[generous spaciousness at TWU]

Wendy Gritter, executive director of New Direction, and her colleagues recently made a cross-Canada `Generous Spaciousness Road Trip". Here`s an excerpt of what Wendy said at Trinity Western University, speaking at their Gender Café:

Might we be animated by a vision of unity and diversity that would restore our public witness?

Might we be able to call out the fear and the anxiety for what it is, and have the courage and the trust and the faith to recognize that the body of Christ is diverse and a whole lot bigger than we might even like it to be, filled with people who think differently than we do and yet who name the name of Jesus, who honour the Scriptures, and are also seeking to share the good news of Jesus with the world?

Might we recognize the gift and the opportunity of this conversation at this time in the history of the church, rather than a problem to fix or a conflict to avoid, an opportunity for growth and maturation?

Wendy Gritter speaking at TWU, November 13, 2014

Video link

jesus faces a difficult decision

Jesus faces a difficult decision. Neither option is a winner, neither promises to end well. Yet because of his love for every one of us, he gave up his privilege, he "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant," he became one of us.

History moves on. Two thousand years later, the same crap is still happening in this world of ours.

Instead of following his example, we picked up the pieces of privilege and made gods of ourselves....

come, you who are blessed...

Come, you who are blessed by my Father;

take your inheritance,

the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

For I was hungry and you passed laws against feeding the homeless,

I was thirsty and you gave me a religious tract,

I was a stranger and you fought for the right to discriminate against me,

I needed clothes and you filled your closet with the latest fads,

I was sick and you refused to give your employees health benefits,

I was in prison and you used me for cheap labour.

Matthew 25:34-40, adapted.

[#MMIW]

Jonathan Labillois' tribute to 1183 murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls in Canada.

For more information, search Twitter for #MMIW.

Artist's website.

Source: @windspeakernews

[repay violence with violence]

Since Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot to death by Darren Wilson, a police officer, in Ferguson Missouri this past summer (Aug 9, 2014),

since that time,

and more since since the grand jury decided not to indict Wilson (Nov 24, 2014),

I have occasionally had the following thought pop into my head:


On a happy sunny day, a sniper (a white sniper, to avoid increasing racial violence) should take out Wilson's teenage son as he's walking down the street on his way home from school.


And today, only today, after reading an article by Suzanne Ross (see below), I'm thinking,

"Did I seriously wish that?

How do I -- the guy with this blog about embracing people instead of excluding them -- wish that someone would kill Wilson's kid? And to take so long to realize what I'm wishing....


For starters, his son is as valuable as Michael Brown and also deserves to live a life free of violence. Of course, in a country with systemic racism, the opposite is the reality: Wilson's son is considered as worthy of having a life free of violence, and Michael Brown just doesn't matter....

so perhaps I'm reacting in an equal and opposite way.

But as a follower of Jesus, I should see all lives as being valued and equally deserving a life free of violence, regardless.

an apology from Cleveland Police Department Officer Michael Brelo

For Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell, an unarmed couple shot 137 times by 13 Cleveland Police Department police officers at the end of a high speed chase, November 29, 2012. This apology is from Michael Brelo, one of those officers.

---

i just want to say

you had been speeding
in your nice car
speeding unarmed
with your love

I was afraid
shot 49 bullets into you
while standing on the hood
of your car

Forgive me
if I had spent more time on the firing range
I'd have done the job
with two bullets

poem by rob g

---

Read more.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

Back-posted to November 29, 2014, to match the anniversary of their death.

the roth of god

This is our beloved priest and resident alien, "the roth of god."

He loves Jesus and he loves people. Pretty biblical, uh?

With two faces, he can see parishioners on the right and on the left side of the church, differing points of view, and the entire length of the longest all-you-can-eat buffet in town.

He is not double-minded nor "blown and tossed by the wind" — there's only one brain inside that head, and both feet are planted firmly on the ground.

His hair is styled after Wolverine, his favourite movie character.

He has four arms because he is embracing of others and because they're useful for complex tasks like the Eucharist.

What looks like funky vestments is really his skin with racing stripes tattooed onto it.

While some aliens are toxic, the roth is antidotal.

