National Civil Rights Museum

Our family likes to travel right after Christmas, and this year one of the places we stopped was Memphis, Tennessee, and there we visited the National Civil Rights Museum. It was a moving experience to walk through a long timeline oriented exhibit that narrated the experience of African American persons in America.


The museum itself is located in the Loraine Motel, the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Something that I did not know before this visit is that this motel was Black owned, and
thus the place that leaders such as King commonly stayed. So a would be killer could make a good guess that he would be there at this location.

It is always interesting and a little disconcerting to talk about history that has taken place in one's own lifetime. One of my minister colleagues from California, Rev. James Lawson, was one of the leaders with King who was prominent in the pictures and quotations on the walls.

We walked through a bus of that era and saw the life sized figures of Rosa Parks and the bus driver, and read about the confrontation that began the Montgomery bus boycott. Details on the wall also outlined that she had been trained at the Highlander Center and was prepared mentally and spiritually for this moment when it came. Often when we hear about it in the media it is presented as though she was just especially tired and fed up on this day and decided not to move on an impulse. This is certainly not the whole story. Rosa Parks was also a trained organizer, and part of a group.



A heart stopping exhibit was a bus that had been bombed that was in the museum. The aluminum that was stretched and blown open was a dramatic example of the force. And I was reminded of how much the current terrorists who blow things up have in common with the racist terrorists in the American South. The combination of murders, intimidation, arrests, jailing, police dogs, beatings, bombings, fire hoses - it was something pretty powerful to address. And to do so with non-violence.

I had not thought about this era for some time. The museum also elicited a good conversation with our daughters.


Over dinner I shared with them that although it all seems so clearly cut and dried, good and bad, just and unjust, at the time all of this was controversial. It was not so clear cut in the media or in politics.


I also shared with them the analysis that prior to Presidency of John Kennedy that the Democratic Party could depend on the "solid south" to deliver lots of votes for President in national elections. And after President Kennedy's efforts, and those of his brother Bobby Kennedy during this era, and especially after the Voting Rights Act passed by congress and signed by Lyndon Johnson, the south is now solidly Republican. The Republican party has taken up the mantle of White resentment.

I found it sorrowful that the museum seemed to stop the narrative around 1968. Sometimes it feels like there has not been so much progress since that time.

Children's Time

Each week in worship at the Church of Peace there is a moment called "Children's Time," when the kids come up to the chancel and we talk for a few minutes. Well, this last Sunday there was a larger group than usual. Last Sunday was the week of the Children's Christmas Program, it was about bells. And there was a good group of kids present. And I have a fork in my hand and telling the story of the woman who wanted to be buried with a fork in her hand, because there was more to come. So she should keep her fork.

So the decorations are beautiful in the church, and there is a good group of kids, and many of them are looking at me and listening to the story!

It is good for children to know that they have a time and place at church.

Cars in the Parking Lot

A number of years ago I heard about a frustrated business owner, whose business was not going as well as she had hoped, and she believed that her employees were slacking off, and that was the root of the problem. In a staff meeting she proclaimed, "I want to see those cars in the parking lot!" You know, that is a measure of what is going on at a facility. The cars in the parking lot.

That crossed my mind a few weeks ago when I arrived a little late to church on a weekday. There were already a number of cars in the parking lot, and there was no church meeting scheduled for the day. These were the cars of the employees, and some students in the Lights ON for Learning program.

That started my mind rolling. Our church staff roster lists eleven members. There are six persons who receive a paycheck from the Community Caring Conference. There are three employees of Blackhawk College who report directly to the church building to do work for the college. And this does not mention various supervisors who work in other locations and have some responsibility for activities that take place here at the church. The way I think of it, some twenty persons think of the church as the place where they work.

This is a high water mark for the time that I have been here. The Church of Peace itself has three more employees than last year - their jobs are funded by various grants we receive. In an economy where unemployment is up it is good to be working in the opposite direction. (We do wish that the jobs we provide were higher income.)

Many years ago when there was debate about whether the church should move or stay at its present location one of the reasons to stay was to provide an "anchor" in the neighborhood. The fact that twenty folks count this as their home office shows that we have indeed provided an anchor of sorts.

Of course, with twenty different people working in and out of this building life is more complex, with more relationships and all. But it is a good sort of complexity. A rich complexity of personal interaction - and that does not mention all the volunteers for each of the organizations that are in and out of the building on a regular basis. And then the church meetings. And the meetings of the Community Caring Conference, and the meetings of the Lights ON for Learning.

You know, with all of this there are indeed more cars in the parking lot. On a regular basis.

Count our blessings at Thanksgiving!

We are here in Minneapolis for Thanksgiving at our daughter's apartment and I read USA Today (November 25, 2009) at the motel. You know the section where there are little news stories for each state? Well the post for Iowa is as follows:

Des Moines - Authorities said the church where more than two dozen parishioners were sickened had used gasoline generators for months to power the building. Authorities said fumes from the generators flowed back into the building on Sunday as a choir rehearsed, injuring 26 children and two adults. The church used the generators because it owed $3,200 in utility bills.

Puts a new light on the Stewardship drive.

Family Literacy Program Cooking Class

Since September 15, 2009, there has been a family literacy program meeting here at the Church of Peace. This program is a cooperative effort of the Regional Office of Education, Blackhawk College, the Rock Island Library, Rock Island School District #41 and the Church of Peace. It turns out that the need of most of our students is for learning the English language, and most of the program is classroom instruction. At the same time, there is also a need to learn some practical language skills, and this is best done through a hands on technique. And everyone likes to eat!

So, one of the practical, hands on, language activities is to cook together. That way the foods are named, and the cooks use their language skills to communicate with each other. So on one day last week the students prepared lunch for each other. This was made possible by a small grant from a group at Royal Neighbors that was used to buy the food. And once the cooking was done the whole group sat down to enjoy a meal together.

Our church secretary, Nora, snapped two photos of the students and teachers together, standing proudly behind their accomplishments!

