The Glory of God & Contemplative Prayer

The heavens are telling the glory of God;
   and the firmament^* proclaims his handiwork.
² Day to day pours forth speech,
   and night to night declares knowledge.
³ There is no speech, nor are there words;
   their voice is not heard;
⁴ yet their voice^* goes out through all the earth,
   and their words to the end of the world.  Psalm 19

I'm writing a sermon on prayer for this Sunday which invites us into openness and contemplation rather than just yakking at God, which is what we Protestants tend to lean toward.

We really don't trust our senses when it comes to prayer. It's unfortunate because we live in a country of extraordinary beauty and sensory delight. One of my most holy moments in recent memory was the cycle home from Bridge St.UC on Tuesday afternoon. While my early morning cycle was lovely and calm, in the afternoon the wind was stirring up the Bay of Quinte and the colourful leaves of Autumn rustled and roared. God was there in the stiff breeze in a way that lifted my spirit.

I saw the illustration above and the encouragement below on Twitter and it spoke to me.

“Fall is a feast for the physical senses, the perfect opportunity to step out of our thoughts and into the body, connecting with the world around us.” — Andy Puddicombe, co-founder of the meditation app Headspace.

Step outside on a fall day.
Notice the quality of the light.
Feel the air against your skin, cooler than it was just a few weeks ago.
Observe the sunlight filtering through the trees.
Notice the play of the shadows.
Listen to the sounds of rustling leaves.
Inhale the smell of an autumn day.

The rain today and tomorrow may bring down many leaves, but this is a great encouragement to contemplate and appreciated the glory of God.

A Song of Hope

                                                     The Calais Jungle

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

² We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
³ For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
⁴ How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

                             Psalm 137 King James Version

There is a makeshift refugee camp in France which has stubbornly defied closure, although the threat looms again this week. It's not as though The Jungle, as it's called, is a model place for asylum seekers. In fact this camp near Calais, which has shifted from location to location, has been described as a hellhole. Each time the camp is dismantled it reappears, filling up with those hoping to get to Britain by any means possible. The refugees jump onto moving transport trucks and attempt to sneak through the Chunnel. The current issue is unaccompanied minors living in the camp who have family members in Britain. Under international law they are entitled to be reunited with family, but Britain doesn't want a new wave of refugee claimants.

I contrast this with the United Refugee Family Sponsorship Group Belleville which met yesterday at Bridge St. Church. It was a warm and positive meeting with participants from three United Churches, the Muslim and Bahai communities, and a Roman Catholic parish.

We heard touching reports of trips to the Toronto and Ottawa airports to pick up family members of our first sponsored family, the Al Mansours. One grandmother and a sibling family of five are now in Canada. In both situations the Al Mansours were able to greet their loved ones at the airport and there was joy for everyone as they were reunited. One of the Al Mansour boys played O Canada and the Syrian national anthem on a portable keyboard as they made the drive to Ottawa. In Toronto the grandmother jumped out of her wheelchair when she saw her family.

Those describing the experiences were emotional in the telling, as were those of us listening. The Al Mansours and these relatives all spent extended periods of time in crowded refugee camps in Lebanon. Now they are settling in to fully equipped apartments in Belleville.

We recognize that we can't solve the problems of the Middle East and the rising tide of displaced people in the region. There are now 52 million refugees from 13 countries in that troubled part of the world, more than the population of Spain.

As people of faith, choosing a common cause of compassion and hospitality, we endeavour to make a difference in this moment and this place. We will do everything possible to let these human beings, loved by God, learn a new song of hope.

Comments?

Honouring Chanie Wenjack

Recently the exceptional Canadian writer Joseph Boyden released a book about a First Nations boy named Chanie “Charlie” Wenjack who was born the same year as me, 1954. But rather than living a full and meaningful life as I've been able to do as white, middle class male, Chanie died at the age of twelve as the result of hunger and exposure.  He ran away from his residential school, and perished as he attempted to return to his home. His death sparked national attention and the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools.

