Covenant

On the afternoon of April 22, I drove up the Mississippi River to the city of Clinton, Iowa, for a memorial service for one of my colleagues from the California/Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church. The service was for Charles Andrew Tanner-Dorn. Rev. Tanner-Dorn had died on April 16, and I had received news of it in an email from California. I figured that I might be the only clergy colleague from the Cal/Nevada Conference, and I was.

I remembered Charley a little from the late 1970s, when he joined the conference. I was at that time assigned to churches in the San Joaquin Valley of California and Charley was entering the conference after serving as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. I remember him as an affable person. But my reason for being there was not that he was a deep friend, but rather it was an effort to live out, or even embody, the covenant of collegiality and commitment we make to each other as clergy members of the conference.

We make some pretty deep promises to each other, and to God, and to our conference, and sometimes these become inconvenient to live out. This was my little effort to embody the connection.

Prayer Vigil in Kenosha

Yesterday, on April 29, a group of six members of Quad Cities Interfaith (QCI) drove (or rode) up to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to participate in some public events to have a voice in the national discussion on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. QCI is an affiliate of the Gamaliel Network and other affiliates were represented in Kenosha, and another meeting had been taking place there ahead of this immigration event.

At its core, Gamaliel equips and trains church folks to participate in civil society. This was a classic and simple series of events. The top photo is of the preparation for the day, and it is taking place in the local United Methodist Church. One of the pastors is explaining clearly and simply what will soon take place. The pattern for immigrant expulsion that is currently in use is to round them up, detain them first in county jails, then transfer them to detention centers (like the Broadview Detention Center in Chicago,) from which they are shipped by bus to the airport and flown out of the country. So our first stop is the local Kenosha County Jail, which is part of this system.

The pastors and other religious leaders lead the group to the nearby jail where we pray for justice and we pray for those caught up in this system. One of the religious leaders is the chaplain from the jail, who lets us know that all prisoners at Kenosha are treated humanely, but he along with us believes that this pattern of deportation bears closer scrutiny and reform. His participation is strategic; we are stakeholders.

After the prayer vigil at the county jail we walk to the nearby congressmember's office. This is Congressman Paul Ryan, and our presence certainly does not represent preaching to the choir. We arrive outside the office building, sing a devotional song, and one of the pastors makes a short presentation. The office has been informed in advance of our interest and intended visit, and one of the staff members listens to the presentation, receives written material and then makes a prepared speech. The speech is later made available as a press release.

After our visit at the congressmember's office we walk back to the church, have a wonderful lunch prepared by the women's group at the church, and then have a follow up meeting to evaluate the day and plan for future actions.

This was a pristine example of how such training as this works. We were consistently prepared and our efforts were disciplined and respectful to all involved. Different persons participated as leaders and speakers with the group at various moments. Everyone there got to experience "how it can be done" and went home better able to participate in the public discussion of important issues. At every moment we were reminded of our role and values as the faith community.

It was a good day, and on the way home in the van we found ourselves discussion what we should do next back in the Quad Cities. I will bet that similar discussions were taking place in cars, vans and buses around the Midwest.

Participation

I am grateful that the culture of the Church of Peace is one of consistent participation in the efforts of our conference and denomination. We do what we can to share in God's ministry in the world through various channels. One of those is through the church-wide offereings of the United Church of Christ.

Recently the church received some recognition for our efforts.

Reading in the lounge

One of the partners in the Family Literacy Program that takes place here at the Church of Peace is the Rock Island Public Library. On some occasions the group travels to the library together. At other times the librarian, Sue Foster, comes to the church and reads to the church and reads to the group. Not only is she providing enrichment for the children, but is modeling a good activity for parents and children to do together. Here they all are in the lounge.

The lower photo also shows what a wonderfully diverse group is here at the church daily. And the size of the program has grown substantially since last September.

Wonderful Day

One of the great privileges of a long pastorate at the Church of Peace is summed up in this photograph. I taught the confirmation class and confirmed the young father in the photo and also the godfather. And then I officiated at the couple's wedding a few years back. And now I am here for their daughter's baptism.

It was a beautiful service and wonderful day.

Merton Center

On the same day that I visited the Abbey of Gethsemani I also visited the Merton Center at Bellermine University in Louisville, Kentucky. While this meant short visits at both sites, you never know when you will be in the neighborhood again with such a purpose.

By its very nature a monastery is hardly a place for a focus on a particular personality. While there were many books by Merton in the gift shop, there was no other acknowledgement of him otherwise. The Merton Center could legitimately collect and examine Merton's legacy. An impressive collection is Merton's published work. Several editions, multiple translations to other languages helped me see not only how much he had written, but also how widely received he has been. The Center also has ongoing publications considering Merton's continuing influence, and sponsors convocations of interested persons at intervals.

There are also photos that Merton took along the way. Some at the Abbey. Some taken on his trip to Asia.

There are photos of Merton himself, and also some of his family. One especially dear photograph is of his mother.

There is an impressive collection of quilts that bear Merton's image as well.


The existence of the center, its activities and publications reminds me that there is a whole community out there, who along with me have found spiritual accompaniment in Merton's writings. If you would like to see more about this please go to http://www.merton.org/

Below is a snapshot of one of the rooms at the center.

Pilgrimage to Gethsemani

A pilgrimage is a journey undertaken for a religious or spiritual purpose, and I went on such a journey for a few days after Easter. There is a tradition for the pastor to "get away" after the rigors of Holy Week and Easter, and I drove down to Kentucky. The destination for the journey was the Abbey of Gethsemani, a Trappist or Cistercian community that follows the Order of St. Benedict in a very traditional way. This particular community was established in 1848 in a hilly part of Kentucky, south of Louisville.

The reason I am aware of this religious community is that the monk and writer, Thomas Merton, resided there for 27 years. I became acquainted with Merton as a writer when I was in seminary in the early 1970s. First I discovered some of his journals that were published, then read the Seven Story Mountain, which is his autobiography, and moved on to some of his spiritual writing. I was saddened and surprised when one of my teachers told me that Merton had been killed in a tragic accident in 1968. His writing seemed so fresh and contemporary that I felt a kinship with him.

The Trappist monks pray seven times a day, and while I was at Gethsemani the prayer service of Sext rolled around at 2:15 pm. The core of this service is the singing of psalms, which we in the visiting congregation were able to do with the monks in the abbey church. That day it was psalms 125, 126 and 127. I count it a privilege to pray with these men.

Above is a photo of the monks in the abbey. It is from a postcard available in the gift shop. I did not think it appropriate to intrude by snapping a photo during the service. The church building is very tall, narrow and white. There was no processional with incense and all on this Wednesday after Easter. The service was quiet and part of a rhythm that is an alternative to our regular pace of life. Serene.