Roadtrip

Well, the praise band from the Church of Peace was invited to play at Hope United Church of Christ in Moline, today, for the Western Association Fall Meeting. Above is the singing group sharing a song, and below is a photo of the boys in the band, who are in a corner behind the singers. The chapel of Hope Church is dramatic with orange windows in the chancel area, and that combined with the red shirts of the praise band gives a rosie hue to the pictures.

The band did a great job and sang some dozen pieces, some with congregational participation, and some without. I am always proud of the intergenerational quality of the praise band and singers, ranging from teens to grandmothers.

Three Classrooms

Today we had three classrooms working at the same time for the Lights ON for Learning Family Literacy Program. The first classroom was for parents who are learning English as a second (or third) language. That is the top photo. Katia, the ESL teacher from Blackhawk College is consulting with our Parish Nurse, Mary O at the door of the room.

The second classroom was for students who are in elementary school. That is the second photo, five children around the table as a book is read to them. These children usually attend the Primary Academy, but this is one of the Intersession weeks, so there is no school this week, and these children are here working on language based activities. The teacher in this classroom is Mitch, assisted by a volunteer, Lisa.

The third photo and the third classroom is one for children too young to attend school.
That is the classroom in the bottom photo. The children here in this photo are enjoying a snack and are here with Julie and Ann in the church nursery. This program is provided every day that the Lights ON for Learning program is taking place, otherwise the parents would be unable to attend the class because they would be doing childcare.

It is a busy place this week around the church. And after a busy morning in the classrooms lunch was served to all the children, along with children from the neighborhood.

Lunch Program Reprise

The Church of Peace had a good time with the Summer Lunch Program for neighborhood children, and decided to serve lunches again for the Intersession this October as well. The Rock Island School District rearranged the school calendar a few years back to have a shorter summer vacation break and to add vacations in the fall, winter and spring to make a more balanced schedule with shorter breaks. The basic premise is that children loose less ground academically when they have shorter breaks, and the school district also hoped to provide special learning opportunities for students during these breaks, called "Intersessions."

We know that some of the kids in our neighborhood really miss their school lunches when they are not available, and so we are providing lunch here at the church during Intersession. Also, we provided lunch for the students at the Intermediate Academy, who came by here for lunch after spending the morning at school

Having lunch here also made it possible to provide a meal for the children of the adult students in the Lights ON for Learning Family Literacy Program. The most challenging part of having meals during intersession is having children remember that a meal is available when it is only served for a short time. We put our "chefs" out on the street to spread the word!

QC Symphony

Last Saturday evening, October 3, Nancy and I attended the first concert of the season of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The program consisted of two pieces; Mozart's Symphony 41 in C major, the "Jupiter" and Mahler's Symphony No 1 in D major, "Titan."

The music director, Mark Russell Smith pointed out in his brief remarks that there are significant contrasts between the two works. This was Mozart's last symphony and Mahler's first. The Mozart is played by a fairly small ensemble while the orchestra for the Mahler is indeed large. Mozart is classical while Mahler is modern.

While the Mahler was dazzling and wonderful, my mind has dwelt on the fourth movement of the Mozart Symphony 41. The program notes point out that there are five themes woven together in this movement. I think my parents owned an LP with this movement included as part of a collection. I found listening a wonderful privilege, to hear the piece played by live musicians in my presence, like visiting a city one has seen in films all one's life. And while the piece is complex it all fits. It is a vision of balance, harmony and aptness, deftly fitted together.

I was reminded of the theologian Karl Barth's admiration for Mozart. Barth speaks of Mozart’s utter uniqueness: “In the case of Mozart, we must certainly assume that the dear Lord had a special, direct contact with him." And Mozart's music “evidently comes from on high” (These quotations are from a little book written by Barth in 1956.)

I found the Mozart reassuring.

Here is an article about Barth on Mozart at www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1382

Family Literacy Program

On September 15, 2009 the Church of Peace officially opened its doors to the Lights ON for Learning Family Literacy Program. This program supports the parents of children enrolled in Rock Island schools to help them learn practical skills, including speaking, reading and writing English. Pictured here are two students, Faila and Tambala, who are from Congo and who speak Swahili at home. They study with their teacher, Katia, also pictured.

This program at the church is a partnership with the Regional Office of Education, Blackhawk College, Rock Island School District 41 and the Church of Peace, funded through State of Illinois grants. We got a late start because of hold ups in state funding.

One of the helpful elements of the program is that childcare for the children in the family who are too young for kindergarten is provided when the adult learners are in the building. Since the class meets at the church they also have access to other kinds of support. Probably the most important and satisfying element of the program is that we are building relationships in community.

USS Rolf

During the Second World War, Walter Rolf, the son of Rev. Fred Rolf, the longtime pastor of the Church of Peace, attended the Naval Academy, was assigned to combat in the South Pacific, and later killed.

His memory and heroic death was honored when the United States Navy comissioned the Destroyer Escort USS ROLF (DE362), which is pictured here. Much more information about the ship, along with a photo of Lt. Rolf, and of his mother Mrs. Martha Rolf are to be found at http://navsource.org/archives/06

In particular, on this website are some photos that include Mrs. Rolf along with other women. While she is identified, apparently the site managers do not know the identity of the other women in the picture. There may be some older members of the Church of Peace who could easily identify these other persons in the photo.

New Trees

Yesterday four beautiful trees were planted at the Church of Peace. They are Maple trees of a fairly large size so they should provide both shade and fall color almost immediately. They are planted in the boulevard/parkway between the sidewalk and the street on 12th Avenue, along the south side of the sanctuary.

The driving force behind getting the trees in the ground this fall was Ernie Colclasure. He arranged to purchase the trees for a good price, get the appropriate approval from the City of Rock Island, and obtain professional installation. The beautiful landscaping at the church not only shows our love of God, but also shows our pride and commitment to the neighborhood.



At a certain level, every tree planted is a statement of faith in the future.

