CELEBRATE WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON NOT WHERE WE DIFFER

 Loitering and 'being' opens the horizons of the mind and heart, it also challenges prejudice.
Meeting people from around our world. people with who we have much in common, others who see the world quite differently from us, all make a rich and interesting tapestry.

At a Vigil held in the city of Melbourne where I work, after a tragic incident to place, I observed a diversity not always appreciated. Mostly this is often as a result of ignorance, fear and mistrust of other.

Sitting after the vigil with a man, a complete stranger to me, we held hands we chatted about what we have in common.

He a Hindu and me a white anglo-saxon commonly known as 'a Christian".

Both affected by what had happened, both deeply moved by the service and both saying how at times like this we need each other.

While we do love 'our' country, and want it to 'be safe' and for some just like 'the good ol' days', we are called to love.

For those of us who claim to 'love God with all our heart, strength and mind' sometimes forget to love neighbour as self.

I don't expect its always easy, its not for me, so together lets strive to get it, who knows we may even look back one day and claim these were the 'good ol' day'!!

Love Others Radically

Love others so radically they wonder why.


This weekend it was announced by the Prime Minister that he wants to pass a law that says that anyone who has tried to come to Australia, illegally,  by boat since 2013 will NEVER be allowed to enter the country. It is being done as a "sign to the people smugglers of how serious we are" about border protection. That's great , Mr Turnbull, but it's not the people smugglers who are being effected by this, its the little people desperate to find a new life away from tyranny and oppression - they won't find it here apparently. (Yes, I know that some of the boat people are trying to jump the queue and beat the system but the (documented) majority are trying to escape terrible lives. Just think, what would have to happen to you and your family to make you jump into a boat and risk your life? It's not a decision that most of the people make lightly.)

I was listening to the radio yesterday morning and a politician (I don't remember her name) confirmed to the interviewer that if someone has tried to come to Australia to seek asylum by boat, even if they are found to have a legitimate claim, they will not be allowed to enter the country EVER! My friend (who works for the United Nations as a lawyer) cannot work out how many U.N. statutes  and Internation Laws this new law (if passed) will contravene. Where is our nation's compassion? Where is our love for our neighbour? When we will stop singing the National Anthem that says, in the second verse, "For those who've come across the seas, we've boundless plains to share"?

Please don't think I'm advocating that we do away with our immigration laws - I'm not. I went through the system to be allowed to live here, it was fair to me. I am questioning the fairness and justice of a law that contravenes many International laws and treaties for those legitimate people who have been so oppressed in their own country that they have had to make the difficult decision to flee and will be denied the right I have because of the way they travel; for many the boats are the only way they can get out. (And I'm very aware of the amazing privilege I have to be able to write this blog, granted to me because I do live in a 'free' country.)



The sign this week speaks of the Christian value of love - that love that Jesus speaks about and shows to others. To those who, in the eyes of the government of his time, didn't deserve love; to those that did him all manner of wrong; to those who oppressed him and, eventually, killed him.

This 'radical' love is what we, as Christians (I would say decent humans), should strive for; a self giving love that sees others as equals; a love (and a way of life) that doesn't judge the worth of others by what their job is, or where they come from.

Love one another because love is from God - to quote a book a read from time to time.

A very appropriate meme!

Irony

Christian

Non-Christian

Oh, the irony

Before I go on I must say that the person mentioned in this blog does not express the views of all Christians or, for that matter, all non-Christians.

I had the dubious pleasure this morning of listening to a prominent church leader (an archbishop, I think) chime in with his ideas on the marriage equality debate. It was an entertaining few minutes, I actually laughed once or twice. Then it sunk in that this man was representing to the radio audience the views of the whole Christian Church and that horrified me because what he said is certainly not my view nor the view of most of my Christian friends (and non-Christian friends as well.) 

The two things that will stick in my mind from his, most illuminating, speech were these - 

• that anyone who supports the proposed marriage equality laws is not ‘a whole person.’ 

and

• there shouldn’t be a vote in parliament on the marriage equality debate because it is too important an issue to be decided by politicians. 

I have to admit that this is not an ridiculous idea, or so I thought until the speaker followed up, answering a question, with the idea that yes, politicians have been given the mandate to start wars but not change the marriage laws, they shouldn't be allowed to change the marriage laws as they are not qualified to do so.

