Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

My Sabbatical From Blogging, Tweeting and Facebook Begins Today

I'll be taking a week-long class on Peacemaking and Human Security at Chicago Theological Seminary in January.  The class begins January 10th and while I've been reading for the class since November there are still a number of books I need to work through before the class begins.  

Therefore, I am starting a sabbatical from blogging, tweeting and interacting on Facebook (and guest preaching) until at least January 10th (I may want to do some blogging as the class occurs).

Here's the course description (for those interested):

The ethical and spiritual challenges of new developments in the fields of human security, strategic peacebuilding and just peace. How do we embody nonviolence in strategic, self-critical and creative ways? How do we talk about peace and security in a way that bridges religious and political differences?

At a time when the United States is involved in two wars and the prospect for conflict between North and South Korea is very real, the course couldn't be more timely.

Chicago Theological Seminary is a graduate school affiliated with the United Church of Christ.  I'm looking forward to seeing friends and colleagues on campus and to meeting new people.     

Luke 2 (1-7) 8-20 NRSV

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.


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Christmas Eve

 
A photo from tonight's Christmas Eve service at Cathlamet Congregational United Church of Christ.

Related Post:  Happy X-mas (Revisited)

Happy X-Mas (Revisited)

This year, more than most, it isn't "Joy to the World" ringing in my ears but John Lennon's "Happy X-mas (War is Over)."

Happy X-Mas (Revisited) - my Christmas op-ed - was published  on the website of the United Church of Christ earlier this week.  It was also published (somewhat surprisingly) in the Christmas Eve edition of The Oregonian.

Update: Read the very kind Letter to the Editor in The Oregonian from Derek Welch concerning my op-ed (scroll down once you click on the link).   I deeply appreciate the kind words. 

World Council of Churches Praises United States For Ratification of New Start Treaty

The World Council of Churches released the following statement today concerning the U.S. Senate's ratification of the New Start treaty:

It is heartening that 20 years after the end of the Cold War, the United States has ratified a verifiable new treaty to reduce nuclear arsenals. Such a decision is especially meaningful in what is for Christians the season of peace. With member churches around the world we thank God for this small but significant demonstration of progress on a problem that continues to deny the hopes of people everywhere. 

We also welcome cross-party support in one nation for a decision that concerns all nations. The US and other nuclear powers do not possess weapons of mass destruction in isolation. They do so against the best interests of humanity. 

The New START treaty not only sets practical goals to reduce warheads and launchers. It also sends a signal that governments can do more than block international progress year after year for narrow national interests. Progress is long overdue on another step that President Obama and many other leaders link to the vision of a world without nuclear weapons – a treaty to stop production of fuel for nuclear bombs. It has been stalled at the Conference on Disarmament here in Geneva for years. In nuclear disarmament as in climate change, when powerful countries provide leadership with accountability their example helps others to do likewise. 

The ratification by Russia of the New START treaty would be a welcome start to 2011. We pray that the New Year will see more such news that is good news for all. 

Click here for more.

Portland's Peacock Lane 2010

We took the girls and my nephew to Peacock Lane this weekend.  A favorite Portland Christmas tradition.

U.S. Senate Ratifies New START Treaty; Pact Strongly Backed By Religious Leaders

The New Start treaty was ratified by the U.S. Senate today with a strong bi-partisan vote despite the efforts of the GOP leadership to kill the arms control deal which allows the U.S. to monitor Russian nuclear stockpiles - keeping them out of the hands of terrorists and off the black market.

Ratification of the treaty is another victory for President Obama who signed the treaty with the Russian president and helped to led the fight for ratification in the senate.

Religious leaders - including the National Council of Churches - strongly supported the treaty and urged members of the senate to but partisanship behind them.  The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general-secretary of the National Council of Churches, was critical of efforts to delay ratification:  "Peace is a major theme of the Advent season and celebration of Christmas.  The National Council of Churches looks forward to being able to celebrate ratification of this treaty to reduce nuclear stockpiles and improve verification.  Any delay would be contrary to our commitment to peace on earth.”

In the end, the vote was 71-26 in favor of the treaty.  Vice-President Biden presided over the vote in his role as Senate president.

Photo credit:  Official White House Photo by Pete Souza 

President Obama Signs DADT Repeal: "For we are not a nation that says, 'don’t ask, don’t tell.' We are a nation that says, 'Out of many, we are one.'"

President Obama today signed a bill repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell - a major civil rights milestone in American history that would have not been possible without the president's leadership.  Under Don't Ask, Don't Tell gay and lesbian members of the Armed Services were persecuted because of their sexual orientation.  A strong minority of GOP senators broke ranks with their leadership to vote with democrats in favor of the repeal.  President Obama said today: 

You know, I am just overwhelmed.  This is a very good day.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank all of you, especially the people on this stage, but each and every one of you who have been working so hard on this, members of my staff who worked so hard on this.  I couldn’t be prouder.

Sixty-six years ago, in the dense, snow-covered forests of Western Europe, Allied Forces were beating back a massive assault in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge.  And in the final days of fighting, a regiment in the 80th Division of Patton’s Third Army came under fire.  The men were traveling along a narrow trail.  They were exposed and they were vulnerable.  Hundreds of soldiers were cut down by the enemy. 

And during the firefight, a private named Lloyd Corwin tumbled 40 feet down the deep side of a ravine.  And dazed and trapped, he was as good as dead.  But one soldier, a friend, turned back.  And with shells landing around him, amid smoke and chaos and the screams of wounded men, this soldier, this friend, scaled down the icy slope, risking his own life to bring Private Corwin to safer ground. 

For the rest of his years, Lloyd credited this soldier, this friend, named Andy Lee, with saving his life, knowing he would never have made it out alone.  It was a full four decades after the war, when the two friends reunited in their golden years, that Lloyd learned that the man who saved his life, his friend Andy, was gay.  He had no idea.  And he didn’t much care.  Lloyd knew what mattered.  He knew what had kept him alive; what made it possible for him to come home and start a family and live the rest of his life.  It was his friend. 

And Lloyd’s son is with us today.  And he knew that valor and sacrifice are no more limited by sexual orientation than they are by race or by gender or by religion or by creed; that what made it possible for him to survive the battlefields of Europe is the reason that we are here today.   (Applause.)  That's the reason we are here today.  (Applause.)

Full story.

Related Post:  It Is Good: Family & Community In The Tradition Of Jesus (A Sermon For Pride Sunday)   

Photo Credit:  Chuck Kennedy, The White House, 12/22/2010

Roman Catholics Kick Out Hospital For Saving Mom's Life

Really?

PHOENIX (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix stripped a major hospital of its affiliation with the church Tuesday because of a surgery that ended a woman's pregnancy to save her life.

Bishop Thomas Olmsted called the 2009 procedure an abortion and said St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center — recognized internationally for its neurology and neurosurgery practices — violated ethical and religious directives of the national Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"In the decision to abort, the equal dignity of mother and her baby were not both upheld," Olmsted said at a news conference announcing the decision. "The mother had a disease that needed to be treated. But instead of treating the disease, St. Joseph's medical staff and ethics committee decided that the healthy, 11-week-old baby should be directly killed."

St. Joseph's does not receive direct funding from the church, but in addition to losing its Catholic endorsement, the 697-bed hospital will no longer be able to celebrate Mass and must remove the Blessed Sacrament from its chapel.

In a statement, St. Joseph's President Linda Hunt said the hospital will comply with Olmsted's decision, but she defended its actions.

"If we are presented with a situation in which a pregnancy threatens a woman's life, our first priority is to save both patients. If that is not possible, we will always save the life we can save, and that is what we did in this case," Hunt said. "Morally, ethically, and legally, we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save."

