Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

JPANet: Act to end gun violence!

This week I'm at Chicago Theological Seminary where not far away Hadiya Pendleton was killed on Tuesday as we sat in a doctor of ministry course. One of my CTS classmates, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, lost his son to gun violence in 1999. How many more kids? Now is the time to act.

Action Alert from the Justice and Witness Minitries of the United Church of Christ  

Despite the unrelenting and terrible toll taken by gun violence year after year in the United States, Congress has done distressingly little to address what has become a major public health threat.  While tragic incidents of gun violence like the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Aurora, Colorado and Oak Creek, Wisconsin draw national headlines, in many communities across the country, the impact of gun violence is a day-to-day reality.

Members of the faith community have long advocated for sensible, responsible policies to end gun violence. The 20^th UCC General Synod spoke prophetically on this issue with a resolution entitled “Guns and Violence,” which invited UCC members and congregations to advocate for legislation to strengthen licensing and registration of gun sales, strengthen regulations of gun dealers and ban semiautomatic assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips.

The faith community has come together many times in the aftermath of gun tragedies to urge lawmakers to pass laws that prevent gun violence and this week we do so once again. Tested by our grief, resolute in our faith we remain committed to continuing this drumbeat.

Take action! Write or call your elected officials and tell them that it is time to take concrete steps to address gun violence.

God, Guns And The Church - The Darkest Valley from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Building The Beloved Community: A Sermon To Celebrate The Ministry of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This sermon was deleived by The Rev. Chuck Currie at a special joint service of Sunnyside Church and University Park Church in Portland, Ore. on Sunday, January 20, 2013.  Our Scripture readings were Amos 5:21-24 and Isaiah 11: 1-9. 

You can download the audio of the sermon here:

Download MLKRevChuckCurrie

(some browsers - like Firefox or Google Chrome - will allow you to simply click on the link and listen...otherwise click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

The text is below:

This Sunday – this special day when we celebrate the life and ministry of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – we have cause to celebrate.

Tomorrow our nation will witness the inauguration of Barack Obama to a second term as President of the United States of America, the first African-American to hold that position.  He lives in the White House, a grand symbol of freedom, but a building created with slave labor.  How far we have come.

Rev. Chuck Currie and Speaker Tina Kotek

This morning Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek joins us in worship.  We are proud she is from North Portland.  But it cannot go unrecognized that in a state that has been Ground Zero in the debate over gay rights for the last 25 years that Speaker Kotek is the first lesbian to lead a legislative body in our nation.  How far we have come.

What political party Barack Obama and Tina Kotek represent is unimportant to us this morning. 

It is unimportant what political party Tim Scott of South Carolina belongs to. What is important is that this month he becomes the first African-American to represent a Southern state since Reconstruction in the United States Senate. 

The walls of injustice are tumbling down.  Frances and Katherine, my daughters, can dream any dream thanks to Harriett Tubman, Susan B. Antony, Hilary Clinton and Tina Kotek.  Our children have opportunities that once seemed impossible because of discrimination of all kinds.  Change has come. 

We read in Scripture today that what impresses God is not the grandness of our buildings or the pomp and circumstance of worship but the boldness of our vision, and the focus of our actions in building up the Kingdom of God, which Dr. King called the Beloved Community.

Whatever progress we have made has been hard won and while we have every reason to celebrate we also have every responsibility as the church to bring light to dark places and there is still too much darkness in this world.

Dr. King was more than just a civil rights leader. That would by itself be an honorable legacy. But he was a Christian minister, a prophet even, who challenged the church to build up the Kingdom of God. That's radical. That's transformational. And for those of power and privilege it was terrifying because in the Kingdom the last come first. The Holy Spirit worked through King to break-up the evil of white supremacy and to lift up the needs of those oppressed by economic systems that failed to address the condition of poverty. The task of the church, in this day, is to continue that ministry in new ways and to continue -- as Jesus did himself -- to confront oppression wherever we find it: to set the captives free.

The Civil Rights Movement was grounded in the teachings of the Hebrew Prophets who remembered when the people were slaves in Pharaoh’s land, and both their escape from captivity and deliverance to the Promised Land. 

When Africans were ripped from their homeland and brought into the colonies, and later the United States, their masters often forced them to convert to Christianity.  We have in our history books a copy of a baptismal rite used for slaves in South Carolina that shows slaves were forced to vow obedience to God but told not to take the stories of God’s liberation from captivity seriously.  But it is impossible not to hear the stories from the Hebrew Scriptures and the promises of Jesus and not be transformed.  The Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of slaves and within the Christian faith they found hope and promise – a hope that sustained and guided them through the Civil War - and their decedents into the great Civil Rights Movement.  This was not what the slave owners of South Carolina, my ancestors, assumed would happen but God is more powerful than any human system of oppression.

In what is commonly called Jesus’ inaugural sermon he quoted from the Prophet Isaiah:

18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

   because he has anointed me

     to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

   and recovery of sight to the blind,

     to let the oppressed go free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ (Luke 4 NRSV)

That is still the task of the church today. 

Too many people live in captivity:  caught up in on-going systems of racial oppression that still exist despite our progress, kept down by gender discrimination that allows us to place limits on what women earn or what jobs they might hold, trapped in broken immigration systems that don’t “welcome the stranger” but imprison and deport.

Children are captives of underfunded schools that ought to be cathedrals.  Sick people are captives of a system that puts profits before people.  All of us are captives of human caused climate change, gun violence and violence of every kind, along with oppressive poverty that stains our land.  And if we truly believe that war is contrary to the will of God we need to be peacemakers in our time.    

We are still not the Beloved Community that Dr. King dreamed of.

The church universal is not doing enough to build up the Kingdom.

This isn’t new. 

Dr. King preached just a year before he died that:

"... when the church is true to its guidelines, it sets out to preach deliverance to them that are captive. This is the role of the church: to free people. This merely means to free those who are slaves. Now if you notice some churches, they never read this part. Some churches aren't concerned about freeing anybody. Some white churches face the fact Sunday after Sunday that their members are slaves to prejudice, slaves to fear. You got a third of them, or a half of them or more, slaves to their prejudices. And the preacher does nothing to free them from their prejudice so often. Then you have another group sitting up there who would really like to do something about racial injustice, but they are afraid of social, political, and economic reprisals, so they end up silent. And the preacher never says anything to lift their souls and free them from that fear. And so they end up captive.”

He went on to preach:

You know this often happens in the Negro church. You know, there are some Negro preachers that have never opened their mouths about the freedom movement. And not only have they not opened their mouths, they haven’t done anything about it. And every now and then you get a few members: 'They talk too much about civil rights in that church.' I was talking with a preacher the other day and he said a few of his members were saying that. I said, 'Don't pay any attention to them. Because number one, the members didn't anoint you to preach. And any preacher who allows members to tell him what to preach isn't much of a preacher.'

If we want to be true to our calling as Christians we need to address the challenges of our time with courage and conviction, unafraid of whether or not we are winning any popularity contest.  

So we have to say to those in power that it is morally unacceptable that 20,000 children were homeless in our school system last year.  No one should live a third world life in a first world nation. 

We need to stand up to the NRA and rouge sheriffs doing their best Bull Connor imitations by saying that federal laws don’t apply to them when we need laws that protect us from gun violence. 

Our political leaders need to know that growth cannot come at the expense of our health – and so as people of faith we must challenge policies that will negatively impact our environment, including those that disproportionally impact communities of color.

And I want Sunnyside Church and University Park Church to be leaders in the fight for marriage equality in Oregon because until everyone has their civil rights protected none of us is truly free.  

Dr. King said:

"More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right."

What was true then is true now.  We are the inheritors of the dream.  But the dream is not yet fulfilled.  So God calls us to action.  Dr. King died the year before I was born.  But his words are for every generation.  As we leave this place let it be in a spirit of social action that keeps the building of the Kingdom front and center in our lives.  Faith without action is empty.  Faith combined with action can transform the world.

Amen.      

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday Celebration

The people of University Park Church and Sunnyside Church invite you to celebrate The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday on January 20th at University Park United Methodist Church (worship begins at 9:30 am). Our special guest that morning will be new Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek. A reception in Speaker Kotek’s honor will be held following the service where she will make brief remarks about her agenda in the Legislature and will answer questions.

View this event on Facebook.

Sunnyside Church and University Park Church are progressive and Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church. Preaching that morning will be The Rev. Chuck Currie, a minister in the United Church of Christ, who serves as the minister of both congregations in an ecumenical partnership. Rev. Currie is a contributor to The Huffington Post whose ministry has focused on opportunity and hope for those living in poverty, and for the civil rights of all. 

University Park Church, located at 4775 N. Lombard, worships Sunday morning at 9:30 am. The congregation is known as a place of radical hospitality and has been a beacon of justice for the LGBTQ community.

Sunnyside Church, where worship is held each Sunday at 11 am (3520 SE Yamhill Street), is the home of the Common Cup Family Shelter, and has long been involved in the fight to end homelessness. The congregation also hosts a community meal program, a neighborhood “swap shop,” and Camp Fire programs.

The regular worship service at Sunnyside Church will not be held on January 20th so that members can worship at University Park Church. 

Speaker Kotek “will be the first openly lesbian lawmaker to lead a state legislative chamber in the U.S.,” notes The Huffington Post. “We consider this a great victory for the civil rights of all Oregonians,” says Rev. Currie. “As we celebrate the work of Dr. King and reflect on his unfinished agenda for equality of all, regardless of race or creed, along with his work to fight poverty and end war, it is right and proper to honor Speaker Kotek’s accomplishment.”

Rev. Currie is scheduled to deliver the invocation at Speaker Kotek’s swearing-in ceremony at the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, January 14th. University Park Church is located is Speaker Kotek’s N. Portland district. “All of us, regardless of party or politics, can join in giving thanks that the walls of discrimination continue to tumble down even as we recognize work remains before us,” Rev. Currie said. “In a sign of the times, our members are most proud that the Speaker comes from N. Portland before anything else. That is the way it should be. Speaker Kotek is being judged by the content of her character.”

