Capitulation & Fear In Senate

All the stories coming out of the Senate are dispiriting, to say the least. The cowardice of too many Senators about creating a real public option to challenge the unregulated costs imposed on us by insurance corporations is very sad to see.

However - Elizabeth Sholes of the California Council of Churches IMPACT reminds us that "this is NOT over!

The House bill, HR 3962, contains a very solid public option, and we have been told by Speaker Pelosi's staff that she and the House are NOT giving this up. The Senate bill, however it's finally written, will have to be reconciled with this House bill in Conference Committee, and the work on behalf of those in need of good coverage is still within our reach."

She reminds us of the work of Faithful Reform in Health Care: www.faithfulreform.org.
There you will find postcards and other resources that you may download, print, ADD A MESSAGE OF YOUR OWN, sign and mail to your Senators and Representatives. By adding a message, you quadruple the impact of the card. Your entire congregation or group can and should send these, also with a brief handwritten message, so that across the nation the light of hope for health care will become familiar to our elected leaders.

Do not give up hope or the willingness to remain committed to this work. . . . We have not lost. We will not back down!

Best Reasons to Send More US Troops to Afghanistan

Rabbi Waskow has compiled a list of best reasons to send more US troops to Afghanistan:

Ten best reasons to send more US troops to Afghanistan

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow | 11/30/2009

10. If you want to breed and train more would-be terrorists who hate the USA, the best way to do so is attacking Afghan villages where key Al Qaeda cells have left to regroup elsewhere.

9. If you want to keep Afghan women powerless, ignore the advice of their own leaders that grass-roots economic development is crucial — and send the Marines instead, to boost the power of macho warlords who gather loyalty by fighting foreign invaders.

8. If you want to make sure that no one is learning that government could do good things like building schools and community health clinics in America, hiring teachers and writers and railroad construction workers, feeding hungry children, or renewing our rotting sewer system — then sink hundred of billions of dollars into this war so as to bankrupt domestic-needs programs.

7. If you want to make even higher profits from burning oil and coal instead of letting America invest in creating a wind/solar renewable energy network that will heal the climate crisis, free us from coal and oil, and make America competitive again — a multi-billion-dollar war is terrific.

6. If you want to stymie all investigations into past use of torture and “extraordinary rendition” by past US governments and utterly negate the closing of Guantanamo, multiplying prisoners in Bagram (Afghanistan) will help a great deal.

5. If you like to knit blankets for legless veterans while making sure the Veterans Administration will be so swamped with the wounded that they have to wait months for treatment despite the best efforts of overworked staff, many many more maimed soldiers are by far the best result of a war.

4. If you are trying to do research on the suicide rate, homeless rate, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome, there will never be a better milieu for producing experimental subjects.

3. If you want to create a surge of right-wing populist rage that will shatter the Democratic Party and elect Sarah Palin President in 2012, then combine thousands of dead and maimed American soldiers with millions of unemployed American workers.

http://www.theshalomcenter.org/node/1650

What am I missing here?
What is our President missing?
The President's policy is good for our country?
The President's policy will keep us safer -- and the world -- safer?
Please!!!

The Revelation of Our War President

This is a sad day for America.
The man so many of us thought would usher in a new world with new priorities ultimately shows human frailty.
His promise of change and peace succumb to pressures of the warmongers.
There can no explaining away the hope for change we bought in to.
It is a clear breach of contract.
Nothing has changed.

As our president rallies the world to war, we shake our heads in disappointment.

Perhaps this becomes an Advent reminder: there is one who does offer real peace for the world -- and churches all over the world are talking about reasons why in these days before Christmas.
Maybe this year we can pay attention.

A Thankful Frame of Mind

In a sense, gratitude is an expression of modesty.
In Hebrew, the word for gratitude - hoda'ah - is the same as the word for confession.
To offer thanks is to confess dependence,
to acknowledge that others have the power to benefit you,
to admit that your life is better because of their efforts.
That frame of mind is indispensable to civilized society.

So, be thankful.
Don't take the gifts in your life for granted.
Remember - as the Pilgrims remembered - that we are
impoverished without each other, and without God.

