Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Statement on U.S. House Vote Setting Process for Impeachment of Donald Trump

As a Christian minister, I understand the importance of democracy. Our freedom is incumbent on the rule of law. The Constitution must be upheld. The vote by the U.S. House to formalize the #impeachment process was a moral imperative.

The majority of the U.S. House voted to uphold the rule of law by formalizing the impeachment process. It is disappointing to see the GOP vote in lockstep with Donald Trump. Where is their integrity? Where is their moral center?

Earlier this month, I joined over 100 other national Christian leaders in endorsing the impeachment inquiry. As we said: ”For the sake of our nation’s integrity and the most vulnerable in our society, we call on fellow Christians to support the current impeachment inquiry. Now is the time to shine the light of truth. Please join us in praying that the truth will be revealed and set us all free.”

#PrayForTruth

Oregon Governor Should Form Task Force On Dementia And End Of Life

Today, I sent the following letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown asking that her office establish a task force to consider end of life issues for those facing dementia under the state’s Death With Dignity Act.

October 23, 2019

Dear Governor Brown:

Last session, legislation was considered in Oregon to extend the Death with Dignity Act to include those facing dementia. Understandably, considering the moral and ethical complexities involved, the legislation did not move forward. I personally support the concept of allowing those facing terminal neurological diseases to end their lives, but also believe more debate is needed.

Therefore, I am writing to ask you to appoint a short-term task force of diverse stakeholders to further study this issue and to make both majority and minority recommendations to your office and the Legislature. Such a task force should consider both care for those suffering from dementia and end of life options.

Dementia, of course, encompasses many different related neurological diseases. Death is always the outcome.

My own theological belief, which I have expressed previously, is that there is no freedom to change the reality of human existence.  Too often we try to pretend there is by tying ourselves to machines and medicines that prolong both life and suffering.  Unimaginable human suffering need not precede eternal life.  Jesus sought to end suffering.

God is a god of love, compassion, and healing.  Death is the natural end of life.  Oregon’s Death With DignityAct is not about the freedom to choose death; it is about recognizing the reality that death comes and that we can take medically appropriate steps to make that death as painless and dignified as possible.

Still, dementia raises unique concerns about how and when decisions can be made.

As different forms of dementia increase, in part, because our population is living longer, it would benefit Oregon to have this conversation in a thoughtful and informed way that includes diverse perspectives.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Personal Statement on International Day of Peace and Global Climate Strike

As we note International Day of Peace and the Global Climate Strike, I personally stand with students at Pacific University and other young people across the globe, including my children who are participating in the Climate Strike, calling for urgent action to address the Climate Crisis.  We need every generation to stand up before it is too late. The proposals in the Green New Deal, endorsed by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, provide a roadmap forward. Climate change contributes to the international refugee crisis, makes war more likely, and is causing great pain and suffering.  Young people deserve a more peaceful and just world. For people of faith, there is a deeply spiritual connection to this issue. We are called to be stewards of Creation; not exploiters of it.

 

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Director, Center for Peace and Spirituality

University Chaplain

Pacific University

Guest Preaching

I’m sometimes asked if I’m available to guest preach. The answer is yes (though generally not during the summer months). If you are interested in having me speak at your church or conference, please email [email protected]. If this would be outside of the Portland-area, which I’m happy to do, all expenses need to be covered. I do not accept payment for guest preaching, but do ask that an honorarium be given to the Pacific University Center for Peace and Spirituality. For more information on my work, please visit www.chuckcurrie.com.

Katherine and Frances Turn 15!

Katherine and Frances on their 15th birthday

Oregon Senate Republicans employee the tactics of segregationists #orpol #orleg

In Oregon, GOP members of the Oregon Senate have once again walked off the job to deny a quorum. They intend to hold the Oregon Legislature hostage until a bill addressing climate change is killed. In undertaking this action, along with another walkout earlier in the session, the GOP thwarts the will of the voters. It’s a filibuster, of sorts.

In most respects, filibusters are anti-democratic. “In the 20th century, the filibuster enabled southern segregationists to block anti-lynching laws and delay civil-rights legislation. This millenium, it enabled to nativists to block a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers,” wrote Eric Levitz in a recent piece for New York Magazine.

Today in Oregon, GOP senators have twice this session used ability to deny the majority a quorum in an attempt to halt not just climate change legislation, but also a bill to increase school funding. In Oregon, voters in 2018 gave Democrats super-majorities in both the House and Senate, along with the governor’s office. The only way the GOP can influence legislation, besides coalition building and compromise, is to deny a quorum.

Democrats in Oregon have also staged walkouts when in the minority on rare occasions.  Unlike their GOP counterparts, however, they didn't leave the state to avoid the Oregon State Police.  The Oregon GOP Senators are said to be hiding in Idaho.  

There is also a clear moral difference between staging a protest to protect underrepresented communities vs. the coal industry or oil and gas.   

Addressing climate change is the most pressing moral issue of our time. As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I take Jesus’ admonition that we free people from oppression seriously. Slavery and Jim Crow are obvious examples of oppression. Climate change is as well. Without taking steps to address climate change, we sentence young people today to a painful and challenging existence.

The reality of climate change is a responsibility we must accept and address. David Wallace-Wells writes in his “The Uninhabitable Earth” that:

Global warming may seem like a distended morality tale playing out over several centuries and inflicting a kind of Old Testament retribution on the great-great-grandchildren of those responsible, since it was carbon burning in eighteenth-century England that lit the fuse of everything that has followed. But that is a fable about historical villainy that acquits those of us alive today—and unfairly. The majority of the burning has come since the premiere of Seinfeld. Since the end of World War II, the figure is about 85 percent. The story of the industrial world’s kamikaze mission is the story of a single lifetime—the planet brought from seeming stability to the brink of catastrophe in the years between a baptism or bar mitzvah and a funeral.

As the administration of Donald Trump works tirelessly to undermine efforts to address this global crisis, it becomes more and more critical for states to do whatever possible turn the tide. Instead, GOP lawmakers and activists deny the reality of climate change, work to undermine solutions, and take advantage of people, such as the #TimberUnity community in Oregon, by telling them that climate change solutions will impact their jobs (as if growing wildfire seasons won’t).

It gets worse, of course. Under Oregon law, the governor is empowered to compel members of the Legislature to return to work with the help of the Oregon State Police. This led Senator Brian Boquist, in his best segregationist imitation, to threaten the police with gun violence if they attempt to arrest him. Such comments demand his resignation or expulsion from the Senate.

Oregon Senate Republicans employee the tactics of segregationists, using the power of the minority to block efforts to address the common good. Unable to win elections, the party will do anything to stop efforts to address climate change, no matter the cost to future generations.

The so-called Oregon 11 should get back to work, return to Oregon, do their sworn duty, and faithfully execute their oath of office. Or they should resign.

Update:

Sadly, it appears this morning that the segregationalist tactics of the #Oregon11 have worked. The radical far-right minority looks to have won the day. #hb2020 #orpol #orleg https://t.co/QYNwv4iTSZ

— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) June 25, 2019

A Prayer and Meditation for Commencement at Pacific University

As director of the Center for Peace and Spirituality and university chaplain at Pacific University, I have the privilege of offering prayers such as the invocation at Commencement. Yesterday, we held both the undergraduate and professional and graduate Commencement exercises.  Below is the prayer and meditation I shared:

Good morning.

In 1849, members of what is now called the United Church of Christ founded what would become known as Pacific University. The United Church of Christ, the church of the Pilgrims, has over the centuries evolved into an open and affirming denomination that values diversity, religious pluralism, education, and a just society.

The mission of Pacific University embodies these same principles: to inspire “students to think, care, create, and pursue justice in our world.”

As we gather, let us first begin with a moment of silence for those we have lost in our Pacific family this past year…

Now please join me in a time of prayer and meditation:

Will you please join me in a time of prayer and meditation:

Loving God,

As we gather today, we do so in a moment of celebration.

We celebrate the accomplishments of graduates, who have given their all in the pursuit of higher education.

We celebrate the faculty, staff, alum, and donors, who have done everything possible to mentor a new class of scholars.

We celebrate the families and friends gathered here, whose support have meant the difference between failure and success.

There is much to be thankful for today. Not only do we give thanks for all the academic accomplishments that are being recognized, we give thanks for the friends made, for love we have found, and for the support this community has given to one another in difficult moments.

Commencement represents an ending, but also a new beginning. The Pacific University mission of helping to create a more just world does not end with a diploma; it is a charge given to all who are part of the Pacific community to propel us into the future.

We ask for strength and wisdom in this task, as the challenges before all the world are as complex as any moment in human history.

Help us to listen for voices which call us to support the common good over voices that demand walls between us.

Help us to be voices for justice and reconciliation, even as other voices are lifted up that preach messages rooted in racism, xenophobia, sexism, and homophobia.

We face a political crisis in the United States and an unparalleled ecological crisis across the globe. Racism, bigotry, and inequality plague us. It would be easy and even understandable to surrender to the complexity and difficulty of it all.

If we did, however, we would betray those who came before us at other moments of crisis to demand that the realities of their time bend. The 19th-century Unitarian minister and abolitionist Theodore Parker once offered this wisdom:

”I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice.”

That belief - that the universe bends towards justice - propelled the abolitionist movement that ended slavery, the suffrage movement that won women the right to vote, and the Great Civil Rights Movement.

The world needs movement leaders today who are ready to bend the moral arc of the universe. Help us to be those leaders.

We know that this generation represented among graduates today have been dealt a terrible hand, but we recognize these same young people have the moral and intellectual capacity to change the course of history.

Let us close this time of prayer and meditation with these words from the Book of Isaiah.

If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday...
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.

May we be repairers of the breach, the restorer of streets.

Amen.

Alabama Abortion Ban Not Consistent With Christian Ethics

There is renewed national debate over abortion. Let’s begin here: the pro-choice position is consistent with Christian ethics. As the United Church of Christ has maintained for decades, Jesus affirmed the moral agency of women. Those of us who are Christian should follow that example.

