Timothy Merrill

Full of the Holy Ghost

As I said in a previous blog, we visited a few Sundays ago in the Congregational Church of Machias, Maine, and on this particular Sunday, mention was made of the founding pastor of the church, whose name right now escapes me. I can't find my notes.

There are beautiful stained glass windows that line both sides of the sanctuary, and they are a story in themselves. The church was founded in 1781 I think. Something like that, and one of the windows is a tribute to the first pastor, who was also known as America's first hymnodist.

He's described in the window as a man of God, a patriot, a couple of other things, and "full of the Holy Ghost."

You don't see that much anymore when churches are looking for pastors, do you? Well, maybe there are too many pastors who fancy themselves as patriots these days.

But pastors who are "full of the Holy Ghost." Wow! I love that, for some reason. It's old fashioned language to be sure. But this pastor's congregation recognized him to be a man whose life made a difference, whose character and ministry were a notch above.

What do you want in a pastor?

And if you're a pastor, what kind of a pastor do you aspire to be?

What would your congregation inscribe about you in a stained glass window?

P.W.S.--We Knew It All Along

We knew it all along.

Bottled water is just--bottled water.

And the plastic bottles are a HUGE environmental issue that few people are talking about.

Want to be green? Eco-friendly?

Stop buying and drinking bottled water.

AquaFina just announced that, in pressure from accountability groups, it is going identify the source of its water as P.W.S., i.e. a Public Water Source.

In plain language, tap water.

Go ahead and buy these bottled waters if you want, but the plastic bottle you spent is going to pollute our landfills somewhere along with billions--billions--of other such bottles that the public was beguiled into buying for health reasons.

Get a plastic bottle and fill it with your own tap water, but don't give any more money to the shareholders of PepsiCo.

Coke's product, Dasani, says that it comes from local water and is then "purified." Right.

Hug the earth. Be mindful of creation. And stop being scammed by Coke and Pepsi.

Don't buy bottled water.

A Bad Week for Pro Sports

People who read a blog like this are generally people who know other people who have sacrificed a lot to serve others while serving God.

They've spurned the opportunity to grab the brass ring, and they've gone after another ring, or crown, instead. They labor in obscurity teaching, preaching, cooking meals, working in clinics, day care centers and more.

I've got a niece who's working in a small village in north Tanzania this summer at a medical clinic. She's in nurses training. Conditions aren't great, but she's just giving herself for a summer of helping children, a lot of them with AIDS.

Anyway--I say this because I think a lot of Americans just don't understand the pro athlete mentality--or at least those who seem to be hellbent on squandering their gift, or getting into trouble, or ungrateful about a culture that bestows millions of dollars upon them, but can't keep teachers in the inner city.

The NFL--Michael Vick; the NBA--gambling allegations; MLB--steroids; The Tour de France--doping (Rasmussen) ... it's getting really ugly.

I enjoy watching high school football, or a sandlot baseball. But I gotta tell you, it's getting harder to explain why I would pay $100 to see a football game or baseball game.

My suggestion is that next time you're thinking about going to a pro game, take the money, including what you'd spend on food and drinks, and donate it to World Vision or your favorite charity.

You'll feel real good about it.

Then get out your remote and watch a few games if you want.

POLL-ITICS

The Wisdom of the Polls ...

I haven't summarized our poll activity since back in February, so here is an update, starting with the oldest poll:

58% of respondents said that at Ash WEdnesday they use the same ashes as from the year before; 27% burn palms from the previous Palm Sunday.

42% preached from the RCL during Lent.

64% believe that Holy Week is a pastor's busiest time of the year, and 61% say that they always take some time off after Easter.

60% said that Don Imus' apology should be accepted and he should keep his job.

58% said the the media coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings was a mix of exploitation and moderation.

46% did not preach a "Mother's Day" sermon, but 41% did.

50% of those responding have never taken a sabbatical.

When referring to the Old Testament, 53% use "The Hebrew Bible or Hebrew Scriptures" whereas 47% use "The Old Testament."

73% prefer to use BC and AD over the trendy BCE and CE.

40% don't believe the pope was saying anything new in his recent statements about the one true church, but another 40% believe his comments will be a "significant bump" on the ecumenical road.

The current poll is about the use of torture to obtain information that might help in the "war against terror." Check it out, and vote. Just takes a second!

One More Thing About the Pop

Pop, I mean pope. The pope. That was a typo in my last post about the pop. The pope.

I have a copy of the published documents of Vatican II (Documents of Vatican II [Flannery, ed.] Unitatis Redintengratio, 21 November 1964).

