Check out the new blog of our Seattle UCC justice program associates with our Young Adult Service Community:
http://thebroadwaybunch.blogspot.com/
The Broadway Bunch
Saturday, October 6, 2012
UCC pastors and justice interns support Sea-Tac jet-fuelers ready to strike over safety concerns
Alex's story is one you will want to know. Anyone who is ever a passenger at Seatac airport, in fact, will want to learn this news from Alex (see press reports below.) In the last month, I have had the privilege to march arm in arm with Alex on four occasions at Seatac and Alaska Airlines and now ASIG. Each time I am more struck with his extraordinary courage. As you take a look at the news coverage below, you will see that we all will soon likely be invited to stand with him again. It is the commitments of our congregation that bring us forth in to step with new friends. As a justice-centered community of faith, we follow from a tradition, lived by Jesus, to come together to be with those, who are showing they are being unjustly marginalized.
Alex and coworkers are among many low wage workers, raising safety concerns about the conditions they are expected to work under, in order to give us our first class airport. Attempts to silence them have included dragging their reputations through the mud, if they speak up. It was after documenting faulty equipment, that Alex was retaliated against, over three weeks ago.
The details of the basic safety break downs at the airport make one's heart skip a beat, whether soon to catch a flight or not. At a press conference Wednesday we saw pictures of truck gear shift parts being held together with duct tape. Sparks emerging in the process of re-fueling planes. Fuel soaking on to workers. In the last month, Alex and community and faith allies have been to City Council and to our Port Commission (Sea-Tac is part of our public Port.) They opened a plastic bag that held a typical shirt, wreaking in fuel, after a day's work. The chamber filled with the smell of fuel, from one shirt. The fuel typically drains on the body in the refueling process. ASIG offers no place to wash uniforms, so by necessity, they are brought home, forced to mix with the family and children's laundry.
Concerned people of faith know that a grievance for one, is a grievance for all sisters and brothers who should have dignity in their work. We have been growing in number, each week, as we have been inspired to stand with workers, as members of faith communities and local organizations. We have handed out fliers to the public at the airport. We have spoken to airport officials and to Alaska Airlines officials, both at the airport and the doors of Alaska Airlines headquarters.
Alex has said he takes encouragement as he learns that our congregation is becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the safety issues he and other fuel engineers have raised. As you will see below, he is hugely courageous. But he is one of many. The voices of other contracted workers who are baggage handlers, and ramp workers, and cabin cleaners, and many more, have been asking Alaska Airlines to ensure that they will contract with companies that will not put them in unsafe conditions, and keep them in poverty-wages, with little job security.
On Wednesday, leaders of many faiths were called forth from each of our traditions, to again walk arm in arm with Alex and others to make an effort to speak directly with supervisors at ASIG, the contract company that Alaska Airlines uses to fuel 75 % of planes we fly in through Seatac. Unfortunately they were unwilling to hear concerns and dialogue with Alex and our group.
But later that day, as you will see below, Alaska Airlines said they could simply bring in other workers and sidestep those who raise concerns, if need be. Is this the kind of positive leadership we seek from an airline that so many of us use frequently, and one that can do and has done much good? And to add insult, as reported in today's October 6 Seattle Times, the FAA now states they looked at the complaints and they have no merit. Yet, they did not speak with Alex nor anyone who entered the grievances.
As more and more from our congregations add support for these workers, you can learn details below. Wednesday, we were proud to see our UCC justice interns there, through their placements and Keystone UCC with Pastor Lauren, who joined other Seattle faith leaders from the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and Puget Sound Sage, and Working Washington. For, we were honored to stand with workers as brave as Alex, and it appears it may need to continue.
~Lauren
a clip from 10/3/12:
--------
Hello Port Coalition Allies,
Thank you for the presence and support in yesterday's Fueler's press conference. Workers expressed to me later how grateful they were to have so many Faith and Community allies supporting them.
....
The vote by Sea-Tac fuelers to authorize a strike over safety & fairness issues at Sea-Tac was one of the top stories in the news yesterday, with big stories on all 4 local TV stations throughout the day, a major story in the Seattle Times, and reports on at least 2 radio stations. All stories were solidly focused on the safety issues raised by workers, and all named Alaska Airlines as a responsible party. Strikingly, Alaska Airlines saw fit to respond to several of these reports, showing that they are in fact feeling the pressure...
...The activity was a success and further raised worker's vigor and energy to advocate for themselves....