If these weren't such stupid statements I’d laugh. 

How can someone say that anyone who supports the proposed marriage equality laws is not ‘a whole person’? Does that mean that the 73 years old grandmother of 5 I was speaking to yesterday, who supports the idea of marriage equality, is not a ‘whole person’. According to a recent poll 72% of all Australians are not ‘whole people’ because they support marriage equality. 

I’ve heard the view about who is a whole person before from (primarily) Roman Catholic clergy and I’ve read the same view in (primarily) Roman Catholic publications, but it has always been aimed towards gay people. The Roman Catholic Church seems to view all LBGTQi people as not whole but never before have I heard it expressed that ANYONE who supports marriage equality is not a whole person. 

It seemed to me that I have to agree with the speaker on everything to be considered a whole person. I don’t and yet I feel quite whole but then again am I qualified to speak about that? Which brings me on to the second point.

Politicians are not qualified to make a decision on marriage equality.

What qualifications do they need? Is there a test that politicians should take to work out which laws they can change? 

They have the power to send our military away to die but they are not qualified to decide if legislation needs changing. From the way it was worded by the archbishop this morning it seems that it’s not just the marriage equality legislation they can’t change, it’s all legislation. They are unqualified. 

How does it work then? If they are able to drive a car can they debate the traffic laws (which relate to cars but not trucks obviously, unless they can drive a truck)? What about the laws on adoption and fostering - if they haven’t adopted a child should they abstain from the debate? Do they have to surf the internet to take part in a debate on the N.B.N.? They are elected to do this stuff. It’s what they do and, despite what I say sometimes, they do it quite well on the whole.

But this isn’t a blog about politicians, this is about Christians and how some of them don’t seem understand irony especially the irony about preaching one thing and yet doing another. I could go on and on about this but I’ll end with a short story and a Bible verse to demonstrate what I mean.

I have a friend in the U.S. (who happens to be gay). She works in a bar/restaurant and is given Sunday mornings off by the atheist owners to go to church because she is a Christian. One Sunday she went to one of the big churches they have over there. After the service the pastor came up to her and asked her not to come back to his church as he doesn’t want “her kind” in his church. The passage he had just finished preaching on was the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:40 - “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” 

She feels more welcome in the atheist's bar - 

Oh the irony.

Blah, blah, balh

Blah, blah, blah,

Just come to church

Oh we’ve put up many signs in the past few years. Some have been funny (at least to me), some have been thought provoking, some have had a lot of responses, some have had none at all.

This week - well, pretty self explanatory. Enough talking - come and listen to what we have to say.

Everyone is welcome. 

Now I know that every church says that but when you go you find that everyone doesn't mean you or people like you. Lots of churches have hidden agendas about who is welcome  and who isn't (some of them aren’t too hidden either). Some will question your sexuality, others will wonder about your bank balance, skin colour, racial background, do you have a place to live? These and other things are all ways that you can be excluded from various churches.

One of the tenants we at the Melbourne Welsh Church feel is at the heart of the Gospel is the idea that “all means all.”

We cannot decide who we let into the church of God - it is not our call - it’s God’s call; it’s his church after all. We are custodians and, if we understand the Gospel, it is very clear that all means all. The church is open to everyone - not just the ones we want to welcome in but everyone; absolutely everyone.

We will not get on with them all; we will not like them all; we should love them all. 

So blah, blah, blah, just come to church - everyone is welcome; after all - ALL MEANS ALL! and that includes YOU and ME.

Look at things differently

Look at things differently....

Why do so many Christians forget where this church thing all started? Why do we forget where we come from and who started all this?

It all started with a Jewish man who bucked all the social trends of his time. This man broke all conventions. You think I'm making this stuff up - Look at these examples

In a time when women where considered worthless (or even property in some cases) this man, Jesus, spent time with women; even Samaritan women, who Jewish people considered the lowest of the low.

Then there was the sinners - oh there were loads of them. The 'establishment' wanted nothing to do with them; Jesus spent the majority of his time with them. There was a man called Zac - he was a tax man for the invasion army. He was, to say the least, hated and yet Jesus had dinner with him - spent time with the worst of the worse.

The list goes on - lepers; prostitutes; the demon processed; the sick; collaborators with the authorities etc etc etc.

