Credo

Meghan E. Murphy reported in the Times-Herald of Newburgh, NY the events in various churches on Easter. Following the mention of the United Methodist congregation she continued:

"Nearby, on Ann Street, Raymond DeWitt stood in the shadow of the gutted Our Lady of Comfort. He told the street-church worshippers how he put his life back together through faith.'Once I believed in something without seeing it; it brought me from a place of destruction to where I am today,' DeWitt said.

Led by Ecclesia Ministries, more than a dozen people spoke of resurrection in their lives. They spoke of rebuilding, like the hoped-for rebuilding of the shelter they stood before."

"Once I believed in something without seeing it; it brought me from a place of destruction to where I am now." Did Raymond Dewitt know that he had just placed himself in the Upper Room with the disciples the week after Easter? Remember when Thomas spoke so forthrightly that he would not believe that Jesus was raised till he saw for himself. When Jesus appeared and Thomas' doubts were silenced, Jesus said, "You have believed because you have seen me. Blessed are they who though they have not seen, believe."

How blessed must Raymond be to have the eyes to see with his mind's eye and spirit's aspiration! How marvelous in God's eyes must Ecclesia Ministries be for their part in supporting Raymond in moving from the place of destruction to where he is today! Steve Ruelke, pastor of Ecclesia Ministries, wrote me an email in response to my request for permission to share the newspaper article

"The photographer called me the next day to tell me how meaningful the experience was for him . . . i wish i could write about this every day. The things, the Spirit's actions here are so incredible, so breath-taking . . . The work is all the time and there's so much to do and so much that i/we cannot do because of my full-time job obligations . . . i long for the chance to do what we do all the time . . . but there's a mortgage and other such bills . . . pray for us . . . God has always provided. Always will."

(Here's the link to the actual story: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/NEWS/803240313/-1/NEWS

Talking about what our eyes see or do not see! The more I read or see or hear the reactions to and comments about Jeremiah Wright, the more distressed I become. (I'm suddenly thinking of the old Simon & Garfunkel lyrics, "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.") From one of the Op-Ed cartoons included in today's Syracuse Post-Standard in which Dr. Wright is shown preaching another "whacky sermon" to one commentator after another denouncing the sound-bitten sermons as if that's all they were about. One cartoonist did acknowledge in response to the charge that Obama might be influenced by his pastor "Yes, some of Rev. Wright's words are vile...yet in 20 years of hearing them, why isn't that hate reflected in any of Obama's writing, actions, causes or speaches?"

Syndicated columnist Derrick Z. Jackson in his Op-Ed column, "Black left to hold burden of race bag," wrote of the graciousness of candidates Mike Huckabee and John McCain in the aftermath of the controversy. McCain said, "I do know Senator Obama. He does not share those views...I've had endorsements of some peole that I didn't share their views..."

Huckabee went much further,

"I grew up in a very segregated south. and I think that you have to cut some slack...I'm probably the only conservative in America who's going to say something like this, but I'm just telling you. We've got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told you have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie; you have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant and you can't sit out there with everyone else; there's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office; here's where you sit on the bus. And you know what? sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder...In fact, I may have had a more, more of a chip on my should had it been me."

I admit, I've been obsessing over this story. There is an injustice here. Dr. Wright has been vilified unjustly. Read the entire sermon. Watch the entire section of the sermon on YouTube. His whole point was that we need to live up to (or at least try to live up to) our God given ideals of liberty and justice for all, and that as we do not God does not bless, but does condemn us. And that, as he said, is from the Bible in reference to the faithlessness of God's Chosen People to God's covenant with them.

So, there is an injustice being perpetrated upon Dr. Wright. But Trinity UCC is also being treated unjustly. Not only this, but OUR church, the United Church of Christ, and every one of us in our individual congregations, is being effected by this and painted with the same brush of distortions of the truth, of our faith and lies about our beliefs.

