Jesus March 5, 2009
Posted by relsdork in God, bible, christian, church, religion, scripture.Tags: bible, christian, christianity, church, congregationalist, jesus, liberal, religion, ucc, united church of christ
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I’m going to post some questions from “A Course on Chistianity,” which was offered by a former minister at my church, and my answers to them. Here’s the first one, which is probably fitting:
What do the inconsistencies between the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life suggest about the way we should interpret not only the text, but the meaning of Jesus’ life?
The inconsistencies, for me, show that there were different understandings of what Jesus’ life and ministry meant. People found different aspects of his legacy important and formed different interpretations of his person because of it. This parallels our view of the scriptures… people find different stories meaningful. People translate the text differently. Because of this, none of us should be so arrogant as to claim that our understandings can be more or less meaningful or authoritative than someone else’s.
mid high January 21, 2009
Posted by relsdork in God, bible, christian, church, environment, nature, religion.Tags: camp, christian camp, disciples of christ, doc, middle school, ucc, united church of christ, youth activities, youth group
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After we all registered, had lunch, a staff meeting, and were situated in our cabins, we spent time with our family groups (which were assigned to us). We made shakers for our jam sessions and thought of a group name and a way to present ourselves. Our group color was pink. Eric came up with the name The Slightly Pink Beatles and we presented ourselves by singing “All You Need Is Love.” He we are:
After more activities, we spent the evening having a dance. I anticipated a bunch of awkward youth sitting around, but those kids danced their butts off (and some of us youth leaders joined in as well)! I quickly learned that these camps are a complete safe place for kids. They don’t feel judged or afraid to be themselves.
After circle and prayer around the campfire, we retired for the evening at 10.30 (lights out at 11.15).
Day 2 began early (7am). After our staff meeting, prayer, breakfast, and worship, the kids went into workshops, which ranged from music appreciation to tutu-decorating to hikes. There were a bunch of options to choose from. I and some other leaders went to pick up supplies from the closest market during this time.
After this, we said grace and ate lunch and went back into more workshops…. And then our Talent No Talent Show! One of our kids played drums. He was a kick. 
The kids came up with some awesome acts (3 kids from my family group participated) and the tutu-decorators closed off the show with a dance performance.
After dinner, we presented scripture passages. My group was assigned the story about the Walls of Jericho. My kids did an awesome job. I played God (borrowing a pair of sunglasses from Eric) and Eric played Joshua (which he wore a cape for).
After some family group challenges, I was pleased and saddened to see Michael (one of my family group boys) tear up because it was our last night together. We had one contest that involved styling one kid’s hair with shaving cream and then seeing how many cheetos we could get to stick. I thought it would be hard to get kids to volunteer for this, but just about each kid in our group wanted to be the one to have their head lathered up! In the end, we decided on Kate, who was an awesome sport.
We closed off the evening with ice cream and a slide show, before we went out to the meadow, each holding a candle, to pray together in closing circle. Everyone was invited to offer something they were thankful for or a concern. The kids had some great prayers and I was happy to see Xan (a kid from my church) offer an awesome prayer about how thankful he was to have made so many new friends at this Mid Winter. A few of my kids from family group offered prayers (Sarah offered about 7!).
Our last day fun. As the kids cleaned up and said their goodbyes, it was fun to see how attached they were to everyone. I heard so many exclamations about what good friends they all were and if the kids didn’t walk out with paper or books of names, numbers, and emails, they had them signed all over their body.
We held one last worship session this morning, sharing communion with our family groups and sharing affirmations. Our group was great and provided amazing words for their peers. The goodbyes were hard, but I am glad that my youth group is so excited. I think they are all jazzed about CAZ (the week-long summer camp).
On the trek back to San Mateo, I suggested a Bay Area event. We had plenty of churches from the area with us at Mid Winter (Danville, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, and San Jose), so I suggested we take a trip out to Alcatraz one day with everyone, have a sleepover at CCSM, and then worship together the next morning. The kids were jazzed about the idea, so Christiana and I are going to get contact info for the other youth leaders and see if we can make it happen.
Super energizing weekend! I went all in and did all the dance activities with the kids and participated in everything. Our kids had an awesome time. Yay!
zoo December 27, 2008
Posted by relsdork in christian, church, nature.Tags: affinity groups, ccsm, christian, san francisco, san francisco zoo, ucc
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It was a lot of fun. Steve, one of our ministers, thought the zoo idea was kind of hokey, I think. Hello, the zoo was awesome, though. Apparently some retarded people gave the SF zoo bad reviews online. The SF zoo isn’t the most amazing zoo ever, but it’s still pretty awesome.