Claudia Alexandra Paras
Puget Sound Sage | Airport Coalition Organizer |
-------------
Sea-Tac jet fuelers threaten strike over safety, worker's suspension (Seattle Times)
Non-union Sea-Tac aircraft fuelers say they might walk off job (KCPQ-13)
Sea-Tac aircraft fuelers authorize strike (KIRO-7)
Webstory: http://www.kirotv.
Workers strike at Sea-Tac claiming unsafe conditions (KIRO radio)
Full news conference: http://www.kirotv.
Sea-Tac workers threaten to strike over safety concerns (KOMO-4)
http://www.komonews.com/news/
Sea-Tac fuelers authorize strike over suspended co-worker (KING-5)
TV version is
Web version is brief: http://www.king5.com/
Workers strike at Sea-Tac claiming unsafe conditions (KIRO radio)
Sea-Tac fuelers authorize strike over suspended co-worker (KREM - Spokane)
Airplane fuelers at Sea-Tac Airport threaten strike (Puget Sound Business Journal)
There was also a story on KOMO radio that's not currently posted to the web.
Seattle Times "Morning Memo"
Top of the news 10/3: http://blogs.
And still #9 on 10/4: http://blogs.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Progressive Values
For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
In our Progressive Christian Values class we have been learning about the presence of the darkness to which Paul refers. It is a spirituality which inspires fear and anger in people. A way of seeing the world that leads humanity to seek violence based solutions to violence based problems, a way of organizing human systems in terms of domination.
If you can’t see the true extent of the problem, you won’t be able to see the path to a solution. We have not yet moved towards the solutions part of the class but solutions do exist, have existed for thousands of years.
The class is simply a concentrated form of the message that forms the basis of our regular Sunday morning worship: There is an alternative to domination and violence. There is another way to organize our lives, and our world. There is cause for hope for a better world for all. But that hope isn’t going to come as present under a tree or a post apocalyptic divine intervention. It comes as a vision to be embodied, a way of life that comes alive as we live it, a lifelong journey of transformation and struggle.
This we call the way of Christ. It a journey for people to take with others.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Refreshing: Relevance of Future Church? New Caretakers at work
For each time we consider the future and relevance of 'church'- our wider church-- and for every conversation we have on how church in America is trending....
take a read of a refreshing report from this July's big event...!
46 youth and adult leaders attended from our Pacific Northwest Conference region of the UCC.
-Lauren
July 14, 2012
During the UCC’s National Youth Event 2012, the Collegiu
take a read of a refreshing report from this July's big event...!
46 youth and adult leaders attended from our Pacific Northwest Conference region of the UCC.
-Lauren
July 14, 2012
During the UCC’s National Youth Event 2012, the Collegiu
m of Officers and the Council of Conference Ministers of the United Church of Christ published a pastoral letter on the future and the relevance of the denomination and the youth who are its caretakers.
Here is the text of that letter:
July 13, 2012
A Pastoral Letter from Leaders of the United Church of Christ
Dear sisters and brothers of the United Church of Christ:
Greetings in the name of Jesus, the wise, young teacher who taught the elders of the temple!
MK Asante, the opening worship speaker at this year’s National Youth Event (July 10-13 at Purdue University), said, “If you make an observation, you have an obligation.” It is with that persistent spirit of holy engagement, that we – the five national officers of the church and 21 Conference Ministers in attendance – feel compelled to write this letter of profound gratitude and urgent response.
First, we wish to begin with gratitude. Thank you to the more than 2,500 youth of this church who gave of yourselves – so generously and sacrificially – to be here and to open your hearts, your lives, to this faith-filled moment. You – our sisters, our brothers – are amazing; every single one of you. This was your event and you helped us all feel extrava- gantly welcomed into it.
Our gratitude extends to national staff and organizers who spent years planning, orches- trating and executing this empowering event; to many regional organizers who coordi- nated travel plans and helped care for those entrusted to you; to chaperones who offered loving guidance, presence and patience; and to churches, agencies, Associations and Conferences of the UCC that prayerfully and financially encouraged and supported the attendance of our youth. Thank you, also, to parents and guardians who gave encourage- ment to this event as a priority in your child’s life. And thanks to every UCC person who encourages ongoing all-church support for Our Church’s Wider Mission – our common ministry fund – which provided the critical financial resources necessary to make NYE possible.
