Montclair Presbyterian Church

Last July I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days on the Texas coast near Mustang Island. The weather was hot and humid and the Gulf of Mexico was beautifully inviting. Fish were jumping almost constantly out of the water and a variety of birds were happily taking advantage of the active fish! One could almost forget that tragedy had occurred 18 months prior in the form of a well explosion and subsequent spill of nearly 800,000 cubic meters of oil into the Gulf. As we strolled down the beach, however, there were telltale signs of oil blobs on the sand even after so much time and a great deal of supposed clean up.

The ecological impact of that oil disaster will be felt and experienced for years to come. The poisoned fish and wildlife, the leftover oil blobs, the change in the water, and countless other results will not go away with some clean-up efforts. Part of the problem was that when the Deepwater Horizon explosion first happened, BP had no idea how to stem the flow of oil from the well. It took an unreasonable amount of time to get the flow under control.

Some might say it is past history and let’s move on to more pressing issues in the news. While it is past history it is also present news because BP recently applied to the US government for permission to drill new oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Apparently they want to sink four new wells about 300 km off the Louisiana coast.

Don’t you find that a bit cheeky? Have they resolved the issues that were so problematic in the last disaster? My concern about their application is the seeming lack of remorse and accountability. How can a company wreak such havoc on our precious earth and then want to do more of the same only a year and a half later?

If you were a car dealer and employed a 17 year old to wash the cars and then the 17 year old ended up stealing one of your cars and getting caught but ended up on probation, would you let the 17 year old come back to work?

If our government allows BP to begin drilling more for more wells in the Gulf, what does that tell us? Is our country so desperate for money that we will turn a blind eye to irresponsible companies? Are we so dependent on oil that we really don’t care about the environmental impact? We all know that money talks these days and that what appears to be a government is more of a puppet show with the wealthiest working the strings, but when did it become so blatant?

After watching others around the world protest their governments in the past year, I continue to wonder when we, here in the US, will finally decided enough is enough and take to the streets. What if the US government gives BP the green light? Would that be enough to send us running out into the streets? What will be the issue? Immigration? Education? Forced solitary confinement in prisons? Torture? Human Rights abuses? The state of Georgia executing a man who may very well have been innocent and at the very least was surrounded by reasonable doubt? What will it take?

We have been trying to teach our children that one is accountable for one’s actions and behavior. Our children and teenagers are living in the midst of a world where accountability is for some and not for others. They are watching more closely than we realize. What do we want to teach them?

Last week I attended a Presbytery meeting in which a good friend of mine was examined for ordination. He is an exceptional human being and one of the most gifted and called persons in terms of ministry. He has had to wait twice as long as usual to be ordained because he is gay. Fortunately, he was approved with very few people voting no and those who did vote no certainly did not vote no because of any kind of lack. Somehow they believe the fact that he is gay means he should automatically be excluded from being ordained despite his obvious call and gifts.

When a person is being examined for ordination, people can ask questions from the floor. It is an opportunity for the person being examined to demonstrate the depth of their faith and knowledge and call. One of the questions asked of my friend had to do with interfaith dialogue and relationships. The questioner described a situation in which one had a relationship with someone in the community who practiced the Hindu faith. The Hindu person believes there are many paths to God so the questioner wanted to know how the Christian candidate would respond to the Hindu person.

Someone who does not know what is going on in the wider Presbyterian Church (USA), might think it was a fairly simple question. In fact, there is a deep chasm in the Presbyterian Church regarding the issue of salvation and Jesus. There are many who believe being saved by Jesus is the ONLY path to God. They believe it passionately and their ministry stems from this deep belief. The result of this belief in terms of interfaith dialogue is that every person of another faith is someone who needs to be converted. They may be respectful of the other person’s beliefs, but the underlying concern is that of conversion. There are many others in the Presbyterian Church who believe there are many paths to God and they have chosen the path of Jesus. I am one of those people. I have found that I am able to understand God most fully through Jesus and Jesus’ life on earth. My interfaith dialogues, then, are not about conversion but about understanding how people of other faiths experience God and know God most fully. In those dialogues, I have something to learn and something to offer. I am curious about how other people have found their way to God. In any faith, it is extremism that I find troubling and frightening. In a world as diverse as ours, I don’t think God would limit divine love and experience to one path.