So with the example we have why do so many churches and so many Christians forget where we come from? Why do they (we) forget that Jesus walked and talked with 'all the wrong people' of his time? 

So here's the thing - we need to talk with and walk with 'all the wrong people' of our time. 

Now I'm not sure who they are where you are but here, at the Melbourne Welsh Church in Melbourne, Australia, all the wrong people might look homeless, or like refugees, or maybe gay, or different from us, or maybe the same as us - hey, maybe we're all the wrong people; maybe I'm all the wrong people and this Jesus guy wants to talk to me.

Now there's a terrible thought....

Kindness - a universal language

We were very privileged today to have Father Bob MacGuire talk to us at church. He is a true Melbourne hero - for those of you who don’t know who he is here is a little about him.

Father Bob really speaks the language of kindness and has been speaking it, practically, for over 40 years. He was inspirational at church today reminding us (in his own special and unique way) what church is really about. He told us that we, who wear the name of Christ, also bear his cross. That by saying we are Christian we are committing ourselves to a path that involves loving others and that can be hard sometimes. In the words of Professor Dumbeldore, 

“It’s the choice between the easy way and the right way.”

We read the end of Matthew 25 this morning - sheep, goats, hungry, naked, prisoners etc. and Father Bob reminded us that by reading it, saying our “Amen” at the end we commit ourselves to seeing the hungry and feeding them, seeing the thirsty and giving them a drink, inviting in the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and visiting the imprisoned. Whoever they may be.

We have a mammoth task ahead of us. 

Father Bob has being doing it for 40 years and he has only just scratched the surface of what is needed.

Thank you Father Bob - for all you do. We will continue to pray for you as we strive to follow Christ’s example that we see in your work.

Stangers and Friends

Getting to know your neighbours (strangers) is full of surprises I am discovering.

Each day i am out  'loitering with intent' on the Melbourne Streets I have contact with people encountering ordinary  "stuff' of life, just being.

This is different to the 'work' I have done in the past. 
No programs that have KPI's, no 'problems' to 'fix', rather to BE with and journey with in the 'ordinary stuff' of life.

It is good to do, however 'being' is amazing!!

Be Excellent to Each Other

25 years ago - imagine the scene - Jesus, in jeans, hoodie and baseball cap, sitting on the steps outside parliament house (or whatever legislative body you care to mention, they all have steps) with a large crowd of homeless people, drug addicts, a few prostitutes, tattooed lay a-bouts, the unemployed, various young people and the rest of the dregs of society looking for something to do. The crowd quietens as Jesus looks at them, opens his mouth and begins to speak. In loud, ringing tones, heard over the rush of traffic and the busy life of the city he says....

BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER

How cool would that have been?

"Be excellent to each other" was the catchphrase of Bill & Ted as they went on their excellent adventure. Do you know it's been 25 years since the first Bill and Ted movie? If you are under 25 or have never seen the movie go and watch it right now then come back and read the rest of this blog!!!

Wyld Stallyns got it - they simplified a lot of the work of the church into 5 words - be excellent to each other.

So how hard can it be to be? What is it about "do to others as you would have them do to you" that is so difficult to understand? Why is "love your neighbour" not our everyday mantra? Why aren't we being excellent to each other?

In a city (and a world) where profit seems to be more important than people the simple act of being excellent to each other can go a long way to making the city (and world) a better place. Yesterday, at church, Bubba reminded us that we need to actually 'see' people, acknowledge them and remind them that they are important and meaningful.

Across South East Asia there is a ritual greeting that started in Hinduism - it is "Namaste" and it literally means, so I'm told by Profs. Google and Wikipedia, "I see the divine in you" or to put that in a way churchy folk won't freak about, "You are a child of God".

How beautiful is that?

What a difference it would make if we all could see other people as children of God and not just strangers on different paths to us.

That guy who stands next to you on the tram - think Namaste - you are a child of God.;The nosy neighbour down the street who wants to know everything - she is a child of God; that annoying person who stares back at you in the mirror - guess what? Yep a child of God. I'm sure you get the picture, so

Be excellent to each other and namaste on dudes!

Keep Jesus weird!!

Jesus is now so mainstream - I mean there is even a Ken Jesus now. 