NAACP 100th Anniversary Celebration

Yesterday afternoon I attended a program put on by the Rock Island County chapter of the NAACP to celebrate the Centennial of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which took place at Broadway Presbyterian Church in Rock Island. It was a fine event with inspirational preaching by Rev. P W Harris along with exceptional music.

I learned something about the history of the organization and was pleased to have a small part in the service. It is critical to remember how important faith and the churches have been in struggle for human rights for African American people.

To know God is to do justice.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon I drove up to Elmhurst College to attend the ceremony to award the Niebuhr Medal to Gustavo Guiterrez, father of Liberation Theology. Father Guiterrez grew up near Lima, Peru, and was a professor of theology and a parish priest.

The top photo is of Fr. Guiterrez having received the medal, with President of Elmhurst College, Dr. S. Alan Ray, at the podium reading about the award, and with Kenne Bristol, Chair of the Board of Trustees standing next to him.

What I appreciate most is that Guiterrez gave a speech after receiving the award. It was not new information. I still have my battered paperback edition of Liberation Theology that I bought in seminary in the 1970s. (A Theology of Liberation, 1971) But now, if I read some of it again I will hear it in his voice. His words were substantial, not sentimental. He spoke of poverty as not "misfortune" but rather "injustice." He also clarified some elements of the "preferential option for the poor." It is not an enemy of "universalism;" God does love everyone. Rather poverty is to be dealt with first, because it is contrary to the will of God.



I sat with some friends in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel on the Elmhurst campus. It is a big building and there was a good crowd. I count it a great privilege to hear in person people whom I have read for years. It also made me feel a little old; his seminal work was published some 38 years ago and I probably became acquainted with it some 35 years ago!

His theology, with an emphasis on concrete reality has been refreshing after a period when European theology was awfully cerebral. The notion of reading the scripture in the light of our immediate experience and asking "What specific action does God want us to take?" works fairly well at a local church level.

Gustavo Guitierrez

On Sunday, September 20, at 7:00 pm noted theologian Father Gustavo Guitierrez will receive the Niebuhr Medal at Elmhurst College. It is exciting that this Latin American speaker for justice will be in our area. For more information go to www.elmhurst.edu/niebuhrmedal

Labor Day Parade

The Church of Peace had a unit in the Rock Island Labor Day Parade this year. Here are most of us right before we stepped off. The new element this year was the Mobile Bell Choir. It was fun and here they all are on the hay rack that was pulled by a red truck. The truck was preceded by our God is Still Speaking banner and two of us handed out candy till the candy ran out. It was lots of fun and a beautiful day.

Church Directory

Every five years the Church of Peace does another pictoral directory. So, in anticipation of 2010 we are having photographs taken of church families. Today is the last of four days of shooting, and make up sessions can be scheduled in September.

On the one hand this is a pain. It takes lots of coordination and there are always little glitches. At the same time a new pictorial directory provides several good things. It is a way to be in touch with all the families in the congregation - those we see all the time and those we see seldom. For many families, including our own, we do not have portraits taken otherwise; so it pushes us to get some photos done. I still have photos of me with my parents that we would not have if it was not for the church directory years ago. It is also a way to help us get to know each other better. There are always new people and it is good to have a book where a person can ask, "Who is that person I see in church?" and then find an answer.

I am grateful to church members and friends who take the time to schedule an appointment and help their church in this way.

Baptism

On August 23 there was a baptism at the Church of Peace. Here I am standing with the little boy and his parents in front of two of the banners we use at the sacrament; one of the Holy Spirit descending, and another of the Rainbow promise after the flood.

I am reminded of the deep support expressed for little children. In addition to the promises of parents, congregants and God, there is a world of support from an extended family. This day was truly heartwarming; brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, grandmother and more. Many from out of town and out of state. Every single little child represents a whole community of love and support, which he can only come to understand as the years unfold.

Thanks be to God.

Tower Hill Retreat

The Illinois Maya Ministry group had a retreat at Tower Hill Camp in Sawyer, Michigan, August 23 - 25, 2009. The purpose of the retreat was to plan the year ahead. This group has an ongoing interest in Central America, with special focus on Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. In the last several years we have found ourselves doing more in regard to immigration reform and justice for immigrants. I guess this is because it is the same Mayan people from Southern Mexico, Guatemala and Central America who bear the brunt of events like the ICE raid in Postville, Iowa, May 12, 2008.

My part of this event was to coordinate the devotions, and we learned more about various Madonnas and how they are part of the spirituality of the region. This is something that is not part of the background for most Protestants! The theme was taken from the Bible; And Jesus replied, “Who is my mother?” (Matthew 12:48) We looked at various images and discussed our responses. One was Our Lady of Guadalupe, here from tiles in a wall at Mission San Xavier del Bac, near Tucson, Arizona.



The setting at Tower Hill is beautiful, and we enjoyed swimming in Lake Michigan.

Good Piece on Ramadan

In June of 2007 I attended a weeklong workshop at Georgetown University in Washington D. C. about Muslim Christian dialogue at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. So I am now on their mailing list. I was recently informed that the founding Director of the Center, Dr. John L. Esposito, has published a special Ramadan piece in the Times Online. I learned a lot by reading it, and recommend it.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6805750.ece

Prayers for our Longview Neighborhood

Over the last several days there has been an ongoing discussion in the newspaper our Rock Island Alderman, Terry Brooks, for the ward that includes the Church of Peace. In this discussion Alderman Brooks characterized our area as a War Zone. This characterization has been the subject of a lot of conversation. It is ironic that there has more discussion of Alderman Brooks' characterization than of the reality he mentions on the streets.