Looking Back On Christmas

This Sunday - Epiphany Sunday - marks the end of the Christmas season.  At University Park Church and Sunnyside Church we've been blessed the last two Sundays to have wonderful guest preachers fill-in while I've been on vacation.  The Rev. Eugene Ross, former conference minister for the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ, preached December 30th.  "Christmas - For Children?" is the topic of The Rev. Dr. Patrica Ross' sermon set for this morning at both churches.  Dr. Ross is Pastor Emerita of First Congregational United Church of Christ of Portland.  Both University Park Church and Sunnyside Church are Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church with an ecumenical spirit.

I return to work tomorrow.

Our joint University Park Church - Sunnyside Church "Christmas Eve In Portland" service was a wonderful evening that filled Sunnyside's historic sanctuary.  It was a special joy to see so many young people and families respond to a progressive Christian message.    

You can see photos photos from our "Christmas Eve in Portland" service here:

My homily from the service is also available:

Join us each Sunday for worship: 9:30 AM At University Park Church (4775 N. Lombard) & 11AM At Sunnyside Church (3520 SE Yamhill).

O’ Come, O’ Come, Emmanuel: Work to End Gun Violence With Impatience

This morning my sermon - delivered at both University Park Church and Sunnyside Church - reflected on the violent events this week in Oregon and Connecticut. You can download a podcast of the sermon here:  

O’ Come, O’ Come, Emmanuel: Work to End Gun Violence With Impatience

(some browsers - like Firefox or Google Chrome - will allow you to simply click on the link and listen...otherwise click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here. 

Note: In the prepared notes for this sermon, as in the audio, I talked about the 911 call made by a student at Virginia Tech after the shootings there in 2007 but in the delivery of the sermon I inadvertently said you could listen to the call when I actually meant you could read the transcript from The Washington Post's account.  I wanted to clarify this. 

The text of the sermon as prepared for delivery is below:

Contraception Reduces Abortion Rate

A new report shows a drop in the rate of abortions in the United States.  The reason?  Family planning and the availability of contraception. Reducing the number of abortions is a cause most people of faith share but not all people of faith believe women should have access to contraception - some believe such access should be difficult or even illegal.  Such thinking increases the need for abortion.  Groups like the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice work to promote contraception.  We need more voices joining with RCRC.  At the same time, faith communities need to be fighting hard for quality sex education in our public schools and to be providing such education in our churches.  A great resource for churches is the Our Whole Lives curriculum developed by the United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universialist Association.    

Christmas Eve In Portland 2012

This Christmas Eve in Portland join the people of Sunnyside Church and University Park Church for a special joint 6:30 pm candlelight service in Sunnyside Church’s historic Southeast Portland sanctuary located at 3520 SE Yamhill Street. The public is welcome at this family friendly service (children are encouraged to stay during the service but nursery care will be available).

View Christmas Eve in Portland On Facebook. 

Sunnyside Church and University Park Church are progressive and Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church. Preaching Christmas Eve will be The Rev. Chuck Currie, a minister in the United Church of Christ, who serves as the minister of both congregations in an ecumenical partnership. Rev. Currie is a contributor to The Huffington Post whose ministry has focused on opportunity and hope for those living in poverty, and for the civil rights of all. 

University Park Church, located at 4775 N. Lombard, worships Sunday morning at 9:30 am. The congregation is known as a place of radical hospitality and has been a beacon of justice for the LGBTQ community.

Sunnyside Church, where worship is held each Sunday at 11 am, is the home of the Common Cup Family Shelter, and has long been involved in the fight to end homelessness. The congregation also hosts a community meal program, a neighborhood “swap shop,” and Camp Fire programs. 

“My contention has been and still is that even in the midst of war, deep global poverty and environmental chaos caused by humanity, the message of the Prince of Peace is as relevant today as it was over 2,000 years ago,” writes Rev. Currie. “What happened on the day Jesus was born? God broke through into the world again -- but this time not with the force of the Big Bang or some other cosmic event -- no, this time it was with something even more powerful: the miracle of the birth of a child filled with promise and hope. Both that miracle and the message that this child preached as an adult, born first homeless and poor, is what Christmas is about.”

What I'm Thankful For

2012 has not been an easy year.  We lost my mother, Judy Bright, to cancer in April at only 62 and during that time I was diagnosed and treated for a cancer of my own.  Despite these difficulties there is much to be thankful for.  I’m thankful for the honor to serve God as the minister of both Sunnyside Church and University Park Church here in Portland, to study on-line and on-site at Chicago Theological Seminary (and for the grace they have shown me this year) and for my family and friends who have lifted me up during challenging times.  

In the Hebrew Scriptures we find Psalm 100:

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

2   Worship the Lord with gladness;

   come into his presence with singing.

3 Know that the Lord is God.

   It is he that made us, and we are his;*

   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

   and his courts with praise.

   Give thanks to him, bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good;

   his steadfast love endures for ever,

   and his faithfulness to all generations.

In this spirit, I give thanks for all the many blessings I have.  Despite the injuries suffered over this year it is hard not to feel overwhelmed with blessings as Liz and I watch our daughters grow and as I become closer with the parishioners whom I am in ministry with.     

It goes without saying that 2012 has been a difficult time for many in our nation and the world.  I give special thanks to those who find in their faith the courage to work for justice and the common good.  And I pray for a better tomorrow for us all.  

Marriage Equality On HuffPost Live

This afternoon I took part in a discussion about marriage on HuffPost Live.  You can watch the archived video here. (It was a surprise to learn later I had relocated to Santa Rosa...)

People Of Faith Must Defend Choice

Todd Akin's recent comments about rape were reprehensible - and so is the GOP platform, modeled after legislation put forth by Akin and Paul Ryan that would ban all abortions...even in the case of rape - but it is clear that Akin isn't alone.

Oregon GOP convention delegate Emily Jarms told a reporter this week that she agreed with Akin and that: 

I'm not a doctor. But I do know that it can be difficult for a woman to conceive in a stressful situation. And so I actually think that a woman conceiving during rape is so completely rare that, I mean, it almost doesn't happen. 

Yep, she's not a doctor.  That much is clear.

Dr. Dean G. Kilpatrick is.  He's a professor and doctor at the Medical University of South Carolina (where my mother attended) and author of a "a 1996 study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which estimated that more than 32,000 women experience a rape-related pregnancy each year."

And that figure might be low, notes the The Salt Lake Tribune:

Figures provided by the FBI only count rapes that were reported to police - Kilpatrick says his research shows that at least 80 percent of all rapes go unreported - and they don’t take into account rapes in which the victim was intoxicated or otherwise unable to give consent. Until earlier this year, the FBI defined forcible rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will."

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has long maintained that:

Whereas, women and men must make decisions about unplanned or unwanted pregnancies that involve their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being; and …Whereas, abortion is a social justice issue, both for parents dealing with pregnancy and parenting under highly stressed circumstances, as well as for our society as a whole; …

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Sixteenth General Synod:

• affirms the sacredness of all life, and the need to protect and defend human life in particular;
• encourages persons facing unplanned pregnancies to consider giving birth and parenting the child, or releasing the child for adoption, before abortion;
• upholds the right of men and women to have access to adequately funded family planning services, and to safe, legal abortions as one option among others;
• urges the United Church of Christ, at all levels, to provide educational resources and programs to persons, especially young persons, to help reduce the incidence of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, and to encourage responsible approaches to sexual behavior.

People of faith must stand up and defend a woman's right to make her own health care decisions.  It shouldn't be left up to Todd Akin, Paul Ryan or other politicans.

Will You Marry Me? A Sermon on John 2:1-11, 15: 9-17 | Marriage Equality and the Bible

Read Will You Marry Me? Marriage Equality and the Bible on The Huffington Post

Summer is wedding season and while I'm not overwhelmed with wedding requests I've had a few and there is one that I'm really looking forward to in September. Weddings are, of course, special events. At their best, weddings bring not just two people together but families and even communities in a union bonded together in love. There is a simple joy in all that - even if the reality is that marriage itself is complex and sometimes difficult, just ask anyone who has been married longer than an hour. As we reflect on our reading from Scripture this morning, I want to discuss marriage a bit with you as we understand it in Christian terms, what marriage means as a legal institution, and to share with you some decisions that I have made about my role as a minister as it relates to marriage that have been helped along by my doctoral studies on this issue.

Let me begin by noting the reality that within the United States it is illegal for a minister or any other officiant to marry a gay or lesbian couple, much as it was illegal a generation ago to marry interracial couples. Oregonians voted to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman in 2004 - it is part of our state Constitution - thus banning marriage equality. This state Constitutional amendment plus the federal Defense of Marriage Act will both have to be overturned for gays and lesbians to receive true marriage equality. Federal law does not recognize gay marriages that are legal in states such as New York.

As a minister, I am asked to be an agent of the state when it comes to marriage. One way for a marriage to become legal is for an ordained minister to sign a marriage certificate. The United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church USA are the only two mainline Christian denominations to support marriage equality, and that allow their clergy to perform such ceremonies. However, my religious freedom to provide pastoral care to gay and lesbian couples is curtailed by the government which says that I cannot legally marry same-gender couples - thus denying these parishioners the same care I can provide to straight couples. It does not seem the proper function of the government to tell me as a minister whom I can and cannot provide pastoral care to. That should be a decision of the church. The United Methodist Church, of course, forbids not just gay marriages but commitment ceremonies that the General Assembly of the church has deemed incompatible with Christianity. I look forward with great anticipation to the day this deeply flawed policy of this faithful denomination is overturned.