Republicans in Alabama and other states have launched a full-throated assault on Roe v Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that guarantees the right of women to seek out safe abortion services. Many of the legislators involved in this effort claim their Christian faith as the driving factor in their push to outlaw abortion.

The Bible offers no clear guidance on abortion. Many opponents of abortion point to vague passages to justify their stance. That’s proof-texting, nothing more.

My own belief is good people can come to different conclusions on this issue. Scripture does argue for respecting human life, but does that include outlawing a medical procedure that terminates the possibility of life when only a collection of small cells is being carried? My answer would be no.

That does not mean I’m entirely comfortable with abortion. My mother was a certified nurse midwife. She spent her career bringing babies into the world, and fighting to improve public health services for women and children. She was personally opposed to abortion but believed women should have the right to make their own decisions about health care. My position is the same.

Returning the United States to the pre-Roe v Wade days would not end abortion. It would merely return abortions to the back allies, where women would risk their health and even their lives. How would that be pro-life?

We should make ethical decisions that make abortion rare and a real informed choice. Abortion rates dropped dramatically during the Obama Administration, as access to family planning, sex education in schools, and contraception expanded. We should also do everything possible to expand support for mothers, families, and children. No one should be forced to have an abortion out of financial concern. That is no real choice at all. Efforts to expand adoption services should also be a priority.

The efforts to ban abortion – by mostly male politicians – is a political effort. Some of those involved do have a real concern for the life of babies, but for most that concern ends once the baby is born. These same politicians vote to slash funding for health care and other services that help ensure children thrive. Many of those opposed to abortion are also opposed to family planning. Their primary concern is control over women, not life.

For those who genuinely see the abortion debate as one regarding life, I would urge that we set aside political attacks on Roe v Wade, and focus on finding common ground. Many people of faith, from all backgrounds, reject the charged and sometimes hateful rhetoric involved with the abortion debate. These folks see the good in family planning and support services for women and children. Let’s refocus our attention in that direction. In the meantime, it is vital that we stand up against laws like the one in Alabama that are so harmful.

Jesus Does Not Want You To Own Guns. Here's Why.

Jesus was a practitioner of non-violence. So why do so many turn the words of the Prince of Peace into a call to arms? As an advocate for gun violence prevention efforts, I receive many emails, Facebook comments, and Tweets from those who make comments along the line of these:

God does give us the right to defend ourselves and our family and our communities. And Jesus did tell his diciples to sell some possessions and buy swords.

Sell your cloak & buy a sword. Look it up in the Bible. Guns have surpassed swords & cloaks ain't worth what they used to be worth, so modern updates are needed - for women too since they get to vote. Domestic violence? Stay armed & everyone stays polite.😎

Does God actually want an armed civilization? To start with, I’m in agreement with the National Council of Churches in Christ USA:

It is difficult to imagine that the One whose own Passion models the redemptive power of non-violence would look favorably on the violence of contemporary U.S. society. Present-day violence is made far worse than it otherwise would be by the prevalence of weapons on our streets.

The passage that is brought up so often in which Jesus asks his disciples to buy swords – Luke 22:36 – is one nearly always taken out of context. Here is the text:

He said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.

So, is Jesus pro-sword? The sword Jesus spoke of was most likely a tool, not a weapon. Even so, when only two were obtained, not enough to defend the disciples, Jesus declares two are enough.

Daniel Howell, a professor of biology and anatomy coordinator in the department of biology at Liberty University, thinks Jesus would want you to have a gun. He wrote in 2015:

It is sometimes claimed that Jesus never told his followers to arm themselves, but that is patently untrue. In Luke 22:36, Jesus told his disciples to buy themselves swords even if they had to sell their cloaks to afford them. Of course, the sword was the “arms” of their day, as the gun is for us today. The disciples possessed two swords and Peter used one of them to injure a man when Jesus was being arrested.

The logic of Professor Howell is a bit difficult to follow. He might teach at a Christian university – Jerry Falwell’s Christian university – but his exegesis of the text is very poor (worth remembering he teaches biology and not theology, I suppose). Guns are not the same as swords, try using a sword from the time of Jesus in a mass shooting, and to try and apply Jesus’ teaching here is nothing more than proof-texting.

In the story of Jesus’ betrayal at Gethsemane, one of the disciples does turn a weapon on those who come to arrest Jesus. Here is text in Luke that follows the oft-recited 22:36 verse:

47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; 48but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?’ 49When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, ‘Lord, should we strike with the sword?’ 50Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched his ear and healed him.

Again, as is his custom, Jesus rebukes those that employ violence. Jesus believed that violence was cyclical and that in using violence against oppression we become the oppressor. Above, one of the comments made to me via Facebook argues that God would support a right to self-defense. I’ll not take issue with that. If my family were in danger, I would defend them. I also recognize that having a gun in a house dramatically increases the possibility someone in the home will become a victim of gun violence, through suicide, accident, or in a firefight.

God would forgive us, I am sure if we sought to protect our family from danger. Nonetheless, when Jesus was threatened with death and violence, he molded for us what God wanted: non-violence.

Walter Wink wrote:

There are good reasons for reluctance to champion nonviolence. The term itself is negative. It sounds like a not-doing, the putting of all one’s energy into avoiding something bad rather than throwing one’s total being into doing something good.

Passivity is not what Jesus taught. What he taught was counter-cultural, even today, and radical: what Wink calls a “third way of militant nonviolence.” The Civil Rights Movement in the United States, embodied by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (who once owned guns but later said “I was much more afraid in Montgomery when I had a gun in my house. When I decided that I couldn’t keep a gun, I came face-to-face with the question of death and I dealt with it. From that point on, I no longer needed a gun nor have I been afraid.”), practiced such non-violence, and there was nothing passive about that movement.

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I try and emulate the life of Jesus (often poorly, I’ll admit). Jesus does not want us to put trust in guns; Jesus wants us to put faith in God. The well-armed society in the United States has led to what Jesus warned about: cycles of violence that seem never-ending. We must use the tools of our democracy to push legislation that values human life. I am convinced that the NRA, and other groups like them, value the profit of gun sales over the lives of school children, worshippers, or those just seeing a movie or shopping at the mall. There are many steps we can take, including banning assault weapons, to create a more peaceable society.

#Oregon can be as smart as #NewZealand, right? Call these leaders & ask them to support #HB3223 & #HB3265. Let's #banassaultweapons.@OregonGovBrown: 503-378-4582
Speaker @TinaKotek: 503-986-1200@SenBurdick: 503-986-1700
Sen. Floyd Prozanski: 503-986-1704#orpol #orleg #Enough pic.twitter.com/e1GplDJ6uI

— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) March 25, 2019

Oregon Should Ban Assault Weapons

Dear Members of the Oregon House and Senate,

 

This February 14th, Oregon's birthday and the first anniversary of the Parkland High School massacre, I am writing to urge that you support efforts by Lift Every Voice Oregon to ban the sale of assault weapons, along with the sale of large capacity magazines.

 

These weapons are not needed for duck hunting in Oregon.  They are weapons of war designed to kill large numbers of individuals.  Assault weapons were used in Newtown, Aurora, San Bernadino, Orlando and here in Oregon.

 

As the university chaplain at Pacific University, I have comforted students who have lost family and friends in mass shootings.  As a parent of two children in the Portland Public Schools, I have shared in the anxiety of our daughters and their classmates when they have been forced to hide under desks during lockdowns - lockdowns caused by real gun violence or threats of violence. As a member of the clergy, I have been threatened with gun violence.  

 

Life Every Voice Oregon is a coalition of faith and student leaders.  The faith community in the United States has long called for additional efforts to confront gun violence.  The National Council of Churches in Christ USA, U.S. Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops, and the Union of Reform Judaism are among the many faith bodies that have called for assault weapons to be banned. Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs have been killed by such weapons while worshipping.  

 

As clergy, we bury the dead and work to rebuild lives after these terror-filled events.

 

With your help, we can help prevent mass shootings.  This should not be a partisan issue.  It is, however, for too many a matter of life or death.  

 

As always, I appreciate the public service of those elected to represent the people of this great state.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie 

What The NRA’s Dana Loesch Gets Wrong About Jesus And Christmas

1. The #NRA’s @DLoesch is Tweeting Christian theology & history. But poorly. Perhaps, as the @NRA has said to others, she should stay in her lane? Maybe I can help. I’m a minister and religious studies professor. I've studied this. https://t.co/ndVJamrK5v

— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) December 21, 2018

2. Despite what @DLoesch Tweets, Jesus was never safe in the Roman Empire. To find him, a genocide was launched. In the end, the Romans crucified him for preaching God’s love over Empire; for preaching non-violence over conflict. https://t.co/VCpIZi8zJ9

— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) December 21, 2018

3. Ask yourself as we approach #Christmas, would @DLoesch & the @NRA have stood with #Jesus or Caesar? Empire, every time. They put guns before children and bigotry before justice. They follow the platform of Trump over the Greatest Commandment. Russia is their patron saint. pic.twitter.com/C1RdLlUQKX

— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) December 21, 2018

Trump Midterm Campaign Rhetoric Incompatible With Christianity

Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Donald Trump has an election message that faith leaders can reasonably say is incompatible with Christianity.

“President Trump has settled on a strategy of fear — laced with falsehoods and racially tinged rhetoric — to help lift his party to victory in the coming midterms,” wrote Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker and Josh Dawsey in The Washington Post(Trump and Republicans settle on fear — and falsehoods — as a midterm strategy, Oct. 22, 2018).

That fear has encouraged violence: mail bombs to national political leaders and the largest anti-Semitic act of violence in U.S. history when a gunman armed with an assault rifle opened fire on a synagogue in Pittsburgh.   

We see racism and bigotry in many forms coming out of the Trump White House.  The president has called Stacey Abrams, the first African-American major party nominee to become governor of Georgia, “crime loving”in one of his many dog-whistle Tweets.

The latest example was his openly racist campaign video release on Twitter.

There are the president’s latest attacks on immigrants. He has charged that immigrants, mostly families, and children fleeing violence and poverty in Central America, are actually violent gang members and “unknown Middle Easterners” without any evidence.

