Life in the Light of the Gospel

I recently received my "Weekly Seeds" Bible study resource from the UCC, and in the middle of the commentary, the question is posed: What would happen if we approached every decision in our lives by shining the light of the gospel on it?

Though I just skimmed through the rest of the commentary at the time, that question stuck with me. And I even took it a step further: what would happen if I approached every aspect of my life by doing the same? Now, let me just say that this is not simply a "What Would Jesus Do" thing. This is a chance to read through the Gospels, look at not only what Jesus said and did, but what those around him said and did, and then think about how my life reflects that.

I don't claim to know the Gospels so well that I can easily quote any part of them, but I would think that if I were intentional about it, I could look at my life through the light of the gospel from the moment I woke up until the moment I fell back to sleep that evening.

The commentary probes whether we fit our faith to suit our lives rather than making our lives fit our faith committment, and also addresses whether we should feel "comfortable" when following God/Jesus. Unfortunately, I can tick off a few ways I bend to comfort, rather than gospel, in just my first hour of consciousness in the morning.

In realizing that, I realize that this task of shining the light of the gospel on all aspects of my life could get overwhelming and tedious. So over the next few days or weeks that I reflect on this question, I'll do so in small doses. I'll take just that first hour to shine a light on my coffee, my shower, the clothing I put on. Then maybe I'll shine a light on my decision to start my day with prayer or not, to exercise or not, to eat breakfast or not (and if so, what am I eating?). And so on.

I have no illusions that I'll get to a day lived perfectly in the gospel. But awareness is a powerful thing. The best I can hope from my experiment is that I am more aware of the choice between following God/Jesus and an ordinary, comfortable existence, and a reminder that this choice is often not as big as dropping the nets and leaving our lives behind (although, take it from someone who knows, sometimes they are, and we'd best be prepared for those too!). I think I'll also probably discover that one can live quite happily and in comfort while following the gospel, with a little change of perspective.

I'll keep you updated on my progess, and if you decide to conduct a similar experiment in your own life--or segment of your life--or have already done so, please share!

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I'm Back! First Reflections on NOLA

Phew! It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks. First, I took an intensive 1-week course at another seminary. The day after it ended, I left for New Orleans on a mission trip. I'm starting to catch up on e-mail and get back into my normal routine, but I am still deep in reflection about my experience in NOLA.

I would say that the strongest impression I have about the city of New Orleans is that it is a study in contrasts: black and white, destruction and rebuilding, culture and tackiness, hope and despair.

Many in my group were suprised at how many places in New Orleans are still destroyed and deserted. In any given neighborhood that suffered severe flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2004--for the storm itself caused little damage-- there may be as many as half the houses still with crumbling walls, spray-painted X's on the front, and tattered blue tarps on the roof. Large strip malls in those neighborhoods were still empty. On the other hand, it is clear that New Orleans is slowly but surely renewing itself. Piles of debris on the sidewalk meant someone was returning home to clean-up, repair, or rebuild. Stores had "we're back!" signs in the window.

There is still much work to do, however. One of the most striking moments for me was driving to our work site through a higher-end neighborhood with some truly gorgeous (and huge) houses. One house, which could almost qualify as a mansion, looked just fine, until I took a second look and realized it was still empty. The stone fountain in the backyard was tilted in the ground, and the curtains looked ragged. I wondered about the home's owners. Why had they not come back? Financial reasons? Had their insurance company not given them the money they needed to repair the damage? Were they afraid of another storm, or of the high crime rate? I don't know.

In the days and weeks following the flooding, as the death toll rose, the SuperDome emptied, and the waters subsided, I heard various comments about God's role in the disaster, including comments that equated the damage with God's wrath for the sinfulness of the Big Easy. Theologically, I don't believe in that type of thing--particularly because I believe that God is on the side of the poor, and they were the most affected by the events of Katrina. I do, however, believe that God's presence in New Orleans is now quite evident. From the resolve of natives to make things right, to the young people in AmeriCorps working to rebuild, to the multitude of groups from all over the country who continue to make trips to help out in whatever way they can, I saw God working to restore the city.

The group I traveled with ranged in age from 25-68, some with high skill level in construction and some who'd never even picked up a hammer, and yet we all were disappointed when we couldn't work as much as we wanted to. I fell in love not only with the city of New Orleans (I'm already trying to figure out when I can return), but with the people in our group. I'm sure I'll reflect more on this experience in the weeks to come, but for now, I am simply grateful to have worked with such an amazing group of people in such an amazing place.

