This Day in History

70 years ago today, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

50 years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.

Each day, we get to choose which values we will live out:
Violence - or nonviolence?
Destruction - or democracy?
Death - or life?

My friends, let us choose life. In all its complicated, messy, painful glory. In all its beautiful, transcendent, infuriating mystery.

Choose life, not just for yourself or for some, but life abundant and eternal, with liberty and justice for all, with compassion and hope for all, with beauty and wholeness and joy for each person, each nation, each ecosystem of this amazing universe that God created.

I believe that is how we draw close to God, by drawing closer to each other, by seeing God's divine image in each face, by recognizing each person as our sister, our brother. By listening to the cries of those who suffer and taking action for love and justice and healing.

Choose life. It isn't always easy, but it's the best way forward.

New job

Last month, I started a new job. For those of you playing along at home, that's 3 places of employment, which is my new excuse for not blogging (or doing much non-work-related writing) over the past few weeks. In addition to serving as Associate Pastor at Highlands UMC (the position that ends next week), and Communications Manager for Family Voices Colorado, I am now the Field Coordinator for Imagine No Malaria in the Rocky Mountain Conference of The United Methodist Church.

I'm excited to be part of Imagine No Malaria's extraordinary and historic work to end preventable deaths and suffering from malaria in Africa, where  a child dies from malaria every 60 seconds. That's far too many children who don't live to see adulthood, but the death rate is already half what it was just a few years ago.

The United Methodist Church is partnering with the UN Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in developing a comprehensive approach that includes the insecticide-treated bed nets that made Nothing But Nets such a successful campaign, and adds other prevention measures (draining standing water where the mosquitoes that spread malaria breed), plus treatment by stocking hospitals and clinics with rapid diagnostic kits and effective medications, education on how to use bed nets and the importance of seeking treatment quickly through trained community health workers, communication by radio and cell phone to raise public awareness, and advocacy for continued global health funding to fight these diseases of poverty.

As a denomination, we are working to raise $75 million by 2015. The Rocky Mountain Conference share of that is $1.2 million, which seems like a lot until you learn that it works out to just $20 for every member of every United Methodist Church in our region (Colorado, Utah, most of Wyoming). I am confident that we can achieve this goal, and it is my hope that we will surpass it with the enthusiasm of a people who believe that Jesus came so that all people might have abundant life in God's name (John 10:10).

If you're interested in learning more about this ministry of healing and saving lives, you can follow the campaign in Rocky Mountain at our blog, like the RMC Facebook page, or contact me at kerry [at] rmcumc [dot] com.

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Kyrie eleison: on the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting

My heart breaks for the children, families, and community of Newtown, Connecticut today. Although I do not believe God causes or intends violence in the world, the phrase "Kyrie eleison," ancient Greek for "Lord, have mercy," keeps running through my mind. In a more extended form, this is my prayer:

Mothering God, bring comfort to those who mourn. God of justice and mercy, teach us what changes we can make in our society to prevent such tragedies, and give us the courage to persevere in the face of opposition. Holy One, remind us once more that we are all your children, all sisters and brothers in one human family, all inextricably woven together in the fabric of creation, and transform us by that knowledge to regard one another with love. In the name of Jesus, who was called the Prince of Peace, I pray. Amen.

A quick Google search for "school shooting" yields 163,000,000 results. After the Wikipedia entry for the category, the names of places display like a devastating roll call: Amish school shooting. Rio de Janeiro. Emsdetten. Kauhajoki. Rocori. Maryland. Ohio. Although it has yet to reach the top 10 results, today's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, leaving 18 children (kindergarteners) and 10 adults dead, is sure to show up soon. A friend posted on Twitter that there have been 31 school shootings since Columbine - and that doesn't include movie theaters, Sikh temples, camps, malls, and other places that should be safe.

I have opinions about what we as a society should do at the policy level, to make mental health services more available and guns, especially automatic or semi-automatic weapons, less so. And I have theological beliefs about what God desires for humankind (abundant life, justice, love, wholeness). And I am so grateful for my friends and colleagues who are making eloquent arguments that unite those two arenas in urgent calls to action - because I do not believe that prayer, by itself, is sufficient response. I believe God calls us to put prayer into action, to help bring about the kin'dom of heaven on earth.

