Voices...

Whether listening to the low muted murmur of a confidential whisper or the proud boom coming from a mic on the podium, there are few sounds more expressive than the human voice. Each persons voice has a unique tone that is all its own, carrying their own signature traits and characteristics. No two voices are alike.

The tenderness of a lover's voice can feel like a warm caress; words spoken in anger can seem like physical blows; and a voice tinged with laughter can't help but fill us with good feelings. And then there are the voices of other people we encounter...the radio announcer's soothing baritone on a long car ride or the cheerful chatter of children playing on the street are just a few of the voices we may be blessed to hear on any given day.

Every time we use our voices, we make an impression on the people around us. Like the words we use when we speak, our voices can communicate what we are feeling, what we desire and what we really mean. Timidity, desire, pain and love can all be expressed and felt through the human voice. Our voices also have the power to heal, to hurt, to love and to transform others. When we are aware of the impact our voices can have, we can choose what we are expressing. Remember that what you communicate when you speak goes beyond words. Take responsibility for the power your voice has to impact the people around you and let your voice be a sound that creates harmony and compassion in your world.

In Need!

This is a picture of Typhoon Hayian which has devestated thousands...and is continuing on into Vietnam this morning. Our hearts go out to all in it's path.

Most of us are too far away to effectively help with hands and feet and hearts...but we can
help with our prayers and our pocketbooks.

 

Donations can be made through UMCOR

Disaster...

In light of the recent devestation caused by tornados and flooding, I am linking to a post concerning the United Methodist Chuch's response to such...UMCOR (United Methodist Council on Relief)...
The author can give the information far better than I...

Theology behind disaster relief....

Find this story here....

Remembering eloquence...

I was very young when President John F.Kennedy was assassinated. So young that my only memory of the time was my mother's reaction. She was driving and I was in my usual position...standing behind her right shoulder (don't fuss, this was before seat belts became common), and we were listening to the radio. I heard the announcement, but it made no impact as death was something I had not yet experienced. But my mother pulled to the side of the road and cried. I'm not sure why...perhaps it was the loss of such a vibrant president who had such radical ideas, perhaps it was the thought of his young family, perhaps she cried for our country but it's very possible she cried for all three.

When Robert F. Kennedy was campaigning for President, I was 5 years older. I was still too young to really understand the political process or have any political leanings. But I watched everything televised about him, I was responding to the man I perceived him to be.

For those who have heard him speak, you know that he was most excellent at extemporaneous speaking. He often included poems and quotes that made even my young mind curious. I don't think I'll ever forget the speech he made when Martin Luther King, Jr. (another great man who excited my love of words) was assassinated. In just a few short minutes, he was able to pull together an impressive tribute. Think of how it must have been for him, to re-live his own trauma at the slaying of his brother less than 5 years before, and then to manage a message that was both wise and reassuring.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening, because I have some -- some very sad news for all of you -- Could you lower those signs, please? -- I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world; and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black -- considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.

We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization -- black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with -- be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.

But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poem, my -- my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote:

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart,
until, in our own despair,
against our will,
comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King -- yeah, it's true -- but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love -- a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.

We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past, but we -- and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

And let's dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.

Thank you very much.

Bobby Kennedy was able to quote from a favorite poem and express the raw grief and crushing despair of the moment. Truly this was the benefit of a quick and gifted mind that was well-educated, but there had to be something in the man’s character, too. Something that allowed his thoughts to move toward what was good not for his party, or his own benefit, but for the country. And in doing so, may well have quelled the desire of many to respond to violence with violence and quite possibly prevented rioting, bloodshed and more tragedy. All this by the virtue of his words.

Today is the 45^th anniversary of his death. Requiescant in pace!

Still, small voice

^{1 Kings 19:11-13
11} The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

I absolutely hate it when people refer to natural disasters as "Acts of God". People have died, others are injured and traumatized, homes are totally destroyed...and who is to blame? Would you say God decided to destroy a good portion of Moore, OK and anyone who got in the way? Why? Spite? Anger? Vengance?  No, you will not find God in this mighty wind anymore than Elijah did. This is no one's fault. It's weather, and any scientist can explain what happens to cause storms such as these. 

No, God did not cause it, but He is there:
In those searching the buildings for the missing, hoping to find them alive,
In those who gently and reverently carry the dead,
In the hospital staff tending the wounded,
In those who sit at the side of those whose hearts are broken,
In those who keep calling until they reach those they love,
In those parents who struggle to assure their children that they are safe,
In the people around the world who send their prayers , their love and their money to
people they will never meet.

