Yes, I'm a minister. No, I don't have a church.

This post was originally published on ecclesio.com in November 2015. No one political party has ever, in the history of politics in the U.S., attained a clean record when it comes to race and racism. In the United States, race-baiting during elections is not restricted to one political party, despite one party increasingly identified with white voters and the other identified as more friendly to most people of color groups (see for yourself: http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/07/a-deep-dive-into-party-affiliation/ ). Living into white supremacy is something every presidential candidate does, whether it is for political expediency or an actual belief held by that candidate. Just listen to what candidates say about the U.S. relationship with China, and you’ll hear the shades of yellow peril slipping out. Neither major party is known to be particularly responsive to the concerns of people of color, although the Congress did Native Americans and immigrants a solid with the 201...

There was a little blackface incident at Presbyterian-related Whitworth University. Click here for the story. I like that university and I really respect the administration. See P.P.S. below. What I find absolutely puzzling is that this kind of incident isn’t isolated. I have seen countless reports during the 21st century of people (mainly on college campuses) dressing up like "Mexicans" or dressing in blackface or donning "Indian headdresses" or any other number of offensive things. I know I’m getting old when I think, “these idiots are going to be in charge of the world when I’m elderly and can no longer care for myself. Good luck to us.” Here’s the thing. These people probably aren’t idiots about everything. As I have said before, common sense isn’t common. It is taught. A perfectly savvy and mature young person might make a racist decision because someone, namely parents-pastors-teachers-older siblings-grandparents-friends-pop culture, never bothered t...

This is the sixth blog post for the  Companions on the Inner Way  summer retreat. The featured speaker is  Enuma Okoro . You can find the other blog posts here: Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me.  Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From?  Who Have We Become? UnBelonging Exile and Belonging At the second-to-the-last Lectio Divina group, the passage was I Peter 2:10 . My word was “mercy.”  Well. I’m so good with mercy as a policy (people who have served time for the felony for which they were convicted should get the right to vote in all 50 states!). But when it comes to myself or others with whom I’m in relationship? Not so much. Sometimes I’m so wrapped up in all the stuff that I miss the whimsy and delight and mercy around me. Here’s a reminder of the mercy I have received and the mercy I might consider extending to everyone, especially the people I know.  Usually, and maybe this is because I’m a pas...

Questions for the reader are in  a different font . This is the fifth blog post for the  Companions on the Inner Way  summer retreat. The featured speaker is  Enuma Okoro . You can find the other blog posts here: Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me.  Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From?  Who Have We Become? UnBelonging Beloved After our break yesterday, we had our Lectio group. The Scripture passage was John 15:18-21 . I am not particularly fond of the Gospel of John. And this is a particularly uncomfortable passage. The phrase that stood out to me was “on account of my name.” What the heck is that about? I wondered. I went to the art room (at least I’m persistent, eh?) and started with oil pastels. I wanted to draw the vortex that can be the national church. I’m not saying this because I don’t love my work, or where I work, or my colleagues. It is a natural hazard of being national staff that it can become a vorte...

Questions for the reader are in a different font . This is the fourth blog post for the Companions on the Inner Way summer retreat. The featured speaker is Enuma Okoro . You can find the other blog posts here: Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me.  Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From?  Who Have We Become? Exile and Belonging Beloved Yesterday’s afternoon worship involved no internet access, so I didn’t tweet the sermon, delivered by Roché Vermaak. He preached as Joseph. He had several great lines, like “my brothers hated me for my Technicolor dream coat” and “we had a slightly dysfunctional family.” He also said that he (as Joseph) had made Egypt into his home, but after the reconciliation with his brothers, home was with his family in Egypt. Letting go of past resentments helped make a new home. Letting go is not the same as forgetting. We have to deal with the past in order to live in the future. (As a side-note, I have to say that t...

Questions for the reader are in a different font , and resources are listed at the bottom This is the third blog post for the Companions on the Inner Way summer retreat.  You can find the first here: Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me.   And the second here: Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From?  The fourth blog is here: UnBelonging Here is the fifth: Exile and Belonging And the sixth:  Beloved Here is an afternoon Lake Tahoe photo for you. We left off yesterday during the afternoon break, the only time I can realistically write a blog post. After time to pray, relax, enjoy Lake Tahoe, or work (me), we reconvened with worship. The preacher was Jenna Meyers, on staff at Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church , which houses Companions. She preached about Elijah. As Jenna says, stories help us peek below the surface of what is ordinary. Elijah’s encounter with the angel who feeds him after he prepares himself for death is full ...