But right now, I have a sermon to finish writing, about light in the darkness, about longing for something brighter and muddling through, about choosing joy in the midst of struggle. And so I pray that if, today, you need to turn off the news to be kind to yourself, to show love for your family, to cultivate peace in your own heart, that you will do that. And I pray that we will engage in conversation, as friends and family, as communities, as a nation and as a global society, about how to care for those with mental illness, how to stay connected to people who are troubled so they do not reach the extremes of despair and isolation, how to protect children and other vulnerable people, how to prevent violence and offer healing to those who carry the scars of violence in body, mind, or spirit, and how together we can move toward a vision of a world of justice, peace, compassion, and joy.

Spirit Day: Compassion and Courage

As one who seeks to follow Jesus, I believe that "Love your neighbor as yourself" means showing respect, kindness, and compassion to all people. At the same time, I remember being 11 or 12 and caught up in a playground culture of figuring out where I was in the social pecking order. I know there were times I was unkind to others in an effort to seem "cool," and I deeply regret those actions.

I pray that people of all ages will reflect today on what it means to show strength through kindness and understanding, especially towards those who are or seem different from what society says is valuable. Speaking out on behalf of those who are being bullied, teased, attacked, or marginalized takes courage, but you will never regret acting with integrity.

Prayer for General Conference

So much for weekly blogging... I will post life/work/ministry updates sometime in the coming weeks, but for now I just wanted to share a prayer I am working on music for, as delegates from around the world meet in Tampa, Florida, to decide matters of great importance regarding the structure, policies, practices, and official teachings of The United Methodist Church. Others are doing excellent work reporting and reflecting on the specifics of those decisions; I am following along as time allows, and holding all involved in prayer.

Prayer for #GC2012

May our conversations be holy
May every vote be bathed in prayer
May we listen well to those who are on the margins
May we always speak with care

May we hear the voices of all God's children
May we always offer grace
May we see the image of Christ in one another
When we stand face to face

May the Holy Spirit lead us forward
through this valley of tears
May God's will be done on earth as in heaven
until we find healing and peace.

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

A week after the initial reaction to the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden, I am still pondering the different views and responses reported in the media.

I was troubled to hear of Americans celebrating publicly, as it called to mind how extremists in other countries publicly celebrated attacks on our country and our people. The death of another human being, no matter how evil the acts that human perpetrated in life, is not cause for celebration when we remember that all people are created in the image and likeness of God.  No question, the life that bin Laden lived in no way reflects my understanding of how God calls us to live, and the image of God in bin Laden was greatly distorted, like a mirror that has warped and grown filthy with neglect, so that the image it reflects bears little resemblance to the original. But still. Jesus taught his followers to love their (our) enemies, and I have a hard time believing that he meant we should kill them.

Yes, I understand the political perspective of reducing violence by eliminating a significant source of messages of hate and a coordinator of terrorist activities.  But I don't feel significantly safer than I did two weeks ago.  Maybe I am blessed to live in ignorance or denial of the threat I was under that has now been "neutralized." But I keep coming back to how war and the language of war seek to dehumanize the enemy, and end by dehumanizing all of us.  Words like "eliminate" and "neutralize," words like "operation" and "target" all serve to distance us from the fact that the U.S. kills people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong.

In all of the political rhetoric, I have been particularly intrigued by the use of the word "justice." President Obama announced that "Justice has been done," and many others have picked up on this theme. But my question is this: What do you mean by justice? 

If justice is retribution, vengeance, eye for an eye, then how does killing one person balance out the thousands who died on September 11, and the thousands more (military and civilians) who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?  People like to quote "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord," but the meaning of this in the Bible is that it is not up to us humans to take revenge; we are to leave that for God. (It is also worth asking whether this truly is the God in whom we believe, or whether the revelation of God in Jesus Christ leads Christians to a different understanding of who God is since this phrase was originally included in Deuteronomy some 2,500 - 3,000 years ago.)

And if justice is something other than retribution, something more like restoration, then how does taking one life make whole all those who have lost life or limb or a loved one?  This death does not erase any other, nor does it bring back life as it was before 9/11.  For any of us.