And so, the national setting of the UCC is acting. A full page ad describing the ministry of the UCC will appear in the New York Times this Wednesday. Please click on the link to the announcement of the ad and the request for help in offsetting its cost. http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dsz4hdc_288743hd43&hl=en

Others are also taking the initiative to speak up for Dr. Wright, Trinity UCC and the entire UCC. A group of UCC clergy from the Genesee Valley Association have written a letter to the editor of the Rochester newspaper. Here is the link to this letter. http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dsz4hdc_23w7vk54gq&hl=en

Jane Winters, pastor at First UCC, Elmira, sent along a link to a letter and other articles from Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School on this issue. http://www.crcds.edu/news.asp?action=view&ID=29

Well, I guess that's all for now. Please pray for the UCC (that's us). Please pray also for our delegation from the New York Conference Commission on the Global Church (Deanne Bellinger, Marjorie Watrobski, Bob Welcher, Nathan Wright and Melva Victorino) to the annual meeting of Mision Cristiana in Managua Nicaragua. A delegation from the Ohio Conference is also visiting the meeting.

May God grant us the eyes to see the reality of grace and peace, justice and joy. The world is in need of such vision.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

"Hope in God"

"These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng,and led them in procession to the house of God,with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,a multitude keeping festival."(Ps. 42:4)

Last week, John Thomas, UCC General Minister and President, shared his own Holy Week reflections on the challenges which he has had to address as the primary "voice" of the national setting of our church in the context of his own faith experience. Many of you may have seen John's meditation. For those that didn't, he wrote:

Sitting among the memorabilia on my bedroom dresser is a glass communion cup, the cup I used on Maundy Thursday about forty-five years ago on the night I was confirmed and received the sacrament for the first time. Through many moves and transitions I have managed to keep it intact; it still evokes memories of a darkened sanctuary, rich with the aroma of grape juice, the familiar faces of cherished family, pastors, and friends shadowed by the growing darkness of Tenebrae and the annual recital of the betrayals and desertions that followed the meal in the Upper Room. I "owned the covenant" that evening, as was the custom in my New England Congregational church, promising to join the walk with God and my fellow church members that God would reveal to us in the "blessed Word of truth."

He went on to talk about his week of sharing in the celebration of a new church start in West Virginia, to interviews with media about Jeremiah Wright, Trinity UCC, and Barak Obama, to thinking about the IRS matter, to reading emails regarding his statement on these matters (some in support, some calling for his resignation). He spoke of his concerns for his son who has recently been deployed in Afghanistan and his mother in a nursing home in Baltimore. He spoke of his desire to be able to refocus on the meaning of the events of Holy Week for his own spirit. In conclusion he shared,

So this Holy Week in particular I cherish my little glass communion cup and the rich meaning associated with it. It points to the centered spirit found in Christ's presence and shared in Christ's community, the centered spirit that we all need in these demanding and disturbing times.

As I read his remarks, I thought of my experiences in the New England Congregational church in which my faith was nurtured, Faith United in Springfield, Massachusetts. Maundy Thursday was and still is the most holy and special of liturgies for me: the gathering shadows surrounding the light that can be blown out but never finally extinguished and the great hymns. I also remember "how I went with the throng to the house of God" on those long ago Easter Sundays. Choirs and lillies bathed in sunshine. As I recall the first time I understood the sermon occurred on Easter when I was about 7 or 8.

I also felt the need to share some of this with John. It disturbed me that he was receiving emails calling for his resignation, so I wrote to him of my support. Not that my email would mean that much, I thought. We have attended some of the same meetings and have spoken upon occasion. And so, I was presently surprised to receive an email of thanks from him. Please pray for him.

Yesterday, I dare say that most of us went with the throng to celebrate the Resurrection in full churches. We sang hymns and heard stirring sermons. Indeed! Christ is Risen! Indeed!

Mark Lawson, my pastor at UCC Bayberry, in addition to his sermon also took about 5 minutes to speak of Trinity UCC and Jeremiah Wright. He wanted to give his parishioners some perspective on the relationship between pastor and people, but even more the important heritage and continuing role of the UCC in the United States as a denomination that upholds freedom and justice.

Mark spoke of the warm welcome he felt on the three occasions that he has worshipped at Trinity. He spoke of Trinity's vibrant and vital ministry to the community. And, yes, he spoke of his disagreement with what Jeremiah Wright said in the sermon clip that has appeared over and over again in the media, even as he supported and applauded Wright's dynamic and prophetic leadership over the decades of his pastorate. "Is Trinity UCC one of us?" He asked. "Yes," he emphatically declared. Is "Jeremiah Wright one of us?" "Yes," he declared just as emphatically.

This is an important point. We are one of another across the covenant of churches across the UCC. We continue to uphold and admonish, pray for, work with and support one another as we seek to walk together in all God's ways.

