A Day Off

I had the oddest experience yesterday… a day off! I ate my lunch while reading a book, sitting outside in the sunshine! I spent an entire day without doing any work! (I don’t count as work: three loads of laundry, 2 hours of ironing, grocery shopping, and prepping/cooking four meals!)

Now some of you may be spoiled – you may get two of those days off every week – and two or more full weeks of them every year! But for those of us in the new economy, those of us piecing a living together from a variety of sources in the post-recession economy… well, a day without work (to paraphrase the old orange juice advertisement) is like a day without sunshine!

I know when my recent period of heightened activity started: December 14th. But I’ve no idea when it will end… I’m mid-way through an Eastern Religions course at UOPX – there’s a Safe Church/Safe Sanctuary workshop coming up – and another Spiritual Gifts workshop in June – and preaching in June and July – and a big project at Judson Memorial Church that’s in the planning stage! So even when I look at next week’s blank spaces on iCal, I  know they’ll be filled up with grading and research and preparation!

And, as much as I liked yesterday’s day off, I’m not sure I want this busy-ness to end! I like knowing that God has a use for me – that my gifts and abilities fill a purpose. It is, after all, just plain fun: all this learning and adapting and applying of my experience, knowledge, and abilities to the challenges of life.

Besides, I might get spoiled, too, if I got to eat my lunch, for two days in a row, with a book in the sun.

Blessings!

Beth

Teaching Religion

Last evening, one of my Eastern Religion courses ended with a discussion of the interaction between the contemporary world and those religions. It ranged from art to ecology, from Post-Modernity to the Neoplatonic Ladder of Being! Brave students – they bore up marvelously!

This morning it occurred to me that I never mentioned child abuse in religious settings. It happens in more than just Christianity: we see articles about child abuse in Islamic and Jewish communities as well. But I hadn’t realized that the same worries are expressed around the world in other religions.

Yet a quick search of the internet shows that was naivety on my part! The BBC carried a report about 110 Buddhist monks being charged in connection with sexual and physical assaults on minors in Sri Lanka. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15507304) IndiaExpress reported that a Hindu guru fled Texas after being convicted of sexual child abuse. (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/swami-prakashanand-saraswati-flees-us-to-escape-molestation-charge/1008154/) And there were more links that I didn’t follow…

We Protestants felt rather smug when it seemed like the abuse was related to the Catholic priesthood. Then stunned when our clergy were accused! And perhaps slightly relieved to see a Jew or Muslim occasionally make the news!

But I admit to feeling a bit of panic when I see that this is a world-wide problem in the wide world of religion. How could so many of us get it wrong? How could a wide variety of religions have a wide variety of leaders who turn their backs on their proper role of spiritual nurturer and become instead sexual abusers?

I don’t have any answer for this. Every one I come up with only leaves me more questions. Will I mention this when I wrap up another Eastern Religion course next week? Probably not.

But it does give me much to ponder as I begin a Safe Sanctuary workshop for workers with children and youth next Thursday. How can we do our best to protect the children and youth in our care? And those around us as well? Let’s keep them all in our prayers.

Blessings,

Beth

 

Scandal, Sadness, and the Harvest

In two days, Pope Benedict XVI will step down. He leaves a legacy of unexpectedness… from the beginning when many of us were surprised to find a leader in the inquisition was still alive, let alone eligible to become pope… to the realization of his lack of effectiveness as stamping down dissent… to the leaked document scandal showing the intrigue and politics of the Vatican… to his announcement two weeks ago that he would be stepping down as pope – the first pope to do that in almost six hundred years.

Since then rumors have flown and nothing the Vatican seems to be able to do has stopped them. Is he more physically ill than has been announced? How bad is his health? Is he sick at heart? Too troubled by the factions and schisms among the Vatican elite to continue? Is he frightened? Is he going to live in Vatican City to avoid outside authorities? Is he simply too old? Is the old inquisitor who threatened every modern and liberal idea he ever came across just too old to fight any more?

The latest surmises at scandal – that priests have been blackmailed by prostitutes  - and the resignation of an archbishop for sexual misconduct, cloud the Pope’s last two days in office. On top of that, there is at least one cardinal who has been requested not to participate in the voting because of his cover-up of child abuse. But, as one Episcopal priest who specializes in the Vatican said, according to CNN*, if you’re going to exclude everyone who was a part of a sex abuse cover-up, ”… you would probably exclude every cardinal in the church, because unfortunately that’s the way the church is operated.”

But if there is no one innocent enough to vote, who will they be voting on? CNN also reported today, ”Clearly, prior to these scandals erupting, the cardinals had a long checklist of things they were looking for in terms of the new pope,” CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen said Monday, including finding someone to help spread the message of the church and inspire faith amid flagging practice of the Catholic faith in many parts of the world. ”But in the wake of everything that’s happened in the last 72 hours or so, quite clearly a new item is on that list, which is they also want to make sure they pick somebody who’s got clean hands,” Allen said.

It is all incredibly sad. Sad that such corruption could exist in any church, denomination, or faith. Sad that an individual would get to the end of his life and see that, in spite of reaching great heights, he had not been able to accomplish the things that matter most. Sad that we as a society so delight in the scandal and rumors. Sad that so many people have been hurt in so many ways, all in the name of a God who loves each and every one of us.

