The caption with this picture was, “If you will teach me to swim, I will teach you to climb a tree.”

A very brief post today – just a single picture . . . but a point made . . . love always includes!

Today – with deep gratitude – I post these words written by my friend and colleague at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church – The Reverend Ilene Dunn – utilized in our worship services this morning:

There’s a sacred space, calm and quiet, where you can be yourself fully and freely, where you don’t have to measure up, to be deemed smart enough or good enough or faithful enough or enough of something else, because it is enough simply to be who you are . . . There’s a sacred space, full of compassion and care, where you don’t have to wear a mask or play a societal game or pretend to be somebody you’re not, where you don’t have to hide your wounds and your pain behind a pasted on “I’m-doing-just-fine” smile, where neither do you have to hide your faults and failures and mistakes, not even the wrongs you’ve done, because the you that you are is always, always accepted and always, always cherished . . . There’s a sacred space, filled with kindness and gentleness, where no one will label your dreams childish or foolish, where no one will label your fears cowardly or silly, where no one will label your questions stupid or bad, where no one will frown because your dreams and fears and questions are different from those of others, because the uniqueness of who you are is treasured . . . There’s a sacred space, full of tending and feeding, where you can go when the deepest part of your soul hungers and thirsts, where you can go even when you’re not at all sure what you really need, where there’s bread, a cup, a table set, a place at the table prepared especially for you, because you are wanted and celebrated and so very much loved.

Come no into sacred space . . . to breathe in Love’s unconditional welcome . . . to be centered in Love’s wondrous light.

Love ALWAYS includes!!

Several years ago a congregation that was not too far from the congregation I was serving at the time built a new facility. I was not surprised to learn that the new facility was going to be large and state-of-the-art – but – I was curious about one thing. The plans for the new facility included a family life center – complete with bowling alley, restaurant, and a number of other incredible amenities – also – the members of the congregation were going to be charged a substantial annual membership fee to use the center. I inquired of a colleague – who was also a friend – what the thinking was that led to the inclusion of this portion of the building plan. My friend responded, “The desire was to build something that would keep the members of this congregation from needing to mix with and be with the people in the outside world.” I remember thinking at the time – that is in interesting response to Matthew 28:19 to go into all the world and make disciples.

In retrospect it seems to me that this and many many other examples of exclusive behavior by communities of faith is primarily based on fear – fear that the promises of the Gospel are actually not really true – fear that it is difficult to actually believe what we say – and declare – that we believe.

It seems to me – sadly – that much of the recent and current stress and divisions in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are based on the same fear. There is a fear that God actually is calling us to live in communion with people with whom we disagree – people who are not the same as us – or – people we find disagreeable. I have found from talking with people that much of that fear seems to be based on the idea that God is calling us beyond our own comfort zone – calling us to act in a way that means that we are no longer in charge – calling us to be open to God’s new creation – calling us to actually believe what we declare with our words that we have believed for years and years – even prior to the time of our birth.

As I have read and studied I have never found any portion in the biblical witness that would assure me of God only expecting to leave me in a comfortable living situation. I have learned that we are assured that we are never alone but never that we will have the pleasure of life as we would choose to determine it if we were in charge of all that is and will be.

Once again, I am reminded of Robert Shaw’s comment that we declare that we believe in an all powerful and all knowing God – but – that we live in a manner that demands that that same God has had nothing to do since day six.

Again I say – love always includes and actions and words that exclude are not done or offered in love but in fear.

Sometimes I think that I have just about heard it all – and then – something like this comes around. The only response that comes to mind is OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!

This makes me so sad and also so embarrassed for the state of Texas. Normally I would choose to not pass along something like this – but – this time our “governor” has outdone even his own ridiculousness! I wish that I were able to say – “unbelievable” – but sadly it is believable!!

May 8, 2013 article by Judy Molland (http://www.care2.com/causes/rick-perry-says-gay-is-the-flavor-of-the-month.html)

Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas known for his extreme right-wing views, suggested last Sunday that the Boy Scouts have to get rid of gay people just like America got rid of slavery.

And if we change and become more like pop culture, young men will be not as well served. America will not be as well served, and Boy Scouts will start on a decline that I don’t think will serve this country well as we go into the future.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/rick-perry-says-gay-is-the-flavor-of-the-month.html#ixzz2SpgI0X00

Holy God, save us from words and actions that exclude!!

As I mentioned in an earlier post – I have become more and more convinced of the necessity for fully inclusive language – including the use of non-feudal language – as I have matured. Some phrases and terms that I used for years and years now make me shudder – and very sorry that I did not know any better in earlier years.

