hope this will generate some great discussion about different aspects of the church and the ways in which 'church' can be experienced. You can put your name on your submission or respond anonymously, and we'll periodically post responses here on the blog. In fact, we've already received a few awesome responses. Have a look see:

"A community of faith that embraces, emulates, and empowers others to live as disciples of Christ."

- Dan W. Boles

"Home. For all.

A place of peace love, and justice, personally as well as communally and globally."

- Anonymous

"A place where difference is valued and isn't used to divide or oppress one another."

- Anonymous

"Church: Anyplace Christ's Body gathers to
Worship Him
Fellowship together with Him
Serve others with Him
Grow together in Him
Tell others about Him
In the power of the Holy Spirit"

- Laurie

"Church should be home. It should be an atmosphere in which you are welcomed home like the prodigal son (whether or not you ever left the church in the first place). It should be a place and atmosphere that you can pour out your heart and soul in. Finally, it should reach out in christian love into the community. This can be applied to local congregation, the Presbyterian (U.S.A.) denomination, or the entire Christian Church."

- Anonymous

So, what do you think? Do you agree with these folks? Disagree? What do YOU want the church to be??

Stay tuned - there's more to come!

Immigration Reform and the PC(USA)

Yesterday, our moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow sent out an invitation to comment on the statement issued on behalf of the PC(USA) regarding the recent Arizona legislation known as SB1070. This was his status on facebook:

Bruce Reyes-Chow just had a wonderfully challenging conversation with a "younger than me" person about today's interactions about the PC(USA) immigration statement. So here you go, for those 30 and under only, what are YOUR thoughts on the statement, the interactions, etc. Over 30's try really hard to listen.

No matter how inundated I am with final papers and exams, there’s no way I could pass up such a delightful invitation to thank the church for their active role in speaking out against this legislation, and give a few reasons as to why I am against the law myself. Before I show my response to Bruce’s message, here’s a brief summary of the statement if you haven’t read it or don’t plan to read the whole thing (though I do encourage you to read it - it's a great statement!):


I. An immediate need exists in the country for immigration reform
a) SB1070 is characterized by bigotry, trauma and fear
b) We need action at the federal level

II. Churches see the pain the broken system causes; ripping families apart, children left behind
a) law puts Christian workers at risk who work with undocumented immigrants
b) we cannot stand by and allow this to happen

III. The law also jeopardizes the safety of immigrant communities, further pushing the invisible population of undocumented immigrants into the shadows which:
a) prevents people from reporting crimes
b) fosters a distrust of the law
c) hinders federal legislation dealing with immigration

IV. LEV 19: 33-34
a) IMMIGRATION REFORM PLEASE!

Here was my response, it’s not eloquent (facebook just isn’t as fancy as a blog and I was in a bit of an “in-the-moment-adrenaline-rush” after reading the statement) but it sums up a few points:

Bruce,
When I got my tattoo of the Presbyterian seal on my wrist my mom asked me "why couldn't you just have gotten a necklace?" and many people asked me "what if you don't always agree with your church?"

Well, there have been times since when I haven't exactly adored what the Presbyterian church has done, but there are times like these when the PC(USA) stands up and speaks out against injustices in the world that completely overwhelm any trivial disagreements I have with the church. This is EXACTLY where I see the living church in action in the world. The statement issued about SB1070 is a testament to the living church. I'm so glad my church took action and stated plain truths about the legislation.

My concentration, I hope, in the sociology PhD program I enter in the fall will be immigration and immigration reform. I've already studied the issue at length and legislation like this has all kinds of unintended consequences. The third paragraph in the statement, for example, discusses the distrust of law enforcement that already existed. This legislation will only augment the distrust and push the invisible population further into the shadows. This kind of legislation hinders federal investigations and further complicates our already broken system.

In practice, the legislation is a nightmare. If Javier (my husband – from Chile) and I want to go on a road trip to California, he'd have to bring his birth certificate? What papers would we need? How sensible is it for him to take all of his precious documents with him? Those documents need to be kept SAFELY at home in a fire-proof lock box, because they were hard enough to get in the first place. How full will the already inhumane detention centers be? How many more families will be split up?

In a perverse way, though, this legislation has brought to the forefront something this country desperately needs: immigration reform. There's no way congress can escape this issue now. Again, unintended consequences.

