Wednesday, May 1, 2013
We celebrate the courage of Jason Collins and hope that his declaration will provide a pathway for a deeper conversation around sexuality. I pray that the media coverage he is getting does not stimulate negative conversation around dinner tables and locker rooms for gay teen who continue to struggle with their sexuality and coming out.
Friday, July 20, 2012
As I awoke this morning, I heard the news of the shooting in Colorado, and could not discern if I was dreaming or if this was reality. I thought I must have been dreaming. An early morning nightmare – this could not be real. Who would be that cruel to open fire in a movie theater? But sadly the news was real – a nightmare none-the-less, but real. This level of violence shocks us and my heart goes out to the families and friends of those killed or injured. May love hold this community and our nation as we grieve those intimately impacted by this horrific act of violence and may grace guide us as we grieve death’s grip on our world. John
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The marriage debate
It seemed paradoxical that as Barry and I were issued a marriage license in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at the same time the United Methodist General Conference in Tampa and the state of North Carolina (where my daughter lives) were debating the status of gay couples from their perspective.
As you may have read, ultimately the Methodist debate ended, leaving in tact within the Book of Discipline language that states “homosexual practice is incompatible with Christian teaching” and banning ordination of gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions, including the use of church property for those blessings. While this intense debate was going on and people were being wounded, Barry and I were greeted with upmost professionalism from the Town Clerk who issued our license. Everyone in the Clerk’s office offered congratulatory comments and wished us well in our marriage. Their comments and actions demonstrated that gay marriage had been normalized there. Amazingly, when they issued the license, the sky did not crash in nor was the marriage of any other couple threatened by ours.
Then we made our way to the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury, a United Church of Christ, founded in 1673, one hundred and three years prior to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence that included these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In West Tisbury, the staff’s welcome seemed rooted in a deep sense of hospitality and justice for all. On Saturday at our wedding, there could not have been any more joy and love surrounding us. Our families were there to celebrate with us our sixteen years of life together and to wish us well on our continued marriage journey. Their warmth, love, grace and joy lifted our souls and again, the sky did not crash in nor was the marriage of any couple threatened by the joy and love of ours.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Lenten Journey
I so appreciate Walter's reflections on the church's season on Lent, I wanted to share them.
“Lent is when we in the church do our heavy lifting and our hard work. It is when we replicate the disciples in their decision to follow Jesus into Jerusalem, there to face the power of Rome and the colluding local authorities. It is when we echo the daring of the early church to be witness to the good news of the gospel in the face of the empire that evokes intimidating interrogation of the disciples. The church is forever re-deciding about following…or not. We know the outcome of the story, but knowing that outcome of the narrative does not lessen the risk or the threat of the decision. If Lent is the hard work of that decision about following and replicating and echoing, then Lent is intense. It is intense because of the grip of the empire is so strong….”
Walter Brueggemann - Journal for Preachers Vol XXXV Number 2 - Lent 2012
“Lent is when we in the church do our heavy lifting and our hard work. It is when we replicate the disciples in their decision to follow Jesus into Jerusalem, there to face the power of Rome and the colluding local authorities. It is when we echo the daring of the early church to be witness to the good news of the gospel in the face of the empire that evokes intimidating interrogation of the disciples. The church is forever re-deciding about following…or not. We know the outcome of the story, but knowing that outcome of the narrative does not lessen the risk or the threat of the decision. If Lent is the hard work of that decision about following and replicating and echoing, then Lent is intense. It is intense because of the grip of the empire is so strong….”
Walter Brueggemann - Journal for Preachers Vol XXXV Number 2 - Lent 2012
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Living into the Beatitudes
Soon after the Christmas story and then the emergence of Jesus as the adult being baptized by John the Baptist, the gospel narrative moves us into focusing on Jesus' ministry and focusing on those to whom he ministered. The Beatitudes in Matthew was his first public speech - and it serves as his "core values" speech and the focus of God's attention. Imagine being one of the poor, in first century, that meant that you had no power, imagine sitting on that hillside and listening to a teacher say, "I know you are poor, but blessed are you now for God is paying attention to your plight." Now that statement from Jesus did not get published in the gospel, but I imagine him saying it and for those who heard these words, I imagine hope began to bloom in their hearts because blessedness in those days always seemed to go toward the wealthy and the powerful. Jesus was drawing in the Beatitudes an alternative religious prospective - one focused on the meek, poor, peacemakers and those left out of the normal power circles.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
School of the Americas Watch
Hi, All:
For those of you interested in my Human Rights activities, I spent this past weekend at Columbus, Georgia, attending the School of the Americas Annual Protest, both as a witness and observer, and also as a lawyer for the demonstrators.