Finally, at a rally this week in Texas, Trump claimed the title of a nationalist.

"A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much. And you know what? We can't have that. You know, they have a word. It sort of became old-fashioned. It's called a nationalist. And I say, really, we're not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I'm a nationalist, OK? I'm a nationalist.”

Few would disagree with the president, his is plainly a nationalist, but Christians, along with other people of faith, should reject Trump’s racism and nationalism. 

The late Rev. William Sloane Coffin, the long-time Yale University Chaplain, once said:

“For Christians to render everything to Caesar—their minds, their consciences—is to become evangelical nationalists. That’s not a distortion of the gospel; that’s desertion.”[1]

Nationalism is a desertion of the faith because the Christian faith belongs to the world, not any one nation. Christians can love their country, I love mine to be sure. Our prayers and concerns, however, should be for all the world.  We must recognize that our nation can only do well if the world does well.  The impact of climate change, a global crisis, stands as Exhibit A. “It’s wonderful to love one’s country, but faith is for God. National unity too is wonderful—but not in cruelty and folly,” Coffin continued. To be sure, Trump’s agenda offers cruelty and folly in the name of nationalism. 

Racism and bigotry are debilitating sins that tear at the social fabric of the United States and moves us further away from God.  With on-going attacks on African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and LGBTQ Americans, Trump embraces hate more effectively as a political strategy than even the late George Wallace, the segregationist governor, and two-time presidential candidate.

Leaders in the United Church of Christ have noted that racism is a sin because it “destroys God’s likeness in every person and thus repudiates creation and its goodness.”Connected to the president’s racism is his misogyny and bigotry toward women, Muslims and other people of faith, including Christians, who are not part of Trump’s conservative white evangelical base. 

Hate was not opposed in November 2016 when the majority of white Christians voted for Trumpdespite his long record of racism and his campaign of division. If faith leaders do not speak out against hate, or worse endorse the rhetoric and policies that Trump advocates (as evangelical leaders like Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Franklin Graham have without apology), many will rightfully equate faith leaders today with those who stood in silence or support of the rise of nationalism in Germany during the 1930s.  Such a comparison would be apt.     

This November, all Americans should support candidates and ideas that promote justice and the common good. If a candidate supports Donald Trump, his philosophy or politics, that ought to be disqualifying for people of faith.

Open Letter To Students And Other Young People Regarding Recent U.S. Bombing Threats

Christianity and Abortion: My Faith Calls Me to Oppose Ballot Measure 106

 

Religious leaders and elected officials are speaking out against Measure 106 because they believe no one should be denied access to critical reproductive healthcare, including abortion, simply because they are low-income or rely on the state for their health insurance. #NoCuts2Care

I am pro-choice not in spite of my faith, but because of it.

My faith supports the moral capacity and the human right to make choices about whether and when to become a parent.

Abortion is a complex, deeply personal decision for a woman to consider if she needs it. Ultimately, this decision should be left to a woman, her family, her faith and her physician — not politics. No matter how you feel about abortion, no one should be denied health care because they can’t afford it.

One of my bottom line beliefs is that people of good faith can come to different conclusions on difficult issues.

Still, as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, I personally believe the decision to oppose Ballot Measure 106 is an easy one. This dangerous constitutional amendment unfairly discriminates against Oregon families who are struggling with poverty and imposes even greater burdens on them by denying them essential reproductive health care. Measure 106 will reduce health coverage for more than 350,000 Oregonians.

People must not be forced to act contrary to their conscience, nor must they be prevented from acting in accordance to their conscience.  In Christian terms, we recognize that Jesus affirmed the moral agency of women. We should all follow that example.

As a faith leader, I want to help foster a world where all women are trusted to make moral decisions about their bodies and their lives. Where the decision to start a family is thoughtful and planned. Where policymakers and advocates are free to support policies that create a more just and compassionate society. Where lifesaving health care is not blocked by religious special interests.

It is also our responsibility to provide every support system possible to help women and families raise children in our society. No one should be forced into making the decision to have an abortion because of economic factors. We need to move past this political distraction and focus on the health and well-being of children and families.

Our state should reflect a culture of justice and equality where the dignity of all women is acknowledged through policies that support their moral choices. Ballot Measure 106 is a backdoor ban on abortion that takes away a woman’s choices, based on her income or healthcare coverage.

Faith and reproductive freedom are not enemies. According to 2017 research from Pew, nearly two-thirds of Protestants and nearly half of evangelicals say the U.S. Supreme Court should not overturn Roe v Wade. The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has called for reproductive choice since the 1960s.

Roe even sees strong support even from Catholic Americans. More than 60 percent of Catholics believe abortion should be legal; in addition, 6 in 10 voters say abortion can be a moral choice. According to Catholics for Choice, Catholic women access abortion at similar rates as women of other faiths or no faith.

We have a duty to protect the well-being of our families. Voting NO on Measure 106 upholds our shared moral responsibility to ensure that every Oregonian has the full range of reproductive care, by removing obstacles and by providing equitable access for all.

I'm Voting For Kate Brown

Oregon Governor Kate Brown has amassed a solid record during her tenure. We deserve a governor in Oregon with her combination of leadership and compassion. I’ll cast my vote for her with confidence in Oregon with her at the helm.   

Our state faces many challenges.  We have a president hostile to the values that have made Oregon great. Those values have traditionally transcended partisanship in Oregon and include a commitment to the environment, strong public education, expanded healthcare, and services for the most vulnerable in society.

As governor, Kate Brown has followed the economic philosophy advanced by President Obama (policies that reversed the Great Recession) and that continue to make Oregon strong. It is entirely possible that the GOP tax plan, put forward by Donald Trump and his allies, will once again turn the economy in a downward spiral.  If so, we know from experience that Kate Brown has the values to protect the progress we’ve made as a state.

State Rep. Knute Buehler is the GOP candidate. He’s running as a moderate Republican but his record doesn’t match his rhetoric.  Kate Brown backs the assault weapons ban pushed by faith leaders and students in Oregon. Rep. Buehler opposes a ban and received an “A” rating from the Oregon Firearms Federation, the group that believes the NRA is too liberal, in 2016.

Rep. Buehler supports a ballot measure that would create racial profiling and hurt immigrant families in Oregon (Gov. Brown opposes Measure 105 along with much of the state's law enforcement community, faith and business leaders, and civil rights advocates), he’s campaigning to end homelessness but was kicked off the Housing Committee in the Oregon House and opposes a regional ballot measure to build new affordable housing (Gov. Brown has endorsed Measure 26-199) and even though he is a medical doctor, Rep. Buehler supports exemptions for vaccinations.  Medical (and faith) leaders will tell you that Rep. Buehler’s views could help cause new epidemics. 

For those who know me, you know in one way or another I’ve been involved in the effort to end homelessness for the last thirty years. I have more to say about Rep. Buehler’s empty plan to end homelessness on Twitter.

1. The @GOP’s @KnuteBuehler released a plan to end #homelessness today following his recent photo-op at a shelter. Plans are good. But we’ve had many in #Oregon that didn’t deliver. This plan doesn’t add up. https://t.co/CpXj4XdavM #orpol

— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) August 14, 2018

But the bottom line is this: Governor Brown is creating affordable housing and supports efforts to create more affordable housing.  I hope to sit down with Kate Brown directly after the election to talk more about how we can support students experiencing homelessness in our public schools.

Polls say the race is close. It shouldn’t be.  Kate Brown’s values and lifetime of public service make her the ideal choice for governor.  Be sure to vote because in this race every vote matters!

Note: As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I trust deeply in the Constitutional principle of separation of church and state and my endorsement is therefore a personal one and does not represent the views of my denomination (or the university where I serve). Good people of faith can come to different conclusions as to how they will vote. But as a citizen, I believe that all Americans must engage in the political process as individuals for democracy to thrive.

Personal Reaction From Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie To Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report

Climate change is humanity’s ultimate test. We cannot claim to love our neighbors or God at this point in history without massive changes to protect our children and the future of Creation. As the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded in their just-released report, the changes needed will require an abrupt reordering of the world economy. Still, this is not just an economic or environmental crisis. We also face a spiritual crisis. Climate change now forces us to rethink our relationships with Creation as a whole. Christianity and other faith traditions teach that humans are called to be stewards of Creation; not exploiters of it. Recognition of this sacred role will now determine what the future of all Creation will be. The stakes could not be higher.

Read the report: http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/

Read The New York Times story: https://nyti.ms/2Cw5MF8

Personal Statement from Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie on Judge Brett Kavanaugh

The elevation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court will have a deleterious effect on American democracy. His nomination has been opposed by the National Council of Churches, along with other faith bodies, and hundreds of religious leaders have urged the U.S. Senate not to confirm his appointment. For those of us concerned about true religious freedom, voting rights (and other civil rights), protection of the environment, and the epidemic of gun violence, this is a sad day. What makes this a tragedy are the serious and credible allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh. A majority of U.S. Senate members, not to mention President Trump (himself accused of sexual assault), have chosen to place ideology over the voices of women. People of faith have a special obligation to continue the hard work of building up the ideal of the Beloved Community. I believe that work becomes more difficult but more urgent still with Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.

Ban Assault Weapons In Oregon

Lift Every Voice Oregon held a rally at the State Capitol on Tuesday to call on the governor and Legislature to ban assault weapons.

It was my privilege to share a few words alongside clergy colleagues, victims of gun violence, students, and other advocates.

Please consider signing the petition created by Lift Every Voice Oregon calling on our political leaders to act.

No one should have to fear gun violence in worship, in a classroom, shopping at the mall, or watching a movie in a theatre.  We can do better. 

