Terrapin Station

Looking for fiction suggestions to make me think!

So what I do is, I read. 

That's one of my most basic identities. I'm a reader. Coincidentally, I have 2 degrees in literature. 

When I was in high school I used to set myself "summer reading projects" with the idea to read all of a particular author. So I'd go to my Houston Public Library (Kendall Branch) and check out all of Roald Dahl (a rude shock to read his adult work after James & the Giant Peach), Kurt Vonnegut, Herman Wouk, Wallace Stegner, etc. I have no idea where I got this idea, or how I picked the writers I included, beyond seeing they had a lot of books on the shelf. I also didn't really understand that my library might not, probably didn't, have all of the works of any author. I liked doing this because it was a challenge. 

After it took me 7 years to finish my Master's degree, I wasn't able to read for pleasure for several years. Finally, I got it back. Now I find myself reading a lot, some nonfiction and a ton of fiction, but not very much fiction that's challenging. I'm not apologizing for that...I've done my time. I'm not going to apologize for anything I read or don't read.

I have read a lot of nonfiction in the last few years about racism, cultural and social issues. This includes a good bit that's been challenging, stretching. 

BUT. 

I just realized something. In fiction, which is my escape, I tend to choose locations and people that are familiar...that look like me. And I didn't get that until I started a book recently (which I cannot find the name of) and about 10 pages in a character described herself as having "brown skin." I thought, "brown skin? huh, is she Hispanic?" and then I realized she is Black. The entire family was Black. I didn't get that until it was TOLD to me. I assumed they were "white like me." 

Yep. Not so woke, am I? 

So. I have a new summer reading project, which, now that I am out of school and retired, can last forever: reading fiction by people who don't look like me. Not all the time. But I need to stretch my imagination. I have a list. But any suggestions are welcomed. 

Another look at Psalm 37

A few weeks ago I wrote about how praying Psalm 37 is keeping me from flying off the planet. 

Here's another version, from The Order of St. Helena Psalter

Psalm 37

1 Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *
do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 For they shall soon wither like the grass, *
and like the green grass fade away.
3 Put your trust in God and do good; *
dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
4 Take delight in God, *
who shall give you your heart’s desire.
5 Commit your way to God and put your trust in God, *
who will bring it to pass.
6 God will make your righteousness as clear as the light *
and your just dealing as the noonday.
7 Be still before God; *
for God wait patiently.
8 Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *
the one who succeeds in evil schemes.
9 Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *
do not fret yourself, it leads only to evil.
10 For evildoers shall be cut off, *
but those who wait upon God shall possess the land.
11 In a little while the wicked shall be no more; *
you shall search out their place, but they will not be there.
12 But the lowly shall possess the land; *
they will delight in abundance of peace.
13 The wicked plot against the righteous *
and gnash at them with their teeth.
14 God laughs at the wicked, *
seeing that their day will come.
15 The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow
to strike down the poor and needy, *
to slaughter those who are upright in their ways.
16 Their sword shall go through their own heart, *
and their bow shall be broken.
17 The little that the righteous has *
is better than great riches of the wicked.
18 For the power of the wicked shall be broken, *
but God upholds the righteous.
19 God cares for the lives of the faithful, *
and their inheritance shall last for ever.
20 They shall not be ashamed in bad times, *
and in days of famine they shall have enough.
21 As for the wicked, they shall perish, *
and the enemies of God, like the glory of the meadows, shall vanish;
they shall vanish like smoke.
22 The wicked borrow and do not repay, *
but the righteous are generous in giving.
23 Those who are blest by God shall possess the land, *
but those who are cursed shall be destroyed.
24 Our steps are directed by God, *
who strengthens those whose ways are upright.
25 If they stumble, they shall not fall headlong, *
for God holds them by the hand.
26 I have been young and now I am old, *
but never have I seen the righteous forsaken,
or their children begging bread.
27 The righteous are always generous in their lending, *
and their children shall be a blessing.
28 Turn from evil and do good, *
and dwell in the land for ever.
29 For God loves justice *
and does not forsake the faithful ones.
30 They shall be kept safe for ever, *
but the offspring of the wicked shall be destroyed.
31 The righteous shall possess the land *
and dwell in it for ever.
32 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, *
and their tongue speaks what is right.
33 The law of their God is in their heart, *
and their footsteps shall not falter.
34 The wicked spy on the righteous *
and seek occasion to kill them.
35 But God will not abandon them to their hand, *
nor let them be found guilty when brought to trial.
36 Wait upon God and keep God’s way; *
you will be raised up to possess the land,
and when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
37 I have seen the wicked in their arrogance, *
flourishing like a tree in full leaf.
38 I went by, and behold, they were not there; *
I searched for them, but they could not be found.
39 Mark those who are honest;
observe the upright; *
for there is a future for the peaceable.
40 Transgressors shall be destroyed, one and all; *
the future of the wicked is cut off.
41 But the deliverance of the righteous comes from God *
who is their stronghold in time of trouble.
42 God will help them and rescue them; *
the Holy One will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them,
because they seek refuge in God.

