Tell it like it is, Teach

Listen and take heart teachers - and I mean those that teach in the classroom, in the pulpit, in the youth room, on stage or from the pit, on the field or from the sideline, at camp, at Starbucks, or at the dinner table.

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Work schedules didn't permit me to publish this one on time, but better late than never...

My pirate name is:

Captain Mary Kidd

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Womder Woman as Theological Figure

As most of my friends and colleagues know I am a collector of Wonder Woman memorabilia from the Wonder Woman television series. I have always loved Wonder Woman. As a kid I watched the show religiously. I remember watching Cloris Leachman play Wonder Woman's mother and Debra Winger appearing as Wonder Girl. I don't know what the draw was for me as a child that had me sitting in front of the TV in my under-roos week after week. But I have a feeling that I wasn't the only little girl in the late seventies dreaming of being Wonder Woman.

Superheroes still fascinate kids and teens. You just have to look at the popularity of Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Smallville. The unfortunate thing is that for most superheroes they use violence to overcome evil, to defeat the bad guys. Justice is through death and destruction.

That wasn't the case for Wonder Woman. She used her lasso of truth and Amazonian strength to capture and restrain the bad guys until the police could arrive and take them into custody. She saw and worked for justice differently. Jesus had a different approach to justice as well. (Read Isaiah 42.1-3)

Now here is where I see a dream come true. Because of Jesus I am able to be Wonder Woman. Don't get me wrong - that doesn't mean I have to do everything, but it does mean I can do all things.

See what you may not realize is that Wonder Woman was just a woman. When she left Paradise Island she was given some really cool gifts that transformed her from Diana Prince to Wonder Woman: a boomerang headband, bulletproof bracelets, truth-telling lasso, and the belt of immortality.



We are just humans with some really cool gifts as well. And we are called to use those gifts in ways that can empower others and bring about justice.

God of Justice and Liberation,
Giver of gifts and grace
Help us to find our inner Wonder Woman
Not the one who takes on the world alone
trying to do everything
But the one who knows that we can make it through anything
because of You, the One who makes us who we are.
Dwell in us and work through us
to bring about the radical justice
that You began in Your Son, Jesus the Christ.
Amen

Wonder Woman Tribute

I grew up watching Wonder Woman on television and loved every episode. I nearly lived in my Wonder Woman Underoos. And I still have a collection of Wonder Woman memorabilia that I am quite proud of. I recently was revisiting my thoughts on Wonder Woman as a theological figure (more on that later) and ran across this video that cracked me up!

Teen Suicide

The Trevor Project is a non-profit organization that operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Each year, the helpline fields more than 15,000 calls from LGBTQ youth as well as their families, friends and educators. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives through its free and confidential helpline, in-school workshops, Web site and educational materials.

A New Ministry

Folks who know me know I am passionate most about three things: Faith, Teens, and LGBT issues.

As I continue on my journey with the Divine One, I am amazed how my passions are converging into a ministry.

Several years ago I visited a church that I had served early in my career. One of my former students from that church HAD to talk with me that evening. We went to my old office, which was now his office, and talked. He came out to me that evening. Later he told me he was most afraid to come out to me, his Pastor, because he didn't know how I would respond. I promised myself that night no youth I worked with would ever not know that God and I love them no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity.

I'm working with a new group of teens, a diverse group from the community. We will be exploring spirituality of all kinds while engaging in service to our community and beyond. We will be exploring life issues and building relationships. The adult counselors and I will be traveling alongside these teens as they journey through the discovery of their self... And we will be doing this outside the walls of any faith institution.

These kids will know without a doubt that they are loved no matter who they are or how they identify... gay or straight, queer or questioning, atheist or Christian or Baha'i...

It is important to me and to God that these teens know someone cares.