Here are a couple of public prayers I have made on this topic:

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Holy God, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace. Let the design of your great love shine on our discouragement and sorrows and give
+ peace among nations,
+ peace in our neighborhood,
+ peace in our homes and
+ peace in our hearts.
While we know Good God, that your will for us is peace we read in the newspaper that we here at 12th and 12th are in the midst of a War Zone. That there is violence and distrust, that people are settling disputes in the streets with guns.
- While the flamboyant language makes many of us uncomfortable we do recognize a certain truth to the assertions.
+ It is true that our neighbors live with some fear of violence.
+ It is true that kids walking home from school are not always safe from violence.
+ It is true that there is more shooting in our Longview neighborhood than in other neighborhoods.
+ It is true that property is vandalized on occasion in retaliation for perceived slights.
- Our faith tells us that acknowledging truth is the beginning of positive action.
+ We have had leaders in the past that felt that when a problem was identified in our neighborhoods that people were picking on Rock Island unfairly.
+ We have had law enforcement leaders who get defensive when crime is identified because they think it implies that they are not doing their job.
- Help us acknowledge the truth of our difficulty and take positive steps to make our neighborhood safer.
+ As we help neighbors get to know neighbors and look out for each other more.
+ As we acknowledge our difficulties and address them.
+ As we re-implement elements of community policing that we have let lay fallow in the last few years.
+ As we continue to address basic issues like school drop out rates, racism, run down property, lack of jobs, hunger, drug abuse and poverty.
+ As we work consistently for a better and more beautiful neighborhood and better future.
We believe that the gift of the resurrection to new life is not something only there and then, far away and long ago. We believe in power of the resurrection:
+ In a church like the Church of Peace.
+ In a neighborhood like Longview.
+ In a town like Rock Island.
+ In the hearts of sinners like us.

Bless us this day and always, through the living Christ. Amen.


Here is another delivered at Kiwanis:

O God, our creator, by your holy prophet you taught your ancient people to seek the welfare of the cities in which they lived. We commend our Rock Island neighborhoods to your care, that they may be kept free from social strife and decay. Give us strength of purpose and concern for others, that we may create here a community of justice and peace where you will may be done; in Your name we pray. Amen.

Summer Lunch Program

The Summer Lunch Program ran from June 8 to July 31, 2009, here at the Church of Peace. Actually, we served some breakfasts and some snacks along with the lunches. While meals were served here at the church building to the children enrolled in the Summer Fun Camp, and walk-in children from the Longview neighborhood, the main effort was to cater the programs for children put on by Rock Island Parks and Recreation at several schools.

When it was all said and done we served about 13,000 free meals! Exactly, the count is 12997. That includes 9612 lunches. So our average lunches per day were 240; average meals 325. This is in fact somewhat fewer lunches than 2008. This is because the program that Parks and Recreation usually has at Ridgewood School had to be cancelled because of renovation to the school facility this summer. While we did serve lunch to the kids from that area in Haymaker Park there were significantly fewer kids eating because of the renovation program.

What really makes the program work for the church is the participation of all the volunteers. We have a professional cook, and two additional certified food preparation folks, and a cooks's helper and the administrative staff. But without the volunteers the program could not survive.

The Summer Lunch Program also helps us participate in the mission of God in the world. There is the narrative of Jesus feeding the 5000. (I guess his followers kept count too.) And also the passage in Matthew 25 where the disposition of those before the Great Judgement of God hinged in part on whether one had fed the hungry. We are privileged by being part of program that feeds hungry children here in Rock Island.

Running to Prevent Child Abuse

Here is a photo of Anne Walters, a past President of the Child Abuse Council (CAC), finishing the BIX on Saturday, July 25. This year she asked for several people to "sponsor" her to raise money for the CAC - and so we felt like we were part of her effort!

The CAC, like so many human service agencies that do business with the State of Illinois, has been in difficult financial straits this year. The State of Illinois is hundreds of thousands of dollars in arrears in paying for services. It has been a roller coaster hearing that program funds are cut by various degrees - 70%, 100%, 40% - makes it hard to plan carefully the year ahead.

I have been on the CAC board for years and a link appears on this blog page.

This morning I read an interesting article about how Disabled Kids receive corporal punishment more than other kids in schools and states that still permit such punishment. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/education/11punish.html?_r=1&hpw

What I find especially interesting is that the majority of states no longer permit corporal punishment in the schools. The CAC here in the Quad Cities were part of the effort to end corporal punishment first in the Iowa Schools, then later in the Illinois Schools. That was a big effort and controversy at the time - now it seems as basic as wearing a seat belt when you are in a car.

Since the majority of states now forbid corporal punishment in the schools, could it be time to talk about national policy?

Or might there be something more specific. Such as, if a child has an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) where they are receiving special services for a handicapping condition, and thus the school system is receiving federal education dollars, that they may not subject that kid to corporal punishment in the schools? Basically, if the naughty behavior is a result of their handicapping condition it seems inhumane to paddle then - it hurts; it humiliates; it illustrates violence as a way to solve problems; it is big powerful people hurting little vulnerable people.

I think this is certainly worthy of discussion in civil society.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum

Here I am with Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglas at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Nancy and I got away for a quick trip before she goes back to work next week.

Today was also the last day of the Summer Lunch program at the Church of Peace. Lots of kids enjoyed eating lunches prepared at the church.

I Walked on the Moon with Neil Armstrong

Here is the sermon I preached yesterday. While I seldom post sermons, this one is timely and also shares about me and my experience.

I walked on the Moon with Neil Armstrong
July 19, 2009 + Ephesians 2:13-22

An unusual fact that most people do not know about me is that I walked on the moon with Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969! It is a funny story and I want to tell you about it.

Throughout the 1950s recruiters from California aircraft engineering companies would travel throughout the Midwestern United States looking for engineering types that wanted to live and work in California. There was a booming aircraft industry on the West Coast and they needed trained people. My dad had worked for General Motors on aircraft for years – he had received special training during the Second World War and with my sister in college in 1959 he cut a deal and we moved to California in 1960. After a brief sojourn in San Diego where dad worked for Convair, we moved to Los Angeles, near the international airport, which was the center of the Southern California aircraft industry. Dad went to work for North American Aviation.

