Independently Speaking

I am a tenacious independent when it comes to politics.  I believe strongly in the separation of church and state. Consequently, I do not try to tell Church members how to vote.  I did not say I believe in the separation of faith and politics because I feel strongly that our Christian faith should inform our attitudes towards how we vote.  Unlike many of my Episcopal Church clergy colleagues, I do not believe that one of our political parties is more “Christian” than the others.  In over 40 years of ordained ministry, I have known godly Democrats and godly Republicans.   However, saying that I am an Independent does not mean that I do not have opinions about politics and the present election. 

The first opinion is that I am jaded when it comes to “spin” and political rhetoric.  I see outrageous partisan posts on Facebook, for example, and I mainly ignore them.   I prefer my politics served up with reasonableness.  I also believe that in the U.S. there is a big difference between running for office and governing.  Candidates and their followers make all sorts of outspoken claims about themselves and outrageous claims about what other candidates are supposed to believe.  I take it all with a grain of salt. 

Second, I have some observations about the Republican primaries.  Like Barbara Bush, I think this year’s primaries have been particularly nasty affairs.  Granted, there is a lot at stake in a nomination, but aren’t these are folks in the same party?  I think our media adds to this by playing at the sensational and the news-bites in a kind of feeding frenzy.

Third, I am watching with interest who the Republicans will nominate to face off with President Obama.  (It is, in the long run, we Independents who will determine how this election will turn out.)  I think that I have sorted this out for myself.

1.       If the Republicans nominate Mitt Romney, the old guard and East coast Republicans will have prevailed and their party believes the President is vulnerable over the economy and can be beaten.  After Super Tuesday, Romney seemed to be the guy. 

2.      Ron Paul is on a Libertarian Crusader, as he has been for years, and he would be stunned to be nominated. 

3.      Rick Santorum represents a different Crusade.  If he is nominated, this means that mainstream Republicans have abandoned the idea that President Obama can be unseated.  So, elements of the Republican Party who are social conservatives have decided to “make a statement” and not win an election. 

4.      A genuine question left open at this point is who Romney will choose as a running mate.  My advice is that he should chose with us Independents in mind and not the Tea Party. 

Once the nomination process is over, the election process will begin. When this happens, the focus will return to the economy and who is best suited to lead the current recovery.  For us Independents, this will be the primary question.  It may not, however, be the most critical one.  If 9/11 taught us anything, it is that events outside of our control can suddenly thrust us into a crisis not of our own making.  The tension between Israel and Iran, or demands for attention by North Korea, or any other number of scenarios would suddenly thrust us from economic concerns to international ones.    

My opinion is this.  If the economy is the concern, then the election will be close.  If it is close, it will come down to the Electoral College.  In other words, the person elected may not get the popular vote.  If war, or the fear of war, is the primary issue, then it will not be close.  President Obama will win hands down.

One last word on this election business; I would like to see the candidates for President sign a mutual agreement that they will debate the issues before us and commit to refraining from personal attacks by either themselves or Super PACs representing them.  I can hear many of my friends cracking, “Where’s the fun in that?!”  But, this allows me to say what concerns me the most in this year’s election and that is the distortion of the democratic process by the power of unlimited financial contributions through Super PACs.  I would hate to admit that the office of President of the United States can be bought.  If that is the case, let’s eliminate democracy and give the Presidency every four years to the highest bidder.  The proceeds of the auction can be used to reduce the deficit.     

Evangelism and Inclusiveness

In recent years, among Episcopalians, in conversations, publications, and on the internet in blogs and networks, the word “Inclusion” and its value of “a Church that is open to all people” has become dominant in our common life. I would contend has it has become one of the main defining terms of our current identity. Take the issue of “open communion,” or giving communion to non-baptized people. Those who practice this justify it as an inclusive action.