Second, beyond gratitude, National Youth Event leaves us with important lessons about the church, its present and its future, and our response to this critical moment. There are days when it seems as though all we hear are voices of concern about the church’s sta- tus, its relevance and its future. You, the youth of NYE, helped teach us about the sacred responsibility of claiming this time and this place as God’s moment to change lives. There are days when it seems as though all we hear are voices lamenting a disconnect between youth and the church. You reminded us of the importance of celebrating and supporting the youth that are faithfully encountering God’s presence in, through and even beyond the church. There are days when we hear resistance to change in traditional worship. You taught us that the deep beats of God’s activity live in hip hop rhyme, flow easy in laughter, and rattle in roars of sustained ovation and praise. All, we passionately believe, are sounds of a new Pentecost opening the church to new realities, new days of vitality, inclusivity and engagement. Thank you, wise and wonderful teachers.
In the preamble to our constitution, the United Church of Christ “affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God.” We believe we must seize and build upon this powerful NYE moment – in response and gratitude to UCC youth – to realize the significance of what has happened here and how we are leaving this event infused with expanding hopefulness for the United Church of Christ, our distinctive message and impact, and the need for an inter- generational movement of hope.
Let this be the moment where the church truly imagines its new reality and its hopeful future, under God’s watchful love and tender mercy.
Imagine, God is still speaking,
The Collegium of Officers of the United Church of Christ
The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black
General Minister and President
W. Mark Clark
Associate General Minister
The Rev. J. Bennett Guess
Executive Minister, Local Church Ministries
The Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo
Executive Minister, Justice and Witness Ministries
The Rev. James Moos
Executive Minister, Wider Church Ministries
The Council of Conference Ministers of the United Church of Christ
The Rev. Phil Hart Northern California Nevada
The Rev. Felix Villanueva Southern California Nevada
The Rt. Rev. Béla Posnán Calvin Synod
The Rev. John R. Deckenback Central Atlantic Conference
The Rev. Walter John Boris Central Pacific Conference
The Rev. Charles L. Wildman Connecticut Conference
The Rev. Kent Siladi Florida Conference
The Rev. Charles Buck Hawaii Conference
The Rev. Jorge Morales Illinois Conference
The Rev. Sheldon Culver Illinois South Conference
The Rev. John Vertigan Indiana-Kentucky Conference
The Rev. Rich Pleva Iowa Conference
The Rev. Krista Betz Kansas-Oklahoma Conference
The Rev. David R. Gaewski Maine Conference
The Rev. Jim Antal Massachusetts Conference
The Rev. S. C. Campbell Lovett Michigan Conference
The Rev. Karen Smith Sellers Minnesota Conference
The Rev. Jeff Whitman Missouri Mid-South Conference
The Rev. Marc I. Stewart Montana-Northern Wyoming Conference
The Rev. Roddy Dunkerson Nebraska Conference
The Rev. Gary Schulte New Hampshire Conference
The Rev. Rita Root New York Conference
The Rev. Wade Schemmel Northern Plains Conference
The Rev. Bob Molsberry Ohio Conference
The Rev. Mike Denton Pacific Northwest Conference
The Rev. Marja Coons-Torn Penn Central Conference
The Rev. Alan C. Miller Penn Northeast Conference
The Rev. Char Burch Penn West Conference
The Rev. Judith Youngman Pennsylvania Southeast Conference
The Rev. Beverly Edwards Rhode Island Conference
The Rev. Tom Rehling Rocky Mountain Conference
The Rev. Douglas Anders South Central Conference
The Rev. David Felton South Dakota Conference
The Rev. Timothy C. Downs Southeast Conference
The Rev. Edward S. Davis Southern Conference
The Rev. John C. Dorhauer Southwest Conference
The Rev. Lynn Bujnak Vermont Conference
The Rev. David Moyer Wisconsin Conference
Here is the text of that letter:
July 13, 2012
A Pastoral Letter from Leaders of the United Church of Christ
Dear sisters and brothers of the United Church of Christ:
Greetings in the name of Jesus, the wise, young teacher who taught the elders of the temple!
MK Asante, the opening worship speaker at this year’s National Youth Event (July 10-13 at Purdue University), said, “If you make an observation, you have an obligation.” It is with that persistent spirit of holy engagement, that we – the five national officers of the church and 21 Conference Ministers in attendance – feel compelled to write this letter of profound gratitude and urgent response.
First, we wish to begin with gratitude. Thank you to the more than 2,500 youth of this church who gave of yourselves – so generously and sacrificially – to be here and to open your hearts, your lives, to this faith-filled moment. You – our sisters, our brothers – are amazing; every single one of you. This was your event and you helped us all feel extrava- gantly welcomed into it.