Our family decided that it was better to live near work than to take one of those long Southern Californian commutes so we bought a little house near the airport. We were not alone in the journey we had taken. There were families from all over the US and world who had located to the area to work in the aircraft industry. The little community we were part of had sprung up after the Second World War like toadstools after a rain. And even the place names reflected the focus on flight. We lived on Kittyhawk Avenue. Other streets in the area were Airport Boulevard, Aviation and Interceptor Avenues. There were two Junior High Schools in the community – Orville Wright and Airport Junior High. I went to Airport. We were not assembled in classes but rather “flights.” The yearbook was called the Flightlog. You get the picture.

My mother went to work for Garrett AirResearch. My sister and brother-in law worked for North American. Dad got a better job at Hughes Aircraft.

When President John Kennedy in the early 1960s decided to put a man on the moon our family was right ready to do a part. It was the same industry that produced guided missiles, fighter aircraft, bombers and commercial aircraft that was called upon for the space program by NASA, so there was a strategic military angle to the whole program. And the US wanted to beat the Soviet Union. Our town was as focused on the Aero Space industry as the Quad Cities was focused on the farm implements industry.

When a space capsule went up no one seemed to talk about anything else, and we were always glued to the television. My adolescent mind grasped at certain tidbits about the program that you did not read about in the newspaper. There was a question about how to dispose of bodily waste in space and in the men’s room at North American Aviation there was a drum for employees to donate urine for space science. My brother-in-law told me he did his part. Garrett AirReseach had the contract for the “environmental systems” for the astronaughts, so she always listened with special care about how comfortable they were in the capsules.

With this background, in the summer of 1969 I had just graduated from Los Angeles State University and was spending eleven weeks in Europe. It was the era of five-dollars-a-day, and that was my budget, a shoestring. On July 19 and 20 I was in Germany, I think Munich. When I came back to the little student hotel where I was staying on that day the television was on in a little room off the lobby and a group on international students and young adults were watching and the sound was in American English – it was the same feed that we were getting to US television, I’m sure. I usually ignored the television since my German was very poor, but I stuck my head into the room and listened intently.

Someone said they were having difficulty understanding and asked me if I understood. I said “yes,” but added that I was not capable of translating into German. They said that was OK, but could I slow it down and explain some things to them. I was delighted to do so. I would listen to the jargon filled NASA speak and then summarize it in simpler English.

This went on for 20 or 30 minutes, but we were all getting restless because they were on the moon but not getting out of the capsule. I was really tired, and so was the group, so I excused myself and went up to go to bed. I traveled then as I do now with a little transistor radio, and I found the same feed on the FM dial on Voice of America in Europe. I wanted to hear the astronaughts exit the space capsule and actually set foot on the moon. I tried to stay awake, but fell asleep with the radio on. I was in that twilight sleep when Neil Armstrong narrated his journey down the ladder, and then took that step onto the moon’s surface with the famous statement, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” And the remarkable thing was that in my dream I was with Armstrong on the ladder and with him as he took that first step on the moon. I walked with Neil Armstrong on the moon!

And in a certain way I did. My thinking and that of my family could not have been more engaged in the space program than it was. The success was our success; the pride was deep and real. And I had been pleased that the international college students had also been fascinated with the American space program – they had been hanging on my words.

Several days and a few countries later I was in Geneva, the French speaking part of Switzerland. Like most students, I visited the United Nations campus there in Geneva, and went into the galleries to see what was happening. We were told that we were fortunate, that a smaller meeting was actually taking place, though not a general assembly. I put on the little shell like ear pieces with the simultaneous translation and a delegate from some country in Africa was speaking, and actually commenting on the moon landing of a few days before. He said, “When Armstrong made the statement ‘one giant leap for mankind’ he was not speaking for me.” The diplomat went on to explain that his country was so poor that spending money to go to the moon seemed frivolous. And that the privilege of the first world was so great that he and his countrymen had no identification with it. I was shocked! At first I thought that he was shortsighted and did not really get it. But as I have mulled this story for some 40 years now, I realize that he was coming from a different background and simply had a different set of assumptions and another point of view, conditioned by his experience.

2

I am sure that there had been many opportunities for me to realize that a person’s background shapes their point of view prior to the moon landing, but something this dramatic has provided a touchstone for this reality ever since. Such a realization is one of the benefits of travel, particularly at a young age.

Here are a few other moments when I have had similar experiences:

a. Many focus around the public schools and teachers.

i. In my family home teachers were respected people and teaching was an honored profession. If I had a disagreement with a teacher, my parents were sure to take the teachers point of view first. My sister became a teacher and later a school psychologist.

ii. When I was living in Newark, New Jersey, working in a low income minority neighborhood as part of my internship with some Presbyterian churches, the local teachers’ union went on strike. I was shocked to realize that the minority parents and program administrators did not take the perspective of the teachers and the union. To them the teachers were elites who made more money than they did, lived out in the suburbs and commuted in to the heart of the city and did not care deeply about the kids. This was disturbing to me. It was a new way of thinking about teachers.

iii. When I lived in Chowchilla, California, a third of the congregation were teachers. Many married to farmers so that the farmers could have insurance and the family could have a steady paycheck. This too was a new concept to me. But support for teachers and education was pretty solid.

iv. When I served a church in San Mateo, California, with many members from the Silicon Valley computer companies these folk looked on teachers with distain. Teachers did not have that entrepreneurial spirit. The term “teacher” was synonymous with “slacker” in the minds of at least some of these high-tech and bio-medical types. Again, I was shocked. And of course, Nancy was working for the public schools.

But over the years I have come to see that one’s perspective on public education and public school teachers is shaped by one’s social location. While middle class folks like me hold teachers in high regard, both the poor and the rich hold them in some contempt and for different reasons.

I have come to realize that that people come from a different background and simply have a different set of assumptions and another point of view, conditioned by their experience.

b. On the day that Barack Obama was inaugurated President of the United States most people were pleased and hopeful. The African-American employees of the church and the Community Caring Conference where even more buoyant and hopeful. It depended on one’s life experience.

c. I think I have told this story before, and it is about the ethical scruples of Tongan Americans in contrast with Palangi – Americans.