At the same time, we hear less among Episcopalians about “Evangelism.” One reason for this is that our community has never been too comfortable with the “E” word. Despite the Decade of Evangelism and the 2020 Resolution, evangelism still does not seem to be much of an Episcopal thing. Add to this, the defection of many Episcopalians who identify themselves as Evangelicals and we can see that the word seems, well, a bit foreign to us. As a result, the word inclusive seems to fit our temperament much better. However, I would like to content that inclusion and evangelism are not the same thing; that both belong as values of the Church, and that apart from one another, they can lead the Church to unhealthy and dysfunctional behavior. In a healthy Christian community, evangelism and inclusiveness should be seen as complimentary values, the kind of values that enhance each other.

There are many in TEC today who have embraced the concept of inclusiveness and use it as a substitute for evangelism. They might even argue that a truly inclusive church expresses what the early church meant by evangelism. An inclusive church reaches out and accepts all people regardless of race, economic status, gender and, even for many, creed. Isn’t the good news of the Gospel that God accepts and loves all people? Yet, is inclusiveness enough to express what the church is called to do in evangelism? Is the Great Commission, “Go therefore and be inclusive of all people?” I would content that inclusiveness makes much more sense when it is related to the Great Commandment “to love one another” than “to make disciples.”

We should also be honest and admit that for many in our church the word inclusiveness does not extend in the broad sense to everyone. It is a code word related to gender inclusiveness. An inclusive parish is one where GLTB folks are accepted openly and allowed to be open about there sexuality. It is a community that champions same sex marriage, and is committed to advocate full rights for all such people in both society and the church. This is certainly the way that Integrity uses the word.

Further, the word inclusive can be used in another code way. In this way, it means that we are an inclusive church that welcomes all inclusive people. In other words, we are open and welcoming of those who see themselves as inclusive in the political, social, and intellectual landscape of America. This seems to me to be the way our Presiding Bishop uses the term. Not included, and certainly not welcomed, in such churches are people who are perceived to be non-inclusive. These two uses of the word are in a basic sense exclusionary. However, I do not think this is what most Episcopalians want it to mean. We genuinely want to be a community that is open to all people. “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You” as our signs once said.

But if a church community such as ours is to be truly inclusive in the boarder sense, if we intend to be a diverse church made up of people across ethnic, racial and gender boundaries, than evangelism is central to this goal. This is because the work of evangelism involves strategies to reach just such people. Evangelism is intentional, planned, and often strategic. When the Church in Antioch decided to do the work of evangelism, this multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and inclusive community prayed, set apart leaders (Paul and Barnabas who were good at reaching Gentiles) and sent them to advance the gospel among non-Jewish people. As one Bishop has said, “Evangelism is the most anti-racist thing the church does.”

Let me give an example from the Cathedral Church in Dallas. 30 years ago, the Cathedral decided to reach out to the increasing number of Hispanic people who were immigrating into the Dallas area. They set out a strategy that first involved starting a Spanish language service. Then, they hired a Hispanic missioner to give leadership to this fledgling group. Today, over 60% of our worshipping community Sundays attend our Spanish service. We strive hard to remind ourselves that we do not have two congregations, but are one church, yet, I would content our success in becoming a diverse and more inclusive church has been the direct result of evangelistic outreach.

Is it possible that evangelism can be a code word for “people like us?” Of course it can. In many larger evangelical communities in America, this is exactly what it means. The congregations grow in numbers, but they grow by methods aimed at reaching more people from the same socio-economic class who share many of the same values before they ever arrive at their churches. While there are outstanding counter examples of this among Evangelical churches, the stereo-type of the former exists because such churches exist. But, as I hope the Cathedral illustrates, this does not have to be either the strategy in evangelism or its fruit. True evangelism always makes the church more, not less, diverse.

The important thing in all this is to realize that evangelism and inclusiveness are complimentary values. The two, existing together in creative tension, force us to evaluate our intentions and results, our methods and their consequences. I have been an advocate of evangelism within this community for many years. I remain concerned about the decline of our denomination and its inability to do the work of evangelism effectively. Yet, at the same time, I am also concerned about the fruit of our present behavior. I see the word inclusive justified and used more and more in the exclusive sense, so that its meaning is becoming “people like us.” I fear we are becoming an elitist community that looks with contempt or pity on those who are not as enlightened as we are.