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6 Things I'm Thanking God For

So many times we wait for really big things to ask or thank God for (and yes, grammar-freaks, I know that's grammatically incorrect, it's a dangling participle or something ridiculous, but "for which to ask or thank God" sounds snotty. So sue me.). So today I've compiled a short list of small things for which I'm thankful (there, happy?):

1. Coffee

There's really not much else to say about this. Although I am truly a morning person, I love and desperately need my daily cup of coffee to really function clearly.

2. Rain boots

One of my best purchases ever, my galoshes are not only fashionable and cheery on ugly gray days (such as today), but highly practical when walking New York City streets and sidewalks. Especially at the corners, where there tend to be ginormous puddles. With my rain boots, I can just prance right through, instead of trying to figure out a graceful way to jump over them, which inevitably ends up in wet feet when I miss by a few inches.

3. Clinton's win in NH

Yes, I know yesterday I blogged that I'd have voted for Obama, and right now he's still the candidate I'd support, but Clinton's win makes the race interesting. I hate when things are one-sided. Oh, and if you are also still undecided, want an unbiased look at candidate's experience and positions on issues, and don't have much time, try Project Vote Smart.

4. An old, beat up sweatshirt

I have this lovely sweatshirt I've had since high school. It's really big on me and seen better days, but on mornings such as this, when it is fairly warm outside (50s F), it is just a little chilly inside my room (heat doesn't come on when it's that warm and the windows let the cold in). So I'm appreciative of the sweatshirt I could throw on when I got out of my warm bed!

5. Jeans

This past semester I attempted to change my wardrobe choices a bit and wear things other than jeans most days. It didn't work. I'm a jeans girl at heart. Today I'm wearing one of my favorite outfits: jeans and a white button-down shirt. Classic.

6. Did I mention coffee?

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If I Were In NH...

Today's the big day, and as a New Hampshire native, it's one I'm quite used to hearing about every four years: the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary. When I was visiting my parents over the holidays, the phone rang at least every hour, sometimes even more often. We knew, from the unfamiliar 603-area code numbers, that they were political calls, and we didn't answer them. Only once did a campaign leave a message. I felt grateful that I am registered to vote in New York, because I honestly had no idea who I'd vote for come January 8.

Now January 8 is here, and I have to say that if I were living and voting in NH, (despite, very truthfully, having done little research and paid no attention to the debates), my vote would be going to Obama.

Now, the strong feminist inside of me would love to say a female president. I'd love to see Hillary working on policy while Bill chooses the china and linens and makes public his favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

The problem is, I, like many others of my generation and younger, have become completely disillusioned by this country's government. A few months ago I was listening to Peter, Paul, Mary's version of Bob Dylan's classic "The Times They Are A-Changin'." I wanted to write the lyrics out and send it to each one of our representatives and ask, "what happened?" What happened to the ideals of this generation, who hated establishment and corruption, who loved Bobby, Martin, and John? Why is there still so much injustice and inequality happening at the hands of the United States Government?

Now, all of the candidates are promoting the "change" that they will bring to the government (and smart they are to do that, too, since Bush's approval rating is dismal across the board). But I think that no one has the vision and hope for real change that Barack Obama does. He's been compared to the visionary voices of Robert Kennedy, JFK, and Martin Luther King, Jr. From the little research I have done, I think it's a fair comparison. He's not advocating trying to change some things by following the status quo. He wants to shake things up. And though his lack of political experience has been used as criticism, I think it might actually be beneficial, because he's not so ingrained to "way things are done."

Now, am I naive enough to think that he'll accomplish all he wants to should he be elected? No. There are lots of other factors involved in politics. But then again, look at all the young people, Generations X and Y, who voted--many for the first time--in Iowa. What if Obama is the force that gets them involved in politics and social action? We already know that unlike the "slackers" of Gen. X, Generation Y (or the "Millenials") is much more engaged in civic action and social responsibilty. They volunteer, even beyond school-mandated community service requirements. They use their highly fought-for consumer dollars on environmentally-conscious products.

I think Obama has a chance to reach them, and gives hope that another way of doing things is possible, a hope that for many who've watched the events of the last 7 years with horror (and who cried when Bush was re-elected) was almost snuffed out.

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Ding, dong! God calling...