Full story.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has undertaken an action in which they essentially argued the mother should die along with the baby to fulfill a misguided and ill-thought out belief in the sanctity of life. When both the mother and child die there is no life - and thus the diocese has committed an act of theological malpractice where the idea of the sanctity of life is put before the reality of the medical situation.  We should assume the diocese had good intentions but that Bishop Olmsted is ill-equipped to to deal with the complicated medical, ethical and theological issues involved in this case.  The bishop's action harm the Roman Catholic Church.  A young woman would have tragically died had the bishop's wishes been followed.  How does that advance the sanctity of life?   

Portland's Pink Martini: "We Three Kings"

Portland's Pink Martini.

Haley Barbour, Revisionist Historian, Says Racial Segregation Not "That Bad"

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), a potential 2012 presidential candidate, made remarks this week about the Civil Rights Era that were revisionist and offensive.  Barbour, for example, lifted up his home town chapter of the white supremacist group called the "White Citizens Council" as basically the moral equivalent of the local Chamber of Commerce.

The governor told The Weekly Standard: 

"You heard of the Citizens Councils? Up north they think it was like the KKK. Where I come from it was an organization of town leaders. In Yazoo City they passed a resolution that said anybody who started a chapter of the Klan would get their ass run out of town. If you had a job, you'd lose it. If you had a store, they'd see nobody shopped there. We didn't have a problem with the Klan in Yazoo City."

They did have a problem with segregation, however.  Not that Barbour seems to have noticed.  "I just don't remember it as being that bad," he said of the period of segregation in Mississippi.

The Huffington Post reports life under the White Citizens Council wasn't easy for African-Americans:

Joseph Crespino, an associate professor of history at Emory University, also noted a particular incident in Yazoo City undermining Barbour's claims. "One of the things the Citizens Council would do is carry out economic harassment -- sometimes physical intimidation -- against local blacks," he said. "There was this well-known incident in Yazoo City in the 1950s where a handful of black parents tried to file a lawsuit against a local public school. They lost their jobs because they filed a lawsuit and they participated in the local civil rights movement. So it's well-documented that the kind of harassment that blacks faced when they tried to desegregate the schools there in Yazoo City."

Barbour seems obviously to the historical reality of segregation and the impact it had.

"It is quite disturbing that the governor of this state would take an approach to try to change the history of this state," said Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP. "It's beyond disturbing -- it's offensive that he would try and create a new historical reality that undermines the physical, mental, and economic hardship that many African-Americans had to suffer as a result of the policies and practices of the White Citizens Council."

This isn't the first time that Barbour has made racially insensitive comments.  The New York Times reported back in 1982 that Barbour, then making a run for the U.S. Senate, had a campaign aide who complained that "coons" might be at a campaign rally.  "Embarrassed that a reporter heard this, Mr. Barbour warned that if the aide persisted in racist remarks, he would be reincarnated as a watermelon and placed at the mercy of blacks," reported the paper.

Barbour is widely considered to be a serious candidate for the Republican nomination in 2012.          

A Prayer For National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day #homelessmemorial @Ntl_Homeless

Today - December 21st - is National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day:

Each year since 1990, on or near the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), National Consumer Advisory Board (NCAB), and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) has co-sponsored National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness and to remember our homeless friends who have paid the ultimate price for our nation's failure to end homelessness.

A federal resolution (H. Con. Res. 325) has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives supporting the goals and ideals of National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. 

The resolution encourages localities and states to issue proclamations designating National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.  This resolution was introduced by U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings and fifteen additional co-sponsors: Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson, Judy Biggert, Kathy Castor, Steve Cohen, John Conyers, Jr., Elijah E. Cummings, Geoff Davis, Ted Deutch, Barney Frank, Raul M. Grijalva, Luis V. Gutierrez, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chellie Pingree, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Lynn Woolsey.

Let us pray:

Holy God, 

In the midst of winter,
In difficult economic times,
We come to you in prayer.

We grieve this day for all those who have died experiencing homelessness,
No one should live a third world life in a first world country,
We ask for your forgiveness.

Be a source of comfort for those of us who struggle,
Be a source of inspiration to those of us who are comfortable,
We seek a "newer world" where homelessness and poverty are ended.

Together we remember your son Jesus, born homeless,
This child brought light to dark places,
We pray for that light now to illuminate our hearts.

In a world of plenty, we invoke the worlds of the Hebrew prophet:
let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24).

Amen.  

Visit the website of the National Coalition for the Homeless to learn more about homelessness in the United States.

Prayer written by The Rev. Chuck Currie and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

5 Years Tumor Free

Five years ago this week I was taken into surgery at Oregon Health Sciences University where a 6 hour procedure to remove a pheochromocytoma took place.  This was a nasty tumor. 

As MayoClinic.com notes:

If you have a pheochromocytoma, your adrenal glands can produce too much of certain hormones, raising your blood pressure and heart rate. A pheochromocytoma may be life-threatening if unrecognized or untreated.

It took three years to diagnose my pheo.  As it turns out, that jerk was growing inside me all three years that I was in seminary.  A few more weeks or months and I would have suffered a stroke or heart attack and mostly likely died.

Symptoms can include:

• High blood pressure
• Rapid heart rate
• Forceful heartbeat
• Profound sweating
• Abdominal pain
• Sudden-onset headaches — usually severe — of varying duration
• Feeling of anxiety
• Feeling of extreme fright
• Pale skin
• Weight loss

Click here for more.

Good doctors and other medical professionals saved my life.  Because of their dedication I still get to be a dad, a husband, a son, a brother, a uncle, a cousin, a nephew, a friend, and a pastor.  My life is blessed. 

If you are experiencing these symptoms and nothing else can explain them away ask your doctor about the possibility of a pheochromocytoma.  The chances of having one are lower than winning the lottery but they are treatable and beatable.  

As I drove up to the hospital with Liz and my mom it was this song that I listened to.  I felt that the path I walked was one I never walked alone.

5 years is a big deal in the post-tumor world.  Happy to be here to see it!    

GOP House Leadership Plans "Muslim" Hearings

The New York Times reports:

WASHINGTON — The Republican who will head the House committee that oversees domestic security is planning to open a Congressional inquiry into what he calls “the radicalization” of the Muslim community when his party takes over the House next year.

Representative Peter T. King of New York, who will become the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he was responding to what he has described as frequent concerns raised by law enforcement officials that Muslim leaders have been uncooperative in terror investigations.

He cited the case of Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan man and a legal resident of the United States, who was arrested last year for plotting to bomb the New York subway system. Mr. King said that Ahmad Wais Afzali, an imam in Queens who had been a police informant, had warned Mr. Zazi before his arrest that he was the target of a terror investigation.

But U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said earlier this year:

Members of the American Muslim community have been – and continue to be – strong partners in fighting this emerging threat.   They have regularly denounced terrorist acts and those who carry them out.   And they have provided critical assistance to law enforcement in helping to disrupt terrorist plots and combat radicalization.

These individuals have consistently – and correctly – expressed deep concern about the recruitment of their youth by terrorist groups.   Many members of the community have taken proactive steps to stop the recruitment of their youth by terrorist groups.   Just recently, a group of prominent American Muslims joined together in a video to repudiate the tactics employed by radicalized militants to recruit young Muslims via the Internet.

There needs to be more recognition of these efforts and of the losses suffered in the Muslim community here and around the world.   Many of the victims of terror attacks by al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist groups are innocent Muslims.

King's hearings are nothing more than an opportunity to further divide the American people along religious and political lines.  These hearings will only create unnecessary fear and mistrust.  Democrats and King's GOP colleagues on the committee should consider boycotting any such hearings and the administration should do whatever is legally possibile not to cooperate.

The hearings proposed by King bring to mind the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy hearings, dark periods in this land.  We should never forgot the lessons of those experiences.  The U.S. House of Representatives should not be used as a venue for religious or political persecution.  