This is the 21st Annual demonstration. As in the past, many people of faith and conscience gathered at the gates of Ft. Benning to call for the end to the notorious School of the Americas (SOA), now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). This year there were fewer demonstrators, probably between 4-5,000 people in all. Four people were arrested for illegal entry onto Ft. Benning property to protest the continued existence of SOA/WHINSEC. They have been arraigned and will expect trial during the next 45 - 90 days, with a likely sentence of up to six months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine. The protesters knew in advance of the possible penalties and voluntarily undertook their civil disobedience as an act of faith and conscience.
The more interesting events took place outside the formal demonstration area. Last year the "Puppetistas" (people who hold parts of huge puppets) marched outside the permitted zone, then returned with no incident. This year, when they marched out, they were arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Also, the people who went out with the puppetistas were themselves arrested if they stopped to watch what was going on. The charges were unlawful assembly and failure to disperse. Many innocent people were swept up in the actions. When they got to jail, they were informed that bail was set at between $4,200 and $5,200 for each arrestee. Needles to say, many of the 24 people taken to jail did not have the money to pay the bond, so they stayed in jail until the hearings on Sunday afternoon.
Those arrested included three or more journalists, including two from a Russian news service. When they got out, they had a lot to tell the Russians about freedom of the press and speech and assembly in the United States, from the perspective of one arrested for trying to exercise those rights. The article and YouTube postings are:
http://cpj.org/2010/11/journalists-arrested-at-school-of-the-americas-pro.php#more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_6wYSx2e_E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKU-on3sUTg
Another interesting development took place among those who decided to walk out into the street with their banners, disrupting traffic in acts of civil disobedience. There were 12 people who went into the street and were arrested. But there were only seven when they got to the jail. In fact, one of the undercover police officers actually testified at the trials on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, the arrested people appeared in Recorder's Court before Judge Michael Cielinski, who proceeded to hear the evidence and find everyone guilty. He even found guilty a local barber, who had done nothing more than step out of his shop to take a picture of some puppetistas on stilts. In fairness, we had been warned that this judge would find everyone guilty. During the proceedings we had negotiated penalties with the local police chief (yeah, I know it's strange that there was no public prosecutor, and the Judge and the police chief pretty much ran everything). We had negotiated fines of $100 -$500, and all the State charges were to be sent to State Court upon $1,000 bonds. Then the judge found everyone guilty and assessed fines and bonds as previously agreed. The fines and bonds were significantly lower than the bail amounts previously assessed.
I want to take note of something especially heartwarming and moving. During the time the people were in jail, others stepped forward and gave money to help bail the people out or pay their fines. Additionally, some of the people offered to put fines and bail on their own personal credit cards. As a result of the generosity of these people and others, SOA Watch raised more than $19,000, which was sufficient to pay the fines, bond out the people and pay appeal bonds for those contesting their City convictions. Everyone (except one Federal defendant, who chose to stay in jail) is now free.
We do not really know what will happen next. Everything is in flux, but we may expect to eventually go to trial on the Federal trespass charges, and possibly to trial on the State and City charges as well. At this writing I expect to take many more trips to Columbus before it is all over.
In closing, I ask for your thoughts and prayers for these people who were caught up, many involuntarily, in the system and have learned first-hand the price of exercising the freedoms that all of us possess.
Frank Schneider
For those of you interested in my Human Rights activities, I spent this past weekend at Columbus, Georgia, attending the School of the Americas Annual Protest, both as a witness and observer, and also as a lawyer for the demonstrators.
This is the 21st Annual demonstration. As in the past, many people of faith and conscience gathered at the gates of Ft. Benning to call for the end to the notorious School of the Americas (SOA), now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). This year there were fewer demonstrators, probably between 4-5,000 people in all. Four people were arrested for illegal entry onto Ft. Benning property to protest the continued existence of SOA/WHINSEC. They have been arraigned and will expect trial during the next 45 - 90 days, with a likely sentence of up to six months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine. The protesters knew in advance of the possible penalties and voluntarily undertook their civil disobedience as an act of faith and conscience.
The more interesting events took place outside the formal demonstration area. Last year the "Puppetistas" (people who hold parts of huge puppets) marched outside the permitted zone, then returned with no incident. This year, when they marched out, they were arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Also, the people who went out with the puppetistas were themselves arrested if they stopped to watch what was going on. The charges were unlawful assembly and failure to disperse. Many innocent people were swept up in the actions. When they got to jail, they were informed that bail was set at between $4,200 and $5,200 for each arrestee. Needles to say, many of the 24 people taken to jail did not have the money to pay the bond, so they stayed in jail until the hearings on Sunday afternoon.
