Rev. Joseph Lowery's Benediction ~ A Capstone

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hand, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink, though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union. And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together, children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone, with your hands of power and your heart of love.

Help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -(laughter)- when yellow will be mellow -(laughter)- when the red man can get ahead, man -(laughter)- and when white will embrace what is right.

Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: Say amen --

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen! (Cheers, applause.)

END.

Transcript courtesy Federal News Service
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/01/rev_lowery_inauguration_benedi.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pEH37JIgBU

Evangelicalism.

Brett over at The Hendricksonians
did a book review that brought up a question I've though about on and off. Here are my comments about his post:

We need to come up with a better word. For most of the political left, including devout Christians, "Evangelical" has become a dirty word. This is unfortunate. Aren't, or at least shouldn't, all Christians be evangelical? Is that pretty much the job description? At the very minimum it is for us clergy types. We are called to evangelize. Just as the Pro-Life movement has claimed the linguistic high ground, (Is it possible to be anti-life?)the 'old-time religion' types have taken a very important word and used it in a very narrow way, thus giving it a connotation that excludes many of the people it should include. Can we redeem Evangelicalism? should we come up with a better word? Delwin Brown has a great book called "What does a Progressive Christian Believe" that discusses this. I'm not certain I like the word Progressive. Thoughts?

So? What do you think?

Support Peace in the Holy Land, Urge President-elect Obama to take action

I have just added my name to an ecumenical Christian letter to President-elect Obama and am writing you to encourage you to do the same. American Christian leaders and congregants of the Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant traditions have joined together to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and urge President-elect Obama to make Israeli-Palestinian peace an immediate priority of his Administration.

You can support this Christian Call for Holy Land Peace by adding your name to the ecumenical letter that has been signed by Christian leaders and congregants from across the nation. Visit http://www.cmep.org/letter to sign the letter and join your fellow American Christians in supporting vigorous U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure a just and lasting two-state solution.

To view the letter and a list of the national Christian leaders signatories, and to add you name, go to http://www.cmep.org/letter.

The last day to add your name is January 16, 2009. The letter signed by national Christian leaders was sent to the Obama transition team on December 1, 2008. The final letter signed by leaders and congregants will be delivered to President Obama during the time of inauguration. Please stand with those calling for peace in Holy Land by adding your name today at http://www.cmep.org/letter.

Better Days

I'm supposed to be working on a paper, but I'm thinking about CPE, Israel hitting a school and killing children and the unbridled joy of my friends Ross and Amanda's new baby. Then this came on.

(there's)something only you can give
And that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And it's one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

Rick Warren's Invocation at the Inaguration

I wrote a letter to the President elect and posted it before I had a chance to copy it for posting here. It is probably obvious what it said. I wish he would have picked someone else. Perhaps Martin Marty or even Ken Vaux, a professor at G-ETS who advised the President-elect during the election. But, he picked Rev. Warren. Here is some info I picked up from a Facebook group. I urge everyone to write to voice their disapproval. Even if you don't support gay-marriage, I think you might agree that Pastor Warren's linkage of gay marriage with incest and polygamy is a bit too extreme.

Here's the text from the Facebook page:

Divisive, homophobic Saddleback Church minister Rick Warren has been invited to give President Elect Obama's inaugural invocation.

HERE'S WHAT HE HAS TO SAY ON GAY UNIONS:
Rick Warren: But the issue to me is, I’m not opposed to that as much as I’m opposed to the redefinition of a 5,000-year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.

Steven Waldman: Do you think, though, that they are equivalent to having gays getting married?

Rick Warren: Oh I do.

DOES THIS REPRESENT THE CHANGE YOU VOTED FOR? DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE INCLUDED IN THIS SYMBOLIC DAY OF NEW BEGINNINGS? YOU CAN TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW:

1. CALL 202-540-3000 , press "2," speak with a live person

2. SEND a letter letting the transition team know what you think here http://change.gov/page/content/contact, and

3. EMAIL Parag Mehta, Obama's LGBT liaison on the transition team at parag.mehta@ptt.gov.

Hello readers!

I'm finishing up papers for my second to last full semester of MA studies at G-ETS. I'm pondering my future. Employment? More School? Something in between? One of my final papers is on my theology of suffering. I'll post some of it here for your reading pleasure.

In the meantime. Grace and Peace to you and enjoy this:

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

READ THIS TOO!!!!!!!

Here's the link.

Here's the text:

James Dobson’s ‘Letter From 2012 in Obama’s America’

by Jim Wallis 10-29-2008

James Dobson, you owe America an apology. The fictional letter released through your Focus on the Family Action organization, titled “Letter From 2012 in Obama’s America”, crosses all lines of decent public discourse. In a time of utter political incivility, it shows the kind of negative Christian leadership that has become so embarrassing to so many of your fellow Christians in America. We are weary of this kind of Christian leadership, and that is why so many are forsaking the Religious Right in this election.

This letter offers nothing but fear. It apocalyptically depicts terrorist attacks in American cities, churches losing their tax exempt status for not allowing gay marriages, pornography pushed in front of our children, doctors and nurses forced to perform abortions, euthanasia as commonplace, inner-city crime gone wild because of lack of gun ownership, home schooling banned, restricted religious speech, liberal censorship shutting down conservative talk shows, Christian publishers forced out of business, Israel nuked, power blackouts because of environmental restrictions, brave Christian resisters jailed by a liberal Supreme court, and finally, good Christian families emigrating to Australia and New Zealand.

It is shocking how thoroughly biblical teachings against slander—misrepresentations that damage another’s reputation—are ignored (Ephesians 4:29-31, Colossians 3:8, Titus 3:2). Such outrageous predictions not only damage your credibility, they slander Barack Obama who, you should remember, is a brother in Christ, and they insult any Christian who might choose to vote for him.

Let me make this clear: Christians will be voting both ways in this election, informed by their good faith, and based on their views of what are the best public policies and direction for America. But in utter disrespect for the prayerful discernment of your fellow Christians, this letter stirs their ugliest fears, appealing to their worst impulses instead of their best.

Fear is the clear motivator in the letter; especially fear that evangelical Christians might vote for Barack Obama. The letter was very revealing when it suggested that “younger Evangelicals” became the “swing vote” that elected Obama and the results were catastrophic.

You make a mistake when you assume that younger Christians don’t care as much as you about the sanctity of life. They do care—very much—but they have a more consistent ethic of life. Both broader and deeper, it is inclusive of abortion, but also of the many other assaults on human life and dignity. For the new generation, poverty, hunger, and disease are also life issues; creation care is a life issue; genocide, torture, the death penalty, and human rights are life issues; war is a life issue. What happens to poor children after they are born is also a life issue.

The America you helped vote into power has lost its moral standing in the world, and even here at home. The America you told Christians to vote for in past elections is now an embarrassment to Christians around the globe, and to the children of your generation of evangelicals. And the vision of America that you still tell Christians to vote for is not the one that many in a new generation of Christians believes expresses their best values and convictions.

Christians should be committed to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of America, and the church is to live an alternative existence of love and justice, offering a prophetic witness to politics. Elections are full of imperfect choices where we all seek to what is best for the “common good” by applying the values of our faith as best we can.

Dr. Dobson, you of course have the same right as every Christian and every American to vote your own convictions on the issues you most care about, but you have chosen to insult the convictions of millions of other Christians, whose own deeply held faith convictions might motivate them to vote differently than you. This epistle of fear is perhaps the dying gasp of a discredited heterodoxy of conservative religion and conservative politics. But out of that death, a resurrection of biblical politics more faithful to the whole gospel—one that is truly good news—might indeed be coming to life.