Freedom from religion? Or freedom for religion?

From AOL. news (Oct. 30) — A clash between the Constitution and a Christmas tradition has led to a federal lawsuit in Warren, Mich. John Satawa is fighting to return the Nativity scene his father built in 1945 to
the median of a public street. The Thomas More Law Center, a Michigan firm that promotes Christian values, filed a suit on his behalf last week, charging Satawa’s rights to free speech and equal protection under the law have been violated.

The Macomb County Road Commission, which ordered the creche removed, also cited the First Amendment. After receiving a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, of Madison, Wis., last December, the commission ruled the display on public property violated the separation of church and state.

So whose rights should upheld in this case? Freedom From religion? Or Freedom for Religion?

I can't help but be concerned about a nation for which the default position in matters of religion in the public square is atheism. Without belief in God, it seems to me to be impossible for humanity to get outside our own narrow and very anthro-centric view of the universe. What happens to a society in which the only ideal is our own imperfect selves?

Distractions from God

This blog began with an intended emphasis on discussions of aspects of Christian spirituality. As I look back on the last several entries, however, I find that I have been caught up in the politics and doctrinal changes within my own denomination. Despite my original intentions for starting this blog, I was distracted from my purpose.

Distractions from our original priorities are commonplace. Distractions are noted many times in scripture -- distractions from God caused by sin (Adam and Eve), by wealth (the Rich Young Ruler), by power (Saul). We can be distracted from God by church politics, as I was, or even by arguments about the proper way to interpret scripture itself.

Franciscan Richard Rohr has noted that -- if Jesus can be said to have a doctrine -- His doctrine was one of non-idolatry. He knew how easily we are distracted from what is Real.

As a Benedictine might say, "We fall, we get up. We fall, we get up."

It is time, then, to refocus. Next time: lectio divina.

God's Peace be yours.

With all the events that have transpired since August's Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA, I feel like I'm still catching up -- not to mention catching on....

Those on the traditional side of things -- those within what Robert Benne has called the Great Tradition -- continue to move toward a beak with the ELCA. The latest news is from a member of the ELCA Church Council, who confirms what others have speculated about: that the leadership of the ELCA has been pushing a pro-revisionist agenda with respect to the ordination of gay and lesbian people within our denomination. Since the ELCA's decision-making is by democratic vote, this has placed the decision of Churchwide Assembly within the boundaries of politics rather than of scripture or of tradition (and perhaps of reason, too, for that matter). The issue has been framed as one of discrimination and social justice, rather than as one of human brokenness -- from which we all suffer.

It is terribly ironic that a church body that has historically grounded itself in scripture has now made a decision which is outside the boundaries of scripture. Ironic, but not funny. Scripture has been discounted by the revisionist side by their insistence that each reference to homosexuality has its own unique historical context, and that these references therefore have nothing to say about the issue in our time. I now believe that schism is virtually inevitable.

The Episcopal Church USA has already walked further down this road than has the ELCA, at a terrible cost to that denomination in terms of membership, finances, and ministry. The breakup of the ELCA seems likely to be quicker, given the relative decentralization of Lutherans.

Again, please pray for us.

As I continue to follow the controversy around the August decisions of Churchwide Assembly to ordain gay and lesbian people, I have become aware of several developments. First, there continue to be theological arguments advanced against the decision by traditional clergy and laity. As before CWA, I find myself nodding my head in agreement with the traditional arguments (see the Lutheran Forum and Lutherans Persisting web sites for details of these arguments. Second, the ELCA leadership seems to have been largely unresponsive to the traditionalists' concerns, as if hoping that the dissident voices will quiet down or even go away. The primary things that I have seen voiced by the ELCA since Churchwide Assembly have been (1) a call for unity in the face of the theological divide over interpretation and role of scripture and tradition, and (2) a plea to congregations to continue to send money to support ELCA ministries.