The United Church of Christ has developed an inclusive wedding liturgy, in which we pray for couples being married that:

...we come together in the presence of God to witness the marriage of the couple, to surround them with our prayers, and to share in their joy. The scriptures teach us that the bond and covenant of marriage is a gift of God, a holy mystery in which two become one flesh, an image of the union of Christ and the church. As the couple give themselves to each other, we remember that at Cana in Galilee our Savior Jesus Christ made the wedding feast a sign of God's reign of love. (So we pray that we) enter into (the wedding) celebration confident that through the Holy Spirit, Christ is present with us... We pray that (the) couple may fulfill God's purpose for the whole of their lives.

It is this idea of covenant that is so central, so important to marriage and there is no Biblical reason the marriage covenant should not be available to gay or lesbian couples.

Last fall, as I was taking a course in Biblical theology at Chicago Theological Seminary for my doctoral degree program, I wrote a piece for The Huffington Post about Chick-fil-A and their opposition to marriage equality. I note this mostly to brag that I wrote about this issue nearly a year before most anyone else was talking about it. ☺

I said then and I'll say now that I love Chick-fil-A. Their plain old chicken sandwich and a sweet tea can send me to heaven. I've always known they were owned by a Christian family and, frankly, I like that they close on Sundays. I'm old enough to remember when more stores did (of course, that often was enforced by law) and I think a (voluntary) day off from shopping and commercialism isn't a bad thing. But I was sad to hear then that the company had donated food to an anti-gay marriage group. Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy said the contribution was made because the company believes in a "Biblical definition of marriage." Mr. Cathy has since become even more vocal in his opposition to marriage equality.

What I suggested in my piece in The Huffington Post was that Mr. Cathy ought to read Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions About Sex and Desire, a book from Boston University's Jennifer Wright Knust. This American Baptist pastor and scholar notes that: "When it comes to marriage, biblical laws are almost entirely contradictory." In short, the one "Biblical definition of marriage" that Chick-fil-A wants to promote doesn't exist.

I'm guessing Mr. Cathy never took my advice.

As I've preached, how we read the Bible matters. It is not to be taken literally. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, argued that Christian faith required one to bring Scripture, reason, experience and tradition to the table when trying to discern the will of God. Chick-fil-A is offering fast-food theology to a world that needs more than a bumper sticker understanding of the divine.

In a post for The Washington Post's "On Faith" blog, Knust wrote:

If we do take the time to read the Bible, we are likely to discover that the biblical writers do not agree with us, whatever version of sexual morality we are seeking to promote. Written more than 2,000 years ago at a significant historical and cultural distance, the Bible gathers together a diverse collection of ancient books, edited over time, not a coherent, divinely inspired set of instructions that can easily be applied. Tracing even a few, limited topics from one biblical book to another can make the point: If one book forbids marriage between foreigners and Israelites, the next depicts such marriages as a source of blessing, not only to Israel but to all of humankind. If one insists that women are saved by childbearing, the next recommends that women avoid childbearing altogether in order to devote themselves more fully to God. If one suggests that sex with a relative, the wife of another man, or with a male lover will certainly lead to the nation's downfall, the next depicts heroic kings engaging in precisely these forms of sex. And these are just a few examples.

Knust offers the same argument in her book. Knust writes: "The Bible is complicated enough, ancient enough, and flexible enough to support an almost endless set of interpretive agendas."

That may be true, in part. Taken as a whole, the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament offer (for me) a vision of covenant. My sense is that covenant includes within our relationships between one another and with God that we should - in Paul's words - be subject to one another out of love. That doesn't mean we have an anything goes faith without rules or boundaries. In fact, the opposite is true. You cannot, for example, abandon your family and remain in covenant with God or your relatives. Justice and compassion are central to Christianity. Yet, not all teachings from scripture should be practiced today (if they were, we'd still own slaves, as sanctioned in some parts of the Bible).

We must use an interpretative process to discern God's will for us - and do not think for a moment this isn't just what the different authors of the Bible did during the many centuries it was transformed from oral tradition to the written word. Using Wesley's criteria for discernment, it is important that we open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit - God's own breathe - to help guide us and for us to undertake this enterprise with humility.

A generation ago, as I have mentioned, interracial marriage was outlawed. This was justified by the use of Scripture. Genesis 28:1 reads: "Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, 'You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women." In the past, this piece of Scripture was interpreted by some Christians to mean that Hebrews and Canaanites were of different races and therefore no races should inter-marry.

We may think this silly today but when Barack Obama was born his father - a black man - and his mother - a white woman - were barred from being legally married in many states and the justification was often Biblical. We have discerned over time, led by the power of the Holy Spirit, to understand not only our own error in interpretation but also the reality that some of what is written in Scripture has no moral authority over us today. Or should I quote from 1 Tim 2:11-12? "Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent."

You see, I'm willing to make the faith claim right here and now that God has no problems with interracial marriages, wants women to speak boldly with the voice of Sophia (the embodiment of God's wisdom), and that those who use Scripture to justify discrimination against gays and lesbians are making the same mistake in interpretation that we have made as a people over and over again.

So will I marry gay and lesbian couples?

Right now I'm a United Church of Christ minister serving two Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church. The United Church of Christ affirms marriage equality. The United Methodist Church says homosexuality is incompatible with Christianity. And both Sunnyside Church and University Park Church have pledged to welcome all, and are faithfully engaging the larger United Methodist Church to change the rules and truly become a church with open hearts and open doors and open minds.

So yes, I will marry any gay and lesbian couple that I believe is ready to make that commitment, using the same criteria to make that call that I would for any heterosexual couple. To respect the rules of the United Methodist Church, I will conduct those services at Ainsworth United Church of Christ, my home congregation.

Is there a risk is making this announcement?

I remember the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. who told his church:

No member of Ebenezer Baptist Church called me to the ministry. You called me to Ebenezer, and you may turn me out of here, but you can't turn me out of the ministry, because I got my guidelines and my anointment from God Almighty. And anything I want to say, I'm going to say it from this pulpit. It may hurt somebody, I don't know about that; somebody may not agree with it. But when God speaks, who can but prophesy? The word of God is upon me like fire shut up in my bones, and when God's word gets upon me, I've got to say it, I've got to tell it all over everywhere. And God has called me to deliver those that are in captivity.

So if you're gay or you're lesbian or bi-sexual or transgendered or questioning, I want to make it clear today: I am your pastor too. I am your pastor if you're straight, if you're a Democrat or a Republican, if you're black, white, Latino. And no rulebook or law will prevent me from providing you with the pastoral care I am called to provide.

What I will no longer do after September is sign wedding licenses. Until the day comes when marriage equality is the law of the land I will no longer act as an agent of the state in an institution that is discriminatory. In this, I join a small but growing number of clergy. I will offer you the religious rites of the church but will invite you to have your marriage license signed by a judge or other official of the state.

When the General Synod of the United Church of Christ endorsed marriage equality in 2005, they noted:

The message of the Gospel is the lens through which the whole of scripture is to be interpreted. Love and compassion, justice and peace are at the very core of the life and ministry of Jesus. It is a message that always bends toward inclusion. The biblical story recounts the ways in which inclusion and welcome to God's community is ever expanding - from the story of Abraham and Sarah, to the inclusive ministry of Jesus, to the baptism of Cornelius, to the missionary journeys of Paul throughout the Greco- Roman world. The liberating work of the Spirit as witnessed in the activities of Jesus' ministry has been to address the situations and structures of exclusion, injustice and oppression that diminish God's people and keep them from realizing the full gift of human personhood in the context of human communion.

I find truth in this statement and have love for the United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ and the church universal - not as institutions, but as part of the body of Christ. We are all one in Christ. It is in that spirit of love, that I come forth today to share with you God's call to us to love all people in ways that honor and continue the ministry of Jesus. It is a ministry, as we heard this morning in our text from John, that is joyful and where the Disciples - and by extension us - are commanded once again simply to love as Jesus has loved us - without condition or judgment, and centered on God's desire for us to be free from oppression or captivity, in covenant with one another and with God. Amen.

Will You Marry Me? A Sermon on John 2:1-11, 15:9-17 | Marriage Equality and the Bible from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Providence Health Decision Assault On Women, Low-Income Portlanders

The decision by Providence Health to stop distributing a guide on low-income health care services jointly published by Street Roots and the Multnomah County Department of Health because the 104-page guide lists Planned Parenthood as one of the services available is deeply disappointing and should cause public agencies to review any contracts with Providence Health and for Oregonians to consider whether or not they want to continue supporting Providence with contributions - or even to seek medical care at Providence facilities.

Providence Health's decision to deny much needed health care information about available resources to vulnerable populations in our community, along with health care workers, does nothing to advance the common good.  Providence Health is operated by the the Sisters of Providence, a Roman Catholic organization, and I certainly respect their opposition to abortion services which is deeply rooted in their faith and is not political.  But Providence Health's decision to stop distributing this guide, which includes information on family planning, will only increase unwanted pregnancies and thus increase the number of abortions.  It will hurt many others who are seeking emergency shelter, housing, alcohol and drug treatment and mental health treatment.

The radicalization of the Roman Catholic Church's position on this issue, along with the lines they have crossed over it into the partisan political arena at the national level, is deeply concerning.  If they are unable to provide medical care to Multnomah County residents in a way that is respectful of the church's values and the medical needs of women and low-income residents there are other hospitals than can.  It is time to review the place of Providence Health in the Portland community. 

It is worth noting that many in the faith community support letting women make their own health care decisions.  The United Church of Christ and the the United Methodist Church are among many Christian denominations, along with interfaith communities, that make up the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.     

A Homily On Ephesians 4: 1-16: Run, Don't Walk - And Dream (And A BBQ!)

Sunday was a busy day for the people of University Park Church and Sunnyside Church.  Dispite the high heat and no A/C in either church (this is Portland, afterall) we had good turnout for worship at both services.  Our focus Scripture was Ephesians 4: 1-16 (using The Message translation):

A Homily On Ephesians 4: 1-16: Run, Don't Walk - And Dream from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Later in the afternoon both congregations gathered together for a BBQ.  We took time at the start to offer prayers of thanksgiving for the meal and for the victims of the terrible shooting at the Sikk temple in Wisconsin.  

