tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75874592024-03-07T14:21:47.397-06:00The JourneyLizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.comBlogger1175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-35832210250402809432012-11-13T16:48:00.000-06:002012-11-13T16:48:22.498-06:00Reverend Lizard Eater and Little Wren say Goodbye<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was just supposed to be a little blog where I could vent about being a Unitarian Universalist student in an evangelical seminary.<br />
<br />
And along the way ...<br />
<br />
Well, along the way, my baby daughter got cancer. Twice. And my journey through seminary to ministry took 8 years. And I wept bitter tears over my keyboard. Many of you cried with me. And prayed for us. And taught me as much about community, and love, and God, as anything else in my life.<br />
<br />
Before any of that, newly in seminary, I looked around at some of the other great pseudonyms in the UU blogging world -- Philocrites, Errant Frogs, Peacebang, Fausto -- and chose "Lizard Eater," to reflect my status in theological puberty.<br />
<br />
My friend and soul brother, the Hysteric Cleric, gifted me with an soul-satisfying slam poem on the occasion of my ordination. He ended it by noting that I was a Lizard Eater no longer.<br />
<br />
I chafed a bit at that. And yet, he is right. While I will always be a student, I am a student who has graduated and is taking her place out in the world among the ranks of other ordained Unitarian Universalist ministers.<br />
<br />
Little Wren has graduated, too.<br />
<br />
Today, we met with her oncologist. She got another report of "NED" - No Evidence of Disease. Everything looks good - kidneys, lungs, developmentally appropriate and then some.<br />
<br />
So now, she has been referred to "Long Term Survivor" care. She'll meet with those doctors once a year, they'll keep tabs on her for the rest of her life - keeping us informed of any possible future complications from the chemo or radiation she received. You <a href="http://xkcd.com/931/" target="_blank">never</a> get the "You're cured!" announcement, but this is a good milestone. Better that that. Great.<br />
<br />
So, Lizard Eater and Little Wren bid you farewell. Thank you for reading, for commenting, for arguing, for praying, for laughing. May you experience the same grand feelings of love that I have felt here.<br />
<br />
Amen. I love you. May the spirit of love go with us all.<br />
<br />
<br />Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-80835123334061656802012-10-23T20:15:00.000-05:002012-10-23T20:16:17.830-05:00Ordination as a Theological Statement<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s happening, friends. Sunday, I will be ordained a
Unitarian Universalist minister.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In our tradition, only a congregation can ordain a minister.
Not the UUA, or the MFC, or a District Executive, or the UUMA. Only a
congregation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am awed by the theological significance of the event. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ministers have many different duties, pastoral, prophetic,
preaching, teaching … the sacramental duties are referred to as the “priestly
functions,” even though none in our tradition go by the title of priest. Officiating at a wedding, baby dedications,
those sorts of things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But for an ordination, the congregation as a whole, the
church body, does the priestly function. The church body becomes priest. They
draw out from their midst an individual, acknowledge the calling on their life,
and because we are a tradition of learned clergy, often recognize the
education, training, and fellowshipping that has been a part of their
preparation. And then they set the individual apart, giving them special
authority for ministry.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It takes away my breath, not just the transformation of the
ordinand, but the transformation of the congregation itself, into this priestly
role. It is incarnation, as the congregation becomes the body of Unitarian Universalism,
of our heritage, our traditions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ordination will happen to me, but it is not about me. It’s
about the holy mystery in which we understand ourselves as a Unitarian
Universalist congregation. We do not
require an intermediary or higher authority, such as a bishop, to acknowledge
the workings of Spirit; we <i>are</i> that
authority. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I tremble. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-73735729910541367232012-10-22T11:11:00.000-05:002012-10-22T11:11:18.261-05:00Testimony
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<br />
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I like to ask Unitarian Universalists for their testimony.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes, they’ll start giving me their “elevator speech.”
That’s what we’ve been taught to do – a 2 or 3 sentence explanation of what
Unitarian Universalism is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went to an evangelical seminary, full of AME’s, Baptists,
and the like. None of them ever gave me an elevator speech. They gave me their
<i>testimony</i>, they told me a personal story about how their religion changed their
life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So here’s my testimony.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have done a lot of spiritual exploring in my life. I have
found much in the teachings of Jesus that inspire me, but found that the box
many Christians try to limit God to seemed too restrictive; the idea that there
is only one way, and that coincidentally, it is the dominant religion of the
culture, and usually the family, that they grew up in, seemed to lack both
personal humility and the giant awe for a force of love so limitless.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was neo-Pagan for many years. I can remember excitedly
reading Scott Cunningham’s Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner, nudging The
Husband to say, “This, this!” Exploring the divine feminine in religion, the
idea of religiously living in tolerance
with the differences of others, “So long as it harm none …” made me understand
that religious excitement that others might call being born again. Epiphany! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A goddess-group friend said, “I believe it’s all metaphor.
But this is the metaphor I’m comfortable with.” An illuminating moment, where I
realized the choice we all have, and that, for me, it’s not about finding
absolute truth. I don’t believe humans have the capacity to see absolute truth,
and it’s a dangerous road, to try to take the metaphors we believe in, and
decree that they are not metaphors, they are not the finger pointing to the
moon, but our metaphors <i>are</i> the moon,
<i>are</i> the truth. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What metaphors am I comfortable with, for trying to conceive
of something so beyond me, something I experience, but do not know?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My understandings about what it all means have grown over
the years. They’ve also shrunk. They have been dropped as if from an airplane,
breaking into a billion brittle shards. I have broken, too; my spirit shattering
in that many pieces. I have lost all faith and been desperately, spiritually,
alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And bit by bit, I have re-found meaning. I have studied
texts and wisdom, ancient and new, pushing myself with hard questions until all
I wanted to do was put that religion thing back on the shelf and Just. Stop.
Thinking. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes I did. Sometimes I stopped thinking, and just let
go. And experienced.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What has saved me through all of this is Unitarian
Universalism. Having a religion that values the illimitable mind, that pushes
me to go deeper, to question what I most have faith in, to have that examined
faith … and to be in a continual process of re-examination , to always, always,
know that revelation is not sealed, neither in the big scheme of things nor
even my own private revelation … that has saved me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been Christian. I have been Wiccan. I have been a
potpourri of thought, I have been entirely devoid of faith, I have been filled
with the richness of theology, philosophy, and the direct experience of the
transcending mystery.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And through it all, I have always been a Unitarian
Universalist. This religion saved me and every day, it saves me again. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-65908222544172599962012-09-30T17:41:00.001-05:002012-09-30T17:41:50.799-05:00If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
For those ministers and DREs moving to Texas, there are
certain things you should understand about this strange, foreign, beautiful,
insane land.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First step is to determine whether you are in a Texas UU
Church. This is not as easy as it sounds. There are UU churches in Texas where
the leaders in the church for decades have been from Not Around Here, notably
Michigan. This will be a different culture than the UU churches made up of born
and bred Texans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’re in a Texas UU Church, there is a good chance that
the children and youth will call all adults by their first name, preceded by
“Mr.” or “Miss.” “Miss,” in this manner, is used indiscriminately to refer to
both married and unmarried women. When the youth graduates high school, they
will go off to college or begin a job. When they return to the church for a
visit, they will no longer use a salutation when talking to an adult. This is a
Rite Of Passage, never formalized, keenly observed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you have a nickname, use it. I mean, not if it’s
“Booger,” or “Keg Face,” but Bill, Jack, Cathy, etc. We like nicknames. It
tells us you’re not stuck-up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, if someone’s nametag says, “Elizabeth,” and you
hear her called, “Liz,” don’t automatically call her Liz. (This goes in all
instances, not just for people named Elizabeth.) There is an element of
familiarity with nicknames, and whereas some people go by their nick all the
time, others are only called the nickname by people they are close to. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is especially true in the matter of men, and what they
are called by their spouses, especially if their nickname ends in “Y.” Tommy,
Kenny, you get the picture. Unless the guy directly says, “My name is Timmy,”
call him Tim. Otherwise, it’s going to seem like an alpha-male, patronizing
throw-down. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of us, even as adults, call our parents Mama and Daddy.