As people of faith, we are called to speak out against these kinds of injustices. Call your Congress member, write a letter to the editor, inform members of your house of worship and ask them to take a public stand against these hearings, and use your voice to decry this assault on religious freedom at every opportunity.

Tea Party Founder Dreams Of A Day Without United Methodists

You get the feeling that Tea Party founder Judson Phillips doesn't really understand the teachings of the Christian faith?  TMP reports:

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips has a dream: "No more Methodist Church."

A blog post on his Tea Party Nation page says that on Friday he walked by the United Methodist Building in Washington D.C., which had a sign that said, "Pass the DREAM Act." Phillips wrote: " I have a DREAM. That is, no more United Methodist Church."

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Sound The Alarm! The 'Code Red' Tea Party]

Phillips explains that he was formerly a member of the church, but he left because it's "the first Church of Karl Marx," and "little more than the "religious" arm of socialism."

"The Methodist church is pro-illegal immigration," he continues. "They have been in the bag for socialist health care, going as far as sending out emails to their membership "debunking" the myths of Obamacare. Say, where are the liberal complaints on the separation of church and state?"

"In short, if you hate America, you have a great future in the Methodist church," he says.

Full story.

If Phillips hates the United Methodist Church for supporting the Dream Act he won't find a home in many other churches.  Other mainline denominations, like the UMC, supported the Dream Act.  So did Roman Catholics and Evangelicals.  In short, most Christian bodies in the U.S. supported the Dream Act.  Immigration reform is one of those issues where Christians - sometimes divided on subjects like abortion - find a lot of common ground.  The United Methodist Church is solidly within the Christian tradition.  Phillips isn't.   

Update:  Faith in Public Life has a response from the United Methodists up on their blog.

GOP Seeks To Kill New START Treaty Despite Calls From Religious Leaders

President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former President George H.W. Bush and the nation's military leaders have all endorsed New START, the arms control treaty being debated in the U.S. Senate.  The treaty allows the U.S. to keep watch over Russia's stockpile of nuclear weapons and thus reduces the chances that one might fall into the hands of a rouge state or terrorist group. 

"On behalf of Christians across this country, we strongly urge you to bring the treaty to a vote, and to support ratification of START," wrote The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, and The Rev. John L. McCullough, executive director of Church World Service, in a letter to members of the Senate.  The pair said it was vital the treaty not "be caught in the gridlock of Capitol Hill. Its ratification is too important for the future and security of the United States and the world."

But U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, is waging a fight against the treaty.  McConnell, you'll recall, has said defeating President Obama's 2012 re-election is his #1 priority in the new Congress.  Republican Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, who in the past has said he might vote for the treaty, is now telling people he might vote against it out of anger that Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed.  Leaders of the minority party in the Senate are clearly putting politics before national - even world - security. 

75% of Americans support the treaty, according to a CNN poll.  Leith Anderson, president of the conservative National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), said earlier this month:  “As I travel around the country, I see ‘Support Our Troops’ signs everywhere. Despite political conflicts on many issues, our nation’s security has always been a unifying issue that draws Americans together across party lines...  I urge all Senators to set aside any partisan consideration and join their colleagues – both Republicans and Democrats – in swift action on the New START treaty.”  

Click here for information on how you can contact your Senate representatives.  Tell them to ratify the treaty. 

Article On Homelessness Failed To Tell The Real Story

Dr. Russ Dondero and Eric Cannon, two Washington County homeless advocates, write in The Oregonian:

Whoever wrote the headline "Beaverton distorts homeless roll call" for the Dec. 4 PolitiFact.Oregon column by Janie Har engaged in their own "distortion" of the reality of homelessness.  

Har correctly reported that Beaverton School District's headcount of 1,580 homeless students ranked it as No. 1 of all school districts in 2009-10. Sadly, the headline undercuts the message and facts of the issue.  

A Beaverton City not a Beaverton School District press release erred in claiming that the Beaverton homeless student count was the "highest number ever recorded in Oregon." As Har points out this is not correct.  

Har accurately informs readers that homelessness is a statewide problem in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Education estimates that there are at least 19,000 homeless students in Oregon from Portland to Medford, from Washington County to Klamath County. 

It's too bad the headline is framed in a negative way and the "Truth-o-Meter" rating was a FALSE. This is classic "gotcha" journalism best left to judging election ads or candidate gaffes not serious public policy issues.  

Readers who only notice the headlines might conclude from the title that homeless advocates are "cooking the books." Counting the homeless is very hard to do. The reality is that annual homeless counts are probably much higher. 

Here's a partial quote from the Beaverton School District's response to the PolitiFact article:  

"...We are concerned that people may see that headline and read no further. In the body of the article it is clear that the Beaverton School District's homeless numbers as reported to ODE are completely accurate. Unfortunately a representative from the city misunderstood the ODE data and stated in a press release that our number from last year, 2009-2010 was the highest ever reported in the state of Oregon, rather than in just Beaverton…" 

Full story.

Visit the Interfaith Committee on Homelessness of Washington County for additional information.

Russ and Eric, I should mention, are members of Forest Grove United Church of Christ (where I recently had the opportunity to preach).  Dr. Dondero was also my advisor at Pacific University.  Only grace explains why he still to speaks to me. :)

#DADT Is Dead

Congress repeals immoral law.  President Obama - working side by side with LGBT leaders -helped lead the charge for this important civil rights victory.

Related Post:  It Is Good: Family & Community In The Tradition Of Jesus (A Sermon For Pride Sunday)    

John McCain: The Strom Thurmond of Today's U.S. Senate

The United States Senate cleared the way today for a vote (scheduled to occur later this afternoon) that would repeal Don't Ask Don't Don't - the military policy that has led to increased persecution of gays and lesbians serving in the Armed Forces.  It is past time to end this moral disgrace.

Going out the door with this immoral law is, sadly, John McCain's reputation.  McCain had once promised to vote to repeal the law and has always prided himself on being a principled politician.  That McCain left the stage during his 2008 presidential campaign (a campaign that saw the one-time opponent of the Religious Right bow at the alter of Jerry Falwell in a pathetic act of pandering).

McCain took to the Senate floor again this week to speak out in favor of continued discrimination against gays and lesbians in American life.  The one-time self-described maverick will be remembered not for his independence but for channeling the spirit of former U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, who opposed racial integration in the United States a generation ago in the same way that McCain today is opposing equality for gays and lesbians.  

Related Post:  It Is Good: Family & Community In The Tradition Of Jesus (A Sermon For Pride Sunday)      

Eden Creates Dr. Enoch Hammond Oglesby Endowed Scholarship

One of my former professors is being honored:

Eden Theological Seminary has created the Dr. Enoch Hammond Oglesby Endowed Scholarship to honor the contributions of the scholarship's namesake.

Oglesby has been a prominent theologian for decades. Having earned his doctorate from Boston University, Oglesby began his teaching at Eden in 1978, where he served on its faculty for almost 30 years.

Oglesby, a member of the African-American clergy community, has been instrumental in providing guidance to many theologians and pastors serving the African-American communities around the world. Oglesby has published more than 10 books and has been a keynote speaker at various conferences and events.

"I'm just so delighted that after a great deal of hard work and persistence, the first endowed scholarship in Eden's over 160-year history, created specifically to support our African American students, has been initiated," said the Rev. Dr. David Greenhaw, Eden's president. "Dr. Oglesby has meant so much to the Eden community — and the entire African-American community — that it's only fitting this scholarship be in his name."

Oglesby grew up in Earle, Ark., on a cotton farm. He followed his belief that education should be accessible to all and he worked to follow his call to higher education, which ultimately led him to Boston University.

Full story.

Eden Theological Seminary is a graduate school related to the United Church of Christ and is where I earned my Master of Divinity degree. Dr. Oglesby was a professor for two classes that I took. I believe he was the first African-American faculty member hired at Eden. Eden Theological Seminary, which today has a diverse faculty and student body, admitted an African-American student for the first time in 1933.