He doesn't paint his toenails. Those are their natural colours.

He levitates tables and turns blood into wine!

---

You might wonder how someone ostensibly reasonable and sane like me comes up with such drawings, and I have to confess that not only am I not that reasonable and sane, but it was very easy.

I was at church a few months ago, and during the Eucharist squinted my eyes and looked up to the front, where the roth was waving his arms around. He looked kinda like an alien, and what more does one need than that?

And clearly, if you have read I Peter 2:11 in some translations, being strange and an alien is very biblical...

[embedded]

Richard Beck on the kingdom:

'The eccentric Kingdom doesn't claim territory over against the world. The eccentric Kingdom doesn't erect walls to create a gated community. Rather, the eccentric Kingdom, like salt and leaven, is embedded in the world.

The eccentric Kingdom is the embedded, pilgrim, landless, possessionless, homeless, sojourning, itinerant missionary community called and commissioned to live lives of radical service and availability to the world.'

Isn't that quote just delicious?! And I wonder, why is such fare so rarely found?

Read the whole post.

[lest we forget...]

Here in Canada, we remember our soldiers -- those who have gone before and have lost their lives; those who go now.War is a horrible thing, and I agree with Steve Young's sign that there are no unwounded soldiers.

But as the wars are "somewhere over there", as we are not in a war zone, it is easy to forget that there are civilian men, women and children being hurt and killed every day, and that just as there are no unwounded soldiers, there are no unwounded civilians.

---

Sign in front of the office of Steve Young, MLA for Edmonton Riverview.
Photo and edit by rob g. Photo taken on 2014-11-17.

my picture of god

At a recent prayer time at church, we did some drawing. First, we were asked to draw a picture of God as we understood him when we were young. I drew a bearded man up on a cloud, and me on the earth.

Then we were asked to draw a picture of God as we understand or perceive him now. The picture above is what I drew: a quick sketch of Jesus and friends. Why? Cuz one thing I'm sure of, is that Jesus embodies what God is like. So the way I understand and perceive God, is by looking at Jesus.

[peace is a human right]

Peace is a human right.

I don't know if I ever heard anyone say that before reading Koehler's article the other day.

Nor did I know that in 1999, the United Nations considered a culture of peace resolution. Imagine that!

Read Robert Koehler's article to find out what happened to the resolution .... (I'll give you a hint: it wasn't passed).

love your enemies...

Here's a cartoon inspired by an evening spent with MT, Michael Hardin, Jim Robertson and others, discussing mimetic theory, non-violent atonement and other such things.

Does this fit with what you read and see of Jesus in the New Testament? If we are to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us, wouldn't our heavenly Father do the same, but a zillion times more completely?

[ending the teaching of contempt against the church’s sexual minorities]

Dr. David P. Gushee, a leading evangelical ethicist, has just given an incredible talk at the Reformation Project's Regional Training Conference.

Entitled “Ending the Teaching of Contempt against the Church’s Sexual Minorities”, it is a must-read.


In the talk, he addresses the

unchristlike body of Christian tradition,

amounting to what can be fairly described as a teaching of contempt against one particular group, which was prevalent in the church for centuries until the mid 1900's, and then compares that to a similar teaching of contempt has been directed against another group in more recent years.

Read Dr. Gushee's talk. This is a must-read if you are a Christian serious about your faith.

---

Related:
My cartoon about Martin Luther
My cartoon about who is ostracized

[video: we see no enemy]

"We See No Enemy presents five stories told against the backdrop of Israeli-occupied Palestine, creating an anthology of the West Bank. We See No Enemy chronicles the conflict from the perspective of those rarely heard. By weaving these narratives together, We See No Enemy seeks to turn up these inspiring voices to hear their passion and listen to their suffering."

Full video (1 hr 17 min long):

We See No Enemy video from We See No Enemy on Vimeo.

The five stories in the video are as follows, and can be viewed individually by clicking the title. (timing refers to location in full video)

Story 1: Paradise (timing 1-20)
Story of the Al Basma Center, which works with men and women with mental challenges. Half the staff and the clients are Muslim, the other half Christian.