Whoever and wherever you are this Thanksgiving, the good in your life outweighs the bad.
If that doesn't deserve our gratitude, what does?

Opening the Door to Pleasure and Joy In Your Life

Learning to be thankful, whether to God or to other people, is the best vaccination against taking good fortune for granted.
And the less you take for granted, the more pleasure and joy life will bring you.

If you assume that the good things in your life are normal and to be expected, you diminish the happiness they can bring you.

By contrast, if you train yourself to develop the custom of counting your blessings and being grateful for them, you will fill your life with cheer.

Sure, it can be hard to do.
Like most useful skills, it takes years of practice before it becomes second nature.
This is one reason that coming to church and connecting with others leads to happiness - it ingrains the habits of thankfulness.
People who thank God before each meal, for example, inculcate gratitude in themselves.
In so doing, they open the door to gladness.

The Secret to Happiness

Gratitude is not an attitude we cultivate well, is it?
Even on Thanksgiving Day, we are more likely to concentrate on the turkey or the television than on giving thanks.
But, perhaps we would think differently about thankfulness if we realized its extraordinary power to improve our lives.

One popular writer has proposed a convincing argument that gratitude is nothing less than the key to happiness.

Dennis Prager writes in Happiness is a Serious Problem: “There is a ‘secret’ to happiness, 
and it is gratitude. 
All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy. 
We tend to think that it is being unhappy that leads people to complain, but it is truer to say that it is complaining that leads to people becoming unhappy. 
Become grateful and you will become a much happier person.”'

Think about it: All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy.

This is a keen observation, isn’t it? 
And, I think it helps explain why the Judeo-Christian tradition places such emphasis on thanking God.
The liturgy is filled with expressions of gratitude.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, begins the 92nd Psalm.
Why?
Because God needs our gratitude?
No: because we need it.

Making Miracles at Thanksgiving

You and I are not good at fixing the international credit markets,
but we can become very good at splinting butterfly wings and filling boxes of food [at your local food pantry] . . . .
So writes Rabbi Marc Gellman in Newsweek.  Check out his article on the butterfly effect and how you can begin a year of miracles today with a small act of kindness.

Let Your Congressperson Know What You Value

It is very easy to communicate with your elected Representative.
These people make it even easier. Click here for more info.

Our Current Health Care System is Flawed to the Bone

So, apparently they are going to vote this weekend.
Lets hope they do not get swayed by the pervasive myth that the US has the best health care system in the world.
We have learned that contrary to what we had believed, no one in the world envys our health care!

The life expectancy rate in our country is tied with Kuwait and Chile –
there are 31 other countries in the world whose people live longer than we do!
An African-American in New Orleans has a shorter life expectancy than the average person in Vietnam or Honduras.
A baby is eleven times more likely to die here than in Singapore!!!
(There but for fortune . . . )

Our health care system and its delivery is wretched by any measure.

But, interestingly, there is one bright spot in the analyses that have been done:
Our population over the age of 65 can expect to live longer than the average of the other industrialized countries.
And, that’s because Americans above age 65 actually have universal health care coverage: Medicare.
Suddenly, a diverse population with pockets of poverty is no longer such a drawback.

Universal health care works!!!

It is a moral issue.
It is a humane issue.
It is about what we value as a society.

Let them know that we value our fellow citizen over corporate profits.
Our existing health care delivery system is flawed to the core.
Band-aids won’t fix it.

Our sick and dying brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers deserve better.
They deserve to know that we as a society care for them in their days of distress.
They deserve to know that we value them for who they are to us – and never consider them discardable and disposable.

Check out the Op-Ed piece in today’s New York Times and let our folks in Washington know what you expect from the health care system in our country.

Remembering and Recalling Our Blessings

Remembering our place in the universal scheme of things and recalling our blessings cultivates and nourishes our soul.

It is so right for us to take time each year to think about thanks giving.
Indeed, thanks giving is so much a part of our Christian faith that we should pay much more attention to it than we do.

No matter what our lives have been, there is something sacred in looking back and taking inventory of things for which we are especially thankful:
for lessons learned, the times shared, the blessings received.

Surviving Hard Times

These are the times that try men’s souls, was the cry of a previous generation; but, it could be our cry as well.