Well, I hate to admit it, but maybe my friend was right. See, she's a Deaconess in the United Methodist Church--it's a lifetime commissioning/commitment to be in ministries of love, justice, and service--and she swears up and down that if I won't leave the UCC for the UMC to become a Deaconess, at the very least I will do something similar. She keeps asking me pointed questions about overseas mission, and talking about programs like AmeriCorps. When I demure, she tells me she knows it when she sees it, and she sees it in me.

I didn't think about it too much, until this weekend. For my Gospel of Luke class, I wrote a contemporization of Luke's Passion narrative--from the last supper until Jesus is laid in the tomb--which was surprisingly a powerful experience for me (and if you'd like to read it, just ask and I'll send you a copy). I based my modern-day Jesus character on Shane Claiborne, the founder of a group called The Simple Way, people who are trying to follow Jesus' commands to love God and love one another, especially through living in community and working to end poverty.

As part of my intended research for my paper, I borrowed Shane's book, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical from the library. After realizing I didn't really need it to write my paper, I made myself wait to read any of it until I was done with my studies. I finished the paper Sunday morning (two days before it was due, thankyouverymuch), and started the book Sunday afternoon. I've been reading it in bits and pieces, and haven't finished it yet. But I'm feeling a tug on my heart, and a knotty feeling in my gut, which in my experience usually means that God's calling me to something. I feel the same way when I read anything about kids in foster care and orphanages, and I felt the same way when I started looking at seminaries.

So as I continue reading Shane's stories, I'm taking a lot of deep breaths, and just keeping myself open--to the guidance of the Spirit, to new possibilities for my life...and to the distinct chance that maybe my Deaconess friend was right after all.

(photo of simple way mural by pro-adventure)

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Nothing big

I apologize, poppets (I've always wanted to use that word), as this post will have no great revelations, not call to action, no brilliant insights into the workings of the world/church/deli down the street. I just realized it's been a few days since I posted, and I didn't want anyone to think I fell off the face of the world.

Today, we have a winter storm warning in effect for NYC--a lovely combination of snow, sleet, and freezing rain is headed our way. I'm ok with this on one level: living in NYC means I'm not having to try and drive in the stuff. However, since I agreed to babysit on my usual off-day (couldn't refuse a chance to make some money), I will have to walk a good distance in the nastiness. Fun.

This is disagreeable also because this is the type of weather that makes me want to spend the day huddled inside with tea and hot chocolate, quilting or reading or some other cozy pasttime. And what I really should be doing is writing my contemporization of Luke's Passion narrative that is due early next week.

Sigh...the semester is almost over...

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Season of Light

Tonight, many of my neighbors in New York City are celebrating the fourth night of Chanukah (or Hanukkah), the Festival of Light. We Christians are in our own time of light, moving through this first week of Advent. I don't think it's a coincidence that two major world religions both focus on light in darkness as the days get shorter and shorter (at least in the northern half of the world).

I find myself focusing more and more on this light. What does it mean for the light to shine in the darkness? A Jewish friend of mine asked me the other day what Advent is. "A time of preparation," I told her. "Of expectation, and anticipation."

I have to admit, this is my favorite time of year. For Christians, technically, Easter and Lent are more more important holidays. I don't think it's just because I love Christmas carols, lights, the smell of pine, and eggnog. It's certianly not the commercialism and consumerism. Ick. So what is it about Advent, and the expectation of Christmas, that I love so much?

I think it comes down to the hope. There is possibility at Advent. The chance for miracles--and not just on 34th Street or in a small Middle Eastern town 2,000 years ago, but next door, across the country, around the world. The air is filled with the hope that the light will break through the darkness, that good will overcome evil, that peace and goodwill will be among all.

My wish this season for all of you is that you find light in the darkness, and that you never lose hope.

Peace be with you.

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We Need to Do Better

Where were you in 1991? I'll show my age by saying that in 1991 I was, well, 12. Just shy of the highly coveted title of teenager.

Why the focus on 1991 ? Because that's when the birth rate in a teen age group, 15-19, mostly high-schoolers or freshmen in college, started dropping. It fell all through my years in high school, and college. My younger sister, who was 6 at the time of the first decline in the teen pregnancy rate, almost made it through college herself with a continual decline. Almost. However, as reported here in the Washington Post, for the first time in 14 years, the national teen birth rate went up between 2005 and 2006.

Think about it. 14 years. Which means that when the decline started, the teens in that age group were toddlers and pre-schoolers. And it means that when Bush was elected, they were in middle school, or just beginning high school. I don't know about all of you, but my sex education classes started in 6th grade. I got a refresher my first year of high school.