This was not a part of my original comment but I later pressed the point of how important it is that our church MADE such a statement. We are not the only denomination to issue a statement on immigration reform: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has issued a statement called “Toward Compassionate, Just and Wise Immigration Reform,” and the United Methodist Church is part of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and works with groups to increase the religious diversity in the campaign toward immigration reform. What would we have the PC(USA) do – ignore the situation? Not stand up and make a statement? That’s just not our personality. We may not have a unified consensus – has that ever happened in our church? This is a time for action. I’m so proud of the PC(USA) for making this statement and joining the ranks of other denominations who have already become involved in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform.

What do you all think? We’ll take comments even if you are 30+ years old.

photo by: www.ryanrodrickbeiler.com, taken from Soujourners

Water + Information

Jack's post is part of our Lenten Water Project. Throughout this Lenten season our writers will be focusing on the subject of water and what that means to them. Please donate to our well-building efforts, and if you have something YOU would like to say about water, let us know and we'll post it here!

Sometimes, raw information can say more than anything else...

click on the infographic above to see the bigger picture from nextgenpe...

For more graphic-style water information, check out Ten Things You Should Know About Water.

[edit]: also, check out the Virtual Water Project, and this image from Wired Magazine that shows just how little freshwater there actually is in the world:

click above to enlarge

Discuss.

Going Without Water

Alfredo's post is part of our Lenten Water Project. Throughout this Lenten season our writers will be focusing on the subject of water and what that means to them. Please donate to our well-building efforts, and if you have something YOU would like to say about water, let us know and we'll post it here!

I'm always amazed at the sources of wisdom that I encounter all around me.
One day, my mother was reacting to the war-torn images in the newscast on television, the typical manichean expose of the newscasters who divide the world into the heros and the losers, the saved and the vanquished. At the time, the rumors were that all the suffering and all the turmoil were due to the greed for oil and the need for its continual access so that the world (read: the United States) could continue functioning.

She turned to me with a foreboding sigh and told me that her mother used to say, many a decade before I was ever born, that the wars in the future would not be fought for oil. They would be fought for water.
I am not a religious man in the sense that those of you most likely reading this passage would consider religious. I am not partaking in Lent, nor will I be giving up anything in the coming days. But I am fully aware that one of the major parts of the Lenten season is its moment of deep introspection and reconception. It is, however, equally a time of action. You take actions at this time, like fasting, prayer, and meditation, as participatory of the season. But as you fast (if you fast) and as you challenge yourself (if you challenge yourself) in these days, I encourage you to wonder: what is it like to go without water?

A human body can withstand weeks, weeks mind you, without food. The eventual succumbing to starvation comes well after the last bite has been taken. And yet within 72 hours, you may find yourself six feet under unless you partake of water.

Allow that to sink in. Going without food for a fast can be a bit annoying during the day, but if you have done it before you can attest that your body assimilates and eventually the hunger pangs subside. Go without water for a whole day. In fact, eat all you want. But don't take a single sip of any liquid. I dare you. By the time your mouth reaches the paltry condition of that old fuzzy couch stored away in the dusty attic, you will have wished you had chosen to give up something else.

What I took from my grandmother's warning was not a message about ecological subsistence (although it most certainly can, and should as well, be read that way). I also took from it a much more uncomplicated, yet equally as important and profound, message. What is it that I fight for? What is it that I am worried about? How much of my energy is spent focusing on those things that I can live without? And how much of my time is spent making sure that others have access to at least the bare minimum (ie: water)?

I can't tell you how angry it makes me when I miss the bus. Or about how I fume because vegetarian options at restaurants are meager. And slow internet? Don't get me started. But water. It is surely the simplest thing we all need. Have I gone without it? No. Have I ever had to struggle for it? Never. Will I conceivably find myself in want for it? Probably not. And yet it is only because of this simple need being met that I have even the ability to whine and complain, to cherish and laugh.

It is said that necessity is the mother of all invention. I would venture forward from this, then, to say that FRUSTRATION is the mother of all action. More specifically, and more pertinent to this post, frustration is the mother of action in the form of social justice. Go without water. I look at you straight in the eyes, eyebrows furrowed with penetrating pupils underneath, and challenge you to complain about anything else after you have gone without it.

Lent is about humility, about recontextualization. It is, however, also about action. And I would venture that within this context, lent must therefore be about frustration. Without frustration, there is no action, the kind of action that I write about in this post. Use the themes of lent and water to allow the frustration to become productive. What is it that we are fighting for? What is it that controls our minds at the moment, that frustrates the hell out of us? And what is it that we will do about it?

