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.