My friend knew when the question was asked that it was a theological “test” of sorts. Rather than talk about whether or not there might be many paths to God, he simply stated that it is through Jesus that he most fully knows God and he is able to claim that in interfaith dialogues. What a wise answer! Progressive Christians have often struggled with how to articulate belief about Jesus because of centuries of aggressive conversion tactics that those from other faiths have experienced. Just mentioning Jesus puts some people from other faiths on edge so for a long time progressives used God language instead. Ironically, it seems that our friends from other faith traditions are the ones who are encouraging us to use our Jesus language since that is our truth! How incredible it is when people can gather together to talk about their faith traditions and backgrounds and stories. May we continue to find ways to be in dialogue and worship and service together as people of many faiths.

How many times have you heard it said that we really find out who we are in the midst of a crisis? People you think might be calm, cool and collected become frantic and anxious and absolutely no help whatsoever. Conversely, people who are normally anxious and tightly wound become more calm and rational in the midst of crisis. The point is that sometimes there is no predicting how we will behave until we are in the midst of something terrible.

In the past week the news has been full of stories about how people experienced Sept. 11, 2001. As the various stories flooded the radio waves, I was struck by how touched people in New York were by the gestures of goodwill and solidarity and assistance. In a city that is normally characterized by emotional distance, alienation, a hectic pace, and lack of community, people came together emotionally and physically as a result of the tragedy. All over the country, churches and synagogues and mosques and other religious gatherings were full of people who were not normally present. In a moment when our country and New York City and Washington D. C. and people who lived near a field in Pennsylvania felt vulnerable, the response was to gather in community and to offer and receive emotional, spiritual and physical support.

As I participated yesterday in our Interfaith Memorial Service of Trust, Friendship and Solidarity, I was struck by how fleeting the moment of togetherness was and how quickly we turned as a country to revenge and might and fighting back. In other words, rather than being transformed by the experience, we simply reverted as a country to who we are at the worst of times. In fact, we went further by adding Guantanamo Bay, the abuses at Abu Graib and other prisons, extraordinary rendition and torture. The sadness I feel about our collective response is deep and wide. Fortunately, I was also struck yesterday by how individuals and communities have reached out to each other and found each other in ways that might not have happened had the tragedy not occurred. The Montclair church and Kehilla Community Synagogue and the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California have been gathering in a small group for the past 10 years. The hope is that friendships will continue to develop and that deeper understanding and solidarity will form between all 3 congregations. The work is not always easy as differences are discussed in order to reach understanding. We have so much in common and we have so much that is different.

In place of the sermon that is normally preached at Montclair, Rabbi David Cooper and Imam Dr. Rahim Nobahar and I were to reflect on Lessons Learned and Lessons Yet to Be Learned. One of the things I said in my reflection on Lessons Yet to Be Learned is that anytime we are trying to create change, we have to begin with ourselves. Imagine concentric circles that begin with self, move to family, go on to community, connect with wider community, etc…I told the group gathered (Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Agnostics, Unsures) that I am far more afraid of the Extremists who are Right Wing Christians than I am of any other faith communities. The truth is that no matter what the faith, it is the extremists of any of them that are most dangerous. In Norway, the man who recently massacred so many claimed to be a Christian. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber also claimed to be a Christian. Why don’t people everywhere fear right wing Christians as they did Muslims after Sept. 11?

Any faith tradition becomes dangerous when those in power believe they have the “right” answer and people need to be divided into good and bad, righteous or sinful, saved or damned. As Imam Dr. Nobahar reminded all of yesterday, our call is to open our hearts and our minds.

As much as I try to live without fear of what could happen, there are also times when I think fear is absolutely appropriate if it results in living differently. Sometimes fear is the perfect motivator and the best weapon to use against apathy. If you are not afraid of what is going on in our country, let me give you some reasons to be afraid. My goal is that your perhaps-newfound -fear would spur you into activity and activism.