Couldn't make our rally? Sign our petition! Help #banassaultweapons in #Oregon: https://t.co/scPNp1P3ga #orleg #orpol #Enough #GunControlNow @shannonrwatts @MomsDemand @CeasefireOregon @RevChuckCurrie @TheCrossLobby @trinitycathpdx @march4portland @AMarch4OurLives pic.twitter.com/Aa3oq2Dylk

— Lift Every Voice Oregon (@LiftEveryVoice_) September 26, 2018

#LetOurPeopleGo Action In Portland This Thursday

August 27, 2018

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In keeping with the best spirit of the church universal, I will join with clergy from Oregon's interfaith community in risking arrest this Thursday (August 30^th) at a protest in front of Portland's ICE office as part of the “Let Our People Go”  campaign. Please consider joining in support of this action that will occur from 10am - 12pm at Caruthers Park (3508 SW Moody Ave, Portland, Oregon 97239). Learn more at: https://goo.gl/9568Rm. Feel free to share this invitation.

Clergy have been calling on the federal government to reunite all immigrant families separated by the Trump Administration this summer. We have also demanded an end to immigrant detention. For many years, I have joined with the National Council of Churches and interfaith partners in supporting bi-partisan comprehensive immigration reform in the United States. We need just policies - similar to those advanced by George W. Bush and Barack Obama - and not punitive measures that hurt children and refugees fleeing economic chaos and political violence.

As you know, I serve as the university chaplain and director of the Center for Peace and Spirituality at Pacific University, but my participation in this action is undertaken out of my own understanding of what it means to be a faithful Christian and minister in the United Church of Christ in this particular moment of history.

I invite your prayers and participation as we prepare for this action on Thursday. Please also consider signing this action alert from the United Church of Christ (you can change the language to reflect your own faith tradition or ethical viewpoint) calling on our government "to protect family unity and stop systematic family separation, help those seeking asylum find safety, and seek to answer the call to love all of our neighbors" at http://p2a.co/swIaktJ.

People of good faith can come to different conclusions on difficult issues. I respect those who might disagree with my actions.  My obligation as a minister, however, demands that I confront injustice and bring light to dark places. This is, frankly, the call of all those who are baptized. Non-violent protest has been part of the Christian tradition since Jesus first modeled such behavior in his ministry.

I will be keeping people updated as possible on Thursday via Twitter and Facebook.

In Peace,

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Open Letter To ICE Agents: Resign To Protect U.S. Values

We live in political times where the president of the United States challenges basics norms of compassion and support for human rights.

Agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) see this first hand.

The president, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen have asked ICE agents to enforce laws, many issued by executive order, that diverse religious leaders in the United States have deemed immoral.  

"The Administration continues to take significant and dangerous steps that are eroding the foundations of the immigration system and the international law that upholds access to asylum for those fleeing danger and violence. These practices of separating families, increasing immigrant detention, and redefining access to asylum are abhorrent and undermine our values," states the national offices of the United Church of Christ.

Trauma caused to children separated from their parents in support of these policies may be irreversible.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) notes that "studies of detained immigrants, primarily from abroad, have found negative physical and emotional symptoms among detained children, and posttraumatic symptoms do not always disappear at the time of release."

Even though a U.S. court has ruled that children be reunited with their parents, the Trump Administration has failed to meet their obligations.

On March 8, 2017, on the website HuffPost, I argued ICE agents should resign rather than enforce immoral laws. Since that time the administration's disregard for the fundamental human rights of immigrants has only grown.

Today I repeat that call and ask all ICE agents to prayerfully consider whether or not your work on behalf of the federal government is consistent with your own faith beliefs – along with the underlying commitment all law enforcement officers should have to the rule of law and human rights.

"Too often individuals respond to moral conflict by denying responsibility with excuses such as ‘following orders,' ‘no choice,' or ‘not my job.' The existence of the option to resign prevents them from exculpating themselves with such excuses," wrote J. Patrick Dobel in his paper The Ethics of Resigning. "The option to resign means that the theoretical linkage of personal responsibility and position is real."

More and more clergy from various faith backgrounds have been risking arrest at ICE facilities to demonstrate the fierce urgency of reuniting children with their parents, ending unjust policies, and promoting comprehensive immigration reform that reflects America's best principles.  

As the enforcers of unjust laws, I say as a minister ordained to preach and teach the Gospel that to be on the side of true justice ICE agents must take personal responsibility and resign or take other tangible action consistent with principled resistance to end the suffering ICE's enforcement is causing.  

Oregon Interfaith Leaders Express Concern Over Franklin Graham Decision America Tour #DecisionAmerica #Portland

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Franklin Graham is speaking in the Portland-area on Sunday night as part of his “Decision America Tour,” and that has many interfaith leaders in Oregon concerned. Over the years, Graham has called Islam “a very wicked and evil religion,” praised the oppressive anti-LGBT policies of Vladimir Putin, and tied himself firmly to Donald Trump. 

Graham’s “Decision America Tour,” according to Graham himself, is meant to engage evangelical Christian churches and voters in the conservative political movement. Graham told pastors in California during the first leg of the tour that they should preach about their preference for political candidates.

“Diverse faith leaders in Oregon have been meeting this summer to discuss Graham’s visit and the impact it might have,” said Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie, university chaplain, and director of the Center for Peace and Spirituality at Pacific University.  “No one in Oregon needs a sermon from Franklin Graham about faith. Rev. Graham talks about America as red and blue. We want to build up the Beloved Community for all.”

“Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon believes in the value of love and the inherent dignity of every human being. As people of faith, we are called to love justice and to stand with the most vulnerable in our society, as we seek to build bridges of understanding where there is division,” Jan Elfers, executive director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO). EMO is statewide association of Christian, ecumenical & interfaith partners working together to improve the lives of Oregonians. “We are committed to transcending the political divides that prevent us from working together to address suffering and brokenness. EMO extends a welcome to Franklin Graham in the hope that his mission will also transcend the political divisions of our day to bring healing to a hurting world.”  

Graham was invited to meet with interfaith leaders while in Oregon. The invitation was not accepted.   

“We clergy of Portland, Oregon understand the motivation for Franklin Graham’s visit to our area, for we also have a message we are driven to convey in the name of G*d. We hope that Pastor Graham’s visit will be in the spirit of his father’s work: radical love toward all G*d’s creation. Anything less might be misunderstood as supporting social intolerance, an evil which we feel that certainly, a Christian like Pastor Graham would never seek to do,” remarked Rabbi Ariel Stone, convener of Portland Interfaith Clergy Resistance: Bearing Moral Witness In Times of Turmoil.

The Rev. Cecil Charles Prescod, minister of faith formation at Ainsworth United Church of Christ, said he had hoped to meet with Graham: “to share the interfaith cooperation in witness and work for justice and wholeness in Oregon. In our state people of faith join with people of good will to pray and work for a nation where we welcome our refugee and immigrant sisters and brothers into our communities; work to restore our creation; and advocate with our houseless neighbors, the unemployed, communities of color, LGBT communities for economic and social justice. We pray that Rev. Graham will join us in striving for the beloved community."

Frances And Katherine Turn 14!

Frances (left) and Katherine

Frances and Katherine turn 14 today! You can see all their birthday photos from birth until now by clicking here.

#FourthOfJuly2018: #MAGA vs the #BelovedCommunity

This Fourth of July it is worth pausing – perhaps for longer than we usually might – to consider this moment of history in the life of the United States of America. These are not ordinary times for our nation.

The “Make America Great Again” (#MAGA) movement has turned back the clock to darker periods of our history and given voice to hatreds that not long ago were considered too unacceptable to speak.

We have long battled against institutional racism, of course. Now, however, our fellow Americans and new immigrants to this nation must endure more open misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and religious bigotry.

The Enlightenment midwifed our Revolution into being. Hard questions were asked about religion and the divine right of kings. Scientific discoveries gave birth to the industrial revolution. Other nations fighting off the yoke of colonialism looked to the United States for inspiration as first fascism, and later communism darkened vast swaths of the globe.

Hope has long been found in the American Creed: E Pluribus Unum. Right now the bedrock American principle of pluralism is under attack. Donald Trump’s white nationalist movement to make America great again stands in direct opposition to the call by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to build up the Beloved Community.

If we love our country, we will fight for it. We need not replicate the actions of the Nazis who marched in Charlottesville or the white supremacist group Patriot Prayer that rally in Oregon. Violence and hatred cannot be our tactics because violence begets violence and hatred consumes the soul. This fight does require non-violent direct action, however, as the instruments of our government are now in the hands of those who identify with white nationalism.

Our most potent weapon is still the vote. The majority of Americans do not actively participate in democracy (you can understand why when change comes so slowly or not at all). Progressives must advance an agenda that both challenges the politics of our time and hears the fears and insecurities of those who are both suffering and susceptible to fear mongering.

Christian nationalism plays a significant role in the difficulties we face today. For people of faith, it is critical that we confront religious leaders who preach a message of hate and make common cause with the white nationalist movement. Their religion is sick. God stands with the oppressed and calls on us to break the bonds of injustice. Faith should be about love, justice, and humility.

It is difficult to celebrate the Fourth of July as immigrant children are separated from the parents and as so much of what makes America exceptional is under attack. Still, I, like you, love this nation, and I celebrate all those who have shown that love by being part of a resistance movement that challenges all of us to live up to the best ideals of our country.

#FourthOfJuly2018: #MAGA vs The #BelovedCommunity - Thread -

1. This #FourthofJuly it is worth pausing – perhaps for longer than we usually might – to consider this moment of history in the life of the United States of America. https://t.co/x2j7GuotI2 pic.twitter.com/nXH3k2AQjE

— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) July 4, 2018

Young Americans Take On Gun Violence; Offer Hope

Photo by Tanner Boyle, Pacific University

As the United States continues to grapple with the problem of gun violence, young people have reenergized the movement for gun control. The leaders of this reborn movement are young people who have been directly impacted by the issue.

As he surveyed the human rights issues of his time, Robert Kennedy spoke these words to South African students living under the oppressive system of Apartheid:

Our answer is the world's hope; it is to rely on youth. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress.

This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.

American youth today have changed the terms of the debate over guns in our culture by refusing to accept as normal the gun violence present in our society.

Katie Lightcap, president of Pacific University’s undergraduate student senate, helped to organize Pacific’s participation in the #NationalWalkoutDay. The Forest Grove News-Times reported on what she told the crowd of 500 students who participated:

Lightcap is from Roseburg, which was shaken on Oct. 1, 2015, by a school shooting at nearby Umpqua Community College.

