Today we had a lay preacher, Jeanne, who I was looking forward to hearing. I had enjoyed her insights when she and I were in a class together in July. It was taught by our rector, George, right after the service. We would discuss the readings for the following week's service, knowing that some of our own thoughts might show up in that week's sermon. Or at least thoughts inspired by our thoughts.

Jeanne's sermon today was on faith--our faith in God, and God's faith in us. She shared a story of a time in her life when she felt she had failed in her work, and that this period of time could not have been part of God's plan for her--only to find out years later that the seeds she had sown back then had borne abundant fruit. I like this kind of story, probably because it connects so well with what I am coming to realize. We are always right where we need to be, but we need faith and patience to see the eventual results.

According to an article in the Chicago Sun Times, "Superstars from several diverse genres in rock and country -- among them Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks -- are among the more than 20 bands taking part in the Vote for Change tour." Springsteen has written an editorial for the New York Times:

Through my work, I've always tried to ask hard questions. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the world finds it so hard to keep its promise and faith with its weakest citizens? Why do we continue to find it so difficult to see beyond the veil of race? How do we conduct ourselves during difficult times without killing the things we hold dear? Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?

From today's Seattle paper, via a British Catholic publication:

I don't do conversations here anymore (for my health), so I'll let you discuss:

"Vatican's welcome thoughts about women"

(Subhead): But document doesn't give them any real power

CATHERINE PEPINSTER
GUEST COLUMNIST

Like most men, those who hold the most senior positions in the Roman Catholic Church would have been profoundly influenced by their relationships with their mothers. But unlike most men, for a cardinal of the church it is the only intimate relationship with a woman he will have had.

When I read the document on women published last weekend by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it struck me that this relationship runs all the way through it; much of it is an idealized portrait of motherhood. Take, for instance, the document's list of a woman's qualities: listening, welcoming, faithfulness, praise. One can imagine Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the CDF, citing those while remembering fondly those far-off days of maternal love in the Ratzinger household. The romanticized image would resonate too with a pope who lost his own mother at the age of 9, and who approved and authorized the document's publication.

I've started back at church again. As I wrote in a previous post, I'd stopped going due to conflicts with one of the ministers (who describes herself as a family friend of George W. Bush) and some of the more conservative members of the church board. The minister has moved on (after a speech in which she apparently blasted the congregation -- I wasn't there for it, only heard second-hand) and I was finally feeling up to going back yesterday. The fact that I'd signed up months ago to bring grape juice and bread for communion made it harder to chicken out.

Interestingly, the conservative military families weren't around this week, so I felt more at ease and less likely to face confrontation. Everyone else was happy to see me back but thankfully did not make a huge deal about it. The sermon by our primary (and founding) minister, a good and progressive preacherman from New England, was direct and to the point when dealing with one of the big issues of Jesus that is overlooked by American Christians: money, and its role in our lives.

All in all, a good experience.

And so I started thinking about reviving an idea I had several months ago -- which got some interest from like-minded progressive Christians in the church -- of a small group bible study on "progressive Christianity."

(Read on for more...suggestions wanted!)

I don't really have any content or thoughts of my own to add, but felt this needed as wide an audience as possible. What can we do?

Holocaust Museum Calls Crisis in Sudan 'Genocide Emergency'

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has elevated its assessment of the crisis in the Darfur region in western Sudan to a 'genocide emergency' in response to the increasing level of violence and death.

This is the first time in the museum's 11-year history that it has made such a declaration, which is intended to draw world attention to the situation and to apply pressure for a response from Sudan's government.

Museum officials say they will open a display about Darfur on Monday to allow to the public to view the devastation in the Darfur region, where government-backed Arab militia members have been attacking black residents, most of them also Muslims.

Vatican Says Modern Feminism Dangerous for Family

Modern feminism's fight for power and gender equality is undermining the traditional concept of family and creating a climate where gay marriages are seen as acceptable, the Vatican said Saturday.

Wow. Reading the headline, I knew it wasn't going to have good things to say about feminism, but I really didn't expect it to go there.

You can read the rest of the article here. Your thoughts?

I hardly know how to say this. It's so obvious. If religion has to do with compassion, with salvation in this life, with trying to reduce suffering and warfare, with making at least a minimum effort to offer resistance to the elites of wealth and power and make life better for average citizens as well as for the least well off among us-- if religion speaks to any of these concerns-- is it possible to prefer George Bush over John Kerry in the upcoming Presidential election?

Even if Kerry is not a perfect choice (but who is?) isn't it exiting to find ourselves in the position where someone of Kerry's stature actually is in a position to defeat Bush?

We are religious people living in a very imperfect world. We have a chance to make it a significantly less imperfect world. That's a very good thing.

My understanding of our Jewish/Christian heritage moves me to believe in a collective form of life or society that resembles Social Democracy. Universal health care. Full employment. Generous time away from work for family, personal growth and political or community involvement.

A form of life that strives to reduce the violence and coercion necessary to maintain public order and to solve international conflicts.

A democratic society where each person affected by a decision has a voice in the process of reaching that decision.

Such a society would probably have roughly equal numbers of men and women in leadership positions in government and business.

Such a way of living together would respect the limits of our world's biosphere and look forward, with a long range gaze, in an effort to sustain our ability to live with our fellow earthlings of all species.