My disclosure before I begin is that I am not a Republican. As a pastor, because churches are non-profit organizations, I am prohibited from telling people how to vote. Rest assured, I will not tell you how to vote in this article. What I will tell you has to do with waking up and recognizing the potential harm of an entire movement. Think of me as your “Early Warning System” before a storm. While you go on with your daily life, a storm is brewing, the likes of which we have never seen in my lifetime. When Rick Perry joined the race for the Republican nomination for President, the storm blew much closer to home. Rick Perry has made no attempt to hide his connection – the fact that he is the chosen one – to the New Apostolic Reformation movement. What frightens me most about this movement is how many people, particularly liberal and progressive people, do not take it seriously. Trust me, this is a movement to take very seriously and it is a worldwide movement. Below is some information about the movement written by Rachel Tabachnick on Alternet.org.

“Ideology of the New Apostolic Reformation
The leaders of the movement claim this is the most significant change in Protestantism since Martin Luther and the Reformation. NAR’s stated goal is to eradicate denominations and to form a single unified church that will fight and be victorious against “evil” in the end times. Like many American fundamentalists, the apostles teach that the end times are imminent, but unlike most fundamentalists, the apostles see this as a time of great triumph for the church.

Instead of escaping to heaven in the Rapture prior to the battles of the end times, the apostles teach that believers will remain on earth. And instead of watching from the grandstands of heaven as Jesus and his warriors destroy evil, the apostles believe they and their followers will fight and purge the earth of evil themselves.

This includes taking “dominion” over all sectors of society and government, which, in turn, will lead to a “Kingdom” on earth, a Christian utopia ruled from Jerusalem. The end times narrative of the apostles is similar to that of the Latter Rain movement of the late 1940s and 1950s, which was considered heretical by traditional Pentecostal denominations.

Prerequisites to bringing about the Kingdom on earth are: the restructuring of all Charismatic evangelical believers under the authority of their network of apostles and prophets; the eradication or unification of Christian denominations; and the total elimination of competing religions and philosophies. Their mandate to take control over institutions of society and government is similar to the dominionism of Christian Reconstructionism, founded by the late Rousas Rushdoony, but NAR’s version has been wrapped in a much more appealing package and marketed as activism to “transform” communities.

The apostles have a number of sophisticated promotional tools used to market their agenda for taking control over society, including the Transformations movies, Transformation organizations in communities around the country, and the Seven Mountains campaign. The latter is about taking control over the mountains or “power centers” of arts and entertainment, business, education, family, government, media and religion. The apostles who lead in areas outside of church are called Workplace or Marketplace Apostles.

The apostles teach that the obstacles to their envisioned Kingdom on earth are demonic beings who hold control over geographic territory and specific “people groups.” They claim these demons are the reason why people of other religions refuse to become evangelized. These demons, which the apostles address by name, are also claimed to be the source of crime, corruption, illness, poverty, and homosexuality. The eradication of social ills, as claimed in the Transformations media, can only take place through mass evangelization; not through other human efforts to cure societal ills. This message was repeated throughout Perry’s prayer event, although it may not have been apparent to those unfamiliar with the movement’s lingo and narratives.”

Just in case you are still not sure why it’s a big deal, let me highlight a few points. The “demonic beings” to which they refer are people like me. As an openly lesbian pastor, I would need to be exorcised of my demon or put to death. Rabbis and Imams who would refuse to convert to the apostolic brand of Christianity would also be considered demonic and in need of exorcism. The fact that a candidate for President of the US would align with a movement like this is absolutely terrifying. There are many good people who are Republicans who do not understand the force or the specifics of this movement. Somehow they are very visible to those in the know but people who do not know about the movement are missing the connections (for example those from this movement who have been seen standing next to Rick Perry at his events). A frighteningly large number of people in our country still do not understand the connection between religion and politics. We need to speak out and educate people as to the connection, particularly in relationship to the New Apostolic Reformation movement. If you were appalled by the Ugandan Bill calling for the death penalty for gay people, you can thank the New Apostolic Reformation (commonly called “The Apostles”) for their influence. In fact, the Ugandan politician who introduced the bill is himself an “Apostle.”