God did not cause the wind. He wasn't in the wind. He is in those people who see suffering and choose to act out of love, compassion and justice...in the hope of a better world to come.

Labels

We live in world full of labels...with one to five words, people will presume to tell you everything there is to know about any subject or person.

Most labels are harmful and divisive and do not come from a place of love...especially when they are a knee jerk responses or are used to explain something as complex as a person or a denomination...I mean, after all, you know the:
Church of Christ will tell you...
Evangelicals feel that...
Catholics are...
United Methodists simply will not...
Baptists believe that...

Another way of thinking of it, how many people are there in your world that you will absolutely believe their opinion without question? Without thought? What they tell you, you take it as gospel just because they say so? Believe it as gospel. And yet, we listen to sound bites from news programs, from talk show hosts, from radio programs and claim it as truth. Without question, without research...really? Do you know these people? Do you know their motivations? Do you completely understand their belief system? Does come anywhere close to aligning with yours?

Even better, are your thoughts and opinions so absolute that you will share with someone and expect them to step right in line with you? Is there no room for error in your thinking? Are there no past experiences that color what you believe? I know my thoughts are not. My Youth will tell you that I often preface a teaching with..."This is what I believe. I expect you to take the time, at some point in your life, to decide what YOU believe."

Shouldn't we try to open our hearts and minds and be willing just to listen? Will you take what you're told and hold it to the prism of what you KNOW to be truth? And even if you feel it's flawed, will you discuss it with others? Study it for it's validity or what it can teach you?

God did not create us using cookie cutters, else wise we would all be just alike and would all agree on every topic. Even the people He created from the dirt, with His own breath were not told exactly how to think or behave. They were complex beings, capable of a range of emotions. And He gave them only one command...don't eat of this tree. And when they did, even then He didn't stop loving them. He certainly changed their environment but He still continued to love. He allowed them and every other person who has come after to learn, grow, stumble, fall, make mistakes, feel remorse, turn back, plead for forgiveness, receive His grace, learn some more.

How can we be so shallow as to think that anything God has had a hand in creating can be described in just a few words?

Prodigals

Recently our Pastor spoke during worship about the Parable of the Prodigal Son. His main focus being on the extravagant love our Father God has for us. But I wasn't hearing it.You see, anytime I hear a message about this parable, I can only see how badly the younger son messed up and wonder about the OLDER son? I'd like to blame it on the fact that I'm the elder sibling in my family. And so, on the way out the door that Sunday, I asked him..."What about the older son"?

He chose that very subject for his message this past Sunday. Bringing light to the fact that Jesus used these stories (Luke 15) to speak to His audience... and the very first lines tell us that there were sinners and tax collectors (younger son) coming to hear Him, while the scribes and Pharisees (older son) were grumbling.
Needless to say, the message opened my eyes (yet again) to the fact that it's not "all about me".

I've spent the last couple of days talking to myself about how and why I had made this parable about me.I realize now that I was seeing my sister as the younger and myself as the older.I did always have more responsibilities than she, but being older, I should have been an example. It did seem she was forgiven for things I would never dreamed of doing, but it wasn't her fault that I was such an introvert. But still, the story wasn't about me or her or us or our parents.

Sure, she may have been reckless and extravagant but I was resentful and quick to point out who isn't pulling their weight. She may have been a free spirit but in many ways I acted as if I was entitled because I was so "good". I realize I was no better than she, and she was no worse than me. I was no more deserving of any honor. Most importantly, I realize how all the years I've wasted thinking this way have wounded my Father God.

My relationship with Him has nothing to do with my being nice or being good. It isn't determined by anything I have ever done, or will ever do. It is determined solely on a wonderfully generous God who runs to meet me whenever I turn to Him, freely giving His extravagant love.

Guilty as charged?

Controversy has run rampant over the last couple of years concerning Chick-fil-A's stance on issues of marriage and homosexuality.


I have linked to an article by Shane Windmeyer (an activist in the LBGT community) concerning his talks with Dan Cathy (Chick-fil-A's president)...talks that were carried out as "people with opposing views, not opposing people".

In the end, it is not about eating (or eating a certain chicken sandwich). It is about sitting down at a table together and sharing our views as human beings, engaged in real, respectful, civil dialogue. Dan would probably call this act the biblical definition of hospitality. I would call it human decency. So long as we are all at the same table and talking, does it matter what we call it or what we eat?

