My Blurred Vision: Life at the Intersection of Theology, Music, Politics, and More

These Doctors are Mad as Hell!

2009-08-13T00:28:31-07:00

Question: What do you get when you take 6 physicians add 4 wheels and send them on the road?

Although it sounds like a classic joke, this is no laughing matter! In fact, Dr. Paul Hochfeld, Dr. Eugene Uphoff, Dr. Sam Metz, Dr. Mike Huntington, Dr. Joe Eusterman and Dr. Bob Seward are 6 Oregon physicians who are "Mad as Hell" about the state of health care coverage in the United States. And they aren't going to take it anymore!

After years serving patients in an office, operating room, or emergency room these six physicians have grown frustrated at seeing health care costs rise while for-profit insurance companies reap enormous profits at the same time that millions of citizens remain uninsured and under-insured. In the eyes of these 6 physicians there is only one answer to solving our nation's health care crisis and that is to replace our current system with a "single payer" system.

*What is a single payer system?

“In a Single Payer System, your taxes go toward a government regulated, not-for-profit agency administered by medical personnel. You pay nothing else – not out-of-pocket, not to for-profit insurance companies (unless you really like giving your money away). When you see a physician, or go to the hospital, or buy medications, the physician, hospital, or pharmacy is paid by this agency. This agency is the Single Payer. It sounds simple. It is.”

But these physicians aren't sitting around in their offices lamenting our health care crisis. Instead, they have officially labeled themselves the "Mad as Hell Doctors" (madashelldoctors.com) and beginning September 8, 2009 they will hit the road from Portland, Oregon on a trek across the United States on a mission to simultaneously educate the nation about Single Payer health care and build momentum for a single payer health care system that will mean no one is excluded from coverage!

Here is their plan:

On September 8, 2009 a group of dedicated Oregon physicians will take the message of Universal Health Care "on the road" in a wrapped and branded Motor Home headed for Washington D.C. Our cross-country mission: to stop in big cities and whistle stops alike, conducting pre-booked, local and national media appearances for a curious press. Every move we make along the way will be recorded on camera and then edited and uploaded to the internet that same day. This will allow our Mad As Hell Doctors Tour to leverage the edited video segments on social networking web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, et al. In this way, our effort becomes an unprecedented hybrid of reality television and political activism that offers people the opportunity to follow us, in real time, as our story unfolds. The message will be unmistakable: caravan with us to Washington and help make a public demonstration of support for Single Payer Health Care that will be heard around the world.

Check out their website to see profiles of the Doctors and read about why they are "Mad As Hell!"

But Health Care is in the news, so why have the Mad as Hell Doctors chosen this time to head out on the road?

The Mad as Hell Doctors’ (MAHD) trumpet this theme: Health Care for People, Not Profit and in order to make this more than a slogan the MAHD crew believes this is the time to make a difference. They believe the so-called “Public Option” is doomed to failure because it keeps our current framework and still leave at least 15 million Americans without access to health care coverage.

The Mad As Hell Doctors say:

You CAN handle the Truth!
There's no nice way to say it. The financial cost of health care is killing our citizens, hobbling our economy, crushing small business, and threatening the solvency of our government.  In the meantime, the Health Care Industry is spending almost two million dollars a day lobbying Congress and manipulating public opinion to accept “reform” legislation that leaves a vicious, for-profit system intact. The "public option" is a trap. We need real reform that finds immediate savings, controls costs, and accomplishes the moral imperative of true Universal Access.  A Single Payer plan is the only real path to a Health Care System that is socially, ethically and fiscally responsible. And yet, our elected officials refuse to even discuss the possibility of a Single Payer plan! If that doesn't make you mad, we recommend checking your pulse.
The "public option" is doomed.
First: we will still have a dysfunctional health care system designed around insurance companies.  Second: it will be impossible to cover everyone without raising taxes. The Obama administration is already saying it is acceptable to leave out 15 million people. Which 15 million? Will you be one of them? Who gets to decide? Third: in a "post-option" environment you can bet that the health insurance industry will manipulate the rules so that the sickest, most expensive patients will gravitate toward the public plan, which will cause it to fail. When it does, the opponents of real reform will point to the "public option" and scream: "See! Single Payer won't work!"
There is a time for compromise - this isn't one of them.
We are a small group of Oregon-Based doctors who care.  We believe there is only one way to control costs, one way to remove profiteering from the system, one way to reclaim the care of our patients, and one way to be sure everyone is covered: we must replace our current pay-or-die system and with a comprehensive, publicly financed, privately delivered, Single Payer system that puts people first.  Our moment to take a stand for Single Payer is NOW. We may not have another opportunity like this in our lifetime. Please support this unprecedented road trip to real health care reform.