And where did the Bush administration put their money? Into abstinence-only programs. Coincidence? Well, it's a little too early to really say for sure. We need to wait until next year to find out if the teen birth rate increase was the start of a trend or just a one-year hiccup. However, we've already been told by many studies that abstinence-only sex education does nothing to change teens' behavior, so I'm forcasting that we'll see another increase next year.

Despite this, there are those who believe it's the other way around:

"This shows that the contraceptive message that kids are getting is failing,"
said Leslee Unruh of the Abstinence Clearinghouse. "The contraceptive-only
message is treating the symptom, not the cause. You need to teach about
relationships. If you look at what kids have to digest on a daily basis, you
have adults teaching kids about the pleasures of sex but not about the
responsibilities that go with it."

I actually have to agree with most of the last part of her statement. We do need to teach about relationships. Kids do digest a lot of sex-themed stuff on a daily basis; if we look at the media and advertising industries, it's very obvious that we as a country are sex-obsessed. However, what's ironic to me is that she's talking about the responsibilities that go along with sex...while promoting abstinence. Abstinence is not responsible sex. Abstinence is not having sex at all.

Here's the thing: I'm not anti-abstinence. I absolutely think teens (and everyone else) should wait to have sex until they're ready. Most teens aren't really ready, or mature enough. But telling them just not to do it, and giving them no information about how to do it responsibly when they inevitably do it anyway is a disservice to them--and it puts them at mortal risk.

Teens (and younger, even) need to know what the risks are, and how to avoid them. They need to know that abstinence--not just of intercourse, but of all bodily-fluid interactions (ok, besides kissing)--is the only safe option, but there are ways of making sexual behavior safer. This is not just about avoiding pregnancy, but avoiding contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs, also known as STDs).

Recently I watched a DVD of a film produced in 1989, on some stories behind the panels of the AIDS quilt. It went through a timeline, of when the disease first appeared, the long delay before it first appeared in the media, and how many thousands of Americans had died before the president actually spoke the word. The Surgeon General at the time, C. Everett Coop, was shown speaking out about...abstinence only sex education in the schools. He said something like, "This should be about saving lives, not saving souls."

The rate of chlamydia has gone up. The teen birth rate has gone up. And guess what. According to the Center for Disease Control, the rate of HIV infection in that age group in the U.S. (and many above it) has increased as well. Remember, there is still no cure for AIDS.

So those teen girls who are having babies, and those (presumably) teen boys who are fathering them, are all at risk for HIV and a host of other infections.

This isn't about saving souls. This is about saving lives. And we need to do better.

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Women's rights 'round the world

This isn't "Women's History Month." Today isn't "International Day of the Woman." It's just a normal, inconsequential Tuesday in November. But today I want to write about women.

Recently I purchased two posters (and a second set for a fellow women's rights fighter). One describes in one long run-on sentence many of the reasons for a woman to be in the women's liberation movement--we're underpaid, if we want to get married we're out to trap a man, etc. The other lists heroes, all women, like Sojourner Truth and Indira Ghandi. I have to admit I don't recognize all the names, and one of my goals for the new year is to learn them.

I've had arguments with people who are convinced that we've achieved gender equality in this country. I assured them--and I assure you--we have not. Women have more rights and are treated more equal with men now than 50 years ago, but we still have much to fight for. Still, today I'm grateful for all the rights and privileges we do have. I can live alone. I'm attending school for my master's degree, and didn't have to get permission from a male relative to do so. When the time comes, I can start a family without a partner if I so choose. I can vote. I can earn my own money and do what I please with it.

These are things I mostly take for granted. My boss, the Rev. Debra Haffner, wrote a fantastic blog today about her experience at a women's rights' conference in Instabul, Turkey. These are women who, in my heart, I will add to my heroes poster. Read her blog here. And then give thanks for the women in your life (including yourself if you are one!), thanks for the freedom we enjoy in the U.S....and then find a way to help women around the world get the rights they deserve. Deb mentions a couple ways in her post; I'm sure you can find others.

They are all our sisters, whether they live in Iraq, the Sudan, Australia, or next door, and whether they practice Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, or nothing at all.

Blessings to you on this regular old Tuesday...and blessings to my sisters around the world. Peace be with you.