The importance of it all can be shaped by a simple question: have you gone without water?

* * * *

Alfredo is a first-year masters student at Harvard Divinity School. Concentrating on Religion and the Social Sciences, Alfredo's research interests include the sociology of religion, religious disaffiliation, and the rise of non-religiosity in America. His goal is to one day become both a gentleman and a scholar.

A Thirsty Lent

Jessica's post is part of our Lenten Water Project. Throughout this Lenten season our writers will be focusing on the subject of water and what that means to them. Please donate to our well-building efforts, and if you have something YOU would like to say about water, let us know and we'll post it here!

Since I was a little girl I have entered church with the same ritual, dipping the tips of my fingers into a tiny metal bowl of holy water near the heavy wooden door of the sanctuary. I tap these wet fingers on my forehead, on the center of my chest, and on both shoulders; it is the sign of the cross. This practice, inherited from my Catholic tradition, reconnects me with the first Christian ritual I ever experienced—baptism.

It also engages the natural substance—water—that pervaded Jesus’ life. Jesus was baptized in water. Christ used it for miracles, using it for winemaking and walking on its waves. Jesus taught about living water.

Water is ubiquitous in my life and the Christian tradition, which is precisely why I find the season of Lent so startling. When I enter a Catholic sanctuary to pray or attend Sunday liturgy, I instinctively place my fingers into the tiny water bowl only to find it empty. Dry. During this forty-day liturgical season, the baptismal fount at the front of the church no longer hums with the trickle of clear, blessed water. It, too, is empty.

This is how we prepare for the annual remembrance of Christ’s suffering passion: we experience a little bit of life without the water that we take for granted most of the time. That way, come Easter Sunday when the baptismal founts are flowing and my finger tips are wet with Holy Water once again, I rejoice in the resurrection and the Water of Life with new gratitude.

When was the last time you were thirsty?

* * * *

Jessica Coblentz is currently pursuing a Master of Theological Studies degree at Harvard Divinity School. Her interests include Catholic theology, religious and cultural identity, and ritual studies. Follow her writing on the Web at www.jessicacoblentz.com.

The God Who Drank

Katherine's post is part of our Lenten Water Project. Throughout this Lenten season our writers will be focusing on the subject of water and what that means to them. Please donate to our well-building efforts, and if you have something YOU would like to say about water, let us know and we'll post it here!

I sat on the bouncing bus, feeling so woozy that my brain seemed to be several feet above me and so nauseated that my stomach seemed to be…well…everywhere. 12,000 feet up on a winding Andean road, I sat grasping the little white altitude sickness pill in my trembling hand, wishing desperately that I could take it.

But I couldn’t, because I had no water.

On this long, rural road, there were few places to purchase water. Where it was available, stacked crowdedly in tiny, gated tiendas beside the road, or draped over the shoulders of traveling salesmen yelling “agua, agua!” it was impossible to know if it had been drawn from local faucets, containing parasites and bacteria that my unaccustomed gringa stomach could not tolerate.

Unlike the 1 in 8 people on the planet that drink dirty, unsafe water every day, me having nothing to drink was entirely my fault. I was thirsty, achy, trembling, dehydrated and sick because I had been stupid to take safe, accessible water for granted, to assume it would be available somewhere along the road, instead of buying it in a grocery store or larger tienda, where the water for sale is purified.

In the end, my stupidity cost me nothing other than an uncomfortable ride back to the capital city. I could chose, young and healthy that I was, to avoid drinking unsafe water. I did not have to choose between a certain death of thirst that day or a probable threat of death due to waterborne disease the day after, which of course is not a choice at all. But millions of people are forced to make this non-choice of a choice every day.

No one should ever be forced to drink water that kills. We serve the God of who offers us living water, who cried wearily for a drink as he fought for his last breaths. How then, can we let others go thirsty?

* * * *

Katherine Pater is a recovering Irish dance instructor from Wisconsin. She is currently a first-year Master of Divinity Student at Harvard Divinity School who is pursuing ordination in the PC(USA) denomination.

Brit Hume - To Mock or Not to Mock?

Hi. I'm Brit Hume, and I would like to talk to you about Jesus...

In the continuing tradition of my writing articles long after events have come to pass, I wanted to take a moment to talk about something that happened earlier last month...

