Saturday, February 6, 2010
HAITIANS RESILENT, HOPEFUL SOULS RESURRECTED
Not the headline I'd give it, but this is my Letter to the Editor published today in the Indianapolis Star
The perspective conveyed in The Star ("Frustrations grow in Haiti,"
Feb. 3) belies a larger picture of what is occurring in Port-au-Prince.
In spite of frustrations with relief distributed by international aid
organizations and a decapitated government, I witnessed gracious and
hopeful acts among Haitians.
I
just returned from a week in Port-au-Prince where I served with a
relief and response team of the Free Methodist Church. We delivered
water filters, established a well-drilling team and assessed damages at
16 schools supported by International Child Care Ministries. We also
moved forward the excavation of a collapsed building where Indianapolis missionary Rev. Jeanne Acheson-Munos was killed in the Jan. 12 quake.
I
have seen people swinging sledgehammers at mountains of concrete, steel
and rebar. I have seen residents sweeping away the debris. I have seen
neighbors share the little food they have with one another. I have seen
outdoor markets bustling with exchange of goods. I have witnessed
Haitians, still shocked and fear-filled, walk into buildings, sit down
at desks and work.
On
Sunday, I watched hundreds of Haitians walking through rubble to gather
for public worship -- an expression of unshakable faith in a completely
shakable world. The earthquake may well have revealed and resurrected
the resilient and hopeful soul of Haiti's people.
John Hay Jr.
Indianapolis
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Listed under:
Haiti earthquake
INDY WINTER WONDERLAND
Friday's snow brings a dawn of deep powder across Central Indiana
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Listed under:
Winter
Friday, February 5, 2010
A DIVINE CONNECTION
O God,
I have a desire to be connected to you,
not in merely official or superficial ways.
And as long as I have been praying,
attempting to converse with you
and living in relationship to you,
I have felt or sensed that connection.
I have never felt denied or ignored,
or perceived my efforts were illusory.
That I am conscious of you,
and that this consciousness is both
comforting and agitating,
deepening and transcending,
knowing and mysterious,
is, to me, reason enough to
continue to pray and live
in light of your grace.
That I recognize and am graced by this connection
does not mean I grasp or understand it,
or that I begin to comprehend you.
But because you are there,
and because I sense you are with me,
I approach life as a sacred journey
on which I am being graciously led,
in which I have much to learn,
and perhaps as much to share.
Amen.
Listed under:
prayer
Thursday, February 4, 2010
A FEW GLIMPSES OF THE HAITI I SAW
These few photos don't tell the whole story, but something of what I observed in Port-au-Prince last week
Haitians are taking sledge hammers to mountains of concrete, steel and rebar. They are picking up and sweeping away the debris. Aid organizations are employing many in the relief and recovery effort.
At their request, I trained ICCM staff to assemble Sawyer water filters. Using 5-gallon buckets, the filters clean 5-gallons of water in 20 minutes--enough for a family for a day. We delivered 200 filters ($50 per) and have 1000 more to send. The ICCM staff is sharing these in the refugee camps, where clean water is a critical issue.
Indianapolis missionary the Rev. Jeanne Acheson-Munos perished in the collapse of the Friends Of Haiti Organization building where she and her husband, Jack Munos, lived. Her body remains there until the building can be excavated. Jeanne was beloved to the neighborhood. Someone paid tribute with this graffiti in Creole: "Farewell, Pastor Jeanne. May you rest in peace. We will never forget you."
The amazing thing to me is that these boys can smile 17 days after the quake crumbled their world. The mood is changing in Port-au-Prince. Shock and bewilderment is yielding to acceptance and readiness to rebuild out of the brokenness.
Haitians are taking sledge hammers to mountains of concrete, steel and rebar. They are picking up and sweeping away the debris. Aid organizations are employing many in the relief and recovery effort.
At their request, I trained ICCM staff to assemble Sawyer water filters. Using 5-gallon buckets, the filters clean 5-gallons of water in 20 minutes--enough for a family for a day. We delivered 200 filters ($50 per) and have 1000 more to send. The ICCM staff is sharing these in the refugee camps, where clean water is a critical issue.
Indianapolis missionary the Rev. Jeanne Acheson-Munos perished in the collapse of the Friends Of Haiti Organization building where she and her husband, Jack Munos, lived. Her body remains there until the building can be excavated. Jeanne was beloved to the neighborhood. Someone paid tribute with this graffiti in Creole: "Farewell, Pastor Jeanne. May you rest in peace. We will never forget you."
