Cowboys, TV, Catholics and old friends.

That's what I've been up to this month. Two weeks ago I attended my first-ever rodeo, at the National Western Stock Show (this year is the 100th anniversary, so it seemed about time I checked it out). I have to say, political correctness aside, it was cool. Sure, I cringed a bit at the overzealous patriotism and machismo built into the show, and I'm sure it's just as well I don't know more about how some of the animals are treated, but there's something to be said for people whose livelihoods are as closely connected with the land and God's creatures as the ranchers and cowboys and others who come to the stock show as part of their professional lives. Plus those cowboys are cute. Anyway, we had a good time.

Apparently I'm the only one, but I actually liked NBC's new show, Book of Daniel, which was just cancelled this week. No, the spirituality was not particularly deep, and yes, the drama was contrived around "culture war" issues (read Slate's take on it here), but I found it enjoyable, a pleasantly ironic alternative to the WB's 7th Heaven, also about the family of a clergyman - but unbearably saccharine and irritatingly earnest. Yes, Book of Daniel was probably trying too hard to be "edgy," and would have done better to ease up on the "issue"-based problems a little, but what the author of the Slate article seems not to realize is that evangelicals are not the only Christians out there, and some of us do enjoy watching other Christians on TV - ones who have problems and flaws, whose families are far from perfect, who struggle with loss and anger and sticky ethical situations. Sure, I have mixed feelings about the "buddy Jesus" portrayal, but it hey, at least it was entertaining.

In other news, I spent the past three days in DC at a training for faith-based volunteer program staff. Very helpful, and great to make some connections with people trying to do the same kind of thing I'm working on. What I didn't realize going in, though, was that since it was sponsored by the Catholic Network of Volunteer Service (an umbrella association for a couple hundred Christian volunteer programs), I was the token Protestant in the room. Not that it mattered, really; we were all interested in helping people connect faith with service, social justice, simple living, and community. The main difference was that most of the others had a religious community prepared to put up a substantial portion of the costs, and I'm responsible for making sure we fundraise not only the money for the program, but enough for my salary as well. Ah well. I haven't been around so many nuns since I was in Venezuela, and I forgot how much I like them. :)

While I was in DC, I also got to catch up with two friends I haven't seen in years - a college roommate, and a friend from high school music and drama club circles. It was really great. Unfortunately, my travel schedule didn't allow time to see others in the area (sorry, Heather & Amy!), so I'll have to work harder at persuading them to come visit me here in Colorado!

Cyberchurch

I found this article on "Linking to Cyberchurch" at RelevantMagazine.com, and thought it made some interesting observations:

• Cyberchurch is People, not Institutions.
• Cyberchurch is not a Department Store for Consumers.
• Cyberchurch is neither democratic nor non-hierarchical.
• Cyberchurch does not replace the physical and it does a poor job reproducing it.

The article raises some questions for me too, though:

What about online communication/community can be described as "church" (as opposed to, say, "religious writing" or a "faith-based network")? Is church defined by the act of worship, by common values or beliefs, by a commitment to service in Christ's name, something broader? or something narrower?

What can "cyberchurch" add or contribute to the tangible manifestation of the Church in the world? (For me the latter includes both the face-to-face interactions with people and particular physical/geographic space dedicated to the sacred.) Is it primarily a forum for discussion and sharing of resources, a way to communicate to members, a way to reach out to those who are not members? Or is there more?

Let me know what you think!