Story 2: Conversion (24-38)
Story of a Palestinian Christian man, who changed his views on how to respond to violence..

Story 3: Hospitality (38 - 49)
The story of the hospitality of a Palestinian man toward others.

Story 4: Trespass (49-59)
The team returns to Palestine, and finds that someone has been into their house. Discussion of what Palestinians face in terms of searches, night raids, evictions, etc.

Story 5: Home (59 - 1:13)
The story of a family forcibly evacuated from their home by police officers, in order to give their house to settlers.

[loving enemies who won't bake cakes for you]

How would you love someone who discriminated against you because of your race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability or some other reason?

Here's a real life story:

In January 2013, Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of a bakery called "Sweet Cakes by Melissa," refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. The reason they gave for this refusal was their religious beliefs.

The lesbian couple filed a complaint and the bakery was investigated by the Oregon department of labor, which found that there was "substantial evidence of unlawful discrimination." Side note: public accommodations laws in many American states (known as Fair Accommodation Laws in Canada) mean that a business (restaurant, hotel, store, etc.) may not discriminate as to whom they serve. While some folks are unhappy about this as they would like the right to discriminate against lgbt people, this is the same law that means a business cannot serve "whites only" or carry on any of the other discriminatory practices that used to be lawful.

In any case, the department may bring formal charges if the two parties can't come to a settlement.  Formal charges could accompany a fine of up to $150,000.


Now here's where it gets interesting.

Matt Stolhandske, an evangelical, gay rights activist, is trying to raise money to help them pay the fine. Yes, you read that right. He's gay, he's a follower of Jesus, and he's trying to help out the Kleins. Even though he disagrees with their refusal to bake the wedding cake, he wants to help them out. Here's why, in his own words (as quoted at katu.com):

'Stolhandske, who is gay, told KATU his effort is inspired by the teachings of Christ.

“We would like to demonstrate the true character of Jesus Christ, which is to show love in the face of discrimination,” Stolhandske said.

He added: “Exactly at the time of our enemy’s most difficult moment, exactly at the time when we can destroy them, that’s when we must show love.”

Stolhandske qualified that statement, saying the Kleins are his enemy only when it comes to gay rights. Otherwise, he said, the Kleins are his brother and sister in Christ.

“We don’t want to see the destruction of the Klein family or their children,” Stolhandske said. “We don’t want to see the destruction of Christians. We don’t want to see people suffering. What we want to see is the destruction of a system which systematically discriminates against LGBT people.”'

Source

Wow. It seems that for some people, following Jesus is more than just lip service and looking good on Sundays. It's the real deal.

What do you think?

---

Read more:
http://www.katu.com
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

See also what would jesus bake? (previous post on this blog)

[sometimes a man's just gotta wear a dress]

Watch the new music video for the song "The Light" by Hollysiz, and you'll know what I mean by the title....







Video link

[doing small things with extraordinary love, article by John Swinton]

In "Doing Small Things with Extraordinary Love: Congregational Care of People Experiencing Mental Health Problems", John Swinton begins with:

The mental health industry is a big and complex beast. Amid the high-tech, neurological, genetic and pharmaceutical landscape it is easy for religious communities to feel nervous and disempowered. "What could we possibly have to offer that might bring healing in the midst of such prohibitively high-tech approaches to mental health care?"

Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche, provides us with a rather unusual answer: "The church is not called to do extraordinary things; it is called to do ordinary things with extraordinary love." In response to the complexities of the experience of mental health problems, the church's vocation is not to become a community of psychiatrists. Rather, it is called to become a community of disciples who strive to embody and reveal God's extraordinary love.

Read the rest of this excellent article.

Subsection titles:
Understanding mental health problems
The problem of stigma
The ministry of small things: What would Jesus do?
Re-thinking hospitality: Moving from host to guest

Note: Swinton also has a book out called Dementia: Living in the Memories of God which looks excellent! However, my sister got a copy and says it's a "detailed, clinical book," which means that if you are looking for something to help you and your loved one, it might not be the ideal choice.

[prodigal sons: voices from the inside]

This is a blog written by people who are imprisoned, sharing their stories and experiences in prison, with themes of grace, redemption, etc.