It’s frightening how ‘accepted’ Jesus is, everywhere. He is talked about in parliament, he is mentioned in court rulings, he has books written about him by ‘nice’ authors; movies and T.V. shows depict this nice, kind, white guy with perfect teeth and hair and a voice makes honey look lumpy and scratchy. People don’t want to know him but he is ingrained in our national psyche, this nice, comfy man who kisses babies and tells a few stories about God and stuff.

For crying out loud!!! We have completely forgotten how weird Jesus was. We are ignoring how radical his message was (and still is).

You see Jesus was REALLY weird - he was a longhaired, homeless hippy who went around with his dropout mates telling really strange stories to anyone who would listen. He upset everyone with even a little vested interest in power or authority, he made the clergy feel very uncomfortable and he upset the order of things wherever he went. 

How is this mainstream? It wasn’t even mainstream in the sixties! 

For some following Jesus is far too comfortable, far too beige - HELP! We need to bring back the Jesus weirdness!

Walk with those who are marginalised - the poor, the homeless, the outcasts, the sinners. Tell the stories of our faith for they give hope to the hopeless and make the comfortable squirm. Live out the commands of the divine weirdo for they make us and the world a better place. 

Accept people where they are and for who they are; judge less and love unconditionally; spread the grace of God wherever you go. 

Be as weird as Jesus; our world needs to see him as he really is and not what he has become - let’s do away with the nice, kind, white guy with perfect teeth and hair and a voice like honey and remind the world of the of the longhaired, homeless hippy who went around with his dropout mates telling really strange stories and changing the world.

KEEP JESUS WEIRD AND CHANGE THE WORLD!

church could be like THIS

So I’m back in the U.K. and heading to Leeds - WHY? I hear you ask - well for one simple reason to visit Harehills Lane Baptist Church - WHERE? I hear you say - Harehills Lane Baptist Church in Leeds, the church where Graeme Dodds is a minister - WHO? you might say - this guy...



He preached at our church a couple of years ago and many people (including me) said it was one of the best sermons they had ever heard!

Anyway, I went to Harehills Lane Baptist Church - and I have to say that church should (or could) be like this!



I walked in and the first thing that hit me was the welcome I got - the guy at the door seemed genuinely pleased I was there. He explained a little about the service, asked me where I was from and was really nice.



I sat down and everyone who came in (I mean everyone) said hello and as it filled people came over to talk and introduce themselves. Graeme came out and sat with me throughout the service, which was brilliant and was all about everything I had been to America to see.

The theme was traction - the idea of the ‘rubber hitting the road’. It emphasised everything I had hoped about the trip - the idea that doing is a vital part of believing. All that stuff in the book of James that faith without works is dead etc, etc. One thing, said almost in passing, struck a huge chord with me - “Pastoral work is important and it can be just a word, a phone call, a text or a facebook message.” God was speaking to me in that service - he really was.





The community of Harehills Lane is amazing - we sang happy birthday to a lady in her 90’s, I talked to a Ugandan asylum seeker and a northern biker, we moved furniture and ate cakes - it was a brilliant morning.

After the service (which was superb and, as usual, I won’t go too far into detail because I want to use some of the stuff - especially the music)  there was a lunch that could easily compare to anything the Melbourne Welsh Church would put on. People freely mixed and chatted it, was like being in at home on any Sunday morning. It felt great.





Another wonderful surprise was that Harehills Lane had a group going to Greenbelt and I was invited to join their number, I didn't realise at the time what an amazing blessing that would turn out to be.

As with almost everything else I’ve seen on this trip so far it’s the little things, the simple things that make this church so special. Community is at the foundation of everything - you build the rest of the church on that. Harehills has got it right - their community is a warm, welcoming and worshipping one - it was a pleasure to share time with them. Thank you all.



After a bit of news from my folks the look of my week changed a bit - things were re-arranged. I missed visiting Zac’s Place in Swansea and I missed seeing John and Gail Rees but I was on my way back to Greenbelt after a gap of 16 years and I was excited!!!

church should come with COFFEE

So it is almost time to leave B’more and the U.S. but before I leave there is one last thing to do - another Bible Study. (Anyone would think I was religious!)

At some unearthly hour of the morning the minds behind #BreakingBread hold a Bible study in a coffee shop. It only seems fitting to finish this part of the trip the way it started weeks ago in Denver- talking God over coffee and breakfast.

