Monthly Archives: June 2007

Just thinking out loud….

In the June 12, 2007, issue of Christian Century magazine, I was particularly struck by the opening paragraphs of an essay titled “Unqualified Christians” — you may find it hard to get through the first three sentences, but see if you can keep reading:

You may find it strange that I, an African American, do not believe in interracial marriage. I do not believe in interracial dating or even in having friends of other races. I do not espouse trying to understand racial differences or promoting awareness of other races. I can say all of this unabashedly because I do not believe in race!

Race is a relatively recent construction conveniently created at precisely the moment when nations from the European continent were setting out to colonize the world. The construction is a precursor to an economic policy, not a result of scientific study. It came from the desire of some people to legitimate the taking of land from others. Because of perceived “racial” differences, people could be set on a hierarchical ladder of superior and inferior types; those declared “superior” then had an “obligation” to tend to the interests (natural resources and labor) of the “inferiors.” With this thinking, the “enlightened” peoples of Europe colonized the “primitive” peoples of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Such scriptural passages as Genesis 9 (the “curse of Ham/Canaan”) and Genesis 10 (the “table of nations”) gave theological significance to theories of subspecies variation and to a God-ordained system of enslaved peoples and a “master race.” Because the genesis of the word is spurious, I suggest that the concept of race is problematic. Even the most innocuous use of the concept perpetuates the notion that perceived differences in appearance relate to actual differences in intellect, criminal potential, and sexuality. Hence, to suggest that the theory of race is legitimate is a racist proposition, one that leads many to conclude that perceived differences in appearance are consequential for human valuation.

Towards the end of the short essay, the author, Rodney S. Sadler Jr., writes:

In the church we are too often isolated in segregated communities as “qualified Christians.” We are “black” Christians, “white” Christians, “Korean” Christians, and “Latino” Christians worshipping in separate sanctuaries….

Within Unitarian Universalism, it can be risky to state that race is an invalid construct. If you say that even the most innocuous use of the concept of race is a problem, there’s a good chance you’ll be accused of racism. For good reason — saying that “race” doesn’t exist makes you sound like the people who try to gut affirmative action and civil rights legislation by saying “race” doesn’t exist. Yet at the same time, I think maybe Sadler is right — even though to admit that Sadler is right might be to question the legitimacy of such beloved anti-racism strategies as breaking into racial identity groups.

“Race” may not exist, but we are still left with the problem that the effects of racism are quite real. So how do we address the real effects of an unreal construct? Sadler’s answer, from his Christian perspective, is to affirm the primacy of the Christian’s identity as a Christian: “Christ’s death has radically altered the nature of our identities so that who we are from the world’s point of view is no irrelevant as a determinant of power.” I don’t share Sadler’s theology, so that won’t work for me.

But Sadler also points out how his theology plays out in real life:– he claims that his theology forces us to question “persistent inequalities in our nation that are often seen but rarely examined.” Here’s how I’d put it in my theological language:– my religious perspective, which claims that all persons are equally worthy of love, requires of me that I understand and address persistent inequalities between persons.

In other words, it is possible to ask hard questions like — Why do certain persons get paid less just because they have darker skin? — without falling into the trap of using the suspect concept of “race” to frame the question. Sadler’s essay raises some interesting possibilities for new ways to address the persistent inequalities that exist among us.

Spring watch

Spring must be over by now. It’s halfway through June, it’s time for summer. But the cool weather we’ve had for the past few has caused spring to linger.

The last of the spring concerts in the Classical Music Series was last night, and it was cool enough inside the church that the marimba player asked me to turn on the heat because his hands and his instrument were a little too cold.

When we went to bed last night, we left the skylight wide open. About halfway through the night I realized I was feeling cold and came awake enough to pull the comforter over us.

The thickets of rosa rugosa on Pope’s Island love the cool, damp weather. You can smell their scent from a hundred feet away on a cool evening. As fast as the old blossoms fade away, new blooms take their place.