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Rainy Monday in the Real World

It's Cyber Monday. For those who don't know what this is, it's not some futuristic holiday celebrating all things www. We are, I'm sure, all familiar with the tradition of insane shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving (although some stores actually started as early as 9pm ON Thanksgiving this year). Well, then we moved to the whole-weekend sales.

Now, apparently, American marketers have gone even further by making the Monday following Thanksgiving "Cyber Monday," in which all the sales are online. And why wouldn't they be? Everyone is back at work! Sure, what better way to help the economy than by stealing corporate America's productivity away? Hm, something's wrong with that picture...

I apologize if I sound a bit bitter this morning, but I am simply so tired of the buy, buy, buy mentality that is so pervasive in this country. Somehow the "I want" or "Wouldn't it be nice if I had" idea has shifted into "I have to have it," "I need it," and "I can't live without it." This is perhaps why so many Americans are living so much in debt, under the thumb of credit card companies. The need to buy new "stuff" all the time is everywhere. Generations before us used to use things until they absolutely just couldn't be used anymore. My parents had the same giant microwave (that my mother won in a raffle, I believe) for about 20 years. One of the knobs fell off at some point, but it still worked just fine. They got rid of it when my sister gave them a new one for their anniversary--because she thought they needed a new one, that actually had buttons, not dials. They were perfectly happy to use their old one until it broke. I still wonder how much more life that microwave had in it.

Then again, things today just aren't made to last that long. We live in a disposable world, and have the trash to prove it. Although we are a minority of the world's population, we produce a majority of the world's trash (I couldn't find the exact stats, so if anyone has them handy, send them along).

Ok, I'll leave you with that for now. I really need to get some homework done. It's going to be a busy week.

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Quick thoughts

Due to a busy day and ensuing turkey coma Thursday, and spending my day researching yesterday, I've not had time to sit down and list what I was grateful for as I wanted to. However, in this very short note before I put my nose to the grindstone and write the paper that's due by midnight tonight, I wanted to share one person I'm grateful for: James Cone. Dr. Cone is a professor here at my seminary, and he was featured recently on "Bill Moyers Journal" on PBS.

I happened to catch it last night, and I went to bed afterwards ready to take on the world, full of hope and conviction. He's an amazing man, and I miss getting to hear him preach...er, lecture...every week.

Here's the link to the video and transcript. Enjoy. And thanks, Prof. Cone, for inspiring me to find my own theological voice, and for continuing to have hope for our world. I'm so grateful.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11232007/watch.html

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Two Questions

I have been challenged by a fellow member of the Facebook group "Christian Bloggers Network" to blog on the following questions: What makes a great pastor/priest/minister? What makes a great church?

As a woman who is now formally in the process towards ordination, it occurs to me that I better know my answers to these two questions before I ever am called "Reverend" and hold the awesome responsibility of leading a parish. So here goes...

What makes a great pastor/priest/minister:

• Love of God and love of people
• Sense of humor
• Daily personal prayer life/devotional time/spiritual centering
• Commitment to serving God and the world
• Ability to admit/share/display the fact that s/he is just as human, searching, doubting, and spiritual as each member of the congregation
• Knowledge that s/he should be humble as an equal child of God to the parishioners, but also be able to claim the responsibility/power bestowed upon her/him at ordination
• Good boundary setting
• Listening skills--to people, and to the Spirit
• Courage to try new things and step out of her/his--and the congregation's--comfort zone, and the wisdom to know when it's just not working/ not the right time/ people aren't ready
• Enthusiasm
• Dedication to constantly be expanding knowledge, skills, and experience

What makes a great church:

• Love of God and each other
• Compassion
• Diversity of culture, socio-economic status, background, age, and point of view
• Acceptance that diversity will sometimes cause difficulties, and knowledge that it's worth it anyway
• Commitment to serving God, each other, and the world
• Listening to each other
• Enough money to keep the roof repaired, fund good programming, and give to others, but not so much that the church forgets Jesus' message
• Welcoming of newcomers without forgetting to acknowledge those who've been there "forever"
• Good cooks (wink, wink)
• Lots of prayer
• Enthusiasm
• Ability to be led...and to lead
• Dedication to constantly expanding knowledge, skills, and experiences

I encourage all of my readers who are in a church community to think about these questions yourselves. You may be surprised by your answers. Oh, and if you think I forgot something, please let me know!

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Make Something Day

Many of you may have heard of a movement going on a few years now called "Buy Nothing Day." It's an anti-consumerism movement, slated for the day after Thanksgiving, a day Americans are especially told to buy, buy, buy!