I have been doing a great deal of thinking about the hard times most of us are experiencing – personally, with loved ones, and even with our church – and of what our faith says about surviving hard times.

In our sacred writings we reminded that it is our faith that provides the power to survive and overcome whatever life brings – including hard times like these. (I John 5:4)

This statement has provided the underpinnings for additional reflection of what our faith may be saying as to how to survive specific hard times such as those most of us face at one time or another.

And so, taking a clue from the popular TV show, Survivor, I am engaged in this series of sermons on the topic of Surviving Hard Times.

With all of the scientific evidence being accumulated these days that confirm the positive benefits of faithful living, actually taking the “leap of faith” is a far more rational decision than it ever was in the past.

Over and over again, studies reveal that people of faith – people who regularly participate in a community of faith, like our church – actually have a better life than those who don’t.

People of faith actually survive hard times in a way that others don’t.

The faith that is proclaimed here at Christ Church helps people overcome whatever life brings – like I John says.

What is of particular interest to me is that study after study shows that we don’t even have to believe that the conclusions may be true.

What is shown is that something happens to people who are part of a faith community.

Something happens to people who worship regularly together.

Something happens to people who meet together to praise the Creator and to seek guidance and wisdom for living life in these days.

They become different from those who don’t.

They are able to survive during times when others succumb.

Values change.

The way we look at the world changes.

The way we look at each other changes.

Our demeanor changes.

Our attitude changes.

Our brain changes.

And miracles happen.

We are able to overcome whatever life brings our way.
We are able to survive when bad things happen – survive and even thrive.

Let no one think differently, what we do here at Christ Church is important stuff.
There is power in this faith we profess.
What we do now and in the days ahead will reflect our understanding of how we are to channel our resources and energies to promote and enable others to know what we know.

I am looking forward to the days ahead here.
I hope you are, too.
You should.

See you in church – and bring someone with you.

Yes Sen. Inhofe, God is "up there" - and God is Pissed

I love Paul Raushenbush and he doesn't miss a chance to take on anybody.
He writes: "time is running out, and so might God's patience. . . .

If Senator Inhofe is to truly acknowledge the God up there then he should be the first to get on his knees and join with the rest of us to repent of our recklessness with the environment.
It is not too late for us to act in a way that is worthy of the trust that God placed with humans to care for the world. . . . .

Yes, God is up there - and God is pissed."

Check out Senator Inhofe's video.
Check out Paul Raushenbush's article.

We Cannot Afford to Wait -- Too Many People are Dying

According to recent reliable studies, more Americans died from congressional inaction on health care than died during those years as a result of the first Gulf War, the Iraq War, the Afghanistan war, the 9/11 attacks, Hurrican Katrina and all of the nation's homicides-- combined.

And it does not have to be!!!
This can be changed -- NOW!

All people should have adequate health care. Period!!!
Especially the poor and the weak.

Interesting comment from Steven Waldman on Beliefnet:
Since health care reform was defeated in 1994, about as many Americans have died from lack of insurance as died in battle during all of the wars in American history (including the Civil War and World War II) -- combined.

Check out his calculations: http://tinyurl.com/yauakfa
and call your Senators and Congressman.

Forgotten in the Health Care Debate: the poor and the sick

Articles in newspapers and magazines all over the country reflect things like this:

The bottom line, which becomes obscured by the high-decibel disagreements, is that health care in the United States needs fixing, . . . The people forgotten in the debate are those whom Christians have a moral responsibility to care for: the poor and the sick.

Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/ychrnvh
Call your Congressperson and Senators.

Not Providing Healthcare for All Is Morally Indefensible

A number of people have committed to 40 days of speaking out on the issue of seeing that adequate healthcare is provided for all in this country.

I appreciate reading the comments of all who do and who have spoken up and out on this issue.

Dr. Gordon D. Newby, a professor at Emory University, has just published a most interesting article that ought to inspire all of us -- as it did me -- to start proclaiming the faith-connection to the current national debate. ( http://tinyurl.com/l25hse )

He writes: At the end of August, our nation witnessed the first full public conversation about health care reform and the Gospel of the Poor.