Late last year the United States was wrapped in a blanket of fear. All across the country people huddled together for safety, urgently trying to comfort one another in the wake of a horrifying string of news stories that shocked the nation...

What were we shocked by? Was it the suicide bombings that killed several CIA officers in Afghanistan? Was it the almost-bombing of an Detroit-bound flight by a new breed of anti-American terrorist? Was it the possible shake-up of Late Night television?

No, it was far, far worse: Tiger Woods’ honor as a husband was called into question. :: shudder::

Hearing the distraught pleas of the masses, the ever-vigilant twenty-four-hour news media swooped in to comfort a forlorn America desperate for some kind of explanation.

Naturally, Brit Hume - a former ABC anchor turned Fox News pundit - had his own explanation (and recommendation) for the American people and Tiger Woods:

“Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person I think is a very open question, and it's a tragic situation for him. I think he's lost his family, it's not clear to me if he'll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal -- the extent to which he can recover -- seems to me to depend on his faith. He's said to be a Buddhist; I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many people were a bit miffed by Hume’s words. The Daily Show in particular got a good two days of material out of Hume’s words (<---Warning: link includes Basic Cable bleeped language).

In light of this, I’m going to do something weird. I’m going to ask you, our reader(s), a question: are the Daily Show and other media outlets right to mock Brit Hume for his remarks?

Before people clamor to answer, let’s break down (and admittedly oversimplify) the arguments by pretending to be a hard-liner on either side:

Viewpoint One: Brit Hume’s remarks were presumptuous and irresponsible and he should be mocked accordingly.

Why: For starters, to assert one religion as superior to another is just asking for trouble. Many doubt that Brit Hume has a particularly nuanced understanding Buddhism, and empirical evidence suggests that Hume is not a personal friend of the legendary golfer, and thus has almost no understanding of Tiger’s personal faith. It is condescending enough to make claims about another religion without backing it up, but it’s downright presumptuous - if not irresponsible - to make assumptions about another individual’s personal faith without even discussing it with him or her.

Furthermore, Brit Hume is a pundit on one of the most-watched networks in the country. Again, his words were bad enough in isolation, but to say what he said on national television is downright irresponsible. The reason the Founding Fathers gave us the First Amendment was to prohibit a powerful entity like the government from coercing people to follow a specific faith, and that is exactly what Brit Hume was doing.

No, Hume is not the American Government, but with great power comes great responsibility (and that’s a Biblical reference!). Besides, if Fox News is supposed to be “Fair and Balanced” - or offer unbiased reports - then Hume’s proselytizing makes for bad journalism, period.

And now Viewpoint Two: Brit Hume’s remarks were justifiable and mocking them is to mock religious freedom in the United States.

Why: Brit Hume is an American citizen. As such, he is entitled to his First Amendment rights - namely, the right to freely exercise his religion. It is true that the First Amendment does prohibit Congress from mandating a state religion, but Hume is neither a member of congress nor is he attempting to pass legislation. Hume is a journalist and thus entitled to say whatever he wants as long it isn’t slander or libel. His words were neither. Instead, his comments were a vocalized expression of a sentiment expressed by almost anyone who follows a particular faith tradition: that is, anyone who follows a specific faith is usually - by definition - silently making a claim that their faith is in some way superior than other faiths. True, there is a pivotal difference between people who claim that a faith is best for themselves and those who believe that a faith best for all, but the law sees both as equally viable.

Furthermore, there are adherents of several faiths who see mission work - or straight-up proselytizing - as an instrumental part of their belief system. Are we to mock them for making use of one of our nation’s founding principles?

Does Hume’s status as a nationally-recognized journalist give his words more weight than the average American? Certainly. Does that mean he should take his power into account before speaking? Certainly. Does that mean that with status comes the loss of one’s Constitutional right to religious freedom? Certainly not.

So, faithful reader(s), how do you feel about it? Do you side with Viewpoint 1, Viewpoint 2, or do you find them both oversimplified? Does the recent Pat Robertson comment play a role this as well? What do you think?

The Presbyterian Coffee Project

I was a curious kid. I'd ask my parents all sorts of random questions that would float into my head: Why is the sky blue? How do birds fly? Who gets to make up words? Why does coffee smell good and taste bad? The answer my parents provided to that last question never satisfied me... "Well, I don't think it tastes bad honey." I promptly filed it away next to vanilla extract in my brain.

