Today I delivered my youngest child to a place we will always refer to as "Neverland". This little oasis, tucked far in the woods is a one that the current loud-mouthed minority that claim to follow a certain prophet would call a community of subversive blasphemers. I call them the truly spiritual.
"Camp" has always been a sanctuary and a place of spiritual growth. The heart of its being is the "Jesus myth" but this place embraces the true heart of that myth. Today, I used the "gender neutral" restroom. Many of the buildings are now handicapped accessible. When the campers come next week and for the following seven weeks they will be there to write, act, play music, climb ropes, hike, play volleyball and swim while learning about all their differences and how each individual is unique and special and has a role in the community. Jocks, geeks, and arts kids all live together, in the smaller community of their conference and in the large community of camp. Everyone is expected to clean up their mess and respect each others comfort zones. There are competitions and there are "rewards" for winning but there are bigger rewards for challenging yourself.
As I have been doing at least 15 years, whenever I pull onto the main road from the camp's driveway, I beep the horn and yell "Good Night Neverland" as I leave. I pray that the angels and spirits of peace, joy, kindness and love continue to watch over this place and all the people who spend any time there. May they all heal and grow strong so they can come back in the world and help turn it around. Places like this are where the possibility of the New Era is sewn and cultivated.
Showing posts with label spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirituality. Show all posts
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Sunday, March 31, 2013
He's baaack
Resurrection day. You can't keep a good guy or the message that "we're doing it wrong" down. The idea didn't die. It took a few days off. Let the bullies think they were still winning. Let everyone let out a sigh of relief only to have it all come spring apart when the grave was open and empty.
There's so much flying around here today. The sightings of people dressed to the nines. Girls in their fanciest new outfits with new shoes and hats that will be like wedding attire...worn once and then sentenced to the Goodwill or the dress-up box. Next week they'll be back in Sunday school in normal "school clothes". It's pretty much the same with the boys except that their trousers and shoes are from their regular wardrobe. The dress shirts, vest, jackets and ties will be hung in the back for the closet to wear to Cousin Sally's wedding, Spring concert at school or grandma's funeral. Yes, I participated in this clothing ritual even as an adult but why? What does it have to do with the "Jesus narrative". Whether a great storybook prophet/villain/hero or a real person...even the people who came after the Ascension were the working poor. They also didn't go to "church" and not just once a week. They lived in fellowship 24/7. They got together for impromptu meals, scripture readings and prayers. So the dress up thing came a long time later and bears the markings of a "Spring celebration". Nothing to do with Jesus but a pagan or even secular celebration of the change of seasons.
Of course most people, especially Christians, know that the other stars of the day have nothing to do with resurrection and are totally taken from pagan tradition. The whole bunny, chicks, ducklings and chocolate thing? Please fundies stop losing your shit over others calling this part of the holiday for what it is-a retail marketing blitz.
Other things have passed through my spirit this weekend but to put them here pulls me down. All I'll say after seeing a Facebook called "Jesus please save America"... is maybe "he" is trying but you're not liking the answer or are so controlled you won't tap into it. Read the Jesus narrative. Humility, justice, truth, compassion, wisdom, acceptance, community. He's not going to ride in on a big horse, with guns ablaze handing out weapons to you all and blowing up all the people you don't like. He's calling out the lies, the avarice and greed that is in control of humanity. He is revealing the poverty not only of your neighbors in regards to food, water, clothing and shelter. He's revealing the poverty of your soul-your laziness, selfishness, intolerance. You starve you mind of real knowledge. You starve your heart with lack of empathy. You look for a Jesus who comes riding on a giant steam roller that will destroy your "enemies". The problem is, your enemies are his friends-the peacemakers, the meek, the opposed, the poor, the compassionate, the truthful and those seeking justice. Do you just keep crucifying him hoping someone different is going to walk out of that tomb?
There's so much flying around here today. The sightings of people dressed to the nines. Girls in their fanciest new outfits with new shoes and hats that will be like wedding attire...worn once and then sentenced to the Goodwill or the dress-up box. Next week they'll be back in Sunday school in normal "school clothes". It's pretty much the same with the boys except that their trousers and shoes are from their regular wardrobe. The dress shirts, vest, jackets and ties will be hung in the back for the closet to wear to Cousin Sally's wedding, Spring concert at school or grandma's funeral. Yes, I participated in this clothing ritual even as an adult but why? What does it have to do with the "Jesus narrative". Whether a great storybook prophet/villain/hero or a real person...even the people who came after the Ascension were the working poor. They also didn't go to "church" and not just once a week. They lived in fellowship 24/7. They got together for impromptu meals, scripture readings and prayers. So the dress up thing came a long time later and bears the markings of a "Spring celebration". Nothing to do with Jesus but a pagan or even secular celebration of the change of seasons.
Of course most people, especially Christians, know that the other stars of the day have nothing to do with resurrection and are totally taken from pagan tradition. The whole bunny, chicks, ducklings and chocolate thing? Please fundies stop losing your shit over others calling this part of the holiday for what it is-a retail marketing blitz.
Other things have passed through my spirit this weekend but to put them here pulls me down. All I'll say after seeing a Facebook called "Jesus please save America"... is maybe "he" is trying but you're not liking the answer or are so controlled you won't tap into it. Read the Jesus narrative. Humility, justice, truth, compassion, wisdom, acceptance, community. He's not going to ride in on a big horse, with guns ablaze handing out weapons to you all and blowing up all the people you don't like. He's calling out the lies, the avarice and greed that is in control of humanity. He is revealing the poverty not only of your neighbors in regards to food, water, clothing and shelter. He's revealing the poverty of your soul-your laziness, selfishness, intolerance. You starve you mind of real knowledge. You starve your heart with lack of empathy. You look for a Jesus who comes riding on a giant steam roller that will destroy your "enemies". The problem is, your enemies are his friends-the peacemakers, the meek, the opposed, the poor, the compassionate, the truthful and those seeking justice. Do you just keep crucifying him hoping someone different is going to walk out of that tomb?
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Of time, flight, wisdom and divinity
For those of you who read this blog but are not aware of the other rooms where I write all over and hang pictures on the wall, you will probably do better understanding this post if you take a look in The Tribes of Art. There you will find some of my inspirers, spirit guides, conspirators and cohorts in crime. Yesterday's walk included elements shared with me by my friends William and Hans. For Sir William, my angel of music, it was about angels and the music of the Earth and of the Universe. Actually the language of the Infinite is creaks and groans, squeaks and moans, whines and cries and the grating of stone. If you mash that all together you will discover the most primal of music. William takes the heartbeats of the planets, the stars and space beaten on multiheaded drums and mixes them with the deep harmonicas pulled and plucked from the strings of harps, violins and guitars. Validation of this revelation came in the discovery of a small, pure white feather along the labyrinth path. I choose to believe that a molting angel walk by.
Then there were all the other pieces contributed by The Bee. Lately he's been focusing on feathers. For him, it is his family heritage. For me it was about rising above all the things and people seeking to pull me down and put me under their weights. He's also back on the key theme. He has unlocked a door in his life that has allowed for healing of old wounds. All through the Lenten season and even before I've learned that other people's keys are not mine. They have opened doors that I have been invited to walk through.