Wake up, United States of America. Wake up, churches and synagogues and mosques and meetings. There is an effort underway to nationalize a religion that would catapult us back to the Middle Ages in terms of human rights, women’s rights, and religious and political freedom. I am so tired of the right wing rhetoric against immigrants and muslims. The people we have most to fear are people like Rick Perry who are white, privileged, and ready to take over the world. What are you willing to do about it? Will you help get the word out? The storm is coming…

On my refrigerator is a magnet that has a stunning picture of a much older woman (in her mid to late 80’s it would appear) in a swimsuit and swim cap looking lean and fit. The caption on the magnet is “Growing Old is Not For Sissies.” Every morning I see that magnet and the deep truth behind it confronts me yet again. You have to be as tough as nails to grow old, no matter what age you might be at the moment.

Consider a child who is transitioning from nursery school to elementary school. Any child who has made the transition will tell you that while they may enjoy elementary school, they sure miss nursery school at times! Fewer children, more teachers, better snacks, time to rest, amazing art projects, circle time, and shorter days are all things that contribute to a kind of wistfulness about nursery school. When a child is in elementary school, more is expected, more is demanded, homework becomes part of daily life, there are many more kids on the playground with which one has to negotiate, and not all of the teachers are as friendly as the ones in nursery school.

Just when an elementary school child feels as if she or he is on top of the world, the transition from elementary school to middle school occurs. After working in a middle school for three years I saw firsthand the terror on the faces of the incoming 6th graders. To be fair, the terror was mixed with a great deal of excitement and anticipation (after all, they get to change classrooms every period in middle school!), but the terror was real. The eighth graders seem so intimidating to 6th graders and the teachers make it clear they are not about to hold anyone’s hand in order to get work completed. The message to those entering middle school is that it’s time to start growing up.

The message to grow up becomes as loud as an incoming train when the transition from middle school to high school happens. Imagine going from a school of 400 students or even 600 students to a school with 2600 students! The immediate fear is “how will I know where I’m going and how will I ever get there in only 6 minutes for the passing period?” Students who were able to be themselves in middle school (using a rolling backpack despite how out of fashion they were or wearing unusual clothing or dying their hair or playing musical instruments during lunch or looking at card collections or carrying a lunch box of one sort or another) find themselves doubting everything once they get to high school. They no longer want to take a lunch because it’s not cool even if it means going all day without food. The pressure to fit in might be heavier during this period of one’s life than in any other period. As soon as students graduate, they realize how much time and energy they wasted on something that really isn’t all that important given how quickly one changes, physically and emotionally, at that age.

The next really difficult stage, particularly these days, is after college and when one is trying to live independently. Finding a job that will enable one to live independently is more difficult now than it was in previous generations. At this stage and age, the dreams and hopes far surpass the reality of living much of the time. One feels almost invincible and yet is reminded often of how easy it is to make mistakes or fail in one way or another. The image of a butterfly trying to painfully emerge from the cocoon has some similarities. Throw in there parents’ confusion about whether to rip open the sack or leave it alone completely and the image has many similarities!

Despite all of the transitions listed above as well as the transitions to love and partnership and/or family, nothing compares to the experience of aging beyond the age of retirement. So many of us work hard at planning and controlling our lives to the extent that it’s possible without seeming neurotic. At some point, though, we recognize in a visceral way that there are many things beyond our control. We may carefully monitor our diet and exercise and yet we still get diagnosed with diseases that have grave outcomes. We may do all we can to stay in shape and yet various parts of our bodies begin to break down as though they are cars with excessive mileage. We may engage in emotional and spiritual growth over the years and yet nothing prepares us for the hormonal changes that feel as if something or someone else has taken over our bodies.