Portland can do more to address its homeless problem

In the language of the church, I want to work toward the Beloved Community -- a place where homelessness and poverty are no more. To move us forward, I'd settle for a housing levy that provides a stable source of funding to build affordable housing in Portland. We cannot end homelessness without housing. That's a lesson that was obvious 25 years ago, and it's a crime that we're dealing with the same issues a quarter of a century later.

From my op-ed today in The Oregonian.  Click here to read the full piece.

God, Guns and the Church: The Darkest Valley

The text of my sermon from this Sunday - a reflection on Psalm 23 and gun violence - is now live on The Huffington Post:

God, Guns and the Church: The Darkest Valley

God, Guns And The Church - The Darkest Valley from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Installation Sunday

This morning I had my first services at both University Park Church and Sunnyside Church.  The sermon, "Why Church?" had a simple message: "My belief is that the Christian faith should be a movement that preaches a social gospel that helps build up the Kingdom. Church shouldn’t just be a Sunday experience but a lifestyle that sends us forth out into the world with the hope that we can make it better, following the example that Jesus himself left for us."  As a United Church of Christ minister serving two Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church, I am convinced we can bring an ecumenical spirit to the mission of the church by preaching a message that is progressive and faithful.  The times call for a boldness of witness that pushes the envelope and engages the community around the radical notion that love is more powerful than hate and that the pursuit of justice is more responsible than contentment with the status quo.  It is my good fortunate to find myself in two congregations and two denominations that share that sentiment. 

You're Invited To Sunnyside And University Park Churches

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On Sunday, July 1st, I'll begin a unique and exciting journey as a United Church of Christ minister serving two United Methodist Church congregations - SE Portland's Sunnyside Church and N. Portland's University Park Church.

I hope you'll join me at one of the two churches for worship that morning.

This is an exciting partnership that will help promote progressive Christianity. Like many mainline congregations, both these churches face challenges. They also both have as a tremendous asset congregations of Gospel-centered people committed to their churches and the goal of building up the Beloved Community.

University Park Church worships at 9:30 am and is located at 4775 N. Lombard Street (not far from the University of Portland). Sunnyside Church worships at 11 am and is located at 3520 SE Yamhill (across the street from Sunnyside Park and School and not far from Hawthorne Blvd.).

It would be a pleasure to see you July 1st or any other Sunday.

Best wishes,

Rev. Chuck Currie

Central Pacific Conference Of The @UnitedChurch Of Christ Marches in #PDXPride Parade

Members of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ joined a large contingent of Christian churches and other faith traditions part of the Coalition of Welcoming Congregations (CWC) today at the Portland Pride Parade.  I was glad to be there as a minister in the UCC, along with many colleagues, and to know that the two new congregations I will begin to pastor on July 1st - Sunnyside Church and University Park Church - are both members of CWC and share in the belief that God's love and justice is for all.  There is still much work to do to break down walls of inequality faced by gays and lesbians across the United States and the globe.  Not only are gays and lesbians denied the right to marry - much as interracial marriages were prohibited a generation ago - but hate crimes continue to occur and discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and housing are still legal in many communities.  Such discrimination is contrary to the will of God and churches have a moral obligation to fight for equality whenever possible.  Tragically, the Christian faith is often used to justify hatred and discrimination against the gay and lesbian community.  That's theological malpractice that comes from a flawed understanding of Scripture.  We still have a long way to go before the Beloved Community is real and available for all.  

A New Call In Ministry

 

Sunnyside Centenary United Methodist Church

An exciting challenge opened up this month that was unexpected. I've been called to serve as minister to both SE Portland's Sunnyside Church and N. Portland's University Park Church, two progressive Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church.

This appointment will be affirmed by an ecumenical covenantal agreement between the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ and the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church. This is an exciting partnership that will help promote progressive Christianity. Like many mainline congregations, both these churches face challenges. They also both have as a tremendous asset congregations of Gospel-centered people committed to their churches and the goal of building up the Beloved Community.

 

University Park United Methodist Church

My appointment becomes effective July 1, 2012. Sunnyside Church has a long history of working on issues of homelessness and poverty and University Park Church is well known for their efforts to preach a message of radical hospitality. As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I look forward to this new ecumenical work as a minister with dual standing in the United Methodist Church for the duration of this appointment. It's familiar terrain. I worked as the director of community outreach at Portland's First United Methodist Church before earning my master of divinity degree in St. Louis. In addition to serving these two congregations, I will continue work toward a doctor of ministry degree at UCC-related Chicago Theological Seminary and will remain active with the life of the United Church of Christ as a member of Ainsworth United Church of Christ.

 

Violence Against Women Act Protections in Jeopardy

House Republicans are playing politics with the Violence Against Women Act and it is up to people of good faith to stop them. As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I support the bi-partisan version of this legislation passed by the Senate. The House version strips protections from Native Americans, immigrants, and LGBT victims of violence. Take action now by signing the below action alert from the United Church of Christ (you can modify the language to reflect your religious tradition) or call your House member directly.

JPANet: Violence Against Women Act Protections in Jeopardy

Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a measure which has received strong bipartisan support since it was first passed by Congress in 1994, is currently moving through Congress. The Senate passed its version of the reauthorization (S. 1925) in late April, and it included important enhancements for addressing the needs of Native American families living on tribal lands, immigrants, and those who are living in same-sex relationships and are victims of domestic violence.

These important provisions protecting Native American women, immigrants and LGBT victims of violence are being threatened!

A House version of the VAWA reauthorization, introduced by Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL), now has the full backing of the House majority leadership and will be moving to a floor vote soon. The House version strips out the Senate provisions strengthening legal protections for Native American women and eliminates essential confidentiality protections for immigrant women seeking protection from abuse. While the Senate version includes provisions for improving services and increasing funding efficiency based on input from thousands of direct service providers, the House version rejects those improvements without any such consultation or review.

The United Church of Christ, in partnership with a diverse coalition of faith groups, has long supported efforts aimed at addressing and eliminating domestic violence. As part of the Interfaith Domestic Violence Coalition, the United Church of Christ joined with many others in supporting the Senate version of the reauthorization and applauded the expanded provisions for under-served communities. The House version jeopardizes those improvements and could put many women and families in greater danger with fewer resources and recourse.

Let your representative know that you do not support the House version of VAWA reauthorization. Urge your representative to support a House bill that reflects the Senate version and strengthens protections for women and their families.

Send your letter here.


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A Proposal: Creating a New Progressive Ecumenical Church Relationship

I simply do not believe that at this point in time the distinctiveness of our different churches is more important than the values and common understandings of Scripture that unite us.

My latest on The Huffington Post.

How To End Homelessness: Fight Poverty

Our national and local efforts to reduce homelessness are making a difference - for some - but as I told Governing Magazine - we need to be bolder, do more and focus our efforts on fighting poverty:

Ending homelessness, Currie says, will take a massive push on curbing poverty -- including not only creating jobs, but also preparing workers for those jobs -- and on making huge investments in affordable housing and building up programs for in-home support of the elderly, those with physical disabilities and those suffering from other health, mental health and addiction problems.

That's why I support the Half In Ten Campaign, a national effort that is backed by the Center for American Progress and the Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ (among many others). The Half in Ten Campaign is advancing progressive economic policies to reduce poverty that stand in stark contrast to the budget proposal put forward by Paul Ryan and adopted this week by the U.S. House that would increase poverty and homelessness, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

President Obama's budget proposals move us in a much better direction. But even the president will tell you we need to do more. That's why the American people need to be heard.

I remain strongly convinced from the polls and my own experiences that we Americans are a compassionate people who want our government to advance policies that promote the common good over the needs of the special interests or the wealthiest and most powerful among us. We can end homelessness. We simply need to make the moral investment.

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Christians Honor Trayvon Martin With Hoodie Photos #TrayvonMartin #WeAreTheChristianLeft @United Church

Christians across the United States today are honoring Trayvon Martin on Facebook with pictures of themselves wearing hoodies.  Visit The Christian Left.  

My photo is below:

Related Post: United Church of Christ joins prayers, protest in the shooting death of Florida teen

Obama And Ryan Budget Proposals: What's A Faithful Budget? #faithfulbudget

President Obama and GOP House Budget Chair Paul Ryan have each released budget plans. What's a faithful budget? Religious leaders are blasting Ryan's plan. That's what I talked about on KPOJ this morning. Listen in. President Obama's plan calls for investments in job creation, anti-poverty programs, and education. Ryan wants to give $3 trillion to the wealthiest while cutting trillions from domestic programs.

 

Action Alert from Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ

As people of faith our call is clear. The bible instructs us to act with mercy and justice and to care for our neighbors. We live out these commandments not just as individuals in our local communities, but as a society through our government. The yearly debate over the federal budget is – at its heart –a struggle for our nation’s moral conscience. This week hundreds of faith advocates will be gathering in the Nation’s Capital at Ecumenical Advocacy Days.

Together they will carry a message to Congress, asking that our national leaders defend people struggling to live in dignity by funding programs that protect vulnerable populations here and abroad.

Join them in lifting your voice - Call on your elected officials to pass a faithful budget!

2012 Portland CROP Hunger Walk Set For Sunday, April 29th

I'm looking forward to particpating this year in the Portland CROP Hunger Walk benefiting the important programs of Church World Service and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon - and I hope you'll join me.

The 2012 Portland CROP Hunger Walk will start and finish on SW Park Ave. and SW Market St., in front of Portland State University. The course is 2.7 miles and will take walkers along the picturesque waterfront and park blocks. Please use public transportation or car pool to site as there is very limited parking. This is an interfaith event and all are welcome. 

Seventy-five percent of the funds raised will go to Church World Service's international relief and development programs. Fifteen percent will go to Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon's Northeast Emergency Food Program at Luther Memorial and ten percent to Oregon Food Bank-West.