I will be honest and admit that I was a little late mainly because I was staying over the other side of the city and it took longer than I had planned to get there. Still when I arrived the coffee was still hot (or in my case the OJ was still cool) and the discussion was well under way. Rev Jenn was there and I got to meet Rev Jason too, who was leading the study that morning. The team of J, J and S are amazing and so talented. In the short time I was with them I felt that God has looked on the people of their part of B’more and blessed them hugely! Keep up the great work.



As with most things on this trip it was a simple set up (that’s not saying the discussion wasn’t in-depth, it was). A table, a few chairs and a Bible and off we went. The more I see of how other churches do stuff the more guilty I feel for making things far too complicated.

Again I was welcomed and made to feel at home, again I sat and listened and learnt as normal people (like me and you, except with weirder accents) unravelled parts of the Bible in ways I had never thought of. Again I had a ball and even though I arrived a little behind time I didn’t feel left out and I gained a lot.

If you have been to our Wednesday morning Bible group or our Monday evening Bible group - it wasn't dissimilar to those, except they stuck to the topic whereas we never do!

Did I mention it rained while I was in Baltimore...



As I draw to the end of the American leg of my adventure I sit here wondering if it was all worth it. I can, without any hesitation, say it most certainly was. I have met some wonderful people, done some amazing things, learnt some fantastic new skills and absorbed a head full of new knowledge.

To everyone I have met in Denver and Texas, in Washington and Baltimore a huge thank you - don’t think you’ve got rid of me that easily though… I want to come back - there is so much more for me to learn.



Onwards to the U.K. and the prospect of bikers and tents. It will be another interesting time!!!

church should be ONLINE

At the outset I wish to pour out extravagant praise for my wonderful host Meredith Gould. Her sacrifice of time, spirit and knowledge was above and beyond generous and I cannot thank her enough. Meredith you are a blessing to so many; an angel with a Doctorate; the Queen of Twitter and the fairy godmother of #chsocm (and you're not scary at all IRL).

 

Enough of that - this is what happened when I went to meet the wizard...

After #BreakingBread broke up I awaited my host. It was like standing in line at a big concert - waiting for your heroes to take the stage - I felt like a little kid waiting for a chance to meet Santa - I was about to meet the great Meredith Gould. I'd got to Oz and the wizard was coming!!

Every car that went past, was it her? Every helicopter that went over, was that her? Eventually the moment came, a fleet of cars with flashing blue lights pulled up and in a crowd of groupies and hangers on I glimpsed her; the security detail arrived; my ID was checked; I was about to meet....

Actually it didn't happen like that - a little car pulled up and out jumped Meredith with a huge, welcoming smile on her face. I didn't know what I expected, but just like Harry Potter's exam results, Meredith exceeds expectations. Bright, warm, vibrant and amazingly down to earth (for a guru) she is brilliant!!!



That evening and the whole of the next day passed in a storm of talk, laughter, fun and learning (well for me it did - for Meredith it must have been a tirade of inane questions, daft comments, and patient teaching). We went through everything church media related- the website, the blog, the Facebook and Twitter pages, Instagram and Pinterest - content, design, layout, colours. Meredith's expertise and knowledge were as freely given as her smiles and humour.

I've been into the inner sanctum, I've even touched her computer, I've walked the yellow brick road and I've seen behind the wizard's curtain and it is more magical and amazing than Oz could ever be - but it's not the set up that makes it so great, as with everything on this trip, it’s the person.

All joking and hyperbole aside - all I can say is thank you Meredith, I hope I can do justice to all you taught me.

 

Before I left for this trip I was asked the question “Is being online and active in Social Media a real part of the ministry of the church?”

I didn't answer it then, but I think I can now:  “In this digital age it is practically impossible to have a church ministry without being online.” Online ministry through social media is not, and I don’t think it ever will be, the whole work of the church but it will now never not be an important part. And thanks to David and Meredith and members of the fantastic #chsocm (church and social media) community I now feel better equipped to keep venturing out into the modern digital world with the Gospel message that is as relevant now as it was 2,000 years ago.

church isn't a DENOMINATION

Baltimore - where the "Star Spangled Banner" was written is a nice place. That's about as effusive I wish to be about this small but strangely charming city.



Again though, like Denver and certain parts of Houston, it's the people that make the place special and I mean extra special.

Wandering the centre city of Baltimore took me a few minutes and after talking to a very nice police man (in a fast pursuit vehicle, all the criminals must be overweight) I made my way towards the meet up point for my lift to #BreakingBread. Thank you Julie, I would never have found it on my own!



