This week began with Easter and ends with Earth Day (April 22). The resurrection is the foundational event for Christians, so Easter is joyously celebrated in all Christian traditions. Care of the earth, on the other hand, remains a fringe concern within the church. Fewer than one-third of white Evangelical Christians view climate change as…
Complicity
Environmentalist Bill McKibben wrote about it in The Guardian. Thomas Friedman made it the topic of his column in The New York Times.The Christian Century addressed it in a recent editorial. Our dependence on oil is fueling Russia’s war in Ukraine, providing even more reason to transition to renewable energy. Throughout the west, people have…
Living Among Ashes
There’s an ancient Jewish tale about a rabbi who carried two slips of paper in his pockets. The slip in one pocket read, “You are nothing but dust and ashes,” and the slip in the other read, “The world was created for you.” We humans are creatures of the dust who are enlivened by the…
When Great Trees Fall
When great trees fall,rocks on distant hills shudder,lions hunker downin tall grasses,and even elephantslumber after safety. When great trees fallin forests,small things recoil into silence,their senseseroded beyond fear. When great souls die,the air around us becomeslight, rare, sterile.We breathe, briefly.Our eyes, briefly,see witha hurtful clarity. Maya Angelou’s poem is a fitting tribute to the great…
A National Epiphany
January 6 is the one-year anniversary of an armed assault on the U.S Capitol. It is also Epiphany in the Christian calendar. Meaning “revelation” or “manifestation,” Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the Gentiles, symbolized by the magi who came from the East to honor him. January 6, 2021, was a revelation as well,…
New Neighbors
The UN Climate Summit known as COP26, which took place in Glasgow, Scotland, this month, was notable for the older, white men who dominated the official sessions and the much more diverse and younger crowds demonstrating outside. Less visible were representatives of religious groups from around the world, although many were there and some had…
All Lives Matter
With all the horrible news these days, one story that stopped me in my tracks recently was Scott Simon’s tribute to Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died at the hands of police in 2019 in Aurora, Colorado. Last week three police officers and two paramedics where indicted in his death. As he walked…
Why I Fly My Flag
On the 4th of July, I flew my American flag, as I do on most national holidays. But doing that as a white Christian could now label me with an ugly form of patriotism that believes that only those who share my racial and religious identity are true Americans. An African American wondered aloud to…
Stuck
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is being drained of life by two things that have long been its strengths: theological diversity and institutional connection. Since its earliest days, Methodism has made decisions through delegated bodies, and the General Conference (GC) is the sole entity that can set policy and speak for the UMC. This process…
UMC Fracture
The last three posts have looked at the breakdown of society in this time of historic social change. They have focused on US politics, but I return now to The United Methodist Church (UMC), whose continued fracture over LGBTQ inclusion offers a perfect illustration of this moment of change. The UMC recently announced that its…