In the Decree on Ecumenism (I forgot to write down the chapter #--and the copy is not in front of me), the Council takes a traditional view of the seamless robe of Christ, to wit:

In the second sentence of the Introduction to the Decree, we read: "Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only." Later, in Chapter 1, "Catholic Principles on Ecumenism," we find: "Neverthe less, our separated brethren ... are not blessed with that unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those to whom he has given new birth into one body ... For it is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help towards salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained."

So Vatican II repeats, recited, reaffirms what the Church has been saying for 1900 years. What Vatican II also did, however, was to soften its tone toward the "separated brethren." But while the tone was softened, the language stayed the same.

So, as I said, there's nothing new in what Benedict XVI said recently. He sat through Vatican II. He knows what the council said then, and he's saying it now.

The difference is, he's not softening the tone. The tone has returned to it's pre-Vatican II, pre-Pope John XXIII timbre.

Let Us Co-Ruminate Together

Today's text comes to us from the July issue of the journal for Developmental Psychology. The article we're interested in is: "Prospective Associations of Co-Rumination With Friendship and Emotional Adjustment: Considering the Socioemotional Trade-Offs of Co-Rumination" by Rose, Carlson and Walker. The study, which you can find here, uses new (to me) nomenclature for the language of sharing, discussing, unburdening, conversing, divulging and so on.

The new word is co-ruminate. The authors of this study are exploring the use of co-rumination by pre-adolescent and adolescent girls who, it seems, are prone to this sort of thing, running as they do, to the playground at recess and excessively rehashing their problems to their friends. This is, of course, a good thing.

No, it's a bad thing. The problem is that these freckle-faced, pimply-nosed girls keep going over the same old stuff. The result: Many sink into depression.

Boys, they say, don't co-ruminate as much as girls and when they do, they tend to blame others for their problems. Thus, no depression. Girls tend to blame themselves.

Well, it's interesting stuff.

But I'm wondering if the Church isn't lagging behind in this area. Nomenclature is important. (I was scolded a few years ago for using the words "shut in" to describe a parishioner. "Homebound" is the appropriate term, I was told. So I used "homebound," but have now been told that "home-centered" is preferred. Who decides all this stuff?).

So like I wuz sayin', words are important. And I'm thinking the Church needs to update its language in the liturgy. Could we, or should we, now include a PRAYER OF CO-RUMINATION in which we confess our faults "one to another" and to God? "Let us, sisters and brothers, co-ruminate together..." I guess such a prayer would have to be in unison ...

I understand--you don't have to tell me--that the word is used to emphasize how girls tend to go over and over and over something, until they've worked themselves into the Great Depression.

But we do the same thing in the Church. We go over and over and over about how needy and dependent and awful and sinful we are. The words might change from Sunday to Sunday, but the underlying thought is the same. We're major screw-ups. So let us co-ruminate.

Another use of this concept might be to have Co-Rumination Cell Groups instead of our "sharing" groups.

Men might find such cell sessions more appealing than a sharing meeting. In a co-rumination group the guys would be more likely to chew the fat, chew the cud, shoot the breeze or shoot the bull--whatever--as long as something gets chewed and shot. In other words, talking more freely about who all's responsible for their problems--if indeed they have any problems.

Just co-ruminating out loud, man.

Getting Your Cross Back

Rev. Gini King, pastor of Centre Street Congregational Church of Machias, Maine, told the following story to us last Sunday.

A little over a year ago, theives broke into the church and created mayhem and stole a few items including the brass cross that sat on the altar.

They never caught the robbers or recovered the cross.

Over a year passed. The church purchased a new cross for the altar and moved on.

When a lot adjacent to their property became available with an apartment building on it, they began negotiations to purchase it. Last week, when they were going through one of the apartments they came across a strange item in one of the closets. A cross!

It was the missing cross.

Centre Street Congregation got its cross back.

That got me to thinking about a church that loses its cross. What does that mean? What is lost?

What does it mean for a church--or a Christian--to get their cross back?

Is it possible the church has lost its cross? Is it possible we too often try to be Christians without crosses?

Do we even WANT our cross back?

Do we know that the cross is missing?

I know there's a sermon here somewhere. Haven't looked to see when the RCL reading about deny ourselves and carry our cross comes up, but this will preach any Sunday of the year.

GlOSSculture V

GLOSS: 1a. A brief explanatory note of a difficult or technical expression usually inserted in the margin or between lines of a text or manuscript. b. A collection of such notes; a glossary. 2. An extensive commentary, often accompanying a text or publication. 3. A purposefully misleading interpretation or explanation.

I gloss, therefore I am...