 

So three ministers walked into a church, a Lutheran, a Presbyterian and an Episcopalian. And that's not a joke - Jenn, Sara and Jason run Breaking Bread. I don't know the history or who did what with whom but Breaking Bread is another one of those simple church ideas that are just outstandingly wonderful. It's not rocket science to do this sort if thing but wow it is very powerful, and those of us who haven't thought of it before go, "I wish I'd thought of that!" 

All it is (and I don't mean to sound like I'm putting it down, I'm not I'm raising it as high as I can and jumping up and down shouting "WE ALL SHOULD DO THIS...") all it is, in essence, is a simple service, a simple meal and and a simple Bible study. #BreakingBread's brilliance comes from two things - the atmosphere and the people.

I may not have the order of the next bit quite right but you'll get the general idea.

The night I went Rev Jason wasn't there and Rev Jenn was leading and Rev Sara was in charge of the food. You kind of just walk in and do stuff. I was ordered (nicely) to help lay the tables - cutlery and candles were what I did, and they look great.

Being the summer holidays they weren't expecting a full house only about 20 (I'd love a Bible Study of about 20). Four tables were set up, some food was prepared (mainly asparagus, THE vegetable of Breaking Bread) and things began. It started with a simple service of singing and prayers and a very simple (but amazingly profound) Communion service in which we all stood and served each other the bread. It was a very moving experience and God was there, in the eyes of the homeless guy across the circle from me, in the smile of the person handing me the bread. It was another Holy experience in a borrowed church hall. 

The wine was shared around our tables and the act of moving from one place to another between the elements was great. It made me feel like what we were doing was communal (all in the circle together) and yet also individual as we drank from our own cups in our places by the table. Again very simple ideas brilliantly done.

After the service (which was maybe 10 minutes) we went for the food like ravenous beasts, sharing talk and laughs at the various tables. This wasn't rushed and there was a feeling of community there - hard to describe but there was a 'freeness' to the proceedings that can only come from everyone wanting the same outcome. I'm sure that doesn't do it justice but it's hard to describe.

After seconds Jenn (the Presbyterian (yay for John Calvin)) led us in a Bible study that I will not describe here as I intend to use the idea at our church (she'll never know!!). Once again the way it was done was simple yet the content was very thought provoking and the discussions at our table was deep and serious.

It was a wonderful night (everyone helped with the clearing up as well) in which a stranger from a long way away was made to feel very much part of a worshipping community. He was offered food and spiritual comfort, companionship and conversation, teaching and love. It was all very New Testament, early church, true Christian Community in action stuff and I loved it. I'd go every week if I didn't live 8,500 miles away.



Thank you to the Breaking Bread team, you are the real presence of God at work!!

 

churches should be ARMED!

(with the sound suppressed, semi-automatic pistol of the Spirit. Yours for under $2,000)

 

I will draw my Texas blog to a close - in its own way Texas was as brilliant as Denver. Where Denver was hands on, feet dirty, get in there and do it Texas was very different. And I expected it to be.



I went there to learn social media stuff and wow did I have a brilliant teacher - Pastor David Hansen (as well as being an amazing pastoral minister (you should see the way the people in the church love him), an amazing host (with his lovely wife Megan), a very handsome man (have you seen the pictures? he reminds me of a movie star or at least someone I know I’ve seen before) - on top of all that he is also a social media guru.

A lot of my Texas time was taken up sitting in front of computers doing ‘stuff’. Twitter and Facebook are no longer mysteries to me - podcasting, pfft I can do it in my sleep now - and twitter chats - I’ve seen how the best moderates them (from an armchair, with a beer!).

But being a geek wasn’t all I did. There are just one or two little experiences I want to share before I move on -

 

Lunch with Bishop Mike -

 



The ELCA (The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) has bishops. I had lunch with one and his family. I would just like to say thank you to Bishop Mike for taking time out of his sabbatical to come and eat TexMex with me. We had a great chat and to hear of the work and how the ELCA orders things makes our Gymanfa look very small. (I know it is but this reminded me of how small.) Bishop Mike has been quite outspoken on the situation in Gaza and we had a great discussion about balancing personal and professional social media posts. I learnt a lot (and not just how to load a taco). Thank you.