This is neither cute nor quaint, nor does it indicate a different educational
level. It’s Southern culture.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Funerals are deeply meaningful rituals that facilitate the
grief process in a formal, communal way. As the minister, you will be
remembered for generations for your grace at this time. That being said, if
there aren’t enough deviled eggs at the reception afterward, that’s the only
thing that will be remembered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are a female minister, women will often begin their
conversations with you by commenting favorably on your shoes. This does not
indicate shallowness on their part, it is a social nicety, not unlike Hindus
greeting each other with a bow and “Namaste.” After the social niceties have
been observed, the real conversation can begin. If she has ever met your
mother, the shoe comment will also be combined with concern for her well-being,
in the word noted by author Jill Conner Browne, “CuteShoesHow’sYourMama?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are in changing times, and it will take sensitive religious
professionals to be able to negotiate through the grief and confusion this year
and probably for the next several. Thanksgiving may elicit emotions among your
congregants ranging from anger, to disillusionment, to depression. For
generations, new Texas ministers and DREs needed only to be clued in that the
Sunday after Thanksgiving, they were to wear neither burnt orange nor maroon, as
feelings would be running high. Now, bereft congregants may feel <a href="http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-texas-texas-am-story,0,3170008.story" target="_blank">lost and uncertain of the future</a>. You will need to be tender to their feelings, and just in
case, <a href="http://www.statesman.com/sports/collegefootball/horns-to-keep-playing-on-thanksgiving-1908234.html" target="_blank">don’t wear red, either</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is no one Texas accent, there are many. Someone from
East Texas will have a soft, Southern accent. Those in West Texas will hit
their “R”s pretty hard and have more of a twang. And everybody in Austin sounds
like Matthew McConaughey. No one knows why.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh, one last note. If someone says, “Bless your heart,” it’s
neither kind nor complimentary. You might want to start putting your search
packet together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-85393342834754462512012-09-28T14:06:00.000-05:002012-09-28T14:06:30.534-05:00A big step on The Journey
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I am in preliminary fellowship. I’ll let my friend <a href="http://celestiallands.org/wayside/?p=228" target="_blank">Rev. David explain it</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUmpPBPUPFI6iIlNmAx0QmUl-3iTPziExg9B-JnlvOivJdphj2Zc03keb0rCGf8kpUja9ib_lf3vOD-5VWR4sf-rYn_XTDmmqXwiTgYRstpJWSjAVYeFrS-6lqVHEzVwqiM_o/s1600/_study.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUmpPBPUPFI6iIlNmAx0QmUl-3iTPziExg9B-JnlvOivJdphj2Zc03keb0rCGf8kpUja9ib_lf3vOD-5VWR4sf-rYn_XTDmmqXwiTgYRstpJWSjAVYeFrS-6lqVHEzVwqiM_o/s320/_study.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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We all prepare for meeting with the MFC in our own ways. I’m
an information junkie, so doing things like studying, making lists and
timelines, and covering my study with random factoid sticky notes was my process. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I also can be guilty of an overabundance of optimism at what
I can get done in the last minute, so I wanted some sort of structured way of
preparing for this meeting. After watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy where Torres agrees to meet
Meredith every morning to drill her for her medical boards, I looked around to
see who would be my Torres.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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… and then realized that with Facebook, I had a whole
community of Torreses. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, for six months, every Sunday or Monday, I’d ask for five
“MFC Prep Questions.” Ministers, other candidates, and lay folks would send
them on, and I’d answer one a day, Monday-Friday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Folks would argue with my answer, and argue with each other.
Great long discussions took place not only over the 16 Competencies one must
have to become a fellowshipped UU minister, but about the very nature of
ministry itself. It was GREAT. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of my process, both the Facebook preparation and the
studying, was less about meeting with the MFC and more about me testing myself.
In the same way one might go on a wilderness survival trek, to push one’s
limits and endurance, I absolutely immersed myself in the competencies,
especially Unitarian Universalist history. I love our religious tradition and I
guess there was a part of me that needed to feel I worked hard, HARD, to take
my place among the ranks of those who have gone before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I did work hard. And for myself, I feel glad of that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And yet, too, there is something beyond all the studying
that places me in ministry. I did not receive a common question: Upon what do
you root your authority as a minister?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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My answer would be that I am a Unitarian Universalist, and
thus, my authority comes from the congregation that ordains me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
But my other answer, equally true, is this: I know the exact
moment I became a minister. About 7 months after Little Wren had completed
treatment for her second cancer bout, I was down on the banks of my beloved
Pecos River. For several days, I went down to the river and cried. Sobbed. It
was as if I was completely emptying myself out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then, one day, I didn’t need to cry anymore. I was
emptied, I was calm, and at peace. Down at the edge of water, I received a clear
message, that I was now a minister.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A week later, now back at home, a colleague called to ask if
I could please do a memorial service. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here am I. Send me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-61172202297541582002012-09-26T09:44:00.000-05:002012-09-26T09:44:23.057-05:00Pop Song Exegesis or "Why 'Awake My Soul' will be in my ordination"<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><b>How fickle my heart
and how woozy my eyes</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">I zoom from one thing
to another, different interests grabbing me – Squirrel!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>
I struggle to find any truth in your lies</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">This world I live in
gives me lie after lie. If I buy this, my life will be organized. If I look
like this, I will be loved. “Buy and save …”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>
And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Johari window …
what is not known to me, known to others … not known to others?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>
This weakness I feel I must finally show</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">For so much of my
life, I sought to hide my flaws, my weaknesses, my brokenness. Now, I let them
show. I am free.<br />
<br /><b>
Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">You, my parishioner,
if we put our hands together, if we reach out to make action, we can commit
great acts of love and compassion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>
But lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">Don’t fall in love
with me. That’s not what I was called to ministry. It’s not about me being
loved. We’re profoundly loved by God. I will love you, but don’t give me your
heart. I will let you do what you need to do, which may mean letting you fall.
And I will certainly disappoint you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>
Lend me your eyes I can change what you see</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">What I’m called to is
to look at life, examine it, turning it over and over and over. Maybe I can
show you something you haven’t seen before. (But you can probably do the same
for me.)<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><b>But your soul you
must keep, totally free</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">Don’t substitute my
judgment for yours. My job is to encourage you to strengthen your own soul, not
to be a “vicar,” vicariously taking care of your spiritual needs. I will not
give you the answers. I will give you seeds that you can plant, or examine and
throw away. Keep your soul, totally free to find YOUR truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">You can’t run away
from yourself. No matter how much you might want to. Trust me on this, if you
trust me on nothing else, for it is the broken voice of experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>
Where you invest your love, you invest your life</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">Yes. Yes. This. We
can have the grandest ideas in the world, but what do we love? What do we spend
our money on? What do we spend our hours on? We will look back to discover we
have filled our bank with investments in that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die<br />
Where you invest your love, you invest your life<br />
<br />
Awake my soul, awake my soul<br />
Awake my soul</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">Let us find
awakening. Let us break free from the siren calls of Madison Avenue, of
magazines and videos that call us to be crafted of cream cheese and to find our
value in what we own, or do, rather than what we ontologically ARE.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><b>
You were made to meet your maker<br />
Awake my soul, awake my soul<br />
Awake my soul<br />
You were made to meet your maker<br />
You were made to meet your maker</b><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were made to be in communion with the divine mystery,
with that creative spirit that gave us existence. May we awake, and meet what
created us, what continues to make us what we are.<br />
<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8jLJ5mhgVw4" width="560"></iframe>
<!--EndFragment-->Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-19477319341073124342012-08-23T11:20:00.000-05:002012-08-23T11:20:27.422-05:00It is back to school time.