But like many college freshmen, I came to know and love coffee quite well. It was able to provide a few extra hours of "studying" and even if I only thought the taste was tolerable, it got the job done.

Fast forward to today (it's only like, five years), and I've become something of a coffee/tea junkie. I make it every morning, have it at work, and sometimes get carried away with how much I drink (this is known as "Jittery Josh"). I recently watched the documentary "Black Gold" which looks at the coffee industry, and specifically, how little coffee farmers are being paid for their commodity.

Enter the Presbyterian Coffee Project, which works with Equal Exchange to provide an easy, convenient way to get fair trade coffee into churches. Purchasing fairly traded coffee supports farmers all over the globe by allowing them to sell coffee beans at a fair price, giving them the ability to pay their workers fair wages and grow the local infrastructure. Rather than relying on charity and foreign aide, these communities are able to create a robust, sustainable economy. Learn more about fair trade practices here.

The Church is Alive. I'm encouraged by how in touch the PC(USA) seems to be with many of the larger social issues in the world today. The Presbyterian Coffee Project. Who'd have thought? I encourage everyone to make the effort to purchase fair trade coffee (and tea, sugar, chocolate, and nuts) at home and in their Church. It's not too expensive, and you'll know you're supporting a sustainable environment in a place that needs it most.




PS: Vanilla extract is not good by itself.

[Update] There has been some discussion concerning fair-trade coffee through the Presbyterian Coffee Project and through Starbucks.Starbucks has been selling fair-trade coffee products for a few years, and are to be commended for it. Equal Exchange offers great prices through the Presbyterian Coffee Project: Less than six bucks/bag when purchased in a case of six!

a bigger God than we can imagine

"College is a time when many young adults begin to think bigger about who God is and who the people of God are."

Cynthia Rigby spoke these words to 860 College students gathered for the Montreat College Conference. She shared stories of her college experience, where she struggled with many notions of God she had known growing up and assumed as absolute truth. Can't we all relate to struggling with scripture and understandings of God? These moments can be frightening, as they can shake the very fiber of our being as who we know God to be.

Cynthia spoke of Kierkegaard's book "Fear and Trembling," based on the scripture passage that says "work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13)." This is a reminder that there are no guarantees apart from the relationship we have with God. This is where our struggles with God reside, in a relationship that is based on who we know God to be.

Cynthia spoke of two ways of looking at our relationship with God. The first is the one she struggled with once coming to college, a transactional "checklist" model. In this model, every moment of our faith journey is spent trying to appease God and others, as if you are paying money and receiving blessings in response. The other model is submission to what God is doing in the world. This model does not reduce God to a transaction where we keep track of the "good" things we do for God and for others. This model is a recognition of God's sovereignty and LOVE for God's people. This LOVE is what we base our relationship with God in and understand God to work through. This LOVE is represented in the life and work of Jesus Christ.

When we look to interpret what God is doing in the world, we often turn to scripture. We must remember that the essence of scripture is the person of Jesus Christ. God's loving relationship with us is our assurance of faith. We need to remember that we don't have God figured out. God is greater than we can conceive God to be. God is greater than words in the Bible. God is a loving relationship that is understood to us through Christ reflected in scripture.

Some people tend to forget that they actually do NOT have God figured out. They do NOT have a direct line to God.

I speak of a particular person who shall remain nameless (to avoid giving him more recognition - he's mentioned halfway through this clip).

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This person spoke horrific words about the recent tragedy in Haiti. He spoke from a position that expressed he knew God's motives, motives that were in violation of God's loving relationship with us. Perhaps he should examine what it means to work out his salvation with fear and trembling? Perhaps he should realize that God is MUCH bigger than who he sees God to be.

I'm grateful to see some wonderful responses to his comments:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/the_devil_writes_pat_robertson.html?ft=1&f=103943429/r:t

http://donmilleris.com/2010/01/13/1513/

As Donald Miller implies, we should have sympathy and reach out in love even to people with such comments. This is not a chance to attack his position, but rather, a chance to make a more truthful position LOUDER.

Let us continue our prayers and support for the tragedy in Haiti. God's love extends especially to the poor and downtrodden. Let us continue to ask and wonder why this happens, yet never forget that God pulls us into relationship and calls us to reflect this love from our very being.