Keys also wind clocks and machines. They tune instruments. Hans has captured wisdom in due time with brush and pencil. Owls
and clocks blend together on canvas and paper. I drive off to walk, to meditate and as I drive I think about time and about the understanding that my spiritual goes from Vernal Equinox to Vernal Equinox. My year dies as the snow that has congealed into dirt and gravel coated masses of ice melts away to reveal gray-green grass, and dead leaves and mud. As the roadbeds fissure into ruts and potholes. As the drapes become weighted down with winter's dust and the smell of stuffiness, longing to be washed and hung outside on the line. Even though daylight began to stretch in December to become equal in March, until it gets there and then sunlight outlasts the night my new year has not begun. The old one is still fading away. My clock is winding down. And that was when it hit me. How to meditate this year's walk. Finish running the time out on the walk in. Let the gears slow to a complete STOP. Let the last grains of sand fall through the narrow opening and joint rest in the bottom of the glass.
Walking in I listened to William and the Harp on my iPod. I physically felt my body and mind unwind. I reviewed the past year and all that I had learned. I had seen the Darkness on more than one level, face to face. I had physically connected with some of my spirit family. I had danced with sylphs, My children had taught me how to laugh again and we were family under one roof again for a short period. I had experienced my mother moving into the last phases of life and teaching myself to be less selfish, spending time with her helping her hold onto as many memories as possible, even ones as simple as what day it is. Being stabbed in the back and having the knife twisted. Learning that what looked like the door that would get me away from that situation was not. Coming back around to my resolve to get the hell out of there. Being invited to a gathering of the tribe. Learning that I have a responsibility to them and to tell their stories even if only for those who come behind us. Unwinding, completely empty as I reached the center...and sat.
I put my root chakra into the ground to draw nourishment. I opened my heart chakra, letting it break. Letting love out, letting it in. I opened my mind to wisdom that would help to rewind me. I reclaimed by chi for the Light Spirits from the Darkness that twists my gut in knots. The white fire must also burn inside. I released my dragon so she could stretch and bask in the sun for a while. I felt the voices of the wind and the birds. Then I walked out, winding the clock as I went. The piece playing on my 'pod included many metal sounds, gears moving, weights colliding. Not only was a clock being wound, a large one, one that requires a person to grasp the chain and ride the weight to the bottom of the tower but a machine with all of the dragon army being cogs and gears, all manner of parts. The machine is not complete. Others will be added as we work toward the New Age. Progress. Moving forward. As my feet on the path, moving through to something different, something better. Pushing through that which has tried to hold us back for too long. I even danced a little. I felt like and productive.
When I reached the exit I was fully wound. The batteries completely charged. I turned to the labyrinth to say final thanks and to ask the Fates to wipe it clean for the next person to come and find their enlightenment. ..and that's when I saw it. I've been walking this particular path for 4 years now but as with all things...in their own time (oh there's that pesky clock reference again)...the center of this path is a keyhole. Every year, I take my key and unlock something new...or old but to find new inspiration, wisdom or understanding whose time had not come until then.
Clocks and feather, owls and harps, angels and ravens and keys, locks and pens. I take all of this into the tomb and sit quietly with it until tomorrow morning when the Spirit rolls the stone back and lets the sun shine on it again. Once again "they" try to kill it. Once again, we of the Light, die but with the knowledge that we will rise again much to "their" chagrin bringing back justice, truth, compassion, joy, peace and love. We shine our lights on them and they scurry from it. But today is the day of the tomb. We have passed through Sheol and now sleep peacefully, resting our very souls. Tomorrow with clocks fully wound we will walk out and continue this journey. Blessed are the peacemakers, the humble, the poor, the artists, the laborers, the parents, all who are of the Light and work to move humanity forward into the Great Light.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Art imitates life - ours is boring and loaded with violence
Are humans designed to be boring? I don’t think so. But for some reason there are certain people hell-bent on making and keeping us that way. Start with religious rules and…actually…end with them too because those are what are used to influence civil rights and laws. They’re also what have worked their way into jurisdiction of the media with “decency” codes.
There was a short time however, when even “the church” opened its collective mind when it came to art. The Renaissance was a glorious time when the human body was depicted in all its naked glory, when minstrels wrote and performed bawdy love songs and plays were filled with bright costumes and beautiful words. Admitted women were not allowed on the stage or in the pulpit but they still adorned themselves in fabulous garments and danced with equally graceful and stunningly clad men. Art was not boring.
Last night America again showed how much fear there is of “breaking the rules”. Really? Aren’t we programmed to take risks, push the envelope? Look at the Goddess’s creation, filled with bright colors, bird that soar high and luxuriously furred quadrupeds. Mother Nature’s music is a cacophony of chirps, screams, howls and barks. Nothing boring there. So why have we allowed religion to take that out of spiritual writings and replace it with this austere, domineering, and judgmental deity with no spirit of adventure, beauty or curiosity?
No people, if The Fates had wanted us to listen to boring balladeers for all of our existence on this plain, no one would be born with the talent to dazzle the eye, ear, heart and brain like Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, or even Motley Crue. It should not have been a risk for any of them to create the art they have. It should not have been considered risqué to view their performances. Life should be exciting not boring.
I do not understand how we have come to romanticize war, murder or other forms of physical violence. How did these become acceptable risks? Yet we run from art that is considered even the littlest bit edgy. Art tribes/communities are looked on by outsiders as odd, weird, hopefully go unnoticed and disappear. Yet people will pay money over and over for movies still being made about World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Gore can run deep and wide on the screen but a glimpse of breast or upper thigh is gasped at. People, the human body is far more beautiful all in one piece than ripped apart on a battlefield or in a dark alley.
Where did we lose our way? How do we find it again? When will beauty and creativity be exonerated, worshipped and encouraged again? When will minstrels, actors, painters, sculptors, writers, etc. be allowed out from under their rocks and appreciated in all their weird eccentricness?
There was a short time however, when even “the church” opened its collective mind when it came to art. The Renaissance was a glorious time when the human body was depicted in all its naked glory, when minstrels wrote and performed bawdy love songs and plays were filled with bright costumes and beautiful words. Admitted women were not allowed on the stage or in the pulpit but they still adorned themselves in fabulous garments and danced with equally graceful and stunningly clad men. Art was not boring.
Last night America again showed how much fear there is of “breaking the rules”. Really? Aren’t we programmed to take risks, push the envelope? Look at the Goddess’s creation, filled with bright colors, bird that soar high and luxuriously furred quadrupeds. Mother Nature’s music is a cacophony of chirps, screams, howls and barks. Nothing boring there. So why have we allowed religion to take that out of spiritual writings and replace it with this austere, domineering, and judgmental deity with no spirit of adventure, beauty or curiosity?
No people, if The Fates had wanted us to listen to boring balladeers for all of our existence on this plain, no one would be born with the talent to dazzle the eye, ear, heart and brain like Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, or even Motley Crue. It should not have been a risk for any of them to create the art they have. It should not have been considered risqué to view their performances. Life should be exciting not boring.
I do not understand how we have come to romanticize war, murder or other forms of physical violence. How did these become acceptable risks? Yet we run from art that is considered even the littlest bit edgy. Art tribes/communities are looked on by outsiders as odd, weird, hopefully go unnoticed and disappear. Yet people will pay money over and over for movies still being made about World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Gore can run deep and wide on the screen but a glimpse of breast or upper thigh is gasped at. People, the human body is far more beautiful all in one piece than ripped apart on a battlefield or in a dark alley.