Check out the Prodigal Sons blog.

jesus and heaven's wall

You may have seen this picture shared on social media and thought, pretty cool! So did I. 

But did you know there's more to the story?

First, let's recap with a copy of the image text:

Saint Peter and the Angel Gabriel had a problem. Peter was sorting people at the Pearly Gates letting some in and keeping others out, but Gabriel was finding more people in heaven than Peter was letting in. They were befuddled. Gabriel told Peter to keep working and he'd get to the bottom of this. A few hours later he came back and told Peter not to worry; he'd figured it out. "It's Jesus. He's pulling people in over the wall."

(text from picture above)

Now here's the rest of the story:

After talking to Peter, Gabriel went off to his cloud to think. You see, he hadn't told Peter the whole story. He had seen more than he mentioned, more than he wanted to see -- no, even more than he wanted to believe. It was shocking, in fact, and he wasn't sure his heart would hold out.

He had been taking a shortcut to ask another angel about the discrepancy in numbers when ahead in the distance, he noticed a flurry of movement along the wall. Moving closer, he had seen someone using a sledge hammer to make a hole in the wall, a hole through which people were peering.

He had rushed over to put a stop to it, but before he was close enough for the offender to notice him, he realized that it was Jesus himself wielding the sledge hammer. He had pulled back, watching with disbelief, mesmerized by the sight: Jesus breaking the wall and then waving people inwards, saying, "Come in, sisters and brothers, come in," embracing those who were entering.

Gabriel had finally been able to tear himself from the unbelievable sight. Leaving the scene, he took extra time on his way back in order to think of a reasonable story to tell Peter.

I'll tell him that Jesus was pulling people over the wall, Gabriel had finally concluded. Peter shouldn't see that as a problem. After all, Jesus would know who's allowed in and who wasn't, and Peter would be happy that with Jesus' help, the line at the main gate would be shorter. So that's what he told him.

But now, back at his cloud, Gabriel really didn't know what to think, 'cuz Jesus was definitely not checking anyone's ID. He pinched himself in case he was dreaming, and then slapped himself just to be sure. No, I'm really awake and this is really happening, he said to himself. Jesus is actually letting all those people in. I can't even go ask God the Father about this; He and Jesus are so tight that He surely must already know about it.

This is more than I can bear, he sighed. In all my years here I have been so careful to uphold the rules and follow procedure, and now heaven's going to hell in a hand basket....

The rest of the story:
 "jesus and heaven's wall" written by rob g.
Original image shared by friends on FB. Probably from thegodarticle.

[woven]

the ferguson in my own eye

After taking great pride in telling other countries how to be and when to shape up, and actively moving in to help them in this regard, the U.S. is getting some of its own medicine back. It's sounding like a case of having pointed out the speck in someone else's eye and then they turn around and say, 'hey, what about the speck in your eye?!'

Egypt is urging the U.S. to "show restraint against protesters" in Ferguson, MO. Kinda ironic, considering that U.S. President Obama made similar comments to Egypt in 2013 when its government cracked down on protesters.

A government minister from Iran referred to the crisis in Ferguson as a sign of "the phenomenon of racism" in the west.

And China also had something to say. (source)

Here's an imaginary response from my own government:

And in case you thought Canada was a better place... it might be for black people but what if you are aboriginal?

We have our own sordid history to deal with, and our own batch of systemic racism....

come to me, all you who are weary and burdened...

(Read about what inspired this cartoon).

if anyone stumbles...

Young people leaving the church. Young people being kicked out of church, or kicked out of their homes by their religious parents. Because they're gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or whatever, and by whatever, I mean whatever - sexual orientation or otherwise.

I'm tired of it happening, and it makes me sad and mad. Where did we lose Jesus?

---

If anyone causes one of these little ones — those who believe in me — to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Matthew 18:6 NIV

[forsaken]

I don't generally get super-angry and riled up when I read about rebels in some other country killing school children, or large corporations avoiding labour laws and increasing profits by moving their operations to other countries. It's wrong, and something should be done about it. But I don't get super-angry, because "that's what you expect from rebels" and "that's what you expect corporations to be doing". (Perhaps my non-anger is a problem, but we'll leave that for another post).