In the celebration of Senator Kennedy’s life and accomplishments, clergy and laity joined in acknowledging that the Senator had made access to health care for all—regardless of wealth or station—his life’s work based on his understanding of the Gospels, his Roman Catholic faith, and his love for humanity.

It was a very different conversation than those we have generally heard on the broadcast media or read in print, because it was about health care for real people in real need.

It was a conversation about faith, morality, and compassion.

A conversation about faith, morality, and compassion -- that is what has been missing in all the political maneuvering about providing for reform of the current healthcare delivery system in this country.

Dr. Newby rightly suggests that so far we -- the country, the politicians, the people -- have been having the wrong conversation.

We are talking about insurance, money, the economy, freedom of choice, and letting those already fortunate to have insurance keep what they have. We are forgetting that there is a distinction between health care and health insurance, between the economy and the health of the nation.

What is needed, he boldly suggests, is a national conversation about our moral priorities as a nation, even as we discuss our financial future. From the heritage of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, it is wrong to leave so many in poverty and need.

Yes!

I, for one, pledge here and now to do what I can to participate in a national conversation about our moral priorities as a nation.

It certainly seems to me that Jesus was very clear about where he stood and would be standing when so many of neighbors are hurting so severely because of lack of access to health care.
For all who profess to be Christian it is very clear that not providing healthcare for all is morally indefensible.

Take a look at Dr. Newby's article (http://tinyurl.com/l25hse )and pass this post around for all to see.

Jesus Wants Universal Healthcare

Last night over 140,000 people from all kinds of religious persuasions joined in phone call with President Obama and many clergy and lay people from all over the country. These folks came from all walks of life, from all over the political spectrum, to express their concerns that a health care plan must be developed that provides coverage for all of God's children.

We heard from people like Rev. Heyward Wiggins, who had a parishioner in his congregation die, because he couldn't afford blood tests that would have detected his cancer in time to treat it, and many others with similarly heartbreaking stories.

President Obama and his Domestic Policy Director Melody Barnes spoke directly to the issues that people of faith care about most, and addressed the moral dimensions of the health care debate.

Over the next 40 days, people of faith are leading a national campaign for health care reform. While members of Congress are in their home districts, we’ll be holding hundreds of prayer vigils and in-district events. We’ll sign petitions, write our representatives, organize a nationwide conference call for people of faith, and air a national TV ad –all to say the faith community supports health care reform.

40 Days for Health Reform is an effort from the faith community to make clear to Congress that quality, affordable health care for every American family is a moral priority for millions of people of faith.

Health care reform is far too important of an issue to let special interests hijack the debate with disruptions and distractions. 40 Days for Health Reform is moving the debate forward with a nationwide TV ad featuring local clergy and lay leaders supporting reform, prayer rallies and in-district meetings reaching over 100 Members of Congress, and a call-in webcast featuring President Obama and diverse faith leaders.

Join the call, take the pledge, sign the petition:

http://faithforhealth.org/

Revive Us, O Lord . . . . so your people can laugh and sing!

Well, it happened quicker than most people thought possible.

Of course, that’s what usually happens when working in God’s realm, isn’t it?

We are being shown again and again that God’s plans are far grander than anything we can dream up, and God’s time is far different from our time.

Within days of the sign going upon the church property, a full-price offer was tendered.
After negotiations with all parties, the Congregation met in a called meeting August 16, 2009, and took action to accept the offer to purchase the church building.

The building is being purchased by another church seeking to move out of the city and expand its program and reach.

With 250 members, they have immediate plans about how they would use the space and bring life and purpose back to the rooms of the building.

So, the sale includes a negotiated arrangement to lease-back certain space for our exclusive use — using the entire older wing of the building: the chapel room, the large Sunday school room, the smaller office room and a couple of rooms down stairs.

Because of the way we have asked the agreement to be structured, it is a three year ease with no cash outlay by us at any time during the year — and includes the heat and utilities.

Some of the funds could be used to renovate the rooms and make them useful to us, and the bulk of the money would be invested in an endowment with the Presbytery that could provide us with around some $60,000 in annual income.

And, we are out from under the expense of owning, operating and maintaining the building — which are expected to be around $87,000 this year alone.

Clearly, God is not finished with this church yet!