And Cody, who is a Jew:
Tigers are awesome because they are fierce. I don’t mean fierce like Sasha Fierce, because let’s be real– that’s not fierce at all. This tiger hella wanted to eat us. That is fucking fierce. There is nothing fierce about singing pop music in spandex.
This is a speckled bear. Speckled bears are some of the cutest darn animals EVER. I am going to get one as a pet. Flo says as long as I keep it in my room, it’s go. Haha.
This is a polar bear. It was next to other polar bears that are that shade of white one expects when thinking “polar bear.” Jenn told Steve that polar bears get progressively darker as they age, which he actually bought. Silly Steven.
The SF zoo also houses 2 grizzly bears. For those of you foreigners (and by foreigners I mean people out-of-state who might not know about California and Californians who don’t know about California), California’s state flag has a grizzly on it. Unfortunately, the population of grizzly bears in California has been completely wiped out. The SF zoo recently obtained these beautiful animals. They are the only 2 living in our state.
This is a gorilla. He made of of the pimpest poses I have ever seen. They looked all savage sitting there, staring at us as. “Whatever, I could take a gorilla,” I said, jokingly. To my surprise, a couple of my friends agreed. Do I really seem that vicious? No.
The giraffes are also cool. It’s funny to see them bend down to drink water. It seems like such a project.
My friends take some pretty cool pictures. Florence and Cody look like they are too cool for school. It’s like they planned it or something (they didn’t).
Florence and I also took this ridiculous picture. “Christmas cards!” she exclaimed afterward. I hope she’s not serious.
We also got to see the otters mating. I don’t have a picture of that.
sermon on giving December 6, 2008
Posted by relsdork in God, christian, church, religion.Tags: ccsm, christian, church, congregationalist, hurricane katrina, lower ninth ward, new orleans, ucc
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The Sunday after I returned from New Orleans, I spoke as part of my minister’s sermon. Should you care to listen to the sermon, you can find it here
united church of christ October 25, 2008
Posted by relsdork in God, christian, church, gay rights, religion, struggle.Tags: christian, church, congregationalist, liberal, ucc, united church of christ
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Beginning as the conservative Christians known as Puritans, Congregationalists are today among the most liberal Christians in the country. This change throughout the denomination’s history is due largely to the progress this country has made in liberalizing, but is also specific to the denomination. Because of Congregationalists’ stresses on both education and missionary work (and therefore cultural integration), Congregationalists have become a very diverse, educated group that is on the forefront of social movements that belong to the social and political left. The United Church of Christ is a politically active, socially aware denomination that is a far step from its original position of quiet purity and moderation. Although the views of Congregationalists have changed, the group still largely sees itself as a leader and example for the rest of Christendom.
another rewording of the lord’s prayer August 29, 2008
Posted by relsdork in God, bible, christian, religion, scripture.Tags: ccsm, prayer, scripture, the lord's prayer, ucc
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Another rewording of the Lord’s Prayer:
Our mother, who art within us,
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come, your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need. You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For thou art the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us,
And the celebration among us. Now and forever more. Amen.
mini sermon, final draft: “things i know to be true” August 27, 2008
Posted by relsdork in God, bible, christian, church, gay rights, religion, scripture, struggle.Tags: ccsm, church, congregationalist, God, pride, religion, ucc, united church of christ
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http://www.marriedtothesea.com
I know that I love God. While I don’t think I am capable of understanding the mystery of God, I know that God is. In Exodus 3:14, God said to Moses, “I Am that I Am.” There are so many ways of understanding this… but I love it. I love it. God is. God is beyond our descriptions and the limits of language, but I know that there is something beautiful about praising God, something powerful about scripture, something uniting me with the ground that I walk on, the trees which breathe my air, and the people in this world.
Religion, for me, is a continuing exploration. A PASSIONATE exploration. A submerging oneself in the Divine—feeling the Divine, breathing it in, but not necessarily grasping it. God is the joy and pain and connection that we CANNOT communicate, yet burn to be able to. This church lives in that connection. That’s why I love this church; I know that this church is a beacon of hope in the world in its loving appreciation of the mystery of God and its determination to live as fully as it can in connection with God and community.
I study religion in school and, as most of you know, there is a lot of ugliness to study in religion. Our tradition has been brought to us through a history of violence. We look back, shamefully, on a history of crusades and colonization, a history of wars and inequality. The history of religious activity holds prejudice, damaging doctrine, manipulation, lies, hunger for power, forcefulness… Even today, many bodies of religion continue to further violence, inequality, and injustice…
And there are churches like ours.
We are a rare breed and I am grateful every day that I have this church and community, where I don’t need to sign my name on some kind of contract or make of vows of conformity.