The Santo ICCM School in Port-au-Prince had a brand-new second and third floor in 2008. It was a model facility. But it was no match for the 7.0 quake on January 12. Three students died and more were injured in this collapse.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Haiti earthquake
Monday, February 1, 2010
HAITI AT ITS WORST...AND BEST?
I was not around for its previous worsts, but I what I see today holds promise for its best yet
I have seen Haiti at its
worst--at least in this century.
I was not around when this
island’s original inhabitants were slaughtered by sword and died of European-borne
diseases against which their bodies were defenseless.
I was not around when this
land became a major port of slave trading—a point of bargain, exchange, and
auction of human beings shipped like cattle from Africa.
I was not around for those
many generations when European capitalists oppressed, exploited and dehumanized this
African-heritage people.
I was not around when the
first independent African-heritage nation’s leaders squandered its initial
promise and reduced its people to subsistence living.
But I am around to see the worst today. I have seen a nation’s structures toppled--from its presidential palace to a thousand rural homes.
I have seen its people living in refugee camps in the shadow of what
were their homes. I have smelled death
emanating from the rubble of pancaked buildings. I have seen its people standing in long lines
for a little food.
I believe I have also seen
Haiti at its best.
I have seen people swinging sledge hammers at mountains of rock-hard concrete.
I have seen residents sweeping away debris. I have seen neighbors share the little food they
have with one another. I have witnessed Haitians, still fear-filled, walk into buildings, sit down at desks and working. I have listened to heart-cries of grief mixed with voiced hopes for a new Haiti.
If the earthquake devastated
an already-distressed people, it may well have revealed and resurrected
something of its resilient and hopeful soul.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Haiti earthquake
Sunday, January 31, 2010
NOW, ONLY THE SKY CAN FALL
January 30, 2010
Leogane, Haiti
Today, we visited
Leogane. The 7.0 earthquake that brought
down 30% of the homes and buildings in Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010 was
centered near Leogane, about 30 miles west of the port. Leogane did not fare nearly as well as
Port-au-Prince. Here, 90% or more of all
structures collapsed. Driving through the
town on National Road 2, I am reminded of pictures of bombed-out towns at the
end of World War II.
Buildings with more than one
story are pancaked. Walls of single-story
structures are toppled inward or outward.
Around each collapsed building rubble piles high. Steel beams, aluminum strips and rebar
protrude upward in every direction. A
team of explosive experts could not have done a more thorough job.
In front of and beside
crumbled houses--surreally--new structures have been erected. This post-modern architecture features
hastily-cut wood-pole frames covered with a patchwork of tarp and canvass. These huts mix in with a smattering of
manufactured tents—Coleman, Timberline, Wal-Mart. They form groups of four or five, or ten or
fifteen, or 200 or 250 on open spaces along the roadway through whole stretch
of town.
As with every other area
near Port-au-Prince since the temblor, it seems like everyone is outside. No one here trusts a roof. No one believes in the power of a concrete city anymore.
It was buildings that fell on so many of their loved ones and neighbors and injured or killed them. It was concrete enclaves—so sturdy to withstand hurricane after hurricane—that trapped them alive. It was these structures with wrought-iron grating on every window and door, surrounded by high walls topped with razor ribbon and locked gates that utterly failed to secure. A roof over one’s head—every person’s basic symbol of safety and security—became the crusher of life.
It was buildings that fell on so many of their loved ones and neighbors and injured or killed them. It was concrete enclaves—so sturdy to withstand hurricane after hurricane—that trapped them alive. It was these structures with wrought-iron grating on every window and door, surrounded by high walls topped with razor ribbon and locked gates that utterly failed to secure. A roof over one’s head—every person’s basic symbol of safety and security—became the crusher of life.
Now, at least for now, the
only safe place is outside the buildings that remain.
Now, only the sky can fall.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Haiti earthquake
Sunday, January 24, 2010
INTERNATIONAL CHILD CARE MINISTRIES IN HAITI
40% of ICCM's international investment is in the children of Haiti
International Child
Care Ministries, the initiative I’m working with, advocates for the spiritual,
educational, physical and social development of children by partnering with
friends globally. Our primary strategies are
sponsorships, scholarships, and creative initiatives on behalf of children in
partnership with friends around the world.
We currently work
with more than 21,000 sponsored children in 29 world areas. $21-a-month
sponsorships help with education, food and supportive care that foster hopeful
futures for kids.