Haiti Response

In response to the catastrophic earthquake that devastated Haiti and especially Haiti’s densely populated capital Port-au-Prince yesterday, we wanted to make a special post to remind everyone that The Church is ALIVE in humanitarian aid in many different forms.

You can donate money on the Presbyterian Disaster Relief website here.

If you are not able to give a monetary donation, or in addition to monetary assistance, Haiti is in great need of all of our prayers and I know the Church is Alive and capable of keeping Haiti in our constant thoughts and prayers. There is no shortage of news sites that can keep you up-to-date on Haiti’s situation. The Lede Blog on NYT.com is being continuously updated and includes several additional sites where you can obtain information.

L'Union Fait La Force!

Merry Christmas/A Conspiracy...

The members of the Church is ALIVE team are taking a little time off to celebrate with our families for the holidays...

BUT, we wanted to leave you with a little video about a really cool project called "The Advent Conspiracy." It's about making gift-giving a little less about "buying" and a little more about "giving." They also have a goal of providing clean water to those without, and that's always a good thing.

But that description doesn't really do the clips justice. Watch the original 2008 video below, and then watch the 2009 follow-up video below THAT and find out how you can help.

Christmas is about giving, after all:

And this year's version:

Merry Christmas all!

I'm Really Very Fond...

Here’s part of a poem from Alice Walker, which, if nothing else, should be a good reminder about the dangers of dating, or, more precisely, breaking up with, poets.

I'm Really Very Fond

I'm really very fond of you,
he said.

I don't like fond.
It sounds like something
you would tell a dog.
Give me love
or nothing.

Throw your fond in a pond,
I said...
I love that line, “Throw your fond in a pond!” Now that’s poetry!

“Tolerant” is a word like “fond”. They’re lukewarm words, and anyone who’s read Revelations 3 knows that things didn’t turn out so well for the lukewarm church in Laodicea.

“Tolerant” is one of those words that make gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of the church a little squirmy. We say that we’re looking for acceptance not tolerance. Tolerance makes us feel as if we were some rash on the ecclesial body which the church is pondering whether to treat or simply endure. But lately I’ve been reconsidering …

To me, the newest generation of church leadership – those born after 1980, say – have redeemed the word “tolerant.” It’s a generation that’s comfortable with difference – that grew up with diversity, not as an ideal, but as a way of life. It’s a generation that has by dint of circumstance, come to understand the world as a complex place, and where disagreement doesn’t equal separation.

Several recent studies, for instance, show that even among Christians who identify as evangelical, there has been a significant shift toward greater support among those under 30 for marriage equality and for expansion of employment nondiscrimination and hate crimes protections to cover sexual orientation and gender identity. I think what’s going on here is more about a change of values than a change of beliefs. It’s not so much that beliefs about “homosexuality” have changed for these younger evangelicals, as it is that they value a healthy respect for difference. What’s more, they are more interested in the kind of advocacy that can unite people –tackling the environmental crisis, facing racism, ending poverty; in a certain sense, the next generation of Evangelical Christians is less interested in ideological positions, and more interested in practical transformation.

I could live with that kind of tolerance. I can imagine a healthy church that isn’t susceptible to constant fracture along ideological fault lines. I can imagine a church that gives fair consideration to all who are called to serve as officers regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, and still allows for the full range of ideological perspectives. I can imagine a church that has moved on from the debate about the place of glbt persons in its life and ministry – a debate that keeps our attention focused inward; I can imagine a church where people who hold vastly divergent theological views come together to get stuff done; I can imagine a church that can not only come together to talk deeply and wisely about racism, poverty and the environment, but that can also head out the door and make a constructive difference.

In our red-state/blue-state nation where it’s nearly impossible for a member of one party to cross-over and vote with the other party, and legislation with bi-partisan sponsorship is almost unheard of, maybe the example of a thriving, vital, creative, engaged Church made up of members from disparate, even opposing theological points of view could point the way to a new way of confronting big and serious issues that affect all of us.

“Forbearance” might be the dressed up theological word for tolerance. Even so, right now, I’m rather fond of “tolerance”.

* * * *

Lisa Larges is the coordinator for That All May Freely Serve, a grassroots organization advocating on behalf of all who are disenfranchised in the Presbyterian Church, especially lgbt members. She's a 1989 grad of San Francisco Theological Seminary, a member of Noe Valley Ministry, a Presbyterian More Light Congregation in San Francisco, and likes cheese!