Sampeni Finau, a Tongan Methodist Pastor, lost his wife Mary when she died from a heart attack. They had been married some 40 years. A few months later Sam married his church secretary who was some 30 years or so younger. We Palangi (white) pastors were shocked and dismayed because it is forbidden to hit on the secretary and especially one so young was considered inappropriate. The Tongans were very angry at Sam as well, but for different reasons. The did not care that it was the church secretary, and they did not care that she was so much younger. Their issue was that Sam had not respected Mary by observing the two years of mourning due her as a wife, and that he had married before the time period of mourning was complete.

CONCLUSION

Most of the time we are blind to the ways our life experience shapes our point of view. Our point of view is part of what we assume about the world. And assumptions are things we simply do not think about and take for granted. Those who are a little more self aware will sometimes see the ways their life experience shapes how they think, and this is probably a good thing.

In Ephesians there is a lot of consideration about how two cultural groups, Jews and Gentiles, can through Christ become one. Those who look at cultural diversity in the church, at how people of different economic and ethnic backgrounds can work together look to Ephesians. And this gives us the goal. That we may become one in Christ.

One of the strategic questions has been, do we become one by ignoring our differences? Or do we become one by acknowledging, sharing and even celebrating our differences? My experience is that we must acknowledge our differences. If we try to ignore them they blindside us.

Recently Nora, who coordinates the summer lunch program at the church, served a chicken salad product that she thought was simply delicious. It was not cheap! The kids turned their noses up at it. Angela, the church Outreach director, observed, lovingly with a smile, “kids in the hood don’t eat stuff like that.” Angela has become something of a menu consultant and things are working better. We had some chili dogs this week, and Nora said, “I thought they were gross. The kids loved them!” We did not get to this place by ignoring differences, but rather by acknowledging and acting upon difference.

Acknowledging and acting on differences born of background, social circumstance, race, education and money is hard work, but simply to think that all of this can be ignored is naïve and counterproductive. If we seek to achieve even in part the unity that is celebrated in Ephesians we will need to be more aware of our assumptions, and more accepting of the differences that others bring to our community.

Amen and amen.

Bicycle Rodeo

Today the youngsters at the Summer Club here at the Church of Peace participated in a Bicycle Rodeo put on by the Rock Island Police along with some community volunteers. It was a darling program. And the kids loved it!

One at a time each child piloted a bicycle through a pre-set course. They were coached on how to make right and left turn signals and how to ride safely. Each child also received a bicycle helmet to promote safety in riding.

The photo above is a child going through their paces, and the photo below is of the line waiting for a turn.

Simple Summer Pleasures

Some simple summer pleasures retain their allure even in our more sophisticated times. Here some of the younger students from the Summer Club here at the church enjoy running through the sprinkler. The day was hot and they had been working hard on their reading all morning and running in the sprinkler was a welcome break.

Road Trip

We just got home from a great American Road Trip yesterday evening. Nancy, my wife, had driven out to Southern California for a good visit with her family. Last week I flew out to meet her and to enjoy visiting with family, and then on Sunday, we got up early and got on the road. We travelled with Harrison, the dog.

It was a great trip. We travelled through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska and most of Iowa. The roads were good and the travel was fast. We were on the road for four days and three nights. One of those evenings we stayed in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We walked around the downtown area in the twilight. Here is Harrison with Nancy in front of a statue of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis, here sculpted with the wolf of Gubbio, seemed like just the perfect place to take a photo of a travelling dog.

The last time we drove from California to the Midwest was in 1990, and that time we were moving. This was an easier trip. It is a big country.

Baptisms are for Everyone

One of the really good ideas to come my way in the last few years is for the pastor to carry a newly baptized baby around to "introduce" him to others in the congregation. Here is a very cute little member who was baptized this last Sunday at the Church of Peace "meeting" one of the older members of the congregation.

Baptism includes covenants that have many partners. Parents affirm their faith and promise to raise a child to be a Godly person. God gives acceptance to God's family. The congregation promises their love, support and care. The child's extended family gather around the parents and baby to show their support and love.

As young parents Nancy and I were immensely proud of our baby girls and wanted everyone to share our joy. And I thought about baptism as being about acceptance into the community of faith for the baby and the family. Many members of our extended family shared in the event as well.

And over the years I have come to realize what a moment of encouragement it is for a congregation to see new little ones being baptized. Last Sunday was also our June Congregational Meeting, and I think we entered that meeting with our spirits lifted and confident that God was not done with us yet.

Thanks be to God.

Summer Work Camps 2009

On my way into the church parking lot this morning at about 8:30 am I saw the work camp group from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA) of Ankeny, Iowa, loading their coolers into their vans for a day of Work Camp. At my request they stopped and let me take their photo.

This group arrived on Wednesday and will stay through Sunday, and they are our first work camp of the season. They are off today to work with our partner, Project NOW (www.projectnow.org) on an apartment complex in Viola, Illinois. This is the first of five church groups who will assist Project NOW in keeping low cost rental units maintained for the residents. By working with us and the work camp groups Project NOW is able to leverage their efforts to keep their property in good shape, and thus aid residents.

The camp groups stay in the old parsonage here at the Church of Peace. Their needs are met by the work of our Summer Work Camps Director. Megan Elliott, a church member who will be a senior at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois, in the fall is the host this year.

Not only do work groups such as the one from Holy Trinity get a lot of good work done, but their presence and enthusiasm is a positive witness to Christ and the church.

California Nevada Conference

Here is the view from my seat at the California Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church which I attended last week; June 17-20. My assigned seat was in section Q10, and the rows went all the way back to 'W.' The Bishop, Warner Brown, is seated up on the dais, and there are two large projection screens on either side to help those in the convention center follow what is going on. I think the thing that struck me most this time was how big and corporate this conference is, especially compared with my UCC conference in Illinois.

