Cross and Flame Usage email

To all of my methodist readers -

I, with another person, just sent the following email to UM Communications regarding the usage of the UM cross and flame logo in Maxie Dunnam's personal YouTube video where he speaks against some of the constitutional amendments coming up for debate at annual conferences this year. If you feel so called, I would encourage you to send a similar email to UMCom as well at umcom@umcom.org. Change the pronouns and agencies to reflect your personal status and role in the UMC.

Here's the text of the email:

Dear United Methodist Communications,

We have seen the video produced by Good News regarding the proposed constitutional amendment 1 paragraph 4 regarding the inclusion of all persons in the life of the church.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MBON4eq7Eo&feature=related

In particular, we were troubled by the use of the Cross and Flame in the course of the video. Rev. Maxie Dunnam is not an official of the church and the use of the cross and flame gives the impression that he is speaking in an official capacity from the church. In so doing, we feel that this video is misleading and the use of the cross and flame is unduly influential in the debate about this important issue.

We know that the use of the cross and flame is limited to local congregations and official agencies of the church for exactly this reason. As members of the boards of General Board of Church and Society and General Commission on Religion and Race, we believe that the use of the images and icons of the church should be protected. When we engage in questions of this importance, it is vital that voices in the debate do not misrepresent in any way with what authority they speak.

In good conscience we could not let this action pass unnoticed. We thank you in advance for upholding the integrity of the United Methodist logo.

Sincerely,

Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger, GCORR Board Member
Kurt Karandy, GBCS Board Member

Springtime in the District

Last weekend, some friends and I took a study break to check out the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin. They not only show that springtime is here, but also that Easter is around the corner.

There were so many people there.... it seemed like the entire eastern seaboard of the U.S. came up that weekend!


The Washington Monument


The Jefferson Memorial... apparently, I like the juxtaposition of natural and architectural subjects in my photography.

Adam and me.

A cool picture of a cherry blossom branch with Jenny in the background.

"I was there"

It is a story that I will one day tell my children and grandchildren. It is a day in my life and the history of our nation that I will never forget as long as I live. I will tell them that I was there to witness the inauguration of the first black president of the United States, President Barack Obama.

Aside from election night last November, never have I been so proud to be an American than on January 20, 2009 at 12 noon. When I tell future generations about this day, I won't forget to tell them that I stood outside for over 14 consecutive hours in wintry, low 30 degree weather just to be a part of history. I won't forget to tell them that I stood there with people from all over, from New York to California, Minnesota to Texas, from different walks of life - white and black, Latino, Native American and Asian, immigrant and citizen, poor and affluent, young and old, gay and straight, Protestant and Catholic, Jew and Muslim, Hindu and nonbeliever to witness history. I won't forget to tell them that I teared up when Aretha Franklin sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and unashamedly cried when Obama took the Oath of Office, becoming the 44th President of the United States.

Regardless of what you think of Obama and his policies, as Americans we can all be proud of that day. I think that perhaps the greatest potential for his presidency is that he can encourage us as Americans to acknowledge and come to terms with our racial history. He has the ability to be a transformative leader, not by transcending race but by doing the opposite. By acknowleding its importance in our past, he can help transform America's views on race and racial justice. He can lead us, as Georgetown sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson says, into a post-racist, not post-racial age.That would be true change.

Is racism still present in the United States? Unfortunately, yes. Does white privilege still give some an unfair advantage? Regrettably, it is so. Yet, Obama's election and inauguration as President signifies an important turning point in our history as a nation. It is a moment that we all can be proud of, and is one I will recount to further generations time and time again.

(More reflections and pictures of Inauguration weekend in DC to follow. My apologies for the delay!)

If only...

This was part of an article about the current crisis in Gaza in a social justice newsletter. I wanted to post it here because the author eloquently addresses both sides of the conflict and argues for transformative justice and systemic change.

If only …

If only our empathy and compassion were as strong as our capacity for self-justification;

If only we could protect ourselves in ways that do not inflict harm on others;

If only we could see ourselves as interdependent, rather than isolated and threatened;

If only we could see the Image of God in one another, rather than projecting mythic images of Arab Nazis or Jewish Crusaders;

If only our leaders were committed to transforming conflict nonviolently rather than too often using military means to achieve political aims;

If only peace education were a part of school curricula throughout Palestine and Israel;

If only political agreements outlawed incitement and demonization in public speeches;

If only the Israeli and Arab media conveyed multiple perspectives, along with humanizing stories and images, rather than reinforcing prejudices;

If only we could address the core issues and grievances, rather than reacting to the latest round of violence or the fear of further violence;

If only the Arab perception of the state of Israel (in its pre-1967 borders, with mutually accepted adjustments) was of a people coming home and exercising the right of self-determination, rather than of a colonial conquest by outsiders;

If only Arab and Muslim leaders could acknowledge the existential fears of the Jewish people following the Holocaust and reinforced by subsequent wars, bellicose rhetoric, and the prospect of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Israel's adversaries;