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<br />
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We scuttle around, not in the
most effective way, yet again beginning our shopping with me in the dressing
room with the girls, “…but then what DO you need?” before turning around,
coming home, and beginning again, this time, by first sorting through all their
clothes, handing items down to the next, and seeing what our starting point is. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We have been here before – I remember that tree.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those years of youthful preparation for my own back-to-school have marked me. This year, as every year, I find something visceral in
me full of hope and possibility. These new lunchboxes will lead to healthful,
organized lunches for all of us, this new system we’ve come up with will mean
that we never get behind on laundry, we will all be fresh and shiny, popular
and smart, homework will always be done promptly and well …<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fantasy may not survive the first week, but shhh, don’t
disturb my illusion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I remember in high school, getting the big thick September
issue of Seventeen magazine and devouring its tips. Jean Naté sponsored a 4
page spread where you saw the heroine go step by step through her organized,
popular, always-smiling day. Her day began, of course, with a shower and a
splash of the sponsor’s product. Aha, that was the key to it all. Along with
pencils, pens, and a Trapper Keeper, I used my own money for a small bottle of
bath splash.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps this should turn into a screed against consumerism
or not accepting ourselves as we are, the folly of thinking that a new year or
a new product will lead to a life change.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it’s not. Not today. Because we all need Dumbo’s feather
sometime. Hope <i>can</i> be hard to find,
and if any of us can get a extra boost by the seasonal change, then grab on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the first time in a very long time, I am not going back
to school myself, not in the literal sense. Last year, I was preparing for my
last semester of seminary. When browsing school supplies the other day, I
started to automatically pick up some highlighters and fresh pens for myself.
No need.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Okay, little bit of a need. I continue on with one ministerial
job, and begin another. I have that little matter of meeting with some people
in Boston that I need to keep studying for. We are all perpetual students, in
some way or another.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If you catch a whiff of Jean Naté when we meet, don’t be
surprised. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-39584086490711228312012-08-12T11:32:00.000-05:002012-08-12T11:32:02.818-05:00Young and powerless<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
My father and I began swapping stories this week, as we do
when we get to see each other. We realized that we both had experiences in
which we, young and powerless, had someone powerful who was willing to bust
through the expectations that they would side with others at their level. And
this has made both of us fairly optimistic people who believe that justice <i>can</i>
will out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Not justice in some sort of karmic way, but the justice of
“Yes, most people are good and will stand up for what’s right.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my case, I was a senior in high school, leaving early one
afternoon to go audition for a theatre scholarship at a college. I went around
picking up the necessary letters of recommendation. Without a word, the drama
teacher handed me his. I read it in the room of my speech teacher. It was bad. I
was confused. I knew he and I had some issues between us – I wasn’t the first –
but even I knew the protocol for such things. If someone asks for a letter of
recommendation, you say “no” or “yes.” But you don’t say “yes,” then write a
bad letter. My speech teacher read it, and suggested I take it to our dean. I
dropped it off, and went on to my next class.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Between classes that afternoon, my principal met me in the
hall. “I don’t know why Mr. ___ wrote this, but it was wrong. And <b><i>I</i></b> am
writing your letter.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At least at my school, that just didn’t happen. A principal
never spoke against a teacher to a student. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(I got the scholarship. And it turned out the teacher was a
sociopath who did things far more vile than write bad letters.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My father was at a state university that used to be a
military college. He was on the school newspaper and a news story he’d written
angered a colonel there. Dad was called in to his office and the colonel ripped
him up one side and down the other, and demanded a retraction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem was, the story was true. Dad, not knowing what
else to do, went to see the president of the university. He explained what
happened, and asked for advice. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The president said, “Well, I think I need to have a conversation
with Colonel ___ to remind him who runs this school.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
University presidents just don’t do that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’ve had other experiences like that, over the years. But
it’s not difficult to see how this sort of thing gave us confidence that for
the most part, you can believe that justice guides most people, and when it
doesn’t, there will be others willing to stand up for you, and against
injustice. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not all people have that, I realize. And so they come to an
opposite feeling.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s an interesting thought, though, that when we don’t
“circle the wagons,” when we stand up for what’s right and help someone with
lesser power, especially someone younger, we’re not just affecting the situation, we’re shaping how
they will see the world. <o:p></o:p></div>Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-24733620264609310762012-06-19T23:05:00.000-05:002012-06-19T23:05:02.366-05:00At GA 2012<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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What a difference … 8 years makes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 years? Has it really been that long?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes. I went to UUA General Assembly 2004, essentially all
alone, not knowing anyone. I came home, and applied to seminary 2 weeks later.
And began this blog shortly thereafter. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I wasn’t even pregnant with Little Wren yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So here I am, attending in my role as Intern Minister.
Greeting what are now old friends, some new friends … maybe even some of you
guys. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do come up and say hello. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-49658013042814207312012-05-24T09:59:00.001-05:002012-05-24T09:59:12.429-05:00Happy Birthday, LW.I don’t write much about Little Wren, our Little Warrior,
here anymore. Life has moved on, wonderfully, for all of us.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today, I will. Today is her birthday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It was not so long ago that this seemed an impossible dream.
The night before her first surgery, we didn’t know if she would celebrate her
first birthday. When the cancer came back, right before her 3<sup>rd</sup>
birthday, we were so devastated, and no one knew if she would make it to her 4<sup>th</sup>
birthday. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-8B7MiGgzwVZ4t0NrBUB9u0tl27GauE2nI-T0AuCZtpZ1hmCiOw8jLXoTUz_jECnP_bK52JyHSl0Nr3_eS54hiBY7Y1epRK_Q9a3voqwkatpNy2Uba2_e3C9GB_flS89frCk/s1600/IMG_0611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-8B7MiGgzwVZ4t0NrBUB9u0tl27GauE2nI-T0AuCZtpZ1hmCiOw8jLXoTUz_jECnP_bK52JyHSl0Nr3_eS54hiBY7Y1epRK_Q9a3voqwkatpNy2Uba2_e3C9GB_flS89frCk/s320/IMG_0611.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relay for Life 2012 Survivors' Lap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today, LW is 7. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Today, she is developmentally appropriate, if a little on
the small side. Her spirit more than makes up for that. She’s plucky, she’s
tough, she’s smart. She knows she is a survivor, though we try to make it not
central to her identity. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though cancer is not ever-present in our lives or conversations
doesn’t mean it’s not there, coloring events. I took a picture of her today and
silently thought, “…and that’s what a two-time survivor looks like.” The normal
milestones have extra poignancy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But not just for her. Her entire family survived her cancer.
Her siblings sacrificed, it affected who they are. When I watch her older
sister, The Princess, up on stage singing her first public solo, I am perhaps
slightly more emotional. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or not. Maybe this is just normal emotional. This is, after
all, our normal. A few days ago, LW got in a fight with the boy next door. His
mama took care of it appropriately, fussing at her son and sending him over to
apologize. All normal stuff, except where he hit her was her abdomen. “Anywhere
but there!” her father and I groaned. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, yes, it is ever-present in The Husband’s and my heads.