I invite you to join me in following the Mad as Hell Doctors as they travel across the United States. I too believe that a single payer system is our best our only hope to achieve health care justice in this country. The Mad as Hell Docs have announced that "This Fall, the rubber gloves meet the road." So watch for the "Mad As Hell Doctors" as they come through your community, follow them on the web, and donate if you can!

Attorney General Holder: Investigate Torture

2009-08-11T01:51:33-07:00

During the George W. Bush Administration people were tortured in our name! In response to the extremely slow movement on investigating the origins of the torture policies the American Civil Liberties Union has produced this video. Watch the video and forward it to Attorney General Holder and ask for a comprehensive investigation into those responsible for torturing prisoners in our name!

Check out the ACLU's tortured logic site here.

Also, check out site of the National Religious Coalition against Torture (NRCAT), which is an interfaith organization that has banded together seeking to end the use of torture.

The Power of Music at Camp

2009-08-08T23:33:38-07:00

It has now been a week since we arrived home after spending a week at N-Sid-Sen for our annual trek to Family Camp. The experience was a little different this year as I co-directed with my sister-in-law Meridith, and thus it wasn't strictly a week of vacation. However, I did emerge from the week feeling like I was able to enjoy the time with family and enjoy the experience as a director. I'm still doing some evaluation work from the week and as I have been doing that I have heard a constant soundtrack of favorite camp songs running through my head. Now, strictly speaking these aren't necessarily camp songs, but they are songs that I have come to know best as songs accompanied by guitar at Camp N-Sid-Sen on the shores of Lake Coeur d' Alene. Thanks to John Eisenhauer, Jack Ballard, Duane Nightingale, and others who have provided the musical accompaniment for my memories!

Here is a partial list of the soundtrack that is still running through my head:

Blowin' in the Wind-Bob Dylan

Little Blue Top- Tony Hughes

Here I am Lord--Daniel Schutte

Part of the Family - Jim Manley

One Tin Soldier- Dennis Lambert

Spirit-Jim Manley

This Pretty Planet-Tom Chapin

Pharaoh Pharaoh--Richard Berry

Standing in the Need of Prayer-traditional

Morning Has Broken-Farjeon/Stevens

Lord of the Dance-words by Sydney Carter

Lean on Me-Bill Withers

Rock Me to Sleep-Tom Hunter

Rock Me in Your Arms-unknown

For the church camp addicts out there: What songs are a part of the soundtrack of your camp experiences?

Sarah Palin has lost it!

2009-08-07T21:58:46-07:00

Taking her talking points from the right-wing wackosphere Sarah Palin has deemed President Obama's attempts to assure that every American has health care coverage "downright evil." Posting via facebook, Ms. Palin's first online comments since becoming the "former Governor of Alaska" read like a rumor-mongering screed.

From Palin's facebook page:

The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Of course President Obama's health care plan includes no such "death panel," but Ms. Palin and many of her supporters aren't really interested in sharing the truth. Instead of debating ideas for legitimate health care coverage, Palin and her ilk would rather throw mud and disseminate mis-information. This is about scoring political points and rallying a base of support so that when it comes time to declare her candidacy for 2012 she will have built up enough points to ingratiate herself with the true believers of the Republican Party.