"Recognizing over half of the names of the victims was like a sucker punch to the gut," she recalled after the rally. "I couldn't believe it."

That personal familiarity with gun violence motivates Lightcap to be involved with this issue, she said.

Since the Parkland shooting last month, after which student survivors of the shooting made appearances in the national media — including a televised CNN town hall in which they directly addressed members of Florida's congressional delegation, the sheriff of Broward County, Fla., and a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association — some conservative commentators have criticized students for speaking out on the issues of gun violence and gun control, arguing that they are not knowledgeable or experienced enough to speak with authority on the subject.

Lightcap rejected that notion.

"The great thing about being in a democracy is that every person has a voice," she said. "That's why it is a democracy. So in hearing that criticism, like we don't know enough, we aren't old enough to fully understand the breadth of this, I almost want to, like, laugh, because we have been directly impacted. … I have a friend who was shot nine times. She was one of the survivors in the UCC shooting, and she's alive. And so visiting with her and seeing her, they can't tell me that I don't know that."

Many believe that we will never find an answer to gun violence. America’s young people provide evidence that we will.

Students were joined by faculty and staff today at @PacificU for the #NationalWalkoutDay for #GunReformNow. A new generation is rising up to promote a more just world.#GoBoxers #orpol

(photos by Pacific student Tanner Boyle). pic.twitter.com/eH4RIXSEZb

— Pacific U. CPAS (@PacificuCPAS) March 14, 2018

A Meditation For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2018

Where I Can Be Found

This blog, believe it or not, was started back in 2003. It was one of the first progressive Christians blogs to exist. Now, thankfully, there are many progressive Christian voices online  

These days I don't update the blog very often. But you can still find me nearly all the time on Facebook and Twitter.

Come on over and say hello!

I'll still be posting longer pieces here from time to time.

Just went live tonight with a new op-ed on The Huffington Post that I hope y'all will enjoy.

Saying Goodbye To Barack Obama, A Faithful Servant https://t.co/UDgQbkkcLp # via @HuffPostBlog #TheObamaYears #ObamaLegacy

— Rev.Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) January 18, 2017

Sin Brews At Trump Tower

My new op-ed: Sin Brews At Trump Tower https://t.co/RdDsSD89y5 via @HuffPostBlog #Faith4Hillary #ImWithHer #2016elections #DonaldTrump

— Rev.Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) October 25, 2016

Remembering James "Jim" B. Barlow

James B. Barlow

For thirty-three years, Jim Barlow has been my friend. His death in the early hours of this morning stings and I am not alone. Hundreds if not thousands of family, colleagues, friends, fellow churchgoers, and certainly those who were his students feel the same way this evening.

Jim was a social worker turned teacher. He taught at Sunset High School in the 60s before moving on to Aloha High School from where he finally retired in the mid-2000s (dragged kicking and screaming from his classroom, I would think).

Along with Bill Presley, Jim he started the Model Presidential Nominating Conventions in 1964. The first conventions, which attracted speakers like Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, were held at Sunset. But within a few presidential cycles, the Model Conventions grew and drew the participation of hundreds of schools and thousands of students. A Monday night leadership class, called Metro Congress, met weekly every year to develop leadership for the conventions and to debate the issues of the day. Speakers at Metro Congress were high level, used to dealing with adults, and sometimes left in awe (one speaker left in tears) at the grilling they received by high school students.

The Model Conventions - often called the “Mock Conventions” - moved into the Memorial Coliseum by the 70s. Whatever party was out of power was what the convention simulated as students poured over state election data and the records of presidential candidates. Jimmy Carter spoke in 1976. Ronald Reagan was there in 1980. Both Michael Dukakis and Jesse Jackson were speakers at the 1988 convention. Bill Clinton appeared in 1992. George W. Bush declined to speak in 2000 and vote-by-mail in Oregon was a major factor in the cancellation of the convention program. Presidential candidates stopped campaigning in Oregon near primary day, and it became impossible to bring in major speakers (if we could have only foreseen the 2008 race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton…).

Jim took care of the big picture concerns of the convention – finding speakers, etc. – while Bill focused on teaching students about how to craft a political platform that represented whichever party was being modeled that year. They were a dynamic duo supplemented by younger teachers who helped run mock presidential campaigns and issues caucuses. Carole Douglas took care of the finances. In 1984, I was a student in the convention (a proud Gary Hart delegate). In 1988, I was brought on as a consultant to the convention and an advisor to Metro Congress. Jim, Bill and I developed important friendships. They have both been family to me.

Chuck, Carole, Bill and Jim

Jim, of course, was a philosophy teacher when he wasn’t helping to run the conventions. Just take a moment to read the tributes made to Jim over the years on the James B. Barlow Appreciation Society on Facebook to get an idea of the lives he touched. He won a prestigious Milken Educator Award in 1990 and many other honors.

For two years, between 2012-2014, I was the senior minister of Sunnyside Church where Jim had been a member since birth. It was not so much a job but another opportunity to have fun with Jim. We spent nearly every Saturday night together folding bulletins and tearing apart our theologies and putting them back together again.

Liz and Jim

Jim had a serious of strokes on Sunday. It was clear that he would not survive them. Bill came that Sunday night and Jim was not awake. But on Monday Jim awoke for a few hours and said that it was “very sweet” that Bill had visited. He could hear us but just couldn’t respond. As Bill told me the next day, and I couldn’t agree more, it was very special for the three of us to spend one last time together.

You’ll hear from just about every student Jim ever had that they adopted some of Jim’s odd mannerisms. My wife Liz, who was Jim’s student teacher when working on her Master of Arts in Teaching at Lewis and Clark, sometimes bemoans my Barlow sense of humor. That came from both Jim and Bill. So if you’re ever offended by my jokes you know whom to blame.

My decision to leave Sunnyside Church (and my other assignment at University Park Church) for Pacific University was not an easy one. There was still work to be done, but it was obvious that my call to ministry was in a different place.

Still, during those two years, I had with Jim some of the most intimate conversations we had ever had. We talked about our love for one another – our love for Bill, for Carole, for Liz, and for pets (mostly cats on Jim’s part) – and the feeling of family we had developed over thirty years. Our daughters loved it when he’d call them varmints. Jim’s death leaves a void. But his family and friends, along with the legions of students he taught, will keep building a more informed citizenry and, in Jim’s words, a more “fluffy” world.

We’re not even at the 24-hour mark since Jim died. If he had any regrets – besides passing before his wife, Susan – it would have been not to vote for Hillary Clinton in November. The Unites States with Donald Trump as president was not acceptable to Jim. He knew we could do better as a people.

PS Coffee and tea will be served in the StarLight room.

UPDATE: A memorial service for James Barlow will occur at the former Sunnyside Church (3520 SE Yamhill Street, Portland, Ore., 97214) on Sat., October 29, 2016 at 6:30pm. A reception will follow. Please contact Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie at [email protected] or 503-208-6521 with questions.

Remarks at #ConcertAcrossAmerica to #EndGunViolence

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Make A Gift; Change The World

Any election year brings compelling requests for contributions. This is one more ask. Instead of supporting a candidate, however, I am asking for you to support a cause: the pursuit of justice through the development of new leaders at both the Pacific University Center for Peace and Spirituality and Chicago Theological Seminary. Your gifts will support students working to change the world.

Ten years ago – on September 17, 2006 – I was ordained into the ministry by the United Church of Christ. Almost thirty years ago – while a student at Pacific University in Oregon – my calling began to become clear as I started work with the Burnside Community Council, a non-profit multi-service center and advocacy program committed to ending homelessness. Over the last thirty years, my life has been blessed with too many mentors to mention who saw in me gifts I would never have found alone.

Make a donation here: https://donate.ctschicago.edu/currie

Investing in the students of Pacific University and Chicago Theological Seminary builds Leaders for the Next. The Pacific University Center for Peace and Spirituality works to live out the university’s mission to inspire “students to think, care, create, and pursue justice in our world. At the same time, CTS works as an “international force in the development of religious leadership to transform society toward greater justice and mercy.” The purposes of these two different institutions – one in Oregon and the other in Chicago – sound similar for a reason. Both Pacific and CTS are United Church of Christ-related schools founded by Congregationalists.

As the University Chaplain and Director of the Center for Peace and Spirituality at Pacific University, I get to work with students in our undergraduate and graduate programs committed to social justice. We tackle issues such as racism, gun violence and how to move our world closer to a just peace through academic courses, forums, and conferences.

My job at Pacific became possible because after completing by Master of Divinity degree at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, I was able to enter and complete the Doctor of Ministry program at CTS where my studies were concentrated on public theology – how it is we live out our theological beliefs in a pluralistic society for the common good. What I learned at CTS gets put into practice at Pacific.

Your donation today will support both the Pacific University Center for Peace and Spirituality and Chicago Theological Seminary in preparing the next generation of leaders to tackle some of the most difficult issues ever faced by humanity.

Make a donation here: https://donate.ctschicago.edu/currie

Ministry is a calling and a blessing. I could not have accomplished what I have without the support of a strong community. Right now your help is needed to support students during challenging economic times.

Thank you in advance for your support. To all those who supported my education and call, there are not enough ways I can say thank you for the opportunities provided to me.

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (CTS D.Min ’15)

University Chaplain

Director, Center for Peace and Spirituality

Assistant Professor of Religious Studies

Pacific University | Oregon


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Frances and Katherine Turn 12!

I Am Not Afraid To Walk The More Difficult Path

I am not not afraid. These are worrisome and fearful times but I am not afraid. Recognize that I come from a place of privilege that others do not. Still, I am confident that God is our "our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46 NRSV)."

We are in trouble and every day I am reminded at that by those that send their cowardly threats and taunts meant to dehumanize my existence and the humanity of those I serve as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ with a mandate to preach and teach the gospel.

The gospel of Jesus at the core is love, and though many have tried that ideal has never been diminished. It is the central organizing principle of all the great faith traditions of the world. What is divine is not limited to one religion or another. Love, justice, humility (Micah 6:8) are a summons to action that we all share.