But it is just one detail among many, along with The Boy being obsessive about
not drinking after anyone else, and The Princess needing to be reminded about
her homework, and Bo Peep having soft dental enamel, so please don’t let her
eat lemons. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Life is good for all of us. I am about to have two teens in
the house, a terrifying thought. I have two ministerial internships which I
love. Husband’s good, kids are good,
Mama’s good.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t like the phrase “What doesn’t kill you makes you
stronger” – I don’t feel it to be necessarily true. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I do think that what doesn’t kill you often makes you
different. And if you look hard enough, some of that different might be good.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-53610042546020412992012-04-30T11:12:00.001-05:002012-04-30T11:13:38.985-05:00"Replenishment" Or "My Pond is Back"In September, I visited my favorite pond to discover it was, for the most part, <a href="http://uuminister.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-pond-is-gone.html" target="_blank">gone</a>. Dried up, from the drought. A field where fish used to swim.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuKiEADNuFrwf9jhKZgybpNM2o6GjgwhoLdAOmUCGYN9JbaQX7hONU6q6t6EMjIv0IBgNrS0n7ogxNGyPEohVnaO-YPa9SxMYPIg455dB8pof9Slne6TDwFmAcgT6bKtyaMEq/s1600/IMG_0417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuKiEADNuFrwf9jhKZgybpNM2o6GjgwhoLdAOmUCGYN9JbaQX7hONU6q6t6EMjIv0IBgNrS0n7ogxNGyPEohVnaO-YPa9SxMYPIg455dB8pof9Slne6TDwFmAcgT6bKtyaMEq/s400/IMG_0417.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
It's back.<br />
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Almost to overflowing. In some areas, the water comes up to the edge of the path.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAM6uTnQTbwTH23lkf9FONzI3pSv4acwhY9pLWTIGLMX1o7My6zNabpumyQPFdKJP7AXdDA0-Jlq3bM9YSKkrIgO7pGOHllzWgaBKxLEdY7VfNo1iYHWaqxBOrfhNIJjzNoJ3/s1600/IMG_0413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAM6uTnQTbwTH23lkf9FONzI3pSv4acwhY9pLWTIGLMX1o7My6zNabpumyQPFdKJP7AXdDA0-Jlq3bM9YSKkrIgO7pGOHllzWgaBKxLEdY7VfNo1iYHWaqxBOrfhNIJjzNoJ3/s320/IMG_0413.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was a beautiful spring day. I walked around and around the pond, marveling at the healing taking place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmZBvs_s6v_sBsdcwRxinIAjmE_cKrDZZSrYssy1rRzQKJ1BDW5whh-HIcv-Q-b4HPDkhi-HEBE9h_9LLiz2qBoflOZu9DmdMYUoYCPeZ1kvDooWxWhvjKNmBBySEsIkN7MXA/s1600/IMG_0415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmZBvs_s6v_sBsdcwRxinIAjmE_cKrDZZSrYssy1rRzQKJ1BDW5whh-HIcv-Q-b4HPDkhi-HEBE9h_9LLiz2qBoflOZu9DmdMYUoYCPeZ1kvDooWxWhvjKNmBBySEsIkN7MXA/s320/IMG_0415.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div>
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Old friends were back. Birds of all types.</div>
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And joy of joys, my beloved turtles. Hello, Friend!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaJHQvjRV0zTPNwv6HoupWaabVG-o0s76w77SaCcbPTLDJSR103vPcxpm12Tv7nhZg7Gumuxgvd5Id-9R1_wNR55mF1PY036LxI6wRWQSMMjxrIKWY_844FLCwm1I3hjBZcTPX/s1600/IMG_0424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaJHQvjRV0zTPNwv6HoupWaabVG-o0s76w77SaCcbPTLDJSR103vPcxpm12Tv7nhZg7Gumuxgvd5Id-9R1_wNR55mF1PY036LxI6wRWQSMMjxrIKWY_844FLCwm1I3hjBZcTPX/s320/IMG_0424.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wildflowers bloomed here and there; the whole area is green and lush, promiscuously so. </div>
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No field here. </div>
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I wound my way through the paths that have been so familiar, to find one path blocked by a tree. I had to turn back on my steps, go backward. That's a path, too, and not a bad metaphor.<br />
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Life can be brought to life again.</div>
<br />Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-19204184406894515222012-03-21T16:03:00.000-05:002012-03-21T16:03:03.933-05:00Chalice Boots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DQodaVfuwQiDDrRQ_PeIxO2tuBSwEJbfTJnhyEJ0G-KY_XrNNamrkZeaIAGexy6nQRXBvkmcSDOuH7vAfUQUmgDY2jLyIXMn-h4949zAKNv2syTTs8DIJl0KvwrAc8e1OhUE/s1600/DSC05173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DQodaVfuwQiDDrRQ_PeIxO2tuBSwEJbfTJnhyEJ0G-KY_XrNNamrkZeaIAGexy6nQRXBvkmcSDOuH7vAfUQUmgDY2jLyIXMn-h4949zAKNv2syTTs8DIJl0KvwrAc8e1OhUE/s400/DSC05173.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Some people get robes for graduation. We do things a little different down here in Texas.<br />
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"How many times are you going to say that?" teased Rev. Snazzy Lady.<br />
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Waaal, there mebbe 3 or 4 UUs still left that I haven't shown my boots to. After that, I'll stop, I promise.<br />
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The Husband knew what he wanted to get me for graduation for seminary, so he bundled me off to the boot store, where I made a million different choices to put together some custom boots. Embedded in each is a flaming chalice.<br />
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Some UUs don't like the chalice, point to its recent history, question the myth surrounding it. That's all fine, to each their own.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFYU0WyLC8NuNuyUD6POKwcudZ3-4a80B7cu2wr3BsyhYI4ReQsLAGUrahJqh0nJVXL9S6KCthspa_05pEK0SvOrbk0pLuY8ac6o1y2eryhLPInOmfXSyzEOE9c2dobjWiHm8/s1600/chalice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFYU0WyLC8NuNuyUD6POKwcudZ3-4a80B7cu2wr3BsyhYI4ReQsLAGUrahJqh0nJVXL9S6KCthspa_05pEK0SvOrbk0pLuY8ac6o1y2eryhLPInOmfXSyzEOE9c2dobjWiHm8/s200/chalice.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>I does mean something to me, perhaps due in part to being a parent who has raised my children as Unitarian Universalists. In our small congregation, it was a rite of passage when they were old enough to go forward and light the chalice. They've been taught the story of Hans Deutsch, the artist who created the original picture, and pushed into the frame of our front door is a chalice pin. It was, honestly, one of the first words Little Wren learned. I'd have her in my arms, fumbling for the keys, and she'd lean forward, touching it with her tiny finger. "Cha-ice," she would say. It was a touchstone; it meant that she was home.<br />
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It is a symbol, and the only meaning a symbol has is what we imbue it with. I've heard different meanings attached to the flaming chalice, and mostly, I like them all. Light of truth, flame of fellowship, eternal spirit of love ... When The Husband and I got married, the ceremony began with lighting a chalice. Every covenant group meeting I went to began with a chalice lighting. In the hospital, we took a mini prayer box from the BFF-DRE, with a little battery operated chalice inside. When LW was dedicated, she had 4 godmothers. They put their money together to get her a chalice necklace. Perhaps one day she'll hand it down to her child.<br />
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It symbolizes, to me, Unitarian Universalism, and tied all up in that is my identity as a Unitarian Universalist. I love my faith and I'm profoundly grateful that it exists.<br />
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Perhaps the simple meaning it held for my little one is the most significant. All the churches I've visited, or preached at, light a chalice at the beginning of worship. The faces may be unfamiliar, but still, I know I am home.Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-14410930896287128162012-01-31T07:41:00.000-06:002012-01-31T07:41:52.288-06:00Congregations and Beyond<div class="MsoNormal">Friends have asked me my thoughts on Peter Morales’ <a href="http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/officers/president/moralespeter/192145.shtml" target="_blank">whitepaper </a>and after finding out that I’m going to Orlando to brainstorm about it with others, have generously shared their thoughts with me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve noticed some interesting things in their thoughts (and for the record, I think all are valid). Now, these are rough approximations … there certainly are people in each category who do not agree with the others in the group. But for the most part:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My Social Media peeps: after years of shouting from the rooftops about the very real community and relationship that happens via blogs, FB, Twitter, etc., they’re excited to see others are realizing it.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My Boots on the Ground Parish Ministers: wonder if any of this is relevant to their churches and have concern that this will take away from the help they desperately need.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Theology Wonks: want more emphasis on the “there, there.” What is the root of what connects us? What are those “core values”?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Polity Wonks: want to know if this is a step toward being an association of members rather than an association of congregations, and if so, will this dilute/change our congregational polity?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One question I’ve heard from almost all groups is a desire for clarification, to know what the end goal is.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One thing I feel quite certain about: if we want to make a significant change in the world, if we want to extend our saving message beyond those who manage to figure out that they’re “Unitarian Universalists without knowing it,” it is going to require change and an “all hands on deck” mentality. No more protecting our own little square of real estate or working from models crafted 50 (or 200) years ago. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Are we willing to? Are we going to be an association that protects the walls, or knocks them down? An association that throws gasoline on burning bushes, or ice water?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Significant change will occur when all the entities – UUA, UUMA, MFC, local clusters, local congregations – look for possibilities. That minister holding 3 third-time jobs? Do we want to encourage someone who is helping 3 struggling congregations, or say, “Meh, doesn’t count”? That minister who spends time out in the community each week, feeding the hungry and being a visible representative for UUism? Do we want to say, “Well, do it on your own time”? That excited person who says, “I know a whole group of people who we should reach out to,” – do we say, “Nah, they don’t fit our profile”? To the person establishing and nurturing relationships online, do we say, “Those aren’t ‘real’”? <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And along with the logic about needing to have both wings and roots, we must talk boldly about our saving message, our history, our theology. We are not a giant “non-denominational” movement. We are not the “none of the above” choice. This is not the Grand Church of Tabula Rasa. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We are Unitarian Universalism. We are missionaries into a hurt, broken world.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><!--EndFragment-->Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-22236228776912908772012-01-16T11:04:00.000-06:002012-01-16T11:04:22.460-06:00Love Beyond"My grandmother used to tell me stories about how they would put straw under the eyelids of slaves so they couldn't fall asleep," he confided to me.<div><br />