When I was a young priest, it was said of the Episcopal Church that we were the Republican Party at prayer. More recently, was said that we were NPR at prayer. Now I fear we are becoming MoveOn.org at prayer. Well, we may be at prayer, but we are not yet the kind of community that Christ has called us to be. To become this, we must follow that path that leads to both evangelism and inclusiveness.

The Power of a Word of Thanks

On December 19^th, I celebrated my 40^th Anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. That morning I opened my email and found a note of thanksgiving for my ministry. It came from Professor Louie Crew a long-time leader in the Episcopal Church, and an activist for the full inclusion of all people in our faith community. For many years now, like many Episcopal Clergy, I receive a note of encouragement from him on my birthday, my wedding anniversary, and my ordination anniversary. Here is the interesting thing about all this; Professor Crew and I have found ourselves on opposite sides of issues over the years, yet, every year I get words of encouragement from him. This intentional act on his part is more than I have ever received from any other church leader including the eleven Bishops in the seven dioceses that I have served.

I remember how such affirmations and encouragement have helped me over the years when I did get them. For example, one Christmas I opened a Christmas card from Bishop John Krum of Southern Ohio. I was a chaplain resident in Cincinnati and on Sunday provided supply services at one of his congregations, although I was not canonically resident in his diocese. The card had a printed greeting. On the inside he had hand written, “Thank you for helping with our congregation in Norwood. It means much to me.” At that point in my life when I would have doubted that the Bishop of that diocese even knew who I was, it meant a great deal. 30 years later, I still remember it! Even more significant was the fact that up to then, 10 years into ordained ministry, it was the only such personal note I had ever received from a Bishop.

Of course, I have received much encouragement over the years from many folks inside the Church. I felt well affirmed by Bishop Payne in Texas, but then I worked closely with him as a member of his staff. However, I worked closely with him and I am not sure the other clergy of the diocese felt the same. Actually, I think if we are honest about it that we clergy would have to admit that affirmation and encouragement from our leaders comes seldom and far between.

I say all this not to make any of you feel bad. I actually want like to affirm all you who give leadership in the Church. What I do want to say is that my 40 years of experience tells me that when it comes to affirmation and encouragement, there is a drought in the Church. What is strange about all this is that you would think Christian leaders would be people who especially were abundant in our praise and encouragement of others. I think of the example of St. Paul who began all his letters save one with a generous thanksgiving for the church he was writing, and ended most of his letters with acknowledgement of individuals in these local communities. After all, the great commission is to make disciples, but the great commandment is to love one another.

Personally, I would have to admit that I have been slow to figure out the importance of such words of affirmations. Today, when I look upon the revitalization of the Cathedral here in Dallas, a struggling, multi-cultural and bi-lingual inner city parish, I can most attribute our positive movement to a decision I make early on to affirm and love our folks, especially our leaders. I only regret that I haven’t done it more.

I think clergy leaders need to remind ourselves that the Church in our age is entirely a volunteer organization. Our people come, work, and give because they want to do this. They choose to do it in our congregations. We should be thankful for this and make our thanks known.

One of my dearest mentors told me that he kept a stack of Thank You cards on his desk in his office. He regularly scheduled a time each week when he would stop everything else and prayerfully write thank you cards to members of his large congregation. I admired what he did. I only wish I had followed his example better. I cannot help but wonder what a healthier and better community we would be if all our leaders could show much more encouragement and thanksgiving to others.

A few Sundays ago, one of our pre-school children came up to me after the main service and said, “Dean Kevin, can I give you a hug?” And even before I could say yes, she stepped forward and gave me one. “Yes,” I said to her, “even Deans need hugs.” To my surprise and delight, she smiled and said, “Yes, I know.”

Headlines that We Would Like to See Versus

Headlines that We Would Like to See Versus Headlines We Will Probably See

Recently, I got to thinking recently about headlines that would be good to see versus those we will probably see in the days ahead.

