Montclair Presbyterian Church

Friends,

On Saturday I’m going to be blessing animals in the courtyard of Montclair Presbyterian Church, and here are two reasons why you should bring your animals to be blessed.

First, in the ancient wisdom of the bible’s ancient mythology, we find that animals were our friends before humans were our friends. This is in the second chapter of Genesis:

Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

The story goes on to tell us that animals weren’t enough, and so God created human companionship, but I think our animal relationships remain important and worthy of blessing.

The other reason we should bless Animals, is that it is a way of honoring the memory of Saint Francis, a great human and Christian peacemaker who preached to animals when he found humans to be too dense. He felt the need for “pre-human” companionship, and he also understood that true and holistic peace must include peace with the non-human world. It’s a message worth remembering, especially in the presence of animals.

So bring your animal friends to church at 12:15 PM on Saturday and we’ll all be blessed.

Peace (and woof),
Ben

Over the last couple of months, as news of the vile and violent actions of the group calling itself
the “Islamic State” in Iraq and Syria (or in the Levant, as the Obama Administration likes to say) increasingly has dominated the headlines, several people have asked me if I still believe Islam is not an inherently violent faith. After all, the ISIS fighters are violent and they are Muslims. Is there not a connection?

My answer is this: despite everything ISIS has done, I still do not believe Islam is any more violent than is Christianity. This is not to say that there is absolutely no connection between Islam and violence. There is, but the connection only exists in the minds of a very few Muslims, including members of Isis and al Qaida, and a few crazy loners; for the overwhelming majority of Muslims Islam is a religion of peace.

When I wrote my book The Search for Truth About Islam, I crunched numbers and found that the chance that a randomly-selected Muslim, from the world’s population of 1.5 Muslims, would be an active member of a known terrorist organization, are roughly the same as the probability five cards dealt from a well-shuffled deck will render a straight flush, which is to say it could happen but don’t bet the farm that it will.

Four years after crunching those numbers, the proliferation of ISIS means that the chances of meeting a Muslim terrorist are slightly higher, but still, more than 99.9 percent of Muslims are not terrorists and not part of any kind of violent movement. A larger portion of the world’s Muslim population (maybe 10 percent) agrees with the political aims of groups like ISIS and al Qaida, but to say they are terrorists is like saying every serious environmentalist is a member of Earth First! or the Earth Liberation Front.

It’s also worth noting that on Wednesday September 24, a group of more than a hundred of the world’s top Muslim scholars released a fatwa—a religious opinion—condemning ISIS and it’s violence (http://lettertobaghdadi.com/index.php). It seems logical that the religious scholars and not the violent radicals should have the privilege of defining Islam for us.

We live at a moment in history when Muslims in the United States face increased scrutiny both by government and by private citizens. Misinformation about Islam abounds, even in the halls of government. What is needed is a well-informed Christian Church willing to speak truth to fear, willing to make and preserve relationships with Muslims, willing to walk in the way of peace, on the right side of history.

I’m happy to serve as pastor to such a church.

If you have any questions about Islam, don’t be shy to ask me.

Ben

Dear Friends,

Here’s a confession: sometimes it’s hard to get my Contact article in on time. Usually, this has nothing to do with finding something to say (sometimes I have writer’s block, but I am a preacher; we seldom are at a loss for words), rather, I have a hard time writing for Contact because I usually end up writing my column at about three o’clock in the afternoon, a time of day when I tend to be drowsy, and when I have a hard time getting motivated. I know a lot of writers, and, as far as I know, none of them write in the afternoon. Afternoons seem designed for napping, especially in September when it’s sunny and warm in Northern California.

Generally, my Contact writing gets pushed to the afternoon, because my mornings are filled with activity as I try to keep up with everything that going on here at Montclair Presbyterian Church. And there is a lot going on. Every time I open my calendar I am amazed at how much is happening–adult education, youth group activities, social justice actions, various administrative meetings, small groups, planning sessions, choir rehearsal, storytelling–ours is a mid-sized congregation with the tall-steeple schedule.

This is a good problem to have: our calendar is a sign of enthusiasm and excitement, and I couldn’t be happier. However, pitfalls can attend a church’s busy calendar as well, and here are a few ideas about how to negotiate the crowded schedule.

First, know that not everyone can make every event. If everyone came to everything the church has to offer, we’d all get burned out.