I was wondering what Ms. Palin was going to do now that she doesn't have to worry about banning books from Alaska libraries...and now we know!

"Vines, Branches, and Still Waters": A Sermon on Ecology, an Embodied God, and how God Chooses Us!

2009-07-19T14:24:10-07:00

Today we worshiped outdoors under the canopy of trees in Hansen Grove. I went away from the lectionary this week and used Psalm 23 and John 15:1-16a to weave together a sermon that touched on eco-theology, a God who is embodied in humanity and nature, and the fact that God has and is choosing us even when we aren't brave or wise enough to choose God.

Here is the text from my manuscript:

Today we gather in what is for us an unusual place for worship—in Hansen Grove, on chairs less comfortable than our pews, on ground that is not necessarily level, where the sounds of West Hills Road are muted not by walls, but instead by soft breezes and the natural sound dampening that trees, grass, and distance provide. Today, as we gather in this space I want to say out loud a reality that I hope you all agree with—we are gathered in a Holy Sanctuary—you are sitting on Holy Ground, and today—a week removed from our rain-induced indoor salmon bar-be-que, I invite you to take in the sounds, sights, and feel of God meeting us as we gather in this space.

The scripture lessons I chose for this service rely on pastoral and agricultural images that are simultaneously dated and timeless. Our lessons are both commonly heard in the lectionary and in churches of all theological persuasions. Psalm 23 and to a lesser degree John 15, and both often quoted within popular culture, and perhaps you wonder why I would choose these two passages, when they have been so widely discussed. I chose them because as I thought about gathering under the trees of Hansen Grove I thought about lessons that would both draw upon images of nature AND remind us of the ways that God nurtures us and strengthens us for the calling that God puts before us. Quite simply as I thought about how to frame any comment about committing, or recommitting to stewardship of creation I was looking for texts that spoke of nature’s beauty, of community, and of God’s love. These three things are here in these texts, even if they aren’t always revealed in easy ways.

In reading the 23^rd Psalm it would be easy to find ourselves confined to times when shepherds roamed the countryside tending to their animals, or to a time when it was the norm rather than an offense worthy of a citation to lay oneself down in a field or beside a stream. It would be easy to write off the words of this passage because the pastoral allusions it contains no longer seem relevant in an age of routine cross-country travel, cellular phones, and photovoltaic cells. Perhaps it would be easier still to just update the words of the psalm to make it reflect modern sensibilities, which might make it read like this:

God is my Top Friend on Facebook, I need nothing else.

God reserves a room for me at the resort hotel and leads me to a barco-lounger by the pool;

God revives me. God takes me to all right places.

Even when I take a wrong turn and become lost, I fear nothing for God is on my speed-dial

You bring me glorious foods, you give me the best clothing, you massage my body, and there is no end to it all.

I am sure that your love and care will be mine forever and I will live a life of peace always.

But wait—this passage isn’t about a long ago time at all. The 23^rd Psalm is about all time, it is about God’s time. Psalm 23 speaks with undaunted clarity about who God is and how the Psalmist has encountered God. The Psalm opens with two statements of faith: the Lord is my Shepherd AND I shall not want. Portraying Gods and Kings as shepherds was commonplace in Ancient Near East cultures and in Israelite depictions as well. In this passage the shepherd metaphor allows God to be provider, caregiver, protector, and the loving critic —loving those who were being tended and nurtured, but also able to correct erroneous behavior and bring those who had strayed back into the flock. This Psalm also tells of a God who prepares a feast, who anoints, who gives with abundance in such a way that the Psalmist knows that there is forever a place with God. The surety about God’s love pours out in the poetry of this psalm…and we are invited to join the Psalmist in dwelling with God.