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Death Of The Dream Act

The GOP blocked the Dream Act in the Senate today - killing the hopes of young people across the nation who wished to be American citizens. Many had grown up here. Christians - Roman Catholic, mainline and evangelical - supported the legislation but too many politicians in Congress decided to use the issue of immigration as a political wedge issue an an attempt to divide Americans across racial and ethnic lines. History will judge those members of Congress harshly.


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FOX News Forgets To Report News

The New York Times reports:

News organizations can educate voters about public policy and economic conditions, but they can also misinform voters. As if to prove the point, a study released Friday found that “substantial levels of misinformation” seeped out to the electorate of the United States at the time of the midterm elections this year.

The study was conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a project that is managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland....

“Almost daily” viewers of Fox News, the authors said, were 31 points more likely to mistakenly believe that “most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit;” were 30 points more likely to believe that “most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring;” and were 14 points more likely to believe that “the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts.”

They were also 13 points more likely to mistakenly believe “the auto bailout only occurred under Obama;” 12 points more likely to believe that “when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it;” and 31 points more likely to believe that “it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States.”

The study’s authors continued, “These effects increased incrementally with increasing levels of exposure and all were statistically significant. The effect was also not simply a function of partisan bias, as people who voted Democratic and watched Fox News were also more likely to have such misinformation than those who did not watch it — though by a lesser margin than those who voted Republican.”

In other words, the more you watch FOX News the less you know. 

Christmas Message 2010 From The World Council of Churches General Secretary

The nativity of Jesus Christ is proclaimed by angelic choirs in the heights of heaven, and the joyous news is echoed afterwards by modest shepherds in fields near Bethlehem. Meanwhile, a mother and father care for their newborn child. No place for this family could be found in the inn, so they shelter among livestock. The circumstances are strikingly humble, yet their infant is the occasion of the angels’ song:

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude
of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom God favours!”

Luke 2:13-14

The splendour of Christmas highlights many contrasts in our surroundings. First of all – it is all about what we are given – surprisingly – by God. This revelation of glory in heaven is given to people living off the land, dependent on simple blessings found in fields and farmyards, in caring for sheep and celebrating a new birth. It is they who first hear the promise of so much more than bare survival or the simplest pleasure. They dare to imagine the real possibility of peace on earth. The song of angels encourages them to give glory to God alone and to seek peace with others, far and near.

Conditions in the world today are marked by contrasts at least as great as those in Jesus’ time. Everywhere we see wildly contradictory instances of poverty and wealth, systems of tyranny and of justice, brutal violence and sincere attempts at reconciliation. Through it all, we are keenly aware of the need for a peace worthy of the name: just peace for all.

In this season, and in looking to the New Year, we in the World Council of Churches find encouragement in the potential for seeking peace that is to be afforded in May 2011 at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in Kingston, Jamaica. Taking as its motto “Glory to God; Peace on Earth”, the IEPC will serve as a culmination of the churches’ Decade for Overcoming Violence (2001-2010) and an occasion to renew our common commitment to the establishment of a just peace among peoples.

We encourage you to make certain your church is participating in the IEPC as all WCC member churches have been invited to send representatives to the convocation. For the World Council of Churches, peace is a vital part of living the fellowship and building Christian unity.

In these days we hear anew the opening accounts in the life of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Our hearts and spirits are refreshed once more. In response, we rededicate ourselves to the praise of God in highest heaven and to our ministries of peace on earth.

May the blessing of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you always.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
General secretary,
World Council of Churches

"Jesus Is A Liberal Democrat"

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Jesus Is a Liberal Democrat
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Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> March to Keep Fear Alive

Well, as Jim Wallis likes to say, God isn't a Republican, or a Democrat.  But a nation that allows millions to live in poverty while giving the wealthiest tax breaks and making plans in the new Congress to cut services for the "least of these" certainly can't be called a Christian nation.  

Don't Ask Don't Tell: Time To End A Moral Disgrace

The U.S. House has voted (again) to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell (the law that has led to increased persecution of gays and lesbians in the military).  It appears the U.S. Senate will do the same.  That's good news.  We can pray that marriage equality will be the next big step forward but it will take a lot of work to overcome the hateful and bigoted advocacy of political groups like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council.  The General Synod of the United Church of Christ called for full marriage equality in the United States in 2005.  

Discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation is no better than discrimination against people based on the color of their skin.  It wasn't that long ago that African-Americans were not allowed to serve with white soldiers and inter-racial marriage was outlawed.  Conservative Christians, sadly, sided with white supremacists during the battle for racial equality just as many are now fighting against equality for gays and lesbians.  Such discrimination is sinful.  The work of the church during these times should be justice building and reconciliation to help heal the wounds of division.

Repealing DADT would show that we are moving as a nation in the right direction.      

Related Post:  It Is Good: Family & Community In The Tradition Of Jesus (A Sermon For Pride Sunday) 

Happy Holidays

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite: Jesus to the rich young ruler: "distribute the money"

The Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite:

Once a rich young ruler came to Jesus, wanting to know what it took to be "good." 'I've kept all the commandments since my youth,' the young man said, bragging a little. Well, Jesus replied, "there is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money." But the young man, "who was very rich," turned away. Jesus' comment? "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." (Luke 18: 21-25)

All too true. It's also easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a bill with the rich paying their fair share of taxes to get through Congress. Not gonna happen.

But that's the moral thing to do. Our tax policies in this country are a way to help our neighbors who are the "least of these," as Jesus also notes. We "distribute the money" so that we can help those who are the most vulnerable like children, the sick, those with handicapping conditions, and the elderly. It's a way to "distribute the money" to those of our citizens who want to work and can't find it. We give unemployment benefits to people thrown out of work while they struggle in hard economic times to find another job. We pay taxes to educate our young, keep our bridges from falling down, and support our troops.

Politicians love to pontificate on how we need to restore "Christian values" in the public square, but that's mostly limited to denying equal civil rights for gay Americans, or controlling women's bodies. When it comes to what the bible says about wealth and poverty, however, you'll never hear that touted as morality in the public square. No, no. That's "private."

Baloney. The bible is filled with references to the religious imperative to "remember the poor" (Galatians 2:10) and "the worker deserves his pay." (Luke 10:7) When Jesus went to Jerusalem, he "sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury." (Mark 12:41) Jesus watched what people did with their money. He sees the money-changers in the temple charging pilgrims an exorbitant rate of exchange and he turns over the tables in anger, saying, "'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of thieves." (Matthew 21:13)

For those who have eyes to see, the real moral values in scripture are about loving God with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves, and that includes what you do with your money.

Full post.

GOP Leaders Say Vote On Arms Control Treaty At Christmas "Sacrilegious."

As the National Council of Churches reports, two GOP senators are trying to use the upcoming Christmas holiday as an excuse not to consider the NEW Start II treaty this month:

Washington, December 15, 2010 -- With perhaps unintended irony, two U.S. senators have declared that Christmas is not the time to move toward peace by reducing the number of nuclear arms in the arsenals of the United States and Russia.

But the general secretary of the National Council of Churches and several heads of NCC member communions have sent the lawmakers a gentle reminder that the Prince of Peace is the reason for the season.

Senators Jim Demint (R-S.C.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) have both declared their intention to delay ratification of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START II) during the lame duck session of Congress. Observers suspect the senators may be taking the stand for partisan reasons, but each has declared that Christmas is not the time to support arms reduction.

"You can't jam a major arms control treaty right before Christmas," Demint said in an interview with Politico, calling the whole thing "sacrilegious."

"What's going on here is just wrong," Demint said. "This is the most sacred holiday for Christians. They did the same thing last year - they kept everybody here until (Christmas Eve) to force something down everybody's throat. I think Americans are sick of this."