Second, don’t feel guilty if you need a night off. I love the fact that ours is a church with an attractive program that provides community for so many people. I also know that most people need a break from time to time. I always want church members to be engaged at church, and I know that the occasional rest makes church members able to engage with greater strength and intentionality.

Third, be patient as meetings, groups, events, and rehearsals overlap. Sherrill in the office does a great job of scheduling, but sometimes our various activities and goings on must happen at the same time (in different spaces, of course) and sometimes because of unavoidable time constraints big events get placed on successive days or in the same week. Such things are natural to a congregation brimming with life.

Finally, join me in giving thanks to God for a congregation so wonderfully endowed with energy and ideas and enthusiasm. I know I wouldn’t want it any other way, especially since there is coffee to keep me alert when–with everything going on–I start to feel drowsy when the afternoon is warm and a siesta’s siren song beckons as for the first time in hours I have time to think about what to write.

With Big Affection (and a fairly large yawn as well),
Ben

When I was a teenager several members of my church got excited about the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. This was a time when many politically progressive Christians hoped the rebels who overthrew the U.S. backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza might have the opportunity to establish a government, and a Central America, that was the embodiment of liberal values espoused and shared by the American left.

During those years I watched as several members of my home church left for Nicaragua. They went to build houses and schools, and to see first-hand what was happening in that small and war-torn nation. My high school Spanish teacher, several of the folks who taught me in Sunday School, and my own brother was among their number, and when they returned I saw their pictures and listened to their stories with admiration and a longing to be a part of such a hopeful society as seemed to be unfolding along the shores of Lake Managua and in the highlands of Matagalpa.

Later, in my own travels through parts of Central America (though not Nicaragua) I met refugees, who had been brutalized by the Sandinista army, and I became somewhat disillusioned with the Sandinistas; but the hope and longing I felt prior to my disillusionment remained. It flew above the transom of my life’s ship like an albatross searching for dry land upon which to rest its weary wings.

Now I confess that bird has landed in Scotland. In 10 days the people of Scotland will vote in a referendum to decide if they should become a nation independent from United Kingdom, and I have found myself following the movement for Scottish independence with the same hope, the same longing, that people in my home church once reserved for the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.

The Scottish independence movement is driven largely by a desire, on the part of Scots, to have a government free from the dominance of big business and financial interests that drive the politics of Westminster (much in the same way these same interests determine the decision-making in Washington). If Scotland wins its independence and is able to rid itself from the influence of unfettered capitalism, the Scottish people will have the opportunity to establish a government that is more democratic, more people oriented, and with greater concern for the poor than the government currently calling the shots in Britain.

In addition, most of the folks who seek Scotland’s independence from the United Kingdom are committed to removing British submarine-based (and California-made) nuclear weapons from Scotland’s waters, and while much of Scotland’s economy, in the short term, will be based upon revenue from North Sea oil, long-term plans for Scotland’s economy include the development of sustainable energy generation using wind and tide power.

This mixture of economic justice and ecological concern appeals to me. There is, of course, no guarantee that hopes for a Scottish government based on progressive values will come to pass, even if independence is won, but the fact that so many people in Scotland are so eager to form a polity based upon the common good is inspiring. And regardless of how the vote turns out, any one of us as individuals can follow the example of those striving for Scottish independence, for independence starts in the human soul. We can live lives free from the dominance of business interests. We can choose people over money. We can choose a spiritual independence that shakes off the bonds of a consumer driven culture, that sees value in a nuclear-free world, and that hopes to preserve the health of the earth.

I’ll be watching next week’s referendum with interest, but whatever happens, Scotland already has helped me to be free.
Ben

Friends,

The immigration crisis that involves people fleeing violence in Central America to find safety in the United States has reached the East Bay’s Presbyterian community.

Primera Iglesia Presbyteriana is a Spanish-Language Presbyterian congregation that worships on High Street in East Oakland. In recent months they have been joined by several Central American families in need of protection and, possibly, sanctuary. Primera Iglesia Presbyteriana is a small congregation operating on a serious shortage of funds. They need help providing care for the refugee families now worshiping with them, and they’ve reached out to several English Language churches for help, including ours.

Specifically, Primera Iglesia has asked us to enter into a covenantal relationship with the Ordoñez family–which consists of two parents, three children and a grandchild. I’ve met with the family and I’ve heard their story, and while I won’t go into details (it’s their story, after all and not mine), I will say this: I’ve been involved in working with refugees form Central America since the days when the Reagan Administration was funding the Nicaraguan Contras with ill-gotten funds. I’ve met hundreds of Central American refugees and I’ve heard dozens of stories, and this story was among the most horrific I’ve encountered. If anyone needs assistance and sanctuary, it is this family.