</div><div>JT and I took many classes together in seminary, and are good friends. He is one of those encouraging sorts of people who always have a smile and a "How you doing, darlin'?" for everyone. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In my last semester, one of the classes we were in examines the life and ministry of Martin Luther King, Jr. </div><div><br />
</div><div>For me, this is a rich history course. For JT, it is memories. He is a retired funeral director, getting his M. Div. for his own spiritual growth, and to strengthen his existing ministry. He is African-American, and he grew up in the South. He drank from labeled water fountains. He is a big man, tall and broad-shouldered, with dark skin. This dignified gentleman, a successful, generous businessman, lived, and lives, in a world that sees him as the bogeyman. </div><div><br />
</div><div>He and I both have deep beliefs about the power of love. For me, life has made this root of my theology easy. For him, it has made it a just-shy-of-impossible struggle.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached over and over about justice. But even more, he preached on love. He exhorted others to even love those who wanted to hurt you, wanted to bomb your house, wanted to kill your babies. Over and over, through his sermons, through his speeches, he counseled love. He knew that to cede the power of love was to lose part of yourself.</div><div><br />
</div><div>JT shows me how very hard this is. That to forgive others, others who have never even realized how wrong they were, is a herculean task. The stories of what was done to ancestors are passed down, generation to generation, in his family. There are no such stories in mine. We do not pass down what we are ashamed of.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Our professor, slightly younger than JT, grew up in the North and remembers being yanked away from a "white" water fountain when visiting family in the South. But he is more positive. We read the laws that were on the books in every state in the late 1950's. "Look at how things have changed!" Part of our grade is based on analyzing the success or failure of MLK's ministry.</div><div><br />
</div><div>After class, JT shakes his head. "Right is right, and wrong is wrong," he says. There are certain things, certain hurts, that are unforgivable.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Today, we will probably hear "I have a dream" and "mountaintop" and maybe even "arc of the universe." But to me, Rev. King is still speaking. Part of my spiritual practice lies in reading and studying his words. Words he wrote 50 years ago challenge, indict, and inspire me today. <a href="http://dailymlk.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Every day for 2012</a>, will be MLK day for me.</div><div><br />
</div><div>His ministry continues. </div><div><br />
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</div>Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-30664970096401788342012-01-05T09:34:00.000-06:002012-01-05T09:34:56.060-06:00I do not do enough. I do not give enough.But I want to.<br />
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This is not false humility, it is truth. I am not yet the person I want to be. But I feel that I can be.<br />
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Jesus, John Lennon, and probably your mama have all talked about my problem. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.<br />
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I have good intentions, and soon as I have more time, more money, I'll do something with them.<br />
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I waste. I waste time, I waste money.<br />
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Time that could be spent making a real difference in the world is frittered away. I never have time to be bored. From the moment I wake til I fall asleep, there is a steady stream of information available to me. Computer, television, email, books. Boredom spurs creativity, for good or for bad. Grownups often go to great lengths to "keep kids busy" because they know that boredom can lead to mischief. Ya gotta keep kids out of trouble.<br />
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We are being constantly entertained, too. And we are kept out of trouble. And we are kept out of good.<br />
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I waste money. Another book here, another coffee there. Click, swipe, it is mine, to be abandoned on a shelf, or quickly consumed. Both, 24 hours later, wholly forgotten. Waste.<br />
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I know that who I am is not what I do, but I also know that what I do shapes and creates who I am. <br />
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I want to be better than this.<br />
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I want to be around people who encourage me to do so. Who teach me how to. Who motivate me to set aside my smartphone and join them in transforming our little corner of the world into a better place. Which will help transform me into a better person. I want to change my life in a big way, I want to give myself to something big. But I need help. I need tools so that I can manage my money, my time, my ideas. I need to feel I'm not doing it alone, that I'm a part of something important.<br />
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Sunday, I will walk in the doors of your church.<br />
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What will you have for me?Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-38300580563995810502011-12-15T09:20:00.002-06:002016-12-05T09:58:01.572-06:00Proud to Be a Level Four Santa<div class="MsoNormal">
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I believe in Santa Claus. I believe in people.<br />
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<i>Believe</i> means different things, doesn’t it? And sometimes, we instantly know it. Like saying, “I believe in people.” Well, obviously, I’m not talking about existence, that seems to be a foregone conclusion. People exist. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“I believe in people” means something more, something positive. The writers of the Bible would use a figure of speech called <i>ellipsis</i>, in which they would omit certain words for effect. It’s an unfinished circle, that we tend to automatically fill in with meaning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So part of what I would fill in is that I believe in people, that they can be generous beyond your imagination, loving to complete strangers, extenders of awesome grace.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Santa Claus embodies this instinct we have toward compassion. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Children, if they are being raised by someone who loves them, assume this. If you tell a 3 year old “People are good and often want to help,” they will look at you blankly. Of course they are! In the same way they will always say that the bigger glass has more liquid in it than the short cup, no matter the opposing evidence, it is part of their logic that grownups are good people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To tell a 45 year old the same thing is to invite debate, a debate that has raged for the ages, through the Christian scriptures, Lord of the Flies, A Separate Peace, and all those other “original sin” themed books they made us read in High School.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am here to tell you – people are good. And they will overwhelm you with their willingness to make things better for others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We share our belief in Santa Claus with our children. There are different levels to this, and so we divide it up into what we feel is developmentally appropriate for them to understand.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It astounds me that so many people stop at the first level. And at a certain point, they learn that it’s “wrong,” and that’s that. It’s done.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t they know, it’s only the introduction!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Level One Santa is the symbolic embodiment into one person: he lives at the North Pole, says “Ho Ho Ho,” and comes down the chimney. He gives without ever expecting anything in return. He brings presents to children simply because he loves them. Oh sure, there are rumors of coal in stockings … but no one actually knows anyone who got that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Myths grow and become more personal in each family; ours is no exception. With our first, it was decided that it was appropriate to ask Santa for three things (which you may or may not get). Rather early on, our son decided that the things Santa brought that he didn’t ask for were always way better than the things he did. Thus began the tradition he passed down to his sisters. “Ask for two things, but leave it up to him for the third thing – he always knows better!” As the children get older, they tend to even go farther, only asking Santa for one thing, or even nothing. They are learning about trust – trust that if you are open, and willing, you may receive gifts beyond what you know to ask for.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is an exciting time, with our Level One Santa kids. They go outside to find chewed up carrot tops left by the reindeer, they receive personal letters from Santa a couple of days before Christmas. All of we Level Twos or above are on alert – to listen to the conversations, the casual remarks, the longing looks. And somehow, that Santa inspiration comes through, when suddenly we know what to pull out of the magic bag. Christmas morning arrives and “How did he know I wanted this???”<o:p></o:p></div>