Earlier,  Kyl complained that efforts by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) to get the Senate to ratify START II as well as pass other legislation was too much at Christmas time.

"It is impossible to do all of the things that the majority leader laid out, frankly, without disrespecting the institution and without disrespecting one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians and the families of all the Senate, not just the senators themselves but all of the staff," insisted Kyl.

But Kinnamon sent the senators a peaceful admonishment that they have overlooked the true spirit of Christmas.

"If anything this time of year should be an encouragement for our leaders to work harder for peace on earth in response to God who wills peace for all," Kinnamon said. "Peace is major theme of the Advent season and celebration of Christmas.  The National Council of Churches looks forward to being able to celebrate ratification of this treaty to reduce nuclear stockpiles and improve verification.  Any delay would be contrary to our commitment to peace on earth."
        
Last month the general assembly of the NCC and Church World Service, meeting as a Centennial Ecumenical Gathering in New Orleans, unanimously adopted a call to ratify the treaty. Kinnamon and CWS executive director and CEO, the Rev. John L. McCullough, sent copies of the statement to U.S. senators. See www.ncccusa.org/news/101118starttreaty.html

Meeting today with the heads of several NCC member communions, Kinnamon said several other leaders endorsed the call to senators to recognize that the Christmas season is indeed the appropriate time to support measures for peace.

The leaders include the Rev. Dr. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary, Reformed Church in America; Bishop Serapion of the Coptic Orthodox Church in North America; the Rev. Michael Livingston, representing the International Council of Community Churches; the Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller, president of the Moravian Church Northern Province Provincial Elders' Conference; Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the Church of the Brethren; Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Rev. Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA); Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church; and Dick Hamm, executive director of Christian Churches Together.

Kinnamon and the heads of communion also reminded the Senate that the theme of peace at Christmas time is unmistakable in scripture.

The song of the angels on the night Christ was born makes it clear that the word on high is "Peace on Earth," Bishop Serapion said, citing Luke 2:14.

The Prophet Isaiah declares the coming of a messiah called, "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

"In this advent season we anticipate the birth of the Prince of Peace and hear the good news to 'fear not,'" said Noffsinger. "The theme of 'fear not' calls us to a world freed from these weapons that are based on the response of fear."  

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 37 member faith groups -- from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches -- include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation. 

Tell the Senate to ratify the treaty now.  Click here for additional information on how you can contact your Senators. 

"Black Church Denounces Anti-Abortion 'Genocide' Lies"

From The Rev. Dr. Carlton W. Veazey, President and CEO, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:

As a black man born in the South in the 1930s, I vividly remember the devastation caused by illegal abortion, the hardships and indignities suffered by black women and poor women faced with an unwanted pregnancy and the tragedies of infertility and death due to illegal procedures.

The powerful five part series on Laura Flanders show on GriTtv called "Conspiracy Tactics" recalls the injustices of those times -- the harassment and the restrictions that overwhelmingly hurt black women and poor women -- and alerts us to the religious-right campaign that is trying once again to deny women their reproductive rights.

As I explain in one of the episodes, the challenge for the black church is clear. This campaign is an attack on our community's freedom to make private decisions about women's health and family well-being. The black church has the moral authority to confront the outrageous lies about abortion perpetrated by this campaign and to bear witness to the fact that, for women, freedom must include reproductive options. It is my hope that this series will be instrumental in activating African-American clergy to overcome this threat to our freedom.

What we face, as the important series documents, is a nationwide campaign led by the Right to Life organization aimed at African American communities. The ostensible goal is to dissuade women from having an abortion but the actual purpose is to use the abortion issue as a wedge to gain political support and ultimately to overturn Roe v. Wade and end legal abortion.

Full story.

Obama And The Peace Process: What's Next?

Peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel are at an impasse (what's new?). President Obama and Secretary Clinton have been right to push for a direct U.S. role in the peace process after years of neglect under the Bush Administration.

Churches for a Middle East Peace wonders, however, where we go from here:

Date: December 13, 2010
U.S. Abandons Settlement Strategy
The Obama administration announce it has abandoned its attempt to get direct peace talks restarted by offering Israel a multi-billion package of security and political incentives in return for a 90-day suspension of new Israeli construction in the Palestinian Territories and east Jerusalem. Israeli reportedly could not agree that the written US offer explicitly include east Jerusalem in the construction freeze, nor would it agree that favorable terms for new military equipment be tied to conclusion of an agreement with the Palestinians.

Akiva Eldar, Political commentator for Haaretz newspaper, said the significance of the U.S. decision to stop pushing for a moratorium is that Obama is refusing to give Netanyahu a seal of approval to build in east Jerusalem.

The State Department insists the demise of this offer does not mean the end of US efforts to bring the two sides together to negotiate an agreement, but many are wondering what options remain. Washington is full of speculation of what a new U.S. effort might look like.

A recently published public opinion poll shows that most Americans, Israelis and Palestinians support American efforts to mediate Palestinian-Israeli peace. Two thirds of Israelis would support some form of withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967, and most want Israel to do more to promote comprehensive peace with the Arabs. If the two state solution collapses, about 42 percent believe there would conflict for years to come. Very few believe the Palestinians would give up or that there would be a one-state solution.

The world is looking to the U.S. for leadership.

Click here to send President Obama a note encouraging him to remain engaged in the peace process.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Our house is finally ready for Christmas.

Ark Building Instructions Included

I'm a preacher, not a meteorologist.  But I'm thinking this radar image from KGW.com doesn't look good.

On the other hand, we might want to just sit back and appreciate the rain.  Climate change, as The Oregonian noted in a story this week, might be bringing big changes to the Beaver state:

Global warming will likely change Oregon substantially, two new reports released Tuesday conclude, lengthening growing seasons on the upside but lowering summer water supplies, heating up salmon streams, increasing wildfires and heat waves, and squeezing crops optimized to fit a narrow temperature niche -- including the Willamette Valley's prized pinot noir wine grapes. 

At just over 400 pages, the first legislatively mandated report from the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute attempts to spell out the likely regional effects of projected warmer temperatures and sea level increases, exacerbated by expected population growth. It drew on contributions from 70 university and government researchers throughout the Northwest. 

Full story.

It is worth remembering today what religious leaders said in 2005:

To continue to walk the current path of ecological destruction is not only folly; it is sin. As voiced by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has taken the lead among senior religious leaders in his concern for creation: “To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation . . . for humans to degrade the integrity of Earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the Earth of its natural forests, or destroying its wetlands . . . for humans to injure other humans with disease . . . for humans to contaminate the Earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life, with poisonous substances . . . these are sins.” We have become un-Creators. Earth is in jeopardy at our hands.

This means that ours is a theological crisis as well. We have listened to a false gospel that we continue to live out in our daily habits-a gospel that proclaims that God cares for the salvation of humans only and that our human calling is to exploit Earth for our own ends alone. This false gospel still finds its proud preachers and continues to capture its adherents among emboldened political leaders and policy makers.

The situation in the last five years has only deteriorated.

In the meantime, you can find ark building instructions here.  

Related Post: God's Mandate: Care for Creation 

Note To Chief Mike Reese: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Portland Police Chief Mike Reese promoted Leo Besner to sergeant today despite concerns over Besner's conduct as a Portland police officer. 

I wrote earlier this week to Portland Mayor Sam Adams that: 

Portland Police Chief Mike Reese told The Oregonian today that he could find no "justifiable reason" for denying the promotion.  This shows a lack of moral clarity on the part of the chief that reflects back on you, Mr. Mayor, as police commissioner.

As you know, Officer Besner not only shot Raymond Gwerder in the back, killing him, but has faced numerous other serious charges of professional misconduct.  The city of Portland has been forced to pay out nearly $1 million to settle suits against the city related to Officer Besner's professional conduct.  That conduct has been violent and unprofessional.