Joe Connolly, pastor and teacher at Norwich UCC, has been very helpful in sharing various web links regarding all of this.

He sent this link to an article on Anderson Cooper's blog regarding research by CNN contributor Roland Martin who actually decided to listen to the entire 40 minute sermon from which we have heard 40 second soundbytes. Here's the link: http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/21/the-full-story-behind-wright%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%9cgod-damn-america%e2%80%9d-sermon/#more-448

Yesterday, Joe sent word that Trinity UCC has produced it's own YouTube video and established a blog in the effort to share the nature of its ministry and mission. Here are the links to these resources: http://www.youtube.com/trinitychgo http://truthabouttrinity.blogspot.com/

Today Joe sent along the Holy Week newsletter of Wisconsin Conference Minister David Moyer that gives a totally different picture to the ministry of Trinity UCC. Here's the link to David Moyer's letter: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1989524/posts

We are aware that life brings with it both glad shouts of thanksgiving as well as worries and anxieties. The psalmist in Psalm 42 went on to confess, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise [the Holy One], my help and my God."

May this be so for you (and me), too!

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

"What is Truth?"

On this Maundy Thursday night of celebration amidst gathering shadows, of doubt, betrayal and trial Pilate's question of Jesus (John 18:38) begs continual consideration.

I've been thinking about the truth a good deal lately and how it is being played out in light of national events regarding the UCC.

And so, I've been thinking about the UCC, about racism, about our covenantal responsibilities and freedoms, about our duty to preach the gospel even and especially when it's not popular or comfortable to hear.

I've been thinking about one of our UCC pastors, Jeremiah Wright, and one of our congregations, Trinity UCC.

I've been thinking about the ignorant, innocent and not-so-ignorant distortions of our denomination, and of all churches for that matter in the media, in pulpits and in the halls of Congress. And I've been thinking about how to respond, how to set the record straight, how to help pastors and our people in the pews to respond.

I've been forwarding various statements, speeches, newspaper articles and editorial comments about all of this in blog postings and emails. Yesterday I received an email asking what my thoughts were. Well, here goes. My thoughts! I want you to recognize that what I am about to say are my thoughts. They don't represent any official resolution by any UCC church body. They're my thoughts.

Pilate asked Jesus about the truth in response to Jesus' own assertion that he had come to testify to it and that those who belonged to the truth would be able to hear what he had to say. In my more cynical moments I wonder whether (with apologies to Jack Nicholson's character in the movie "A Few Good Men") if any one can stand the truth or listen to it!

Still, I know that people have been wondering about the truth. Is Jeremiah Wright a racist? Is he a hatemonger? Was Barak Obama present when Dr. Wright made any of his most inflammatory comments? Regardless of whether he was present or not, did he have occasion to proclaim his disagreement with his pastor? Is the UCC and John Thomas doing enough to support both Trinity UCC and Jeremiah Wright through the barrage of negative stories in the media?

My answer to each of these questions is, "I don't know." My guess is that Jeremiah Wright is not a racist. He has strong opinions about race and racial justice. No doubt. I am not comfortable personally with some of the language that he used from the pulpit. I don't think that I have ever sworn while preaching (although I do admit to screaming an expletive or two when I've hit my thumb with a hammer or when I've hit "delete" without saving first). But I get the point of what he was saying. And, I understand the truth of it.

"What!" you say. Yes, I understand the truth of what he was saying about our national "chickens" coming home to roost. And, I also understand what he was saying as he shouted God's views of events. I think that he was too lurid and over the top. I think that he left himself wide open to the criticism that has been leveled against him. It sounds absolutely unpatriotic to say what he said. Yet, what I say is that it may be and it may not be.

From the standpoint of present day versions of patriotism where "God Bless America" is sung in the place of "Take me out to the ball game" during the seventh inning stretch it is very unpatriotic. But from the standpoint of people of faith who desire to hold our country accountable to the truths that we hold to be self evident, it may be the height of patriotism.

In thinking about the news clips that have been shown of Jeremiah Wright's sermons I hear the Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Dr. Wright's namesake, Jeremiah. These prophets pulled no punches when it came to commenting on the political, diplomatic and religious events of the day. They understood that when something bad happened to Israel it was usually due to Israel's faithlessness in relation to the covenant that they had with God.

Read through the first 12 chapters of Isaiah. You'll come across several passages that are full of promise (the ones read during Advent). More you'll find rantings and railings against Israel's faithlessness.