Take a few moments to read and reflect on two people in the middle of a divisive issue who desire honest dialogue based on trust...

Too much or too little?

Just do it....

To those in Sandy's path...

I saw the following letter on the "Busted Halo" website...it's from Elizabeth Desimone...just in case we have readers in the Northeast...I thought you should see this:
 

Hello, Northeast. 

How are you?

It’s okay, you don’t have to answer that question. Can we buy you a drink? Let us buy you a drink.

We know. This sucks. And we wish we could tell you the nightmare will be over soon, but the fact is this is going to suck for a long time yet. Even after the waters recede, there’s still the matter of piecing your lives back together. There’s paperwork, lots and lots of paperwork. You’ll have to dig through all of your waterlogged belongings and make wrenching decisions about what’s salvageable, and you’ll have to make those decisions faster than you’d like. Some of you will lose what’s irreplaceable: your children’s baby pictures, your grandmother’s wedding dress. A few of you will lose everything — all that you own. We are so sorry for that.

True: the possessions you’ve lost are “just stuff.” Here insert Ignatian sentiment about detachment mingled with Buddhist meditation on ephermality topped off with quote from Shakespeare’s cloud-capp’d towers speech. If those ideas about the transitory nature of “stuff” help you get some much-needed perspective right now, good. We know all too well that nothing clarifies what’s important in life like a natural disaster ripping through your region. Nevertheless, even though what you lost was “just stuff,” we understand that that stuff was meaningful to you, and we want you to know that it’s okay to mourn your loss.

Here’s the good news — and yes, in spite of everything, there is good news. The good news is: we have your back. Because we remember. We remember how you gave us warm beds and hot dinners. We remember how you came, with your families and your church groups and your college chapters of Habitat for Humanity, and helped us gut our houses and our grief, helped us hammer and nail our lives into something like normalcy. We will never, ever forget how you came.

More good news: you won’t have to depend solely on the kindness of strangers. Your neighbors will come out of the woodwork to help you. They will lug your ruined carpet to the curb for you. They will show up on your saturated doorstep with cakes and casseroles. You will, in the midst of your relentless difficulties, feel blessed and lucky and amazed to know such people.

Not everyone will make you feel so lucky. Some people are going to say you deserved what you got. They will say that God flooded you in retribution for your sinful lifestyles. People will interpret your distress as a character flaw. They will wonder why you waited around for the government to save you, ignoring the fact that you did no such thing. Tune those people out. They are silly.

We on the Gulf Coast watch your suffering with horror and recognition, and we assure you, with all of our hearts, that you are not alone. We will look out for you, as you once looked out for us. We’ll even lend you our patron saint. As this tragedy continues to unfold, we don’t want to belittle your heartache and anxiety by telling you to buck up and look at the bright side. However, we do want you to know that better days are ahead. The skies will clear, your lives will inch their ways back to coherency, and you will discover that dark days have a way of breeding a million acts of kindness.

With thoughts, prayers, and good wishes,

Your sister in sorrow, and in recovery,

The Gulf Coast

Paparazzi turned....

In one slick, subversive move, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone took a paparazzi moment and turned it into an act of kindness.

The celebrity couple used the set of photographers waiting outside their New York City lunch spot on Saturday to help raise awareness for charity. (see here)

Once the "Spider-Man" stars got wind the paparazzi wanted to snap the perfect shot, the duo decided to hold up signs advocating for Gilda's Club, which supports people living with cancer, and Worldwide Orphans Foundation, which provides health care, mentoring and education to orphaned children.

The couple's signs read:

"We just found out that there are paparazzi outside the restaurant we were eating in. So...why not take this opportunity to bring attention to organizations that need and deserve it? www.wwo.org www.gildasclubnyc.org. Have a great day!"

UMW

The United Methodist Women is an organization that does some really cool things! 

I saw this posting on their Facebook page:

 
Sometimes we get the coolest mail! This is a bag of hand-crocheted crosses sent to us from the Lahore Diocese of the Methodist church of Pakistan to thank all of YOU for the funding YOU provided after last year's flooding! (And we can't believe it made it all this way in a pillowcase sealed with tar!) (Photo is of Carol Van Gorp, International Ministries, UMW)

The poorest of the poor...

 Paul Jeffrey went to seminary and trained as a pastor but then God called him to work outside the walls of a church, way outside the walls! As a missionary journalist, he has traveled to 65 countries and been shot at, taken prisoner, caught in combat. He has won many awards for the powerful way he uses words and images to tell the story of The United Methodist Church in the world.