The Oregonian reports that today Reese responded to that criticism during the promotion ceremony:

Reese told the crowd assembled at the Portland Building this morning that he, as chief, has certainly experienced the critics the last week or so. It was a veiled reference to community members who have questioned Besner's promotion, concerned that he has cost the city more than $852,000 from tort claims and jury awards in the last seven years. 

But the chief said he fully supported each of the officers promoted.

"To each of you, you would not be here if I did not have faith in your ability," Reese said.

The chief went on to quote from former President Theodore Roosevelt:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Actually, Chief Reese, in a democracy critics counts.  The Portland Police Bureau does not stand apart or above the citizens of this great city.  We value the service of those who risk much as members of the Bureau but many Portlanders have deep concerns about the leadership of the bureau.  Promoting an individual like now-Sergeant Besner only serves to undermine confidence in the police.  Religious leaders have been outspoken in criticizing the bureau for legitimate reasons in recent years and our witness is in the tradition of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other faith leaders who have challenged power because, as it reads on the walls of the Portland Justice Center: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." 

"Senate Republicans Block U.S. Health Aid for 9/11 Workers"

The GOP wants tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans but are more than happy to leave the heroes of 9/11 out to suffer on their own. 

WASHINGTON — Republican senators blocked Democratic legislation on Thursday that sought to provide medical care to rescue workers and residents of New York City who became ill as a result of breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke from ground zero.

The 9/11 health bill, a version of which was approved by the House of Representatives in September, is among a handful of initiatives that Senate Democrats had been hoping to approve this year before the close of the 111th Congress.

Full story.

The next time someone calls the GOP the party of "values" or a "strong America" remind them of this.

Poverty Is A Faith Issue: My Response To the Obama / GOP Tax Agreement

Published this afternoon on The Washington Post's "On Faith" blog.

CBPP: Congress Should Approve Obama-GOP Tax Plan

Updated below

I take very seriously what the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has to say:

The deal between President Obama and Republican leaders on tax cuts and unemployment insurance has two substantial positive aspects: its surprisingly strong protections for low- and middle-income working families and its stronger-than-expected boost for the economy and jobs. But it also has one deeply disturbing negative feature: not only the extension of the high-end income-tax cuts, but also an egregious estate-tax giveaway that Senator Jon Kyl demanded for the estates of the wealthiest one-quarter of 1 percent of Americans who die.

Congress should approve this package — its rejection will likely lead to a more problematic package that does less for middle- and low-income workers and less for the economy. Then, in 2012, when the economy should be stronger, the President should make clear he will veto any legislation to extend either the high-end tax cuts or the weakening of the estate tax beyond the estate-tax parameters that were in place in 2009, and he should take that case to the country.

Full story.

Update:  My letter to U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Portland).

Portland Police Bureau Faces Crisis Of Morality

The Portland Police Bureau keeps finding new ways to make Portland distrust them. The Oregonian on their latest move into the abyss:

Portland Officer Leo Besner, who has cost the city at least $852,000 in tort claims or jury awards since 2003, is among five officers to be promoted to sergeant on Thursday despite lingering questions regarding his fitness as an officer.

Bobbie Jo Foster, sister of a man shot in the back by Besner while on the phone with police negotiators, and others have written to the mayor and chief in recent weeks, urging them to rethink the promotion.

Foster's brother, Raymond Gwerder, died when shot by Besner in November 2005. Among those joining Foster in expressing concern are Jessie Cornett, Gwerder's best friend and former city council candidate, and Portland Copwatch.

"Besner remains a danger to the very public he is sworn to protect," Foster wrote Nov. 30, and cited her brother's case, as well as other cases in which she argues Besner demonstrated tactics unsuitable for a rank-and-file cop.

"I would like to encourage you and the Police Chief to send a clear message to the public that Besner's brand of violence will not be tolerated much less rewarded."

Regardless, Chief Mike Reese said Monday Besner will be among five officers handed a sergeant's badge Thursday. The bureau already has promoted six officers off the current sergeant's promotional list, and Besner is next, having ranked seventh on a written exam and oral interview. The chief has the discretion to pass over an officer, but has chosen not to, he said.

"We have a clear-cut promotional process. Officer Besner did very well in that process. Whenever we deviate from that process, we end up as an organization getting ourselves into trouble," Reese said Monday. "This is a civil service process. We're not going to deviate from that unless there's a justifiable reason to do so."

If Reese couldn't think of a justifiable reason for not promoting Besner he might not be the right person to serve as chief.

Among other incidents: In September 2009, a Multnomah County jury awarded three men $175,000 in damages for the way Portland police officers -- one of whom was Besner -- treated them in a downtown parking lot. The three men described 40 minutes of terror in which they were pulled from a car at gunpoint while officers searched the vehicle, before being released without charges.

One of the plaintiffs testified that Besner punched his groin twice as police checked to see if a handgun one of the men was carrying was stolen, even after the man with the gun told police he was "carrying" and showed them his concealed handgun license. Besner said he acted based on experience with shootings downtown involving suspects who got into fights after clubs closed, then retrieved guns from their cars.

The city also paid out $140,000 in 2003 after Besner and another officer questioned and threw to the pavement a 15-year-old girl who, while waiting for a bus home from school in Old Town, reached into her friend's pants pocket to remove a soda bottle.

There is dry rot in the Portland Police Bureau and a lack of moral clarity in the leadership - from the chief to Portland Mayor Sam Adams.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Update:  Below the fold is the text of an e-mail I sent to Mayor Sam Adams about this issue.  It was copied to all the members of the Portland City Council and many Portland-area religious leaders:

Obama-GOP Compromise Makes Bush's Tax Cuts Bipartisan

The president promised during the 2008 campaign to end Bush-era tax policies that benefit the wealthiest at the expense of the "least of these" in America.  But the compromise President Obama reached with the GOP today largely extends those policies through the president's term in office.  The deficit is exploding, unemployment remains high, and more Americans are living in poverty and hunger than any recent time. 

We can be glad that unemployment benefits will be extended and that tax cuts that benefit middle class and low-income families will be extended.  But the price is for that is high.  The tax policies enacted by President Bush that drove the economy off a cliff will largely remain in place.  In fact, it is safe to say that George W. Bush is the driving force in Washington, D.C. today and not Barack Obama when it comes to the economy.   

The president also promised in 2008 to move forward with a plan for reducing poverty by 50% over the next ten years.  Two years into the administration no strategic plan to achieve that goal has been offered - though we all agree the stimulus package helped many more Americans from falling into poverty.  Will the president announce at the State of the Union an aggressive plan for fighting poverty, as called on by many religious leaders, or has that goal been abandoned along with his pledge to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans?  

Church Leaders, President Obama Push For Passage Of Dream Act

Religious leaders across the United States have been pressing for passage of the Dream Act.  Today the White House reports on their activities in support of this important piece of legislation:

It’s been an incredibly busy week as we continue to work with our allies in Congress and across the country to try to get the DREAM Act across the finish line.

Here is a quick update. It looks like the House and Senate could take up the DREAM Act as early as this week. From the White House and Obama Administration we continue to do all we can, with everyone from the President to Cabinet and Senior officials working to highlight how important the DREAM Act is to our economy, our security, and our nation.