Where did we lose our way? How do we find it again? When will beauty and creativity be exonerated, worshipped and encouraged again? When will minstrels, actors, painters, sculptors, writers, etc. be allowed out from under their rocks and appreciated in all their weird eccentricness?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Your argument is invalid - The NOH8 trial
Why are churches getting involved in the politics of civil rights? Gay "marriage" is a fight for government and legal recognition not a church ceremony. The LGBT community wants nothing more than the same tax breaks a heterosexual couple gets for having a "marriage license" on file at the local town hall along with job protection, health benefits and legal protection of their estates for their partners and children. There a millions of Americans who are "married" in civil ceremonies by justices of the peace. There is no religious value at all, just the sealing of the document they just signed that gives them governmental and legal sanction of their couplehood. Just like having an affidavit witnessed by an officer of the court. They ask all the requisite questions and you both sign the document and the notary seals it.
No branch of the U.S. government nor any state or local agency can mandate that a church perform a religious ceremony of any kind including weddings. They only require that clergy also be certified as Justices of the Peace so they can legally witness the marriage license. (see comment below-this is not necessarily a true fact. CT does not require JP status for clergy. Feel free to post your state's statutes on this. Thank you) It's very frustrating that Christians and Jews can not seem to differentiate between "marriage" and "wedding". I'm not sure what Muslims call their coupling ritual so I apologize for not including it.
Then to take it a step further. Religious groups want to bring this into a "family" realm by stating that same sex marriage destroys the American family. Really? If a child is raised in a loving household, has parents who make sure they are safely housed and sent to school every day and living within the law, what's the issue? How about deadbeat dads and men who have just abdicated as parents/bread winners? From personal experience I think they do more damage to families. And while we're casting stones, there are numerous Catholic organizations fighting gay "marriage" who are sitting back saying nothing about the pedophiles within their clergy. Don't you think that puts a far bigger strain on a family and children if parents protect the person who is molesting their kids? Just sayin' people. And as a single-parent I beg the court's indulgence by asking how is my situation any stronger family unit than a same-sex pair raising kids? Hey! They have the advantage of two incomes and the probability of one of them being physically and emotionally available to their children more often that I do.
So lets go back to same-sex marriage having a negative affect on heterosexual marriages. How? Because less LGBT's will hide in a straight marriage because of the social and psychological strain of living out? Or because they will show straight couples up with the longevity of their relationships. They don't have to wait for a major family issue to stress their relationship because they have a huge stress-factor going in...being LGBT people. They've already lived their lives before they were a couple with all the problems and stigma that come the fact of realizing they're not "normal". Then to make it a non-traditional coupling. Twice the stress. So they tend to do very good with the bumps and bruises that come with keeping a relationship vibrant and healthy. Many same-sex couples stay together for life and have a better track record of doing so than straights. And if they do split that is no reason for self-righteous straights to go "Oh look. See they are promiscuous" Bull shit!! What about your 14-year-old slut daughter you let out of the house in a mini-skirt and tank top that has more than one condom in her purse or your spouse whose had a mistress for the past ten years?
Which brings us to the family thing. First, I'll pick up from the last paragraph...straight does not equal good parents. Done! Second, straight parents can produce gay children. In fact most LGBT kids come out of heterosexual homes. As for same-sex couples only producing LGBT kids? Really? Come on. Really? If sexuality is genetic (which I do believe) any child of a gay or lesbian couple, has a parent of the opposite sex. Lesbians will have a sperm donor or will adopt. Gay men will have a surrogate mother or will adopt. The conceived children will have the genes of both its parents and their family history so even if the sperm donor or surrogate are also genetically identified as non-heterosexual that parent's parents and the member of the same-sex couple providing the sperm or egg may carry the heterosexual gene and based on historic figures, the resulting child is more apt to be bisexually or heterosexually identified than homosexually.
As far as socialization, just because a child is raised in a gay home doesn't mean they'll be gay. More likely just more healthily tolerant. Kids go to school. They know there are more kids from straight households or single-parent households than from homes like theirs with two moms or two dads. Of course with the current social climate they will be made to feel different, weird, etc. by fellow students, faculty and administration even though they shouldn't be. As for the two moms or two dads raising their kids to be LGBT? Trust me, not even gay parents wish that on their kids and the kids will experience it first hand before they go to school in the way that other people treat their parents. So for me...if anything a same-sex parented family is stronger, more tolerant, and has a better grasp on how the Divine wishes this world would work. Wanna play the "God card" religious people? Gay/Lesbian households are living closer to your scriptures than you are because they are not teaching their kids to build walls or barriers or create labels for other people. They're teaching them to forgive and understand and love people even in those people's ignorance.
To the witnesses in this trial...your argument is invalid. If run through simple tests of validity or just common sense, they don't hold water. So just stop wasting taxpayers money. Taxpayers? Leave your religious crap at the door when voting for legislatures. Providing any minority with the same freedoms you enjoy in "the land of the free" is just the right thing to do no matter what Higher Power you subscribe to. The LGBT community is not harming you. They are not robbing your house or burning it down. They are not stealing your stuff. They are not physically harming you or your children. Validating them and their rights does not mean they're going to try to "turn" your kids. Your children are in far more danger from pedophiles, rapists and kidnappers. No! Your kids are far more apt to get hit by a car or succumb to alcohol poisoning in an evening of underage drinking you sanctioned in your basement. Your children are more susceptible to STD's from playing at unprotected sex with a member of the opposite gender. Your daughters are at a higher risk of becoming pregnant before they turn 18 than discovering they are lesbians. Your sons have a higher probability of going to jail for possession of illegal drugs, dui, or causing a major accident by driving recklessly than facing that he gender-identifies as female and starts the agonizing journey of a transsexual. Your arguments are invalid.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Walking the talk - Ray Vivier
Homeless veteran laid to rest after saving lives
This is how it's supposed to go people. Put yourself and your puney wants on the backburner to help "the least of these". The people this man saved didn't care that he was a recovered alcoholic who lived in a shanty most of his life. Actually, they didn't much care that he had honorably served his country. What mattered was that this man didn't take a second thought for himself and saved their lives.
In turn, he didn't take time to think about what color the people he saved were or how much money they made or what religion they were. He didn't even give a shit who they slept with. The point was that some selfish asshole decided to set their home on fire and they needed to be saved. Their lives were more important than the building or even his own life. He only took enough time to note that his body and mind were able enough to help total strangers.
May we all be grateful to the people who he had affected in the past that came forward to make sure that he had an honorable and respectful internment. Sounds a little like some friends of that guy who set the original example for this kind a stuff a long time ago doesn't it? Think about it....no labels, no barriers, no terms or conditions...just unconditional love.
This is how it's supposed to go people. Put yourself and your puney wants on the backburner to help "the least of these". The people this man saved didn't care that he was a recovered alcoholic who lived in a shanty most of his life. Actually, they didn't much care that he had honorably served his country. What mattered was that this man didn't take a second thought for himself and saved their lives.
In turn, he didn't take time to think about what color the people he saved were or how much money they made or what religion they were. He didn't even give a shit who they slept with. The point was that some selfish asshole decided to set their home on fire and they needed to be saved. Their lives were more important than the building or even his own life. He only took enough time to note that his body and mind were able enough to help total strangers.
May we all be grateful to the people who he had affected in the past that came forward to make sure that he had an honorable and respectful internment. Sounds a little like some friends of that guy who set the original example for this kind a stuff a long time ago doesn't it? Think about it....no labels, no barriers, no terms or conditions...just unconditional love.
Friday, December 18, 2009
"Itsy bitsy.........teeny weeny................little bitty............" GOD!!