The high temperature yesterday was only 63 degrees; today was only a little warmer, up to 71 degrees; and a brisk breeze out of the northeast on both days made it seem even cooler. I don’t care what the calendar says, it’s still spring in New Bedford.

Hooray for Massachusetts

I received this email message from Mass Equality this afternoon:

We won!

Thanks to you, the Massachusetts Legislature has beaten back the discriminatory, anti-gay, anti-marriage Constitutional amendment.

The final 151 to 44 vote happened because of the leadership of Governor Deval Patrick, Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray, Senate President Terry Murray and House Speaker Sal DiMasi, who worked tirelessly to defeat this amendment.

Thanks to them, our strong group of legislative allies and the courageous new allies who realized that no one’s civil rights should be placed on a public ballot, all Massachusetts families are stronger and safer today….

There’s a lot to celebrate. But FIRST, we must say thank you.

— Call or email your legislators TODAY who voted NO today. See how they voted here.
— Call or email the three leaders who made this possible: Governor Patrick, Senate President Murray, and House Speaker DiMasi.
— Finally, send a short letter to your local newspaper thanking these leaders and your legislator for their support and their vote.

…We will always, all of us, remember this battle for equality. We know in our hearts that not only are we and our families safer and more secure today, but all the loving couples and families that follow us. It’s a proud day in Massachusetts, indeed.

Good news, indeed! I had hoped to go to the State House today and show legislators my support for marriage equality, but I wound up making a pastoral call instead. But who cares whether I was there or not — the discriminatory anti-gay marriage amendment was defeated. Hooray!

My peace fix

The program book for General Assembly, the annual denominational meeting for Unitarian Universalists, came in the mail a couple of days ago. I spent some time looking through it while I was eating breakfast this morning. The last third of the program book consists of ads for various Unitarian Universalist (UU) special interest groups to draw our interest to their programming slots or to their booth in the exhibit hall. I found ads for lots of social justice groups including the UU Service Committee’s Fair Trade coffee program, the UU Urban Ministry program in Boston, Mass., the UU Ministry for the Earth group, UUs for a Just Economic Community, UUs for Justice in the Middle East, UU Women, Project Harvest Hope, Democracy Talking, UUs for Drug Policy Reform, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice….

No ad from any group that opposes the war in Iraq.

So then I looked for workshops on the topic of peace. The UU Peace Fellowship is offering one workshop, “Supporting Those Called by Conscience To Resist War.” Jim Scott is doing a worship service called “A Prayer for Peace,” sponsored by Rowe Conference Center, which will “make the case for an ‘Eighth Principle’ of our dedication to the non-violent resolution of conflict. But those were the only presentations on peace that I could find, both of which are really only tangentially related to the Iraq War.

I’m a long-time peacenik, and I’ve long known that I have to look outside Unitarian Universalist circles for support of my pacifism and non-violence. But it’s kind of sad that, in the fifth year of the Iraq War, my denomination’s annual meeting doesn’t have at least one major presentation specifically about that war. For me, the Iraq War is the major spiritual and moral issue of our time:– as a working minister, I know that when people come to me for pastoral care and counseling, the Iraq War comes up constantly; the war looms large in my own personal spiritual life; the war is having a huge and adverse impact on the moral state of the United States. Yet we UUs are essentially ignoring it at General Assembly.

So I think I’ll go call Elizabeth, my Quaker friend. Elizabeth is able to talk about how the Iraq War is grinding us down spiritually, morally, ethically, and emotionally. Nor is she afraid to speak out against the injustice and immorality of the Iraq War. I’ll call her, and get my peace fix before I go to General Assembly — because I’m surely not going to get much of a peace fix at General Assembly.

Collaboration?

I was invited to a community meeting at University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth this morning, to brainstorm ideas for community-university collaboration on sustainability initiatives. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to meet with a family about a memorial service. But I have to admit, what I heard in the first part of the meeting did not sound like there was much room for the university to collaborate with an individual collaboration. The university was looking for sites to place service-learning students, and they were looking for community partners to apply for grants. But it’s hard to imagine placing a service-learning student in a church, and if our church was going to apply for a grant I can’t quite imagine how we would benefit from having the university as a partner. And I also have to admit that I’m wary because academia in the United States does not have the reputation of being friendly or respectful towards organized religion.