Well, now another group has taken it a step further. They're a Christian group called the Ecclesia Collective (no relation to the homeless church movement) who figure that buying nothing that one day is great, but giving gifts is still very Christ-centered. So they've created Make Something Day. They encourage people to stay home the day after Thanksgiving and make your gifts instead.

Now, by now my faithful readers will know that I love making things--crocheting, quilting, pretty much anything I can do with my hands. This Christmas, while I'm not technically broke, I am trying to save up my money to pay off credit cards and save for a car and place to live once I graduate in May, so I'm planning on curbing my spending. I also will be in NYC and will have no desire to fight the masses of tourists at stores (I will have fought them the day before, at the parade).

So that means I will happily embrace Make Something Day. I tend to give lots of presents to people, not out of a need to buy things, but because I love giving gifts (it's one of my main love languages--don't know what I'm talking about? Learn about it here.) So though I am also short on time, I will attempt to make some of my gifts this year...oh, and maybe in the process finish up the gifts I started making last year. Hmm...there may be a lot of potholders under the tree this Christmas!

Got a great idea for a gift to make? Post a comment and share it with the rest of us!

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Fixing what's broke

This month, Congress has made two decisions regarding education, and both concern fixing ways of doing things that just aren't working

The first was an increase in funding for abstinence-only sex education. Despite the fact that multiple studies (including this one, just released) state that that this form of sexuality education does not work to prevent teen sexual activity/disease/pregnancy, and despite the fact that the Democrats said they'd fix it, instead they approved a $28 million increase in funding for it. This policy is broken--we need to fix it and give kids honest, accurate, and comprehensive sex ed.

The second decision was to delay the decision on reauthorizing 2001's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This law had good intentions and disastrous results. Again, there are plenty of studies which say basing achievement solely on standardized test scores doesn't work. It's turned our nations' schools into test prep centers. Kids do drills in math instead of art class or recess. Now certainly there is much in our public schools that needs improvement. Kids do need to know the basics of math and reading. They also need time to just run around and be social, and to explore art and music. They can't do any of those things as well if they're in classes of 30+, fed junk food, and their teachers are shelling out their own small paychecks to buy supplies like construction paper. NCLB doesn't fix any of those things, and perhaps the delay in reauthorization shows that Congress is paying attention to the widespread disappointment and disagreement with this law.

They way we teach our children--and what we teach them--affects them for so much longer than the 12-or-so years they're in school. Our government needs to stop ignoring the facts and fix what's broken. We need to make our voices heard on these issues. It does make a difference.

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Ahh...remember these?

So on Friday, I ventured out into the cold rain to go to the branch location of the American Folk Art Museum to see an exhibition on quilts. This was required research for my senior project. Boy, let me tell you hard hard it is to force me to go see quilts (wink, wink)!

Anyway, it was a small exhibit, so to soothe myself for having to so quickly return to the streets (it's Christmas tourist season already here, and the branch is at Lincoln Center, added to the general crankiness of everyone in the rain just made it miserable), I stopped at the gift shop, where I purchased a Nantucket basket pin cushion, a quilt emory board, and a potholder loom. On the box, it says not to be suprised if just about everyone you know says they remember making potholders when they were children. Well, that's what I thought, and the lady beside me said almost the exact words on the box. Of course, she thought I was buying it for some lucky child to experience...but really it was for me!


So here's my potholder:


It's purple and gold, my alma mater's colors. It had great colors in it, and they were sweatshirt weight. The loops I used to use were neon and like nylons. Then again, it was the 80s. I'm thinking of ordering some of their wool loops and making more. It's a NH company, and the wool is spun there too. So good to be helping out the local companies, even better in the state where I grew up!

The best part about it was doing something with my hands. Being in grad school, I do a lot of work with my head. I just love when I get to engage my tactile nature!

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Some happy and some sad

My day yesterday was quite a mix of emotions. First, we found out that a beloved alum of Union, Tim Fauvell, died of a heart attack Wednesday night, while in the company of two of his chaplain students (both of whom are friends of mine). They tried desperately to save him, but were unsuccessful. Tim had a great career on Broadway before going to seminary, and he absolutely loved his job as a pediatric chaplain. He was described yesterday as a shooting star, the one who enters a room and you think the lights came on, and as a chubby angel. In recognition of his love for the stage, and his love for God, we sang this song yesterday in chapel, in a special service remembering him:

Day by day. Day by day.
Oh dear Lord, three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day

He will be missed.