ICCM's affiliation
with Free Methodist church workers at local levels worldwide offers high levels
of accountability and spiritual support. ICCM-sponsored children are
connected to a caring community of faith in whatever city, town or village they
live in.
In Haiti, in particular, we have over 8,900 children under
sponsorship. These children attend 53 ICCM schools. In the
Port-au-Prince area—the area most affected by the January 12th
earthquake—we have 16 schools and 1,867 sponsored children. Thus far, we have had sparse specific
information about these children. Like
most residents of Port-au-Prince, many will be living on the streets in
makeshift shelters. Some may have
perished in the January 12 quake. More
than a few may have become orphans.
ICCM is not a relief organization, though representatives
from International Child Care Ministries have been on the ground in Haiti
delivering water, food, water filters, and medical supplies. We respond to crises, but our primary focus is
to invest in the future of children through education, nutrition and spiritual
care.
We know that many of our schools in Haiti have been
damaged by the quake. A damage assessment team is in Haiti at this time
to visit our schools and make recommendations. Some schools will need
repair. Others will need to be rebuilt. All will need some equipment
replaced.
Our sense is that the sooner education can be reestablished,
the sooner this aspect of children’s disrupted lives can be restored and
normalized, the better off they will be. Our primary investment after the
earthquake is in these schools and the education and well-being of children in Haiti .
ICCM is responding to
the Haiti
earthquake through our Special Projects Fund. While sponsorship funds are
directed to education costs, uniforms, and food for students, our Special
Projects Fund invests in new schools, school repairs, and initiatives that
complement the primary focus of education in these precious lives. 100%
of contributions to our Special Projects Fund go to the intended purpose; we do
not subtract any processing or support fees from this fund or contributions
made to our food funds.
You can donate and explore
International Child Care Ministries
at www.childcareministries.org.
You can also see how the Free Methodist Church ,
with which we are affiliated, is responding to the Haiti earthquake at www.helphaitiheal.org.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Haiti earthquake
Thursday, January 21, 2010
RESCUED AFTER 10 DAYS
This has got to be the best picture...ever. This child was rescued 10 days after the January 12th earthquake in Port-au-Prince
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Listed under:
Haiti earthquake
Monday, January 18, 2010
A WEEK OF HAITI EARTHQUAKE RESPONSES
I've been busy trying to learn and convey information on behalf of ICCM and 8,900 sponsored children in Haiti
This news clip on Indianapolis FOX affiliate TV 59 reflects just one of the challenge we've been grappling with since last Tuesday afternoon.
This news clip on Indianapolis FOX affiliate TV 59 reflects just one of the challenge we've been grappling with since last Tuesday afternoon.
It's been a non-stop week for me and for many since learning of the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti last Tuesday afternoon. Really, I just want to be in Haiti right now. As much as I can do on these sidelines, in my heart I'd rather be on the streets with the suffering. I'll just bullet-point some of the things I've been doing or involved in:
I've made a monetary contribution. I encourage you to do that right now. It's what's needed most by rescue and relief efforts at the moment. Give through organizations you've come to count on, in whom you have confidence.
I'm praying. Specific prayers? Sometimes. Mostly a vigilant presence of mind and heart. I want my heart to continue to be broken and positively and wisely responsive to this natural disaster and humanitarian response.
Each day, I've gathered information and posted updates for the sponsors of ICCM. We have 8,900 children who are sponsored in Haiti, 1867 of whom are in the Port-au-Prince area, along with staff. The latest ICCM Bulletin can be accessed at this link.
I've met with ICCM and Free Methodist World Mission staff on effective responses and been on the phone much more than usual in response strategies and efforts.
I've met several times with the parents and a brother of Jeanne Acheson-Munos, who was buried and unable to be rescued of a Free Methodist building in Port-au-Prince.
I've conducted three TV interviews and several phone interviews with local media outlets regarding the loss of Jeanne, a woman who grew up and was based in Indianapolis.
I've monitored news outlets almost constantly, trying to keep up with breaking information and scanning for any news of our kids or leaders. We know now that most of our ICCM and Free Methodist leaders are alive, though most have lost everything and are living in temporary shelter.
I have been working to share information and converse with people about the situation on Facebook and via Twitter. Still very fascinated with these social networking media.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Haiti earthquake
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
THINKING OF HAITI, REMEMBERING JOB
The Beatitudes and Elie Wiesel speak to my soul in the wake of the Haitian catastrophe
In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday, I went looking for some counsel.