But after all, they did invite me and maybe I’m missing some potential for good collaboration. Maybe you can help me out — I’m wondering if any of my readers knows of a successful collaboration between a local congregation and a university. What would such a collaboration look like?

Crazy

I’ll have the minister’s Big Three this week — child dedication this morning, memorial service on Wednesday, and a wedding on Saturday. And I’m supposed to go up to the State House on Thursday to participate in a rally in support of equal marriage rights. And I leave for Portland, Oregon, a week from Wednesday to go to the annual denominational meeting. This is what can happen when you’re a minister — everything happens all at once, and you don’t have enough time. Crazy.

I don’t know how the ministers who have children manage. They must be superhuman.

Spring watch

Carol and I walked out to the end of State Pier in New Bedford Harbor yesterday, and stood there watching some fishing boats leaving port. We were chatting about something when we were surprised by a splash in the water behind us.

“What was that?”

A hundred feet out in the harbor, we could see ripples and small splashes, and then something big rolled up out of the water and splashed.

“Looks like some big predator fish chasing a school of small bait fish,” I said. I thought maybe they were bluefish, but I’m not a saltwater angler, so I wouldn’t know for sure. Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) winter in Florida, migrate north, and hit the Massachusetts coast sometime in June, but I think of them as arriving later than June 8.

Today when I went out for a walk, I ran into Michael, the librarian at the Whaling Museum Research Library. He was headed across the bridge to Fairhaven, as I was, so we walked along together. On the bridge between Pope’s Island and Fish Island, he stopped and pointed out at the harbor at some ripples and small splashes, and every once in a while something big rolling up out of the water.

“Bluefish,” he said. “They’re up in the harbor already.”

He’s a saltwater fisherman, so I’ll take his word that these were blues. Their arrival means that springtime is almost over.

Coincidence? No!

Mr. Crankypants here, Dan’s evil alter ego — back to educate and enlighten you. While Dan is too much of a scaredy-cat to write about politics, Mr. Crankypants loves to tell you what’s wrong with the U.S. of A.

Generally speaking, Mr. Crnakypants does not believe in conspiracy theories and the like, but the UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico is well known to be true (Mr. Crankypants knows it’s true because he read it in a book once when he was ten years old, and he has believed it ever since).

Today, Mr. Crankypants received the following email message from a mysterious, unidentified sender (probably a secret government agent):

Many will recall that, on July 8, 1947, witnesses claimed [It’s not a claim, it’s the truth –Mr. C.] an unidentified object, with five aliens aboard, crashed onto a sheep and cattle ranch just outside Roswell, New Mexico.

This is a well-known incident which many say has long been covered up by the United States Air Force and the federal government.

However, what you may NOT know, is that in the month of March 1948, exactly nine months later, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Condoleezza Rice, and Dan Quayle were all born.

This information may clear up a lot of questions.

Indeed, this information opens many new avenues of exploration. For example, this reveals that the cover-up is even more extensive than we had thought. Remember that George W. Bush claims to be born in July, 1946; Cheney in January, 1941; Rumsfeld in July 1932; O’Reilly in September, 1949; Limbaugh in January, 1951; Rice in November, 1954; and Quayle in February, 1947. Clearly, the alien conspiracy must reach the highest and lowest levels of government, involving falsification of birth and school records, insertions of birth announcements in newspapers, etc.

On the other hand, Al Gore was in fact born in March of 1948. Or was he? The falsification of records has extended as far as trying smear Gore with the accusation of being alien offspring! Either that, or he was injected with something that allowed him to create PowerPoint presentations on climate change before PowerPoint had even been invented.

Mr. Crankypants would only add that March, 1948, is the month the Hells Angels was founded. Coincidence? Hardly!