© Order of Saint Helena, used by permission

Watch This Space

Because I need to write about my words for the year. But I'm not sure how.

One of them found me...incarnation.

The other was drawn for me...testimony.

I feel a little chagrined by the second one. And greatly challenged. So that's the major one to be working with!

More to follow.

PASSWORD

This video made my hair stand on end.  I think I have heard it before, but today it was the lesson I needed. Take the 20 minutes.  It's a gift I think you will appreciate, passed on via my friend Terri and the Words Matter Project. 

WOW. 

And that brings me to the password story. 

You know those affirmations you are supposed to say to yourself in the mirror every day?  Have you ever actually done that on a regular basis?  Not me.  I've tried it.  It feels ridiculous. 

But something from a blog I read regularly^* spurred me to use a version of one of those phrases when my computer password needed to be changed several months ago.   And it's had a profound effect on me.  Daily, sometimes more often, I have to remember and type in that combination of letters and numbers and symbols that essentially says something to which I automatically respond, "Oh, come on!"

(For example, it might be:  "[email protected]@wesome222".)

It's something I'd tell you I believe...and yet, I'd be embarrassed to reveal it to anyone as my password (not that I would ever tell anyone my password anyway...)   Because it sounds conceited? Because I don't really believe it about me?  

But here's the deal:  Each day that I use it, I become willing to consider believing it just a little bit more.  I become more willing to "believe that I'm worthy of love and belonging" as Brené Brown says in the video. 

And that's no small thing. 

***

^* Single Dad Laughing, where every Sunday there's a feature called "This is Beautiful You." 

Alleluia in Lent

The first time I did it, I was 26. 

I was in Boston for a training session, and prior to the first event, I had some wandering time to myself.  It was Ash Wednesday, so I looked up the Episcopal cathedral and went for service. 

It was the first time I saw a female priest (!!! and that's a whole 'nother story!!!).  And it was the first time I really HEARD the Gospel from the Ash Wednesday liturgy. 

It's, like, crazy, man!  It says "do one thing," (wash your face, smile, don't complain)  and then the liturgy leads us to completely do another (get ashes on your face and walk around with them on you all day long).  WHAT!?

So I got my ashes, and I rode the train back to my hotel, thinking about that paradox, and noticing that I seemed to fit right in, in Catholic Boston; more people had ashes than didn't.  In my hotel room, I met my roommate and we watched TV news together.  The Gulf War was on and that night SCUD missiles were falling in Israel.  I learned that she was Jewish. 

Before we left for the opening reception, I washed off my forehead ashes.  My roommate hadn't remarked on them before, but she said, "I thought you were supposed to leave those on!"  I said, "I don't think there's really a rule about it." 

There's not.  And ever since then, I've washed away those ashes as soon as possible after I've received them.  It's important to me to get them, and to remember my mortality and that of those I love, and those I DON'T love, and everyone in the world.  To participate with my faith community in that liturgy.  And then, it's time to move on. 

The whole Ash Wednesday liturgy is a church history thing...not a Jesus thing.  It's a tradition, a practice.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say to do the things we do.  That doesn't mean they are bad; but it does mean we might want to look at them with new eyes to see how they really work for us.  In my tradition, we "bury the Alleluias" and do not use the word during Lent.  And mercy, does THAT sometimes get to be silly.  If it's accidentally uttered, oh no!  such comment!  We refer to it as "the a-word."  Oy. 

 

I don't "give up" things for Lent anymore, either.  It ends up not meaning much to me besides a contest of wills, which becomes an obsession.  I know that I can have the strongest will in the world; it's a way of showing off to myself.  But that doesn't get me any closer to Jesus. (My friend Songbird wrote a great homily from which I borrow the "show-off" language.) 

 Yesterday I posted a link about a positive way of looking at Lent.  And that really "hit me where I live" later,  in reading  my friend Kirstin's latest blog post.  Kirstin has metastatic melanoma.  She's been living (and I mean LIVING) with this disease for three years now and blogging her journey. She writes, for Ash Wednesday: 

I need to claim Easter now, because I have no idea if I’ll be here on the liturgical date. My hope is in the Resurrection; I’ll be damned if I’m putting that off for six weeks because the church tells me it’s time to. I’m with the Orthodox; why are we ever proscribed from praising? God’s nature does not change because of our season. 