Annual Conference Legislation Results

Under the direction of Rev. Reg Olsen, the West Ohio Reconciling Network (WORN-Out) submitted 3 recommendations to Annual Conference 2008. Here are the outcomes and we celebrate the adoption of the substitute for recommendation #12 :

RECOMMENDATION #11 Words Have Consequences TABLED

RECOMMENDATION #12 Read, Study and Learn Substitute adopted
Whereas, for more than a generation (that is, since the 1972 Book of Discipline), United
Methodists, along with other Christians, have struggled to find principles for applying traditional
teachings to contemporary understandings of human sexuality.
Whereas, we know that all of God’s children are of sacred worth, and yet we have been, and
remain, divided regarding homosexual expressions of human sexuality. We have disagreed
about Scriptural teachings: some have contended that the specific injunctions of Leviticus and St.
Paul have authority over even the more general love commands of Jesus, while others have
contended that the complexity of human sexuality, as we see it today, was never envisioned in
previous millennia, and therefore could not have been addressed specifically in the Bible.
Whereas, we have tried to reason together about all of this, and we have prayed together, but we
have yet to know fully the promised peace of the Holy Spirit in our community of faith. The fire
in our disagreements points to a deeper human mystery than we know. We believe that the Spirit
has brought our collective conscience to acknowledge this mystery more honestly, and to make
our claims with greater humility before God and our neighbors.
Therefore, we ask the West Ohio Annual Conference, its pastors, congregations, staff, and
members,
1) to refrain from judgement regarding homosexual persons and practices as the Spirit
continues to move among us,
2) to welcome, know, forgive, and love one another as Christ has accepted us, that God may
be glorified through everything in our lives,
3) to study with open hearts and open minds the 1992 General Conference Report of the
Committee to Study Homosexuality called The Church Studies Homosexuality (available
through United Methodist Publishing House – Cokesbury) and the 2005 General
Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns DVD Can We Talk used by
the West Ohio Annual Conference Unity Task Force in its “Can you hear me now?”
dialogues in October of 2007, and
4) to call on the Inclusive Body of Christ (as outlined in the 2008 structure) to make
available materials and resources authorized by the 2008 General Conference on
heterosexism and homophobia at the 2009 West Ohio Annual Conference for use by
pastors, congregations, staff, and members.

RECOMMENDATION #13 Sexual Relations of all Persons Tabled
WHEREAS: We believe in the preservation of the family as an environment for the preservation
of basic values.
THEREFORE: We declare that the United Methodist Church in West Ohio embraces sexual
fidelity and considers abusive, promiscuous, non-covenantal sexual relationships incompatible
with Christian teaching.
RATIONALE: This proposal treats all people equally regardless of sexual orientation.

All Means All

As I prepared for this worship*, I couldn’t help but to be reflective of my surroundings as I read, researched, meditated and wrote. As life would have it, my schedule didn’t allow me to write my sermon a week or two in advance like I had hoped. Instead I found myself sitting at the desk in my hotel room during a break from the Common Witness actions at General Conference in Ft. Worth TX.

General Conference is the law making body and the only body that can officially speak for the United Methodist Church. General Conference is for the United Methodist Church what General Synod is for the UCC, what the General Convention is for the Episcopal Church, what General Assembly is for the Christian Church-Disciples of Christ and PC(USA)**.

So I found myself spending my afternoons and evenings watching the work of General Conference, engaging in conversations about issues related to LGBT persons, marching in protest, standing vigil as a silent witness to delegates that all means all. And I found myself spending my mornings reflecting on this passage from John.

John 14:15-21
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
"I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."


What a blessing and a comfort this is! The Paraclete, the Advocate and Comforter, the Holy Spirit of Truth was promised and given, unconditionally and eternally present giving comfort, courage and strength.

In just my few days at General Conference I had the opportunity to talk with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) persons, parents, and allies all who had felt orphaned at some point in their lives – left without family or friends when they came out as queer or as allies.
But(!) they were comforted by the Spirit dwelling in and among them, comforted by Jesus’ promise not only of a place prepared for them (14.2) but also comforted by Jesus’ promise not to leave them orphaned (14.18).

