The Pastor's Ponderables

Since former President George H. W. Bush died last week, tributes have come pouring in.  And so have the condemnations. I come neither to beatify nor demonize the man, but he is an interesting study in how complex we are.  let me examine him for a moment looking at a few of the accomplishments he can boast that make many say he was a great man. First, he was a war hero.  No doubt about it, the son of a Senator, he was the second youngest navy fighter pilot and was shot down in the line of duty, requiring that he be fished out of the drink by a submarine crew.  Love him or hate him, that required bravery and commitment to the country. Second — and I jump ahead to his time as president for the sake of economy — he oversaw the end of the Cold War.  As the German television station ZDF noted, it was a delicate time especially in Germany, and he proved himself to be a capable friend of the process while refusing to vilify former enemies.  His gentle but ...

MY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT: I have been troubled for a long time with the declining lack of civility in public discourse.  This is especially true in comment sections of nearly every forum and is particularly insidious on FaceBook.  I have been a part of this, and I’m repenting of the wrong.   Not that I will no longer comment, but I will no longer engage in the long back-and-forth’s of old.  They are not helpful - in fact, they lead to abuse of the one who might dare to stand up and disagree (regardless of what side they choose).  So, here are my new rules of engagement when it comes to controversial or charged issues.  Pray that I may faithfully adhere to them, and know that they are there because I love and respect you: In the Spirit of Matthew 18:15 , if I have a problem with what you write, I will not attack you in the comment section.  Rather, I will PM you and lay out my arguments as reasonably, civilly and lovingly as I am able.  I ...

The Senate is set to vote on Brett Kavanaugh as early as today (Thursday, October 4), though they might wait till Friday.  The FBI turned in its report before 8:00 AM today, a whole day earlier than necessary and without interviewing many of the key players in this sham of a game. The biggest sham in the entire debacle, however, is that this is some “sh*t show” as a former high school classmate put it.  That the mean Democrats have somehow made this all up just to derail President Trump’s wonderful nominee.  They’re playing politics, say the Republicans. There are several holes in this theory, and I will try to enumerate them here as dispassionately as I can: If you want to see “playing politics” with a Supreme Court nominee, look no further than Merrick Garland.  Remember him?  He was a moderate but highly rated judge even among Republicans.  They simply chose - out of thin air - to refuse to give him a hearing.  With nearly a year before the ...

This is a letter I wrote to the congregation after my return from a trip to South Africa where I helped lead a retreat on being peacemakers in a world of fear. I missed a lot while I was away through nearly all of June.  I missed two Sundays - where I heard you even sang together as part of the sermon.  I missed planning meetings - and nearly missed the Luau! One other thing I missed was a Vigil last Saturday that took place across the country and throughout our region by churches of every conceivable denomination.  The vigil was a Christian response to the separation of children from their parents seeking asylum at the southern border.  I felt bad missing the Vigil, especially since I had gotten home from South Africa the night before.  Jet lag and the time difference kept me out of things, however, and I slept while others prayed. Since St. James’ was only modestly represented at these vigils (we DID have a few members of the parish take part, and for ...

Many have already commented on the government's separating children from their parents when they come seeking asylum at the southern border. Many have noted that it is immoral to take children from their parents, often literally pulling them from their arms, and taking them someplace where nobody knows.  Not even the government seems to know where these kids have been taken, and the parents have no way of knowing if they will ever see their kids again. Many have said all these things, and I have thought I would most appropriately say nothing at all since others have said it so well. Except, to be silent is to assent to the act, and I can't do that.  Worse yet, Attorney General Jeff Sessions quoted scripture out of context in order to justify this abomination.   So, let me lay out my reasons for condemning this practice.   First, the stated reason for it in the first place is to discourage people from coming to this country and bringing their children. Let...

All the talk about the Supreme Court’s ruling on the baker who didn’t want to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple has got me thinking back a few decades. About 30 years ago, at the height of the AIDS terror - that is, when everyone was truly terrified and did not understand what was going on, and an HIV diagnosis was seen as a death sentence - I was in seminary.  As part of my studies, I had to do something called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) which was essentially a chaplaincy internship. We saw all conditions of people in that gigantic hospital, but the unit that struck the most fear in the hearts of doctors, nurses, and everyone else was the AIDS unit.  In those days, nobody knew how it was spread, so everyone gowned up, wore a mask, and put on gloves.  The chaplains were also told to do so, which sparked long and heated discussion.  One student chaplain argued that he wasn’t even sure we should visit them since they had brought their illness upon themse...