But once in a while I read an article which makes me really angry, because I expect more of those who are doing wrong. 

Case in point:

A recent Rolling Stone article gives this disturbing finding from a recent study:

Highly religious parents are significantly more likely than their less-religious counterparts to reject their children for being gay – a finding that social-service workers believe goes a long way toward explaining why LGBT people make up roughly five percent of the youth population overall, but an estimated 40 percent of the homeless-youth population.

So much for "the least of these."

Read it for yourself if you want something to be angry about.

The next two cartoons were inspired by reading this article...

---

Believe Out Loud also has a shorter article about a recent video/audio recording which received broad exposure on the internet, of a set of Christian parents rejecting their gay son.

[making friends among the taliban, by jonathan larson]

Making friends with the Taliban?? You gotta be kidding me!

Yet that is what this book is about: a Christian peacemaker spending decades in Afghanistan and, in the process becoming friends with the Taliban.

"[C]hildhood friend Jonathan Larson retraces Dan’s work in Afghanistan over almost four decades. During the successive power struggles among royal regimes, the Red Army, warlords, the Taliban, and the American-led coalition, Dan inspired small Afghan communities to seek a sweeter destiny for themselves. Using a cascade of interviews and eyewitness accounts, this moving narrative of Dan’s life and friendships in Afghanistan offers us all a model for authentic living wherever we are." (from the book site)

My first knowledge of the book came from reading a review at the Raven Foundation, and that was enough to show me my own prejudice towards the Taliban, of whom I only knew what the western media told me. I have now read the sample chapter, and am hoping to get hold of the book to read the entire story.

One quote: 'His Afghan friends claimed, “In the greatest commandments of our scripture–to practice humility; to be generous to widows, the orphans, and the poor; and to be selfless and persevering in the search for justice and peace–Dantri was more Muslim than we Muslims.”'

Book site (includes trailer, sample chapter, study guide and more).
Review with mimetic focus (at Raven Foundation).

Making Friends among the Taliban: A Peacemaker's Journey in Afghanistan
Jonathan Larson
(Herald Press, 2012)

blessed are the peacemakers

This cartoon was inspired by one of my sons posting on FB a saying that starts with "Bombing for peace is like... " and ends with a rude but true phrase. And then, well, my brain took over and came up with this cartoon.

What do you think?

As an alternative, I had considered altering the great commission from Matthew 28:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and bombing for peace wherever you go.

[letters from apartheid street by michael mcray]

Letters from Apartheid Street: A Christian Peacemaker in Occupied Palestine chronicles the three months which Michael McRay spent with Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank.

Here's one brief snippet:

"As they approached the end of the Old City, one of the soldiers in the back turned and quickly pointed the barrel of his weapon into an elderly man’s shop.  The store owner sat out in front, his head just beneath the level of the gun’s barrel.  He simply looked up at the soldiers passing his shop, bowed his head, lifted up his hand, palm upwards, and said, “Ahlan wasahlan (you are most welcome).”  His response so caught me off guard I laughed out loud.  Here was an Israeli soldier, a member of the military occupying this Palestinian man’s land, who walked the streets of Hebron to protect the Jewish settlers who were illegally taking more and more land from this man and his people.  In short, there walked his enemy.

And this Muslim man extended his hand in humble invitation.  Resistance." (source)




Read McRay's story of darkness cannot drive out darkness.

Richard Beck's review at the Christian Scholars Conference, focusing on the temptations to hate, to heroism, and to despair that he feels any passionate and activist Christian would face.

Author's website: michaelmcray.com

how to tell if an Amish person...

A light-hearted look at how one might be able to tell that an Amish person is gay or lesbian. Inspired by a book cover which features a real photo similar to the drawing in the upper right.

And yes, there are websites for LGBT people who are Amish (example).

[fighting stereotypes about aboriginal people]

KC Adams, a Winnipeg artist, has created a series of photographs to fight against stereotypes about aboriginal people.

The series consists of paired photographs, one with a slur with question marks, the second giving the person's name and some words describing them.

What do you think?

Five more photographs and background information on the series:

Artist's website.