Along with this book there is a project connected to Chanie Wenjack initiated by Gord Downie, the leader singer of the Tragically Hip. Downie has terminal brain cancer, so his Secret Path collection of sung poems in particularly poignant. As Downie's memory fades, he is collaborating with the Wenjack family to uphold  the memory of a child wrested from his own culture by a system created by government and religious authorities. The concert which launched Secret Path this past Tuesday was moving, according to all reports. This from CBC News:

Pearl closed the concert with a traditional Anishinaabe healing song, sung without accompaniment. Her hand was held by Downie as she sang, her strong, clear voice softening with emotion at the fourth and final chorus. Charlie Wenjack's grave in Marten Falls First Nation at Ogoki Post in northwestern Ontario. She stepped back from the microphone, and then forward again. "My father died in 1987 without ever knowing why his son had to die," she said. "My mother still waits. To this day no one has told her why her son had to go." Wenjack's sobs filled the auditorium.

Both the federal government and various religious groups, including the United Church of Canada, have acknowledged what was cultural genocide, and the dark

truth that many of the children taken into the residential school system were not only abused, psychologically and physically, but died.  The estimates of those who died has been growing steadily since the Truth and Reconciliation commission has fulfilled its grim mandate across the country.

Gord Downie and Pearl Wenjack ( Chanie's sister)

While we don't always want to have our sins revealed, whether individually or corporately, we know that the notions of forgiveness and reconciliation are hollow unless we confess and repent. I hope that the efforts of both Gord Downie and Joseph Boyden will help us as we discover how this can happen. I encourage you to revisit the apologies made by the United Church and read more about our participation in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process.

When we hear of four children, with one only ten years old, taking their lives on a Northern Saskatchewan Reserve in recent days we realize the legacy of  despair is still painfully real.

Comments?

The Next Chapter

On Sunday morning I informed the Bridge St. congregation of my intention to retire as of June 30th, 2017. I began the conversation with our Personnel Team in June of this year, had further discussions, and chose to let the congregation know early so the sometimes ponderous search process could get underway. This is actually earlier than I had intended when accepting a call here, but It just seems right.

I had my first interview to become a candidate for ordained ministry when I was nineteen years old and I am grateful that the Rev. Dr. Stanley Osborne and the committee from Oshawa Presbytery took me seriously, and honoured my developing sense of God's call,  even though I was essentially a kid. Dr. Osborne was principal of the Ontario Ladies College at that time, and in a lovely coincidence our daughter Jocelyn was married in the chapel a year ago. She and Jeff chose the venue not knowing that I was interviewed there decades before.

The church no longer interviews possible candidates before they have begun post-secondary education, yet here I am 42 years later, having completed six years of university, including my Masters of Divinity, before embarking on what will be 37 consecutive years of pastoral ministry in six pastoral charges. Hmm...

As I spoke Sunday, Ruth, my partner in life and ministry, listened from the congregation. Remarkably, we began our relationship with we were nineteen-year-olds and were married at twenty-one. Not only has ministry been the trajectory of my entire adult life, she has been my loving, encouraging, wise and patient companion through all those years. We have lived in Newfoundland, Northern Ontario, Nova Scotia, as well as Southern Ontario, and Ruth has always been willing to pick up and go on to the next challenge. She is a remarkable person.

Ruth and our adult children Isaac, and Jocelyn, and Emily, have been wonderfully supportive in this decision. They have seen that while I love ministry in many respects, and consider serving these congregations in Christ's name an honour, the demands have taken a toll. I am physically healthy, yet emotionally and spiritually weary, so it is time.

I promised myself that after being absent far too often from family life when our children were young, I would make the right decisions about being present to grandchildren when the time came. Because Ruth and I are both Preacher's Kids we've had a lifetime of weekend commitments when others were enjoying something as simple as consecutive days off and three-day weekends supposedly mandated by law. Congregations really need to figure this out in the 21st century!

That said, I really appreciate the folk of the Bridge St. congregation and what I feel is our vital and meaningful Christian presence in this community. I commented to Ruth this morning that this is a congregation with a heart in the heart of the city, and our meal ministries and refugee sponsorships are amongst the highlights of my ministry.

What will I do next? Gulp...I'm not sure. I commented Sunday that this feels like jumping off a cliff, and I'm trusting that I'm wearing a wing suit to soar into new and creative opportunities. I want to reconnect with my contemplative self, expand my passion for the outdoors and creation, and rediscover the dormant aspects of my creative spirit. "Splat!" is not an option.  