"Ah, sinful nation, people laden with iniquity, offspring who do evil, children who deal corruptly, who have forsaken the LORD, who have despised the Holy One of Israel, who are utterly estranged! ...When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:4,15-17

Later in chapter 10 Isaiah called Assyria the rod of God's anger against Israel. This is treasonous stuff to many, to those that can only see the interests of the nation. Yet it is the height of faithfulness for all who desire their nation to follow the precepts of God. Jeremiah is even more blatant in his condemnation of Israel. Even Jesus knew how our behavior as individuals and as nations and cultures can come back to haunt us in real time.

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate." (Matt. 23:37)

Was Jeremiah Wright being prophetic in this way? I think he was trying to be. I think he seeks to place himself in this tradition of speaking out for the justice that God wants for all of God's people. I think that he has succeeded in being prophetic and in calling out for justice. It's not easy to hear such a message. We probably wouldn't want to spend an afternoon tea with any prophet of either the Old Testament or 21st century variety when they're on one of their tirades. But I find that I need to acknowledge that the tirade as it is of God has truth in it.

The truth comes because the tirade is a call for repentance. When we have sought our own interests over the interests of God's justice, when we have promoted our own good over the common good, we are in need of repentance. God's prophets call us to repentance.

I've also been thinking about the lies that have been fomented, knowingly or unknowingly, about Trinity and the entire denomination. Some syndicated radio talk show hosts have stated that Trinity is an independent, cult not affiliated with any denomination. Of course, this is absolutely false. Trinity is a full member of the United Church of Christ, the largest of our churches in terms of membership and in terms of giving to Our Churches' Wider Mission.

And, I've been thinking about our covenant as a denomination. I hope that every one has been praying for the Trinity United Church of Christ, a part of the fellowship, ministry and mission that we share as members of the United Church of Christ. I hope that every one has been praying for our brother, Jeremiah Wright. No one deserves to be vilified as he has been vilified, especially as he has been faithfully fulfilling his call to ministry on behalf of the whole Church.

Jesus said, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (Jn. 8:31-32)

Knowing the truth comes from living and speaking up for the truth. What is truth? Perhaps it is this simple: that God loves us, and wants us to love each other as we love ourselves.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right
spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do
not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Ps. 51:10-12)

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

"Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Gloria Shayne Baker died a week and a half ago on March 6. With Noel Regney in 1962 she co-wrote the well known Christmas Song which title I borrowed for this posting. I had also thought of borrowing comedienne Joan Rivers' tag line, "Can we talk!" for the title.

Good conversation is a crucial ingredient to healthy relationships. Are we willing to talk with each other when things need to be said? Are we willing to communicate openly, honestly, respectfully? Are we able to listen openly, honestly and respectfully when other persons show the courage to share their thoughts and feelings with us? When we are confused or unsure of what is being said, are we willing to ask whether or not we are hearing correctly what is being said? Are we willing to consider that what we hear is incorrect and, therefore, are we willing to ask others if they heard what we thought we heard?

Many of us don't take the time to talk with others directly about our feelings, thoughts or aspirations. I wonder how things would have been different if Governor Spitzer had had a conversation with someone about what was going on inside of his mind before he did what he did? Such persons don't tend to be so introspective or considerate of others, often to their eventual undoing. But don't you wish for his family's sake, if not for his, that he had at least thought to himself about the consequences of his desires before acting upon them?

There is a lot of talking going on these days. We talk and talk and rarely seem to listen. In the UCC we believe that God is still speaking. Indeed, we can take comfort and inspiration in the ways in which we continue to listen for the living, breathing, changeless yet ever changing Word of God and how this calls us to grow in our understanding of discipleship, ministry and mission. And yet, we also do well to wonder and ask: are we hearing correctly? Is the Word that we think we hear, actually the Word that God is saying?

I have heard several life changing words over the years that I dare to attribute to the workings of God's Spirit in my life. Some of these words have inspired and given confidence. Others have provided needed guidance and correction in behaviors that were unconstructive.

What I most appreciate is the blessing of living and working within a community of grace that allows for, encourages and supports persons in their growth. The genius of the United Church of Christ comes from the notion that Christians can stay at the same table even if and when they disagree. That is, I believe we're at our best when we prayerfully and respectfully acknowledge our differences while rejoicing that we all love the Church and are seeking to be faithful to the One who calls us to ministry in the name of Jesus.