On Tuesday night the Session agreed to enter into a relationship with this family. We don’t yet know what that means for us–it may mean that we take up special offerings to help cover some of their legal bills; it may mean helping the family navigate and negotiate the Oakland Unified School district. Eventually, if things don’t go well with the family’s legal process, we may face the choice of extending an offer of sanctuary, but we hope that won’t be necessary.

Thankfully, this family’s case is before an immigration judge, and we hope the court will find in their favor, granting them asylum and, therefore, legal status in the United States. If that happens, our official relationship with the family will be short-lived, but I surely know our friendships with them will endure long.

Montclair Presbyterian Church has provided sanctuary for Central America Refugees in the past; during the Viet Nam war you guarded a conscientious objector. Now God is calling us to provide hospitality to a Honduran family in need. I am grateful to be part of a congregation so willing to care for God’s children.

God’s Peace,
Ben

Friends,

At the end of June I wrote in this column about the positive experience I had walking thought East Oakland with an ecumenical group of people who long for peace and economic prosperity in our city’s poorest neighborhoods. The walk symbolized our commitment to build relationships with and to work alongside our neighbors who live in Oakland’s lower elevations.

I’ll be heading back down to the East Oakland this Friday evening to walk again and this time the walk will take on more urgency. In June I had never heard of Ferguson, Missouri. I knew about police brutality, I knew about economic inequality, and I knew about media double standards when talking about race. The murder of Trayvon Martin had a profound impact on me, and because I spent the last ten years living in an economically-disadvantaged predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in San Jose, I had–perhaps more than most White America Males–a sense for the ways people in communities of color are excluded from the American dream.

But Ferguson has changed things for me. I was not prepared to see a militarized police force gas, harass, and arrest members of the press. It turns out we live in a nation where pointing a camera in the general direction of economic and social injustice–thought not a crime–can get you arrested, and when journalists no longer are free to visit and report upon disadvantaged communities, it becomes our responsibility to go see for ourselves. This is not to say that I expect to walk through a riot, but if the unrest manifest in Ferguson spreads to Oakland, I want to be able to say that the people most profoundly affected are people with whom I have walked, with whom I’ve shared a neighborly conversation, and with whom I have worked for our city’s common good.

I hope you will join me in the walk.

God’s Peace,
Ben

Friends,

On the fourth Friday of June I participated in an ecumenically-organized march though East Oakland. The group wasn’t huge—we numbered 24—but the impact was powerful. We held signs calling for an end to violence and the ethnically-diverse group of us walked through a neighborhood that has seen far too much violence in recent decades. As we walked together we came to know folks from other faith communities and the people we met along the way seemed genuinely appreciative for our presence among them.

I loved the time I spent on the walk because it helped me feel as if all of Oakland—not just the hills—was my new home. I loved meeting my new neighbors. I loved walking alongside my new partners in ministry. I loved walking with the MPC folks who invited me to join them on the walk, and I hope more people will come along when the walk happens again, this time on July 25. I will be on vacation that Friday, but I plan to walk whenever I am in town on a fourth Friday, and when I walk, I would love to walk with you.

***
On another, unrelated issue: on Sunday, July 6, I preached about the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s recent divestment from Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, and Motorola. In the sermon I mentioned that our denomination divested from these corporations because they currently are profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, but I didn’t give details (Caterpillar produces bulldozers specifically designed to knock down Palestinian homes, HP provides high-tech logistical support for Israeli roadblocks in the West Bank, and Motorola supplies communication systems specifically tailored for the Israeli Defense Forces occupation of the West Bank). After celebration some of you wanted to know more about what these three businesses are doing in the Holy Land, and so for more information on the reasons the Presbyterian Church has divested from these three corporations, I invite you to follow the link below to a pair of opinion pieces published on the Tikkun website. Tikkun is a progressive Jewish organization whose work I have admired for years. Here’s the link: http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/perspectives-on-presbyterian-divestment.

God’s Peace,
Ben

Family Camp was wonderful.