Our lesson from John also uses an image from nature—this time to depict the blessings and challenges of accepting God’s love and following the example of Jesus Christ. In this text Jesus announces that he is the vine, God is the vinegrower, and we—all of us—are the branches that exemplify and testify to, the love of God. Jesus tells of branches that will be pruned if they fail to live in the way of love that Jesus proclaims. Now, I must admit that whenever I hear that I could be the next branch pruned and tossed into the fire, I flinch at the thought of a God who would do such a thing. But I don’t actually think this is the threat that we might see it to be—because Jesus grounds this statement in a type of love that we can only know in our relationship to the divine and that relationship is assumed as Jesus speaks. The assumption in his words is that we always “abide in Jesus as he abides in us.” The word abide means “to live or to make one’s home”—and thus as Jesus speaks of vines and branches we are not being threatened, but instead we are being reminded that our home will always be with God. As I understand this passage the branches being pruned represent the pieces of ourselves that would have us ignore that God resides in us and we in God. What we might hear as a threat is Jesus simply asking us to acknowledge what we know to be true—that we cannot be separated from God if we allow God to live and flourish in us!

This passage gives language to an understanding of God that I have long held—that God is embodied and alive in people, in nature, in all of creation. And what I find most compelling about this notion is described in the closing statement of today’s gospel reading. Jesus says, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” I believe that Jesus was parroting words that God has been speaking across time—think about our faith story—it has branches named Adam, Eve, Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Job, Mary, Joseph, Simon Peter, Judas, Nathanial, Mary Magdalene, and Paul. I would argue that none of these people, nor the countless prophets, theologians, teachers, and worshippers from across the globe who form the long line of saints and sinners who have birthed and continue to birth our tradition—none of them chose God—instead it was God who chose them. It has always been God who chooses—and our faith story is a compilation of stories about how faithful people have responded to the call to embody God—to live in God and let God live in them.

Some of the branches of our faith story were given clear guidance about how to let God live in them—Jeremiah and Mary both had a clarity of call—even when they were unprepared to answer. For others like the disciples, Mary Magdalene, and Paul living in God took a bit of wandering or discernment. As I experience God and as I read our sacred stories I am more and more convinced that in being called to be branches connected to the vine of Jesus Christ we are called to take greater care of the natural environment that God has given to us. Green pastures and still waters can only be sacred places if they can thrive away from pollution, waste, and unfettered human encroachment. Vines and branches can only thrive and serve as an example of holy relationship if soil is nurtured and used with care, if farmland remains available and sustainable, and if, as consumers, we have an understanding of the cycle of our food that goes beyond carrying groceries between the store and our home. With each and every passing day my belief grow stronger that if we truly believe that God lives in us and we live in God then we must re-evaluate and change our relationship to the earth and to all of God’s people.

We have come so far at this point—in my lifetime I remember taking trips when it was the norm to see people throwing their garbage out of the car as they drove. Recycling was once a novel concept, people once thought little about using electricity except when the bill arrived, carpooling was only for convenience—but now ecological concerns have moved from fringe “hippie" activity to corporate buzz, and “buying green” has become the rage on Wall Street and on Main Street too. We’ve come so far…but there is much to do and I must admit that when tips on “green” products, green living, and green driving can be found in newspapers, textbooks, and many websites it is easy to think we have arrived.

But we haven’t…chemical runoff and sediment still destroy creeks, recycling rates flag as it becomes easier, bicycles remain parked in garages long after the rains have stopped…you know the drill. So what are we to do? How can we re-energize ourselves for the work that we know we must do if we are to properly care for God’s creation? How can we remind ourselves that God is embodied in everything we see? How can we celebrate the gifts of God’s creation in a way that sustains us for the work of being the branches connected to Christ’s vine?