If only the Jewish people, in Israel and elsewhere, could acknowledge the deep, unhealed wound of the Palestinian people, displaced and dispossessed in large numbers in the war of 1948 and under prolonged occupation following the 1967 war;

If only Israel would join the Palestinian people in developing democratic institutions rather than destroying their civic infrastructure in the name of self-defense;

If only we could see the problem as a regional crisis, with multiple, inter-related challenges, rather than a bilateral conflict between Israelis and Palestinians;

If only the new U.S. administration would engage wholeheartedly in Middle East peacemaking, deploying a full-time envoy to the region with negotiating skills comparable to those exhibited by George Mitchell in Northern Ireland;

If only a spiritual dimension to peace building — drawing on the practical resources in Judaism, Islam and Christianity — were included in Middle East diplomacy, so that religious extremists would be countered in their own terms and political arrangements would be grounded in mutual repentance, the healing of trauma, and sustained hope for the future;

If only we could envision a future of cooperation and shared blessing, rather than a no-win war lasting generations;

If only the children on "the other side" were as precious to us as our neighbors' children;

If only our young people were exposed to their peers on "the other side" early on, so that they could build friendships that transcend the "us-vs.-them" dichotomy;

If only we could build Shalom/Salaam together, with a Jewish-Arab peace corps constructing homes, schools and hospitals in a state of Palestine alongside Israel, and with expanded cross-border initiatives in the areas of health, education, culture, the environment and sports;

… then perhaps, with God's help and courageous leadership on all sides, both Israelis and Palestinians could experience genuine peace and security, with fear transformed to trust, anger to forgiveness, grief to compassion, and narrow self-interest to mutual solidarity.

-by Yehezkel Landau, co-founder of the Open House Center in Ramle, Israel, and teacher of Judaism and interfaith relations at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut

Christmas

The Christmas season really flew by for me. The first part of the month I was busy studying for and then taking finals, and the second part, when I was back in Syracuse, I've been working and doing errands. My family and I did all the usual Christmas traditions that we do this time of year, but it hasn't seemed like Christmas.

I was OK with that, too. I had mentally checked out of the holiday early on because I was fed up with the consumerism and materialism that has become the norm with the Christmas season. It really disgusts me to see people go crazy buying a bunch of stuff until they have a gift for every single person - even their neighbor's brother's wife's friend. It disgusted me that this capitalist, consumer culture overshadowed the real meaning of Christmas and I wanted to have no part.

Then tonight at Christmas Eve service, a soprano soloist sang "O Holy Night." I've heard the song many times before, but the third verse resonated with me tonight:

"Truly he taught us to love one another;

His law is love and his gospel is peace.

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother;

And in his name all oppression shall cease..."

While listening to those words I thought to myself, that is what Christmas is all about. It is a celebration of the liberator and redeemer coming to free the oppressed and bring justice and God's Kingdom to Earth. In the midst of all of tomorrow's festivities, I (and I hope you, too) will remember that what we are really celebrating is the coming of the liberator to humankind and the new just world order that he brings with him.

All in the Family

Although there's been cries of political family dynasties with Caroline Kennedy's recently expressed interest in the U.S. Senate seat in New York (whose bid I strongly support, by the way), The New York Times published an article today showing that the Kennedys aren't alone. In fact, family political legacies in Congress - like the Kennedys - are somewhat commonplace . The article shows that there's a significant number of Representatives and Senators who have some sort of family connection to Congress. It may surprise you to read how many other elected representatives do, too.

Are the Kennedys guilty of keeping Congress in the family? Absolutely. But then so are a whole bunch of other Senators and Representatives as well. If you're going to criticize, criticize the system, not just an individual or her family.

Two Movies

To pass the time on my train ride to Syracuse yesterday, I rented two movies from iTunes and watched them on my iPod. I watched Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Inherit The Wind, both movies recommended by my professor and/or chaplain over the course of the semester.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - A movie about an affluent white girl, Joey, who brings her fiance, who is black, to meet her parents. Her parents are California liberals yet still struggle with this interracial marriage. His parents are just as surprised and equally struggle with accepting the couple. Ultimately, both sets of parents accept the marriage, seeing that color is not a reason to object. It's a good movie that challenges us all to see if we can actually live out what we say we believe.

Inherit the Wind - A movie recommended to me by both my chaplain and my evolutionary biology professor. It tells the story (with several historical inaccuracies) of the Scopes Trial and explores the tensions between evolution and creationism. It is not anti-religion, just anti-fundamentalist. It is really pro-intellectualism more than anything else, seeking to show how evolution does not, as some may think, destroy religion and faith. The final scene is of the lawyer of the defendant (the teacher who taught evolution in class) packing up after losing the court case. He holds both Darwin's On the Origin of Species and The Bible, weighs them in his hands and walks out carrying both books - a symbolic statement showing that the two can coexist.