Christ has been my companion through these years, and I'm confidant that this will not end.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

We have a massive bell tower at Bridge St Church, which soars over the downtown in Belleville. In that tower there is a hefty bell pull rope, although it is no longer used, as the bell is controlled electronically from the convenience of the narthex. It's better and worse to ring it from downstairs. We can't speed the ringing to a joyful cadence for a wedding, nor can we slow it down to a mournful toll for a funeral or a memorial service such as the one held here for those killed in an Orlando nightclub earlier this year.

In some of the cathedrals of Europe, and a handful of places in North America, bells are much more serious business. There are peals of bells, and trained ringers who play complicated changes which ring out over the cities where the churches are located. I've heard this, quite by happy coincidence while in Canterbury, Great Britain.

There has been a stir at another of the foremost cathedrals of Britain, York Minster, over the firing of 30 bell ringers from their team for reasons unknown. If you're like me, you're surprised that there might be that many ringers (are there more?!) and that this would become such an issue. How do you get fired as a bell ringer? Do you riff on Born to be Wild" when you should be playing medieval changes?  Apparently these volunteers ringers will be replaced with professionals, but not until the new year. This means that the fourth "heaviest" peal of bells in Britain will be silenced for Remembrance Day and Christmas/New Year's.



As odd as this controversy sounds, we know that there is a long and meaningful tradition of church bells serving as warning, celebration, invitation to worship within communities of all sizes. Bells are rung to mark the conclusion of conflict, to say farewell to a significant figure, to warn about climate change, and to mark the hours of the day. It's wonderful that places of worship have been the home to bells and it is curious and intriguing that the brouhaha at York Minster has become newsworthy.

Comments?

Above and Beyond Ugly

When I was in a community in the summer where I once served I had contact with two people I liked very much when I was their minister. One has remained a good friend for Ruth, and me, and I stayed in her home during the visit. I had lunch with the other, and it was good to renew acquaintances after many years. During those Sudbury years they were a married couple, at least to begin with, and our children were friends with their children. Then the marriage came apart, and the months and years following have not been kind. Even though the breakup occurred more than 15 years ago, there has never been resolution. The recent wedding of one of the children had its tensions, sad to say.

We so wish this wasn't the case, but as a minister I've experienced this all too often through the years. In most instances the hope is that the end of a relationship won't be contentious, for the sake of the children, but the wheels of civility come off along the way.

These situations came to mind when I saw the article in The Guardian entitled  Parenting after divorce: the art of not being ugly by Sasha Frere-Jones. This couple seems to have gone through a painful parting, yet they managed to establish a couple of basic ground rules which have served them well.

We held to that one point of agreement: change the boys’ lives as little as possible. After children have seen their lives inverted, that all sounds a bit feeble, but it was a seed.

But a second rule went into effect early: no badmouthing the other parent, whatever the topic. And we were lucky – we liked and respected each other, beneath the turbulence. That’s where we had started. So the irregular interactions led to a committed decision to not be ugly, even when that seemed impossible. There was enough doubt and hurt for all four of us – anything to clean the air helped. It was a way of being both selfish and considerate.Even when there wasn’t much of it, talking was a boon.

"Thou shalt not be ugly" seems to be an excellent 11th commandment for separated parents. One would hope that it would be an even greater priority for people of faith, but life isn't easy, and it's a mistake to be judgmental from the outside.

Have you lived through this yourself? Have you the child in a difficult family breakup? Is there an art and a spiritual grace to not being ugly?

Bob Dylan, Nobel Laureate

Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

Bob Dylan - Masters Of War 1962-3

Well, the debate is on. Should any songwriter, let alone Bob Dylan, be awarded a prize for literature. Dylan's win was a surprise to many yesterday, and the reaction was mixed in unusual ways. There were eminent poets who applauded what was an audacious choice. Then there were singer/songwriters who expressed disdain, even though they are Dylan fans, feeling that a literature prize should not go to a songsmith. Go figure.

Dylan began as something of a social activist rebel, became an icon, and has always been enigmatic to put it diplomatically. While he was reviled and booed when he went electric in the sixties, he actually began with rock, moved to folk, and then...well, he was Dylan.