If we want to celebrate our role as branches on Christ’s vine I suggest we eat the fruit of the vine and take it in as a Holy meal. So often when I eat I gobble my food so that I can get to the next meeting, or I don’t even take the time to give thanks for my food because it is easier to start dishing out food. Too often I choose to eat what is easiest to buy, rather than what is best for me or best for our planet. Too often I don’t acknowledge eating as a Holy endeavor— I forget that if God is embodied in everything when I take food into my body I am meeting God in an intimate, holy, and sustainable way.

Today I would like to give you a chance to practice celebrating the gift of God’s embodiment in everything—even our food. Join me in an exercise in holy eating. As the bowls pass by you I invite you to take a piece of fruit, give thanks for it, and to eat it—knowing that as you eat you are meeting the God who leads you to still waters in the midst of chaos and danger, you are meeting the God who calls you into relationship so that you can grow and be nurtured, and you are meeting the God who exemplified pure love through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Eat, give thanks, and know that God is calling you!

Synod 2009: Day 3

2009-06-30T07:01:33-07:00

The extremely high waters of the river have receded a bit in Grand Rapids. The morning program for Sunday at Synod was “Sacred Conversations on Race.” While I applaud our denomination for taking on this issue my overall impression of this portion of the Synod program was that it was a mixed bag. I heard several colleagues suggest that their session took an almost embarrassingly simplistic view of the issue while others found compelling conversations not so much in what was presented by the assigned keynote speakers and moderators, but because of the conversations that happened between small groups of people. I applaud the UCC for delving into this issue and attempting to take an honest shot at discussing the linger effects of our culture’s inability to talk in depth about race and racial issues, but I am honestly not sure how far this exercise brought us.

The afternoon worship included sacred dance, wonderful music, and inspired preaching by retiring General Minister and President John Thomas. Weaving together wisdom from scripture and his experiences as General Minister and President Rev. Thomas wove together the story of Jonah doubts, the gifts of the Ethiopian eunuch, and the promises of the revelation to John. Inspiring and profound...

After the evening committee session, the 2030 Clergy Network hosted an after-hours event where we honored John Thomas’s work and vision as our General Minister and President over these past 10 years. Amid 60 or so 2030 clergy and amid the appetizers, conversations, drinks, and laughter we celebrated the ministry of grace, love, and passion that has marked John Thomas’s leadership of the United Church of Christ. We presented him with a wall-hanging that depicts UCC symbol and thanked him for the both the inspiration and the direct action that he has undertaken on behalf of young clergy. For some of us the event went on into the after-hours of the after-hours, but the wonderful and deep theological conversations simply did not allow the evening to end early. At some point during the night one of my colleagues, a fellow PSR alum, noted that it was 10 years ago this August that we entered PSR together—a truth I knew, but at the same time find hard to believe. I am so awed by the work that my colleagues—from PSR and around the UCC—are doing, and I am aware of the blessings they bring to the UCC and the inspiration they give me.

Yet another long but great day at Synod!

Synod 2009: Day 2 - River City Saturday

2009-06-27T23:55:30-07:00

River City Saturday featured workshops and keynote addresses by dozens of theologians, artists, and commentators. Our day started with an address from Eugene Robinson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the Washington Post. I also heard Barbara Brown Taylor, Jim Wallace, and Ray Suarez. Barbara Brown Taylor was by far the highlight of the speakers in my mind as she spoke poetically and profoundly about how and why the church must be engaging with our youngest generations.

Another highlight of the day was the picnic in the park sponsored by the 2030 Clergy Network. We had probably 60 people gathered together for lunch on the lawn near the Gerald R. Ford Museum. This was simply a fellowship event, but it was wonderful to have 2030 clergy and their families, seminarians, and 2030 allies and alums gathered for fellowship and networking.

For dinner I hopped into a gathering of 2030 folks who are interested in the emergent church conversation. Nine of us were joined by PSR President Bill McKinney for dinner and conversation that centered on our desires for the church and our thoughts about how to implement some emergent identity into our own settings for ministry. There was much rich conversation and although I would not even begin to classify the discussion as “settled” it did again focus me on my wrestling match with traditional model of “being” the church.