As you know, the DREAM Act is common-sense legislation drafted by both Republicans and Democrats that would give students who grew up in the United States a chance to contribute to our country’s well-being by serving in the U.S. armed forces or pursuing a higher education. Because it just makes sense, the DREAM Act has long enjoyed bipartisan support. It is limited, targeted legislation that will allow only the best and brightest young people to earn their legal status after a rigorous and lengthy process, and applies to those brought to the United States as minors through no fault of their own by their parents. These are young people who know no other home. Here is some of the work we have been doing:

• Secretary Duncan participated in a call with Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform about the DREAM Act and posted an oped in The Hill saying “Passing the DREAM Act will unleash the full potential of young people who live out values that all Americans cherish — a strong work ethic; service to others; and a deep loyalty to our country. It will also strengthen our military, bolster our global economic competitiveness and increase our educational standing in the world.” Later that day he hosted a call with over 100 University Presidents on the importance of the DREAM Act.
• Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Cecilia Munoz and I participated in a DREAM Act web chat on WhiteHouse.gov taking great questions like whether the legislation would encourage people to come to the United States illegally (it would not) and whether the DREAM Act can be implemented by the President via Executive Order (it cannot, which is why he is strongly urging Congress to do the right thing by passing it). Secretary Solis, Valerie Jarrett, Cecilia Munoz and I participated in a conference call with hundreds of people across the country as well to give them an update.
• On Wednesday, Joshua DuBois, Director of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and over 100 faith leaders from across the country participated in a conference call about why the DREAM Act is the right thing to do.
• Under Secretary of Defense Dr. Clifford Stanley spoke out in support of the DREAM Act saying "Throughout past and current conflicts, those who are not yet citizens have answered the call to defend their adopted nation...Allowing DREAM Act-eligible youth the opportunity to serve this nation would continue this tradition of service, while expanding the market of high-quality patriotic youth, to the advantage of military recruitment and readiness."
• On Thursday, Secretary Napolitano held a conference call with reporters in which she made it clear that the DREAM Act is important for our law enforcement, and will help us better focus our resources so we can enforce immigration laws in a “way that makes sense,” targeting criminals.
• On Friday, Secretary Locke hosted a call with University Presidents Dr. Carlos Campo, President of Regent University, Dr. Gene Block, Chancellor, UCLA and Dr. Eduardo Padron, Miami-Dade College to talk about the importance of the DREAM Act to our country’s competitiveness. Secretary Locke said, "These are kids that can be our future scientists, our doctors, our military leaders and our educators. Some of them are our future entrepreneurs who will build the next Google or Intel that will generate hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs for our country."
• The White House also released a fact sheet and a top ten list on why we need to pass the DREAM Act, highlighting myths and facts about the legislation as well as highlighting real stories, key supporters of the bill and over 50 editorial boards that have come out in support of the DREAM Act .

So it’s the end of a busy week, but we will keep gearing up for more action next week as Congress heads toward votes. Keep up with what we're doing on WhiteHouse.gov.

Visit the Church World Service website and send a message to Congress in support of the Dream Act.

"Sarah Palin vs. JFK"

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend:

Sarah Palin has found a new opponent to debate: John F. Kennedy.

In her new book, "America by Heart," Palin objects to my uncle's famous 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, in which he challenged the ministers - and the country - to judge him, a Catholic presidential candidate, by his views rather than his faith. "Contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for president," Kennedy said. "I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic."

Palin writes that when she was growing up, she was taught that Kennedy's speech had "succeeded in the best possible way: It reconciled public service and religion without compromising either." Now, however, she says she has revisited the speech and changed her mind. She finds it "defensive . . . in tone and content" and is upset that Kennedy, rather than presenting a reconciliation of his private faith and his public role, had instead offered an "unequivocal divorce of the two."

Palin's argument seems to challenge a great American tradition, enshrined in the Constitution, stipulating that there be no religious test for public office. A careful reading of her book leads me to conclude that Palin wishes for precisely such a test. And she seems to think that she, and those who think like her, are qualified to judge who would pass and who would not....

Palin contends that Kennedy sought to "run away from religion." The truth is that my uncle knew quite well that what made America so special was its revolutionary assertion of freedom of religion. No nation on Earth had ever framed in law that faith should be of no interest to government officials. For centuries, European authorities had murdered and tortured those whose religious beliefs differed from their own.

To demand that citizens display their religious beliefs attacks the very foundation of our nation and undermines the precise reason that America is exceptional.

Palin's book makes clear just how dangerous her proposed path can be. Not only does she want people to reveal their beliefs, but she wants to sit in judgment of them if their views don't match her own. For instance, she criticizes Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), a Democrat and a faithful Catholic, for "talking the (God) talk but not walking the walk."

Who is Palin to say what God's "walk" is? Who anointed her our grand inquisitor?

Full story.

Why Is George W. Bush Setting The Terms of Barack Obama's Presidency?

George W. Bush is about to get the last laugh.  His economic polices drove the country off a cliff.  Only Barack Obama's stimulus plan kept us from drowning in the river at the valley floor.  Now President Obama seems ready to endorse a "temporary" extension of Bush's tax policies (the extension will last through President Obama's term).  You can hear the howl of laughter all the way from Texas.  It sounds a lot like this:   

Congress Approves Church-Backed Child Hunger Bill Despite Opposition From Sarah Palin, Greg Walden

It is good news that Congress passed the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act - legislation backed by many church groups - despite the opposition of figures such as Sarah Palin.  It is disappointing, however, that Oregon's Greg Walden sided with Palin and voted against providing food for hungry kids.  But since Walden is also taking the lead in blocking employment uninsurance assistance for millions of workers this holiday season while backing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans it is no surprise.    

Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network: Chuck Currie "Christian Leader of The Month"

In perhaps one of the more surreal moments of my life it has just come to my attention that the Christian Broadcasting Network (Pat Robertson's network) has named me the their "Christian Leader of the Month." I'm honored and accept their recognition in the spirit of Christian fellowship.  I find it encouraging that CBN - known for their conservative theological viewpoint - would highlight the ministry of a progressive Christian.   

Gay Coat-Gate: The Portland Rescue Mission Declines Coats; Accepts Offer To Meet With LGBT Leaders

I became aware through a story posted online on The Portland Mercury that the Portland Rescue Mission recently declined to co-sponsor an event put together by a gay Portlander to collect coats for the agency's programs.  Portland Rescue Mission and other homeless service agencies have been requesting assistance from the general public during the last several weeks as the weather has turned cold.

As The Portland Mercury reported, the Rescue Mission declined to co-sponsor the "queer Christmas event" because "there was some concern with how it might come across to some of our donors."

I reached out to the Portland Rescue Mission late this afternoon and offered them an explanation as to why some Portlanders will feel hurt and offended by their decision.  Just today the Portland Police Bureau announced they were investigating yet another hate crime against a gay person.  Hateful religious rhetoric against gays and lesbians can incite violence.  To be clear, the Portland Rescue Mission has made no hateful comments but decisions like the one they undertook help create an atmosphere of intolerance.  I do not believe that was ever the intention of the Portland Rescue Mission. 

So I asked Portland Rescue Mission if they would take a proactive step and reach out to Basic Rights Oregon, our state's leading LGBT civil rights organization, to set-up a meeting to learn more about why declining to participate in this event could be seen as hurtful.  Portland Rescue Mission didn't hesitate in accepting that proposal.  They've promised to make the call tomorrow and I've alerted BRO's executive director Jeana Frazzini that the call will be coming.

I left the following comment on The Portland Mercury's website and repeat it here to conclude this post:

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I apologize for the bigoted behavior of some Christians. The church universal must repent for the discrimination and hatred fostered against gays and lesbians. Back in 1985 the General Synod of the United Church of Christ declared our denomination to be Open and Affirming of gays and lesbians. Twenty years later - in 2005 - we became the first mainline Christian church to call for full marriage equality. And all the way back in 1972 we ordained the first openly gay man to ministry. All of this is to say, the Holy Spirit is at work moving the church. The United Church of Christ has not been alone in this journey as more denominations have opened their hearts and doors. All of us must keep pushing the envelope in respectful ways that deepen relationships and break down barriers. Still, this story saddens me. I invite people to pray for the people of the Portland Rescue Missions that their hearts be softened by God, for those they serve in the name of Christ who would be cold and hungry without their efforts, and for all of us as well. None of us are completely free from bigotry and hate.         