As someone who believes that God is both just and merciful, with an emphasis on wanting humans to love one another and care for creation, I do not believe that Osama bin Laden gets off scot-free for having lived a life of hatred and violence.  (My thoughts on the afterlife are a whole different post, but I'm not talking an eternity of torture in a lake of fire here, either.)  But I also feel that my faith perspective would make it extremely difficult for me to be in a position where I had to decide to end someone's life, not out of my own immediate drive for self-defense, but in a calculated, premeditated way.  If God is just, we ought to tremble for all the violence the U.S. government and military has inflicted on others on our behalf, and for the systemic/structural violence our society perpetuates on the poor, on undocumented immigrants, on African Americans and Native Americans and Muslims and LGBT people.

What is justice?  Can it coexist with violence?  Does a Christian definition of justice require something more than our American political perspective?

May God have mercy on us all.

My remarks from today's Faith Leader Conversation in support of the Colorado Civil Union Act

I am here today to speak in favor of Senate Bill 172 as a Christian and a United Methodist minister; as a pastor, friend, and straight ally of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people; and as a newlywed. 

As a Christian, I am committed to the God revealed through Jesus, who taught his followers that the essential way to love God is to love your neighbor as yourself, to speak up and take action for the needs of those on the margins, and to include all people in the circle of care and justice.  I am part of a long tradition that sees the religious life as inextricably connected with the ordering of society in ways that honor human dignity, a tradition that claims “There is no holiness but social holiness,” and that sees the incarnate God in all people but especially in those whom society has rejected, cast out, or marginalized.

My tradition, the United Methodist Church, like many other Christian denominations, is currently divided regarding recognition of same-sex relationships.  However, we are clear that all people are of sacred worth, and that the human and civil rights of all people should be protected as a matter of clear and simple justice.  The Colorado Civil Union Act would move our state toward greater justice by allowing people in committed, same-sex relationships to have many legal protections that are not currently available to them.  At the same time, this bill also protects religious leaders’ freedom of religious expression by not requiring them to perform ceremonies that go against their beliefs or the requirements of their religious bodies.

I became an ally of LGBT rights because of my faith.  The teachings of Jesus, the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, and what we know about human sexuality from psychology and biology, all lead me to believe that God loves all people equally as children of God, that it is not a sin to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, and that same-sex relationships hold the same potential and challenges as heterosexual relationships: they are equally capable of being the solid foundation for a family with or without children, equally responsible for assuring mutual care and support, and should therefore be equally of interest to the state in honoring stability, mutual commitment, and responsibility. 

In my pastoral role, and among my friends, I have seen many examples firsthand of the beauty, joy, and love found within committed same-sex relationships and families headed by same-sex couples; and I have also heard the stories of pain and tears, from families who have faced not only social isolation but also legal barriers to living out their commitments in hospitals, in adoption courts, and after a loved one’s death.  The Colorado legislature has the opportunity now to reduce some of those barriers, to end discrimination and injustice and the pain that they cause, by providing legal protections to more committed couples.

The people of Colorado have decided that marriage is reserved for relationships consisting of one man and one woman, and I know that religious or spiritual beliefs were the basis for many people’s support of that decision.  While I personally disagree with this stance, it is important to note that Senate Bill 172 has absolutely no impact on this established definition of marriage. Instead, it acknowledges that the state already recognizes some committed relationships for its own, secular purposes; and it extends that recognition and certain important legal protections to all people, instead of excluding some couples and families because of the gender of those involved. All people deserve equal protection under the law, and Civil Unions are the best option available in Colorado for protecting the rights of people whose relationships do not fit the state’s definition of marriage, but who are doing the important work of building strong families and contributing to their community.

Finally, on a personal note, I want to share that in October, I had the joy of committing my life to a wonderful and loving partner, a man with whom it is my privilege to walk through life, to build a home and family together.  Although this bill is not about marriage per se, this recent personal experience of finding the person who loves me and whom I love, and wanting to stand up in public to commit my life to him, makes it clearer to me than ever why this issue is so important. 

Committed relationships have always been part of human experience, but societies in different times and places have identified some of those relationships as more worthy of recognition than others.  As we have learned more about the diversity of human experience and expression, what remains constant is the importance of loving, committed relationships in the formation of families and communities.  For those of us who believe that God is love, and that God calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves, providing legal protections to all committed couples, whether gay or straight, is an important way of continuing to move forward in honoring the humanity and dignity of all people both as citizens and as children of God.