Church World Service works with partners to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world. For example, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Islamic Society of North America (social policy partner), and Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Together we reach out to neighbors in need near and far--not with a hand out, but a hand up. So, if you’re looking to help build a better world—a world where there’s enough for all—you’ve come to the right place!

Around the world, Church World Service supports sustainable grassroots development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance, and we educate and advocate on hunger-related issues. In the U.S., we help communities respond to disasters, resettle refugees, promote fair national and international policies, and provide educational resources. 

Contact Ron MacKenzie, Coordinator, at ron.w.macken[email protected] for more information. Please "like" the Portland CROP Hunger Walk Facebook Fan Page to keep posted regarding important dates leading up to the event and to network with participants.

For additional information visit the Portland CROP Hunger Walk homepage where you can sign-up to participate or donate directly.

Downtime

Starting this coming week I'll be downsizing the scope of my activities for a month or so. Much of my time will be spent working on a class on public theology at Chicago Theological Seminary where I'm working on on a doctor of ministry degree. I'm serving as the TA for the course made up of MDiv, DMin and PhD students. The rest of my time will be spent with family as right now our family requires all the attention possible. For now, I'm largely declining meeting invitations, etc. A little downtime is good for the body and soul. But don't worry. I'll come roaring back in the next month.

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Obama Offers Progressive Budget Blueprint; Concerns About Safety Net Remain

The Collegium of Officers of the United Church of Christ responded to the release of President Obama's proposed budget by saying that while "we do not agree with all its provisions, we believe it moves the country in a positive direction."  I share that assessment.  Overall, the president's budget proposal seeks to make sure the wealthy begin to pay their fair share of taxes while helping promote the common good by investing in education and people by (via Half In Ten):

• Permanently extending expansions of the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit that were passed in the Recovery Act, which will boost the incomes of millions of low-wage working families with children
• Combating hunger by providing full funding for the nutritional safety net that has been responding to high levels of unemployment and by continuing investments in programs that ensure children have the nutritional building blocks they need to thrive
• Providing funding to make progress on the administration’s strategic plan to end homelessness
• Preserving existing housing vouchers that help low-income families afford rent
• Creating new housing opportunities for veterans
• Proposing financing for the development and preservation of affordable housing through the Housing Trust Fund

As Deborah Weinstien, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs points out, this is a budget meant to help put Americans to work and to continue moving us past the failed economic policies embraced by Paul Ryan and the House leadership:

The Obama budget calls for $350 billion in job growth measures, spread mostly between FY 2012 and FY 2015. These include $50 billion in road and transit maintenance and upgrading, $30 billion to modernize at least 35,000 schools and another $30 billion to hire and retain teachers and first responders, Project Rebuild, which will hire workers in low-income communities to "re-purpose" residential and commercial properties, and a new small business tax credit for companies that hire new workers. The new initiatives include Pathways Back to Work, a $12.5 billion project that will provide subsidized jobs and training for low-income, low-skilled workers and summer and year-round jobs and training for youth.

Still, there are areas of deep concern over the direction our nation is headed.  As the officers of the United Church of Christ rightfully note:

We recognize the constraints facing the nation and the President. A number of factors including the weak economy, high levels of unemployment, unfunded wars, corporate tax loopholes, and cuts in income taxes skewed to favor the wealthiest Americans have reduced tax revenues to historic lows and created a large federal budget deficit. These limit the ability of the federal government to perform its essential roles to help those in need and promote the common good. (See General Synod resolution “For the Common Good.”)

What does this mean in practical terms?  Half In Ten notes:

...the president proposes cutting more than $300 million from the Community Services Block Grant, a program that helps community action agencies in more than 1,000 localities throughout the country to provide services such as weatherization, job training, and Head Start to more than 20 million Americans.

And while the president proposes more funding than he did last year for low-income home energy assistance or LIHEAP, his blueprint would represent more than $450 million in cuts from last year’s enacted level—a hit to vulnerable households struggling to afford heating and cooling.

Cuts to affordable housing programs will also hit low-income families especially hard. The administration’s proposal requires struggling households to pay a $75 minimum rent, which would hit the lowest-income families who are already exempt from normal rents charged to Department of Housing and Urban Development recipients. These changes, coupled with small cuts to housing for people with AIDS and people with disabilities, could translate into real hardship for families on the brink of homelessness.

None of these cuts are acceptable and I'll share that view with both the White House and Oregon's Congressional delegation.

A fair conclusion to draw is that President Obama has drafted the most progressive budget possible considering the political realities faced by our nation.  

It remains the job of the church universal to engage both the President and Congress in this debate, along with the American public, to further protect the most vulnerable among us.

Can you find the image of Jesus in this photo?

Taken this morning at Portland's First Congregational United Church of Christ.

Same Sex Marriage And Christian Ethics #Prop8

The courts have ruled - again - that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.  Judges can rule on legality but it is up to people of faith to judge morality within our faith traditions.  Is same sex marriage valid within Christianity?  I'd argue yes.  In fact, I've preached just that.

For The Love Of All Creation: A Sermon On Genesis 1:1-2:4a for Pride Month 2011 from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

"Preaching the Occupy gospel -- or not" | My Interview On #OWS @MktplaceRadio

APM's Marketplace interviewed me for a story aired this evening on the Occupy Wall Street Movement in which they broadcast brief portions of a sermon I delivered at Ainsworth United Church of Christ about the movement and Christanity.  For the "other side" of the story they quoted the director of the Institute on Religion on Democracy (IRD) who said: "It’s usually problematic to try to identify Jesus Christ with any particular political or economic agenda."  That's ironic since IRD is a conservative political organization and not a religious group that advocates for right-wing economic policies that hurt those Jesus would have called the "least of these." 

A Christmas Message From Rev. Chuck Currie

Slower internet connection? Hit the "HD" button to turn off the high definition and watch this video in standard definition.

Related Link: Christmas Message from the World Council of Churches

Places That Could Use Your Help This Season

National

Church World Service

National Coalition for the Homeless 

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Interfaith Worker Justice

Face to Face | Faith to Faith

Oregon

Goose Hollow Family Shelter

Human Solutions Homeless Family Shelter

Oregon Center For Public Policy

Outside In

What Does The Lord Require Of Portland? #ows #p2 #occupyportland

Last night 25 clergy and other religious leaders stood with Occupy Portland.  This morning my sermon at Ainsworth United Church of Christ - What Does The Lord Require of Portland? - reflected on that experience and the overall Occupy Wall Street movement. You can watch the video here.

Our focus Scripture readings this morning included Isaiah 5: 1-7 and Matthew 25: 14-30.

Slower internet connection? Hit the "HD" button to turn off the high definition and watch this video in standard definition.

Occupy Portland was dismantled late this morning by the Portland Police Bureau - while we were in church - after a mostly peaceful night.  Our aim in being present all-night Saturday into early Sunday morning was to bear witness to the events and to promote non-violence.  We offered prayers for the demonstrators and police, lit candles and sang hymns. 

A statement of support for Occupy Portland was also issued on Friday evening by Portland's larger interfaith community. 

We concluded our service today with a prayer for our city: 

Below are some photos taken by K. Kendall that are used here with permission of the interfaith gathering at Occupy Portland on Saturday evening.  Additional photos can be seen here.

This final picture of myself with Rev. Kate Lore was taken on an iPhone.

Related Link:  Occupy America:  A Great New Awakening 

What Does The Lord Require Of Portland? A Sermon On Nov. 13th At Ainsworth United Church of Christ

On Sunday, November 13th at 10am I will be preaching at NE Portland's Ainsworth United Church of Christ, my new home congregation. This is the community of faith I have joined while assuming the position of associate director at The Westar Institute. My sermon - What Does The Lord Require Of Portland? - will look back to the Hebrew Prophets and ministry of Jesus and seek to offer a word of hope and challenge for our city during a difficult period of time for Portland and the nation. I invite you to join me and to meet the wonderful congregation that makes Ainsworth come alive in unique ways each Sunday to carry forth the mission of the church in our city. Ainsworth is a multi-cultural, multi-racial, open & affirming, Just Peace and accessible church. 

Birth Control In The Schools? Providing Contraceptives Is A Moral Obligation.

The Oregonian tonight has posted a story about two Canby High School seniors, Hunter Mead and Peter Schultz, who are pushing a proposal to allow their school based health care clinic to provide "birth control in the form of pills, patches, rings or the Depo-Provera shot." 

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I want to applaud this proposal and thank the students who have put it forward. All of us - parents, teachers, coaches, clergy and others that work with youth - need to teach responsibility and encourage youth to make wise decisions. The wisest decision is not to become sexually active at a young age. But we all know young people don't always make the best decisions. They make mistakes. We should give them the tools to recover from those mistakes - including sex education and contraceptives - that prevent disease and unwanted pregnancy.

Some churches argue that sex education and contraceptives have no place in public schools. That's unwise thinking and, frankly, bad theology. Want to reduce the number of abortions? As the United Church of Christ has noted: "We know that reducing the need for abortion is best accomplished by making birth control and family planning available, accessible and affordable."  

Want to reduce teen pregnancies (and all the studies show abstinence only programs DO NOT work)? Want to lift up children and help young people succeed? Give them the tools to do so.  Providing contraceptives is a moral obligation. 

Frankly, it is frustrating there is still a debate over birth control in the schools.  In 1986, I ran for student body president of Sunset High School on a platform of opening up a Planned Parenthood clinic in our school to provide birth control.  Protecting kids seems as controversial today as it was then.

Let's hope another 25 years doesn't pass before common sense, wisdom and compassion overcome fear and, yes, ignorance.   

"Let's Make A Joyful Noise!"

The 2011 Fall Gathering of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ is underway.  Last night I joined delegates for dinner and a musical program called "Let's Make A Joyful Noise!" that showcased different musical styles being used in worship settings today - from traditional to folk to praise.  The workshops today all focus on music as well.  For me, it was a wonderful opportunity to see clergy colleagues and lay members across the region in the United Church of Christ, and to introduce my new role as the Associate Director of The Westar Institute.  Westar is a membership organization and (stealing a line from NPR) depends on the generous contributions from people like you.  As always, I was inspired to hear how our local UCC congregations are carrying out the work of the church in unique and diverse ways.  I left last night inspired.  

