RoboPreacher

Right now I am physically in an in-between place. My summer with the Metro Lutheran has come to an end, and now I am in respite at my folk’s place for a few days until I start my journey west to begin my year-long internship. The back drop for this post is three different news articles. The first is one I wrote for the Metro Lutheran concerning women’s ordination, the second is an article about inclusive language in contemporary, North American, mainline churches (how’s that for a string of adjectives!), and the last is a fantastic article about the men and women in North America today. Briefly, a few words (well, adjectives) about myself: male, white, and lower-middle-class. Also, in-between places. You will have to forgive my lack of citations, I do not have access to my books, they are in transit. The question of gender is one that is of particular interest to me. One, I was not raised by my biological father, yet I did, and do, have many wonderful, loving male ...

This post is particularly difficult for me. I am from Iowa, the nearest "city" I grew up to was Cedar Rapids . I remember trips into town, to worship, get groceries and the like. For many Cedar Rapids isn't much of a city. It is modestly sized and doesn't boast of anything particularly important. The capitol, before the flood, was located on an island. This little trait was shared only by Paris. Cedar Rapids, however, boast something else important. Something else not often given attention. Cedar Rapids hosts the Mother Mosque in America. This mosque, built in 1934, is the first permanent structure built to serve specifically as a mosque in North America. I remember how proud I felt when I learned this. This pride is contrasted to a deep pain over recent events. The opposition to Cordoba House, a Muslim center to be built near ground zero, is well documented . (Listen to the audio, especially the recording of the commission meeting, to get a sense of the ...

Recently I've been able to begin writing and researching for a series I pitched earlier this spring. The series is about congregations which are greening themselves. In previous blog entries I've discussed ecologically concerned theology. It's been very meaningful for me to explore how theology prompts ethical ecological considerations. ( Here is a link to a theologian I've been able to talk with at the Metro Lutheran .) What the linked theologian, myself and so many are after is, what role does theology have in ecological-talk. I worked on a paper about a Theology of the Cross and ecology. It was a lot of fun, but it was frustrating, too. I felt like I had to spend at least a 1/3 of the paper explaining why ecology isn't a mere addition to theology, but an essential consideration in theology. For one of the the stories in the series, I visited Lutheran Church of the Reformation , in St. Louis Park. This congregation has been concerned and a leading caring for cre...

This week I am finishing up on my story about women’s ordination. It’s been such a great experience. I’ve spoken with pastors about stewardship, gifts, theology, hope and sorrows. It’s humbling. At the end of this process I am emerging with a renewed sense about the importance of diverse perspectives and characteristics leading within the church. While this affirmation has to do with rights, it has a lot more to do with a promise; a promise of God’s presence and the promise of the goodness of God’s creation. Keeping those from ministry who bring new, unique and important gifts ultimately stunts the growth of the church. The growth I am talking about isn’t a growth in numbers, institutional strength, political prowess, social relevance or the like. Instead this growth is a promise to be part of God’s mission in the world . Once this story is published I will link it, and I am very excited to do so. Until then I have to sit on my hands and let the story go through the ed...

The story I am working on now is centered on woman's ordination. Today I spoke with Rev. Susan Peterson of Gloria Dei , in St. Paul. I interviewed her for two reason. First, at the end of this summer she will retire. Second, she was the first woman to be the head pastor in a large ELCA congregation . We spoke about looking back, looking ahead, joys and hopes. We also spoke about challenges. She shared about the real struggles of being a woman in a leadership role. It was tempting for me to direct a narrative that suggested those struggles are historic and over, but they aren't. I was very humbled when I asked her to share what it was like for her to experience the struggles (facing hostility/skepticism in various forms) "It wounded me," she said. "It wounded me because people were hostile to me for being the person God created me to be." Wow. It would be easy for a person who had experienced that to become bitter. Susan, though, allowed God to work in those ...

Last week was such a blur. I jumped into the middle of a ton of different stories. I jumped into the middle of a ministry. I jumped into the middle of redeveloping a web presence. Speaking of web presence, I will uploading stories to the website tomorrow (6/17), so I should be able to link articles then. This week I am reflecting on the immigration issue in Arizona. Which has made me think of Vonnegut's Bokononism 's concept of a "false karass ." (Note, I dislike using wikipedia. However, the info on the linked posts is helpful, also there were no other links with helpful information.) Anyway, Time recently wrote a good article (although they use the term illegal immigrant, rather than undocumented immigrant) about the escalating scene in Arizona . It is incredible that children are considered anchors. There is an ecumenical fast and vigil for the immigrants in Arizona, Isaiah 58 . States are encouraged to participate in various weeks throughout the summer. Does relig...

Update: Sorry I haven't been updating lately. I've been on the move, and will be for a few more weeks. This summer I will be working as an intern for the Metro Lutheran . Now that my Trinity project is over it's time to move onto something else. So for the summer I will weekly blog about a topic inspired from my reporting. So for this week I am reporting about a retired pastor celebrating his 100th birthday. The heart of his celebration was a worship service. This example struck me. What a wonderful example of worship being the center of someone's life. This leads me to a question; How does one's faith affect how someone thinks of life? This retired pastor had some thoughts about the topic. "I am not old. I am getting older, but I am not old. And I consider growing old a great adventure. I am growing in my wealth of grace and growing closer to my creator who has daily called me to service."