I have significantly greater care for that island nation today than I
did six months ago. International Child Care Ministries, with which I
now serve, has 8,900 Haitian kids under sponsorship with 53 schools and
a robust Haitian staff--none of which we have heard from yet.
Where does one go in the face of such loss of life and incomprehensible level of natural disaster? Don't even try to foist off pat and easy answers on me.
Still numb, I found myself turning to the Scriptures and to a Jewish holocaust survivor for counsel today.
I found help in the Beatitudes. Reading them as the primary message of Jesus reminds me that Jesus is not the success guru we sometimes try to make him out to be. Blessed are those who mourn; they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek; they'll inherit the earth. Blessed are the merciful; they'll be shown mercy. This is a very different message than an accusation of Haitians being cursed for making some pact with the devil that Christian TV evangelist Pat Robertson declared.
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy.
And, I happened onto an observation on the Scriptures by Elie Wiesel, that eloquent, truth-telling, gut-wrenching holocaust survivor who has for a generation helped the world not only "never forget" but to remember well and choose to live differently. Here is Wiesel's statement from his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech:
"We must remember the suffering of my people, as we must remember that of the Ethiopians, the Cambodians, the boat people, the Palestinians, the Mesquite Indians, the Argentinian desaparedicos--the list seems endless.
"Let us remember Job, who, having lost everything--his children, his friends, his possessions, and even his argument with God--still found the strength to begin again, to rebuild his life. Job was determined not to repudiate the creation, however imperfect, that God had entrusted to him."
Let us mourn with those who mourn. Perhaps we together shall be comforted. And together build again.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
I have significantly greater care for that island nation today than I
did six months ago. International Child Care Ministries, with which I
now serve, has 8,900 Haitian kids under sponsorship with 53 schools and
a robust Haitian staff--none of which we have heard from yet.Where does one go in the face of such loss of life and incomprehensible level of natural disaster? Don't even try to foist off pat and easy answers on me.
Still numb, I found myself turning to the Scriptures and to a Jewish holocaust survivor for counsel today.
I found help in the Beatitudes. Reading them as the primary message of Jesus reminds me that Jesus is not the success guru we sometimes try to make him out to be. Blessed are those who mourn; they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek; they'll inherit the earth. Blessed are the merciful; they'll be shown mercy. This is a very different message than an accusation of Haitians being cursed for making some pact with the devil that Christian TV evangelist Pat Robertson declared.
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy.
And, I happened onto an observation on the Scriptures by Elie Wiesel, that eloquent, truth-telling, gut-wrenching holocaust survivor who has for a generation helped the world not only "never forget" but to remember well and choose to live differently. Here is Wiesel's statement from his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech:
"We must remember the suffering of my people, as we must remember that of the Ethiopians, the Cambodians, the boat people, the Palestinians, the Mesquite Indians, the Argentinian desaparedicos--the list seems endless.
"Let us remember Job, who, having lost everything--his children, his friends, his possessions, and even his argument with God--still found the strength to begin again, to rebuild his life. Job was determined not to repudiate the creation, however imperfect, that God had entrusted to him."
Let us mourn with those who mourn. Perhaps we together shall be comforted. And together build again.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Beatitudes,
Elie Wiesel
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
QUOTING B. T. ROBERTS
B. T. ROBERTS. Benjamin
Titus Roberts helped organize the Free Methodist Church as a fledgling
denomination in 1860 after he and other Methodist ministers were put out of
their mother church even as they tried to return it to the priorities,
teachings and practices of John Wesley and original Methodism.
FREE AT LAST. Among the issues the Free Methodists contended for
was a priority on proclaiming the doctrine of entire sanctification (freedom
from sin), abolition of slavery and ordination of women (freedom of persons), abolishing
church “pew rentals” that effectively shut the poor out of churches (free
seats), a turn away from formalism (free worship), and simplicity in lifestyle
(freedom from worldliness).
HOWARD A.
SNYDER. The following B.T. Roberts
quotes come from an online paper by Howard A. Snyder (“’TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO
THE POOR’: MISSIONAL SELF-UNDERSTANDING IN EARLY FREE METHODISM,
1860-90”). Snyder, who has already given
us insightful books like The Radical
Wesley, The Community of the King,
Decoding the Church, and The Problem with Old Wineskins, authored
an authoritative biography of B.T. Roberts titled Populist Saints.