Today I want to highlight two brief sections from the Inclusive Language statement from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church here in Austin, Texas. Just a reminder – this statement is available on St. Andrew’s website – http://www.staopen.org – follow the tab on the right hand side of the homepage labeled “About Us” which provides a drop-down menu – then click on “Philosphy and Mission” – the link to the statement is on that page.

The first section I would like to highlight today reads: “we must not minister to one group by using language that excludes another group.”

Our calling is to care for all of God’s creation – not even just the human createds – but – all of God’s creation. It seems to me that our unintentional exclusions are probably more abundant that our intentional exclusions – but – they are still very much exclusions just the same. As I have said and quoted very often from the hymn text of Fred Kaan – “Teach us to care for people, for all, not just for some, to love them as we find them or as they may become” – or – as Jesus taught – “love your neighbor as yourself” – including your enemies. It is very important for us to remember that love does not exclude – love always includes!

The second section reads as follows”

“In theology we are not really describing God, because God is beyond human words and comprehension. In theology, we are building a bridge to the sacred through our human images. In theology we are envisioning an ideal world where God’s will for each of us is fulfilled, so it is important not to limit God to a gender. In theology we are putting a face on the sacred. It is important not to say that some faces look more like God than others. Inclusive language for God and people is an important and tangible way to make us all aware of our sacredness.”

A question for prayerful consideration: How do our human images of God impede the building of a bridge to the sacred for ourselves and for others? Do our human images of God contribute to love or stand in the way of love?

Our journey continues – I hope that more of you will join our community conversation!!

Yesterday – my copy of the Spring 2013 edition of Windows – a publication of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary – arrived in my mailbox. As usual I took a few minutes to flip through this current issue looking for a word that I need at this particular time and place – and – I found it.

A brief article by Theodore J. Wardlaw, President of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, titled “The Church: Communal, Diverse, and Hopeful.”

Following is an excerpt from this article which offers a very good word for us as we continue in our consideration of an inclusive language of arts for and in the church:

Many understand Christianity in fundamentally individualistic terms – as a matter between self and God. By contrast, the Reformed traditions insists, distinctively Christian spirituality is irreducibly corporate and communal – in short, ecclesial spirituality.

Meanwhile, we practice the faith together in community; we become – again, in community – a “telling presence” out in the larger world, both in terms of our words and our deeds; and we nurture, as a community, a confident hope that even the future belongs to God! (9)

With thanksgiving and gratitude!

Today this blog becomes very personal because I am going to begin the process of telling my own story. I am starting at the beginning because I have known many people in many different situations and locations over many years – after all I am now officially chronologically gifted – 66 years. It has been – and continues to be an interesting and wonderful journey.

I was born in the parsonage next door to the little white frame church where my grandparents served as Methodist missionaries to the Cherokee peoples in northeastern Oklahoma – technically in the little town of Bunch. We moved from Oklahoma to Kansas during the summer prior to my sixth grade year so my mother could accept a position as a second grade teacher in Augusta, Kansas – just east of Wichita. I pursued an undergraduate degree in piano performance at Friends University in Wichita, then enjoyed four marvelous years in the band program of the United States Air Force including an opportunity to see the world as part of the United States Air Force European Command Band in Wiesbaden, Germany. Following my adventure in the Air Force I completed a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting and Literature at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Later I completed all of the classwork for a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting and Composition at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. In September, 2005 I entered the Master of Divinity degree program at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, graduating in May, 2008 and being ordained and installed as Associate Pastor for Discipleship at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas in March, 2009. I retired at the beginning of 2013 and then accepted my current part-time position as Director of Music Ministries for St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church also here in Austin, Texas.

During my more than 30 years as a musician I served Presbyterian congregations in Houston and Austin in Texas, in Nashville, Tennessee, and my first position as a part-time musician at Westwood Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas. I also served congregations that are part of the Disciples of Christ, United Methodist, and United Church of Christ, and was an active participant and volunteer director during my Air Force years at the Hainerberg Chapel in Wiesbaden, Germany. In addition to my service to the church I have also been active in professional musical theatre, symphonic work, and as a published and recorded composer and arranger.

I relate this history to let you know that my journey through the language of arts and the language of arts in worship has been as varied as the positions and situations that I have served – some large congregations and some small congregations – some very traditional congregations and some very non-traditional – some very concerned about being inclusive and many who have had little if any concern for inclusivity. However, without any question the two congregations that are part of my experience that were the most inclusive were College Hill United Methodist Church in Wichita, and the congregation I presently serve – St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) here in Austin, Texas.