I also know that too often we speak the truth without love for each other or God. This happens when we are unwilling to listen to or accept the sincerity of those who disagree with us. It happens when we cannot acknowledge that opposing points of view might also hold a facet of God's truth. This happens when the truth that we hear is uncomfortable, when it points to our own false opinions or sinful thoughts, words or deeds. We may want to disavow and disassociate ourselves or question the wisdom of saying what we have from the sound bites of sermons from the preaching of Jeremiah Wright. His words are disturbing. But what if there is truth in them? We know that our personal sins often come back to haunt us. What if he is right that our sins as a nation also come back to haunt us?

The Word that has formed the basis of my sense of call to Christian ministry comes from the writings of St. Paul when he said that in Christ God has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). With Paul I believe that this is the central meaning of the cross: in Christ God has reconciled the world to God's self. But also with Paul I realize that I often fall short of this calling, doing what I should not have done and not doing what I should have done. (Romans 7:15)

A case in point is a letter that I received this week from one of our pastors regarding the posting on this blog "Principalities and Powers." He took me to task when I passed on the speculations in the UCC Blog (http://unitedchurchofchrist.blogspot.com) over the question of who might have made the complaint to the Internal Revenue Service about Barak Obama's appearance at General Synod in 2007.

Looking at this posting from hindsight I would have written it differently. I mentioned the UCC Blog article and named the two organizations named by those speculating as to the source of the IRS complaint instead of my normal practice of mentioning that speculation exists then providing the link to the article. And so, I am sorry for this oversight. Here is the link to the article on the UCC Blog that I reported. http://unitedchurchofchrist.blogspot.com/2008/03/who-filed-irs-complaint.html

The UCC or UCC members and churches have been much in the news lately. As mentioned above Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity UCC in Chicago, and his relationship and influence with Barak Obama has received a good deal of attention over the last few days. And so, here are are the links to various statements and reports from sources both within and outside the UCC.

Barak Obama's statement: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barack-obama/on-my-faith-and-my-church_b_91623.html.

UCC Leaders' Statement: http://www.ucc.org/news/chicagos-trinity-ucc-is.html?log-event=sp2f-view-item&nid=36911891.

UCC Blog Article "A Word of Respect for Jeremiah Wright" (quotes from Diane Butler Bass and the Religious News Service) : http://unitedchurchofchrist.blogspot.com/2008/03/word-of-respect-for-jeremiah-wright.html.

Article in Saturday's Binghamton Press quoting several UCC Pastors: http://www.binghamtonpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080315/NEWS01/803150330/1001/ARCHIVE.

Well, enough of this. It is Palm Sunday. And the word that I continue to hear is the one that calls me to consider along with the haunting words and powerful tune of the Appalachian folk hymn:

"What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul, what wondrous love is this, O my soul! What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul, to bear the dreadful curse for my soul!"

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

New Wine

I've been having conversations with folks from our churches that are exciting. More to the point the folks with whom I am having these conversations are excited. This is wonderful!

How much better than the church with whom I worshiped recently. Good folks. Faithful folks. Worshiping every Sunday folks. But bored to tears folks. It's not the form of their worship or what's being preached from the pulpit or sung from the hymnal. All of these things are fine. In another setting under different circumstances even these same people might be excited. But for these folks in their circumstance, things are pretty boring. Why? It's the spirit. They've heard it all before. The expect nothing new so nothing new happens.

Fortunately, there are those that are excited. Interim Pastor, Joanne Lanfear talks to me every time I see her about her anticipation over planning and leading the Easter Vigil at East Side Congregational UCC in Binghamton. She loves this ancient Christian ritual and was excited to rediscover the liturgy right there in the UCC Book of Worship.

So, on Holy Saturday night, March 22, she and the folks at East Side will gather outside the sanctuary to light the Paschal Candle. Together they will process into the sanctuary and through prayers, hymns and the reading of scriptures, they will experience the story of God's saving grace, leading to the proclamation, "Christ is Risen!" Christ is Risen, indeed!"

This week I met Ed Townsend for coffee. Ed is the pastor of the new parish of former Presbyterian and UCC congregations called Three Steeples United. We got together to talk about next steps for the congregation as they discern where God is leading them. Ed reported that a parishioner announced to him that they needed to talk. This sounded ominous, so Ed took him out to lunch. The parishioner told him that the church was ready and able to do this discernment work. (How refreshing such announcements are!)