Those arrested included three or more journalists, including two from a Russian news service. When they got out, they had a lot to tell the Russians about freedom of the press and speech and assembly in the United States, from the perspective of one arrested for trying to exercise those rights. The article and YouTube postings are:
http://cpj.org/2010/11/journalists-arrested-at-school-of-the-americas-pro.php#more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_6wYSx2e_E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKU-on3sUTg
Another interesting development took place among those who decided to walk out into the street with their banners, disrupting traffic in acts of civil disobedience. There were 12 people who went into the street and were arrested. But there were only seven when they got to the jail. In fact, one of the undercover police officers actually testified at the trials on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, the arrested people appeared in Recorder's Court before Judge Michael Cielinski, who proceeded to hear the evidence and find everyone guilty. He even found guilty a local barber, who had done nothing more than step out of his shop to take a picture of some puppetistas on stilts. In fairness, we had been warned that this judge would find everyone guilty. During the proceedings we had negotiated penalties with the local police chief (yeah, I know it's strange that there was no public prosecutor, and the Judge and the police chief pretty much ran everything). We had negotiated fines of $100 -$500, and all the State charges were to be sent to State Court upon $1,000 bonds. Then the judge found everyone guilty and assessed fines and bonds as previously agreed. The fines and bonds were significantly lower than the bail amounts previously assessed.
I want to take note of something especially heartwarming and moving. During the time the people were in jail, others stepped forward and gave money to help bail the people out or pay their fines. Additionally, some of the people offered to put fines and bail on their own personal credit cards. As a result of the generosity of these people and others, SOA Watch raised more than $19,000, which was sufficient to pay the fines, bond out the people and pay appeal bonds for those contesting their City convictions. Everyone (except one Federal defendant, who chose to stay in jail) is now free.
We do not really know what will happen next. Everything is in flux, but we may expect to eventually go to trial on the Federal trespass charges, and possibly to trial on the State and City charges as well. At this writing I expect to take many more trips to Columbus before it is all over.
In closing, I ask for your thoughts and prayers for these people who were caught up, many involuntarily, in the system and have learned first-hand the price of exercising the freedoms that all of us possess.
Frank Schneider
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Islamic Center
I now join the conversation that is abuzz about the construction of an Islamic Center on 45 Park Place, New York City. The conversation around its building near (4 to 5 blocks) from where the World Trade Center towers stood reveals a much deeper conversation than the building of the Islamic Center. It exposes the use of political propaganda designed to produce the intense polarities within our political world with the goal of grinding this country’s political process to a halt, stalling any legislation that could bring relief to the suffering that comes with our weakened economy, and shaming the “other” side.
Those politicians who passionately oppose the Center are flaming the fires of hate and resentment that resides within the hearts of many people. While the conversation is about the Community Center at a deeper level, it is about the misconceptions we have as a culture about the Islamic religion as a whole. It is about the fear that lives within the hearts of many people that gets directed against people who differ from them. It is about bigotry. It is about political power… Those who oppose the building of the Center would be some of the first who would decry that Supreme Court justices are appointed to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and would challenge justices, not follow their political agendas in interpreting the law of the land. The Constitution is pretty clear about the right of Americans to freely practice their religion and that discrimination based upon religion is prohibited under the Constitution. If the Community Center is prohibited from developing in this location because it is too close to where the World Trade Centers stood, how far away is far enough? Will Manhattan be entirely off limits, or Brooklyn, or New Jersey, or Illinois or Alaska? Where does it stop?
Those politicians who passionately oppose the Center are flaming the fires of hate and resentment that resides within the hearts of many people. While the conversation is about the Community Center at a deeper level, it is about the misconceptions we have as a culture about the Islamic religion as a whole. It is about the fear that lives within the hearts of many people that gets directed against people who differ from them. It is about bigotry. It is about political power… Those who oppose the building of the Center would be some of the first who would decry that Supreme Court justices are appointed to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and would challenge justices, not follow their political agendas in interpreting the law of the land. The Constitution is pretty clear about the right of Americans to freely practice their religion and that discrimination based upon religion is prohibited under the Constitution. If the Community Center is prohibited from developing in this location because it is too close to where the World Trade Centers stood, how far away is far enough? Will Manhattan be entirely off limits, or Brooklyn, or New Jersey, or Illinois or Alaska? Where does it stop?
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