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A personal letter from Santa – all our children receive them, regardless of age. Santa talks about their past year, what he’s noticed, what to work on, how much he loves them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And then, one year, when they’ve had a lot of questions, and it is right … they receive a letter telling them that on the day after Christmas, they are to reach under their pillow, and there will be a special letter there that answers all their questions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They are ready to become Level Twos.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Level Two is where you become privy to the giant mystery, the fabulous conspiracy that is Santa. You are entrusted with the secret, that Santa is SO much bigger than you imagined, that you, in fact, get to be Santa, too. The entire framework is laid out and you can see how far-reaching it is, how much more profound it is than a man coming down a chimney. People are so wonderful, that all over the world, they will go to great lengths to ensure that others have a magical Christmas. NORAD … the North American Aerospace Defense Command! – puts up video and a website so that families all over the world can track Santa’s progress. People go to the post office to pick up letters from children who have written to Santa, to actually fill some of those requests, out of their own wallet! Movies made, books written, collections taken up, all to make magic for the most powerless among us. Children.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To become a Level Two is not automatic. It is a choice. You may decide to just close the door, believe that “there is no Santa Claus.” Or you can make the choice to join in, to become a Level Two Santa. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A Level Two is someone who supports the Santa Claus efforts, promoting the wonder, keeping the mystery. Level Twos learn to listen intently, while looking casual; they pay attention to such things as what kind of thing a child plays with, what characters they like, their favorite colors. They themselves make magic, helping to put out the gifts on Christmas Eve, eating a cookie (but leaving crumbs on a plate).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Level Three is when you become Santa for the child in your life – your daughter, your nephew, your grandchild. You give, and receive no credit. No thank-you’s. It’s worth it, to be part of this magic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Level Four is when you become Santa for someone not as close – an elderly neighbor, a friend, a stranger, a name on a tree. The recipient can’t know who you are, of course. If they did, you wouldn't be Santa. So there is much whispering and giggling; it is an appropriate time for secrets and ringing doorbells and running away. And yes, you can become a Level Four before becoming a Level Three!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Level Five is the top. This is the person who becomes the embodiment of Santa (or Mrs. Claus) themselves. They put on, or grow, the beard, put on the red hat, perfect their Ho-Ho-Ho. They wave from parades, hold squirming babies on their laps for pictures. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Too old for Santa Claus? Ah, no. For us, the question is, “Is Jane old <i>enough</i> for Santa Claus?” As a Level One, she only knows the door. It’s a beautiful, magical door … but beyond it lies grandeur and awe she can’t even imagine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And she is a part of it all.<o:p></o:p></div>
Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-20671610976750162572011-12-10T00:06:00.001-06:002011-12-10T00:08:50.415-06:00Lizard Eater, Master of DivinityI am graduating from seminary tomorrow, friends. Saturday morning.<br />
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In August 2004, two things began. My seminary experience, and Little Wren, growing in my belly.<br />
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To say I had no idea what would happen with those two things is quite the understatement. Such changes in both, such changes in me. But we survived. My seminary, my daughter, and me. We all survived.<br />
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I have attended an evangelical seminary. My first semester, I resigned myself to "flying under the radar." I told friends, and myself, that it was like learning a foreign language. "I don't have to believe Monsieur Thibaux est un ingénieur," I explained, "I just have to learn to say he is."<br />
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I stopped seminary, temporarily, I thought, to have Little Wren. I prepared to go back, and shortly before it was time, my world cracked in two. My little baby girl was diagnosed with cancer.<br />
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"I will never go back," I told a friend, flatly. I had nothing to say. Why would I be a minister?<br />
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But Spirit wants what it wants. Little Wren healed, and I healed. I went back to school.<br />
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And then ... it was back. Cancer.<br />
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I stopped seminary again. We did cancer again. She healed, I healed. I went back to school.<br />
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Okay, that's not exactly the timeline. She healed. I went back to school. I healed. Yes, that's a more accurate representation.<br />
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I found my voice. And I found nurturing professors who encouraged me to use that voice. No, I did not have to believe Monsieur Thibaux was an engineer. Explain to them why it was not so, give sources, make educated statements.<br />
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They learned more about what a Unitarian Universalist is. And I learned that "evangelical" is most definitely not synonymous with "fundamentalist." I have been surrounded by people who are <i>not</i> homophobic, nor judgmental. I have been surrounded by professors who genuinely live their faith in a way that is awe-inspiring to me.<br />
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Along the way, through this blog, I became friends with people, people who reached out to me, wept with me, encouraged me, mentored me. Friends who saw my heart be broken, read words that said I would never go into the ministry, never return to seminary. Friends who were there when I said, "I'm going back to seminary."<br />
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You shared your stories with me. Your own stories of cancer, of seminary, of family, of hard times, of good times. In the same way that seminary shaped me, you shaped me. Your stories have become a part of me.<br />
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They call it "ministerial formation." It's seminary, and preaching, and life, and CPE, and internship, and all the other things that help you find your identity as a religious professional.<br />
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So many of you have formed me. Fussed at me, argued with me, laughed with me, made me feel loved.<br />
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I love you, too.Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-87694274287961398472011-12-02T15:28:00.000-06:002011-12-02T15:28:32.195-06:00On love and tamalesThere are certain things that transcend the sense of "the stranger." One is fishing. Anywhere I've ever gone, meeting a fellow fan of bait and tackle means that immediate conversation is possible. It usually starts with "Any luck today?" followed by discussions of what they're biting on, what spots are dry, and such. Now, there are certain protocols that are followed. One would never drop line right next to that person, poaching on their territory. Unless invited to, of course. A large cooler of beer you're willing to share makes that incident more probable.<br />
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The other arena in which strictures against talking to strangers, and especially someone who is "not like you," are dropped is cooking. Age, culture, even language, are no barriers to two cooks talking.<br />
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We are having a tamalada tomorrow, making lots of tamales for the holidays. I went to the Mexican mega-mart today to load up on heavy bags of wet masa, manteca de puerco, and corn husks. An older Mexican woman peeked at my cart and said, "Oh, you're making tamales!" We wound up talking for about 15 minutes, exchanging recipes and ideas. I, of course, came out much the richer for it. Cooks do not mind being bossy with each other. I told her that I was going to cut a few corners this year -- using ground chile rather than roasting my own peppers, that sort of thing. She directed me over to an unfamiliar can of sauce, used for enchiladas, and told me how to doctor it up for my pork filling. We parted, each giving advice -- she telling me that I can make spinach tamales without having to cook the filling first (use frozen spinach), and me encouraging her to tell her adult son that if he wants tamales, well, he better get over to her house and start spreading masa. "Have good holidays!" she called after me.<br />
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The BFF-DRE is coming over, after a church meeting. Not that she had much of a choice. Her boys are tamale-making fiends, and I think they were coming with or without her. Making tamales together has now become one of our holiday traditions. One year, we convinced our church cooking group to make tamales as a fundraiser. We took orders for traditional pork tamales, turkey mole tamales, vegetarian black bean and cotija cheese tamales, vegan chipotle bean tamales, sweet potato tamales.<br />
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We had orders for over a 100 dozen.<br />
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Late Saturday night of <i>that</i> tamalada, we were all near tears. "I just can't make anymore," our friend T cried, throwing up her hands. Sometimes you have to know when to throw in the towel. Nonetheless, I think we'd made about 98 dozen. We gave apologies to a few people who didn't get their full orders. Everyone was very nice about it.<br />
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But we never did <i>that</i> again.<br />
<br />