In case you haven't heard, it was reported in the Lancaster New Era that Bush has been appealing to his "higher Father" again. In a meeting with a group of Old Order Amish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Bush was reported as saying,

“I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.’’

Of course, I find this troubling, because, as we know, when God speaks through George Bush it invariably ends up sounding a lot like George Bush and his fellow neocons. It never sounds like God, who I know to be loving and compassionate. Granted, She is also challenging sometimes--trying to nudge us to do things we don't want to do (or think we can't do) but really, doesn't any good parent do that?

Sort of the antithesis to the "Catholic Voters Guide"--the National Council of Churches USA is releasing "Christian Principles in an Election Year". It is available as a PDF that you can print and share--especially, one supposes with anyone who wants to convince you that the five non-negotiable issues in an election are abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, human cloning, and same-sex marriage.

Our Christian faith compels us to address the world through the lens of our relationship to God and to one another. Public discourse is enhanced as we engage civic leaders on the values and ethics affirmed by our faith. At the same time, religious liberty and the integrity of our democracy will be protected as candidates refrain from using faith-based organizations and institutions for partisan gain. We offer these ten principles to those seeking to accept the responsibility that comes with holding public office.

Is there anything we can or should be doing to help support Rev. Barry Lynn and Americans United in this effort?

Americans United: IRS Should Investigate Partisan Political Activity By Jerry Falwell Ministries, Says Americans United

TV preacher Jerry Falwell has used his Jerry Falwell Ministries to endorse President George W. Bush's re-election in apparent violation of federal tax law, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told the Internal Revenue Service.

In a complaint to the federal tax agency, Americans United told the IRS that Falwell endorsed Bush in a July 1 e-mail to supporters and also urged followers to send money to a political action committee that supports Republican candidates. Falwell also posted the partisan election-year appeal on his ministry website.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, said Falwell's action clearly merits an IRS investigation.

Falwell, in his "Falwell Confidential" bulletin, wrote, "For conservative people of faith, voting for principle this year means voting for the re-election of George W. Bush. The alternative, in my mind, is simply unthinkable. To the pro-life, pro-family, pro-traditional marriage, pro-America voters in this nation, we must determine that President Bush is the man with our interests at heart. It is that simple."

Falwell continued, "However, simply voting may not be enough. I believe it is the responsibility of every political conservative, every evangelical Christian, every pro-life Catholic, every traditional Jew, every Reagan Democrat, and everyone in between to get serious about re-electing President Bush. That is why I am utilizing this column to urge you to support the Campaign for Working Families, which is headed by Gary Bauer. It is the organization that I believe can have the greatest impact in re-electing Mr. Bush to the Oval Office."

Our immediate task around the world and in Iraq and Afghanistan is to bring those terrorists to justice. See, you can't talk sense to them. You can't negotiate with terrorists. You can't sit back and hope that somehow therapy will work and they will change their ways. That's just not the way it is. We must engage the enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq and around the world so we do not have to face them here at home.

George W. Bush, July 14, 2004 Waukesha, Wisconsin

Matthew 5

43"You're familiar with the old written law, "Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, "Hate your enemy.' 44 I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, 45 for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best--the sun to warm and the rain to nourish--to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. 46 If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. 47 If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. 48 "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God loves toward you.

Tell someone you're a Christian these days and people immediately think that you must be a Republican. How did this happen? How did the religion founded on the message of a poor Jewish peasant who advocated the edification of the poor over the powerful in the world - especially the religious powerful - get co-opted into the religion of the powerful and rich?

We see the characterization every day - if your politics lean to the right, you're a Christian against those godless, heathen liberals. If you favor wealthy politicians and businesses, then you're a fine upstanding Christian fighting against the communist leftists who want to give the poor a free ride at the expense of the rich.

Sojourner's editor Jim Wallis makes a compelling case for why Christians need to reclaim the faith that has been so effectively hijacked by the right wing extremists:

The Senate failed to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment, delivering a blow to Pres. Bush and his right wing cronies who see nothing wrong with seeking the second-class citizenship of millions of taxpaying Americans.

``I would argue that the future of our country hangs in the balance because the future of marriage hangs in the balance,'' said Sen. Rick Santorum, a leader in the fight to approve the measure. ``Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?''

There you have it, folks, homeland security hinges on heterosexual marriage. No wonder we're no safer now than we were three years ago when Bush took office. About half of the marriages that began in 2000 are now kaput, but our national security depends on them.

Our lawmakers have yet to pass a budget or take care of many pressing issues facing our country - so what do they do? Play politics with the lives of gay and lesbian Americans.

Last month, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said Senate Republicans were foolish to hold a vote on the constitutional amendment even though they knew it would not pass. He also said he would move to hold “some sort of vote” on the bill in the House this month. But on July 7, DeLay changed his mind and said the House might vote on a constitutional amendment in September.

“I realized we’re going to need a constitutional amendment if we want to protect marriage,” he said.

What DeLay realized was that he could get more bang from his political buck by visiting the issue in September instead, and that’s now his plan. By having one chamber consider the issue in July and the other in September, that’s two chances for voters to get riled up.

Two chances to demonize tax paying citizens. Two chances to strip rights from a group of American citizens hated for nothing more than who they love.