Remembering

Halifax veteran

We decided to start and end bible study early yesterday to allow participants to attend the Remembrance Day service at the cenotaph in downtown Bowmanville. It was a beautiful morning, uncharacteristic for November, and there was a big crowd. The legion chaplain read verses of scripture and prayed, while the chairperson of the local ministerial represented us. It's interesting that this is one of the few public occasions when religion and specifically the Christian religion is included. There seems to be a sense of the deep solemnity of the occasion which transcends concerns about correctness, political or otherwise.

The crowds at Remembrance Day services are on the rise, even as the veterans of the First World War for which this occasion was instituted disappear. In Britain the service at Westminster Abbey included not a single WW1 veteran for the first time. During the last year the few remaining vets went to their reward. Of course both Britain and Canada have soldiers who are at war, today, and are dying in Afghanistan. More than thirty Canadians have died since Remembrance Day last year, a grim reminder that this is not just a historical event but a present reality.

Did you do anything to mark Remembrance Day? Should we continue this commemoration now that the veterans of the War to End All Wars are gone?

Our Call of Duty

The faithful were lined up at midnight two night's ago to be among the first to purchase and play the latest version of the video game, Call of Duty. To term it a game is probably an insult to its creators and wouldn't help those whose experience is from a past where the graphics in games was rather crude and not very interactive. The current games are really an invitation into a virtual reality with stunningly real visual images and a host of options for the players.

Many gamers didn't bother to line up because they pre-ordered the game. In fact nearly two million fans pre-ordered, which to me is mind-boggling. As the photo and name suggests, Call of Duty is a war game -- a blood-soaked, violent, gore fest. A Toronto Star article dared to ask about the impact of these games:

To retailers suffering through the recession, it's an early Christmas gift, a product that may get consumers in North America and Europe to open their wallets.

To detractors, it represents everything that is wrong with the billion-dollar video gaming industry: blood-soaked images of warfare that they say pose a risk to the mental health of children and even some adults who may not be able to tear themselves away.

The release comes at an awkward time, just days after 13 people were killed and 29 wounded in a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. An army psychiatrist is suspected as the gunman.

There are churches which have games nights where some of these violent and often misogynist games are played to attract young people. So much for "blessed are the peacemakers."

What is our "call of duty?" Should churches speak out against these games? Just mind our own business? Do you wonder whether they do incite people to violence? Do we understand this Rembrance Day that war is real and people die?

Test the Clergy

I have mentioned the variety of emails I receive, everything from the mundane to the deeply meaningful. Some are quirky and others are intriguing.

Today I got one from the CBC program, Test the Nation. If you have seen the program you know that it is a entertaining IQ test presented to on-air teams. Of course those of us watching at home get to answer the questions as well. The teams this time will include Politicians, Twins, Atheists, Believers, Contact Sports Athletes, and Nerds. The believers in this instance will be clergy, and we would be expected to wear our "professional attire." I would love to know what they assume the clergy "uniform" would be: a clerical collar, or gown? If you watch some of the pastors on TV you might assume that we wear expensive white suits, or Hawaian shirts.

Are we allowed to cross areas of expertise? Many United Church ministers have been politicians. Surely some of us have a twin. And there are definitely a fair number of nerds.

Is it befitting the dignity of clergy to participate in a program such as this? Sounds like fun to me. It would be worth it just to meet Wendy Mesley.

Wall That Divide are Broken Down

Today there will be celebrations of the historic events which led to the demolition of the Berlin Wall twenty years ago. The wall was erected over a period of time, beginning in the early 1960's. It not only divided a city it separated families and helped to maintain one of the most oppressive communist states -- East Germany. The dreaded Stasi secret police watched the movement of citizens and children were encouraged to inform on parents.

As East German officials were encouraging the celebration of forty years as a state in the late 1980's, the Protestant church was instrumental in another form of demonstration. Crowds of people, the majority of whom were young, took to the streets chanting "Freedom, freedom." There were many brave church leaders who supported these protests and clergy preached sermons calling for change while Stasi officers sat in their congregations. The wall would not have come down without this groundswell of resistance which managed to remain peaceful.