Our gratitude extends to national staff and organizers who spent years planning, orches- trating and executing this empowering event; to many regional organizers who coordi- nated travel plans and helped care for those entrusted to you; to chaperones who offered loving guidance, presence and patience; and to churches, agencies, Associations and Conferences of the UCC that prayerfully and financially encouraged and supported the attendance of our youth. Thank you, also, to parents and guardians who gave encourage- ment to this event as a priority in your child’s life. And thanks to every UCC person who encourages ongoing all-church support for Our Church’s Wider Mission – our common ministry fund – which provided the critical financial resources necessary to make NYE possible.
Second, beyond gratitude, National Youth Event leaves us with important lessons about the church, its present and its future, and our response to this critical moment. There are days when it seems as though all we hear are voices of concern about the church’s sta- tus, its relevance and its future. You, the youth of NYE, helped teach us about the sacred responsibility of claiming this time and this place as God’s moment to change lives. There are days when it seems as though all we hear are voices lamenting a disconnect between youth and the church. You reminded us of the importance of celebrating and supporting the youth that are faithfully encountering God’s presence in, through and even beyond the church. There are days when we hear resistance to change in traditional worship. You taught us that the deep beats of God’s activity live in hip hop rhyme, flow easy in laughter, and rattle in roars of sustained ovation and praise. All, we passionately believe, are sounds of a new Pentecost opening the church to new realities, new days of vitality, inclusivity and engagement. Thank you, wise and wonderful teachers.
In the preamble to our constitution, the United Church of Christ “affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God.” We believe we must seize and build upon this powerful NYE moment – in response and gratitude to UCC youth – to realize the significance of what has happened here and how we are leaving this event infused with expanding hopefulness for the United Church of Christ, our distinctive message and impact, and the need for an inter- generational movement of hope.
Let this be the moment where the church truly imagines its new reality and its hopeful future, under God’s watchful love and tender mercy.
Imagine, God is still speaking,
The Collegium of Officers of the United Church of Christ
The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black
General Minister and President
W. Mark Clark
Associate General Minister
The Rev. J. Bennett Guess
Executive Minister, Local Church Ministries
The Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo
Executive Minister, Justice and Witness Ministries
The Rev. James Moos
Executive Minister, Wider Church Ministries
The Council of Conference Ministers of the United Church of Christ
The Rev. Phil Hart Northern California Nevada
The Rev. Felix Villanueva Southern California Nevada
The Rt. Rev. Béla Posnán Calvin Synod
The Rev. John R. Deckenback Central Atlantic Conference
The Rev. Walter John Boris Central Pacific Conference
The Rev. Charles L. Wildman Connecticut Conference
The Rev. Kent Siladi Florida Conference
The Rev. Charles Buck Hawaii Conference
The Rev. Jorge Morales Illinois Conference
The Rev. Sheldon Culver Illinois South Conference
The Rev. John Vertigan Indiana-Kentucky Conference
The Rev. Rich Pleva Iowa Conference
The Rev. Krista Betz Kansas-Oklahoma Conference
The Rev. David R. Gaewski Maine Conference
The Rev. Jim Antal Massachusetts Conference
The Rev. S. C. Campbell Lovett Michigan Conference
The Rev. Karen Smith Sellers Minnesota Conference
The Rev. Jeff Whitman Missouri Mid-South Conference
The Rev. Marc I. Stewart Montana-Northern Wyoming Conference
The Rev. Roddy Dunkerson Nebraska Conference
The Rev. Gary Schulte New Hampshire Conference
The Rev. Rita Root New York Conference
The Rev. Wade Schemmel Northern Plains Conference
The Rev. Bob Molsberry Ohio Conference
The Rev. Mike Denton Pacific Northwest Conference
The Rev. Marja Coons-Torn Penn Central Conference
The Rev. Alan C. Miller Penn Northeast Conference
The Rev. Char Burch Penn West Conference
The Rev. Judith Youngman Pennsylvania Southeast Conference
The Rev. Beverly Edwards Rhode Island Conference
The Rev. Tom Rehling Rocky Mountain Conference
The Rev. Douglas Anders South Central Conference
The Rev. David Felton South Dakota Conference
The Rev. Timothy C. Downs Southeast Conference
The Rev. Edward S. Davis Southern Conference
The Rev. John C. Dorhauer Southwest Conference
The Rev. Lynn Bujnak Vermont Conference
The Rev. David Moyer Wisconsin Conference
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
introducing new justice interns!