THE
GOSPEL TO THE POOR. “My special mission
is to preach the gospel to the poor. I
believe that churches should be as free as the grace we preach. The Lord allowed me to be thrust out as I
was, because He saw that in this manner this work could be carried on to the
best advantage. The work is progressing
and I expect to live to see FREE churches all over the land-especially in the
cities where the poor are congregated.
This is a blessed work! (B. T. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, January 1865)”
THE ILLS
OF LIFE. “The wealth of the world is in
the hands of a few. In every country the
poor abound.... Sin has diffused itself
every where, often causing poverty and suffering. God
assured his ancient people, favored above all others with precautions against
want, that ‘the poor shall never cease out of the land.’ These are the ones upon whom the ills of life
fall with crushing weight. Extortion
wrings from them their scanty pittance.
The law may endeavor to protect them; but they are without the means to
obtain redress at her courts. If famine
visits the land, she comes unbidden to their table, and remains their guest
until they are consumed.”
PROVISION FOR ALL. “The provisions of the gospel are for
all. The ‘glad tidings’ must be
proclaimed to every individual of the human race. God sends THE TRUE LIGHT to illuminate and
melt every heart. It visits the palace
and the dungeon, saluting the king and the captive…To civilized and savage,
bond and free, black and white, the ignorant and the learned, is freely offered
the great salvation.”
IN SPECIAL MANNER FOR THE
MOST DESTITUTE. “In her regard for the
poor, Christianity asserts her superiority to all systems of human origin. Human pride regards most the mere accidents
of humanity; but God passes by these, and looks at that which is alone
essential and imperishable. In his
sight, position, power, and wealth, are the merest trifles. They do not add to the value or dignity of
the possessor. God has magnified man by
making him free and immortal. Like a
good father, he provides for all his family, but in a special manner for the
largest number, and the most destitute.
He takes the most pains with those who by others are most neglected.”
LAYING UP TREASURES. “Jesus forbids his disciples to amass
wealth. His language is plain. It requires a great deal of ingenuity to
pervert it… Must we take our choice
between laying up treasures on earth or treasures in heaven? To do both is impossible. Deliberately take your choice. Not to choose is inevitably to drift into the
current of worldliness. To choose the
world is to choose sorrow, and trouble, and eternal death.”
TO SAVE THE RICH, AS WELL AS
THE POOR. “If you resolve to lay up
treasures in Heaven, begin at once. Give
yourself to God to do good to the utmost of your ability to your
fellow-men. Adopt the motto of Wesley,
‘Gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can….’ Plain, free
churches are everywhere needed, quite as much to save the rich as to reach the
masses and carry the Gospel to the poor.”
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
B.T. Roberts,
Free Methodism
Monday, January 11, 2010
BENEDICERE
I read this blessing in
Sojomail from Sojourners. In Latin Benedicere means “to bless." It’s by Ken
Sehested, a North Carolina pastor and stonemason. Written on New Year’s Day 2005, it launches
with a traditional Irish blessing.
May your home always be too
small to hold all your friends.
small to hold all your friends.
May your heart remain ever supple,
fearless in the face of threat,
jubilant in the grip of grace.
fearless in the face of threat,
jubilant in the grip of grace.
May your hands remain open,
caressing, never clinched,
save to pound the doors
of all who barter justice
to the highest bidder.
caressing, never clinched,
save to pound the doors
of all who barter justice
to the highest bidder.
May your heroes be earthy,
dusty-shoed and rumpled,
hallowed but unhaloed,
guiding you through seasons
of tremor and travail, apprenticed
to the godly art of giggling
amid haggard news and
portentous circumstance.
dusty-shoed and rumpled,
hallowed but unhaloed,
guiding you through seasons
of tremor and travail, apprenticed
to the godly art of giggling
amid haggard news and
portentous circumstance.
May your hankering be
in rhythm with heaven's,
whose covenant vows a dusty
intersection with our own:
when creation's hope and history rhyme.
in rhythm with heaven's,
whose covenant vows a dusty
intersection with our own:
when creation's hope and history rhyme.
May hosannas lilt from your lungs:
God is not done;
God is not yet done.
God is not done;
God is not yet done.
All flesh, I am told, will behold;
will surely behold.
will surely behold.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Benedictions
Friday, January 8, 2010
HERE AND NOW
his reflection by Paul Tillich is one of my favorites, particularly at the New Year
PRESENT POSSIBILITIES. "The goal of humankind is not progress
toward a final stage of perfection; it is the creation of what is possible for
us in each particular state of history; and it is the struggle against the
forces of evil, old ones and new ones, which arise in each period in a
different way.