It is also important for you to know that along with increased age and experience the matter of inclusiveness has become more and more important to me. I have also done a significant amount of work with people along the road to recovery from substance abuse, and I have been horrified to hear the stories that almmost all of them have told about the judgements of guilt that were placed on them by churches in earlier times. When I have spoken of the importance of the spiritual element of recovery – many have responded that if I expect them to embrace a God like the one they were taught – or observed by example in the way that they were treated by other “Christians” then I could just forget it. Sadly, when they described those situations I knew that I could never believe in a God or follow a God who clearly was not a God of love and compassion. The God I follow is much much larger than that and completely filled with infinite love, mercy, and grace.

All of this is to set the stage for my current situation and to try to express why I know that I am being called to contribute my thoughts, experience, and, hopefully, vision by writing about these matters – and by inviting others to join the community conversation.

I encourage you to visit the website for St. Andrew’s – http://www.staopen.org – to take the time to become acquainted with who we are, and then, to read the congregation’s stated policy concerning inclusive language. (When you are at the St. Andrew’s website home page – click on the tab to the far right – About Us – which will open a drop down menu – click on Philosophy and Mission and then follow the link to Inclusive Language). I am honored to serve with a congregation who has taken the time to prayerfully discern who they are and then are continually striving to become who God is calling us to be as we move together into the future.

This information will provide the basis for my coming posts and I very much hope you will join our community conversation. Grace and peace

Inclusive language has been a point of much discussion for many many years – and – continues to provide opportunities for animated and passionate conversation.

Today I want to point you to a couple of superb articles from the current issue of The Christian Century – both written by Mary Louise Bingle.

The first, “Singing from one book: Why hymnals matter” may be found at http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-04/singing-one-book – and – the second, “Debating hymns” which may be retrieved at http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-04/debating-hymns. Both articles offer an excellent information source about the current state of hymnody in this country and beyond.

Following is an excerpt from the second which describes a portion of the process and work of the committee preparing the new Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) hymnal Glory to God:

“Two examples of theological in-group disagreements stand out. The committee debated a long time over whether to include in Glory to God the American folk hymn ‘Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley.’ The hymn does appear in the Lent section of the 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal, as well as in hymnals and supplements of several other bodies (such as the Disciples of Christ, Roman Catholics, Mennonites, United Methodists and Society of Friends). Yet opponents of inclusion argued that the text makes statements that are theologically questionable. How can Christians sing that ‘nobody else’ can walk the lonesome valley with us or that we have to stand our trial ‘by ourselves,’ when the very heart of the crucifixion narrative holds that Jesus walked—and continues to walk—alongside those who suffer and that he went on trial for our sakes?

Proponents of inclusion argued that the folk text is making an experiential rather than a theological claim: there are times when we feel as if we are starkly alone and to voice such a lament resonates with cries of forsakenness going back at least as far as the Psalms. Opponents of inclusion won (both on a first vote and on a later call for reconsideration), and the hymn will not appear in the 2013 song collection.

Even more sustained theological debate occurred after the conclusion of the committee’s three-and-a-half years of quarterly meetings in January 2012. We had voted for a song from the contemporary Christian canon, Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s ‘In Christ Alone.’ The text agreed upon was one we had found by studying materials in other recently published hymnals. Its second stanza contained the lines, ‘Till on that cross as Jesus died / the love of God was magnified.’ In the process of clearing copyrights for the hymnal we discovered that this version of the text would not be approved by the authors, as it was considered too great a departure from their original words: ‘as Jesus died / the wrath of God was satisfied.’ We were faced, then, with a choice: to include the hymn with the authors’ original language or to remove it from our list.

Because we were no longer meeting as a committee, our discussions had to occur through e-mail; this may explain why the ‘In Christ Alone’ example stands out in my mind — the final arguments for and against its inclusion are preserved in writing. People making a case to retain the text with the authors’ original lines spoke of the fact that the words expressed one view of God’s saving work in Christ that has been prevalent in Christian history: the view of Anselm and Calvin, among others, that God’s honor was violated by human sin and that God’s justice could only be satisfied by the atoning death of a sinless victim. While this might not be our personal view, it was argued, it is nonetheless a view held by some members of our family of faith; the hymnal is not a vehicle for one group’s perspective but rather a collection for use by a diverse body.