What am I doing for Lent? Saying alleluia and living in the moment. Seizing the joys that I can find. Looking for perfect nows. Spending time with friends. Being alive and awake in love.

And I say, with Kristin and for Kristin, and for all of us in the world and our fears and pains and hopes:   Even at the grave we make our song:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Question for my Episcopal clergy (and church geek) friends

(Really, anyone can read this, but if you are from a less liturgical tradition than TEC you are probably going to laugh or just be disgusted at this...)

Recently, I heard a sermon in an Anglican church.  The general point of the sermon was (as I heard it), "You need to read the Bible for yourself...not just what other people have written about the Bible."

Okay so far. 

In making the point, the preacher averred that Rite II in the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is "devoid of God's word" while Rite I is "completely God's word." (I wrote these phrases down on my bulletin so as to get them right). 

Of course, I grew up with the idea that the BCP is all drawn from scripture. 

I realize that I am likely to be defensive about such a statement, especially coming from that source and implying, as it does to me, that any change from Rite I (which is very similar to the 1928 BCP I grew up with) is wrong and a modernization to fit the culture.  This is a preacher who also doesn't believe that women should be ordained to ministry.  Again, I am likely to be prepared to disagree. 

THE QUESTION:

Before I go doing a big study of Rite II in comparison with Rite I (which I plan to), I would like to know if there is some "school of thought" that agrees with his statements?  I'd like to have all the information (beyond my own reading of scripture and the BCP) before I  write back to this person.  

SO WHAT?:

Why am I bothering with this, bothering YOU with this? 

As you've heard me say, "Words Matter."  The words of the BCP are important to me.  And I want to know what right this person thinks he has to make such an utterly categorical claim.  Please understand, he is a true scholar of the Bible and I have much respect for him...while we disagree wildly on many matters.  I believe we've crossed paths for a reason (that has to do with me learning and understanding more). 

Thanks!  :) 

Your (Evil Progressive Episcopal) Friend

Words Matter!

Mixed Messages from ABofC Dangerous for LGBT in Uganda

 

Words Matter

by

Louise Brooks

Integrity USA

Board Member & Director of Communications

In his press conference yesterday in Dublin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, condemned the actions of the Ugandan rag "Rolling Stone" (not to be confused with the US magazine) for calling for the hanging of "homos". He pointed out that words matter ..... when uttered by what he called "this rotten, disgraceful Ugandan publication" and they have serious consequences.  Responsibility needs to be taken, he said.

The same goes for the Archbishop. Words matter. In the same press conference he defended Ugandan Archbishop Henry Orombi's anti-gay stance. The Irish Times put it this way:  "Defending Bishop Orombi, Archbishop Williams, head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, emphasised that, as with other relevant Anglican primates, Bishop Orombi’s position concerned “exclusion from ministry on grounds of behaviour, not orientation”.

Those words uttered by the Archbishop, supporting the institutionalized homophobia in the Church of Uganda, matter. They send a dangerous mixed message that does nothing but perpetuate an atmosphere of fear and discrimination. An atmosphere that could lead to violence and death. He needs to take responsibility for muddy-ing the waters.

Here is the Church of Uganda's position on homosexuality:

From a plain reading of Scripture, from a careful reading of Scripture, and from a critical reading of Scripture, homosexual practice has no place in God’s design of creation, the continuation of the human race through procreation, or His plan of redemption. Even natural law reveals that the very act of sexual intercourse is an experience of embracing the sexual “other”. The Church of Uganda, therefore, believes that “Homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture” (Resolution 1.10, 1998 Lambeth Conference). At the same time, the Church of Uganda is committed at all levels to offer counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation, especially in our schools and other institutions of learning. The Church is a safe place for individuals, who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing.

The Archbishop supports Orambi's exclusion of homosexuals. How does excluding people for who they are even pretend to be Christian?

Word matter. Our words matter as well. We need to continue to urge the Archbishop of Canterbury and all faith leaders to step up and speak out against homophobia. We need to ask the Archbishop to stop speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He needs to hear words that say: Supporting those who support homophobia is no different than supporting homophobia yourself. 

Yesterday  the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts-Schori, called upon us all to "heal the world". A giant step toward healing is ending homophobia. A good start would be for the Archbishop of Canterbury to recognize his words matter. No more mixed messages. Please!!!!!!


Louise Brooks is a Media & Messaging Consultant.

What you say...

Words Matter Teaser Trailer from Words Matter on Vimeo.

Heading to Seattle today for training in the Words Matter curriculum with folks from the National Episcopal Church.