As a follower of the Prince of Peace, my call is to preach peace. Does the anger and vitriol directed my way - and at all those who preach justice and inclusion - worry me? It is a sign of a spiritual sickness. When I respond in kind that sickness infects me and I pray to Jesus for healing. But I am not afraid.

I am resolved to continue speaking out against the powers and principalities that allow hate and violence to fester. My heart breaks because I think about the people of Chicago, the people of Newtown, the people of Roseburg, the people of Charleston, the people of Orlando and so many other places - inside the United States and around the world - but giving into bigotry and fear is giving into evil. This is not the time for building walls. We must walk the more difficult path. I am not afraid.

So I share this prayer from Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, as inspired by Phillips Brooks of the Episcopal Church in the 1800s, as we steal ourselves for another season of struggle. My you find truth and inspiration in the words whatever faith or philosophy that might guide you.

Jesus said, "You ought always to pray and not to faint." Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger women and men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, but for power equal to your tasks. Then, the doing of your work will be no miracle — you will be the miracle. Each day you will wonder at yourself and the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God. Amen.

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Hate Is Not Holy: Statement from Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie On Orlando Shooting

Today I worshiped in Charleston, South Carolina where one-year ago an act of domestic terrorism took the lives of nine people attending Bible study. Just one-year later we are mourning an apparent terrorist attack at an Orlando night club where over fifty have been killed. Such mass killings are made too easy by the prevalence of assault weapons in our nation, and gun safety laws that differ from community to community. In Charleston, a white Christian, fueled by racism, murdered African-Americans. In Orlando, preliminary reports suggest an Islamic terrorist targeted gay Americans. There is nothing holy about hate. Our religious bodies must do more to promote love over conflict, and faith communities and civil bodies must join forces to dramatically reduce gun violence. We must mourn our dead while working for a more peaceful America. Americans should not have to fear violence in our schools, houses of worship, malls, nightclubs, or movie theaters. - Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie, Director, Center for Peace and Spirituality and University Chaplain, Pacific University | Disclaimer: Views of Pacific faculty do necessarily reflect those of the university.

Religious Leaders Back Obama Administration On Transgender Protections

Leading religious leaders from across the nation have sent a letter to President Obama welcoming the decision by the Obama Administration to expand Title IX discrimination protections on the basis of "gender identity, including discrimination based on a student's transgender status" to public schools across the country. Over three hundred people of faith have signed on as endorsers of the letter.

“We recognize that this is a confusing and even unsettling issue for many, while for others who have faced discrimination this has been a harmful experience long ignored. From our perspective, however, you have simply taken another step toward creating a nation where the basic civil rights of all are protected,” reads the letter.

Among the prominent religious leaders to sign the letter include: Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie, Rev. Dr. Traci D. Blackmon, Sister Simone Campbell, Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, and the Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins.

“Too many LGBTQ youths are lost and abandoned. Many of these young people end up living in poverty and on the streets. None of these children should face discrimination at school or barriers in getting an education. We believe that protecting young people from discrimination is consistent with our faith. Love – not fear – should be our guiding principle. We challenge those who might respond to this decision to open their hearts and listen to the stories, particularly of transgender students, who are so often marginalized,” write the faith leaders.

Text of full letter:

President Obama:

As people of faith with a deep and abiding concern for the welfare of all children, we want to applaud you and your administration for the recent decision to interpret and enforce Title IX — a statute, written in 1972, that prohibits sex discrimination — as also prohibiting discrimination on the basis of "gender identity, including discrimination based on a student’s transgender status.”

We recognize that this is a confusing and even unsettling issue for many, while for others who have faced discrimination this has been a harmful experience long ignored. From our perspective, however, you have simply taken another step toward creating a nation where the basic civil rights of all are protected.

Too many LGBTQ youths are lost and abandoned. Many of these young people end up living in poverty and on the streets. None of these children should face discrimination at school or barriers in getting an education. We believe that protecting young people from discrimination is consistent with our faith. Love – not fear – should be our guiding principle. We challenge those who might respond to this decision to open their hearts and listen to the stories, particularly of transgender students, who are so often marginalized.

Thank you for showing us a better path.

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie, Director, Center for Peace and Spirituality & University Chaplain, Pacific University

Rev. Dr. Alice Hunt, President and Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible & Theological Education, Chicago Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Traci D. Blackmon, Executive Minister, Justice & Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ

Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana, Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth Israel | Portland, Oregon

Rev. Dr. Deborah Krause, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament, Eden Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Professor of Theology and President Emerita, Chicago Theological Seminary

Rev. Michael Neuroth, Policy Advocate for International Issues, United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries

Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Senior Vice-President for Innovations in Public Programs, Union Theological Seminary in New York City

* titles are used for identification purposes only

A Theology Lesson For Donald Trump: Hatred Is Not Christian

Getting lots of anonymous tweets today from ‪Donald Trump‬ supporters, like the one pictured here, rejecting ‪pluralism‬ and embracing ‪Islamaphobia‬. So many of them have white supremacist sayings and photos in their profiles. It should be frightening that people like this have taken over the GOP. Democrats should not crow. This is not good for America.

They're upset that I was critical about a Hood River, Oregon church which has posted anti-Islamic messages. But Christians are called to love our neighbors. Muslims are our neighbors. So are Jews. And atheists. Gays and lesbians are our neighbors. Immigrants are our neighbors. Hatred is not Christian.

If Donald Trump was a member of a church, maybe someone could tell him.

 

Stand Down The Personal Attacks; Focus On Trump and Cruz

The temptation in campaigns is to vilify those we do not support and I fall victim to that myself sometimes too.

Primary elections often times become difficult and acrimonious even when the candidates involved share many of the same principles and values. Now ‪#‎ImWithHer‬. She's qualified. Hillary Clinton will continue the work of Barack Obama, and that is of vital importance.

For many, that isn't enough. I'm one of those that want change to come quickly but I also have nearly 30 years of experience working for social justice and recognize that change is a process. Sometimes we can move forward in unexpected ways when we are ready to seize the initiative and push justice-centered agendas forward. Just consider how quickly we advanced the cause of marriage equality in this nation. Still, a president has to create coalitions to pass legislation in the Congress and work with the courts.

I also recognize that the formal political process, the passing of legislation and such, is only one venue to advance the cause of social justice.

Bernie Sanders is a man of good moral character. As I've said before, I believe in many of the principles that he articulates. His focus on economic inequality can only make the nation a more fair and equal place.

The reality is that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are both good and decent individuals who share a progressive agenda for making America a better nation. I don't agree with Bernie Sanders on every issue and it is fair to say so. Some of you may be critical of particular policy stances that Hillary Clinton has taken and that is fair. I don't agree with her on every issue - and I support her. When people find a candidate that they agree with 100% of the time it concerns me. A cult of personality develops. Donald Trump is the ultimate example of that in this election cycle as his followers uncritically support his every statement.

So my hope is that as the New York primary approaches that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and their supporters can move back to a more issue oriented campaign. We need to stop this nonsense talk about whether or not Hillary Clinton is qualified to be president. She is. And what progressive could argue that Ted Cruz or Donald Trump would make a better president than Bernie Sanders?

Debate the important issues. That is what a primary is for. But let's stand down with these personal attacks. Progressives need to remember that our ultimate goal is having a strong candidate to face either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz in November. These two don't share our basic values. They have campaigned on division. They have a campaigned on religious bigotry. Their campaigns have been truly sexist and racist. It would be disastrous to have either as president.

Progressives still have the opportunity to show the nation, and demonstrate to the world, that our democratic election can be a process where ideas are debated with our nation's highest ideals in mind.

In the end, an election is not about candidates or political parties. Elections are about the common good of a nation. We are not doing as well today as we need to be. Despite the enormous progress since the Great Recession of 2008 when the economy collapsed under the leadership of President George W. Bush, too many people are still hurting. Elections are about the common good. About how to make life better for us all. Let's focus on that, campaign for the candidates we believe in, but do so in a positive spirit the lifts the nation up and offers hope.

- Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie


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White House Easter Prayer Breakfast 2016

Was it worth a 36-hour round trip from Portland to DC and back again to attend the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast. Absolutely. Here's why.

First, it provided the opportunity to thank President Obama personally for the kindness he and his staff have shown me since 2007. It took amazing moral courage to get the Affordable Care Act passed. The Iran Deal moved us off the path toward another war in Middle East. Saying thank you in person was important and this could be my last chance before President Obama leaves office.

It also gave a chance to see many friends - both White House staffers and religious leaders - who I've come to know and care about. There was a sense of nostalgia today. The president said so in his remarks. This will be his last Easter in The White House.

I was able to briefly share with Vice-President Biden my support for his cancer "moonshot." I'm a cancer survivor. But the wound of my mother's death from cancer is still raw. He understands this as well as anyone. We also got a few seconds to talk about our friend Les AuCoin.

Other conversations were just as important. I spoke with a senior State Department official about my hope that the president take a resolution before the United Nations outlining a path toward peace between Israel and Palestine. It was an opportunity for me to share my belief - shared widely - that the Palestinian people need hope and relief from suffering. Nothing justifies terrorism. I strongly support the right of Israel to exist. But I also strongly believe the human rights of the Palestinian people are not being met.

Many conversations dealt with the ugly rhetoric of this campaign season. If you're thinking that those gathered were a bunch of progressive Christians, well, you'd be wrong. Evangelicals and Roman Catholics, some of them conservative, were in attendance. They were just as upset as me regarding the Islamaphobia and misogyny evidenced in this campaign. As religious leaders, I think we are all struggling within our own contexts with how to best offer a prophetic word this election year.

President Obama said this morning:

...in light of recent events, this gathering takes on more meaning. Around the world, we have seen horrific acts of terrorism, most recently Brussels, as well as what happened in Pakistan -- innocent families, mostly women and children, Christians and Muslims. And so our prayers are with the victims, their families, the survivors of these cowardly attacks.

