The Pastor's Ponderables

Okay, this is fantasy, I know.     But Americans have been screaming about the electoral system for decades.     Four things we've heard (justifiable) screaming about are:   1 The Electoral College 2 Gerrymandering 3 Campaign contribution manipulation 4 The disenfranchisement of whole classes of American voters by states. These are all, I believe, real problems for our democracy.  They are designed to increase the power of the few and decrease the voter power of the normal American. So what do we do? Well, as I say, there have been many suggestions over the years, and a lot of them are good.  They will go nowhere because those in power don't want to change things.  The way things are, they stay in power. With that reality in mind, let me add another suggestion which could address all four of the above-mention problems. Ready? Don't have an election. Or to be precise, don't have an election pitting candidates against eac...

“What We Owe” This time last week, I was worshiping at Trinity College Chapel in Dublin.  What was funny was afterward, they invited us to a reception - kind of like coffee hour - only there they had wine - port, I believe.  When I explained how we had coffee hour with no wine, someone commented on the barbarism of it all.  But I missed the coffee! Hard to imagine it was just a week ago.  But this has been a busy week for St. James’.  A Vestry meeting, a new monthly service at the Hyde Park Assisted Living Center, the inauguration of this year’s Reading Adventures program, Regional Council’s Executive Committee Meeting, and just yesterday we had the men’s group, a funeral, and of course, our final Graveyard Tours of the season last night.  This afternoon, the youth group will be raking leaves - and tomorrow, we observe the Feast Day of St. James’, our Patron. We are an involved church, and I owe a debt of thanks to all those here who work so hard t...

Let it never be said that I do not think slavery in all its forms is abhorrent.  Its modern incarnations - typically going under different names -  are as morally bankrupt as past versions. But there are lessons to be had that can help us today.  Lessons that can help us better understand our own political, racial, sexual conflicts.  If we learn those lessons, they might even help us make progress in our journey toward becoming a more just and equitable society. Over the past two years, I have been involved in the study of slavery in New York, and in particular the church’s role in perpetuating it.  I have given lectures, been on panels, written articles, even written a theater piece exploring slavery in New York. The more I read and write, the more I marvel that the arguments between abolitionists and defenders of slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries sound very much like the firestorms of contemporary political discourse.  Thus I think we can re...

First, let me apologize for not writing in a while - I just returned from a trip to Ireland visiting our son Chris.  Wonderful place other than the rain, the driving and the difficult take-off due to Hurricane Ophelia. Now, there have been so many things going on in the world in the two weeks I’ve been gone that they are hard to all sort through.  Equifax and my stolen data....the “Me too” movement among women who have faced sexual harassment or abuse.... the ongoing nightmare of Puerto Rico’s Maria survivors.... the fires in California .... the white supremacists and their ongoing march toward a white America .... the president and his almost daily tweets that cause us to ask, “Did he really say that?” .... North Korea ... Obamacare as it becomes Trumpcare ....and on, and on, and on.................. Where do I begin?   Oh yeah - the National Anthem! We still have all this outrage because some NFL players take a knee during the national anthem.  Apparent...

Well, another mass shooting. Of course, we pray for the souls of those who were killed.  58 so far have died. Of course, we pray for healing for the more than 500 who were wounded.  Of course, as always, nothing will change. Well... stock went up in two gun manufacturing corporations.   Other than that, I can’t see a blessed thing changing.  The gun interests are too strong in the United States.  Their goal is zero regulation of guns of any sort, zero limitations.  And at this point, they’ve pretty much got it. Now, I’ve been in conversations with gun lovers who complain that the US has too many gun laws, that we are the most heavily regulated country when it comes to guns, that Chicago’s draconian gun laws don’t protect their citizens even a little. Their point is that gun laws don’t work.  THAT must be why they spend so much money and energy trying to shoot down proposed laws in congress.   Although I don’t believe that a thing w...

The ruckus over the NFL and its debate over kneeling -vs- standing arm-in-arm -vs- staying in the locker room -vs- standing at attention has lost focus. The protest originally started because of police shootings, and in general black Americans being treated differently (read more harshly) than white Americans.  Somehow - and I think it was intentional misdirection - the conversation became one of whether or not it is “patriotic” to kneel during the national anthem while it is played at a sporting event. There are three issues here that I want to ponder. First, what is “Patriotic”?  Is it really “patriotic” to stand with your hand over your heart when the song is played?  Is it really “patriotic” to face the flag with reverence? What if the nation represented by the anthem or the flag does not live up to or even attempt to embrace the values it claims? Wouldn’t it be more patriotic to live up to the ideals of the constitution rather than get all worked up about w...