Arguments on the other side pointed out that a hymnal does not simply collect diverse views, but also selects to emphasize some over others as part of its mission to form the faith of coming generations; it would do a disservice to this educational mission, the argument ran, to perpetuate by way of a new (second) text the view that the cross is primarily about God’s need to assuage God’s anger. The final vote was six in favor of inclusion and nine against, giving the requisite two-thirds majority (which we required of all our decisions) to the no votes. The song has been removed from our contents list, with deep regret over losing its otherwise poignant and powerful witness.”

Again – this represents the proverbial tip of the iceberg. In the next post I will begin to speak to the inclusive language policy that has been approved and is in place for the particular congregation where I am presently serving as Director of Music Ministries.

Grace and peace

It has been said, “If you remember the 1960s then you weren’t there. Yes I was there – and – I do remember. Maybe that in itself is some sort of commentary on who I was during my high school and undergraduate college years. I graduated from high school in 1965 and received my undergraduate degree in 1969. My draft lottery number was 27 – so – when I received my undergraduate degree I was well aware that some sort of military service awaited me in the not too distant future – more about that later because it also relates to the subject matter at hand.

I vividly remember sitting in American History class in the eleventh grade when the news broke that President Kennedy had been shot. The news that Neil Armstrong had stepped on the surface of the moon happened during a matinee performance of the musical “George M” – the producer stopped tha performance for the announcement and led us all in the singing of George M. Cohan’s “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

I was very much a part of the “hootenanny generation” and learned to play three or four chords on my inexpensive guitar so I could be an active participant. Years later when I conducted The Nashville Symphony in a Pops Concert with The Kingston Trio it was a real treat – I already knew all of the songs!

Over the years I also have collected numerous remembrances of the changes in the language used for hymn texts. Some wonderful – some laughable – some valiant in purpose but horrible in reality due to the lack of expertise of the createds who were manipulating the beautiful poetic language of the past to honor an agenda of correctness for the then present.

I openly admit – I object to singing “Good Christian friends rejoice” when it is so obvious – at least to me – that “Good Christians all rejoice” is such a better choice. One of the coming posts will include my journey with “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and the textual changes that were embraced by the authors.

And I will never forget the time when “Rise up, O men of God” seemed to be the perfect choice to follow the sermon on the coming Sunday. I said to the pastor, “Don’t worry – we will sing “Rise up, O saints of God” and was then surprised when the pastor responded, “Please no!” – and then explained that the problem was with one of the interior stanzas – “Rise up, O saints of God, the church for you doth wait . . . rise up and make her great.” He quickly followed with, “Only God is able to make the church great.” I understand this much better now that I have studied the writing of Karl Barth – yes, my pastor friend and colleague had studied as a student of Barth in Basel, Switzerland.

To this day I make sure I am looking at the text on Christmas Eve for “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear” – because I know I will sing “Peace on the earth, good will to men” rather than “good will to all” because that is how I learned it as a child. That is not an excuse it is just the reality when you are chronologically gifted enough to sing most of the familiar hymns without looking at text while you sing

And for me it is not just the hymns – every time we pray the prayer that Jesus taught – especially at memorial services – when apparently I am not sure whether I am a debtor or a trespasser I often seem to end up being a debt-passer.

This is just part of my story – and – of course there is much much more to consider – which will be our focus in the coming days.

The B – I – B – L – E,
Yes that’s the book for me.
I stand alone on the Word of God
The B – I – B – L – E.

It is my guess that most of the people who read this blog have sung this song at some point in their life – I certainly have – and – in the past, I have also asked others to sing it – including young children – and therein is the problem.

Ask any young child to explain the meaning of the third line of the song: “I stand alone on the Word of God.”

YES – I have also done that.

Possible explanations –

I stand on my Bible

I stand on my Bible by myself – my Bible is not large enough to hold more than one person.

OR

I stand alone – no one is with me – I am alone.

With all due respect I am aware that none of these statements capture the intent of those who wrote this song – but – those are the words – and – most young children will not grasp the actual intent – most who sing this song will not receive an explanation of the intended meaning of the text – but they WILL remember the text.

I hear some of you saying, “Oh, come on, it is an innocent harmless little children’s song.” Maybe – maybe not – but – we do learn what we sing.

However – many many songs have been composed that are more appropriate for young children – both text and music. This is certainly one instance when just because we have always done it in the past does not mean that we must continue to do it in the future.

Just some of my thoughts for our consideration and community conversation.

In the next post we will begin to consider the matter of inclusive language in hymn texts – almost always a superb way to generate interesting and lively conversation.