When I was talking to Art Domingue about being baptized here, he said, “we’ll ask you to say these 3 things, but if you’re not comfortable with them, we can work on that.” …How many churches would make that offer? For this church, it’s more important to participate and take joy in community than to have some kind of homogenous faith. There are so many churches out there that say they are welcoming, yet when one digs a little deeper, one finds that they are welcoming on the condition that you change certain things. When Penny says “whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here,” she MEANS IT. This church is supportive of people’s differences; it doesn’t smother them.
A few weekends ago, a group of members went to the Pride Parade. I’d never been to Pride before… but I won’t miss it again. There was such an energy, especially with the recent turn toward marriage equality. It was hopeful. Walking in the parade, I thought, How is this joy, this love, this support and community not Christianity? What God of love would call that glowing happiness that was inside me and other people that day “sin”?
Our church has realized what God’s love truly means… when we say it’s unconditional, we mean it. We have found how powerful it is when we can extend our love as freely as God does. We went to Pride because we understand that love is something to be celebrated and welcomed.
One of the most beautiful moments I experienced was seeing a gay family member in the crowd, screaming at me and waving his arms. He was supporting me as I was supporting him… and that’s what this church is—a web of people supporting each other in affinity groups, social gatherings, prayer, parades, classes and all of the other ways that we join together. We find joy in our similarities and celebrate our diversity. I love this church.
I’d like to close with something I reflected on after Rev. Bill McKinney spoke at our congregation. During the education hour before church, Carol Henton asked how we could describe our church to people. This is what I came up with:
“My church is progressive. We are non-dogmatic and diverse, valuing our Christian heritage, seeking to be open-minded, accepting, and self-critical, as well as critical of society at large in terms of social justice issues. On Sundays, we worship with a choir and an organ, and the rest of the week, we meet with each other in varying forms of community and place a strong emphasis on advocacy for human integrity. My church is educated and values education. My church is vibrant, hopeful, and diverse. To best understand my church, you have to look at what we do. This is how we best understand ourselves—by the ways that we speak and act in the world.”
This, I know to be true.
The audio version of this mini-sermon can be found here.
more August 25, 2008
Posted by relsdork in God, bible, christian, church, religion, scripture.Tags: ccsm, communion, congregationalist, garden of eden, genesis, God, ucc, united church of christ, yvette flunder
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“There are two trees in the garden… and too much of religion is stuck at the wrong tree. Does it bring Life? Eat from that tree.”
–Rev. Yvette Flunder
audio file August 24, 2008
Posted by relsdork in God, bible, christian, church, gay rights, religion.Tags: ccsm, congregationalist, gay rights, pride parade, sermon, ucc, united church of christ
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This is the collection of mini-sermons given by 3 members of our 20/30s group at my church. Mine is the first sermon.
Now that it’s available and I can finally hear how I sounded on that day, I’m rather disappointed. My vocal dynamics are certainly lacking and I can hear the trembling in my voice. I also wish I’d spoken a tad slower– it might have sounded less like I was reading the newspaper that way.
Quite disappointing, actually. But perhaps if I were delivering a piece I was actually more happy with, I would be more confident in delivering it. Perhaps?
I have a sermon on compassion and a sermon on John 9 that I’d like to give… hopefully at some point, I will have the opportunity.
progress August 23, 2008
Posted by relsdork in christian, church, religion, struggle.Tags: city of refuge, minister, sermon, ucc, united church of christ, yvette flunder
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“We never cease to be anything.”
–Rev. Yvette Flunder
the body August 22, 2008
Posted by relsdork in bible, christian, church, nature, religion, struggle.Tags: body, ccsm, christianity, church, penny nixon, religion, sermons, ucc
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A while ago, Penny preached on the body. It hit me.
I know a lot of people who’ve had trouble feeling at home in their flesh because of religion’s tendency to portray the body as profane at best, dirty at worst.
Jesus lets a woman rub oil on his body. They eat in the home of a leper. There is no shame in the body in these Jesus stories.
The sacred and profane dichotomy has been adopted and utilized by institutions to do far more than keep a populace from having premarital sex. The dichotomy is applied to gender, race, the environment, national identities, etc.. If we define something as sacred by virtue of certain (I would argue, arbitrary) physical characteristics, we Other things. If sacred Life forms are those which have a heartbeat, trees are therefore often seen as devoid of spiritual value and available for use to the benefit of the “sacred.” We rape the Earth in this way. We eat poorly because we don’t see our bodies as sacred.
Penny’s sermon hit on this idea. Christianity has a history of denying the body. We make things about the spiritual and neglect the physical. We focus on work and forget sleep. We need to be able to love our physical selves. Penny joked that she was surprised most churches don’t require you to check your body at the door.
She reminds us how our bodies tell us when things are wrong… but we don’t always listen. Our bodies have higher cancer rates, asthma rates, obesity rates… all of these results of the way we treat the body of the Earth, the bodies of animals, our own bodies. Why don’t we listen? Why don’t we stop drinking milk that’s full of steroids, hormones, puss?