"Rev. Chuck Currie Named Associate Director Of The Westar Institute"

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I'm excited to share the news that I've been named the new Associate Director of The Westar Institute, one of our nation's most important academic bodies focusing on the critical study of religion.  For many, the work undertaken by the Westar Institute is a beacon of hope to anyone wishing to embrace a spiritual life that has more intellectual integrity.  The Westar Institute is best known as the home of the Jesus Seminar.

Just recently The Westar Institute relocated from California to the campus of Willamette University.  Dr. Stephen Patterson, Geo. H. Atkinson Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies at Willamette University, is the director of The Westar Institute.  We've known each other both from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis and Salem's First Congregational United Church of Christ.

You can read more about my appointment on the website of The Westar Institute.  I hope that all my friends and colleagues will consider becoming a supporter of The Westar institute either as an associate member or as a contributor.  Biblical scholars can apply to become Westar Fellows.

And make sure you become a fan on Facebook!

I look forward to working with all those associated with The Westar Institute - but particularly with the membership and the churches that take advantage of the educational programs we offer.  

In addition, I look forward to continuing my work toward a Doctor of Ministry degree at Chicago Theological Seminary and will also be transferring my church membership to Ainsworth United Church of Christ in NE Portland, where our family lives.  Ainsworth UCC is a multi-racial, open and affirming, just peace church with a long tradition of active community involvement.  I will retain my standing as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.   

Sincerely,

 

Rev. Chuck Currie
Associate Director
Westar Institute

Read the press release from The Westar Institute below the fold:

Chicago Theological Seminary: Moving Into A New Future

Chicago Theological Seminary has been my temporary home again this week as I continue work toward a doctor of ministry degree.  What made this trip back to CTS particularly special for me was that this will be the last time I'm on the historic campus.  I'll be taking two classes on-line this fall but the next time I'm on campus in January the seminary will have moved into their new facilities - a high-tech, eco-friendly building designed for theological education in the 21st century.

Change is never easy and leaving behind a building as beautiful and rich in history as the current campus will be difficult.  I feel very fortunate to have begun my D.Min. studies in the "old" building so that I can be a part of that history.  The move to the new campus, however, will help to make sure that CTS is still creating bold religious leaders committed to Gospel-centered social transformation that builds up the "Beloved Community" that The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about when he based his Chicago operations out of CTS in the 1960s.  

You can already see the future of Chicago Theological Seminary taking place at 1407 E. 60th Street, just a short walk from the historic campus:

 I'm looking forward to visiting this new building over the next few years as I work on my degree.  Click here to learn more about the new campus.

Visiting Parkrose Community United Church Of Christ

Today I had the good fortunate to visit with some of the youth attending summer camp at Parkrose Community United Church of Christ.  This was only my second visit to the church since leaving my position there nearly two years ago as the long-term interim minister.

Parkrose continues to be a church in transition and as such they reflect they community they are a part of in NE Portland.  Since The Rev. Don Frueh was called as the congregation's permanent minister they've worked with the Center for Progressive Renewal and others to continue an exciting  journey the congregation began when I was called there in 2006 and the membership began an intentional process of discerning what it means "to be" church.

A congregation that was once on the verge of collapse is being renewed and that is vital because a progressive Christian voice in needed in mid-county.   

The church was started in 1913 and what worked then doesn't work now.  Churches need to adapt with the times and also help shape the times by providing moral leadership on important issues, such as economic justice for those living in poverty and equality for all. 

Rev. Frueh and the people of Parkrose Community United Church of Christ are together creating a living model of a loving, faithful, progressive Christian church that other mainline churches can learn from.

It was a joy to visit there today.  

"UCC Launches Eastern Horn of Africa Drought and Famine Appeal"

From United Church News:

The United Church of Christ has issued a $250,000 emergency relief appeal for drought- and famine-impacted communities in the Eastern Horn of Africa.
 
One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) emergency relief grants have been shared with Church World Service (CWS) and Action by Churches Together (ACT) to support immediate emergency food relief in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. The UCC is a member communion of Church World Service and an affiliate of the ACT Alliance. 

As part of Our Church’s Wider Mission, OGHS is one of the UCC’s four special mission offerings.

This year marks the driest period in the Eastern Horn of Africa region since 1995, with the lowest level of rainfall in more than 50 years. More than 10 million people are affected by the drought. In Somalia, some 3.7 million people face a crisis, while in Kenya the estimate is up to 3.5 million people.

The United Nations has declared that famine exists in two areas of southern Somalia, southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle.

Click here to learn more and donate.

Right-Wing Websites Falsely Report United Church Of Christ "Banishes" God The Father

Right-wing websites are all a flutter with claims that the United Church of Christ "has decided to banish God 'the Father' from its organizational documents."  Of course, that isn't true and this is much to do with presidential politics and seemingly little to do with religion.

The Patriot Update had the "breaking news" today:

The United Church of Christ, the denomination whose Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright blasted the United States and white people for years from the pulpit while Barack Obama sat in his pews, has decided to banish God “the Father” from its organizational documents.

A report from Eric Anderson on the denomination’s website confirmed that delegates to the UCC’s “GeneralSynod28″ agreed late Monday to a series of proposed amendments to the constitution and bylaws. The vote was 613 in favor of the changes, 171 against and 10 abstaining.

I cannot find that article anywhere on the UCC's website, however.

But the change was one of dozens of wording changes considered this week to the UCC Consitution by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ.  You can read all the changes that were proposed here.

The Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ continues to read:

We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, and to his deeds we testify:

He calls the worlds into being, creates man in his own image and sets before him the ways of life and death.

He seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

He judges men and nations by his righteous will declared through prophets and apostles.

In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord,he has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to himself.

He bestows upon us his Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

He calls us into his church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be his servants in the service of men, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory.

He promises to all who trust him forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, his presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in his kingdom which has no end.

Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto him.

Amen.

There is, however, a more inclusive version that may also be used.

The General Synod this week also adopted an agreement between the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church-USA, Reformed Church in America and Christian Reformed Church regarding the mutual recognition of baptism that calls for the tradition liturgy of "the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" to be used during baptisms.  

In short, the websites reporting that the UCC have fully dropped "Our Father" as language for God are wrong and perhaps even lying as most of them mention President Obama in their stories and seem to be using this issue as an attempt to smear him for partisan political purposes.

Note how The Patriot Update and the radical right-wing website WND, an internet site known for their racist rethoric, feature pictures of President Obama with The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the president's former pastor who retired in 2008. 

Having written all this, I'll note that I personally believe that inclusive language is best when describing God.  God is God and attempts to make God human by placing gender and other human characteristics on God take away from God's divine nature.  Human language is limiting.  We simply don't have a good vocabulary for labeling our Creator.  

Tell President Obama To Protect Medicaid, Low Income Families In Budget Debate

As The New York Times noted in an editorial, health care for the poorest Americans is under attack by Congressional republicans and President Obama must stand-up to them or the consequences will be grave:

The poor and disabled people who rely on Medicaid to pay their medical bills could be in grave jeopardy in this sour I’ve-got-mine political climate.

Older Americans, a potent voting bloc, have made clear that they won’t stand for serious changes in Medicare. Medicaid, however, provides health insurance for the most vulnerable, who have far less political clout.

There is no doubt that Medicaid — a joint federal-state program — has to be cut substantially in future decades to help curb federal deficits. For cash-strapped states, program cuts may be necessary right now. But in reducing spending, government needs to ensure any changes will not cause undue harm to millions.

As Medicaid currently works, the federal government sets minimum requirements for eligibility and for services that must be covered; states can expand on services and include more people. The federal government is required to pay from half to three-quarters of the cost, depending on the wealth of a state’s population. In tough economic times, Medicaid enrollments typically soar as government revenues shrink, adding budget woes.

House Republicans led by Paul Ryan want to turn Medicaid into a federal block grant program that would grow slowly and shift more costs to states and patients. Their plan would save $771 billion over a decade. Mr. Ryan also wants to repeal a big expansion of Medicaid required by the health care reforms. All told, he would cut $1.4 trillion over 10 years — roughly a third of the more than $4 trillion in projected federal spending in that period.  

President Obama, who would retain the Medicaid expansion, has proposed a cut of $100 billion, less than 2.5 percent of projected federal spending, which would be much more manageable, though a lot will depend on how it is carried out. The great danger in proposing $100 billion in cuts at the start is that Republicans will take that as an opening bid that can be negotiated upward, toward the unreasonable Ryan-level cuts the House has already approved.

The best route to savings — already embodied in the reform law — is to make the health care system more efficient over all so that costs are reduced for Medicaid, Medicare and private insurers as well. Various pilot programs to reduce costs might be speeded up, and a greater effort could be made to rein in malpractice costs.

The Half in Ten Campaign - a project supported by the United Church of Christ, the Center for American Progress, and others - is calling on President Obama to protect programs for those living in poverty during budget negotiations:

In these next few weeks, urge the President to stand firm on one important principle as negotiators finalize a deficit reduction plan: protect programs for low-income families and individuals and ensure that deficit reduction does not increase poverty.

Major bipartisan deficit reduction plans in recent decades have met this basic standard. In fact, all of the deficit reduction packages enacted in the 1990s not only brought down the deficit, but also reduced poverty in America. Other deficit reduction measures during this time period also excluded programs supporting low-income families from automatic budget cuts on the principle that low-income Americans should be protected.

Getting our fiscal house in order need not, and should not, mean we do so in a way that increases poverty, hardship, and inequality while financing additional tax breaks for the wealthy.

Call or email the President's office and ask him to oppose harmful cuts to low-income programs and stand by his support of fair increases in revenues to fight reckless cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, and other important services. You can contact the White House Comment Line today toll free at 1-888-245-0215. 