The parishioner from Three Steeples United went onto say how important his involvement in the church is to him. A member of the congregation that works for a social service agency asked parishioners to gather together baskets of food and clothing to give to needy families at Easter time. She asked her fellow members to give 8 baskets. She immediately had volunteers for 12. The man and his family were doing two of them. He said to Ed, "You know this may not seem like a big deal in the big scheme of things. But it is a big deal. If I weren't involved in the church, I wouldn't be doing even this. But now I feel that I can do something to help someone else and be apart of something that matters."

Yesterday, Conference Minister, Geoffrey Black, was pleased to announce that the New York Conference, and specifically, the Hudson Mohawk Association, has a new church start. Sandy Damhof, chaplain at SUNY Albany, working with the conference taskforce on new church starts (chaired by Randy Hammer, pastor of First Congregational UCC, Albany), is now the pastor of the Slingerlands New Church Start in New Scotland (a southwestern western suburb of Albany.

Sandy reports that "After knocking on a lot of doors and making a lot of phone calls, we have finally found a new 'church home' at Buona Sera Italian Steakhouse located at 1903 New Scotland Rd/Rt 85. It's the restaurant previously known at JJ Madden's ... and a few other things."

The mission of the Slingerlands New Church Start: Slingerlands NCS is a God-centered church family welcoming all to join us on our journey as we worship joyfully and live, learn, and grow as servants of Christ through our faith and actions. "I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine." Ephesians 3:20-21 (CEV)

Worship begins on April 6 at 10:00. The Clinton Heights Community Church is the sponsoring congregation.

Jesus said that one doesn't put new wine in old wine skins. Indeed. The new wine will burst the old skins. Thank God for the new wine that God is creating in United Church of Christ congregations and people across the New York Conference. Newness brings excitement. Excitement brings purpose. Purpose brings energy. And energy brings contagious new life and growth.

It is also true that with the presentation of new wine comes old "whining". Those that have been around for awhile wonder why our efforts can't go to helping those that, well, have been around for awhile, like that the folks in the church I mention at the beginning of this posting.

Indeed, new wine is good, but the most expensive and best tasting wine is that which has been well aged. Enthusiasm and excitement doesn't have to be the sole possession of the new or the young. I remember visiting the Sunday morning liturgy in the cathedral in Iasi, Romania as part of a delegation from the New York Conference to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bucovina and Moldavia in 1999.

Worshippers packed the cathedral, standing shoulder to shoulder, wall to wall for the entire 3 hour liturgy. They drank in the ancient words and chants of the Orthodox liturgy in that old building with a grateful exuberance that was truly inspiring. The newness for them came not from the words or the form of worship but from the freedom to be able to worship freely and openly in the aftermath of decades of communist repression.

Anthony B. Robinson in his meditation that appeared in the March 11, Stillspeaking Lenten Devotional, reminded us of the old aphorism: "Salvation is about grace. Ethics is about gratitude." Indeed! Although I would change this slightly to say that living as God would have us live is about gratitude. Worshipping God is about gratitude. Our work, our play, our personal and public lives as Christians -- it's all about gratitude.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

The Things that are God's

"Render to Caesar the things that are to Ceasar and to God the things that are God's." (Luke 20:25)

I've been struggling with Lent this year. I started off pretty well. I ate my share of fat on "Fat" Tuesday. I attended services at UCC Bayberry on Ash Wednesday evening where pastor Mark Lawson imposed ashes on my forehead. Each day as part of my spiritual discipline I've been reading and praying from the UCC Calendar of Prayer and the Still Speaking Lenten Devotional. But then things go awry.

It's politics. You know the football season is over. Spring training is just getting underway. I haven't really gotten into much basketball. And, I can't play golf yet. But, politics! I'm obsessing. I can't get enough of it. I anticipate watching the results of various caucuses and primaries on T.V. and find myself rooting for my candidate like my life depended on it. I take it personally when my candidate looses and rejoice when my candidate wins. You might think the New York Giants or Boston Red Sox were running for President! I'm pretty annoyed with myself, really.

The relationship between religion and politics has always been complicated. A year ago I had a rather heated discussion with a young man in one of our churches about this issue. He felt very strongly that the church had no right to intervene or to say anything about what belonged in the political or governmental sphere. And, he was unmoved by my various arguments to the contrary.