Another visit to a Christian book barn.

WOW - these places scare me - piousness and poison under the same roof. A man cannot serve two masters - its either God or money well in this place God was served a lot - every transaction was something about God but he was not the master there, this was a Christian money printing factory. I might be wrong but isn’t “Clean hands and a pure heart” hand sanitiser going a bit far?? What about “the spark plugs Jesus would use”?



Some of the books would be funny if they weren’t serious titles - “God and Guns” was probably my favourite but there were plenty of others.

Bad breath? Jesus mints will drive out the demons of halitosis.



God bless my gun cabinet.

A prayer to God for peace, for America and for the Marine Corps.



 

It was endless - I was glad when we left and went to the gun store!

 

I had heard a lot about the gun culture in the States - the right to bear arms (but not to arm bears - it would be fairer if they did). I was intrigued to see it for myself and where better than the local, family run, gun shoppe.

 

If the Christian book store was bad I don’t know what this was. It was a temple to gun metal, and it was a very scary temple.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time around firearms, I know what they can do and I think I can use one safely. This place wasn’t a gun store though, it was an arsenal. You can get pink shotguns for your little girl; semi-automatic rifles to go ‘hunting’ with; as much ammo as you could carry; shoulder holsters; ankle holsters; gun vests; cartridge making machines - everything the wanna be gun nut could want; but the worse thing (or the best thing, depending on your point of view) was the pistol with military grade suppressor (silencer).



Why would you ever need one? I cannot think of a legal situation that would require a pistol with a silencer. I can sort of see why you would need a semi-automatic rifle with sub-sonic, hollow point bullets - if a huge bear was running at me, all teeth and claws and menace I’d probably be glad of one, (I still think they should arm the bears to make the fight fairer though) but a silenced semi-automatic pistol.

WHY?

Not for personal protection - I’d want every criminal to know I had a gun so I wouldn’t silence it. Not for hunting - its useless as a hunting pistol and still makes enough noise to scare off any game. Not at the local gun club - you all wear ear protectors. I cannot for the life of me see why.

 

I fell in love with parts of America and with parts of the American church but there are certain things that make me glad I’m coming home to Oz - and military grade, noise suppressed, semi-automatic pistols for under $2,000 is one of them. Makes me shudder to think of it.

 

I was sad to leave the Lone Star State. I made good friends there, I saw how two wonderful churches (Spirit of Joy! (don't leave out the exclamation mark) and Grace Lutheran) and how two truly wonderful pastors work, I met loads of wonderful people of God who are doing amazing work in his name, even a couple of decent presbyterians. But Texas really is another America though - a wild, weird and wonderful place full of strange people, spaceships, gun shops and Jeezus.

 



Onward to Baltimore…..

 

church is for EVERYONE (even little green kids)

Well I’m still in Texas (I’m not but the blog is, so stick with me, I've only got one more after this blog from here), and I’m feeling like a big kid.

Why????

I’m on my way to NASA!

Anyone born in the late sixties or early seventies will have a special place in their heart for NASA.

A year before my birth men walked on the moon for the first time; As I was being born Apollo 13 was in trouble; I watched the first shuttle launch in school; I saw the first shuttle disaster on tele; I wanted to be an astronaut!!!!

So here I am on the way to the Mission Control in Houston. I’m not going to go into detail here - this is not a tourist blog but the tour was great, a real high point of my trip. There were some amazing things to see - a real NASA skip (with NASA written on the side); Mission Control but the biggest thrill, however, was the Saturn 5 rocket!!!



I made a model of one of these when I was a child, it had a little Neil Armstrong and everything. I knew the scale of a man to the machine but seeing it was MINDBLOWING!

Huge doesn’t do it justice - the jets of the rockets had a 40 ft diameter and there was 5 of them - this thing is unbelievably big; massively large; unfathomably vast. Even that doesn’t make it clear how big it is!



 



 

I mention it because I have been in awe of the this machine for years and as amazing as it is it was nothing to how I felt that evening. My hosts (Megan and David) took me from NASA to a suburb of Houston to the Grace Lutheran Church where we met the pastor Lura Groen.