There is more sacred work to be done.

Recently, a local church had a sign out in front that read:
When a door closes, God always opens another.

When a door closes, God always opens another.

Our task now begins to give answer to the question: Now what?

In a very real way, we have been given a reprieve.
We have been given another opportunity.

What are we to do with the next three years?

Where is that new door and what does it open to?
Let the prayer of the Psalmist be our prayer: Revive us, 0 Lord . . . ! (Psalm 85-6)
Let this be our Bible verse of the day
— let it be the Bible verse for the days ahead.

Let us be open to be aware of the God-nudges that will lead us into a clearer picture of what we are to do — and what we are to become.

Let our prayer be that of the Psalmist: Revive us, 0 Lord . . . !
And, for the same reason as the Psalmist — so we can laugh and sing!

For too long, we have been living in the doldrums
It doesn’t have to that way,

God does not intend for any of us to live down-in-the-dumps.

God wants us all to spend our days laughing and singing.

Our Sacred writings proclaim a way of living for folks who are down and out.

Changing your attitudes — changing your way of looking at things can lead to a life of laughter and song!

So, let us pray over and over again in the days ahead:

Revive us, Lord . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!

THIS CHURCH IS NOT FOR SALE!!!!

A traveler going down State Road may well do a double-take if they should notice a “For Sale” sign on the property between Turner and Foss Avenues.

Although the sign may reflect the decisions of The Session and The Congregation, I am concerned about what folks may read into it.

So, I want to be as clear as I know how – and I would hope you would be, as well – “This church Is NOT for sale!!!”

What The Session and The Congregation hope to do is to get out from under the overwhelming costs of owning, maintaining, and operating our huge building.

Accordingly, the “building” at 3400 State Road is being placed on the market. But, let it be clear, it is “the building” that is for sale – this church is not for sale.

The Session understands this.
All who attended the recent Congregational meetings seem to understand this.
The fundamental truth of the matter is that “the church” is not a building but the church is “the people” who gather to worship and to do the work of Christ.
And, this church is not for sale!!!

We do know there were times in the past when churches have sold out – when something other than the incarnated presence of God has taken precedence over the Christ of our faith. This is not happening here!

We all see instances on television where preachers have sold out and promulgate “feel-good” and “receive deserved riches” messages that have little or nothing to do with the Gospel that has been passed down through the ages. This is not happening here!

Christ Church in Drexel Hill, has not sold out, is not selling out, and will not sell out.

The sale of our building should provide a unique opportunity for us to re-think and re-design our ministry and purpose as a church in the days ahead.

The sale of our building lets us explore ways of being church that maybe different from our past experiences.

The sale of our building allows for the possibility of continuing life as a church – as people of God – in the days ahead.

The property is being marketed with a lease-back arrangement, giving us the opportunity to continue using a portion of the building – such as the Chapel area.
So, our “church” could continue to use a portion of this building we have been using for over 80 years.

So, that’s the plan. That’s the hope. That’s the dream.
I hope you will be a part of the new dream for Christ Church.

Meanwhile, let the word get out, this church is not for sale!!!

When A Tree Falls . . . . When A Church Closes

We are told that when a tree falls in the forest and no one is around for miles and miles, it makes no sound.
So, I want to know, when a church closes -- especially an open, welcoming, progressive congregation -- does anyone care?
It seems to me that we should.
It seems to me that we should care enough to take specific steps to ensure its continuing witness to the Presence of Christ -- all of us -- whether we are members of that particular church, or not; whether we have ever been to that particular church, or not;
whether we live in the same state, or not.
For some 20 years, now, I have had the privilege of being pastor to a congregation with an 80+ year history of ministry and witness within a first-suburban community near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
When I was interviewed in 1989, I was told that the church had funds on hand to last perhaps six months, and was asked if would consider the challenge of being pastor during that time period.
20 years later, there are funds on hand to last perhaps six months more.
During the years, our congregation has become welcoming of all -- no matter what -- and affirming of individual self worth and respect.
We use non-sexist language in our liturgy and study the latest Biblical scholarship to pass on to those in attendance.

Here I intend to share some thoughts and on-going commentary on events that affect the lives of folks we reach.