In the Christian era, after the Church became the official religion of the Roman Empire, theologians like Augustine of Hippo and popes like Gelasius I developed ways to think about this relationship. In his treatise "The City of God" Augustine spoke of the realms of the flesh (the City of 'Man') and of the Spirit (The City of God). While both needed to be governed according to God's precepts, the City of God was superior.

Gelasius I developed what was later called the "two swords" theory of the relationship between Church and State. Remember when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter tried to defend Jesus by cutting off the ear of one of the soldiers. Jesus healed the man's ear and rebuked Peter by saying that, "They who live by the sword will die by the sword." Along the way of directing Peter to turn over his weapon, however, Jesus asked Peter how many sword he had. Peter responded, "two." To which Jesus concluded, "It is enough."

From this story Gelasius and others saw a metaphor for the relationship between church and state. Gelasius wrote a famous letter to Emperor Anastasius speaking about the Church's duty to speak to various governmental issues of the day and of the government's duty to listen and obey.

"There are two powers, august Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled, namely, the sacred authority of the priests and the royal power. Of these that of the priests is the more weighty, since they have to render an account for even the kings of men in the divine judgment. You are also aware, dear son, that while you are permitted honorably to rule over human kind, yet in things divine you bow your head humbly before the leaders of the clergy and await from their hands the means of your salvation..." -- translated in J. H. Robinson, Readings in European History, (Boston: Ginn, 1905), pp. 72-73

In his book The Crisis of Church and State 1030-1300 Brian Thierny wrote, "From the eleventh century onward if became very usual to regard the "two swords" as symbols of spiritual and temporal power, and a whole inverted pyramid of political fantasy was erected on the slender basis of this one verse of Scripture." (p. 8)

Slender as this basis may be, the Church (and even the State) has recognized that the Church will have a voice in the governance of earthly affairs. Sometimes this has meant that the government recognizes and supports an official religion, as in England, Russian and Germany. Sometimes the Church has voiced its objection to governments from the standpoint of hunted rebel (as in Communist Romania or East Germany, or the pre-Revolutionary north American colonies). And sometimes the Church has had much to say in governments that have respected its voice and listened with varying degrees of willingness (as in the United States).

Indeed, where would we be as a nation if churches and church leaders had not spoke out against British taxation without representation and had not provided the leadership and the meeting place to organize the Revolution itself?

Where would we be as a nation if churches and church leaders had not spoken out against slavery, worked with the organizers and provided way stations for the Underground Railroad, and worked through the American Missionary Association to provide education, social services and advocacy for African Americans once they were emancipated?

And where would our nation be if churches and church leaders did not speak up for the rights of laborers, women, African Americans, gays, lesbians, bi-sexual and transgendered folks?

Where would our nation and where would our world be if churches and church leaders had not and spoken out and advocated for the rights of refugees, those suffering from HIV/AIDS, the hungry, those suffering from mental illness, those suffering from the ravages of war?

And so, the World Council of Churches "absolutely condemns" the attacks on civilians in Gaza and Israel. http://www.globalministries.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2169&Itemid=1

In like manner UCC supported Churches for Middle East Peace issued this statement.

"We grieve the tragic loss of eight young lives in the attack yesterday by a Palestinian extremist against Israeli yeshiva students in Jerusalem. Such terrorism is never acceptable or justifiable. Unfortunately it is only the latest event in the current spasm of violence and retaliation that started in southern Israel and Gaza and that has led to scores of dead, mostly Palestinian. All efforts must now be taken to achieve an urgently needed cease-fire.

CMEP heads of churches and organizations sent a letter to Secretary Rice a week ago expressing concern for all civilians caught in the conflict, urging her to help "achieve a ceasefire, end the Gaza blockade and achieve real security at Gaza's borders". They warned of the danger of even greater confrontation and the risk this posed to the peace process. Sadly history suggests one can expect more violence and killing in the months ahead as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators continue the peace process initiated by the United States at Annapolis last year. Both sides, Israeli and Palestinian, deserve respect and support for continuing to negotiate in the face of efforts to derail them.

While not underestimating the forces arrayed against peace and with ample reasons for skepticism, there is no acceptable alternative to pursuing a negotiated two state resolution of the conflict. We pray the time is coming soon for all the children of Abraham to live in peace and security in the land called holy."