With critical services for our most vulnerable hanging in the balance, your voice on this issue could not be more needed or important during this time.

Click here to send a message to President Obama.

General Synod Of The United Church Of Christ Set To Pass Resolution Opposing Hostility To Islam #gs28

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ is expected to pass a resolution early this week that offers support for Muslims facing growing hatred and intolerance.  This is exactly the type of statement Christians should by making at this moment of history.

United Church News reports:

Working in a consensus model, Committee 12 recommended that General Synod 28 adopt the resolution “On Actions of Hostility Against Islam and the Muslim Community” submitted by Wider Church Ministries.

Committee members universally supported the direction of the resolution and its call to the church to declare its “clear support for neighbors in the Muslim community,” in response to highly visible anti-Muslim statements and actions in the United States over the last year.

Delegates and visitors to the committee deliberations told story after story, both about anti-Muslim activities in their home regions and actions taken by UCC churches in response. Matt Davis of La Crosse, Wisc., said the resolution is very timely for his community. A local Muslim congregation has been growing, and looks now to purchase land to build a mosque.

“We can already feel stirrings against it,” he said. With Davis’ encouragement, the committee added language to the resolution calling for documentation and publicity of actions taken “in support of Muslims and people of other faiths.”

Margaret Johnston, a laywoman from the Gainesville, Fla. area, offered a sign of hope from the very center of the Quran burning controversy. After the desecration, UCC pastors the Revs. Lawrence and Sandra Reimer joined with clergy of several confessions in the Gainesville Interfaith Forum to speak against hateful acts with one clear voice. They have chosen to act together as well, and the group will undertake a Habitat for Humanity building project together.

The final vote on the resolution is expected Monday or Tuesday.

 

UCC Will Consider Ecumenical Agreement On Baptism: Is It A Good Idea? #gs28

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ is meeting this week in Florida.  Unfortunately, I'm not able to attend.  Among the issues being considered this year is one regarding baptism and a proposed agreement between the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church-USA, Reformed Church in America and Christian Reformed Church.

United Church News reports:

Culminating seven years of ecumenical dialog, delegates to the UCC's 28th General Synod in Tampa, Fla., will deliberate and potentially vote on a proposal recommending the "Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism."

Forged between the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church-USA, Reformed Church in America and Christian Reformed Church – the agreement is being hailed as a "milestone on the ecumenical journey," says Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, chairman of the USCCB Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

The USCCB voted 204-11 last fall to approve the agreement. The Presbyterian Church-USA has also ratified the agreement. The Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church are scheduled to consider the agreement at their respective national gatherings this summer. UCC ecumenical partner, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has a long-standing common baptism agreement with the USCCB.

"Together with our Reformed brothers and sisters, we Catholic bishops can affirm baptism as the basis of the real, even if incomplete, unity we share in Christ," says Gregory. "Our conference looks forward to seeing all four of the authoritative bodies of the Reformed communities approve the common agreement as we have today."

"It was quite the journey – seven years," says the Rev. Sidney F. Fowler, Interim Senior Minister of Westmoreland Congregational UCC in Bethesda, Md. "I think it offers an opportunity for an amazing conversation among UCC folks who have deep ecumenical commitments."

"There were some rather tough moments," says Fowler, who has worked for the national settings of both the UCC in worship and spiritual formation, and has extensive experience developing lectionary-based and international ecumenical resources.

The two primary roadblocks to the agreement centered on language used during the baptismal rite and the manner in which water is used.

"At a moment of significant impasse, Geoffrey brought fresh eyes and asked crucial questions that helped the process move forward so all parties could sign off on the common agreement," says Kimberly Whitney, UCC minister for community life and assistant to the UCC's five-member Collegium. "Our general minister and president looks forward to charging us as a denomination toward continued groundbreaking and visionary connections – both interfaith and ecumenical – that are ahead of us."

Research found that nearly 20 percent of UCC churches were using alternative language for "the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" for baptismal formula, says Fowler. "Catholics don't recognize baptism other than 'in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.' "

Gregory says the agreement, after approval by the four Reformed denominations, will "allow Catholic ministers to presume that baptisms performed in these communities are 'true baptism' as understood in Catholic doctrine and law."

"The presentation of a baptismal certificate by Reformed Christians who wish to come into full communion with the Catholic Church, or to marry a Catholic, assures Catholic ministers that the baptism performed by a Reformed minister involved the use of flowing water and the biblical invocation of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit," says Gregory.

The agreement also encourages local Christian communities to keep baptismal records, a practice already held in the Catholic Church.

Recommending a "patient and prudent" approach to changes that will accomplish the goals of the agreement, the document acknowledges some communions may not opt for immediate implementation. "We recognize that the journey towards full, visible unity depends on openness to the grace of God and humility before the initiatives of God's Spirit among us, which are themselves based on Baptism," the agreement reads. "Let us above all work to promote the works of charity and service not only to those who are of the household of the faith, but also to all people and to all of creation." 

I do not use the traditional language of "Father, Son and the Holy Spirit" during baptism as I try to refrain from using gender specific language for God in most cases.  You can download the basic outlines of the baptism liturgy that I use here to see what language I do incorporate.

Actions taken by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ speak to but not for the local church.  Therefore, as a minister in the UCC I am not bound by any agreement made regarding baptism and may (and will) continue to use the language that I currently do.  Inclusive language is important in theology and a important trait of many UCC congregations and our denomination as a whole.  None of this is to say that I am opposed to the agreement.  Ecumenical agreements are important and when and where Christians can find unity it is important to foster those relationships.

7/4/11 Update: Agreement on the mutual recognition of baptism overwhelmingly affirmed 

Looking For A Guest Preacher For Your Church? I Have Open Summer / Fall Dates.

As many of you know, I recently completed my temporary assignment as acting minister at Salem's First Congregational United Church of Christ.  I was asked to step in when the long-time senior pastor suffered a major medical crisis and was forced to retire.  The church will now begin the search for a new permanent senior minister with the assistance of a newly installed interim minister.    

By the end of August I'll be back on the campus of UCC-related Chicago Theological Seminary for another week where I began studies earlier this year for a doctor of ministry degree.

In the meantime, both this summer and fall I have open Sunday mornings on which I am available to guest preach.  If your congregation is looking for a guest preacher please be in contact.  I'm happy to preach in both UCC congregations and other traditions.  I have spoken at conferences and churches across the country and would be willing to do some traveling as long as the host congregation is able to cover expenses.

Rev. Chuck Currie Bio Information

Rev. Chuck Currie Contact Information

Sample Sermons:

 

For The Love Of All Creation: A Sermon On Genesis 1:1-2:4a for Pride Month 2011 from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

God vs Rome: A Palm Sunday Sermon from Rev. Chuck Currie from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

President Barack Obama On Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights

President Obama didn't endorse gay marriage in New York this evening - as many hoped (I myself wrote to encourage him to do so) but the time is coming soon, I believe, when the president will take the right stand.

It is difficult to imagine how quickly opinion has shifted on this issue.  In 2004, numerous states were adopting constitutional amendments banning gay marriage (even in progressive Oregon).  Just back in the 90s President Clinton backed DADT and the Defense of Marriage Act.

The Human Rights Campaign has endorsed President Obama's re-election - and they believe with good cause:

“President Obama has improved the lives of LGBT Americans more than any President in history,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “In 2008 we were promised change and profound change is what we got.  More remains to be done and ensuring that President Obama is able to continue the forward momentum toward equality for another term is an absolute priority of the Human Rights Campaign.”

President Obama’s Administration’s record of accomplishment for the LGBT community includes:

• Pressing for passage and signing legislation to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that bans openly lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers.
• Pressing for passage and signing an inclusive hate crimes law – the first federal statute to explicitly protect LGBT individuals.
• Determining that the administration believes Section 3 of DOMA to be unconstitutional and refusing to defend the discriminatory law in court.
• Requiring hospitals nationwide to adopt LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination policies regarding visitation.

In addition, the administration’s policies: added gender identity to the equal employment opportunity policy governing all federal jobs; permitted married same-sex couples to use their marriage licenses as evidence of a name change for passports and instituted more reasonable standards for changing a gender marker on passports; allowed the Census Bureau to release data on married same-sex couples; extended a number of benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees possible under existing authority; launched a National HIV/AIDS Strategy and efforts to target populations most at risk; required abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education programs be inclusive of and non-stigmatizing toward LGBT youth; and recognized LGBT families are protected under a host of laws from the Violence Against Women Act to family and medical leave regulations to housing programs.

More information on the President’s LGBT record is available at: www.hrc.org/ObamaEndorsement.

“The records of the other candidates seeking the presidency should be a wake-up call to fair-minded Americans,” said Solmonese. “As the fight for equality moves forward, President Obama is marching with us while the alternatives would stop us in our tracks.”

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, it is my great hope and prayer that President Obama and all those running for office will soon endorse full marriage equality as the General Synod of the UCC did in 2005.  With support from GOP figures such as former Vice-President Dick Cheney and former First Lady Laura Bush this has rightly become a bi-partisan cause.  As I told President Obama in my letter this week, supporting marriage equality is also a position consistent with Christian ethics.

For The Love Of All Creation: A Sermon On Genesis 1:1-2:4a for Pride Month 2011 from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Religious Leaders to President Obama: Aid, Not War in Afghanistan

President Obama tonight announced his intention to begin a significant troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.  He said that:

...starting next month, we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point.  After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead.  Our mission will change from combat to support.  By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security.

Those on the left were quick to say the president isn't moving quick enough and those on the right complained the president wasn't finishing the mission ( those left and right lines have become increasingly blurred over time).

A significant number of religious leaders wrote the president a letter this week which read: 

As your target date to begin U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan approaches, we are compelled by the prophetic vision of just peace to speak. We represent a diversity of faith communities -- ranging from just war to pacifist traditions. As leaders of these communities, some of us initially supported the war in Afghanistan as a justified response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Others opposed the war, believing there were better ways than military force to address the al Qaeda threat. Today, however, we are united in the belief that it is time to bring the U.S. war in Afghanistan to an end.