Barbara Brown Taylor’s sermon “Good News for Orphans” uses the parent child image to describe the feeling of security that children long for when they’re left alone. They want to be reassured that someone greater, stronger, smarter is present and in charge. And they want to be reassured that this someone loves them.

Be assured O children of God! God the Spirit is present and you… are… loved!

Today at this time we gather and remember that love, we come as family to the table. It is no wonder that at the center of who we are sits the Table. The poem^ Amanda read wonders if perhaps the world ends here at the table. But I wonder perhaps just perhaps if the Kin-dom of God begins here.

We come to the Table in hopes of communion – strengthening ties to each other and to God. We come to the Table hoping to hear again that God has claimed us as we are, claimed as God had at our baptism, claimed and orphaned no more. We come to the Table to dine together in a great feast of grace, drinking of the cup eating of the bread hoping for a day when the doors of the institutional church are as open as this Table. We come to the Table hoping to encounter again the Savior who offers unconditional love, available to ALL persons regardless of gender, race, or creed, regardless of marital status, gender identity or sexual orientation; regardless of bank account balance, degree of education or number on the bathroom scale. All means all.

At this Table, in this Meal the community of God’s people is fully manifested. This Table and this Meal call us to experience God’s grace, to remember God’s love and to be God’s inclusive family. This Table and this Meal call us to live a more faithful and just life - to be a people of faith, which demands complete inclusiveness in the Church of Jesus Christ; To marginalize or reject any person is, in essence, an insult to the very purpose and theology of the sacrament. There is no room for lovelessness, hatred or intolerance at the Table. When the church forbids expression of one’s whole and true self the sacrament is compromised; the Table becomes nothing more than a piece of furniture and the elements are simply bread and beverage.


Y’know, really it is not so significant that Jesus was silent on homosexuality; he was silent on many things. But he was NOT silent on compassion toward those marginalized and rejected as a class or group. Jesus says to us: “If you love me you will keep my commandments. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me.”

What are his commandments?
In John 15:12 Jesus says,
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

The sacrament of Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist – whatever you want to call it – awakens us to the spiritual in a tactile and tangible way. We, in the action of participating in the sacrament, are somatically engaged in the stories of faith. The sacrament is the open hands of God’s welcome. Unfortunately many have experienced not open and welcome arms but intimidating arms pushing them away from the Body of Christ. No matter the words of loving us and our being of sacred worth, the acts of rejection speak more loudly.

Jesus commands that we “do this in remembrance of him.” Is the act of rejection and the silencing of the LGBT community the memory Jesus intended?

We know (at least I hope you all know) that all are welcome at this table; the table of growth and community at MTSO. What we do need to remember is not everyone is welcome at every table. Some, Many are silenced…

So, Blessed Body of Christ
Do this in remembrance of us
Of our suffering and tears
Of our bashing and fears
And of our deaths
Do this in remembrance of us
Of our gifts and our talents
Of our hopes and joys
And of our living in Christ

Remember
Please remember
And be thankful.

*Preached during Chapel at Methodist Theological School in Ohio on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
**A rough analogy, especially for UCC, because these general bodies speak differently to the corresponding denomination than in UMC polity.
^ "Perhaps the World Ends Here" by Joy Harjo

Proclamation to General Conference 2008

We have heard Jesus say – to all persons without exception – “follow me.”
We are part of God’s living body in today’s world,
but our United Methodist Church refuses to accept what God has done,
refuses to keep covenant with its own words in the baptismal promise,
refuses to honor God’s call to professional ministry,
refuses to do no harm,
refuses to open its hearts, minds, and doors.

The unchurched notice.
They notice the church cruelly scapegoating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on the altar of so-called unity
The young notice.
They notice the church denying, refusing, threatening, removing, closeting the lgbt people who faithfully serve the church.
The world notices.
We notice.
God notices.

The United Methodist baptismal liturgy calls all of us
to accept the freedom and power God gives us
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.
It is our duty – our baptismal covenant – to stand against the sin of the church,
to stand for God’s freedom and power,
to affirm God’s entire body of Christ that is the church.
We are God's children,here … now.