And as Joe mentioned, these attacks can foment fear and division. They can tempt us to cast out the stranger, strike out against those who don’t look like us, or pray exactly as we do. And they can lead us to turn our backs on those who are most in need of help and refuge. That’s the intent of the terrorists, is to weaken our faith, to weaken our best impulses, our better angels.

And Pastor preached on this this weekend, and I know all of you did, too, as I suspect, or in your own quiet ways were reminded if Easter means anything, it’s that you don’t have to be afraid.

Bringing light to dark places. That has always been a central understanding of what it means for me to be a Christian.

So I talked with faith leaders today working to assist refugees. I talked with faith leaders working to combat climate change. I talked with faith leaders working for civil rights and police accountability. I talked with people who disagree with me on important theological and social issues and asked where we could find common ground and work together. You better believe I invited all of these people to visit Pacific University.

Yes, it was worth the trip. I'm a little bit tired typing this out on my iPad while flying back to Portland (a very first world problem to have) but my own hope is restored after breaking bread this morning with a group of faithful Americans who, like President Obama, are trying in difficult and conflicting times to bring light to dark places.


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Remembering Loyd Hubbard

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie, Loyd Hubbard and Richard Meyer

Loyd Hubbard – Southern-turned Oregonian, former chief of staff to the Oregon Senate, confidant of legendary Oregon Governor Tom McCall, manager / owner of The Empire Apartments, and advocate for ending homelessness at Baloney Joe’s – died today. He was 82.

Loyd’s family shared the news on Facebook a short time ago.

As a long-time friend and Loyd’s “spiritual advisor,” his words, I was fortunate to spend time with him this week. Richard Meyer and other close friends kept close watch over Loyd as his health declined. He wanted no memorial but I would suspect that friends will remember Loyd in different ways.

This past summer, after spending some time visiting Loyd, I wrote this post on Facebook describing our friendship and Loyd’s tireless work for the community:

Our first meeting occurred when I was just 16. A Democratic Party operative seeing some potential in a very young Chuck Currie, made it his mission to introduce me to every candidate considering a run for the democratic presidential nomination in 1988. In 1985, this included my attending a small event in the West Hills for then Senator Paul Simon (D-IL). Also there was Hubbard. Hubbard had been a confident of the legendary Tom McCall, Oregon's finest governor, and chief-of-staff to the president of the Oregon Senate. For some reason, in 1985, he thought a short man with glasses and a bow tie would make an ideal president (later I came to learn that this was because Simon was one of the most progressive members of the U.S. Senate and a person of deep integrity). Loyd took one look at me and made a joke about the cowboy boots I was wearing (in my teens and 20s - still today on special occasions - I always wore cowboy boots). The next year I ran into Hubbard again at Baloney Joe's, the always controversial and colorful shelter for homeless men, where he again made fun of my boots. Hubbard was volunteering his time at the shelter (in "retirement") bringing in major gifts. Mayor Bud Clark awarded Loyd Portland's highest honor, The Spirit of Portland Award, in 1985 for his civic work. He even once talked Doris Day into donating a diamond ring for an auction. By 1988, I'd left Pacific University after one year to spend all my time serving as a board member for Burnside Community Council, which operated Baloney Joe's (minus the summers when I had a very odd job of producing a series of summer concerts with the Oregon Symphony which drew crowds of over 75,000 to Portland's Waterfront Park...Loyd would always bring a contingent of friends from Baloney Joe's and try to start chants of of "Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!" - I'm thinking of you, Shari! - whenever I came on stage to make an announcement). Living off the $6,000 a year I made running the Waterfront Classics wasn't easy. Loyd, being Loyd, had somehow managed to come into partial ownership of "The Empire" apartments and to his ever lasting regret rented me a studio unit where I was nearly always short on rent (I went three winters there without heat) and had two cats, Freedom and Libby, known as being somewhat messy (some people will want to comment on this but restrain yourselves). The Empire was legendary. Everyone you wanted to know lived there. Some of them possibly felons on the run. But with Loyd's help and support, which included feeding me many home cooked meals and taking me and others out to great places like Alexis, I was able to start the all-volunteer Burnside Advocates Group (BAG) and begin work at Outside In. Loyd introduced me during those years to some of the most outrageous characters in Portland - from drag queens to politicians, all part of the colorful make-up that is Portland past and present. Many people from the "Empire days" are still friends and that includes not just the people who lived there but those who were always present at Loyd's dinner table and fully stocked Happy Hour bar. Loyd was there at our wedding (where he made a completely inappropriate toast in Hubbard style) and there for my ordination where he whispered to my mother: "The Lord moves in mysterious ways." Her perfect reply: "He sure does." Today we remembered these long years of friendship and enjoyed telling stories about all the people he has introduced me to along the way and some of the friends we've lost on this journey as well. Loyd, it isn't often I write a public tribute for a friend but you are one of a kind, a blessing in my life, and I love you. P.S. I will quickly email you an insult to move past this mushy stuff. See you soon! 

When I was last with Loyd he had CNN on and was watching coverage of the election primary fight. He loved President Obama and was a loyal democrat who liked to win elections. Loyd was tuned in to the world around him until the very end. I will miss him.

Looking For Peace In Israel/Palestine

My oped at @HuffingtonPost: Looking For #Peace In Israel/Palestine https://t.co/iukML7gjlK #CTSStudyTour #Israel #Palestine

— Rev.Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) January 25, 2016

Right-Wing In Israel Rethinking Gaza

This could be good news:

If even Education Minister Naftali Bennett, the most right-wing member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, has reached the conclusion that the siege on the Gaza Strip should be lifted, we can only wonder: What is actually delaying Netanyahu? After all, lifting the siege would be an easy and wise move on the part of Israel.

In a Jan. 19 speech at the conference of the Institute for National Security Studies, Bennett harshly criticized Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and accused them of a “conceptual freeze.” Bennett presented the Gaza Strip as an example and said, “After all, you won’t suspect that I’m a lefty, God forbid, but are we doing the right thing in Gaza? Wouldn’t it be better to reconcile with reality and disengage from our responsibility for the Gazans, open new paths in their lives with proper security oversight?”

Read more.

We were not able to visit Gaza but heard from a United Nations representative about the basic human rights challenges there. Ending the siege would be a major step towards peace.

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Photos from #CTSStudyTour to Israel - Palestine

For those I'm not connected with on Facebook, here is the collection of most of the photos I took in Israel - Palestine. The captions are not quite as detailed as what was posted on Facebook but I hope you find these interesting.




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Rabin: The Peacemaker

Today found us in Tel Aviv where we visited The Yitzhak Rabin Center, a museum that commemorates the life of the assassinated prime minister of Israel.  Rabin was killed by an ultra-Orthodox Jew upset over Rabin's efforts to forge a peace with the Palestinians. There have been no major movements towards peace in the twenty years since Rabin's death.  Still, his life offers us hope.  He was a military leader who came to understand that diplomacy could be a powerful weapon in protecting Israel and in giving the Palestinian people their own state and the human rights all deserve.     

I still recall the peace rally where Rabin was shot and stayed up in the middle of the night to watch the memorial proceedings.  Rabin has long been a hero of mine.  President Clinton, then in office, came to deliver the eulogy.  He said then:    

Your prime minister was a martyr for peace, but he was a victim of hate. Surely, we must learn from his martyrdom that if people cannot let go of the hatred of their enemies, they risk sowing the seeds of hatred among themselves. I ask you, the people of Israel, on behalf of my nation that knows its own long litany of loss, from Abraham Lincoln to President Kennedy to Martin Luther King, do not let that happen to you. In the Knesset, in your homes, in your places of worship, stay the righteous course. As Moses said to the children of Israel when he knew he would not cross over into the promised land, "Be strong and of good courage. Fear not, for God will go with you. He will not fail you, He will not forsake you."

Ultimately, Israel turned away from Rabin's policies, during a time of increased terror attacks carried out by radical Palestinians as determined as the Jew who killed Rabin to derail the peace process, and the age of Benjamin Netanyahu was born.

Blessed Are The Meek

Today brought us to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and the Mount of Beatitudes.  This place holds special meaning in the Christian tradition.  Jesus sought disciples, prayed and taught here according to the Christian New Testament.  Here is where we come to know the collection of sayings that are called the "Sermon on The Mount."  This sermon offers us the heart of Christian theology.

Our group from Chicago Theological Seminary sat atop of the Mount of Beatitudes, read the sermon and reflected on the words in the context of our trip to Israel - Palestine.  How can we be peacemakers, we asked?  

Dr. Ken Stone, CTS's academic dean, noted the passage "Blessed are the meek" and suggested that part of what we should take away from this trip is a sense of humility.  The situation in Israel - Palestine does not lend itself to easy answers.  Those that claim to know "the truth" or "the way" forward may cause more trouble and difficulty.  That doesn't mean we stop seeking peace. We just engage that process recognizing the complexities and that as Americans we have the potential to offer both hope and to contribute to the chaos.  

The Beatitudes

5When Jesus^* saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely^* on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

  

Visiting A Palestine Refugee Camp

Today - The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday in the United States - brought us to Aida, a Palestinian refugee camp.  There is no question in my mind that Dr. King would weep at the way Palestinians are treated.  Some will blame the failure of Palestinian leadership for the refugee crisis here - and there is truth in that their leadership has not always made wise decisions - but no group of people should live in the hopeless poverty we saw today.  So what exactly are these camps?  The United Nations explains:

Nearly one-third of the registered Palestine refugees, more than 1.5 million individuals, live in 58 recognized Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

A Palestine refugee camp is defined as a plot of land placed at the disposal of UNRWA by the host government to accommodate Palestine refugees and set up facilities to cater to their needs. Areas not designated as such and are not recognized as camps. However, UNRWA also maintains schools, health centres and distribution centres in areas outside the recognized camps where Palestine refugees are concentrated, such as Yarmouk, near Damascus.

The plots of land on which the recognized camps were set up are either state land or, in most cases, land leased by the host government from local landowners. This means that the refugees in camps do not 'own' the land on which their shelters were built, but have the right to 'use' the land for a residence.