He has been something of a mystery when it comes to religion as well. As the name Bob Zimmerman might suggest, he grew up Jewish, then became a "born again" Christian in the late 70s. A couple of albums from that period are exclusively Christian, but he returned to Judaism along the way. He once described Jesus as his hero.

In response to a question whether he regarded himself as a follower of Christ or as a Jew, he humorously responded that he followed Christ "about 50% of the time and (is) a Jew only when I have to be."  I've included a couple of stanzas from one of the songs from his  Saved album.

What do you think Dylan's choice for the Nobel Prize? Were you, are you a fan? Were you aware of his Christian fervour? Are your answers blowin' in the wind?

When they came for Him in the garden, did they know?

When they came for Him in the garden, did they know?

When He spoke to them in the city, did they hear?
When He spoke to them in the city, did they hear?

When He rose from the dead, did they believe?
When He rose from the dead, did they believe?
He said, "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth."
Did they know right then and there what that power was worth?

  Bob Dylan - In The Garden Lyrics

Luther's Dark Side

I'm already musing about what we might do to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's momentous challenge to the Roman Catholic practice of selling indulgences with the posting of the 95 theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. I've already purchased my best-selling Playmobil Luther and begun reading a fascinating book called Brand Luther.

I just discovered a shocking anecdote about a sculpture which is a graphic and ugly reminder of two thousand years of anti-Jewish sentiment and involved Luther.  

According to an article in Christianity Today another church in Wittenberg, where Luther regularly preached, married his wife Katharina von Bora( a former nun) and baptized their six children, is currently drawing greater attention because of a challenge to remove a 700-year-old anti-Semitic sculpture from its facade. Perched 26 feet above the ground, on the exterior southeast corner of the Town Church, is a 14th-century sandstone sculpture of a pig with two people in identifiably medieval Jewish hats suckling at its teats and another holding a piglet’s ear. An additional Jewish person lifts the tail while looking into the sow’s rear. Written above the relief is an inscription with the words, “Rabini Shem Hamphoras.” This nonsensical reference to the Jewish appellation of God’s name, added after Luther’s time, quotes a derogatory comment in one of Luther’s writings. Sadly, Luther became increasingly anti-Semitic through the years. a dark blot on the legacy of the founder of the Reformation.

There are Lutherans who are determined to remove this sculpture and others like it, but there is an interesting twist to the story. There are approximately 100,000 Jews in Germany and about 1400 live in the state where Wittenberg is located. The Jewish communities in the area have recently discussed the removal of the “Judensau” and they have concluded that it should remain in place as a blatant reminder of anti-Semitism.“We think that the sculpture represents a testimony of medieval thinking and Christian architectural tradition,” said Max Privorozki, chairman of the executive committee of the association of Jewish communities in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

While I find this sculpture quite unsettling perhaps the Jewish community has it right. Knowing that some Christians, including Lutherans, were complicit in the annihilation of six million Jews during WW2, it's important to have reminders of how deep-seated the antipathy toward them has been around the world, and for such a long time.

What do you think? Should the sculpture be taken down, or should it remain as an educational opportunity and a cautionary tale (not tail)?. Should 2017 be reserved for celebration, or do we acknowledge Luther's darker side?

Groping for Answers on American Faith

We're told that more than a quarter of Republican leaders have abandoned Donald Trump, either out of principle or pragmatism, Many are disgusted by his misogyny and lies, while others are afraid that the growing voter disenchantment will affect their campaigns.

Where is Trump holding strong? With evangelicals, including some of the supposed leaders of that peculiar brand of American Christian. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist icon Billy, had proven himself to be a nut long before the campaign began, declaring his support for Russia's Vladimir Putin. Jerry Falwell was no prize, but his son Jerry Jr. makes his old man look like a moderate. Nothing seems to shake his determination to support Mussolini...excuse me, Trump.  Apparently Falwell commented "five years from now, no one will remember what horrible things Donald Trump said about women."


Others haven't budged on their Trumpolatry, and rank and file evangelicals are evenly split in their support even after hearing the hideous things he said about sexually assaulting women. They claim he's a different man now. Where is that evident?

To be fair, there are a fair number of evangelicals who didn't support Trump from the get-go, and in the past week a very few others have withdrawn their support.