KINGDOM COMING.
"There will be victories as well as defeats in these
struggles. There will be progress and
regressions. But every victory, every
particular progress from injustice to more justice, from suffering to more
happiness, from hostility to more peace, from separation to more unity anywhere
among us, is a manifestation of the eternal in time and space. It is, in the language of the writers of the
Old and New Testaments, the coming of the Kingdom of God. For the Kingdom of God does not come in one
dramatic event sometime in the future.
It is coming here and now in every act of love, in every manifestation
of truth, in every moment of joy, in every experience of the holy.
PRESENT STRUGGLE.
"The hope of the Kingdom of God is not the expectation of a perfect
stage at the end of history, in which only a few, in comparison with
innumerable generations, would participate, and the unimaginable amount of
misery of all past generations would not be compensated. And it might even be that those who would
live in it, as 'blessed animals,' would long for the struggles, the victories
and the defeats of the past. No! The hope of humankind lies in the here and
now, whenever the eternal appeals in time and history. This hope is justified; for there is always a
presence and a beginning of what is seriously hoped for."
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
future,
Paul Tillich
Thursday, January 7, 2010
THREE SNOW POEMS
A celebration of snow in
the heart of winter
I love snow. I’ve been praying for snow in Indiana--enough snow to sled and cross-country ski in Eagle Creek Park, enough to change gray winter days into heart-jogging experiences of delight. Here are three snow poems. The first is mine. The second two are by some two-bit New England poet by the name of Robert Frost (hey, even his last name points to his love for flakes!).
HOPING FOR SNOW
I’m waiting on the snow
A hope to fulfill;
I’ll prepare my skis,
Anticipate the thrill.
A Midwestern winter
With its bleak, dark days
Needs a good snow storm
To hearten the soul’s way.
Mere cold stiffens the heart
And drives us inside,
But warmth and four walls
Alone cannot abide.
I’m like a child praying
The snow will be deep
Enough for sledding,
And, tired from it, to sleep.
STOPPING BY THE WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
DUST OF SNOW
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
I love snow. I’ve been praying for snow in Indiana--enough snow to sled and cross-country ski in Eagle Creek Park, enough to change gray winter days into heart-jogging experiences of delight. Here are three snow poems. The first is mine. The second two are by some two-bit New England poet by the name of Robert Frost (hey, even his last name points to his love for flakes!).
HOPING FOR SNOW
I’m waiting on the snow
A hope to fulfill;
I’ll prepare my skis,
Anticipate the thrill.
A Midwestern winter
With its bleak, dark days
Needs a good snow storm
To hearten the soul’s way.
Mere cold stiffens the heart
And drives us inside,
But warmth and four walls
Alone cannot abide.
I’m like a child praying
The snow will be deep
Enough for sledding,
And, tired from it, to sleep.
STOPPING BY THE WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
DUST OF SNOW
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Monday, January 4, 2010
LAST TO ARRIVE
We take our place at the continuing gathering ‘round the Babe of
Bethlehem
At the end of the Christmas season and as Epiphany (January 6) dawns,
I think about the continuing, unusual draw of unlikely people to an unlikely
place—Bethlehem—and I pull together the makings of a poem:
First, census-responding throngs
swell the local populace,
burgeoning homes and hostels
with not-so-welcome guests.
Then, a man and pregnant young woman
arrive, seeking vainly for a room.
Bedding down in a stable,
their boy is born among livestock.
Later in the night, gnarled shepherds
traipse in, finding their way
to the mangered
newborn,
just as an angel had told them.
How much later we do not know, Magi
come with gracious gifts,
following a star that draws them
from beyond any traceable map.
And later still, from the four corners
of earth and time, we make our trek.
Are we the last to arrive
at the gathering in Bethlehem ?
Years from now, until the end of ages,
more will be drawn and find the One
whose birth angels once proclaimed
and so shall forevermore.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
12 Days of Christmas,
Christmas,
Epiphany
Friday, January 1, 2010
BEATITUDES FOR THE NEW YEAR
I had an odd juxtaposition of thoughts: thinking about New Year's resolutions, I somehow leaped to the Beatitudes, that list of eight striking "blessings" or "attitudes"--or whatever they are--that Jesus shared (Matthew 5:1-12). I guess I was mulling over whether or not the Beatitudes qualify as resolutions. I don't think they do, per se, but the New Year certainly offers an opportunity to consider embracing their challenges as an invitation to radical living today.