One night the body was voting on the constitutional amendments for the national church. Since there was a paper ballot that had to be recorded I got a good idea of how many participants we had. There were about 620 persons casting ballots. And this was at 10:30 pm when some had just run out of energy and gone back to their hotel to sleep for the night.

It was good to see old friends. I was appointed to the Church of Peace UCC for the 19th year by Bishop Brown.

Summer Club

About five years ago the Church of Peace began serving lunch to children in our neighborhood who are eighteen years of age and younger. We were asked to do so when our local elementary school was closed for the summer for reorganization. After that first year we have tried to provide some enrichment program for children as well. It seemed a little thin to bring kids in, feed them a meal, and then shoo them on their way.

Well, today we began our Summer Club for 2009. We serve these children breakfast and lunch, and provide enrichment activities for the children during the morning. The Club meets from 9 am. to 12:30 pm. The Club is jointly sponsored by the Church of Peace and the Community Caring Conference of Rock Island. We have some 50 children signed up, and about 35 showed up on this first day. This is not too bad, and we made phone calls to the homes of the kids who were not here. The club is divided into three groups.

They are the Lions, the Tigers and the Bears. O my.

The youngest group is the Lions. These children are 6 & 7 years of age and the focus of the group is on reading. These children were identified to us by our local elementary school, the Primary Academy, as kids who would benefit from an intensive reading program. Our instructor is Sylvia Elliott, a reading specialist with the Rock Island Schools and a member of the church. She is assisted by three college students who are working with us for the summer. Of course it will not be all reading, there is music and art, and field trips scheduled as well. Here they are on their first day.

The oldest group, youngsters 12 - 14 years of age, are the Bears.

Here are the Bears working with Katie Casey and Mary Kae Waytenick on music in the sanctuary. It is hard to tell from the photo but these youth are clapping, snapping and slapping out a very complex rhythm. The academic focus of the Bears and the Tigers is on social relationships in community. Mary Kae is a retired music educator from the Rockridge District, and Katie teaches in the Sherrard School District.

The last photo is of the Tigers, the middle group, age 8 - 11 years, with their art teacher, Hillary Plog, in the Fellowship Hall of the church. I think I must have been making my rounds with the camera just as they were beginning their time together. Hillary is explaining to them what it is like to be in a wheelchair, as she is. It seems a double privilege to receive quality art instruction
and to learn about how people are able in different ways. Hillary teaches with Katie in Sherrard.

Our Outreach Director, Angela Richardson, is coordinating the program, and there are teachers from RICCA as well, including Deacon Al Edgeworth, from the Truth Temple Church, across the street.

And this is just the first day. More to follow later.

This program is supported with special gifts from the Doris and Victor Day Foundation of Rock Island, the Junior Board of Rock Island, and a generous donation from a couple who helps support educational efforts for youth in our area. The food program is funded by the US Department of Agriculture.

Illinois Maya Ministry Luncheon

At the Illinois Conference Meeting at Springfield, Illinois, Gloria Vicente was the speaker at the Illinois Maya Ministries luncheon that took place on Saturday, June 6, in the Convention Center. Gloria, along with her husband, Santos, and their baby, Nicolas, were present with about twenty conference members, and we all had lunch together.

Gloria, as the speaker, shared some of her own journey with us. There is something remarkably engaging when persons give witness to their own experience. There is power when we construct the narrative of our life. Gloria began by talking about the experience of her family.

The village where she lived was totally destroyed by the military. It was quite near the village of the Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, and Gloria’s father knew Vicente Menchu, Rigoberta’s father. Gloria’s father met with Vicente Menchu the night before he was killed in the 1980 burning of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City. The Campasino Unity Group had entered the Spanish Embassy and the Guatemalan police burned down the building on January 31, 1980, killing 36 persons. This was a defining event in the Guatemalan Civil War, and in Gloria’s life.

Gloria’s family fled to Mexico, and later to Texas. In Texas they were sheltered by a Presbyterian Church, and later they came to Chicago and were offered sanctuary by the University Church in Hyde Park. This was all part of the Sanctuary movement, and she came to Chicago in 1985, when she was ten years old.

Gloria remembers interpreting into English for her father as he spoke to groups in the Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance and in the Chicago Religious Leadership Network.

Later, accompanied by a delegation of Disciples and members of the United Church of Christ, she travelled with her father and saw for the first time the village of Sac Ja in Guatemala. She saw the place where he grandparents were killed. She saw their names listed among those killed on the pillars in front of the National Cathedral in Guatemala City. She walked the land that they had worked as campasino farmers. This was a profound experience for Gloria, having grown up in the United States. This required quite a lot of emotional processing.

“As I learned to process the pain it made me want to go (back to the homeland of my ancestors) and serve as a missionary,” says Gloria. “I feel called to serve and to be a bridge builder.” Gloria is aware that on the one hand she has a lot in common with the people in Guatemala, and on the other hand her differences are significant as well – growing up in Chicago. “I want to return and accompany others as we were accompanied in our time of need.”

Gloria is now assigned by Global Ministries – a joint ministry of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), http://www.globalministries.org/, and she is working in Santa Cruz, in the highlands of Guatemala with ACG – Guatemalan Cultural Action. This is in the K’iche’ region and Gloria is impressed with her co-workers.

Gloria has been living and learning in Guatemala. She was married to Santos Par, whom she met in Guatemala. Her husband is K’iche’, and she has been learning the language. Her husband is from Totonicapan. Among her responsibilities with ACG is to receive international delegations. She said she hoped to see some of us who were at the luncheon in Guatemala!

She and Santos are in the United States right now. Her son, Nicolas was born in the US. He will soon have a surgery and then they will be able to return to Guatemala.

In the last few years Gloria has become ever more aware that her life has purpose. The very unusual experiences she has had, being born of Mayan people in Guatemala, travelling through Mexico to arrive in Chicago. Having been sheltered by the church and given sanctuary, then to return as a missionary and bridge-builder to Guatemala – give her an ability understand and to act in this moment.