We Would Like to See

Jerusalem, July 18, 2017: Prime Minister Martha Swartz announced today that a permanent peace agreement has been reached between Israel and the State of Palestine. In the agreement, both parties have agreed to keep Jerusalem a free city open to all visitors. Israel has agreed to cease expansion of new towns into the West Bank, and Palestinians have agreed to a peaceful recognition of Israel’s right to exist. “What were we thinking?” The Prime Minister said in her opening remarks before the Israeli Parliament . . .

We Will Probably See

Jerusalem, June 1, 2020: Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza early this morning as Israel launched a pre-emptive strike again Hamas to punish them for rocket fire against Israeli settlements. Prime Minister Netanyahu said “It is time Israel shows our determination to . . . . .

We Would Like to See

Karachi, Pakistan, March 15, 2015: Pakistani and Indian representatives announced a wide-sweeping peace agreement between these two long divided nations which includes disarmament of nuclear weapons by both sides. In a joint statement, the leaders declared, “Each of our nations have enough problems of poverty and poor education than to waste our time and energy building up huge armies and weapons in a battle that neither of us could win.” Military leaders from both countries hailed the . .

We Will Probably See

Mumbai, India, March 16^th, 2019: India began retaliatory shelling across its disputed borders with Pakistan today in reacting to the recent alleged state sponsored terrorist attacks in the major cities of . . .

We Would Like to See

Kabul, Afghanistan, September 15, 2021: Free and democratic elections in this troubled state have led to the election of the first female Prime Minister. “This is a victory for reform and the rights of all the people of Afghanistan” said the new leader as she . . .

We Will Probably See

Kabul, Afghanistan, September 20, 2030: 87 year old President Hamid Karzai was re-elected today in an election marked with extensive fraud and violence. President Karzai now presides over one of the most corrupt governments in the world while three of the Provincial Capitals are now held by a resurgent Taliban. After the election, President Karzai committed himself to the on-going reform of his government and said that, “All our present troubles are directly the result of decisions by the U.S. government to . . .

What We Would Like to See

Oslo, January 20, 2030: World scientists acknowledged today that “We are seeing the beginning of the reversal of recent global warming as Nations adhere to the New Paris Accords on limiting CO2 gas emissions combined with the growing use of cold fusion energy developed in 2019 by a team of renowned international scientist at the Institute of . . . “

We Will Probably See

Miami, Florida January 20, 2030: The City of Miami was officially abandoned today after extensive efforts to hold back the affects of increased ocean waters failed. This makes the 7^th major world city to be washed over due to the effects of global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps. Meanwhile, both the U.S. and China announced their planned veto of a U.N. backed resolution that called for a 3% reduction in . . .

In Remembrance of My Father, Glenn Martin

My favorite picture of my father was taken just after he entered the army in 1943. He was 18 years old, good looking, and oh so young just like so many of his generation. Next to this picture, my wife has placed his Purple Heart which he earned at the battle of the Bulge in a shelling in the Ardennes forest. Dad hit Normandy on D-day plus 6 with the 251^st Artillery Division. He found through to the end of the war. He was truly one of the Greatest Generation.

He seldom talked about his war experiences. He never talked about his Purple Heart and when I first found it, he passed it off with “I was luckier than a lot of guys.” Recently, I learned of the many unit citations his group received. He was silent on all this. I do know that his best friend died the same night he was injured which is why I think he never talked about this.

Dad returned home to build a life after the war. When he could not break into the meat packers union in Cleveland, he packed up his young family and moved to Dallas. Here he taught himself to be a machinist eventually becoming a Master Machinist with Texas Instruments. After I entered the ministry, he admitted to me that he had hoped that I would become an engineer. He always let me know, however, how proud he was of me.

For many of my early years, he worked two jobs. I seldom spent time with him. Of course, this was before quality time and bonding. Truth is we really never connected until I was over 40. The older we both became, the better our relationship.

My dad never really wanted much to do with the Church even when my mother and I became quite active in the Episcopal Church. This was probably a reaction against the hell-fire and brimstone religion of his Southern Baptism mother. When our Rector found out that dad was a machinist, he asked dad to help him with the restoration of a pipe organ. They spend hours together in the evenings working on it. One day, to our amazement, dad announced he was going to church because he was going to be confirmed. He never missed a Sunday after that until illness prevented it. I found out recently that he often double dipped on Sundays taking communion from one of our LEMS at the Cathedral and then getting it from the Disciples of Christ folks at the nursing home.