And, on a more happy note, later that night I was unanimously approved to be received in care by my church, the first big step towards ordination. I'm sure Tim, who I met just a few times, was celebrating with me.

Blessed be.

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It's Actually Pretty Easy Being Green

I'm not sure if I should be worried or celebrating. Right now, going "green"--changing practices and products to be more environmentally friendly--is all the rage. NBC Universal is running a week of green-themed programming that started Sunday, as part of their "Green is Universal" campaign. There was recently a fashion show in which all the models wore environmentally friendly clothes--made from bamboo, recycled materials, organic cotton.

In a way, all this is fabulous, because (1), it makes transforming my everyday, non-famous, low-income grad-student life green much easier and cheaper, and (2), it makes those of us that are eco-friendly already cool, not crunchy.

Therein lies the problem, however. What is cool one week can be totally out the next. If going green is just trendy, just a fad, (and with the sheer amount of coverage it's getting in every area of our lives, it's easy to believe it is), it'll go out of style like slouch socks and synthesized music. People will go back to what's easier, more convenient. Environmentally-friendly products and services will be harder to find and therefore more expensive, so even more people will stop using them.

Hopefully, though, it will catch on and become so mainstream that people get dirty looks if they use plastic bags at the grocery store. Or buy regular incandescent light bulbs (seriously, if you haven't changed to compact flourescent yet, walk away from your computer and do it--or hey, order them online!). I'm not saying we should be mean to each other, but it's the (sad) fact that the perceived thoughts of the society around us do influence the way we act.

I think perhaps the way to make this last is to make it a movement, not a trend. Like civil rights and women's lib, we need to take a stand and fight for what's right. The government certainly won't change its policies based on what's trendy. Patterns show they rarely make changes even for the truth (like the fact that abstinence-only sex education doesn't work, and the fact that most Americans want low-income kids to receive health care through S-CHIP. But I digress).

So I would urge you--and I'll do the same--to take a moment today to do something for the environment that makes you part of the movement to take better care of the Earth and its inhabitants, rather than just making you part of the trend. Here are some suggestions:

• Write an e-mail to your representatives urging them to make environmentally-conscious decisions


• Donate money to a worthy cause that helps farmers grow organically, or cleans up the oceans


• Go to http://www.therainforestsite.com/ and (for free!) save a little bit of the rainforest


• If you invest, look into putting "green stocks" in your portfolio


• Make eco-changes with a child, and talk about why you're doing it


• Investigate ways to make changes at your workplace--here in NYC, I know of at least one law firm that has gone completely paper free. Perhaps your company doesn't need to be so drastic, but at least try make sure they're recycling and not using styrofoam cups!


• For you churchy folk, think about your coffee hour: styrofoam cups? Disposable everything? Financially it's tight, I know, but what message are you sending about being stewards of God's creation?

Have more suggestions? Share them! Have good/bad greening experiences? By all means, send them on, Eco-Warriors! With any luck, my future great-grandkids will wonder why we had to fight at all.

Hm, on second thought, that'd be nice for civil rights and women's lib, too.

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Happy (sexy) Halloween

I think Tina Fey got it right in Mean Girls. Lindsay Lohan's character dresses up for Halloween in a scary zombie bride (or "ex-wife") costume, and laments that no one told her that Halloween is really a chance for girls to dress as scantily and sexy as possible.

And I have to admit, somehow my subconscious is buying into it. I went to a Halloween party this past weekend, where the theme was "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Thinking I'd be creative, I went as a Toys R Us kid--you know, "I don't wanna grow up..." However, as I was contemplating how to create this costume, I kept thinking, "but if I do this, I won't look sexy." Hello? Since when is this necessary? Men certainly don't consider that when picking out a costume (and if this is incorrect, men, please let me know). They go for most creative, or simply fun.

I went with a denim skirt, knee socks, and a form-fitting tee (on which I placed the Toys R Us logo and KID in big letters). I looked cute, but I wouldn't say sexy. At the party though, there was a French maid in an itty bitty skirt, a sexy sailor, Tina Turner, Betty Boop, and a couple other amiguous sexy costumes. Yes, there were a few who went for fun--a woman in pj's with pigtails and freckles, an astronaut. But even Ike Turner (played by a woman) was wearing skin tight pants.