On our last day at Lake Tahoe, my daughter, Mimi and I rented a double kayak and we decided to paddle out to the part of the lake where the color of the water reaches is deepest blue. I have no idea how far out it was, but we were paddling for the better part of a half hour when we decided, finally, to turn around. After looking at a map that marked the depth of the water in Tahoe, I know that the bottom of the lake was some 1500 feet below us, and I can report that when we reached the bluest part of the lake, we felt as if we were paddling through liquid sapphire. The water’s hue was as deep as the lake its self and the lake’s surface didn’t reflect the sunlight so much as it refracted it. It was magical.

I have visited Tahoe on several occasions, and have always looked up at the mountains, which are spectacular and inspiring. Even while on the lake, I’ve always looked up. But this time, I’m glad I looked down into the water and encountered the beauty I’d missed because I was too preoccupied with looking into the distance.

I think there is a spiritual lesson here. In our lives it’s good to take a long view, to contemplate the beauty that awaits us in the distance, to have aspirations, goals and ambitions. But it’s also important to be delighted by the beauty and mystery and wonder that can be found in our more immediate surroundings. This is a good thing. After all, we’re not always able to climb the mountains we see in the distance, but we can find the beauty that abides nearby.

Now that we’ve all come down from Tahoe let’s help each other remember this: we live in a world of wonders, filled with beauty and adventure, and frequently the wonder and beauty and adventure are to be found in far off places. But not always. Sometimes the best place to find beauty and mystery and adventure is right beneath the kayak on which we are sitting.

Dear Friends,

This Sunday is Pentecost, which is one of my favorite days on the Church calendar. Pentecost is the day that traditionally is considered the birthday of the Church, but I love Pentecost because the story of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the followers of Jesus reminds us that our faith ties us to Christians around the world.

At Pentecost we remember that those of us who celebrate our faith on Sunday mornings in Montclair are connected spiritually to people of faith in places like Bolivia, Borneo, Belgium, Botswana and Bora Bora. Pentecost challenges us to be aware of how we are related to God’s children everywhere, to think globally and to consider how our actions and attitudes affect them, especially those who live in poverty and those who are victims of violence and neglect.

At Pentecost we also are challenged to consider how we might learn from and be blessed by our fellow children of God who live in far off places. Pentecost reminds us to seek wisdom and spiritual strength from those whose languages and cultural backgrounds are radically different from our own. Pentecost is an invitation to get out of our comfortable routines and to take a journey with keen faithful awareness across the world’s vast spiritual geography.

One way to demonstrate our connection to Christians around the world is to wear the color red on Pentecost Sunday. I understand this is a tradition in various places around the world (the one time I was overseas on Pentecost people certainly were wearing red in Church), but also, when you wear red to celebration on Sunday you will enhance our worship experience. The Celebration Committee will be decorating the sanctuary in Pentecost red, and by wearing red you will increase the impact of the committee’s creativity, which, in turn, will help tell the story of the day of the Church’s birth when the power of the Holy Spirit taught the followers of Jesus to speak in every language under the sun.

I’ll see you Sunday. I’ll be wearing a red bow tie.

Salaam, Paz, Paix, Ruh, Pace, Namaste, Mir, Shalom, Peace,
Ben

Dear Friends,

I want to say how excited I am that our congregation is on the cusp of installing solar panels on our church property.

For sixteen years I served a congregation that had the distinction of being the first certified “green business” in Santa Clara County, and the first congregation in the Presbyterian Church (USA) to be recognized officially as a green business. Compared to company that fabricates silicon wafers, for example, it’s easy for a Church to be a green business, but still it was a lot of work. We modified our water usage, we changed out our light fixtures for more efficient models, we got rid of our more toxic cleaning supplies, but for us solar panels were just a dream.

We were ideally located for panels and we had a lot of property that could have been used as a solar farm. We even had a south-facing roof with a perfect slope, but for some reason the nexus of financing and willpower never came together for us.

And now here I am in Oakland, and you are making this dream come true, for me anyway.

Solar panels are good for the earth because they generate power without burning fossil fuels, but on a church they also make an important spiritual statement: we, as people of faith, are doing what we can to live gently on the earth God has given us as a home. We are honoring the creator by refusing to soil the creation.

I really hope our solar panels will be visible from the road, for just as our steeple informs the community a congregation worships at our church, so solar panels would bear witness to the earth-honoring values that guide our spiritual life. I don’t know if solar panels will cause people to flock through our doors on Sunday Morning, but I do know that when people of faith use tangible actions to pledge fidelity to the things of God, important works begins.

Thank you for being the kind of congregation that wants to go solar!

Very Best,
Ben