Excuse me but whatever happened to "For God so loved the WORLD" and "love your neighbor as yourself" and "do unto (ALL) others as you would have them do unto you" and "what you did for the LEAST of these you did for ME!"? Huh?
These are big, bold, broad statements. If you go through the Bible, Qu'ran, Torah, because I'm going to focus on the Big Three/One God theologies right now, this Divine Being is pretty huge and it created THE WHOLE UNIVERSE and EVERYTHING in it. So why do people who follow these three doctrines work so hard to put this HOLY CREATOR into smaller and smaller boxes every day?
It hit me a couple of days ago when I read about pending legislation in Uganda to execute gays and lesbians. It caused another thought to rise up in me that I had considered a few weeks back...there are still parts of this country where interracial marriage is illegal. Although we've gotten a little less barbaric in the past fifty years it was not uncommon for one or both members of an interracial couple to be murdered for marrying the person they loved. Heck, they would be beaten or killed just for walking down the street hand in hand.
The thought broadened to the resurgence of Neo-Nazism in this country. Although the KKK seems to be "so last year", there are still way too many (any more than zero) hate groups in the U.S. who will not stop short of violence against Jews, queers, non-Caucasians, non-WASPs and the really alarming part is that they can justify this stuff with "Christian" scripture. WHAT?
In the Old Testament we get those "10 Rules for healthy living"...all of us Judeo-Christian kids had them memorized by the time we were eight. There is one in particular though that mankind seems to have this constant habit of adding an "if" or a "but" to...the "thou shall not kill" one. Yeah, that one. Now add to that this train of thought I'm on right now..."God", "Goddess", "Great Spirit", etc.- whatever you call that enormous Divine Universal Creating and Ruling Power is just that....HUUUUGE!!! And it's benevolent. It really wants us to "get it". It loves us. So sometimes it sends signs to show us the way. We usually do a pretty good job of ignoring those signs....things like the Holocaust to remind us that hate is just not part of the plan. "God" created each and every one of us so who are we to say that any race, religion, culture, sexuality or socio-economic status is any better or worse that the other? I love how I hear "fundies" declaring how God is the one true judge and yet they are the first to start judging everyone that doesn't go to their church. hmmmm
Last night I read a lovely spew of hate in, of all places that bastion of intelligent journalism, The Wall Street Journal. The author, Peggy Noonan, posted the question at the end of "Have we become a more vulgar country?". Now to put this in context, the entire article (which you can read here if you have a strong constitution "The Adam Lambert problem" ) Ms. Noonan is trying to take the focus off the current economic problems in this country and place all of our woes on the shoulders of a 27 year old rising pop star based on an event that occured weeks ago. I found myself at first enraged and then utterly amused by the ignorance of this "journalist". If we want to talk vulgar let's go back to those "kinder, gentler times of the 40's and 50's that she compares the present to. Signs still hung in restaurants, pubic transporation and restrooms declaring "Whites Only". Schools were still segragated. Girls who got pregnant out of wedlock were disowned by their families resulting in runaways or worse...suicide. Catholics where not allowed to run for the presidency. Jews tended to keep to themselves and try to remain out of the public eye, still more than a little gunshy after the Holocaust. And women were shamed out of the workplace and back into the home "where they belonged" when the troops returned from the war. But these things were not "vulgar"? I beg to differ.
"Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in His sight. Jesus love the little children of the world." And he still loves us even when we are big, old, rich, poor, queer, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, fat, skinny, boy or girl children. I always loved that shirt that said "I'm OK. God don't make junk!" There are lots of people in this world that I don't like but I have to love them. Sometimes that love means putting you in rehab, a mental institution or jail. Sometimes that love means telling you "no" or "wait". And sometimes that love means taking that extra $10 I just came into and buying a meal for a runaway teenager. So people? Quit trying to justify your hate, fear and anger by blaming it on The Divine...it just brings that Being down below your level and it's no longer a Sacred Creator but a little piss-ant under your shoe. You can't put God in a box. And you can't deny that He/She/It loves the Jew sitting next to you on the bus, the East Indian that sold you your last six-pack, the homeless kid that asked you for a buck or the gay man who does your hair nor can you say that any of these people have less of a right to walk this planet than you do.
These are big, bold, broad statements. If you go through the Bible, Qu'ran, Torah, because I'm going to focus on the Big Three/One God theologies right now, this Divine Being is pretty huge and it created THE WHOLE UNIVERSE and EVERYTHING in it. So why do people who follow these three doctrines work so hard to put this HOLY CREATOR into smaller and smaller boxes every day?
It hit me a couple of days ago when I read about pending legislation in Uganda to execute gays and lesbians. It caused another thought to rise up in me that I had considered a few weeks back...there are still parts of this country where interracial marriage is illegal. Although we've gotten a little less barbaric in the past fifty years it was not uncommon for one or both members of an interracial couple to be murdered for marrying the person they loved. Heck, they would be beaten or killed just for walking down the street hand in hand.
The thought broadened to the resurgence of Neo-Nazism in this country. Although the KKK seems to be "so last year", there are still way too many (any more than zero) hate groups in the U.S. who will not stop short of violence against Jews, queers, non-Caucasians, non-WASPs and the really alarming part is that they can justify this stuff with "Christian" scripture. WHAT?
In the Old Testament we get those "10 Rules for healthy living"...all of us Judeo-Christian kids had them memorized by the time we were eight. There is one in particular though that mankind seems to have this constant habit of adding an "if" or a "but" to...the "thou shall not kill" one. Yeah, that one. Now add to that this train of thought I'm on right now..."God", "Goddess", "Great Spirit", etc.- whatever you call that enormous Divine Universal Creating and Ruling Power is just that....HUUUUGE!!! And it's benevolent. It really wants us to "get it". It loves us. So sometimes it sends signs to show us the way. We usually do a pretty good job of ignoring those signs....things like the Holocaust to remind us that hate is just not part of the plan. "God" created each and every one of us so who are we to say that any race, religion, culture, sexuality or socio-economic status is any better or worse that the other? I love how I hear "fundies" declaring how God is the one true judge and yet they are the first to start judging everyone that doesn't go to their church. hmmmm
Last night I read a lovely spew of hate in, of all places that bastion of intelligent journalism, The Wall Street Journal. The author, Peggy Noonan, posted the question at the end of "Have we become a more vulgar country?". Now to put this in context, the entire article (which you can read here if you have a strong constitution "The Adam Lambert problem" ) Ms. Noonan is trying to take the focus off the current economic problems in this country and place all of our woes on the shoulders of a 27 year old rising pop star based on an event that occured weeks ago. I found myself at first enraged and then utterly amused by the ignorance of this "journalist". If we want to talk vulgar let's go back to those "kinder, gentler times of the 40's and 50's that she compares the present to. Signs still hung in restaurants, pubic transporation and restrooms declaring "Whites Only". Schools were still segragated. Girls who got pregnant out of wedlock were disowned by their families resulting in runaways or worse...suicide. Catholics where not allowed to run for the presidency. Jews tended to keep to themselves and try to remain out of the public eye, still more than a little gunshy after the Holocaust. And women were shamed out of the workplace and back into the home "where they belonged" when the troops returned from the war. But these things were not "vulgar"? I beg to differ.
"Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in His sight. Jesus love the little children of the world." And he still loves us even when we are big, old, rich, poor, queer, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, fat, skinny, boy or girl children. I always loved that shirt that said "I'm OK. God don't make junk!" There are lots of people in this world that I don't like but I have to love them. Sometimes that love means putting you in rehab, a mental institution or jail. Sometimes that love means telling you "no" or "wait". And sometimes that love means taking that extra $10 I just came into and buying a meal for a runaway teenager. So people? Quit trying to justify your hate, fear and anger by blaming it on The Divine...it just brings that Being down below your level and it's no longer a Sacred Creator but a little piss-ant under your shoe. You can't put God in a box. And you can't deny that He/She/It loves the Jew sitting next to you on the bus, the East Indian that sold you your last six-pack, the homeless kid that asked you for a buck or the gay man who does your hair nor can you say that any of these people have less of a right to walk this planet than you do.
Monday, November 16, 2009
The face (and heart) of my friend Rev. Matt
I've asked my friend Rev. Matt McCaffrey to guest blog for me today. Knowing that the congregation he is currently shepherding has taken "Open & Affirming" to a new level, I know he is someone who can give you some real life insight into agape...unconditional love.
MamaKath asked me to meditate on what it’s like to be part of a Christian church that “goes beyond doing just the LGBT thing.” This guest entry reflects my meditations.
About me: I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (here in New England, mostly the white-steeple churches on every town green), and have been since 1988. I specialize in transitional ministry, serving churches where the settled pastor has left for a new call or retired (or sometimes worse), and helping them reclaim who they are while they seek new leadership. Since 1993 I’ve served nine congregations in different roles, and my state “conference” as minister of communication.
Being with a church during change is sometimes challenging, but it’s also cool because people know I’m not staying. That gives us freedom to try out new things and push some boundaries where they need to be pushed. I’ve found that, above all, people in the churches I serve are looking for love and reassurance that God accepts them. It’s my job to remember that.
I’ve been at Mansfield Center for about a year. UCC churches decide individually on…well, just about everything…but particularly on the kinds of faith stances they will take. This church declared itself “Open and Affirming” in 1991. Then and now, the ONA stance is understood by UCC churches to mean that LGBT folks are welcomed equally with everyone else who walks through the doors and participates in the church’s life and ministry. Churches who go through the ONA process and vote on it are very conscious about that meaning; maybe even self-conscious. Things change over time, though. At some point Mansfield Center had a “Duh” moment, realizing that “Open and Affirming” meant something bigger than sexual orientation. Without detracting from the huge “chromosome barrier” that has kept so many loving people down, hidden, or away from church altogether, there are other barriers that are swept away by this statement: poverty, politics, physical ability, mental health, language.
When I started journeying with this church last October, I found that old and young were welcome. So were people with autism whose behavior would get them quietly excluded from many congregations. So is a family from Iraq, whose patriarch served as a translator for U.S. troops and therefore was living in constant danger along with his wife and seven children. This summer, the congregation agreed to sponsor them and they now worship with us regularly—bringing an Muslim flavor to our practice even as they take on a Christian flavor in theirs.
The ONA idea, still feared by some as “political,” has evolved into an agape practice in this church—and it fits well with my own outlook about what Jesus was trying to teach. God so loved the world that in ultimate generosity we were given the most precious thing God had. The rules and fences that humanity erected around that gift would have frustrated Jesus himself! They reflect our own fears and need for control, not the spirit of the gift of love God gave us.
I asked MamaKath to ask me five questions, and I’d do my best to answer them. So, here’s her interview:
MK: When & how did you feel the call to at least attempt "agape" love?
MM: Probably before I’d heard the word or knew what it meant. Like many members of the United Church of Christ, I grew up in that other big brand-name hierarchical faith expression, and felt the call to be a priest when I was maybe 12 years old. A year or so later, hormones kicked in and I figured out why that call would be such a problem for me. (Hint: celibacy seems pretty unnatural to me.) It was my first experience of the conflict between God’s all-encompassing love and human attempts to “improve” it by putting restrictions on it.
MK: Do you see your ministry as an effort to lead others to practicing unconditional love?
MM: Without question. Many of the places where I’ve been called to transitional work have little tensions and resentments bubbling just under the surface. There are folks who would figuratively lay down their lives for the pastor who just left, and others who are saying under their breath (and sometimes out loud) “Good-bye, and don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out.” They hope the interim pastor (me) is going to do a “clean sweep” and get the “right people” into positions of influence. Hah! The kind of clean sweep I try to model is an inclusive one: clearing out the relationship clutter to make it possible for the right people and the other right people to be at the same table and talking again. I have taken my lumps from antagonistic people who are mad because I don’t feel particularly called to kiss their butts, but I also find that naming things for what they are tends to make room for love, respect, and healing.
MK: What does the following mean to you: "Life isn't easy but it should be simple."
MM: Ah, the essay!
Fewer meetings and more encounters. Fewer agendas and more action. Fewer rules and more good behavior.
Look, we could spend the next hundred years (or until Hartford becomes a beachfront community, whichever comes first) culling the Bible and looking for proof that God is for or against “the queers,” “the cripples,” “the illegals,” or whoever else we choose to name. This is how the prejudices of ancient societies get carried forward into our day, and there are some people who say that “because you’re a minister, you have to uphold these things.”
Guess what? I don’t. I was ordained a minister of the Gospel, not a minister of the Bible. My vows do hold me to rigorous study of scripture, but that word “Gospel” is not synonymous with “Bible.” It means “Good News,” and that’s what it’s all about.
I’m not here to make life even more complicated for people whose lives are already fearsomely complicated by circumstances. I’m here to say that God loves each of us, no matter who we are, no matter where we are. I think that’s a pretty simple message. Pretty profound, too.
MK: What are some of the things your current congregation is doing to open eyes & hearts to God and each other?
MM: I have to start with their expanded view of what it means to be “open and affirming.” Not long after I arrived a couple of our Deacons (elected to help serve the congregation in worship) approached me and wanted to know how I felt about the autistic young adult whose random vocalizations are a big part of the atmosphere during worship. They were relieved when I said it was okay with me, as I figured he was expressing his appreciation of worship (and even the sermon!) in the best way available to him. They had made the decision some time ago that he was welcome, and had met with some resistance from members of the congregation who were afraid it would offend the pastor!
I would say it’s not so much specific things the congregation is doing, so much as the way in which the congregation approaches its work. When the Supreme Court of Connecticut announced its decision to affirm same-gender marriages last October, my first thought was to consult with the church leadership about whether changes in church policy were needed now to take the possibility of performing a same-gender marriage into account. Their response was: We adopted the open and affirming stance, so what’s the problem?
Exactly.
MK: Is there a plan already in operation or on the drawing board to take this agape attitude beyond the congregation and into the surrounding communities? Do you feel that "putting a face on it" needs to part of the process?
MM: Fareed and his family are the best example of that right now. While we have adopted the role of “church family” for them, resettling them in northeastern Connecticut has been a huge and expensive undertaking. We had a community fundraising festival for them this past summer that was intentionally put into the community’s lap. (Lots of great music, by the way!) We have brought other churches, community groups, and businesses into the mix. Yesterday we learned that a local auto dealer had donated a used and reconditioned minivan to the family, and one of the other churches in the area agreed to pay for insurance so the van could be registered and driven. Fareed and his family brought a cake for fellowship time following worship; he told me that his wife called it a “birthday” cake. Why? For the “birth” of the minivan!