And apparently, this idea is quickly flowing from adult culture to girls. An article Tuesday in the Washington Post discusses the costumes being marketed to girls--most including showing much more skin than an 8-yr-old should ever show outside a pool. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/29/AR2007102902095.html

Is this a result of feminism? We feel we can't dress slutty for most of the year, so we do it on Halloween? We're repressed normally, so we take the chance to let it all out one night of the year? There is something about a costume that allows you to be more adventurous than we might normally be--the idea that "it's not me, it's the costume," but I think somehow we've crossed a line, especially if we're marketing this idea to girls.

Boys and men are having fun being ninjas, Spiderman, gladiators and Spanish cartoon characters (those last two were present at the party I attended). Why can't girls and women do the same, without feeling the need to make every costume "sexy?"

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Artistic endeavors

First of all, I hope you enjoy my new layout & template. The lighthouse just wasn't working for me anymore. Now, on to the blatherings...

I've been bad this week. For large chunks of time (hours, people) since I got back to NYC Sunday night, I've avoided doing my reading for class in favor of working on a new art project.

It all started innocently enough. I was on the bus, bored as usual but not wanting to sleep, so I pulled out one of the magazines I bought for research on my senior project. It was a new discovery called Cloth Paper Scissors and features mixed-media projects and artists. Well, I dog-eared a few pages, but one project looked so great I knew I need to start right away: a recycled-book sketchbook. Perfect for sketching out senior project ideas!

Tuesday morning I went out and bought the glue and gesso I needed. I put the bag on the common room table where I could see it and use it as motivation to get my homework done as fast as possible. Reward systems work for me, what can I say. Bare minimum done, I started the book, figuring I could finish that evening, allowing the glue to dry during class.

Well, unforunately gluing every 3-4 pages together of a 160-pg book takes a while. It took me about 4 shifts just to glue. Then there's the gluing of the collage on each new thicker page, and THEN you get to gesso over that.

So last night as I watched a fabulous Josh Beckett (I love you!) take the mound in Cleaveland for a 7-1 win over the Indians--on to game 6!--I managed to gesso the whole book.

Now, as I think about my weekend plans and homework responsibilities, I am pondering whether to just leave the cover as is (with title of recycled book in view on spine) or invest some more time and energy into gluing some fabric on it....what do you think I'll choose?

Oh, and on an "it-could-only-happen-to-me" note, I somehow managed to get poison ivy in Brooklyn and a splinter in my toe while wearing shoes and socks. Seriously...

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And this is why I feel the need to be "evangelical"

The UCC website reported recently on a study released by The Barna Group about young people's attitudes on Christianity (http://www.ucc.org/news/study-young-people-see.html). It's not pretty, but it's not surprising. One of the reasons I feel called to ministry is to share my relationship with a God who loves all of us, and to share what may seem to many as a radical Christian faith.

For a long time, I was one of those young people who didn't want to call myself Christian. The majority of Christians that are in the media, that get seen by the general audience, don't represent my beliefs. It is no wonder the young people in our country see Christians as anti-gay and narrow-minded--those are the only voices we hear. We hear about male Christian pastors caught in relationships with other men who after a few weeks of therapy are "cured" of their homosexuality (nevermind the fact that adultery was committed). We hear about bishops of a major mainline Protestant denomination deciding to "exercise restraint" and not consecrate partnered gay bishops, as well as promising not to authorize "any public rites of blessing of same-sex unions." We often hear of prominent Evangelical pastors preaching on the "immorality" of hosts of things from Harry Potter to education about contraceptives.

And this is why I feel the call to ministry, and this is why I call myself Christian, and this is why I call myself evangelical (notice the lowercase "e"). Evangelical means telling the Good News. A group of Christians have co-opted this title to basically mean bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ as Savior--or else. Well, I'm taking it back--the name Christian, the title evangelical. I want to share the Good News of Jesus who shared meals with outcasts and "sinners." I want to share the Good News of the realm of God in which there is food for the hungry, freedom of the captives, and justice for the oppressed. I want to share a love of God which is so powerful, so encompassing that we can ever do anything so bad that it would make God stop loving us (this is not to say God does not get angry or pass judgment, however--but that's another topic for another time). I want to share a faith that welcomes the imperfect, the doubting, the questioning, the hesitant.

And most of all, I want to let people--and especially young people-- know that not all forms of Christianity are anti-gay, judgmental, and hypocritical. Yes, all organized religion has its problems and shortcomings, and we are no different. But there are Christians out there, like me and like many of the people I know, worship with, and go to school with, who embrace a much more welcoming message.

And we need to speak up.

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