Introducing our justice interns: 2012-2013 Seattle UCC Young Adult Service Community
Transform your life... Transform the world!
United Church of Christ Young Adult Service Communities (Ages 21-30)
We welcome our inaugural team of Justice Interns to Seattle on September 4, 2012, as they begin their 2012-2013 year of service!
• Community Living
• Justice Leaders development - in the UCC
• Hands-on Justice Advocacy work at Seattle
• Faith Conversations
Justice Interns will join the life and leadership each week at 3 of our Seattle churches:
To learn more, contact: Lauren Cannon, Associate Pastor Keystone UCC, Seattle lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org 206-632-6021 www.keystoneseattle.org Seattle regional director YASC www.ucc.org/volunteer
~~~~~ Introducing our inaugural 2012-2013 team:
Jenn Hagedorn, from our own Pacific Northwest Conference UCC, will be interning with The Church Council of Greater Seattle: http://www.thechurchcouncil.org/ and serving at Plymouth UCC: http://plymouthchurchseattle.org/
Marianne Haney, originally from West Seattle and Puyallup, will be interning with Puget Sound Sage: http://www.pugetsoundsage.org/ and serving at All Pilgrims UCC/DoC:
Steven Boyles, a leader from the Ohio UCC Conference, will be interning with The Faith Action Network: http://fanwa.org/ and serving at Keystone UCC: www.keystoneseattle.org/
Kathryn Murdock, from our own Pacific Northwest Conference UCC, will be interning at the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness: http://www.homelessinfo.org/ and serving at Keystone UCC: www.keystoneseattle.org/
As we prepare to accompany our 2012-2013 Justice Interns along their year, we celebrate their courage and their call to this commitment!
Transform your life... Transform the world!
United Church of Christ Young Adult Service Communities (Ages 21-30)
We welcome our inaugural team of Justice Interns to Seattle on September 4, 2012, as they begin their 2012-2013 year of service!
• Community Living
• Interns live in community with each other at All Pilgrims
UCC/DoC Church on Capitol Hill and develop relationships
with their host congregation, local community, and YASC
Groups in other locations.
• Justice Leaders development - in the UCC
• Integrate congregational life and mission/justice advocacy.
Develop servant leadership skills in year-long course for
Justice Leaders, at Keystone UCC in Wallingford, alongside
members & friends of Seattle UCC churches.
• Hands-on Justice Advocacy work at Seattle
placements
• Work to foster systemic change for our most vulnerable and
excluded people, by serving 32 hours/week in an advocacy
organization that mobilizes folks to action.
• Faith Conversations
• Study progressive Christian values, nonviolence, and
community organizing. Reflect on radical hospitality,
vocational discernment, and a call to a life of faith-based
justice work. Grow the vision of a church engaged in God's
prophetic and healing work in the world.
Justice Interns will join the life and leadership each week at 3 of our Seattle churches:
Keystone UCC: www.keystoneseattle.org/ All Pilgrims UCC/DoC: www.allpilgrims.org/
Plymouth UCC: www.plymouthchurchseattle.org/
To learn more, contact: Lauren Cannon, Associate Pastor Keystone UCC, Seattle lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org 206-632-6021 www.keystoneseattle.org Seattle regional director YASC www.ucc.org/volunteer
~~~~~ Introducing our inaugural 2012-2013 team:
Jenn Hagedorn, from our own Pacific Northwest Conference UCC, will be interning with The Church Council of Greater Seattle: http://www.thechurchcouncil.org/ and serving at Plymouth UCC: http://plymouthchurchseattle.org/
My name is Jenn Hagedorn and I am so looking forwarding to the upcoming year as a part of the YASC program! I graduated from Western Washington University in 2011 with a BA in Human Services and Rehabilitation. This broad degree allowed me to experience working with non-profits, especially within the field of public health, and solidified my desire to work within the non-profit sector. I
Welcome 2012-2013 Justice Interns
recently returned from living in Ghana for eight months, where I volunteered with various government and non-governmental organizations doing health outreach and education. As a child that grew up in the UCC, I know that I was blessed to be in an environment that instilled the importance of justice and equality. These are the values that have shaped who I am, and have opened so many doors in my life. I see the YASC program as a perfect opportunity to give back to the broader UCC community, while also deepening my own faith and continuing on my spiritual path.