Faith Leaders To President Obama: End The Bush Tax Cuts For The Most Fortunate

Every choice our country makes is a statement of who we are and what we prioritize. At its heart a budget is a moral document. For people of faith, our priorities must always lie with the poor and most vulnerable.Extending the Bush tax cuts for the most fortunate while ending unemployment benefits and cutting back services for the poor does not reflect the values of faithful Americans. For that reason, we urge you to let tax cuts for the most fortunate expire as scheduled at the end of the year.

Almost 50 million Americans wonder where their next meal is coming from. One in 5 children live in poverty and many Americans are out of work. At the same time, there are more millionaires in our country today than at the peak of the market in 2007. In the last 30 years, the wealthiest 1% have seen their incomes increase almost 300% while regular Americans are worse off.

We have a responsibility to balance our budgets. We have an equal responsibility to make sure that burden is carried by those who can most afford it. Giving benefits to the rich while denying them to the poor is a sin. As citizens of this country and people of faith, we have an obligation to those in need. The book of Proverbs puts it quite simply: "He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich--both come to poverty" (Prov 22:16 NIV).

We believe that our own good is tied up into the common good; that we will meet the challenges of today not just as individuals but together as a nation. We are grateful for the leadership of the PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES who have stepped forward to ask that their tax cuts expire. We hope you will heed their counsel.

May God bless the leadership of you and the Congress, and may God bless America to be a blessing to the world.

Sincerely,

Rev. Katharine Henderson
President
Auburn Theological Seminary

Michael Adams
Director, Advocacy and Church Relations 
ChildServ

Dr. Frank M. Alton
Executive Director
Prepare the Future California

Lisa Anderson
Associate Director of Educational Programs
Auburn Theological Seminary

Rev. Anne Andert
Pastor
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Rev. J.C. Austin
Director of the Center for Christian Leadership
Auburn Theological Seminary

Rabbi Justus N. Baird
Director of the Center for Multifaith Education
Auburn Theological Seminary

Eva Cavaleri
Priest
Episcopal Church

Stephanie Chandler 
Parishoner
Westminster Presbyterian Church

Rev. Robert Chase
Founding Director
Intersections International

Ernest Clark 
Pastor 
Guerrant Mem. Priesbyterian Church

Charles L. Cohen
Professor of History and Religious Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Rev. Chuck Currie
Minister
United Church of Christ

Rev. Tracy Daub
University Presbyterian Church

Rev. Brandon W. Duran
Pacific Northwest Conference
United Church of Christ

Julie Dybdahl
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Ann Arbor

Dr. Bobbi Dykema
United Theological Seminary

Rev. Allyn Foster 
Presbyterian 

Bishop Andrew Gentry
All Saints and Sorts Church

Joel Gilbertson-White
Ministerial candidate 
Unitarian Universalist 

Yosef Goldman
Jewish Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Bob Gross
Pastor
Lake Avenue United Church of Christ 

Rev. Fred L Hammond
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Tuscaloosa

Michael Harvey
Executive Director
Conference of Baptist Minister 

Charles P. Henderson
Executive Editor
CrossCurrents

Rev. Linda Higgins
United Church of Christ

Rev. Anne S. Howard
Executive Director
The Beatitudes Society

James E. Hug
President
Center of Concern

Rev. Jim Wallis
Chief Executive Officer
Sojourners

Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual

Christie Iverson
St. George's Episcopal Church

Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Director, Ma'aseh
The Center for Jewish Social Justice Education  

Rev. John Janka
United Methodist Church   

Rev. Ayanna Johnson
Director of Community Life
Chicago Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Serene Jones
President and Roosevelt Professor of Theology
Union Theological Seminary 

Rabbi Irwin Kula
President 
National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership

Kimberly Knight
The Beatitudes Society

Rev. Peter Laarman
Executive Director
Progressive Christians Uniting 

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline J. Lewis
Senior Minister
Middle Collegiate Church

Rev. Michael Livingston
Director, Poverty Initiative
National Council of Churches

Rev. Katy Lloyd
United Church of Christ

Rev. Drew Ludwig
Lafayette Ave Presbyterian Church

Michael Mc Carthy
Emeritus Professor of Philosophy
Vassar College

Rev. Roger McClellen
Progressive Christian Alliance

Rev. Bryan McFarland
Presbyterian Church U.S.A. 

Rev. M. Bruce McKay
Episcopalian 

Rev. Christianne McKee
Pastor
St. Luke's UCC 

Dr. Thomas R. McKibbens
Senior Minister
First Baptist Church 

Rev. Deborah Meinke
Memorial Presbyterian Church 

Rev. Sharon Moe
United Methodist Church 

Rev. Carroll H. & Mrs. Janet L. Morony
Pastor
American Baptist Churches (retired)

Dr. Lucinda Mosher
Interreligious Relations Consultant

Rev. Dr. Joseph Murphy
United Church of Christ (retired)

Rev. Jane A. Page
Minister
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro

Rev. Jan Van Pelt
UCC clergy of Seattle

Polly Peterson
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Concord

Jean Perkins
First Baptist Church

Rev. Jennifer Butler
Executive Director
Faith in Public Life

Rev. Cecil Charles Prescod
Director, Christian Education and Youth Ministries
Ainsworth United Church of Christ

Rev. Dr. C. J. Pressler
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

Marjorie Procter-Smith
LeVan Professor of Christian Worship
Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

Rev. Carol Rahn
Pastor
First Presbyterian Church

George Regas
Rector Emeritus
All Saints Church

Carol Reynolds
Pastor
First Congregational Church, UCC 

Rabbi Elizabeth Richman
Program Director & Rabbi in Residence
Jews United for Justice

Rev. Rachel S
Pastor
Presbyterian (U.S.A.) 

Rabbi Joanna Samuels
Advancing Women 

Rev. Donna Schaper
Senior Minister
Judson Memorial Church

Rev. Charles Schwab
UCC

Rabbi Bruce Seltzer
Amherst College

Marnie Singer
Ministerial candidate
Unitarian Universalist

Rev. Virginia Smith
PCUSA

Rev. Paul Sorrentino
Director of Religious Life
Amherst College

Rev. Samuel H. Speers
Director, Religious & Spiritual Life Office
Vassar College

Rev. Stephen H. Swanson
Pastor 
St Paul Lutheran Church of Villa Park

Rev. Stephen H. Swanson
Pastor
St Paul Lutheran Church of Villa Park

Kelli Thompson
Alumni
Fuller Theological Seminary

Rev. Coleen Tully
Priest
St. James Episcopal Church

Rev. John H. Vaughn
Executive Vice President
Auburn Theological Seminary

Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky
Jewish Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Jon M. Walton
Pastor
First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York

Rev. Mark Wendorf
Presbyterian Church (USA)

Rev. Tom Williams
Minister
Covenant Presbyterian Church

Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Yorty
Pastor
Westminster Presbyterian Church 

*affiliations are for identification purposes only

Add your name at:

http://www.faithfulamericansforfiscalstrength.com/

A Prayer For World AIDS Day

We Are Love and Affirmed

As a worshiping community, we have been challenged by such a moment as this!

A moment when we know we are living with AIDS and that we are loved and affirmed.

A moment in which we can offer compassion to those with AIDS and HIV.

A moment where we can sit and comfort those who suffer illness or grieve loss.

A moment when we stand in solidarity with the care partners, health care workers, and researchers as they continue their diligent labor.

A moment and an opportunity to be with all those who are ill with any disease. Those worried, fearful or weary. Those carrying others in prayer.

In this moment:
We all stand in need of God's healing.

From Worship Resources for HIV & AIDS Ministries by Patricia D. Brown and Adele K. Wilcox, p. 8, copyright © Health and Welfare Ministries, General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, Room 330, 475 Riverside Drive. Visit our AIDS Ministries Pages on the web at http://gbgm-umc.org/cam/