After nine years, what began as a response to an attack has become an open-ended war against a Taliban centric insurgency -- which itself is largely motivated to drive out foreign troops and has no designs beyond its own borders. The military operation has so far resulted in the deaths of over 2,500 Coalition troops, including 1,600 from the U.S. Estimates are that over 20,000 Afghan civilians have died. And yet, the security situation is deteriorating and Taliban influence is spreading. The military situation is at best a stalemate. Al Qaeda barely exists in Afghanistan, but it has metastasized into Pakistan and has established itself in Yemen, Somalia, and other places around the globe.

Relief and development aid, desperately needed after three decades of war, have been integrated into and are subservient to military operations. Civilian aid organizations that attempt to provide much-needed relief are often seen as part of the foreign military occupation and have faced increasing attacks. Additionally, this form of militarized aid has worked to undermine long term sustainability while proving ineffective in addressing immediate poverty concerns. As the faith community, we have experience doing this kind of work, and maintain relationships with partners on the ground. We see and hear the need for relief and development aid to be provided through these civilian aid organizations while untying it from a counterinsurgency strategy and involving and empowering local Afghan partners to the greatest extent possible.

Moreover, this type of aid is most effective -- both in terms of the development in Afghanistan, and the cost of the conflict. The past ten years have shown that we cannot broker peace in Afghanistan by military force; it is time to transition toward a plan that builds up civil society and provides economic alternatives for Afghans. At a time of economic turmoil, as we are presented with difficult financial and budgetary decisions at home, we have an opportunity to invest in aid that both supports the people of Afghanistan, and saves our country much needed funds.

We recognize that legitimate ethical and moral issues are at stake in Afghanistan -- U.S. national security, protecting the lives of Coalition servicemen and women, protecting Afghan civilians, defending the rights of Afghan women, supporting democracy and, of course, saving innocent lives from the inevitable death and destruction that accompany war. We humbly believe there is a better way than war to address these important issues.

What is needed now is a comprehensive package of interlocking arrangements to enhance security and stability. This alternative path is not without some risk, but it is preferable to the known dangers of war. As you said in December 2009, the U.S. should begin a responsible but accelerated withdrawal of troops, beginning with a significant number in July 2011 and continuing along a set timetable. This must be linked to a comprehensive security agreement, a regional multi-lateral diplomatic initiative, and increased public & private assistance for locally based economic and social development programs. We must commit to proactively share the costs of war, which have been borne disproportionately by the veterans of these wars, their families and thousands of Afghan civilians.

We reaffirm our religious hope for a world in which "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid."

Like these colleagues of mine (listed below), I want this war to end.  It cannot be stressed enough, however, the the international community has an obligation to rebuild Afghanistan and to protect human rights there.  A return of the Taliban will be a humanitarian nightmare - particularly for women.  In late 2001, a joined a very small number of religious voices in opposing the invasion of Afghanistan because I believed U.S. intervention would fail and that we would leave the civilian population worse off.  President Bush did lead us into failure and President Obama has been forced to make very difficult decisions since taking office.  I believe that the proposals made by religious leaders to the president this week will help further advance the goals set forth by the White House.

Here is the list of those who signed the letter:

Rev. Geoffrey A. Black
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

Pastor Geoff Browning
Peacemaking Advocate
Presbytery of San Jose

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

Marie Dennis
Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Co-President, Pax Christi International

Rev. Dr. Cheryl F. Dudley
President
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America

Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
Ecumenical Officer
Swedenborgian Churches of North America

Dr. Linda Gaither
Chair
Episcopal Peace Fellowship

Glen Gersmehl
National Coordinator
Lutheran Peace Fellowship

Diana Gibson
Christian Peace Witness

Evelyn Hanneman
Operations Coordinator
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America

Dr. Robert Hanson
Chair of Peace Committee
Mt. Diablo Unitarian-Universalist Church

Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo
Executive Minister
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries

Mark C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Fellowship of Reconciliation

Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon
General Secretary
National Council of Churches

Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston
Director
Disciples Justice Action Network

Paul LaRue
Oregon-Idaho Chapter of the Methodist
Federation for Social Action

Bishop Chuck Leigh
Apostolic Catholic Church

Rev. John R. Long, DD
Retired Presbyterian Minister
Presbytery of Western New York

Rev. Dr. Dale E. Luffman
Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer
Community of Christ

The Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller
President, Provincial Elders' Conference
Moravian Church, Northern Province

Douglas Morgan
Director
Adventist Peace Fellowship

Mr. Stanley Noffsinger
General Secretary
Church of the Brethren

Rev. Gradye Parsons
General Assembly Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

The Rev. Nathaniel W. Pierce
American Secretary
Anglican Pacifist Fellowship

Diane Randall
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation

Dave Robinson
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA

Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach
Director
Mennonite Central Committee US, Washington Office

Sandy Sorensen
Director
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed,
National Director
Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances, Islamic Society of North America

Haris Tarin
Director, Washington Office
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

Eda Uca-Dorn
Director
Hosanna! People's Seminary

Rick Ufford-Chase
Executive Director
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Stephen M. Veazey
President
Community of Christ

Jim Wallis
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sojourners

Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Rev. Dr. Craig M. Watts
Co-Moderator Disciples Peace Fellowship

Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW

James E. Winkler
General Secretary
General Board of Church and Society, The United Methodist Church

For The Love Of All Creation: A Sermon On Genesis 1:1-2:4a for Pride Month 2011

My sermon this morning at Salem's First Congregational United Church of Christ focused on Genesis 1:1-2:4a and God's love for all Creation. I tied the reading into LGBT Pride month, the debate over marriage equality, and the on-going fight for civil rights.  You can watch the video below: 

For The Love Of All Creation: A Sermon On Genesis 1:1-2:4a for Pride Month 2011 from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Baptists "Eject" United Church Of Christ From Retreat Center

A Southern Baptist retreat center has told a United Church of Christ congregation they'll no longer be able to rent facilities at the center because the UCC "promotes homosexuality."  United Church News has the story:

For the past 28 years, members of the UCC's United Church of Gainesville (Fla.) have gathered in great numbers for their annual spring retreat at the Lake Yale Baptist Assembly Ground.

"We had a wonderful retreat there on the last weekend in April this year," said the Rev. Sandy Reimer, co-pastor of Gainesville UCC. "Good programs, workshops, worship – we had 283 folks attend, which included 24 preschoolers up to adults in their 70s."

Then, during the first week of June, Reimer received a letter and a phone call from the Lake Yale Conference Center.

"Don Sawyer, the director of the conference center, called to tell me that we would no longer be welcome at Lake Yale for our retreats because we were 'promoting homosexuality.' "

"Their staff noticed several of our folks wearing ONA T-shirts," wrote Reimer in an early June email. "They told the director, then checked out our web site and confirmed that we were Open and Affirming."

Sawyer notified the governing board, whose policy states that any church or denomination that affirms gay people and/or gay marriage is not welcome on their property.

"We have been an Open and Affirming church for about two decades," Reimer said in the email. "We have about 750 members with a healthy mixture of gay and straight folks, families, children, elders, a real diversity of ages and lifestyles."

Click here for the full story.

It is a sad story, really.  Early in the history of our nation Baptists faced discrimination and thus became early proponents of the separation of church and state.  Tragically, Southern Baptists would later become intertwined with the institution of slavery and then with white supremacy.  Southern Baptists would later help lead the charge against equal rights for women - all of this in the name of Holy Scripture.  Today - just as they wrongly fought for slavery, against intergration and against equality for women in society and the church - they use the same theology to preach that gays and lesbians are of lesser worth by fighting agaist hate crimes laws, work place protections, and marriage equality.  Again and again they are on the wrong side of history and pervert the Bible to terrible and unjust ends.  Our churches should be welcoming of all of God's beloved creation - not ejecting those who might seem different.  As an example of what the church should be like we have the ministry of Jesus to model from.     

Leaving Salem And What's Next

As many of you know, I've been serving as the acting minister of Salem's First Congregational United Church of Christ since February.  The congregation has now chosen an interim minister (a position I was not interested in) and will shortly begin their expected 12-14 month search for a permanent minister.  My last Sunday preaching there will be next week - June 19th at 10:30 am.  All are welcome.

I've deeply enjoyed serving this church.  First Congregational United Church of Christ, located just blocks from the Oregon State Capitol, is an Open and Affirming congregation with a rich history of work on issues including racial justice (way back in the late 1800s) and more recently on immigration reform.  I have found the people there to be energized about ministry and deeply committed to building up the Kingdom.

Later this summer I'll be returning to the campus of UCC-related Chicago Theological Seminary to continue work that I began this winter toward a doctor of ministry degree. 

At the same time, I'll be exploring new ministry opportunities and possible work with area non-profits (a copy of my current CV can be downloaded here).  There are currently no UCC congregations actively searching for clergy in this conference but we are committed to Oregon for various reasons - including family commitments and our deep love for this special place.

JPANet: Raise the Debt Ceiling & Protect our Communities

United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries Action Alert

The debt ceiling sets the maximum size of the federal government debt and Congress needs to periodically raise it. Some members of Congress are refusing to support an increase in the debt limit unless huge spending cuts are also part of the "deal."

If reductions in spending follow the pattern established in the House of Representatives’ recent proposal for the federal budget, the cuts will target programs for low- and moderate-income people and essential government functions. The cuts would further harm people who are already suffering and prolong (and possibly worsen) the economic downturn.

Any conditions that are attached to an increase in the debt ceiling should target reductions in the deficit, not just cuts in government spending. Shrinking the deficit must be done through both spending cuts and tax increases on wealthy households and corporations. Tax increases as well as spending cuts must be part of any effort to reduce the deficit.

Tell Congress: raise the debt ceiling and if a “deal” is made to require spending cuts, it must also include tax increases.