~~~~~~
Marianne Haney, originally from West Seattle and Puyallup, will be interning with Puget Sound Sage: http://www.pugetsoundsage.org/ and serving at All Pilgrims UCC/DoC:
My name is Marianne Haney and I will be one of the interns for this upcoming 2012-2013 year of service. There are three main reasons I applied for a YASC
position. The first being that I will be graduating from AmeriCorps NCCC on July 19th after 10 months of traveling and serving communities throughout the Pacific Region. I had the opportunity to work for 4 specific nonprofit organizations throughout my year of service. I realized that I want to continue in the nonprofit sector and wanted to do this in the city that I was raised in. Second, I wanted to work on becoming a leader in my community and continue to grow in all areas. Third, I wanted to be connected to a church to some degree and have the chance to be surrounded by religious leaders. I am originally from West Seattle, but spent most of my high school years in Puyallup, Washington. I was in my second year of college for Criminal Psychology before I dropped out to join AmeriCorps. I was adopted at the age of 3 by my amazing parents Richard & Martha. I love to learn different languages and experience new cultures and philosophies on life. I am 5’5, just turned 21, athletic, love to play video games, love to be involved in church activities, and love meeting new people. I love Russian and Indian food; I like to go out, like the outdoors, and trying new things. I can’t wait to meet all of the people I will be working with.
~~~~~~~
Steven Boyles, a leader from the Ohio UCC Conference, will be interning with The Faith Action Network: http://fanwa.org/ and serving at Keystone UCC: www.keystoneseattle.org/
Hi, my name is Stephen Boyles, and I'm a native of Kent, Ohio, a city just outside of the Cleveland area. I recently graduated from Heidelberg University, where I majored in Political Science and Minored in Religion. Heidelberg is a UCC affiliated school, and it's where I learned about the YASC service opportunity from my campus minister. I've had a very exciting spiritual journey so far, and I'm incredibly excited to continue with that same spirit of service in Seattle in this upcoming YASC year.
~~~~~~
Kathryn Murdock, from our own Pacific Northwest Conference UCC, will be interning at the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness: http://www.homelessinfo.org/ and serving at Keystone UCC: www.keystoneseattle.org/
Kathryn Murdock is a recent graduate of the University of Puget Sound where she majored in foreign language international affairs and minored in music. She is a native of Seattle and grew up at University Congregational UCC where she first learned the importance of social and economic justice. Kathryn is very excited to begin the YASC program where she will have the opportunity to connect her interest in improving social and economic justice with her work in a non-profit at the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness.
~~~~~
As we prepare to accompany our 2012-2013 Justice Interns along their year, we celebrate their courage and their call to this commitment!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
"Inconceivable Prophets" sermon
Keystone Church UCC
“Inconceivable Prophets”
Sermon on Mark 6: 1-13
6th Sunday After Pentecost
Keystone United Church of Christ
Lauren Cannon
I was recently in Ohio visiting with my partner Mike’s family. They have been living and working in Cleveland, East Cleveland, West Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Akron, Kent- you name it- around the greater Cleveland area- a long time. This visit, I admit, we were focused on some celebrations, and did not speak this time of the oft debated departure of the great basketball athlete LeBraun James, who left his home town Cleveland Cavaliers to head to the Miami Heat, but under immense scrutiny. Many devoted fans in Cleveland, still hungry for a championship, were apparently furious with his choice, saying the way he left was indignant and insulting. Meanwhile LeBraun James pleaded that it was hard to leave his lifelong home town, but he hoped his ‘real’ fans would support him in his new town of Miami! In this current story, both fans and superstar seem to be in almost the dramatic opposite roles of the elements from our old biblical story that we have today from our Gospel of Mark, where Jesus is rejected by his home town of Nazareth. For Le Braun James, the one rising to fame from the hometown, it was his city that shook off the dust, and said we will move on... One lifelong Cleveland Cavaliers fan Matt was quoted saying: “It’s OK. (Forget) him. We will move on as always. Just can’t believe he is so cold hearted.” [ESPN Chicago.]
In our culture, sports heroes garner pride and are celebrated if they rise from humble origins. But for Jesus, in his culture, if fame brought a change of ranks, it was viewed with suspicion. He faced an embarrassing and painful situation in that those in Nazareth who knew him best, would not support him. They did not have ears to hear his good news. For us, this story presents a question about whether we can hear God amidst ordinary unlikely prophetic voices today. Whether we have open eyes to see God in the unexpected people and places that bear wisdom for our day.