Instead, we continually try to alter the changes out of our bodies. We get plastic surgery; we build a dam. 55% of U.S. women color their hair (according to Proctor & Gamble). Cosmetic surgery is becoming surprisingly (or unsurprisingly?) common. I am one of the few women I know who is willing to go to work and/or school without doing my hair or makeup.
If we believe in a creator, does that not make Natural systems morally paramount? Shouldn’t we have respect for the way this Earth was “meant” to operate? Why do we feel the need to give ourselves new breasts? A new nose? What is wrong with the noses God saw fit to give us… the nose that is a creation of my lineage? Shouldn’t recycling be a primary concern? How is it that we can look past issues of genetically engineered food? How can we look past the way that animals are treated in the food industry?
We all have this idea in our minds of what it means to be beautiful. We all give into these media pressures. I may not color my hair, but I wear makeup. I may not get plastic surgery, but I’ll starve myself. I may not eat meat, but I’ve not made the organic switch. I may not have a hummer, but I drive.
And so Penny asked… am I willing to be married to my body, to Love it as it is? No. It wasn’t a step I could take. I want to be 95 pounds. And I want to be 95 pounds more than I want a lot of things. As much as I want to say that I can be happy with myself and focus on things that matter more than the size of my thighs, it is something that occupies my headspace constantly. I’ve made progress, but I still live in my eating disorder.
I want to drive. I want to cover the blemishes on my face. I want these things that matter far less.
I think to myself… what issues do I need to start living in? What issues do I need to force myself to live? If I really believe what I think I do about the environment, I need to transform the way I do things. If I really believe what I do about the dairy industry, soymilk switch isn’t enough… I need to stay away from the rest of it, too.
It’s just so easy not to. Convenience is hard to overcome. But all bodies matter.
puritans August 20, 2008
Posted by relsdork in christian, church, gay rights, religion, struggle.Tags: christian, congregationalist, pilgrims, puritans, religion, ucc, united church of christ
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Congregationalism, at its beginnings, reflected a conservative religious group for its time. Concerned with purity, moderation, and a strict faith that was at the core of every follower’s life, Congregationalism was at the core of the Pilgrim movement to America. However, the Church whose goal it once was to be a pure “light on a hill” for the rest of the Christian world has turned into one of the most diverse denominations in the country. Because the Puritan movement flourished in America, United States history has strongly influenced the growth of Congregationalism. This country began as many conservative Christians’ attempt to purify themselves and lead the way for a Christian world. Congregationalists arrived in the U.S. as the New World’s “Puritans.” Beginning as an institution that was seemingly intolerant of differences arising within its population, it might have seemed at one time that the community would outdate itself and fall into textbooks as a failed experiment of early American history. However, because of missionary efforts, the stress on education and its opportunities within Congregationalism, and involvement in movements that advanced the opportunities of minorities, Congregationalists have evolved to reflect a diversely thinking body of people. As America has gone through considerable social and economic change, learning to accommodate the needs of a growing population that is increasingly diverse, Congregationalists have adapted themselves to the social atmosphere of this country. Congregationalists (today known widely as United Church of Christ) pride themselves at being at the forefront of the progressive Christian movement, which seeks to be an inclusive, socially active element in today’s society. UCC members, although vastly different from their Puritan forefathers, are perhaps still seeking to be the “light upon a hill,” –still seeking to be the bringers of change.
PIA August 19, 2008
Posted by relsdork in christian, church, religion.Tags: ccsm, christian, church, congregationalism, ihn, interfaith, interfaith housing network, peninsula interfaith action, pia, ucc, united church of christ
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Yesterday morning, I met with a woman from PIA (Peninsula Interfaith Action) to talk about my church, social justice, and the elements of my religious and community experience that are important to me. We talked about school, seminary, my church, and the efforts my community intends to engage in soon.
A woman from my church gave her my number because I always volunteer for IHN (Interfaith Housing Network)… in fact, my church is hosting the shelter this week and I’ll be working it both Friday and Saturday nights.
Apparently, PIA is planning a retreat in September or October that would allow members of the participating congregations to come together and discuss what aspects of policy and justice we want to be involved in and then how we can incorporate the needs and desires of our fellow congregants in the process… it’ll probably involve many coffee meetings with people to understand what they want to see in their church and community, but of course I love doing church and justice related things, so I am totally open to having such coffee dates with people
Yvette Flunder August 17, 2008
Posted by relsdork in God, christian, church, religion.Tags: ccsm, christianity, city of refuge, God, religion, ucc, united church of christ, yvette flunder
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“God isn’t stuck having to bless one communion and not the other.”
–Rev. Yvette Flunder