Gloria’s talk was an inspiration to us all.

Catch them doing the right thing

One of the most profound ideas in my college experience was from an early childhood education class. The teacher suggested trying to catch children doing the right thing and then compliment them on it. Not only is this a great idea for kids, but it works profoundly well for adults. We all like to hear a "thank you" for doing something good.


Our member of congress here in the 1st Congressional District in Iowa is Bruce Braley, and he is fairly new at it. Wonderfully enough, Bruce has signed on as a co-sponsor on H R 2567, which is a bill to close the School of the Americas. The title is "The Latin America Military Training Review Act" and if you want lots of information on it go to www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_2567.html


The point is, from the perspective of Latin America activists, Braley is doing the right thing. Please call his office and tell them "Thank you." The phone number for his Davenport office is (563) 323-5988. His DC office is (202) 225-2911. It will be a painless and well spent 30 seconds. It will be doing the right thing.

Carole Hoke Ordination

On Sunday, May 31st, Nancy and I drove to Fondulac Congregational United Church of Christ in Peoria, Illinois, for the ordination of Carole Hoke. That is Carole on the right, with the red jacket, I am in the middle and Rev. Lauren Padgett is on the left.

It was a wonderful and carefully thought out service, with a lot of hymns. There must have been 25 clergy in the little church! Carole received a great deal of support and I was glad to be there to lay my hands on her along with the others. A beautiful day.

Bessie Schweiss

One of our church members, Bessie Schweiss passed away last week and the services were at the church. Her obituary may be found at http://www.wheelanpressly.com/obituaries/

Here are my remarks at the service, as some have asked for them:

Bessie Schweiss
July 10, 1909 – May 23, 2009

On Tuesday, May 19 I had lunch with Bessie at Friendship Manor, in the dining hall. At this time we have a number of church members who are residents there, so our Parish Nurse, Mary Oelschlaeger, organizes lunches every couple of months so that we can visit our members, and help them stay in touch with each other. So Bessie and I, along with the church secretary sat together at table. Bessie was very much herself. We talked a little about the building that is falling down in Morrison, that was on the news. I had learned not to ask Bessie how old she was, but rather to ask “What year were you born in?” She replied, “1909.” So you are going to be a hundred this summer. “Just a day, like any other,” she replied. That was Bessie, crusty but warm. But she was pretty much herself, and on top of things. I was surprised when I got a call that next Saturday saying that Bessie had passed away.

Bessie Devenney was born in Prophetstown. She said that her dad was an auctioneer, known as the man with the leather lungs. Mr. Lamphere, her first husband was a barber, and together they lived in Morrison, Sheffield and Prophetstown, as well as in California during the second world war – where he was a Navy barber. They had two sons.

Bessie moved to Rock Island in 1967 and married Francis Schweiss, who was a member of the Church of Peace. She joined the church at that time, but had always been a Methodist. This gave Bessie and I something in common.

Bessie enjoyed her family. “She beat us at Yatze,” recalled one family member. “She read us books,” said another. She and her younger brother drove to Pennsylvania for a family reunion when Bessie was 89 and he was about 87. She liked to travel, and she liked family reunions, so they went.

Bessie kept track of people – especially her large family. One grandson talked about how it was fun to go with Bessie about the first of the month to a card store where she could get cards to mark the birthdays and other family events. She would look through cards to find just the right one for each person. Sometimes she would buy some 20 cards. “She was fun to watch,” he recalled.

At her 90th birthday her family coordinated a “card party” where they alerted others and asked them to send Bessie a card. She received some 125 cards!

Bessie was social. She bowled till she was well into her eighties. She loved life. She liked to be around people. Well, most people. We asked her once when she was living at the tower why she did not go downstairs and have a meal with the others. She said she did not like being around all those “old people.” That was sometimes her criticism of Friendship Manor, “too many old people,” though it was actually pretty good for her. She liked to swap jokes with people. “How many people are buried in the cemetery?” was one of hers. “All of them,” is the reply.

Bessie was a Chicago Cubs fan, and hoped to live long enough to see them win the World Series.

Bessie drove with a family member in her car to the driver’s license station to get her license renewed when she was 96 years old. The car died in the parking lot, and Bessie took that as a sign she should not get another license. They rode back to town in the tow truck.

When Bessie first moved into Friendship Manor our Parish Nurse asked her if there was anything that she wanted, that she could bring her. “A beer and a book.” Mary brought her both. A couple of her Tri Mu Circle friends brought Bessie a beer as well.

Bessie was funny and she was fun. She could surprise you with what she would say, but she was enjoyable to be with. She was one of those people who could give you a handle to get to know her – bring her a pig for her collection, bring her a book or a beer and she would be pleased. Bessie would tell you what she thought if you would ask her.

She will be missed. We thank God for Bessie and her good long life, her large and loyal family, and we thank God that Bessie was able to be herself and enjoy her good long life right to the end.

Amen and amen.

Alternatives?

Do you remember the film Traffic? It won 4 academy awards in 2000 and focused on the issue of drugs, Mexico and the United States. The scene from the movie that always sticks in my mind is one where there is a whole plane-load of law enforcement and political people, clearly frustrated because their efforts have failed to make an impact in the situation. "Can you think of something we can do differently?" the protagonist asks. There is complete silence.

The proposals regarding drugs and the US/Mexico border seem to be more of the same. And if anything, the situation since 2000 seems even more difficult. Back in my May 10 blog I lamented that the only way we can seem to think of to respond to drug issues and the border is with more militarization, which up to now has not seemed to work well.

The link below is from a group of Mexican Non Governmental Organizations that proposes not doing more of the same. It is not dashing, but it is worthy of consideration.

http://lawg.nonprofitsoapbox.com/storage/lawg/documents/congress_ngoletter_militaryaid_mexico_inglesfinal.pdf