In our Gospel of Mark, this roadblock Jesus encounters in his home town seems to be a jolt. Recall we have just come from the healing story where Jesus was able to spontaneously end the long suffering of a woman who was brave enough to reach out to him in a crowd and touch the hem of his garment. Her faith made her well, for she had been bleeding for years upon years, but Jesus was at last able to restore her to balance. And we have also come from the story of Jesus restoring Jairus’ daughter to life, from the edge of her death bed, astounding all comprehension. This has emboldened people to follow Jesus as a healer who is clearly endowed with great power. So Jesus’ reputation traveled well in advance of his arrival back to his home town of Nazareth, accompanied by his disciples. And so the writer of Mark has us find him in the synagogue on the sabbath and teaching, as he has been doing, and at first people are amazed, as they have been in other towns. But right away comes the skepticism. The questioning begins.
Folks begin to try to make sense of where he could have acquired these skills. After all, how would an artisan, “teknon” in Greek, a wood worker or carpenter or stone worker, get so wise? How would he have become so learned? The In Greco-Roman world, most of the population was illiterate, and so it was with Jesus... and, in general, the great divide was between those who had to work with their hands, and those who did not [Dominic Crossan].
Jesus family was not the lowest rung in this societal hierarchy, such as day laborers, but there was a clear sense that they were among the lower, as those doing building work in Galilee. As a carpenter, Jesus was likely making wooden door frames and the like, but there would have been someone else was in charge an overall building construction. These town folk in Nazareth still live among Jesus’ mother Mary, and Jesus’ siblings, and they even seem to be insulting Jesus in the way they speak of him. They pose that he might possibly be illigitimate since it would be customary to identify him as “Jesus, son of Joseph,” according to who his father is. But instead they say he is the son of Mary.
And there was also the problem of culture: in an honor/shame society, it was an act of sheer arrogance for someone of Jesus' humble origins to speak out publicly. The villagers of Nazareth knew Jesus, and they thought him to be nothing particularly special. His family were ordinary folk. Jesus was a journeyman artisan at best, not a sage or dignitary, and his apparent ability to perform "deeds of power" like healings simply didn't add up. So these neighbors stumble, and "they take offense at him." His hometown rejection is underway.
Jesus then tells the disciples the proverb that “a prophet is never worthy in their home town...”, and Jesus finds he does not have power to offer the same magnitude of healings, as he could in other towns. Watching this downturn, the disciples may in fact find that Jesus becomes especially real to them now: they can see he is a servant leader, who can indeed suffer in painful ordinary human ways. Can be misunderstood, rejected, even as they know of his magnificence.
So Jesus heads out to surrounding villages that may welcome him with a little more faith. But the gospel here is also signaling a beginning of what will come to be a monumental expansion: It is here, that Jesus bestows powers upon his disciples to be carriers of a message of hope. He sends them two by two to other villages, with the ability to offer healings. But first he instructs them:
‘Travel light, and land wherever people will have you. Do not carry a knapsack.’ He distinguishes their mission as one that relies on the community, unlike the other traveling group of miracle workers called the Cynics. When Cynics carried their backpacks- they symbolized that they carried their home with them; they conveyed they were self sufficient. Jesus, instead, instructed the disciples that they were to depend on those who would listen in each community. We see here the beginnings how through time, each community, and each of us, in turn, are expected to carry the news that God’s healing can come from ordinary folks, if we but pause to listen. And Jesus is clear to have the disciples go to the less-than-utmost-comfortable places. “Stay in the place that opens the door to you-- don’t go looking for the best house. And remember you are the message.” [The Message.]
Then, he also enforces the tough truth that the disciples have just seen him face on his home turf. He empowers them for when they are not received well. (It would have sounded a bit like:) “Dust off your feet, and move along-- for it is more important to reach those who really hunger for healing...” , and those who can hear that there is a new way to order lives, according to a loving God.
***
Today we ask ourselves the question this story prompts, “Who are the brave voices in our midst that may be the unlikely carriers of prophetic wisdom?” Are we prone to be like the hometown crowd in Nazareth and miss out on the fullness of blessings that God might pour upon us? They could not see Jesus as spiritual leader and thus they missed the amazing things God was doing in their midst. They barricaded themselves. (At least at this point in the story! Stay tuned: later in our church year, we will see that many of these same brothers and women appear again, as they have come to be followers trying to help Jesus, closer to the time he is to be killed.) You know, there is a saying that “an expert is anyone who is 50 miles out of town... or 500 miles out of town....or at least, not from here!”