So, what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God? Jesus' response to the testing of the religious leaders was clever, indeed. While avoiding the trap of denying Caesar his due, Jesus maintained the integrity of the belief that all things belong to God, even the things that the Caesars of this world think belong to them.

Therefore, the Church speaks out against unjustifiable wars and those who justify the unspeakable use of torture, and speaks up for those who work for justice and peace. Thus, do we in faithfulness seek to render to God the things that are God's

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

Principalities and Powers

Well, there's a "first" for everything. The United Church of Christ has made much of the "firsts" that we've recorded throughout our history: first college in America (Harvard), first co-ed college (Oberlin), first to ordain African Americans, women, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered persons, first to establish a theological seminiary (Andover), a foreign mission society and an integrated anti-slavery society, and that's just the beginning.

Now we can add that we're the first entire denomination to be investigated by the Internal Revenue Service for breaching the terms of our non-profit tax exempt status. We're not so happy about this "first". And, we're not alone. Faith communities representing every religious tradition are taking notice of this event.

Immediately, John Thomas, UCC General Minister and President, sent out a letter announcing the investigation. This letter (http://www.ucc.org/news/obama-speech-in-2007-prompts-1.html) and the scanned copy of the IRS notification letter (http://www.ucc.org/news/pdf/lettrirs.pdf )
are posted on the UCC website.

John also sent out an urgent request for donations to the newly formed UCC Legal Defense Fund in anticipation of costly legal fees. The Council of Conference Ministers also wrote a "Pastoral Letter" to their local congregations regarding this issue.

In each case through the initial alarmed reaction to the IRS notice of investigation has come the confidence of exoneration once the facts are known. There is also the realization that the United Church of Christ has a new opportunity to share the good news of the freedom that we share in Christ to covenant together and to follow the dictates of the God who is still speaking.

Indeed this is a great time to give God thanks for our life together in the United Church of Christ. No outside ecclesiastical body imposes dictates of faith upon our local congregations. Rather, in mutual respect and love we agree (covenant with one another) to walk together in all God's ways, as God is pleased to grant us the vision of where we are to follow.

Thus, in freedom we bind ourselves to one another and to God. And, in so doing we have found ourselves on the right side of the most significant causes for justice and equality throughout the history of the United States: independence from England, the abolition of slavery, equal public education and civil rights for all those that have been marginalized, just to name a few.

John Thomas acknowledged that the IRS investigation is disturbing. The UCC blog conversation about this has raised the question of the source of the complaint to the IRS. No one knows. Some speculate the Biblical Witness Fellowship, others that UCC Truths was behind it. But no one is certain.

The Washington D.C. law firm, Wilmer Hale, has been retained to defend the UCC throughout the investigation. Lead attorney, Saul Waxman, a former U.S. Solicitor General, feels confident that once the IRS hears the facts of the case, they will withdraw the complaint. In the meantime the law firm has offered to waive the attorney's fees for their services.

In response to Wilmer Hale's generosity John Thomas has suspended the call to continue to build the legal defense fund that had grown over the weekend to over $59,000. The existing donations will be utilized to cover the inevitable court costs.

Meanwhile, the Hartford Courant has written an editorial saying that the IRS has gone too far. In talking about Senator Obama's speech the Courant wrote:

"He was, in fact, one of dozens of arts, business and other leaders speaking about faith and vocation at the Hartford Civic Center gathering in June.The church went to great pains to keep campaign workers, buttons and banners outside the center. But the UCC couldn't stop Mr. Obama from a little campaigning in an eloquent but innocuous speech on the role of faith in public life. His few "my first term as president"-type slips were not great enough to warrant the IRS threat that followed eight months later. A letter sent this week to the church questioned whether "political activities" at the conference "could jeopardize" the UCC's tax exemption. Isn't that a bit excessive? The IRS should be policing nonprofits suspected of funneling money from donors skirting contribution limits, not stifling speech at houses of worship. The inquiry's timing is curious, coming months after the event but at the moment when the senator is emerging as the front-runner."

Yes, the timing is curious. And, whenever governments or governmental agencies come knocking on the door, anxiety is a justifiable companion. Yet, we are also confident in one thing. We have this faith, faith in the God who promises to be with always. It is the faith of which Paul wrote so boldly.

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39 RSV)

Blessings,

Rick Cowles