Our last program piece for the day was a celebration service honoring the ministry of the Rev. John Thomas, who is serving his last Synod as our General Minister and President. Many wonderful words and sentiments were expressed toward and about Rev. Thomas, but what was most profound about the night was his grace-filled and honest appraisal of the successes and failures of the UCC during his tenure. His words indicating his struggle with the demands of the job and the toll they took on his family were undoubtedly difficult to utter, but exuded the trust and love he has for his family and for the United Church of Christ too.

Finally, one of the highlights of the day came in the late hours of the night and the wee hours of the morning as 2030 clergy gathered for after-hours conversation at one of the hotels. After talking with several colleagues about their difficult and hurtful ordination processes I found myself both thankful for the blessings of my own experience with the ordination process and frustrated by the roadblocks that are too often put in the way of brilliant and highly capable young clergy. Some of the stories that I heard tonight demand a more standardized process that would no longer leave prospective clergy at the mercy of arbitrary rulings by Conference or Association committees. Overall, our late night conversations yield more proof that for the next 30 years I will be serving with amazing colleagues!

Synod 2009: Day 1

2009-06-26T23:11:11-07:00

General Synod officially started this today with registration, opening plenary, the introduction of honored guests and officials, and opening worship. I actually started the day rather late and hit the Synod just after lunch. After arriving at

DeVos Place I spent time hanging out at the 2030 Clergy Network booth with NPT folks and met a bunch of 2030 colleagues who wandered by in the exhibition hall.

The opening plenary session took place mid-afternoon and it was a pretty typical opening business session—complete with rules, introduction of the Synod officials, and a series of reports. The highlight of the plenary was, in my mind anyway, the procession of placards representing all the churches that have been recently born into the UCC. The procession was good news amid difficult financial reports and forecasts!

After dinner at a local hot dog joint with 2030 colleagues (Yay for vegi dogs!) I hit the 2030 booth again before the evening’s opening worship. Opening worship started with a plenary session that included the official introduction of the Rev. Geoffrey Black, who is the candidate for General Minister and President of the UCC. Rev. Black’s address was further evidence of his suitability for the position and included a wonderfully gracious shout-out to the 2030 Clergy Network!

After shifting from business session into worship mode we were treated to an opening worship that featured incredible music, beautiful dance and the inspiring and overwhelming preaching of the Rev. Otis Moss III from Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ. All the featured musicians and dancers also joined us from Trinity—thus putting the Synod in touch with the UCC’s largest church. Rev. Moss’s sermon focused on the first 8 verses of the book of Revelation and into that text he pasted a critique of the ways we use punctuation to limit and define God. It was a brilliant take on the UCC’s “Never place a period where God has placed a comma” campaign and including powerful social analysis, incredible and driving cadence, and a renewed call to the United Church of Christ to refuse to limit the power of God’s love, stewardship, compassion, and call. Moss called out the “empire” that endorses torture, that engages in unjust warfare, that does not protect its children…and he did so in a way that his critique was clearly pulled from the notion that all of these are failures because human beings and governments have acted in a way that limits the potential of God. Moss was the perfect pastoral and prophetic voice to kick-off Synod…

Finally, the evening ended with search and eventual success for an after-hours gathering for 2030 folks. After being invited by some young adults to the young adult gathering those of us who felt like we had (unfortunately) moved beyond the young adult age range instead found another place to gather. The invitation and obvious youth of the young adult crowd was more than enough of a reminder that I can’t even come close to claiming the young adult label…

And after this posts it is (past) time to crash as the River City Saturday portion of Synod starts in just over 6 hours…

Thoughts from General Synod: A Wrap of the Pre-Synod 2030 Event

2009-06-26T22:11:32-07:00

I (finally) arrived in Grand Rapids shortly after midnight on Wednesday night-Thursday morning, got settled in my room and attempted to sleep—but even after a full day of travel, I still couldn’t manage to shake “west-coast time.” Once 1:15 am hit I figured I might as well make the most of being up, so off to the hotel gym I headed. After nearly an hour of exercise I finally fell off to sleep sometime around 3 am.