My dad was, according to everyone including most recently his nursing home aids, “a good man who never complained.” He would have quite literally given someone the shirt off his back. He taught me to never regard someone’s income or race, and to be fair to all. He often ended conversations with “don’t worry about your mom and me, we will be alright.”

My dad never hired anyone to work in our home. He did everything and taught me to do so too. From him, I learned the dignity of hard work. It seemed every weekend as I child, I watched him doing repairs on something or improving our home.

Then when I turned 12, he took up golf. He took me with him, and this became the one really bonding experience between us. The last few years, our visits at the nursing home were punctuated by watching some tournament together. “Great shot,” he would often say. Last Christmas, a visiting church group asked “Mr. Glenn” what he would like. He asked for a new pair of golf shoes and to everyone’s amazement, they brought him a pair. He wore them regularly while being pushed around in his wheelchair.

After an emergency trip to Baylor Hospital last month, his doctor told me that he simply could not drink or eat enough to sustain himself any further. Reluctantly, we discontinued any further treatment, returned him to the nursing home to be close to mom, and we engaged hospice. While I had long expected this to come, I wept. My mom has no short-term memory and serious dementia. She does recognize “her honey” and he always smiled when she came into his room. They had a long love affair that lasted 67 years.

On November 6^th, my dad passed from this world. I will miss him, but I am not worried, as he often told me, he will be alright.

Extending Communion to All Present

There is serious debate taking place among Episcopalians about what is commonly called “Open Communion.” This means that we should invite all persons present at a Eucharist to receive communion even if they are (a) not baptized or (b) a member of a different faith community. I would like to suggest that our current discussion about communion might be moved to another level if we consider our present situation in light of, and contrast to, that of Bishop Cranmer’s.

Cranmer’s problem was definitely not ours. Nothing reveals this more than the fact that baptism was never a concern in the matter of the reception of the communion. He could assume that everyone in an Anglican Church, indeed the Nation, was baptized. His concern was whether the baptized were actually Christian. From his theological viewpoint he had many in the Church who were "sacramentalized," but not evangelized. They were at best “cultural Christians.”

We must all remember as members of a highly liturgical church that one of our most vulnerable areas is that liturgy, once it becomes familiar, can also dull our senses to what is actually happening. For Episcopalians the prophetic words that “these people honor me with their lips, but there hearts are very far from me” could have direct application to us.

In contrast to this, Cranmer made his invitation to confession – the prerequisite for receiving communion. Remember the words?

“Ye who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways: Draw near with faith and make your humble confession to almighty God devoutly kneeling.”

Where is baptism in all this? Cranmer’s concern was that the baptized person look inwardly at one’s own heart and examines oneself as to our willingness and intention to receive the Lord’s Supper with a right attitude and disposition. Now, personally I am a Cranmerian when it comes to this issue.

Consequently, I think the emphasis on baptism leads us in the wrong direction. Mostly, what I hear now in Episcopal Churches, or read in the bulletin is something like this: “We welcome all baptized Christians (which should be “baptized persons”) who wish to receive communion to come forward and to the altar rail and join us.” I think all of us clergy rightfully avoid the awkward addition from the House of Bishops directive “who are able to receive communion in your own church.”

At the heart of my discomfort with all this wording in our attempt to be gracious and inviting is two-fold. First, our world is not one in which all are baptized. Even more importantly as the House of Bishops directive indicates, our emphasis at that moment becomes “membership” in a church. This is precisely what I think a seeker person hears from us. I think Cranmer would be astonished to discover that his descendents are more concerned with membership than attitude. Again, his theological perspective was largely one of the heart.

All this is made more complex by the fact that we now live in what is clearly both a post-Christendom world and a post-denominational culture. No wonder we are confused, life has gotten very complex. In the midst this complexity, we stubble over trying to be Episcopalian in welcoming and being inclusive toward others.

