okay. apparently this morning i had some sort of crazy clergy mojo going on.
since it is wednesday and lent i had my collar on. the black shirt. black pants with the cute pinstripe. cute little black heels. and...a trench coat. i know. i am so DC. sort of.
okay. i walk in to the starbucks at pennsylvania. the staff remember my drink. they smile at me in my collar and chat me up. nice.
i walk out. a guy at the corner says, "hi reverand! remember charles in your prayers." usually i get a sister or a baffled minister look. i guess today i am looking very authoratative.
on another note, while in starbucks there where tons of hill staff. maybe a few congresspeople.
lots of suits. a luther we might call it the "princeton look". i swear i saw an exact look alike of the delightful professor matt skinner. the princeton man himself. i'm serious! i had to do a double take. three piece suit and all. i had to stop myself from running to him and asking all my exegetical questions of the moment!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
periodically i realize just how odd it is to be on internship in dc. not just in dc, but on capitol hill.
i walk within two blocks of the capitol almost everyday.
yesterday i was getting on the freeway to come back to my apartment after a brief excursion to target.
target, obviously, makes me think of home. though, i have to drive past the pentagon to get there. on my way back to my place, i could see the giant washington monument looming in the sky. to my right on the freeway is the exit for national (reagan) airport. while between these two spaces in light rush hour traffic (ie only mildly standstill), i saw a northwest plane getting ready to land.
now, i am clearly a wee bit homesick. or a wee bit lonely. or just feeling poetic. but, seeing a minnesota company plane getting ready to land as the washington monument looms in the near distance is strange. it was a reminder of how odd i feel in the space on capitol hill. during the primaries on tuesday there was a reporter outside our church waiting to take pictures. we were a polling place. he said that it was the only place were you could talk to voters with the capitol in the background.
oh.
the only place.
i work there.
i lead worship there.
i preach there.
it is weird.
i walk within two blocks of the capitol almost everyday.
yesterday i was getting on the freeway to come back to my apartment after a brief excursion to target.
target, obviously, makes me think of home. though, i have to drive past the pentagon to get there. on my way back to my place, i could see the giant washington monument looming in the sky. to my right on the freeway is the exit for national (reagan) airport. while between these two spaces in light rush hour traffic (ie only mildly standstill), i saw a northwest plane getting ready to land.
now, i am clearly a wee bit homesick. or a wee bit lonely. or just feeling poetic. but, seeing a minnesota company plane getting ready to land as the washington monument looms in the near distance is strange. it was a reminder of how odd i feel in the space on capitol hill. during the primaries on tuesday there was a reporter outside our church waiting to take pictures. we were a polling place. he said that it was the only place were you could talk to voters with the capitol in the background.
oh.
the only place.
i work there.
i lead worship there.
i preach there.
it is weird.
Monday, February 11, 2008
a sad, strange story.
most of you know that i am a preacher's kid. i am a mission developer's kid.
for you not in the know...the back story.
the evangelical lutheran church in america is a pretty white church. lutherans aren't exactly the pantheon of multiculturalism. sigh. in northern minnesota it is particularly nordic. in my hometown the native american folks have struggled to feel safe in any of the churches (lutheran or otherwise). so, my parents about 10 years ago decided to open a church that would be culturally friendly to native people. and all sorts of other people on the margins.
now, i was about 16 when this started. i didn't really think it would happen. who starts their own church? i have since learned better. i no longer doubt. i learned to trust God from my parents.
you see, my parents mortgaged our house and bought a building. my dad continued to roof houses to pay the bills. my mom continued to be the public health nurse paying bills. they both worked unpaid at peoples church for a few years. then the ELCA decided that they would give dad a call as a mission developer. very cool.
okay. things are good. there is an official status in the church. right? things are rough for the community of peoples church. racial profiling is common. it is a struggle for the folks at my little church to get the authorities in Bemidji to see them as humans. yet, peoples church sticks it out. it is good.
about 6 months ago the big fancy Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA started courting the church. they said that a grant was sure thing if the paperwork was just filled out. great. we thought, "wonderful! we can get started on building the shelter and clinic for people!"
a few days ago the Mission Investment Fund said "No." they said that peoples church could not have the money because we do not have a constitution. we do not have a constitution, because we are a Mission Development Congregation.
so. there is a mission investment fund. they court a mission development congregation. promise money. yet, do not feel the need to invest money in mission.