Certain things you do for love, not money, even if the money is going to go to something you love. Tamales are one. Fishing, too.Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-65427057218125838362011-10-22T15:00:00.001-05:002011-10-22T15:09:32.506-05:00Gasoline on the Burning BushTo have a passion is a one thing. It can be a source of soul-satisfying vision, or it can be a crazy-making force.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Sometimes, both at the same time.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But when you have others … others who share your passion, who can see your vision and they <i>get it</i>, they cheer it on, just as you cheer theirs … really, there’s not much better, is there?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Hysteric Cleric, <a href="http://sunflowerchalice.com/"> Rev. Sunflower</a>, Rev. <a href="http://www.chuckfreeman.org/">Soulful</a> and SpongeBobbi, and I, all flew from our different cities across the country to a missional church conference. <a href="http://missionalprogressives.blogspot.com/">Poppa Bear</a> couldn’t join us, but he was following our trek, commenting on various things we posted.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The conference was great. Rev Sunflower and I tweeted and facebooked like mad, all the great “YEAH!” quotes we were hearing. (Apologies to our friends. You may have your facebook page back now. Please don’t unfriend us.)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But for me, equally important were the times when we broke bread afterwards, discussing what we heard at our different workshops, compared notes, tested theories, discussed how they’d look in our context. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One message that is stressed amongst those seeking to do missional work is the need to have a supportive network. Because there’s no paradigm. The missional movement is a new movement, and there are but a few working examples. We’re learning, experimenting, sometimes failing, and sometimes succeeding, all as we go. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of those great things I heard about was the need for leaders, when they learn of a member’s “burning bush,” to pour gasoline on it. Pour gasoline on the source of their passion. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we wrestled with different ideas, the flame of my vision expanded. Thank you friends, for the gasoline.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-62382073223738968722011-10-12T13:55:00.000-05:002011-10-12T13:55:31.343-05:00A little revision to the old joke<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0c05; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">During a worship service a man began to be moved by the Spirit.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0c05; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><strike>Out loud he said “Amen!”</strike> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">He tweeted to his friends "This service is rocking! #FirstUU = awesome!”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0c05; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">People around him were a little disturbed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0c05; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><strike>Then louder he said, “Hallelujah!” </strike> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">On Facebook, he tapped out, “Hallelujah! Great message today!”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0c05; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0c05; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">A few more people were becoming disturbed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><strike style="color: #0e0c05;">During the prayer, he shouted “Praise Jesus!”</strike><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0e0c05;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">During the meditation, he texted his mother. "Rev D talked about anger. I'm sorry re: this a.m. Please forgive me. I <3 U."</span><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0e0c05;">An usher moved quickly down the aisle. He bent over and whispered to the man, “Sir! <strike>Control yourself!</strike> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Put that away! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0e0c05;">We are having church here!”</span><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0e0c05;">The man exclaimed, “I can’t help it. I got religion!!!”</span><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0e0c05;">To which the usher responded, “Well you didn’t get it here!”</span></span>Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-84014273346489228632011-09-23T16:32:00.000-05:002011-09-23T16:32:04.781-05:00Happy Birthday, David. Were you glad you were born?More memories. We just passed the 40th anniversary of when David Vetter was born.<br />
<br />
Known in the press as David the Bubble Boy.<br />
<br />
He and I lived in the same area. I didn't know him, but several of my friends did. For a while, he "took" classes at our school. And some of the kids "played" at his house.<br />
<br />
A lot of quotation marks there. I guess it means he "lived" to be 12 years old.<br />
<br />
In that "your friends are my friends" way of understanding community that kids have, all of us felt connected to David. We followed the stories, we were protective of David (even if some felt he was kind of a pill) and his sister. We didn't understand the big picture, we just knew that he was trapped. We thought it was a pretty bum deal.<br />
<br />
I won't get into the whole story. You can read it <a href="http://www.houstonpress.com/1997-04-10/news/bursting-the-bubble/">here</a>. I will sum it up by saying it tells what happens when you put science first, and ethics second. It's a damn heartbreaking story.<br />
<br />
I remember when he died. I was a freshman in High School, at home by myself. This being a local story, they broke in on the tv and gave the news. I remember they said he died of a heart attack, I don't know why -- I guess because they didn't actually know the cause of death yet. I turned off the tv. I turned on the radio. Total Eclipse of the Heart was playing. Crying, I danced, giant leaps around the living room. I was 14, but I knew that David had never been able to have even that little freedom. I remember thinking I was dancing for David.<br />
<br />
His doctors are <a href="http://www.texaschildrensblog.org/2011/09/40-years-since-the-birth-of-the-bubble-boy/">celebrating</a>. They say his life and death meant life for many others. They say profound scientific knowledge came from the science experiment that was his life.<br />
<br />
David, was it worth it?Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-8552631533733003842011-09-22T08:13:00.000-05:002011-09-22T08:13:41.816-05:00I am Troy Davis<a href="http://thoughtsonblank.wordpress.com/">Andy</a> asks, "Do you remember the day you were able to really comprehend <a href="http://thoughtsonblank.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/comprehending-the-death-penalty/">what the death penalty meant</a>?"<br />
<br />
I don't remember that, but I do remember when I realized that an innocent person could be put to death. I remember the dawning horror of realizing that the government, my government, the police and all the "good guys" could, not accidentally, but deliberately and with malice, make it happen, even when they knew the person was innocent.<br />
<br />
I was in high school, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Brandley">Clarence Brandley</a>, who lived in my town, was on death row.<br />
<br />
My brother was a young lawyer following the case. He told us about all the details that were coming to light -- the racism, the destroying evidence, how those in power conspired to bring this about.<br />
<br />
I think it was the first time for me to really understand systemic evil.<br />
<br />
Do you think the "collateral loss" of some innocent people being put to death is worth it? I mean, we know it happens.<br />
<br />
Some think that's an acceptable loss.<br />
<br />
I don't. I can't.<br />
<br />
<br />
Clarence Brandley, no thanks to the system, yes thanks to many civil rights activists, was eventually exonerated and set free.<br />
<br />
Troy Davis was not.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>For further information, see <a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/">The Innocence Project </a></i>Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-4496949521138259492011-09-06T11:35:00.001-05:002011-09-06T11:36:53.726-05:00My Pond is GoneI haven't been to <a href="http://uuminister.blogspot.com/2010/04/soul-walk.html">my pond </a>since May, partially because of CPE, but mainly because it's been so beastly hot. Hottest August on record, they say.<br />
<br />
We got a cool front. It will be gone by this afternoon, so I pulled on my shoes and as soon as the children were out the door, I slipped out. Ah. Sweet coolness.<br />
<br />
I got there, walked down the hill ...<br />
<br />
My pond is gone.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5dCw79FE9G5cCcUgOYkA82tkA_-MDMK0JVKCZUMbd4jPf7I3KqgYarLuVTyZwk27jpANdmD-8QTiud9fR1Lhe2bBxZAeYJAI9ihyphenhyphen5-DNhwjeYmV7nIUJopt8e7qN36iE_h99/s1600/IMG_0061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5dCw79FE9G5cCcUgOYkA82tkA_-MDMK0JVKCZUMbd4jPf7I3KqgYarLuVTyZwk27jpANdmD-8QTiud9fR1Lhe2bBxZAeYJAI9ihyphenhyphen5-DNhwjeYmV7nIUJopt8e7qN36iE_h99/s320/IMG_0061.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I know they say this is one of the worst droughts we've had in decades, but it still hit me like the cliched ton of bricks. Where I used to watch minnows swim and see the occasional splash of a larger fish, is a field. Only a puddle remains.<br />
<br />
I walked around the far edge, toward where the water was deeper.<br />
<br />
<i>Splat! </i>A bird pooped on my head.<br />
<br />
"In some cultures, this is considered good luck," I muttered grimly, wiping it off.<br />
<br />
I walked farther. A bit of the pond remains and it was filled, <i>filled</i> with cranes and ... pelicans? Not pelicans, but some type of pink bird. Which means it has come from some place else.<br />
<br />
My phone rang. It was the husband. His best friend and his family just had to evacuate their house from the wildfires to the north of us. More wildfires are burning through the state park where I went to so many family reunions. The small town where my mother grew up during WWII.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7shx89TwpRqAxcpIshFIGrPpMalsb95FeXk27rDobF3hFJQu_p0jt2rHvLDucXcfD4gcF2EAgZG4TnShXN6OdpopQx5GmgyQNzpaLzp2CRneINREjOFWXSdTh5owAO3EI10R7/s1600/IMG_0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7shx89TwpRqAxcpIshFIGrPpMalsb95FeXk27rDobF3hFJQu_p0jt2rHvLDucXcfD4gcF2EAgZG4TnShXN6OdpopQx5GmgyQNzpaLzp2CRneINREjOFWXSdTh5owAO3EI10R7/s320/IMG_0068.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>One of the top search strings that leads people to this blog is "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." For a panentheistic, process-theology, Jesus-inspired UU, that works just fine. We are interwoven in all of that, and yet there is also a power far beyond our control.<br />
