Ecu-whaaaaat?

I spent the last week at the National Council of Churches General Assembly: Centennial Gathering in N'Orleans.  It was the first time that I was in a formal setting to discuss ecumenism, especially with non-ELCA-Lutherans.  I think it's easy to talk about getting along with everybody when there's relatively few differences within the ELCA, but it's a whole different thing to actually BE ecumenical.

We had two main worship services in our time in New Orleans, which felt very odd to me, since we have chapel Monday through Thursday at LSTC.  Both services were designed to be as inclusive as possible, so there wasn't eucharist.  One of the other young people at the conference was a member of the Society of Friends and as we were talking about the services she said, "Some things really upset me.  Then I realized that there were things that upset everyone in that worship.”  This was exactly the point.  The bulletin had an asterisk during the Apostle's Creed, denoting that not everyone uses the filioque.  The service we had at the Orthodox church had a charismatic, AME bishop preaching, complete with Amens and "Preach it, Bishop" being yelled out from the pews.  There were things that upset all of us in those services.


In some ways, it was this crazy collision of worlds, east meets west, Catholic meets Quaker, silence meets vocal praise.  Despite it making us feel "uncomfortable" or upset, we were all there, worshiping God, praising Christ, feeling the Holy Spirit, in a new space with new people.  It was uncomfortable, but it was the true spirit of ecumenism.

Coffee - A Sacrament?

I feel like coffee is such a widely accepted part of American Christian life that it isn't even worth bringing up but just in case, I will.

I decided I would finally bring my guitar and play for our Wednesday evening healing service this past week. After all, we usually only have a small crowd of two or three. They'd be forgiving of my beginner guitar skills. Of course this is the week when TEN show up.. and TWO are first time visitors.

The heat was on.

But of course everyone loved it. The spirit did that showing up thing that always amazes me. And as we are sharing peace afterward and making our way to the fellowship hall to begin week seven of our bible study, we were talking with our visitors. They were gently heading toward the door until I piped up, "We've got some decaf coffee on if you want to stay." They both changed direction instantly. Over coffee, one woman confessed she was looking for a church home. The other told us of her struggle to find a job and a home. We drank our coffee and shared our faith.

I'm not sure what magical power coffee holds but I have certainly discovered its unique ability to draw people together into conversation. Perhaps it means instant community if you are, like the rest of us, a coffee drinker (just black, please). Perhaps it is the distraction of something in our hands or something to do when really we are in it for the conversation more than the caffeine. Perhaps it was the invitation to stay and not the coffee that changed their minds.

Regardless, I consider coffee another sacrament of church life.

We are all Related

Somber movements through trampled grasses
bearing the scars of a lost people
woven tight around her neck
draped colors of her soul woven into her shawl
trapped between here and the next
carried on the thunderous hooves of a Nation
the horizon scattered with wavering spirits listening for the call
a parade of peoples dancing before her
and yet why, does her spirit cry
Denied?

To be in the presence of the elders every time they speak is not only a learning experience but also aware of the burdens they bare, which spill forth through their voices the echoes of the ancestors. Being an elder in American society unfortunately whether it be through television, in editorials, or even in "polite" conversation is one who is seen as feeble and forgotten; hidden away as not to hurt our eyes because reflected in their worn expressions is our own morality.

As sage and sweetgrass filled the chapel last week, we invited in the voices of those ancestors that are not only flowing within the blood of their own people, but rushing forth reaching and connecting to those who are not Native. Listening to elders such as Dr. George "Tink" Tinker and Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo bringing their experiences and history brought again the realization of a people so vital to this land, to its beginnings and their continued struggle.

Reflecting in the stillness of the night, and as I continue to form my own theology I reach back and draw from the thunderous shores of Africa and draw to me the strong, vibrant heartbeat of the original Native land, seeing the beauty of Creation and the meaning, importance of Life.

May the Creator continue to guide and protect you.

Paper Writing!