Today we boldly declare by standing here
that our church’s doors and our ministries will radically obey the Gospel
that we defy bigotry and ignorance,
that the anti-gay policies and practices of The United Methodist Church are wrong.

By human means we cannot stand but by the grace of God we can.
By standing we reject the idea that homosexuality is a sin
By standing we affirm that sexuality is a good gift of God
By standing we affirm our intent to spread God’s love and grace
By standing we bless and celebrate families, all families.
We do not stand alone.
We stand in solidarity with all those who are not here,
who are not in our congregations.
We stand with those who’ve been forced out
and who’ve never come in,
who already affirm one another as beloved children of God,
regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
We stand with holy boldness
to welcome LGBT laity and clergy into our churches and pulpits, NOW;
to keep baptismal promises for all, NOW;
to affirm calls to ministries for all people, NOW;
to bless covenant relationships in our churches by our clergy, NOW;
to assure membership for all, NOW;
to provide hospitality for all, NOW.

Join us.
Stand now.
Build our future with hope and trust in God.


Proclamation – Witness – General Conference 2008 – Ft. Worth, TX – Drafted by the Witness Team of Reconciling Ministries Network, Rev. David W. Meredith, Convener
http://www.generalconference2008.org/2008/05/umns-posts-plen.html

Preparing for General Conference

As I am finishing my preparations for departing for General Conference I'm also trying to finish a sermon that I will preach on the Wednesday after my return. I went looking for something from one of my classes with Bishop Judy Craig and found an old journal she asked us to keep and in it I found this prayer she offered one evening:

May you have the insanity
to fight for change and justice
May you have the courage
to accept the call
May you have the peace
to know it will be alright.

I'm writing this one down and carrying it in my pocket for the five days I'll be in Ft. Worth at General Conference. I know we'll need it.

A Prayer for General Conference

Oh, God, from whom to be turned is to fall;
to whom to be turned is to rise;
and in whom to stand is to abide forever.
Grant us in all our duties thy help;
in all our perplexities, your guidance;
in all our dangers, thy protection;
and in all our sorrows, thy peace.
Amen.

St. Augustine

Perhaps the World Ends Here

The Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at Methesco has asked me to come back and be the guest preacher for the campus chapel service. I founded this alliance during my final year at the seminary and repeatedly found myself blessed and awed by the work, witness, and community of the GSA its first year. I am joyful to see that continuing this year under Kelley and Julia's leadership. And I am humbled to be preaching for the annual "Breaking the Silence" chapel.

This year the chapel service is the community Eucharist chapel. The date also happens to be during the General Conference* of The United Methodist Church (UMC). So the GSA was unanimous in its decision for the worship theme to be "The Open Table." As I sat with others who would be planning and leading that worship we were introduced to poet Joy Harjo and her poem Perhaps the World Ends Here. Its profoundly spoke to us and to our focus on The Table.

May her words speak to your heart as well.

Perhaps the World Ends Here
by Joy Harjo

The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.

The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.

We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees under it.

It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.

At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.

Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table.

This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun.

Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebrate the terrible victory.

We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial here.

At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks.

Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.

"Perhaps the World Ends Here" from The Woman Who Fell From the Sky by Joy Harjo. Copyright © 1994 by Joy Harjo. Used by permission of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., www.wwnorton.com.Source: The Woman Who Fell From the Sky (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1994).

*General Conference is the law-making body of the UMC. This year it is considering over 600 petitions regarding the church's official stance on homosexuality and full inclusion of gay, lesbian bisexual, transgender persons in the life of the church. [Side Note: The UMC is the church of "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" marketing, in spite of its living reality.]

The Church's Job

What if the Church's job were to move people out the door instead of trying to keep them in, by convincing them that God needed them more in the world than in the church?
~ Barbara Brown Taylor

Victory is Ours

Goodness is stronger then evil
Love is stronger than Hate
Light is stronger that darkness
Life is stronger that death
Victory is ours through God who loves us
~ Desmond Tutu