<br />
I continue walking ... it's possible to do that, with a broken heart.<br />
<br />
I walk down to my favorite little part, where the turtles used to poke up their heads, then furiously splash away if I blinked. My turtles ... Now, it is just dry, cracked earth.<br />
<br />
I turn the corner and a giant bunny, as big as my fat old cat at home, bounces across the path and into the woods. I've never seen a rabbit here, and though I know it speaks to the dry conditions, still, I am thrilled by the gift.<br />
<br />
I go home. I take a shower with clean water. I go to my refrigerator and cold, filtered water fills my glass.<br />
<br />
I drink it, reverently.Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-72766422500508130342011-09-02T10:13:00.003-05:002011-09-02T10:18:18.324-05:00Religion Should Be DeliciousFirst, I read the short version of <a href="http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/daily-devotional/spiritual-but-not-religious.html">Lillian Daniel's essay</a> about "Spiritual But Not Religious? Please Stop Boring Me," that is making the rounds.<br />
<br />
Part of me, I must confess, had that triumphant, "Yeah, what SHE said!" feeling. And then, rather quickly, I felt ... quite uncomfortable. Was sneering at someone else's sneering the way to go?<br />
<br />
And it kept sitting with me.<br />
<br />
Then, I read the <a href="http://christiancentury.org/article/2011-08/you-can-t-make#.Tl_1JSxzIk0.facebook">longer version.</a> And felt heart-achingly sad.<br />
<br />
A man sits next to her. He tells her his story. Of going to a church where he's not supposed to ask questions. Then going to a church that defines God in such a rigid way, he can't make it fit with his reasoning about the divine.<br />
<br />
Then, he finds a church that is like a big warm hug. He fits. But when he goes through the pain of divorce, backs turn. It is his wife's church, he discovers.<br />
<br />
Disillusioned, hurt, he begins sleeping in, reading the NY Times, taking long walks. He finds God in the trees and the cicadas. He describes himself as deeply spiritual, but not religious.<br />
<br />
Me, I would call that healing. Daniels does not.<br />
<br />
After having his intellect, his sense of God's love, and trust in human relationships all abused, we should say, Sorry, Bucko, you should have gone to another church? Tried harder? <br />
<br />
<i>Are you kidding?</i><br />
<br />
Yes, I know there are plenty of folks out there, shallowly tralalaing about being spiritual but not religious. <span class="mainbody4">They fit with "<a href="http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/daily-devotional/spiritual-but-not-religious.html">self-centered American culture</a>, right smack in the bland majority of people who find ancient religions dull but find themselves uniquely fascinating."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="mainbody4">Don't you understand that these are the people who most need us?</span><br />
<br />
<span class="mainbody4"> </span><br />
<span class="mainbody4">I can't judge them because I recognize my own demon in it. The demon that tells me that if I buy these storage bins or watch this documentary or read this book, my life will be better. I struggle with this demon, over and over, but I sure do like my toys... </span><br />
<br />
<span class="mainbody4">We are needed. But here's the deal: we haven't shown that our way -- the religious life -- is better. In fact, as in the case of the man on the airplane, we've often shown the opposite.</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4">I don't spank my kids, for many reasons. But I'm also pragmatic. I've watched the families where the parents do spank their kids, and if their children were better behaved, heck, I would have considered it. But they weren't.</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><i>By your fruits you will know them.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span class="mainbody4">I have a minister friend who is a runner. He talks about the difference it makes in his life. And his life backs him up -- he is physically healthy, and it obviously helps him, spiritually and mentally. Because of this, I'm trying out running as a spiritual practice.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="mainbody4">In <i>A Treatise on Atonement</i>, Hosea Ballou writes about loving God:</span><br />
<blockquote>I am asked if I love an orange; I answer I never tasted of one; but then I am told I must love the orange for what it is! Now I ask, is it possible for me either to like or dislike the orange, in reality, until I taste it? Well, I taste of it and I like it. Do you like it? says my friend. Yes I reply, its flavor is exquisitely agreeable. But that will not do, says my friend; you must not like it because its taste is agreeable, but you must like it because it is an orange. If there be any propriety in what my friend says, it is out of my sight.<span class="mainbody4"> </span></blockquote><span class="mainbody4"><i> </i></span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><i> </i>We have not made our case. First, we have to let people know: <i>If you come to this church, your life and the world you affect, will be better.</i></span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4">And if we can't say that ... then close up shop. Take a walk in the woods.</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<b><span class="mainbody4">Going to church should transform you. Going to church should make your life better, and because of your transformation, should make the world you impact better.</span></b><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4">I understand the complaints about a consumer-driven culture that affects our attitude about church. But goshdarnitall, we have to give people a <i>reason</i> to go to church. </span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4">I have a friend, a local missional pastor here in my town. His little church is Christian, so they have communion. Every so often, they do it with cake. Why? Because they believe religion should be delicious.</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><i>Religion should be delicious. </i>No, not like "<a href="http://christiancentury.org/article/2011-08/you-can-t-make#.Tl_1JSxzIk0.facebook">deep-fried appetizers</a>," but deeply, soul-satisfyingly delicious. Which means struggling with hard questions, fighting and panting, but knowing the next day, for our struggles, we will be renamed Israel. Delicious, like the pride a parent feels for their child who ventures out, making their first theological pronouncement. Delicious, like sunsets and beaches and walks through the woods. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="mainbody4">Is your church delicious? Does it provide opportunities for spiritual transformation? Does it encourage you to transform the world? If it does all that, you should be out there, letting everyone know. You should light the way so that others, caught in the grip of the demon culture that says we can buy meaning, purchase fulfillment, may find their salvation. And if your church is not delicious, you should damn well either make it delicious or find another one. Because we are needed. Desperately needed.</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4">You say you're spiritual but not religious? </span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4">Come sit by me. I want to hear your story.</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mainbody4"> </span>Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587459.post-63110988601544857572011-08-15T09:59:00.001-05:002011-08-15T09:59:03.353-05:00Take Me to the Water"Take me to the water ... to be baptized."<br />
<br />
I could not go to the waters I normally travel to each summer. For one thing, I was working full time plus, as a hospital chaplain. For another, it has been sold. Some other family goes there now.<br />
<br />
I reached the end of my CPE summer and felt the call to come to the waters. <i>There will always be water to refresh you.</i> And I was hot, hot to the very core of my being. I'd drive to the park and ride, and it was already hot. Board the bus, walk a couple of blocks to the rail. Hot, steamy, even in an air-conditioned train car. A block to the hospital. Walking around, one end of the hospital to the other, clothed in a suit, because it's a formal type of place. Sweating through my blouses. Time to go, out to the even hotter day now, the rail, the bus, the car that has baked all day in the sun. Home, but the a/c couldn't keep up with this insane summer. Ice water on the inside, cold showers on my skin, it didn't matter. I couldn't get cool.<br />
<br />
I knew where to go.<br />
<br />
About 2 1/2 hours from my house, there is a giant pool, fed by natural cold springs. As a child, we would take trips and I would swim there. When my mother was a child, so did she. So did her parents, and her grandparents. Perhaps even those before them. I feel that the very molecules of my body, the genetic material I have inherited, somehow carried those experiences and cried out for me to come to the water. To the cold, cold waters, to be refreshed and replenished.<br />
<br />
We didn't tell the children where we were going. Friday, as I left for my last day at the hospital, I left them a scavenger hunt of things to find ... sunblock, swim suits, goggles ... They were madly curious. The coast? The place where I often preach, or their grandmother's home? Nope, we told them. And that was all.<br />
<br />
We played tantalizing music on the way, as they cudgeled their brains. <i>Take Me to the Water, Take Me to the River, Old Black Water ...</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
And then we were there. We slipped on the algae-covered bottom, took deep intakes of breath as the cold hit us, quickly going the very center of our being. So hot all summer long, now we looked up at the small clouds that made it overcast and asked them to part so the sun could come through.<br />
<br />
We swam together, somersaulting under the water, showing off strokes, floating and looking up at the clouds. I left them in the shallow for a bit, their father smiling knowingly at me as I took off for the deeper waters. I swam, I dove underneath, I was refreshed, revived, replenished, recovered. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and more, as they swam here, in this same place, at a different time. They came together in me and we were held in the healing waters. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/If6i59NUfkk" width="425"></iframe></div>Lizard Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04506056116023122414noreply@blogger.com0