Today our question just may be, “Do we want to be that community that sticks to our prevailing assumptions, and is perhaps not fully open to voices trying to speak?” Do we seem to already know all too much about answers to our daunting magnitude of challenges in these times (if anyone would just consult us!) Do we already presume to know just what can or cannot heal the resource crises of our globe, about who can get us out of rapid climate change and extreme weather? We know what what will stand in the way of eliminating the enormity of global poverty and rampant homelessness. But then, what if God is all around us, speaking to us through the most unlikely people?
**
This year for the 4th of July, Mike and I did something a little bit different. We were with a circle of friends, that decided to celebrate “interdependence day”, (as nerdy as that may sound...), it was indeed a lovely day, full of the usual delights of lazy barbecue and even a sunny croquet match, but somehow, gathering under the frame of celebrating interdependence made it all just feel a little bit different.
One of the questions offered at the table after we had eaten, was from our friend who said he had become inspired by a group of young people, called “Generation Waking Up”, or “GenUp” for short. Younger people setting out from all over the country, and connecting across the globe, using technology, to ignite a movement to bring about a thriving, sustainable, just world. They are raising voices as a generation who pays tribute that indeed they have benefitted from the incredible fast technological advances of recent decades, that connect us all across the world instantly. But they say they can also see that we have gone off the rails in terms of the pace of consumption of the planet’s resources, and that we cannot continue in these ways that create great discrepancies of wealth and of suffering. They believe that current and coming generation of young adults have the passion and insight to help turn toward hopeful solutions that rely on a diversity of young voices as a strength. [I commend to you a 9 minute video they released, as you find the address listed in your bulletin:
At the July 4th table our friend said, “what if everywhere I went now, I distilled my work in to the most important and basic mission: to ensure that everyone on the planet has clean fresh water to drink. That each has decent shelter. That all could be fairly fed.” It reminded me of our prayer we often lift around this communion table, as we will do this morning, as we break bread, “God move us toward your vision of the day when sharing by all will mean scarcity by none...” What if this “Generation Waking Up” of young people can inspire that clarity and urgency across all of us?
I found myself considering how young adults may become more of the prophetic teachers to all generations- if we but open our ears to hear. And not to romanticize here, because in fact, this goes back to Jesus’ time... Recall that Jesus was really a late teenager and then a young adult in his entire time of ministry. He was dead by age 33... Do we often picture him in our minds as a young adult? We can also recall that those who were called, and left their fishing nets and their families to follow him and become the disciples, they too were really a band of younger ones... All of them were what we would call young adults today- up through their twenties. And perhaps very young fathers who left their growing families... And let’s note the courage of what would later come to be acknowledged as the women disciples. They were alongside the disciples written about, getting the press. These brave women surely would have raised eyebrows, to be independently traveling with this band of mobile missionaries... In our minds, lets begin to truly hold them as young adults.
**
So if the old proverb is to continue, and no one can truly be a prophet in their own home town... does that begin to point an opportunity back to US to shake that up a bit? How will we listen to wise visions? Do we want to be the town-folk that could not hear the prophetic teachings of the wise wanders, of our younger generation? We don’t need to be...
I am inspired by our [Keystone] church to step forth recently to create and lead a new thing in our region in Seattle- and build our young adult service community. We are creating a program for teaching and learning- that we will nurture, support, and guide, through this church. And I am so humbled by your call to me, to help organize us all do that... and to pastor to our first group.
So perhaps, today’s message can be heard in a way that helps us get ready to shake off the dust where we may now need to... will we have questions from the town-folk?
-Why invest in young adults? aren’t they such a transient population?
-Besides, they are never big givers to the church!
-Do any even commit to any faith tradition? Denomination? Committee work?
-And why would Keystone need another part time minister for a small church?
But instead, lets allow ourselves to imagine, what if the whole town of Nazareth got behind the youth group Jesus had pulled together?!....
And what if we can be town folk who can help neighbors see that there might be a prophetic word to be heard, from a very very unlikely source. As we leave this place today, and enter in to our week, may we be invited to walk around our days, with a little more willingness to see an unlikely teacher somewhere in our midst...
For there just may be some good news from the Gospel of Mark for you, for me, for our whole church, and for our wider body of Christ, because... let’s be honest... lets admit... ‘we’ do not strike a particularly imposing figure on the cultural landscape at present! But as we open our ears anew, we too are inheritors--- are unlikely agents of God’s redemptive purpose. We have the option today to embrace the news... this God we serve - has a mighty history - of accomplishing things through unconventional, unlikely, unexpected servants! May we open ourselves to help it to always be so!
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