i wonder. i wonder what the church thinks when they see declining numbers in churches doing the same things over and over again. yet, a church that is community oriented and creative does not merit the support of the hierarchy.
as my dad said, "the philistines down at the credit union were happy to lend me the money."
read the parable of the good samaritan, luke 10.
for you not in the know...the back story.
the evangelical lutheran church in america is a pretty white church. lutherans aren't exactly the pantheon of multiculturalism. sigh. in northern minnesota it is particularly nordic. in my hometown the native american folks have struggled to feel safe in any of the churches (lutheran or otherwise). so, my parents about 10 years ago decided to open a church that would be culturally friendly to native people. and all sorts of other people on the margins.
now, i was about 16 when this started. i didn't really think it would happen. who starts their own church? i have since learned better. i no longer doubt. i learned to trust God from my parents.
you see, my parents mortgaged our house and bought a building. my dad continued to roof houses to pay the bills. my mom continued to be the public health nurse paying bills. they both worked unpaid at peoples church for a few years. then the ELCA decided that they would give dad a call as a mission developer. very cool.
okay. things are good. there is an official status in the church. right? things are rough for the community of peoples church. racial profiling is common. it is a struggle for the folks at my little church to get the authorities in Bemidji to see them as humans. yet, peoples church sticks it out. it is good.
about 6 months ago the big fancy Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA started courting the church. they said that a grant was sure thing if the paperwork was just filled out. great. we thought, "wonderful! we can get started on building the shelter and clinic for people!"
a few days ago the Mission Investment Fund said "No." they said that peoples church could not have the money because we do not have a constitution. we do not have a constitution, because we are a Mission Development Congregation.
so. there is a mission investment fund. they court a mission development congregation. promise money. yet, do not feel the need to invest money in mission.
i wonder. i wonder what the church thinks when they see declining numbers in churches doing the same things over and over again. yet, a church that is community oriented and creative does not merit the support of the hierarchy.
as my dad said, "the philistines down at the credit union were happy to lend me the money."
read the parable of the good samaritan, luke 10.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
and again, why i love minnesota...
"Minnesota has always had a reputation for maverick political thinking, perhaps as a result of the strong farm labour tradition in the state."
as published on the bbc world news website special report on the primaries.
check it out for yourselves! minnesota on the bbc...
the lutherans in mexico...
here is the lovely little group that hung out in mexico for a couple of weeks in january. not a bad way to get a little bit of cross-cultural exposure.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
why greek.
on my favorite travel show...anthony bourdain (a delightful cynic of a man that eats his way through strange places), there was a lovely statement by a greek man.
there it is. professor throntveit always says,
umm. i think the greeks feel otherwise! so, another reason to learn greek. on cable tv a feisty greek gentleman said that God speaks greek. i thought it was amusing.
when you want to speak english, you think in english, right? well, in order to speak to the gods you must speak greek.
there it is. professor throntveit always says,
God speaks hebrew.
umm. i think the greeks feel otherwise! so, another reason to learn greek. on cable tv a feisty greek gentleman said that God speaks greek. i thought it was amusing.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
a protest
in Mexico there was a fantastic group of angry and organized campesinos. they wanted the right to farm their corn and have a life. a reasonable request! this group is called UNORCA. it stands for something lovely in spanish, but my spanish is a little sad...sorry, i can't translate. i will say that my beloved city of minneapolis had hosted them for organizing farmers across borders recently. i love being a minnesotan.
anyways, we met with them near the end of our sojourn in mexico. we were told that they were going to stage a large protest in mexico. they would be protesting the lack of protections for mexican farmers from the large farm subsidies of the north (the united states).
that protest happened this past week. here is a little article about it. it gives a little glimpse into the struggle for food justice. food is one of those issues that is near and dear to my heart. i see so many issues accessible through that one issue. creation, poverty, culture, fellowship, the kingdom of God. this is why food and farming are one of the topics i want to support.
read this article. unorca!
anyways, we met with them near the end of our sojourn in mexico. we were told that they were going to stage a large protest in mexico. they would be protesting the lack of protections for mexican farmers from the large farm subsidies of the north (the united states).
that protest happened this past week. here is a little article about it. it gives a little glimpse into the struggle for food justice. food is one of those issues that is near and dear to my heart. i see so many issues accessible through that one issue. creation, poverty, culture, fellowship, the kingdom of God. this is why food and farming are one of the topics i want to support.
read this article. unorca!
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