With regard to both the ELCA's call to unity and plea to continue financial support, I sincerely hope that the ELCA survives this crisis. Whatever happens to congregational funding to synods and the national church, many of the ELCA's ministries clearly are continuing, and contingency planning is being done as well. However, the traditional voice seems to be gaining in volume, organization, and clarity, and I doubt that the ELCA will survive in its present size and scope.

At the present moment, I have no plans to leave the ELCA, instead taking my stand with those who argue and pray in love for a return to a reliance on scripture and the tradition of the larger Church. Pray for us.

Since the end of August, I've been listening to the voices of members of my congregation in regard to the Churchwide Assembly's decision to open ordination to gay and lesbian people. Despite the intense reactions elsewhere, both pro and con the decision, less than half a dozen members of my congregation have so far expressed any opinion at all. Most members seem indifferent to the issue at all. There are a number of gay members of my congregation, and I suspect the lack of (public) reaction is partly due to a wish to avoid hurting anyone's feelings.

In public, I have so far suggested that we "wait and see what happens." I am more deeply troubled by the decision. I have a high theology of the Church, and have not been able to reconcile the change in denominational policy with what I understand to be the culture of what some have called the Great Tradition. With the ELCA's proposed revisions in Visions and Expectations, I see little allowance for a traditionalist stance with respect to either faith or order, at least in the national and synodical expressions of the Church. Already Lutheran clergy and laity are reorganizing, and the ELCA's top-down polity and call for unity will not be sufficient to hold this Church together.

I have a friend who likes to collect "curses," of the "May the bird of paradise fly up your nose" variety. His two favorites are, "May you live in interesting times," and "May your life be full of lawyers." The first is now certainly true in the life of the ELCA. God help us, the second may be just over the horizon.

It's (very) early Sunday morning on Reformation Sunday. I'm looking forward to our worship service, which will feature the 52-member Claflin University Concert Choir. The choir sings in place of the sermon for the day (an unusual departure for Reformation Sunday, to be sure), but it seems warranted by this special occasion. Luther once said something about "music being second only to theology" in the Church, so I yield my sermon time with some sense that it's not too far out of bounds. In any case, I'm excited about the choir for several reasons. First, the Claflin Concert Choir is a wonderful choral group. Second, the Choir represents Claflin University, a UMC institution. And third, the service will cross the divide of race, allowing us to worship together in joy and thanksgiving.

Next Sunday, All Saint's Sunday, we have an evening worship service with a number of UMC pastors and congregants (caucasians and African Americans) to celebrate the ELCA-UMC Full Communion agreement. In the midst of a difficult world, it is a time when the genuine grace of God is abundantly evident.

May God's blessings be yours!
Pastor Garry

I had a dear friend at the last congregation I pastored who died from melanoma. He was advised by his physicians that his illness was terminal and that he had no more than 6 months to live, despite several treatments with the "gamma knife." at a nearby hospital. My friend did indeed die from the cancer, which continued to metasisize despite the efforts of capable doctors. He lived for more than two years, into which he packed a rich life with his friends and family and congregation that was not only well-lived but which continues to be an example to me of Christian faithfulness.

When my friend passed away, I noticed a framed quotation on the wall of his living room by John Henry Cardinal Newman. I continue to treasure the reflection, both because it serves as a reminder of my friend's sense of Christian vocation and because it has come to mean much to me in my own life and ministry. Here's the quotation:

"God has created me to do some definite service. God has committed some work to me which has not been committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I shall be a preacher of truth in my own place. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve the Lord; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve the Lord; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve the Lord. God does nothing in vain. Therefore I will trust in the Lord."

Today I am comforted by Cardinal Newman's reflection once again. My denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has increasingly made decisions grounded in modern culture and human experience rather than in scripture and the great tradition of the Church. This direction grieves me and many other Lutheran clergy who believe that our vows require that we take a stand with orthodox Christianity. Although I cannot discern what God is up to with these departures from scripture and tradition, Cardinal Newman reminds me that God does nothing in vain, that God will eventually insure that "...all things work for the good of those who love him, who are called to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 ).

As for me, I will continue to do my best to be a preacher of truth in my own place.