So much of my work is with people who are live in various stages of growing old. Growing old is as much a spiritual journey and discipline as anything else we experience. How can we do it with grace no matter our age or circumstance? One of the things I love about being a part of an intergenerational church community is that we get to see firsthand the various ways people are growing old. In the Montclair Church Family we seem to have an abundance of people who could themselves be on refrigerator magnets about growing old! As their pastor, I know many of them are enduring a great deal of pain, emotionally or physically, in exchange for more time. Thanks be to God for a community that will not let them grow old alone.

A few people have asked me recently to preach on what is going on in the world. My response to one person is that I am not sure what to say yet. Surely I don’t need to run through the list of all of the traumatic events in the US and beyond. Surely I don’t need to point out how our government and system of democracy has become a sham. Surely I don’t need to reiterate how the rich are getting richer while the middle class becomes poor and the poor become destitute. Honestly, what is there to say? Should I be honest about the fact that I don’t know why we have not taken to the streets and shut everything down for days? Should I issue a call to mass protest across the country? Should I comfort everyone with words about how God is bigger than the world’s problems and can handle whatever happens? Should I call the church to task for being mostly irrelevant in what is at its heart a struggle for justice? Should I facilitate lamenting so we can all simply air our cries together?

In the movie “Twister” there was a great scene where the main character (Helen Hunt) was in the eye of a storm and she used a belt to strap herself to a huge pole and she held on for dear life as the storm threatened to tear her apart limb by limb. She held on with all of her might and it took every ounce of energy she had to simply hold on. Sometimes it feels that way when it seems as if the world might unravel completely. I find myself holding on for dear life and wanting everyone else to do the same. Who can hear words in the midst of the tumult?

Maybe all I need to say is that I don’t know what to say. Like you, I pray daily for wisdom, for courage and for the sense to risk whatever is needed to create a world where all are provided with basic needs. May God give us the wisdom, courage and sense to be co-creators in our beautiful though troubled world.

What is going well for you right now? Where is the good news in your life? What makes you feel like celebrating tonight? As you go through your day, what brings a smile to your face or adds lightness to your step? When you think about all of the things you are “doing” currently, which of those things gives you energy?

Sometimes when the waves of bad news are crashing around us, or the wind of fear is whipping through our hair, or the beat of the drum of doom is constant in our ears, or the taste of the bile of tragedy is in our mouths, sometimes when it seems as if the world might finally be spinning off of its axis we simply have to stop. Sometimes we have to turn off all forms of news and only listen, watch, search and plug in to our lives. The questions above are good ones to ask when we need to get our feet back on the ground and our heads back on our bodies and our hearts back in our chests.

Another way of asking those same questions is to wonder where God is in your life in the midst of the news that seems to say God is nowhere to be found. God is never nowhere. God is always somewhere. We forget that sometimes and we focus on all of the places where God seems to be missing instead of focusing on the places where God just might be.

When the news gets to be so bad and it feels as if humanity doesn’t have a prayer in the world for survival, that’s the time we need to open all of our senses to find God again. Most of us still think of God as “out there” and we forget that God is in us and a part of us. We forget that God counts on us to leave footprints and handprints and heartprints here on earth since God relies on our feet and our hands and our hearts.

If you haven’t smiled in days, what do you need to differently in your life? If you can’t think of any good news, how are you going to create some? If you feel drained and out of energy, how can you access your passion?

While the stock market is diving down and the financial markets are in trouble and houses aren’t worth much anymore and people we love get sicker every day, I am here to tell you that God is somewhere to be found. Yesterday God showed up in the body of a friend who is one of the most courageous individuals I have ever met. Yesterday God showed up in the conversation and the meal cooked by new friends. Today God showed up in a colleague who constantly says yes to working for justice. Today God showed up in a staff member who knows when to forgive me for being crabby. Today God showed up in a young person who is caring beyond her years. Today God showed up in new possibilities.

Open your eyes, open your hands, open your ears, open your hearts. Good news is all around.

Recently I spent a week at a conference center at Lake Tahoe. The beauty of the lake and all of its complex colors evoked awe in me once again. This year Lake Tahoe is particularly stunning with the snow capped mountains surrounding the multi-hued water. Sometimes I pretend I am a photographer and I try to imagine what shots I would try to get and why. One of the reasons I do that now and then is to get myself to notice things I might not otherwise notice.

