Saturday, May 24, 2008

Who speaks for God?

The following is a response to a priest who posted a message about prophets/being prophetic on a listserv that I read....




Interesting topic.

I had a conversation with my priest the Sunday after Easter, where we were discussing "my" issues that will never be aired in a public forum (over the idea of which bishop might be good to invite to speak at a conference I'm going to in August). I commented that the priests and bishops who seem most likely to openly speak out on "my" issues are those who are either non-parochial or retired. She agreed (probably implying a way to be left off the hook) and differentiated between the need for being pastoral vs. the need to prophetic. (The need not to create a divisive environment.)

Unfortunately, even though we agreed, it didn't make me feel any better about the Catch 22 that I'm stuck in there. If I had read this back then, I could have accused the Church of being a "not-for-prophet institution". Great description! I think it's worth a book.

No congregation, and certainly no religious institution, really wants or welcomes any kind of prophet in their midst. (I could rattle on, but won't.) But the bottom line for me is that since no one welcomes any type of truth that causes discomfort or implies any expectations from the hearers, or "makes ancient good uncouth", nothing much will ever change in a meaningful way. And it's too bad that I feel that way about the only institution that ostensibly represents God.

S...
[appropriate hymn]

"My own hunches and experiences point to an institution that is largely disconnected from the issues, needs and hurts of the world. I have felt that the church has been distressingly silent in terms of offering prophetic commentary and moral insight for the largest problems we face. In matters of public policy and personal transformation most churches are irrelevant."

-- (the Rev.) Peter Sawtell, from "The Irrelevant Church" (9/6/02)


"When the voice of God is invoked
on behalf of those
who have no voice,
it is time to listen.
But when the name of God is used
to benefit the interests
of those who are speaking,
it is time to be very careful."

-- Jim Wallis, Who Speaks for God?

Oprah, quotes & "A Lenten Fast From Violence" revisited

This is a post I decided not to send to one of my listservs. But it falls within the definition of a mini-rant. So I'll post it here:




Hi, all. I added links & quotes pertaining to Oprah's 21 day vegan cleanse on my site, along with things that came to mind as I went from link to link, both on her site and elsewhere.

If you look (or if you continue reading this) you might gather that after all these years, it still irks me, whenever I think about it, that our churches -- or the World Council of Churches(!) -- will not even mention giving up meat for Lent as an "option" for people to consider. Well, I know of one exception among us, in another part of the country. But I guess one has to be a veg'n to "preach it", because no one else will -- unless they're Orthodox, and observing a vegan Lent is the norm -- and from what I understand, the expectation to even be able to take Communion (with dispensations for the young and the elderly). As I've lamented in the past, The Episcopal Church is either too "protestant", or too self-indulgent (which is more likely the case), to care about such vestigial practices as self-examination, penitence and self-denial, even for the one season out of the Church Year that is set aside for that kind of thing.

Well, I'm thankful that Oprah is doing this.

Maybe her fans will take notice.

Sue


“How can you say you’re trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?”
– Oprah