I would like to see our House of Bishops theological committee construct a brief paragraph that could be placed in our bulletins that expresses our theology, that all who are baptized are one. It also needs to express our pastoral reality that as a Eucharistic-centered community we welcome, in the Lord’s name, everyone who wishes a deeper participation in Christ and desire to follow him in his ways. This means that in our world we will inevitably have non-baptized seekers as well as non-Christians in our midst. Excluding those seekers from receiving communion may not be in our Lord’s best interest. Not clarifying the need for repentance and renewal may not be in their best interest whether they are seekers or members of our or some other church.

Holy Women Holy Men Revisited

At General Convention in 2009, the church passed a large number of additions to Lesser Feasts and Fasts, our commemoration calendar.    Even though some of the names suggested met with serious objections, the resolution passed overwhelmingly.  On June 30^th, the year trial usage ended, although the resource will continue to be used with its passage in 2012 nearly assured.  I voted against it, and the more that I have thought about this, the stronger I feel about this issue. 

Until recently, the Church’s commemoration calendar has been a slowly evolving item.  It took time for a consensus to emerge for a particular person to be added to the commemorations of the whole church.  Take the failed efforts of some quite well-meaning church members to place King Charles the alleged martyr to our corporate prayers. 

Then the Standing Liturgical Commission came up with a long list of new names for us to remember.  Intuitively, my radar when up.  Here is what I concluded.  Only a church led by baby-boomers would be audacious and self-centered enough to believe that we are entitled to add to our commemorations so many people at one time.  Past generations exercised restrain and modesty in adding people (and removing them.) 

As a boomer, I have known for some time that my generation believes itself the most enlighten that has ever lived on the planet.  I would contend that Holy Women, Holy Men says more about our generation than the people we intend to honor.  It has been said that tradition is the living vote of those who have gone before us.  Most boomers consider those who have gone before us as not worthy of a vote.  No wonder we find such blatant inflation of the list by those believing ourselves most worthy of choosing. 

In addition, the criterion seemed to be one of the ever invasive “inclusiveness” that now dominates the thinking of current church leaders.  Not only are many of these persons not Christians, but several were openly hostile to the Christian Church.  Why should we commemorate them?  No other organization would make its honor roll of those who wished their own organization cease to exist. This is not a list of “Holy” women or men.  Holiness in any classical sense of the term was never a serious criterion.  The better title should have been “Women and Men of Good Intentions and Deeds.”  

The historic commemorations include people who were saints in the very sense of the word.  They are martyrs, witnesses and servants of extraordinary sacrifice.  When we think of Francis, or Anthony, or Hilda, or Constance, we are thinking of people through whom the light of Christ, their savior, shone brightly. They did not just do good things that should be appreciated by other humans.  They led holy lives that pointed to something, or rather someone, beyond themselves.  

Lastly, I would point to the consequence of this sudden inflation of names.  In a very real sense, the saints are the most valuable commodity of God’s reign on earth in every generation.  They are the examples that point all of us to a further life of service and holiness in God’s Kingdom, as the old hymn says, “And I want to be one too.”  They tell us, to paraphrase G. K. Chesterton, that Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found hard and therefore not tried.  The saints and those we commemorate in the old Lesser Feasts and Fasts, give us a glimpse of what can happen if Christianity, true discipleship, is found hard yet lived.  These folks are in a very real sense the currency of the Kingdom.  As we all know, when a nation or community decides to simply print more currency, it does no spread the wealth.  The consequence is exactly the opposite, it devalues the currency. 

This is my most serious objection to the well-intended Holy Women, Holy Men.  Its consequence is not to inspire the kind of holiness of life that our former commemorations did for us.  Its true consequence is to make the term holy almost meaningless. 

I draw one last consolation in all this.  History has taught me that a future generation, perhaps not very long from now, will simply look at our actions in this matter and ask, “Who did these people think they were?”  That may be the most important question raised by this action.  Not who were these people we added in so great a number, but who were we to act in such a self-centered and self-absorbed way?    They will only need to look at how few saints our generation has produced to grasp the answer.