In my opinion irreparable harm has been done to conservative Christianity in the United States. It no longer has anything to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has aligned itself with the harsh, "despise the other" politics of the Republican party. Actually, the credibility of a country where "Make America Grope Again" is now the punchline has been deeply harmed around the world.

Comments?

Girl Power

²⁶ for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. ²⁷
 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 
²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-28 (NRSV)

My birthday (October 8) often falls on the Thanksgiving weekend so it was "two for one" when I had time with our lovely, intelligent, fun-loving daughters. Both Jocelyn and Emily have made good lives for themselves, working hard in post-secondary school education (a total of 13 years!) and finding worthwhile employment. I am so proud of them both, and give most of the credit to their Mom, Ruth.

Ruth grew up in a family of five children where they were all loved, but it was the two boys who were encouraged in sports and careers. Ruth is university educated and a resourceful, athletic woman, so she was determined that her daughters would know from the outset that their gifts and abilities were are important as those of their older brother. We certainly shared this outlook, but she led by word and example.

Today is International Day of the Girl Child for 2016, an opportunity to affirm girls and their strengths. The theme this year is Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: What Counts for Girls. There are more than a billion girls on this planet, and in far too many cultures they are not afforded the same opportunities as boys. Often they are exploited in ways which are almost unimaginable to us.

Of course, all we have to do is listen to Donald Trump to realize that a candidate for the presidency of the most powerful nation on Earth readily objectifies and demeans women. I find it sickening that evangelical Christian leaders in the States who have endorsed Trump have not withdrawn support in light of the recent revelations. Then again, why did they endorse him in the first place?

As Christians we must uphold equality for women and men, girls and boys as an expression of the Good News of Christ.

Thoughts?

Well-Aged Thanksgiving

There was an article in the Globe and Mail newspaper last Thanksgiving about research indicating that we become more grateful as we age. As a well-aged turkey myself I'm curious about this. Apparently we grey beards have a sunnier outlook because the limbic system, particularly the amygdala, an area of the brain involved in emotional attention and memory, becomes less active in response to negative information. At the same time, older individuals maintain or even increase their reactivity to positive information. I'm grateful to discover that I have a limbic system!

I am hugely grateful for my fun-loving and clever family, for the peace of this nation, for the beauty which is part of every day. I'm grateful for Christ's church as a community of compassion and change and for the wisdom of those who have lived life well.


I think my gratitude to God for new life in Christ has always influenced my outlook on the world, but I can be easily convinced that this is deepening with age. As I look back I have so much for which I can give thanks, and I trust that there is more to come.

I would be abundantly grateful if more of you commented on my blog entries, but how many blessings can I expect?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Before and After the Flood

I'm a big fan of atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe. She is a clear communicator about climate change, an essential topic for our time, and she seems to have boundless energy in the cause. Hayhoe lives in Texas, which means she gets attacked for being an uppity woman liar about climate change. I admire that she puts her openly Christian convictions into practice, refusing to repay evil with evil. Some of her "Christian" detractors seem to have missed Jesus' memo in the Sermon on the Mount on using  derogatory speech as a form of violence.

I am also smugly proud of Katharine's Canadian citizenship. I was mindful of that when she spent time at the White House recently with President Obama and actor Leonardo DiCaprio as part of the president's clever South by South Lawn event. She probably didn't bring up that awkward incident of Canadians burning the White House a couple of hundred years ago -- let byegones be byegones!


DiCaprio stayed out of the way as he interviewed Obama and Hayhoe on the issues of climate change for an hour. Then they screened DiCaprio's new National Geographic documentary on climate change, Before the Flood, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Since this event the flood waters of Hurricane Matthew have inundated Haiti and Cuba, and pummelled the America eastern seaboard. Climate change deniers were quick to sneer at the president and others who issued warnings of the approach, as though trying to protect lives was a conspiracy theory. The real open conspiracy is the effort to deny the human influence on climate, which is supported by science and most governments.

I love Hayhoe's observation that climate change is not about belief, it's not a religion "I do not believe in global warming, it is the only logical conclusion based on observed data and facts.
I'm grateful for her scientific and Christian witness.

Hot enough for ya? Comments?