(Voice of The Rev. Paul Jeffrey) I’m repeatedly surprised by how hope thrives in an environment that might seem hopeless to many of us. You can find the script for this piece here 

Watch and read...

An amazing rescue!

I believe that whales are one of God's most magnificent creatures. Not only are they beautiful, they are intelligent and delightful to behold. I was blessed to take go on a "whale watch" during a trip to Boston a few years ago. We were told we would sail out for about 2 hours and then return. Alas, although it was a beautiful (but cool) day, we saw no whales on the ride out.

The young people on the trip had all crowded around the bow for the first hour or so but slowly made their way inside or up top to rest, relax, get warm and enjoy the sunshine. I, and a few of the other adults, took this opportunity to stand at the very forward tip of the bow. This had been a life long dream and I was determined to keep an eye open for even the slightest contact. Just about the time we had reached the limit of our trip, the Marine Biologist on board came up and pointed ahead. It was a pectoral fin...slapping the water! As we got closer, she told us that this was actually a baby...it was only 20 feet long or so. She told us to keep our eyes open, that the baby was playing while mother fed and that the mother would come up every so often to check on it.

After a very few moments we saw the mother rise...all 60 feet of her, she broke the surface just enough to see what was going on (the biologist explained that the whales were used to the boats being there). She slid past as she checked on her young one...even though she didn't breech she was breathtaking to behold! This was truly a joy I thought I would never experience!

Take a moment to watch this video...I applaud the skill and daring of the people in the boat. I thank God for their compassion and for taking time to free this young humpback. Wait until you see how the whale "thanks" them!

Disaster...

I had intended to post about the Titanic yesterday (to go along with the post earlier last week) but daughter lives in Oklahoma and I spent most of Saturday night on the phone with her. She was in a shelter and watched the tornado that devastated Woodward pass about 1/4 mile away. She and all hers are fine with no damage to their living space. But it still makes a Mother hit her knees to know that a child is so close to danger. Daughter has a servants heart and once she knew that they were going to get through unharmed, she immediately went in to "helper" mode. She wanted to be out and about at 3am, helping. But cooler heads prevailed and she rested for a few hours and was then able to offer all of her energies to those in need. Our prayers are with everyone affected by these deadly storms.

As a coincidence (and I don't believe in those), I ran across a post about Father Thomas Byles. He was sailing on Titanic to New York in order to officiate his brother's wedding. "When the Titanic went to the bottom, Father Byles stood on the deck with Catholics, Protestants and Jews kneeling around him. He was saying the rosary and praying for the repose of the souls of those about to perish." John 15:13 tells us, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay day his life for his friends." Seems the priest had assisted women and children into the lifeboats and twice refused to board himself..."saying his duty was to stay on the ship while one soul wanted his ministrations."

While facing imminent death, on a cold dark night 100 years ago, Father Byles remained a priest to the end. Offering the light of Christ to all who needed it.

The Authority of Compassion

Mostly we think of people with great authority as higher up, far away, hard to reach.  But spiritual authority comes from compassion and emerges from deep inner solidarity with those who are "subject" to authority.  The one who is fully like us, who deeply understands our joys and pains or hopes and desires, and who is willing and able to walk with us, that is the one to whom we gladly give authority and whose "subjects" we are willing to be.

It is the compassionate authority that empowers, encourages, calls forth hidden gifts, and enables great things to happen.  True spiritual authorities are located in the point of an upside-down triangle, supporting and holding into the light everyone they offer their leadership to.
                                                                                                 Henri Nouwen

Introverts

We all know one (or more) or perhaps you are one...whatever the situation, these are people who are worth getting to know. But there are rules:

Are you an Activist?

Watch and see...


Now I'll ask again, Are you an Activist?

Dangerous Weather

I posted a time or two last week about the turbulent weather we were experiencing. We, in my little corner of the world, came out with little to no damage. We thank God for this...but realize that it is NOT because we are any better or holier than others. The most severe weather did not hit where we are...

Our hearts and prayers go out for those who have felt what it is like to have everything taken away in the blink of an eye.

 St. Joseph's in Belleville, IL was built in 1894. Just after 5am on February 29, 2012, a tornado tore through the area, leaving devestation in it's wake:

 

Yes, this is the same church.

While the church itself is destroyed, the Italian marble altar was spared.

It is currently being dismantled to keep it from being exposed to the elements. More information here...

UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) is already working to help. Check their website for information or to make donations...