Socioeconomic conditions in the camps are generally poor, with high population density, cramped living conditions and inadequate basic infrastructure such as roads and sewers.

Israelis have built giant walls cutting off refugee camps from other communities.  They are like prisons.  It is difficult to travel in or out if you are Palestinian.  Freedom of movement does not exist.  Most of the resistance to these living conditions take the form on non-violent action but there have been periods where violence has erupted.  It would seem a silly hope for violence and terror not to thrive in conditions such as these.  Still, many people, like those we met today at the Alrowwad for Cultural Arts, are seeking means of non-violent creative resistance.  

There are no easy answers to how to solve the Israeli - Palestinian question but there is no question these camps violate basic human rights. 

Tweeting #CTSStudyTour

I'm not able to post about all our different activities and visits with different people / groups but if you want more visit my Twitter account.  You'll find links to some of the organizations we've heard from that I might not have blogged about.  Check out the hashtag #CTSStudyTour for posts from others on the trip as well.

"It's time for President Obama to take executive action on peace"

We've heard much about Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Territories since arriving - an issue always in the news - and today we visited such a place outside of Bethlehem.  Thus far the Israeli Jews we have encountered have expressed great frustration with the current government here and both concern and compassion for the Palestinians.  Several times it has been said that Israel will never be safe or truly free until the Palestinians are.  How to get there and what does that look like - one state, two states, some other unknown option - is the question everyone has failed to answer. 

The settler we talked with didn't express much concern for the Palestinians, a group he suggested was fictional.  Although he also expressed pride in some social and medical services his settlement provides for Palestinians.  This encounter was disheartening for me to say the least.  His insistence that the settlement he resides in is in Israeli territory and not Palestinian - and that it was legal despite international which is clear such settlements are illegal - made for a frustrating and emotional meeting.  A return to the 1967 borders - which President Obama has insisted on - would never be possible if this settler had his way and that is why such settlements are being built: to prevent peace. The policies of Benjamin Netanyahu put the future of both Palestine and Israel at risk.      

President Obama has asked this of Israel: 

“[M]y assessment, which is shared by a number of Israeli observers, I think, is there comes a point where you can’t manage this anymore, and then you start having to make very difficult choices. Do you resign yourself to what amounts to a permanent occupation of the West Bank? Is that the character of Israel as a state for a long period of time? Do you perpetuate, over the course of a decade or two decades, more and more restrictive policies in terms of Palestinian movement? Do you place restrictions on Arab-Israelis in ways that run counter to Israel’s traditions?”

I did share with the settler there is one area of agreement I have with him: that the Palestinians lack effective leadership.  We have heard this from Palestinian Muslims and Christians. Yet it is hard to build effective leadership when you are under siege.

Human Rights Watch has noted how difficult the situation is here even for children:

(Jerusalem) – Israeli security forces have used unnecessary force to arrest or detain Palestinian children as young as 11. Security forces have choked children, thrown stun grenades at them, beaten them in custody, threatened and interrogated them without the presence of parents or lawyers, and failed to let their parents know their whereabouts.

Human Rights Watch interviewed four boys, ages 11, 12, and 15, from different neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, and a 14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy from elsewhere in the West Bank, whom Israeli forces arrested or detained in separate incidents for allegedly throwing rocks from March to December 2014. They and their parents gave accounts of abuses during arrest and interrogation that caused the children pain, fear, and ongoing anxiety. Human Rights Watch has seen photos and marks on the body of one of the children, consistent with the accounts he and his parents had given; the children’s accounts were also consistent with each other.

Denying basic human rights to children isn't Jewish. 

With each new settlement, the chances for peace diminish further.  

And the news doesn't get much better politically:

Sometime very soon, the U.S. Senate will pass a bill that requires the government to treat the West Bank as part of Israel. Not only that, it will obligate the administration to pressure other countries to do the same. These provisions have provoked no serious opposition as the bill has worked its way through the congressional maze. Instead, Democratic lawmakers raise their hands to do the work of the GOP-Likud axis, in what may be a bizarre act of penance for their own courage in supporting the Iran deal last summer.

The bill's own language says it's aimed at fighting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. In reality, it may actually encourage boycotts of Israel. The bill says it's meant to preserve the “sustainability of peace” between Israel and the Palestinians. In reality, it helps the efforts of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a two-state agreement impossible.

J Street - the pro-Jewish, pro-peace organization,  is asking President Obama to examine what executive actions he might be able to take to promote peace in this action alert:

In your final State of the Union you made it clear that you will "not let up" in advancing your priorities.

Achieving a two-state solution has been one of your priorities since day one. And though a final accord will likely not be reached during your last year in office, I am asking you to "not let up" on that goal. There are concrete steps you can take immediately to make life better for Israelis and Palestinians, and to preserve hopes for peace.

I join J Street in calling on you to conduct a review of potential executive actions available to you including (but not limited to): giving force to US opposition to settlements; putting forth US parameters to guide future negotiations; promoting economic development and coexistence programming that move the conflict closer to eventual resolution, working from the ground up.

I signed the letter and invite you to do the same.

Israeli Peace Activist Critical Of #BDS

Tonight we heard from former Israeli Ambassador Ilan Baruch on the BDS Movement. Baruch resigned his position with the Foreign Ministry over currently policy toward the Palestinians. For context, here is his bio:

Ambassador (ret.) Ilan Baruch is currently the policy advisor for MK Zehava Galon, Chairperson of MERETZ and a peace activist. He resigned from the MFA on grounds of principle, after 36 years of diplomatic career. It included overseas postings in Asia, Europe and Africa. Head-quarter postings: founder/director of the Palestinian Autonomy department, head - coordination of the Multilateral Peace Process and head - Middle East division for economic cooperation. Baruch was a team member of the Israeli delegation to the Oslo Peace negotiations, and participated in various negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt on economic agreements. His last posting was Ambassador of Israel to South Africa, as well as Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Since his early retirement, Baruch is devoting his time and experience to projects in public diplomacy, is running a weekly program in the "All for Peace" radio, and contributes political analysis in different media outlets.

And what does he say about BDS? This interview from last year sums up what he told our group from Chicago Theological Seminary tonight:

...I am concerned with the far left, as seen in universities within the European Union who have called for the divestment from Israel. This is similar to the movement that was taken by many universities calling for divestment from South Africa. This serves to feed the "citadel Israel" mentality which leads to isolationism. This is not good for us, this is not good for the Palestinians and it is not good for anyone interested in the peace process...

Ambassador Baruch did speak strongly for international pressure to bring the current Israeli government to the peace table and urged, as we have heard from many here, that additional grassroots programs be developed to bring Israelis and Palestinians together. Personal relationships and not politics are the key to peace, he said.

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Shabbat shalom: A Visit To Yad Vashem And More

Children's Memorial at Yad Vashem

The intensity of our trip kicked up a notch with a Friday morning visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum here in Jerusalem.  So striking was the historical memory of how Jews fleeing persecution were turned away and how the world then watched in silence - with knowledge - as the Holocaust began.  It took years for the United States and other powers to intervene.  Can we not see the parallels in the cries of refugee voices from Syria fleeing ISIL and the civil war there?  Donald Trump is our modern Father Charles Coughlin - or perhaps worse.    

On Thursday, we heard from Rabbi Arik Ascherman with Rabbis for Human Rights about the Jewish imperative to fight for human rights not just for Jews but for Muslims and Christians, along with all others.  Yet the state of Israel is not protecting the human rights of Palestinians.  Many Israelis disagree with current policy toward Palestinians, of course, but the situation here is untenable.  

We also visited the national cemetery of  Israel on Thursday where, among other, Yitzhak Rabin is buried. Prime Minister Rabin, while seeking to implement a new peace accord with the Palestinians, was killed by an ultra-Orthodox Jew. Israel has never been the same.  Both the Israelis and Palestinians lack leadership with popular support that can compromise and seek peace.  This is a terrible period.  You hear over and over from people on different sides of the conflict a high level of fear and yet amazingly there are still people who have hope in the future. We felt a spirit of hope during a Shabbat service at Kol Haneshama Congregation on Friday night and again at a Shabbat dinner organized by Jewish friends of Chicago Theological Seminary living here in Jerusalem.  

Tonight we'll have a discussion about the BDS movement - a movement I have voiced my concerns over.

Then we'll move into the Palestinian Authority for a few days.  That will include discussions with Israeli settlers and Palestinian refugees. The intensity of our trip can only climb from here.

Seminary Voices From Israel - Palestine

Chicago Theological Seminary students are posting reflections of our trip to Israel - Palestine on the CTS Journeys Blog. Read them here.

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Hope Against The Evidence In The Holy Land

Our CTS study group visited with the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem yesterday and heard a powerful presentation on interfaith peacebuilding. Peace - despite all the evidence - can be a reality in Israel - Palestine.   

Leaving Bethlehem, our bus ran into a cloud of tear gas.  We didn't know what precipitated the use of the gas until this morning when we learned a 21-year old Palestinian was killed in a clash with Israeli police close to where we had been meeting.  A protest against the occupation of Palestine had erupted and the man killed is said to have been throwing rocks.  How that could become a capital offense is a question I cannot answer.

Most of yesterday and a good bit of today was again spent visiting different ruins (we heard an interesting talk about the politics of archeology in this area) and had the chance to swim in the Dead Sea today. Floating in the water was odd.  Learning about the environmental dangers facing the Dead Sea, along with other issues concerning the environment and water rights, was dishearting.  A visit and dinner tonight to The Auja Eco-Center, located in a small Palestinian village outside of Jerusalem, offered a lot of insight into the problems faced by the region - problems that aren't just related to the environment but also human rights as many Palestinians are denied access to water.  

Like the visit to the Holy Land Trust, however, the visit to the Auja Eco-Center offered hope for people of different faith traditions and nationalities coming together to solve common problems and search for peace.

Participants on the trip have been invited to offer morning reflections.  My turn came today and I spoke from the top of Masada. What I focused on was a common theme we've heard from Jewish, Christian and Muslim peace activists: the power of hope.

In the background, you can hear Israeli fighter jets flying overhead.