Another member of the church remarked on how pleasantly surprised he was that the family had been so well accepted into the church’s life and the community’s life. I’m not. Fareed, Fatima, and their beautiful children have put a compelling face on what it means to be Iraqi, and I think it has made an agape stance possible for people who would otherwise say “it’s impossible.”
[bio]
The Rev. Matt McCaffrey is an interim ministry specialist with the United Church of Christ, currently serving the First Church of Christ in Mansfield. He lives in Cheshire.
MamaKath asked me to meditate on what it’s like to be part of a Christian church that “goes beyond doing just the LGBT thing.” This guest entry reflects my meditations.
About me: I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (here in New England, mostly the white-steeple churches on every town green), and have been since 1988. I specialize in transitional ministry, serving churches where the settled pastor has left for a new call or retired (or sometimes worse), and helping them reclaim who they are while they seek new leadership. Since 1993 I’ve served nine congregations in different roles, and my state “conference” as minister of communication.
Being with a church during change is sometimes challenging, but it’s also cool because people know I’m not staying. That gives us freedom to try out new things and push some boundaries where they need to be pushed. I’ve found that, above all, people in the churches I serve are looking for love and reassurance that God accepts them. It’s my job to remember that.
I’ve been at Mansfield Center for about a year. UCC churches decide individually on…well, just about everything…but particularly on the kinds of faith stances they will take. This church declared itself “Open and Affirming” in 1991. Then and now, the ONA stance is understood by UCC churches to mean that LGBT folks are welcomed equally with everyone else who walks through the doors and participates in the church’s life and ministry. Churches who go through the ONA process and vote on it are very conscious about that meaning; maybe even self-conscious. Things change over time, though. At some point Mansfield Center had a “Duh” moment, realizing that “Open and Affirming” meant something bigger than sexual orientation. Without detracting from the huge “chromosome barrier” that has kept so many loving people down, hidden, or away from church altogether, there are other barriers that are swept away by this statement: poverty, politics, physical ability, mental health, language.
When I started journeying with this church last October, I found that old and young were welcome. So were people with autism whose behavior would get them quietly excluded from many congregations. So is a family from Iraq, whose patriarch served as a translator for U.S. troops and therefore was living in constant danger along with his wife and seven children. This summer, the congregation agreed to sponsor them and they now worship with us regularly—bringing an Muslim flavor to our practice even as they take on a Christian flavor in theirs.
The ONA idea, still feared by some as “political,” has evolved into an agape practice in this church—and it fits well with my own outlook about what Jesus was trying to teach. God so loved the world that in ultimate generosity we were given the most precious thing God had. The rules and fences that humanity erected around that gift would have frustrated Jesus himself! They reflect our own fears and need for control, not the spirit of the gift of love God gave us.
I asked MamaKath to ask me five questions, and I’d do my best to answer them. So, here’s her interview:
MK: When & how did you feel the call to at least attempt "agape" love?
MM: Probably before I’d heard the word or knew what it meant. Like many members of the United Church of Christ, I grew up in that other big brand-name hierarchical faith expression, and felt the call to be a priest when I was maybe 12 years old. A year or so later, hormones kicked in and I figured out why that call would be such a problem for me. (Hint: celibacy seems pretty unnatural to me.) It was my first experience of the conflict between God’s all-encompassing love and human attempts to “improve” it by putting restrictions on it.
MK: Do you see your ministry as an effort to lead others to practicing unconditional love?
MM: Without question. Many of the places where I’ve been called to transitional work have little tensions and resentments bubbling just under the surface. There are folks who would figuratively lay down their lives for the pastor who just left, and others who are saying under their breath (and sometimes out loud) “Good-bye, and don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out.” They hope the interim pastor (me) is going to do a “clean sweep” and get the “right people” into positions of influence. Hah! The kind of clean sweep I try to model is an inclusive one: clearing out the relationship clutter to make it possible for the right people and the other right people to be at the same table and talking again. I have taken my lumps from antagonistic people who are mad because I don’t feel particularly called to kiss their butts, but I also find that naming things for what they are tends to make room for love, respect, and healing.
MK: What does the following mean to you: "Life isn't easy but it should be simple."
MM: Ah, the essay!
Fewer meetings and more encounters. Fewer agendas and more action. Fewer rules and more good behavior.
Look, we could spend the next hundred years (or until Hartford becomes a beachfront community, whichever comes first) culling the Bible and looking for proof that God is for or against “the queers,” “the cripples,” “the illegals,” or whoever else we choose to name. This is how the prejudices of ancient societies get carried forward into our day, and there are some people who say that “because you’re a minister, you have to uphold these things.”
Guess what? I don’t. I was ordained a minister of the Gospel, not a minister of the Bible. My vows do hold me to rigorous study of scripture, but that word “Gospel” is not synonymous with “Bible.” It means “Good News,” and that’s what it’s all about.
I’m not here to make life even more complicated for people whose lives are already fearsomely complicated by circumstances. I’m here to say that God loves each of us, no matter who we are, no matter where we are. I think that’s a pretty simple message. Pretty profound, too.
MK: What are some of the things your current congregation is doing to open eyes & hearts to God and each other?
MM: I have to start with their expanded view of what it means to be “open and affirming.” Not long after I arrived a couple of our Deacons (elected to help serve the congregation in worship) approached me and wanted to know how I felt about the autistic young adult whose random vocalizations are a big part of the atmosphere during worship. They were relieved when I said it was okay with me, as I figured he was expressing his appreciation of worship (and even the sermon!) in the best way available to him. They had made the decision some time ago that he was welcome, and had met with some resistance from members of the congregation who were afraid it would offend the pastor!
I would say it’s not so much specific things the congregation is doing, so much as the way in which the congregation approaches its work. When the Supreme Court of Connecticut announced its decision to affirm same-gender marriages last October, my first thought was to consult with the church leadership about whether changes in church policy were needed now to take the possibility of performing a same-gender marriage into account. Their response was: We adopted the open and affirming stance, so what’s the problem?
Exactly.
MK: Is there a plan already in operation or on the drawing board to take this agape attitude beyond the congregation and into the surrounding communities? Do you feel that "putting a face on it" needs to part of the process?
MM: Fareed and his family are the best example of that right now. While we have adopted the role of “church family” for them, resettling them in northeastern Connecticut has been a huge and expensive undertaking. We had a community fundraising festival for them this past summer
Another member of the church remarked on how pleasantly surprised he was that the family had been so well accepted into the church’s life and the community’s life. I’m not. Fareed, Fatima, and their beautiful children have put a compelling face on what it means to be Iraqi, and I think it has made an agape stance possible for people who would otherwise say “it’s impossible.”
[bio]
The Rev. Matt McCaffrey is an interim ministry specialist with the United Church of Christ, currently serving the First Church of Christ in Mansfield. He lives in Cheshire.
Friday, November 13, 2009
The face of my friend Mat Devine
This was not the blog I was going to write but I feel that it needs to be written today. It speaks so profoundly of what this journal is about....putting a face on it. Putting a face on another's trials to see how petty yours really are. Putting a face on determination and commitment to a cause. Putting a heart behind a face that might scare you cuz it's a little different.