Here are the Beatitudes:
Here are the Beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
A few reflections as I think about the Beatitudes in light of New Year's resolutions:
1. They go to the heart of what Jesus said and lived.
1. They go to the heart of what Jesus said and lived.
2. A Beatitude is likely to be perceived as a "blessing" only when we have lived through the tough circumstances to which it is a gracious response. When we respond in Beatitude responses, we will know we have embraced them.
3. The Beatitudes are radical. They go to the heart of our deepest passions and life circumstances. They point to gut-wrenching realities of life: poverty and emptiness, loss and grieving, powerlessness and social contempt, spiritual hunger and yearning for right to prevail, seeing needy persons being treated unjustly and neglected, bitter division and violence, religious persecution, insults, gossip, and false accusations. It seems to me that only heaven-borne grace can conceive of and make possible the radical outlook and actions described in the Beatitudes.
4. It is one thing to learn
the Beatitudes, to have memorized them and to be able to quote them.
This is often as far as it goes in Christian catechism or Sunday
School. But, like the Ten Commandments or the Lord’s Prayer,
familiarity does not mean we understand them or joyfully cultivate them
as a heart and life orientation beyond a merely formal and legal
application. Compliant and eager to be an ideal Christian as I was
as a child, I remember inwardly revolting at most of the Beatitudes.
It was easier to just recite them and keep them as stained glass
phrases. As I have continued to revisit them, my understanding and
appreciation has increased, but they are no less challenging forty
years later.
5. The Beatitudes run counter to American machismo and status quo. They unsettle the presumptions of consumer Christianity.
On the surface the Beatitudes seem to be a se-up for certain failure in
society that apparently rewards rugged individualism, conformity to
sameness, upward mobility, the appearance of mental or physical
toughness, and a thoroughly materialistic and self-indulging
orientation to value and action. Dig deeper in the Beatitudes and it
gets increasingly difficult to straddle kingdoms. What emerges is that
Jesus actually declares people blessed whom Western civilization has
over the millennia come to despise or disparage. The rest of Jesus’
ministry is one way or another verification that his is an upside down
kingdom, an invitation to downward mobility, and an lifting up of all
who sorrow, who are relegated to the margins.
6. Above all, the Beatitudes call for what Brennan Manning calls “ruthless trust.” Because the
blessedness or results described in the Beatitudes seem so far-fetched
or distant, they call for ruthless trust in the invitation, worldview,
Kingdom order, and certain future Jesus describes. As Manning puts
it: “Faith in the person of Jesus and hope in his promise means that
his voice, echoing and alive in the Gospels, has supreme and sovereign
authority over our lives.” Does it get any more radical than that?
7. It
is appropriate to consider the Beatitudes on the first day of the
New Year. And in this case, on the first day of a new
decade. So while we wish each other a Happy New Year, we might do better by offering each other a prayer for Beatitude grace. And may we also receive the ruthless trust to see them
come to fruition in our hearts, lives, and world.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Beatitudes
Thursday, December 31, 2009
LOOKING BACK: FORGIVENESS & GRATITUDE
A few things come to mind as reflect briefly on the last twelve months. I'm thinking in terms of forgiveness and gratitude. Some things and people I forgive--including myself. Some things I am particularly grateful for at this moment.
I recognize that I let small things and small-minded people really get
to me in 2009. I permitted these to seriously unsettle me. I regret
that. Forgiving them. Forgiving myself. Learning lessons.
Forgiveness, also...
- for missed opportunities for reconciliation or investing time in someone's future;
- for lowering my expectations of myself and others;
- for all who are truly either incompetent or aggressively reckless drivers on the highways (including me, sometimes);
- for all "Christians" who sent me hate-e-mail in my advocacy for health care reform;
- for those who mistreated my kids and spouse;
- for mean people;
- for thinking or saying "mean people suck";
- for not seeking to understand
Regarding gratitude...
I continue to be grateful for a solid sense of place in
this city. I found myself expressing my love for Indianapolis in a
conversation just this morning. So many people, aspects and
relationships make this, for me, an endearing, challenging, and hopeful
milieu of living and forward-looking.
More later...