While I was at the lake, I was invited to go on a boat ride. The driver of the boat took us in to the Tahoe Keys which is a winding pathway of houses right on the water, most of which have docks that extend from their backyards and lead to their array of watercraft. One of the mind-pictures I took was of a very expensive house that for some reason had the entire neighborhood’s goose population. I kid you not, there must have been 20 or 30 geese that were gathered for a convention in this one backyard and had perhaps been gathered continuously for a while. The goose poop was thick enough to actually be considered mounds or hills. I could barely see the name of the boat written in beautiful script on the back because there were several geese who had made that back ledge their roosting spot. If there had been a “for sale” sign in the backyard that I could have photographed with the geese in the foreground, it would have been a great shot! As we drove away in the boat, I couldn’t help but think that when we are not present in one way or another, poop happens!

Another mind picture I captured was of a tree that looked like it had been struck by lightning. The trunk was enormous and the top half of the tree was missing. At first, I didn’t notice it was missing its top half. It wasn’t until I had walked past it and then turned around that I realized a huge branch had grown out of its side and then up way past where the trunk had been severed and had become the new top of the tree. My initial sight of the tree was of a huge tree with beautiful green branches that stretched like a cat in sunshine up in to the blue sky above. When I finally saw the edge of the trunk and realized the tree was actually just an extension of the branch growing out of the side of the trunk, I was inordinately happy. What I realized was that the tree was a perfect example of how we can go through radical changes and disruptions and traumatic events and then adapt to our new reality and grow even stronger and more beautiful than before the radical change.

Jesus told stories in word pictures about what the world was like in the new realm that God was creating. Jesus was able to take images and experiences from everyday life and then use those to illustrate the new world that God was creating where all would be loved, accepted, and called to seek justice. I wonder what Jesus would have said about goose poop and a tree that loses half of itself. What do you think the realm of God is like? How would you describe it in word pictures? Try to slow down enough to notice some things you haven’t noticed before in the world around you. What do you see? What is the realm of God like in your words or pictures?

Last week my wife and I went to “Family Camp” with 75 people from the church. We spent a glorious week up at Lake Tahoe and if you haven’t seen the snow covered mountains on a summer day up at Lake Tahoe, be sure to put it on your list of places to go! The church has been doing “Family Camp” for more than 30 years and it is a most amazing tradition. Some people camp in tents, some people in RVs, while others rent a cabin or stay in the lodge. In the mornings there is a program for a couple of hours, the afternoons are free and often there is something fun planned a part of the evenings.

This year we decided to keep all of the generations together for the program time, rather than having the kids do a separate program and the youth do their own thing. We used the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy as our theme so each group was broken up into a fellowship. Our youngest participant was 6 and 1/2 years old and our oldest was 84. I remembered why there is usually so much resistance to keeping the generations together! It is very difficult to plan something meaningful for a 6 year old, an 80 year old, a 13 year old and a 49 year old. Admittedly, there were probably moments throughout our program when someone in one of the age groups was bored…but every person survived.

When I was explaining my decision to keep all of the generations together to some of the participants, I told them that as a society we are doing less and less together across ages. We tend to cater to the “kids must be entertained” mindset and the “adults just want peace and quiet” mindset and the “teenagers are a species all unto themselves” mindset and we live and move in separate universes as a result. The church is one of the few places where we can bring all the ages together and it makes sense!

One of the most touching moments was watching the groups struggle with an exercise in which they had to get every person in their group across a fictitious river. I glanced over to see one of the groups using their three children to “anchor” each one of the adults in the group as they crossed the river. I guarantee you it was a high point for the kids who were able to be so helpful and for the adults who knew they could count on the kids.

So often I hear adults (particularly older adults) bemoan their inability to talk to their grandchildren or great grandchildren with whom they feel they have very little in common. One of the things we accomplished with our intergenerational “Family Camp” is that the generations really talked to each other. As difficult as it is to make it happen, the experience between the generations is invaluable. Hopefully they will all experience church differently now as well.