This is my friend Mat's face:
This is my friend Mat's heart...I will carry it with me always:
A lot of people would find me and my friend Mat intimidating because we are different. Mat wears eyeliner, has his nose and ears pierced and generally wears girls jeans and jackets. He writes and plays rock music. He usually smells a bit..ummmm...unbathed? He takes amazing pictures and he also blogs (check out Racoon Society on my Blog Roll). I'm looking forward to the day that my friend Mat actually writes a novel and then his memoirs. Mat is also tattooed like me. His tat is one word..."Courage". He has a lot but he doesn't realize it most of the time. My friend Mat has the most interesting collection of close friends....John Hughes Sr & Jr, Jared Leto, Billy Corrigan, Heaven Malone, Mili, Steven Smith and Bam Margera. He has a library of books and movies that is phenomenal and the things he can rattle off from said books and films will make your head spin.
My friend Mat is intelligent, articulate, prolific, cultured, educated, wise behind his years, creative, funny, a pain in the ass, and has a heart bigger than the planet. He writes his best songs in the dead of winter in the middle of the night on the Navy Pier in Chicago, the city he calls home. I know he's originally from here in Connecticut and that a piece of his heart will always live in New York City. He believes in ghosts. He loves ooooold buildings inside and out. He is incredibly respectful. He is spiritual. He's a little boy and he giggles. He also cries and screams and wears his heart on his sleeve.
My friend Mat preaches tolerance. I'd like to share some excerpts from a recent Q&A blog he posted when posed with a girl's question about her mom thinking rock music was satanic:
"You know the saying “Guns don’t kill people, guys with mustaches do.“ ? That’s how I feel about religion. Undersexed, miserable people like your mom ruin it. Religion itself is not inherently crazy. We’d all love answers to the unanswerable. I get it. Here we are, floating in space. It’s a terrifying mystery where we go from here. Everyone deserves the inalienable right to believe anything he/she wants. Faith is a good thing. -just don’t confuse it with fact. No one KNOWS what happens when we die, and anyone who claims to know is, at best, unhinged, at worst, very dangerous."
He goes on to give a really great list of arguments to support intelligent thought over brainwashed ignorance:
"As a backup, I’m always a fan of open, adult conversation. A difference of opinion and can lead to a healthy, non-argumentative debate. Such a convo would force her to defend her position.. and in doing so, expose the flaws in her logic. She’s likely the product of a country and generation that emphasized loyalty to your religious heritage over independent rational thought and self-expression. Be sensitive to that. Depending on her age, rewiring might be too painful to bear. You reach a point where the values you’ve established throughout your life are like a warm blanket.. even if they are wrong. Hopefully she isn’t brainwashed beyond repair.
This is my friend Mat's face:
This is my friend Mat's heart...I will carry it with me always:
A lot of people would find me and my friend Mat intimidating because we are different. Mat wears eyeliner, has his nose and ears pierced and generally wears girls jeans and jackets. He writes and plays rock music. He usually smells a bit..ummmm...unbathed? He takes amazing pictures and he also blogs (check out Racoon Society on my Blog Roll). I'm looking forward to the day that my friend Mat actually writes a novel and then his memoirs. Mat is also tattooed like me. His tat is one word..."Courage". He has a lot but he doesn't realize it most of the time. My friend Mat has the most interesting collection of close friends....John Hughes Sr & Jr, Jared Leto, Billy Corrigan, Heaven Malone, Mili, Steven Smith and Bam Margera. He has a library of books and movies that is phenomenal and the things he can rattle off from said books and films will make your head spin.
My friend Mat is intelligent, articulate, prolific, cultured, educated, wise behind his years, creative, funny, a pain in the ass, and has a heart bigger than the planet. He writes his best songs in the dead of winter in the middle of the night on the Navy Pier in Chicago, the city he calls home. I know he's originally from here in Connecticut and that a piece of his heart will always live in New York City. He believes in ghosts. He loves ooooold buildings inside and out. He is incredibly respectful. He is spiritual. He's a little boy and he giggles. He also cries and screams and wears his heart on his sleeve.
My friend Mat preaches tolerance. I'd like to share some excerpts from a recent Q&A blog he posted when posed with a girl's question about her mom thinking rock music was satanic:
"You know the saying “Guns don’t kill people, guys with mustaches do.“ ? That’s how I feel about religion. Undersexed, miserable people like your mom ruin it. Religion itself is not inherently crazy. We’d all love answers to the unanswerable. I get it. Here we are, floating in space. It’s a terrifying mystery where we go from here. Everyone deserves the inalienable right to believe anything he/she wants. Faith is a good thing. -just don’t confuse it with fact. No one KNOWS what happens when we die, and anyone who claims to know is, at best, unhinged, at worst, very dangerous."
He goes on to give a really great list of arguments to support intelligent thought over brainwashed ignorance:
"As a backup, I’m always a fan of open, adult conversation. A difference of opinion and can lead to a healthy, non-argumentative debate. Such a convo would force her to defend her position.. and in doing so, expose the flaws in her logic. She’s likely the product of a country and generation that emphasized loyalty to your religious heritage over independent rational thought and self-expression. Be sensitive to that. Depending on her age, rewiring might be too painful to bear. You reach a point where the values you’ve established throughout your life are like a warm blanket.. even if they are wrong. Hopefully she isn’t brainwashed beyond repair.
I even took the time to write you some Cliff's Notes for that convo:
1. Economics: What’s a band’s financial incentive to influence their fans to do bad things? If the power of suggestion in music is so overwhelming, wouldn’t it make more sense for a band to suggest that fans buy more albums? If I wrote a song called “Buy 20 Copies of Our Album Every Day,” would it work? Discuss.
2. Many of today’s largest religions have a great deal of gravity, not necessarily because of the validity of their claims, but because of a momentum gathered over thousands of years of history. Many religions predate the human invention of Satan: Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Chinese Shamanism, Aboriginal Animism, etc… Are all religions equally legitimate and equally ridiculous? What makes one religion superior to another?
3. Ancient Mayans believed in an Underworld, and that human sacrifice could appease the gods and end a drought. Is that any more insane than what you believe? Discuss.
4. Anthony Comstock (1844-1915), was the founder of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Is he a villain or hero? Discuss.
5. Some people may claim that it is arrogant and narcissistic for one to believe that an all-powerful deity, who created the universe and bends time and space, could possibly have an interest in what CD your daughter listens to. How would you respond?
6. If indeed rock music is Satanic, then what else is?
Is Sex? Is beauty? Is Food? Is all pleasure? Where is the line, and who is authorized to draw it? Discuss.
7. What do Joan of Arc, Beethoven, Wagner, The Doors and Kieth Richards all have in common? All were considered “Satanic” at one time in history. Clearly the definition of Good and Evil in established religions has evolved over the past 2000 years. Might it continue to evolve further? Discuss.
8. In the SciFi novel, 1984, George Orwell paints a vision of a Totalitarian society in the future wherein all behavior and thoughts are censored and monitored by Big Brother. All individuality is condemned, punished, and ultimately erased. Does this sound familiar to you? Discuss.
9. If Satan is truly responsible for bad metal, why would he choose to spend so much of the mid 1990’s in Southern Florida?
10. Do you believe in personal responsibility? Why or why not?
11. If rock music is a cause of violence and immoral behavior, might we expect serial killers across the nation to have similar CD collections?
Listen, I know how much effort, talent, time and money my favorite bands and contemporaries put into their songs. I know how much thought and care go into creating albums with a deep purpose and positive message… albums that heal.. albums that give hope."
This is my friend Mat. We see eye to eye on a lot of things. I had the honor of giving him hugs when he's been way way down. I've received hugs when I've made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. For as many times when my "mom side" has wanted to smack him for being stupid, my "friend side" just wants to sit down over coffee with him. Today my heart breaks for my friend Mat because he may have finally hit the last straw as far as his music career is concerned. He and his band brothers have lost everything to stupid, ignorant, selfish thieves. It wasn't the monetary value of the things that will devistate these guys but the sentimental value.