ITEM ONE: The Hell family of Melbourne, Australia, petitioned a local Catholic school to enroll one of their youngsters in class, but were refused. The Hells took the school to court. Public schools in Melbourne, evidently, are no place to raise Hells and yet, they argue, what better place to raise a Hell than in Catholic school?

ITEM TWO: Our neighbors across the street have a hybrid, not just any hybrid but the best-selling hybrid in the country, the Toyota Prius. Some friends of ours in Colorado recently bought a Prius as well. It's not that there aren't any other hybrids on the market. There are. Lots of them. But they don't look like hybrids. The Prius does. And a new study proves that the major reason that the Prius is far out-selling the other models is that goofy, hump-backed looking design: people want other people to know that they're green, eco-minded Earth-huggers. So pious Prius people putter in their hybrids, saving the planet and make a statement about themselves, too. It's branding, baby!

[Excuse me while I take another mouthful, yum, of food here, yum, Remy's ratatouille. MMMMM! Recipes, you know, are available online.]

ITEM THREE: The pop says the Catholic Church is the one true church. Haven't Catholic popes said that before? We knew when Ratzinger was elected pope, the oldest--I think--to climb, or be assisted, into the papal chair, that down the road he might started repeating himself. And here he goes again ...

ITEM FOUR: USA Today had a report a few days ago about "holier-than-thou" children. These are kids who embrace their parents' faith, but in a far more radical way. This dovetails perfectly with a piece that comes up in October in Homiletics called "Convert Faith." Catch the USA Today report and bookmark it for future use. I don't know how much longer this link will be active, but right now you can catch it here.

ITEM FIVE: Jesus Christ--finally--has become a wonder of the world. You want a sermon for Christmas Sunday, December 23? Here it is. People all over the world voted online for a nw "Seven Wonders of the World" and the Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks Rio de Janeiro made the list. Jesus Christ--the Wonder of the World! Finally recognized as such! We thought that this happened at the Incarnation what with the shepherds, the angels, the Magi and all. Of course there was that crucifixion thing. Of course not everyone voted for Jesus then--or now. But a lot did. Question: Would Jesus make your list?

ITEM SIX: Harry Potter is on screen again. A darker version. He's angry, moody and depressed. Wait! He's a teenager! Silly me. I forgot! And he's oppressed by his dementors. I LOVE that word. Means that spirit or something/someone who sucks all the happiness out of you until you're dusty dry. Witch is worse? To be a dementor, or dementee?

ITEM SEVEN: Finally, graffiti seen on a bridge underpass over the Machias River, Maine: "Go to heaven for the climate; go to hell for the company." Evidently, there are some who think Christians can't have fun.

More ratatouille, please!

Pope Says You Can Belong to Any Church You Want

You can belong to any church you want, Pope Benedict XVI said today, as long as that church is the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

This is old news.

I'm not sure why he felt he needed to restate the principles of a year 2000 document. But remember: This is Joseph Ratzinger whose career has been spent in the Curia guarding and protecting the Catholic faith. This is precisely the kind of language we expected, and now we're getting.

Cyprian, no pope, but still, an influential patristic voice said it long ago: He who has not the church for his mother, has not God for his Father.

Or something like that.

The Orthodox are a semi-church, he says They have apostolic succession but don't recognize the primacy of the Roman bishop. That's a serious problem.

Ho hum.

Ratzinger was at Vatican II as a young cleric, and he was no liberal then, and isn't one now. He loves the Latin Mass, and he's never been too keen on the sweeping changes, including the overtures to the ecumenically minded, that were made by John XXIII's council.

Lutherans, Orthodox and other Protestant groups fear these statements will set ecumenism back to pre-Vatican II levels. I don't think so. The pope has done us the great service of reminding us that if ecumenism with the Catholic church is meant to mean full sacramental union--forget it.

If it means dialogue and conversation, and genuflecting together on issues and project about which we have shared interests and concerns, it's game on.

Like I said, this is not new. Nothing's changed.

September-October Issue is Online

Just a heads up.

You can access the September-October issue of Homiletics online now. The print version won't be in your hands--if you're a print subscriber--for another two weeks or so.

The cover story is called E-Day, and you'll love this, but I can't tell you much about it without giving it away. Pay attention to the cover art, however, for clues.

Lots of good stuff. I was amazed to read about efforts to harness the energy of 35,000 people who walk through Victoria Station in London every day! And also amazed at the story of a weightlifter who was tossed out of his gym because he made grunting noises when he lifted.

We have a piece on the Reformation, using a reformation text from the Lutheran lectionary. The material focuses on the word "protest" and takes a closer look at Melanchton, who some have called the Thomas Jefferson of the Reformation because of his literary contributions.

Anyway, it's all there, up and running on the web site to help you in your sermon planning for the fall.