Odds And Ends

A few bits and pieces of stuff that struck me as I read through some of the blogs I regularly peruse.

They Also Serve Who Are Knuckleheads, by Heidi Shott in the Daily Epsicopalian section of Episcopal Cafe:

Can ministry be as simple as a couple of knuckleheads saying “yes” when asked serve and then letting the Holy Spirit do its mysterious thing? I’ve been mulling it over, and it seems the answer to that question is “yes.”

Failure of Formation by my friend and former colleague Jan Nunley on her Jawbones:

What astounds me about this is that anyone who has been ordained in a mainline denomination, with the preparation and education that entails...heck, that anyone born or naturalized as a citizen of this country...would not understand that--in these United States, at least--there is no obligation on clergy to perform any marriage ceremony. Period. Full stop. It's called The First Amendment.

Mark Harris is Rummaging Through The Blue Book (two posted so far) on Preludium:

In the run up to General Convention I am reviewing various resolutions coming up and would appreciate any thoughts from readers.

Grandmere Mimi, an online acquaintance I would like to get to know better, writes about a recent visit to WalMart on her Wounded Bird:

Oh yeah! I went to Walmart yesterday. You folks get to read about my every visit, because I seldom venture to the big box, and every trip is memorable. I'm close to phobic about going there. By his request, my grandson and I went to buy his birthday presents yesterday.

For those of you who don't read my mother's blog, go read The Peace of Grief:

It has been almost ten years since my mother's death. I think I am finally at peace with it and with her. Thanks be to God!

Dan Roam's new book Unfolding the Napkin is due out in January:

I structured the book as a complete four-day visual-thinking seminar, taking readers step-by-step from "I can't draw" to "Here is the picture I drew that I think will save the world."

And finally, a piece that is on all four of the blogs associated with my parish, which you can find on the parish web site:

Grace Episcopal Church is not closing anytime soon. If indeed Grace does close, it will leave a hole in the city of Norwalk, and it will do so not with a whimper but with a bang, preaching, learning and living the gospel for all to see, here at the corner of Union Park and Mott Avenue, one way or another, every day of the week.

Peace,
Jeff

Christ Has Died, And Died, And Died...

After weeks of picking it up, putting it down, and picking it up again, I have finally finished Rita Brock's and Rebecca Parker's Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire (http://savingparadise.net/). It was fascinating to read, and it pinpointed some parts of Christian Theology that have always made me uncomfortable.

The authors spent a great deal of time looking at early Christian art and discovered that there were very few images of the crucified Christ during the first 1,000 years or so of Christianity. Images of Paradise and the resurrected Christ dominate Christina art for the first millennium. Not until the late 900's did Christ crucified begin appearing in Christian--primarily western Christian--art. From then on the dying Christ became a primary image.

The first section of Saving Paradise looks at the early Christian imagery and examines the theology, ritual, and teachings of the early church in light of those images. In the second section the authors show the changes in the church and the culture that "killed" Christ and became mired in the crucifixion, eventually exiling Paradise to the next world.

Having read Saving Paradise, I find my subsequent reading on a variety of topics about Christianity/from a Christian perspective colored by Brock's and Parker's work. Or rather, I find my discomfort with and awareness of the "victim/atonement" theology in these other books heightened. I have a feeling that it will take a while for this to settle into my thought process...

As I would expect, response to the book definitely depends on the reader's place in the Christian continuum. You can find a couple of the more thoughtful reviews (to my mind, though I may not agree with them), which I found after finishing the book, by following the links below.

Peace,
Jeff

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/recommendation-and-review-saving-paradise-by-rita-nakashima-brock-and-rebecca-ann-parker

http://www.psr.edu/saving-paradisehow-christianity-traded-love-world-crucifixion-and-empire-review-tat-siong-benny-liew

http://www.theocentric.com/theology/eschatology/saving_paradise.html

15 Years, 16 Months

I have pretty much absented myself from the blogosphere for the past two months. Not only have I written any posts, but I have not been reading the blogs I regularly follow. Early this evening, looking to see something more just news reports on the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Jamaica, I perused some of my favorites. One of those is Episcopal Cafe, where I found this post titled "The Rev. Pookie."

Written by a father about his daughter and her ordination to the transitional diaconate, which took place last year, during her middler year of Seminary (something they do in the Diocese of Iowa). Both the writer, Howard Anderson, and his daughter, Kesha Brennom, are friends of mine, and I have worked with both of them in a number of different capacities in the Episcopal Church. Howard and I currently serve together on the board of directors of the National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors. Kesha served briefly as the Staff Officer for Children's Ministries and Christian Education at the Episcopal Church Center, in other words, she was my boss.

It seems hard to believe that the woman-child I sometimes had to coax out from under her desk will be ordained a priest later this year. Or that the friend who headed my discernment committee 13 years ago is now a parish priest in the Diocese of Washington. Or that the young man with whom I attended two years of Education for Ministry is now a vocational deacon in our diocese. Or that I have been on hold in the ordination process for 12 years this month.

Well, not entirely on hold, but it has been a long, long road, and will continue to be a long road no matter what the outcome. The road has been longer than it should have been in what many of us in the process--or have survived the process--see as an abusive one. And at what point does one say, "Enough!" and get out of an abusive situation? When do we shout, "the Emperor has no clothes!"? When does God answer us when we cry, "What are You thinking?"

So here I am filling out my second application for Postulancy as Kesha prepares for her ordination to the priesthood.

Sixteen months...

Peace,
Jeff