Grace is a fantastic little place in a hip neighbourhood of Houston that does some utterly amazing stuff. The three things I want to mention are -

1. The Neighbourhood food bank that was going on when we arrived.

This is such a simple idea - local growers bring their produce to the church where a local co-op hires some space and sells good, local grown food for fair prices. Everyone wins - the church gets a working presence in the community, the community gets fresh local food and the growers get some money. WIN/WIN/WIN. Simple and brilliant.

2)   The work they do with Homeless teens.

Lura gave us the grand tour and one of the big things the church does, in conjunction with the other organisations, is to have a ministry to the local homeless youth, many of whom are gay. On Thursday evenings there is a drop in session held at the church with a safe place to talk (the church board has made the best room in the building available to the homeless - that speaks volumes, it says ‘you are valuable AND you are welcome', words these kids may not here from anywhere else. There is a clothing bank and a food bank where good (hip) clothes and healthy food are available. They also supply things that we take for granted but to the homeless are luxuries - toilet paper, sanitary products, batteries etc. It is an amazing work that is not only needed but also really well done - Simple and Brilliant!

3)    Wednesday Night Worship

We arrived in time for the Wednesday Night Communion service. This is a small service held in a small side chapel. As with the House for All Sinners and Saints the liturgy was very traditional and yet was so fresh. It was a simple gathering where prayer, music and short sermon were shared and then we gathered around the table and shared the communion elements. It was made VERY clear that this was an open table and EVERYBODY is welcome. These weren’t just words spoken out of habit - this was a heartfelt invitation to all who wished to hear and come that this table was open to them!! It was formally informal or informally formal - in all the tradition and well known words there was an openness that was so wonderful to be a part of.

The service at Grace Lutheran struck me as living up to that verse that says we must accept the things of God as a child. It wasn’t childish but it was child-like - simple, profound and somehow very truthful. The service (indeed my whole experience was) simple and brilliant.

But what has that got to do with the SATURN 5 rocket - well this - as impressed and awe-struck as I was by the technology of the 1960’s that had 1,000,000 components and put men on the moon I was not as impressed or as awe-struck with that as I was with the wonderful work and the presence of God that I saw and felt at Grace. THAT was amazing in every sense of the word.

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They welcome they extend goes as far as green, alien children - honestly, it was in their stained glass windows - look-

 



I couldn't put this in anywhere but I must tell you y'all; I touched moon rock!!!!

 

Intolerance will not be tolerated

 

 

 

We have a sign that you cannot miss as you walk into the pulpit to preach, it's by a chap called David Hayward (http://nakedpastor.com/) and it reads -

 



 

"All means all."

 

If you cannot agree with that ideal then we don't think you should preach in our church. If you wish to pick and choose to whom you preach or if you wish to limit the scope and the Grace of the Gospel to those who YOU think should hear it then we don't want to hear what you have to say, we probably wouldn't agree with you anyway. We try not to be intolerant, we honestly try but we are intolerant of the intolerant.

 

You see, intolerance is not very present in the New Testament (expect for intolerance for the religious bigots of the day, and there were quite a few of them). All those who seem excluded at the outset of the story are the very ones who are welcomed in by the end. Jews and non-Jews join together to form the Church; Women and men become leaders and workers in the Church. Did I mention the orphans, widows, lepers, sinners, publicans, tax collectors and various other ‘undesirables' who are welcomed? The ones who we (the Church of today in one form or another) usually exclude are the very ones who are sought out by Jesus and then by the Apostles and welcomed in, not in a 'token gesture, look we welcome lepers” sort of way but right into the very heart of the church, into leadership positions and other important roles.

 

As an example of this look at the first gentile (non Jewish) convert to the early Church - a nameless man usually called by the flattering title of - the Ethiopian Eunuch (see Acts chapter 8). Everything seemed to be against his admittance to the Church and yet he is the one to whom the Holy Spirit sends one of the Apostles, a man called Phillip. Nadia Bolz-Weber (in her brilliant book "Pastrix") puts it far better than I could: “The first gentile convert to Christianity is a foreigner, who is also a person of color and a sexual minority? If only the guy were also “differently abled” and gluten intolerant.”

 

In every way this man should be excluded and yet he is the first non-jewish person welcomed into the church. What does that tell us about how things should be within the church? - it screams out to me that intolerance should not be tolerated, that everyone is welcome and we shouldn't try and choose who is and isn’t welcome, that’s God’s role. All we can do is open the doors and welcome in all who comes - whoever they maybe.

 

 

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