What isn’t sad is that there may appear out of this some sort of systemic alteration, some sort of accountability, something that would keep harm from happening in the future and make reparation for what has already happened.

We do reap what we sow and perhaps the time of harvest has come.

Blessings,

Beth

* http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/25/world/europe/vatican-archbishop-resigns/index.html

Spiritual Gifts Update

The Spiritual Gifts Workshop on BeADisciple.com is progressing and registration is now open! Below is the description of the workshop and here is the link to the BeADisciple website:  http://beadisciple.com/layspeakingministries.html#SpiritualGifts

This course has been approved by the General Board of Discipleship as an advanced course in Lay Servant Ministries.

The early church knew what today’s church is rediscovering: that Christians depend on God’s spiritual gifts to provide the foundation for their ministry. Whether you’re discovering your own spiritual gifts or rediscovering them again, learn more about how they support your Lay Servant ministries in this two-week workshop. Guided by instructor, Beth Perry, participants will worship, discuss, interact, and journal or blog throughout the two weeks (with catch-up time on the weekends) in order to earn their 10 contact hours. The only material participants will need to order will be the Discipleship Resources book, Each One a Minister, by William J. Carter. It is highly recommended that you read the book before the online course begins. This will help with time-management.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Blessings,

Beth

Spiritual Gifts

When my children were young and I was a divorced mom, I found myself with three boundaries separating portions of my life. I had a work life, a family life, and a social life – and the three rarely connected. It was uncomfortable for me and when I realized what the disconnect was, I made a conscious decision that I wanted to cross those boundaries and unify my life.

I occasionally took my children on work trips or brought some mindless task home for the three of us to do together (stuffing newsletters in envelopes, for example!). I introduced my friends to my children – my husband became my children’s friend years before he became a possible step-father! And occasionally friends and work overlapped through lunch-dates, travel, conferences, etc.

Since then, I am always looking for the threads that weave my life into a unified whole. How does Safe Church/Safe Sanctuary training unite with women mystic retreats and teaching critical thinking courses for the University of Phoenix? Is it a stretch to claim a spiritual component for them all?

No, I don’t think it is. Preparation for the April Spiritual Gifts workshop has reminded me of my own spiritual gifts: apostleship, shepherding, teaching. Crossing boundaries, guiding, empowering others through shared knowledge…  The same gifts support me in all the varied places of my life.

What are the threads that unify your life? What are the gifts you have that run through all the various portions of your life and make sense of all that you do? What underlies your ministries, your work, your family and friends and community – and ties them all together into a united whole?

Blessings,

Beth

Baptism of the Lord

Today is Baptism of the Lord Sunday, the day in the liturgical year where we remember Jesus’ baptism and our own.

I don’t remember mine – I was 18 months old when it happened. I do have a picture of myself at that age and if I remember the story correctly – I’ll have to double check with my sister! – I think that the green velvet dress I’m wearing in that picture is one my mother made from a gown belonging to my great aunt. The velvet in the “seat” of the gown had become flattened but there were yards and yards of still beautiful velvet which my mother, an excellent seamstress, made into that beautiful little dress.

Mom often made me clothes – although what I remember more were the Barbie doll clothes she made. Those, too, often came from the remnants of someone else’s clothes. There was a pink brocade dress with tiny fur collar and cuffs that came from someone’s ancient mink coat. I wonder where the materials for the satin wedding gown and the black velvet cape and the white felt ice skating skirt came from?

When my daughter was young, I made some of her clothes and her Barbie doll clothes and some for my granddaughter. We’ve passed down a myriad of other things: knitting needles and crochet hooks that started with my grandmother and some have passed to my daughter and granddaughter; furniture, recipes, linens… And stories! There’s a great story about one of those crochet hooks that I’ll have to tell the younger generations one of these days!

We don’t live in the same world any more but we still have something in common with it: we take what we have learned and experienced and received from those who came before us and we (with our own translation) pass it on to those who follow us. That’s true for faith and baptism; its true for hobbies and traditions; its true for what we value and what we love and what we hold most dear.

This is a good Sunday to reflect on what we pass along from the meaning of our lives to the younger ones around us.

Blessings,

Beth

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Isn’t it interesting that as Christians we chose these two words to describe our wishes for each other? We could say “Joyous Christmas! Blessed New Year!” but we don’t. We could say, “Peaceful Christmas! Righteous New Year!” but we don’t. We could place a myriad of descriptions in front of those two holidays that would sound more like Christian teaching than “merry” and “happy”!

Think of how many Christians you know who are anything but “merry” or “happy” people! Christians who almost frown on anyone who is having too much fun! Scrooge-like Christians with little appetite for making merry!

But yet it is what we say and have for centuries so there must be something deep within us all that really wants to be merry and happy – and really wants it for each other. Some understanding that we Christians have every reason in the world to be happy: Jesus – God made flesh – God among us.

And happy, merry people – living with the knowledge that God is with us – have no motivation to hate, to harm, to threaten, or to kill.

My Christmas and New Year wish for you is that you would know happiness and that you would make merry, not just for these few weeks but all year through! Because it is your happiness, your merriness, that could show the world around you a better way to live.

Blessings,

Beth