Listed under:
New Year
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
MILES OF SMILES
An International Child Care Ministries representative in India sent this photo of sponsored boys at ICCM's Bethel Children's Home in Umri, India this week. I've visited the facility and met the children. This is on the same campus of Umri Christian Hospital for which I rode 2,000 miles through India to raise funds for its rebuilding. I love the expressions on the kids' faces. Miles of smiles.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
SALVATION-READY PEOPLE
7 qualities are reflected in the people who
populate the birth narratives of JesusORDINARY PEOPLE. It is not just quaint that ordinary people like Mary and Joseph find a central place in the story of salvation. I think it’s because they are ordinary that they can perceive both the need for salvation and live in hope of it. Along with Zechariah, the shepherds, the Magi, Simeon, and Anna, Mary and Joseph convey qualities that make them salvation-ready.
SEVEN ASPECTS OF READINESS. The kind of people who populate the birth and early life narratives of Jesus are not perfect people. Not well-bred people. Not influential people. Not highly-educated people. The following seven aspects do not “qualify” them--or us--for salvation. They are, however, qualities prominent in the people who fill the Christmas story. I wonder to what extent today our readiness to enter into salvation history hinges on the same?
1. People who can bear the shame of scandal without giving up.
2. People who are willing to accept simple, humbling instructions…and follow through.
3. People who are acquainted with suffering and know the limits of self-righteousness and self-effortfulness.
4. People who are earnestly curious about the ways of God. They are sincere seekers.
5. People who don’t have things figured out so much as they steadfastly trust God will make a difference.
6. People who are willing to be led and to lead out based on clear, if incomplete, commands.
7. People who fear but who refuse to become--or be defined by--their fears.
THE ARC OF HUMAN LIFE.
Salvation, as I refer to it here, is not a mere spiritual transaction. It’s not some kind of individual mental assent
and emotional consent to a gospel syllogism, the result of which promises to
secure one's personal soul for eternity. Salvation does have profound
personal dimensions and makes intimate claims on each of us. But the salvation described in the stories of
the birth and life of Jesus of Nazareth has just as much to do with salvaging,
reshaping and redirecting the arc of human life and history away from
destruction and despair and toward ultimate meaning and purpose. Salvation is transformational at both
personal and systemic levels, both for today and was we move--day by day,
decision by decision--into the future God’s Christ has opened before us.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Christmas,
spiritual formation
Monday, December 28, 2009
THIS CHRISTMAS
This is a unique Christmas for several reasons and it seems to be calling me to flex gracefully
For all that endures and is constant with the celebration of Christmas, this Christmas was different from all others I've experienced. These differences seem to be inviting me to be gracious in flexing as once-permanent traditions and practices continue change over time.This was the first Christmas in my 50 years that I haven't been with my parents and sister. Typically, mom and dad drive or fly up from Florida. My dad, now 75, is convinced that spending a few days in December over the last three years has left him sick for weeks upon returning to Florida, so he decided not to come north this year. As much as mom seemed to want to be in Indiana for Christmas, she wasn't about to leave dad behind in Florida for the holiday.
So, instead of Christmas Eve with a houseful of Hays, we had relatively quiet Christmas Eve. I actually got in a nice bike ride through Eagle Creek Park. In the pm, we opened gifts sent by relatives, participated in Christmas Eve communion at Trader's Point Church, and welcomed our daughter's in-laws, Steve and Deana Butler, into our home for the holiday. Christmas morning gift-giving was shared with the Butlers in our home--another first.
I introduced a new aspect of Christmas morning with "Santa's grab bag." I dumped a bunch of $1 items from Dollar Tree, along with old, unused CDs, DVDs, cassette tapes, records, etc. into a yard leaf bag. Each person could reach into the bag, without looking, an pick out one gift. The next person could either take their gift or reach into the bag for another. It would continue this way until the bag was empty. Our daughter Abby called it "getting rid of dad's junk." Hey, work with me here...
This was the first Christmas in many years that I have not prepared for and led a Christmas Eve service as a pastor. That felt weird. I have lots of energy for planning and facilitating and preaching in worship. I'm still dealing with being in a different role and rhythm of work at this point. I'm still transitioning.
I seem to have moved through these and other changes unique to this Christmas without too much apparent stress. Changing my notions about "the way things should be" and giving "the way things might be" a chance is helping. I can't change the things that have led other people to disruptively impact my sense of tradition, place, and permanence. I can either be upset and frustrated or let go of the old and give something new a chance to be born--even shape it's beginning and trajectory, to some extent. That's an encouraging thought. I'll work with that as I move deeper into the heart of the Christmas season.
In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.
Listed under:
Christmas,
Christmas traditions
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