My friend Mat loves his guitar. He's written and recorded a lot of songs with it. Its been his companion for many years. I've seen the tiny scratches, notes taped to the back, the wearing on the fretboard. Now his beloved Gibson is in the hands of someone who could give a shit. Someone who has no idea how well loved that instrument is and how the music that comes out of it makes people feel. So I dedicate this blog to my friend Mat. I hope you get to meet him some day. I hope he finds his guitar. I hope he and that guitar will fill your heart the way they have been filling mine for the past three years. And if you meet my friend Mat, don't be scared. It's just some added jewelry and lines drawn on his face. His clothes are worn and need to be laundered, his hair is a disaster but under all that? He's like you. Just somebody who needs a little love. Somebody who can usually use some food, a clean pair of socks and a hug. I love you Mat. Mom
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The ritualistic intro post
So, besides music, MamaKath's brain and heart are full of a lot of other stuff. I thought about it and decided that these things warranted a separate blogoshere so as not to detract from my music ramblings and to provide a haven for those who were only interested in my thoughts, feelings, inspirations and affections in the political and spiritual realms.
The slogan for this blog came to me in an email discussion I had with a clergy acquaintence the other day after "Equality for Maine" was thwarted by a mere three precent of the population. He and I agreed that the church had failed where "the church" prevailed. The church has this book that talks about putting your neighbor above yourself and looking out for each other. It speaks of compassion, mercy, justice and humility. It tells you you will get your hands dirty if you're doing it right. "The Church" on the other hand preaches a tinier and tinier, selfish, bitchy, prejudice, dictator diety that is anything close to Divine, holy, sacred or benevolent. Their "god" doesn't like any of us and would prefer that we lock ourselves in our houses and cut ourselves off from any one that doesn't follow its doctrine. Their version "god" has rules...lots of rules about who is good enough and who you should take care of and how you can be better than all the other sheep and the diety will give you lots of money and you will live fat, dumb and happy all the days of your life. Now in this crazy faci-verse you can play up to a better ticket to the afterlife by supporting the impersonal annihilation of other humans while providing equally impersonal "help" to unknown faces across the seas in the form of checks. Your hands are squeaky clean with a nice thick coat of Purell on them.
But see the thing is, if you really wanna claim that you "know" Jesus...you need to go back and READ that book again. See he said "When I was naked you clothed me. When I was hungry you fed me. When I was sick you took care of me and when I was in prison your visited me. AND WHAT YOU DID FOR THE LEAST OF THESE YOU DID FOR ME". What the guy was saying; cuz back then there were no banks, no post offices and no PayPal, was that you had to get off your fat, lazy, fearful, arrogant ass and go help people. Don't pass off a fiver in the collection plate for some kid in Central America....go over to the Subway, buy a sandwich and bring it back to that 17-year-old runaway streetwalker you just passed while you were out shopping. Yeah, you're gonna have to look into those sad eyes and wonder what went down in her comfortable suburban home states away from where she ended up that caused her to run. She will give you a sad smile and say thank you. Your heart's gonna break a little more. For even the briefest of moments you will feel a little bit of love. You're not going to be afraid of her any more. You're not going to judge her in that instant. You're gonna see her as a fellow human who maybe had a dream, maybe still has that dream but right now she's just trying to stay alive. Trying to turn enough tricks to keep her pimp from beating her up and maybe have some place a little warmer than the street to sleep tonight. It's probably going to get to you enough that you're going to go home and say some real prayers starting with one for forgiveness for your laziness and stupidity. Then you're gonna pray for real help for that girl. And you never know...The Great Spirit's reply may be that you're the help. You're going to wake up with a need to do something. And if you listen carefully and watch the signs...that Truly Divine Being will point you to the sources of that girl's eventual "salvation" and I'm not talking getting her to some holy roller church where some guy who plays a preacher on TV lays hands on her and the congregation of hypocrits spends the rest of her life brain-washing and laying guilt trips on her. No I'm talking finding safe shelter, employment which provides food & clothing. Who knows, she might get her GED and even go to college. She may just end up the checker in your local grocery store or she may be destined to be the next Golda Meir or Madaleine Albright. But whether "peasant" or "noble" she will live not merely survive.
Put a face on it, people.
The slogan for this blog came to me in an email discussion I had with a clergy acquaintence the other day after "Equality for Maine" was thwarted by a mere three precent of the population. He and I agreed that the church had failed where "the church" prevailed. The church has this book that talks about putting your neighbor above yourself and looking out for each other. It speaks of compassion, mercy, justice and humility. It tells you you will get your hands dirty if you're doing it right. "The Church" on the other hand preaches a tinier and tinier, selfish, bitchy, prejudice, dictator diety that is anything close to Divine, holy, sacred or benevolent. Their "god" doesn't like any of us and would prefer that we lock ourselves in our houses and cut ourselves off from any one that doesn't follow its doctrine. Their version "god" has rules...lots of rules about who is good enough and who you should take care of and how you can be better than all the other sheep and the diety will give you lots of money and you will live fat, dumb and happy all the days of your life. Now in this crazy faci-verse you can play up to a better ticket to the afterlife by supporting the impersonal annihilation of other humans while providing equally impersonal "help" to unknown faces across the seas in the form of checks. Your hands are squeaky clean with a nice thick coat of Purell on them.
But see the thing is, if you really wanna claim that you "know" Jesus...you need to go back and READ that book again. See he said "When I was naked you clothed me. When I was hungry you fed me. When I was sick you took care of me and when I was in prison your visited me. AND WHAT YOU DID FOR THE LEAST OF THESE YOU DID FOR ME". What the guy was saying; cuz back then there were no banks, no post offices and no PayPal, was that you had to get off your fat, lazy, fearful, arrogant ass and go help people. Don't pass off a fiver in the collection plate for some kid in Central America....go over to the Subway, buy a sandwich and bring it back to that 17-year-old runaway streetwalker you just passed while you were out shopping. Yeah, you're gonna have to look into those sad eyes and wonder what went down in her comfortable suburban home states away from where she ended up that caused her to run. She will give you a sad smile and say thank you. Your heart's gonna break a little more. For even the briefest of moments you will feel a little bit of love. You're not going to be afraid of her any more. You're not going to judge her in that instant. You're gonna see her as a fellow human who maybe had a dream, maybe still has that dream but right now she's just trying to stay alive. Trying to turn enough tricks to keep her pimp from beating her up and maybe have some place a little warmer than the street to sleep tonight. It's probably going to get to you enough that you're going to go home and say some real prayers starting with one for forgiveness for your laziness and stupidity. Then you're gonna pray for real help for that girl. And you never know...The Great Spirit's reply may be that you're the help. You're going to wake up with a need to do something. And if you listen carefully and watch the signs...that Truly Divine Being will point you to the sources of that girl's eventual "salvation" and I'm not talking getting her to some holy roller church where some guy who plays a preacher on TV lays hands on her and the congregation of hypocrits spends the rest of her life brain-washing and laying guilt trips on her. No I'm talking finding safe shelter, employment which provides food & clothing. Who knows, she might get her GED and even go to college. She may just end up the checker in your local grocery store or she may be destined to be the next Golda Meir or Madaleine Albright. But whether "peasant" or "noble" she will live not merely survive.
Put a face on it, people.
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