I actually like writing papers. And when one of your professors decides to make the main research paper due before thanksgiving, to “lighten the load” after thanksgiving, that seems like a brilliant idea. But when three of your professors do that? Then the idea doesn’t seem quite so brilliant anymore. Alas, that’s what happened to me this semester, and so here I am, with a weekend full of reading and writing in front of me, all due on Monday and Tuesday.

Of course I saw this coming, and so I tried to get ahead and get started on my research a couple weeks ago. And to a certain extent, I did. At least I know what I’m writing about! But it’s hard when you still have the normal workload of all your classes to keep up with. So my “getting ahead” mostly consisted of securing two large stacks of books from the library.

So here I am with stacks of library books, a fresh pot of coffee, and my two study companions (see pic), ready to tackle a day of research and note-taking. I realize this probably sounds like hell to some of you. But if it doesn’t—and if researching topics like 1^st century conceptions of resurrection, atonement theories in Luther besides forensic justification, and Isaiah 56:1-8 as an alternative vision for the reconstitution of the Judean community after the exile sounds interesting to you—then maybe you should be here!

Lab

Every afternoon, I walk six blocks south to my part time job at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where I work in the after school program. A while later, I’ll walk back, sometimes as worn out as I am today, when it was seventy degrees and sunny and I played soccer with fifth and sixth graders for hours.

I first worked at “Lab” three years ago, when I was last on campus and it seemed like half of the student body at LSTC was employed there. Today Lab After School is staffed by mostly education majors, recently graduated and looking to deepen their teaching skills with an internship at one of the most respected private schools in the city. I’ve been grandfathered in, which is great, because I get to learn from them, observe their best practices, take part in their discussions on pedagogy, hear from their guest speakers. It’s like having an elementary education practicum as part of my seminary coursework.

Today, for example, I listened to a presentation about techniques for writing workshops in the lower grades. I walked a dozen second-graders from their classroom down to the line of cars waiting to pick them up, and on the way I learned about one girl’s progress toward adopting a cat and debated a seven-year-old over the merits of Mexico’s national futbol team. I helped a fifth-grader with multiplication.

And then I played soccer for three hours, my daily recess. All in a day’s work…

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Bonus link! Click here to read about a recent project from one of the classrooms I work with.

The Absurdity of Faith

This Saturday I set off the burglar alarm at church. Again. This time it was the one in the theater, set off by the draft of me opening the main doors because the theater doors did not get shut the night before. So I didn’t even know it was going off until the police arrived. After meeting the police officer, determining nothing was wrong, and showing him out of the building, I re-alarmed the system and left. I can never stay in the office after setting off the alarm; it makes me too jumpy.

Driving back to the vicarage I was so angry. “Why is nothing ever simple here!” I yelled at God. God, in her infinite wisdom, did not answer.

That afternoon I made a hospital call. I was coming off a bad experience at the hospital, so I had been dreading this all weekend. Not the visit itself, but having to face my fear and go back in the hospital. But after the burglar alarm, I found I wasn’t as scared any more. The absurdity of the day served to put things back into perspective for me, remind me of who was really in charge. The silent God wasn’t answering, but she was moving. Moving in my heart and soul and spirit to knock me down from my self-confidence, remind me of God’s confidence, and teach me to laugh again. Thanks be to God who comes in the unexpected, in the absurd. Thanks be to God, who moves.

Let me clear my throat

My immune system has finally caught up with me, and I finally have to admit that maybe I need to get some more sleep. I woke up Monday with a sore throat and a headache, but greater than that, my alarm was my dog, Kojak, barking at 4 in the morning. I spent a lot of my day moving in slow motion, thankful that I did not have actual class today. Since I was out of town for some of my classes last week, I was trying to do some catch up work, but now added trying to get well for class today. So I write late today trying to give feedback on my experience of being sick for the first time as a seminary student. Although I am still healing, I have made the trek to LSTC this morning, and rising at 4AM, this time to a real alarm, to make that happen. As a student, there is a need for healthy living, especially self care. I am expected to reply to people inside and out of class, and with such reliance on each other, I realize more than ever that healthy living is the only way to create healthy learning. Being the church together takes work, and effort that drains the body. Staying healthy not only helps me be more active, but allows me to have more active participation in my community. In return community replenishes me.