Morning came quickly and I was off to the 2030 Clergy Network Pre-Synod event at Park United Church of Christ in Grand Rapids. At Park UCC the 2030 National Planning Team (NPT) met quickly before the event and put the finishing touches on a few pieces. Rob Leverage, Matthew Westfox, Amy Sens and I put together the pieces for the opening worship after a colleague was unable to join us. Our simple opening worship featured wonderful hymn singing (Guide My Feet and Called as Partners), reading from John 15 (Vine and Branches), and during a sharing portion that I called on my 2030 colleagues to be bold enough to first lift up what we—as the 2030 branches of the church—bring as gifts to ministry, to one another, and to our church. After hearing wonderful, serious, funny, honest, and hopeful affirmations of the profound talent, pastoral presence, and blessings that were in the room I next asked my colleagues to be bold enough to also name those things that they need from our God and from our Christ that is the vine that grounds us. Once again I heard profound words—of hope, of concern for the church, of concern for individual ministries—and thus our words that lifted up our gifts and those things that we need from and with our God became or prayers as we began our gathering.

Our event next shifted to a coffee hour—that ALWAYS comes after worship right? The coffee hour time allowed us to informally reconnect with old friends and meet colleagues that were new to us. We followed our coffee hour time with a time for regional meetings that allowed us to network with those who are closest to us—at least on the map. This was yet another time when I longed to live in a less spread out region as our regional gathering included folks from Northern and Southern California, Seattle, from Corvallis, Oregon—not an easy group to gather for coffee or lunch! Nonetheless we had a spirited discussion about the things that were feeding us in our ministry settings and those things that we are “working on or figuring out.”

Lunch followed and although it was originally set to be a self-selecting interest group gathering for “solo pastors, associates, clergy with children, etc.” Instead, we had a surprise guest—the Rev. Geoffrey Black, the candidate for UCC General Minister and President. We were thrilled to have him join us and he spoke eloquently and honestly about his excitement and his concern about this particular time in the United Church of Christ’s history. I was especially interested in his words about the need of the UCC to move beyond our history of being a “head” church and more fully embrace our capacity to be both a head AND heart church. Rev. Black invited US—the 2030 Clergy Network—to be focused on that work. After lunch and more discussion with Rev. Black we gathered around Rev. Black for a “laying on of hands” and a blessing of him as he headed into this important Synod Gathering. The Rev. Matthew Mardis-LeCroy offered the blessing while the rest of us gathered around and prayed for our church and for Rev. Black. I was so thankful that Matt thought to offer that blessing...very powerful moment.

Our after lunch sessions included break out sessions focused on getting involved in 2030 advocacy with the Pension Boards, getting 2030 clergy involved with conference leadership and Church and Ministry boards, and getting 2030 clergy involved in Wider Church work.

Finally, we closed our gathering with worship that included communion, hymns (including a spirited version of “You Have Come to the Lakeshore,”) a reading of Acts 2:1-7, a recognition of “retiring” 2030 leadership, and a commissioning of the current NPT members. Following clean-up and dinner with about 15 2030 colleagues I actually hit the hotel room early after beginning to pay for the late night/early morning. A great way to kick-off the Synod experience for 2009!

P.S. I hope to add some pictures from the 2030 event after I collect some from colleagues...

Coming Soon: Updates from General Synod

2009-06-20T18:02:26-07:00

I will be headed to Grand Rapids THIS Wednesday June 24, for the United Church of Christ's General Synod and the 2030 Clergy Network's pre-Synod event. Watch this space for updated postings from Grand Rapids!