It seems to be very popular these days to portray Christian churches as dark allies of the status quo but there are many examples of courageous choices for justice and true gospel living. Do you know the truly United Church hymn by Walter Farquharson and Ron Klusmeier called Walls that Divide?

Though ancient walls may still stand proud

and racial strife be fact

though boundaries may be lines of hate

proclaim God's saving act!

Wall that divide are broken down

Christ is our unity!

Chains that enslave are thrown aside

Christ is our liberty!

Thank God for Healthcare

In the early 1960's a former Baptist minister turned social activist, and eventually premier of Saskatchewan introduced a universal healthcare program to his province. We now give Tommy Douglas the distinction of a visionary, but it was a hard-fought battle to bring the program to fruition. Those opposed used scare tactics and misinformation to dissuade the public. Physicians were against it because of their fears of loss of income. Douglas was a visionary who was motivated by his gospel convictions about care for the poor.

Nearly fifty years later the United States has voted for a government healthcare program by a narrow margin. As you will know, this has been a "tough go" for President Obama and his Democratic government. He has been accused of being both a fascist and a communist -- no small feat! The fearmongering would be laughable if it hadn't been so hateful and destructive. Many people who were strongly opposed admitted that they really didn't understand thier own health coverage, and forty six million Americans had no health insurance. Members of his own party broke ranks and expressed their opposition. For all this, the bill has passed, albeit with concessions.

I should mention that while some conservative Christian groups have opposed the Obama plan because of their fears about support for abortion, many denominations and organizations have been strong advocates.

As a minister I am constantly aware of the strengths and weaknesses of our system as I offer pastoral support to our folk. I remain convinced that while it is flawed it beats the alternative. Thank God the United States is stepping in the right direction.

What are your thoughts about our system? Do you figure this will work in the States?

Pandemonium

When Jesus visited a place called Caesarea Philippi with his disciples they ended up in an intense conversation about his identity: "who do you say I am?" Jesus wanted to know. The gospels don't tell us that this was a beautiful, mountainous area or that they may have stopped for water at a shrine to another god, the god Pan. While Pan is often portrayed as rather sweet and faun-like, in mythology he was powerful and scary. His traditional image with horns and a tail and cloven hooves was taken over by the church in medieval times as the representation of Satan.

Pan was the god of ominous sounds of the night in wild and mountainous areas. So we have the word "panic" in our English vocabulary to describe the emotional and physiological response to groundless fears. And there are other words such as pandemonium, loud and disorienting sounds and activity. How about pandemic?

As we travel further into the 'flu season we are constantly being made aware of sensible precautions to ensure our health, including vaccinations, and mundane practices such as washing hands repeatedly. There is no doubt that this is a pandemic. At the same time we are nudged toward panic by unrelenting news coverage and appeals to our deepest fears and anxieties. Not surprisingly we are now into the "blame game," pointing fingers at governments slow to respond and queue jumpers who are too quick in getting their shots.

"Cause for pause" that Jesus, who so often encouraged people to live beyond fear, may have asked his followers to figure out who he was at a spot dedicated to the god of panic. I won't lie; I do think about the wellbeing of my adult children, especially my higher risk daughters, and the implications of a full-out pandemic. At the same time I don't want to be an idolater, worshipping a false god of fear.

How are you doing as you move through all this? Do you feel more or less secure than a week ago when I raised this subject? Does prayer help to fend off the god of panic?

Many Heavens, One Earth

This week a couple of the royals have been touring Canada and today will be opening the Royal -- Winter Fair that is -- in that hub of agriculture, downtown Toronto. Don't get me wrong, I think the Royal is wonderful.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch -- Windsor Castle -- Prince Philip was hosting a significant conference of religious leaders who are concerned about the fate of the planet. Representatives from nine religions gathered in anticipation of December's U.N. conference on Climate Change. This event called Many Heavens, One Earth is part of a larger initiative, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, which encourages followers of various faiths to "live with respect in Creation" to use a phrase from our United Church statement of faith.

The General Secretary of the United Nations was one of the speakers and he noted that the religions of the world can have a huge role in educating their constituents about practical care for their planet home.

It's encouraging to hear that religious leaders, with all their differences, can come together for the common purpose in caring for creation. We may disagree on heaven, but we share this earth.