Rev-e-rie

Jay's Cancer: what it is not

2009-12-24T07:44:43Z

On Jay Lake’s cancer

The fact that Jay Lake has cancer has been causing me some serious thought. Here is an energetic, young, quirky, unique individual with a child, a sweetie, a Day Jobbe (about which we know only that it involves misspelling Jobbe), a career writing fiction (2500 words a day), a bunch of friends, and a blog with what? 5000 readers?

Realize at the outet that I’m approaching this as a believer in Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, “God with us.” Jay’s an atheist, and God knows I’m not gonna try for a conversion here. It's not nice to treat people as objects, even objects intended for conversion. Instead, this is a little Christian meditation rising to the yeast of Jay’s cancer.

Let’s say a couple of things right off the bat.

1. God is not punishing Jay because he’s an atheist. Not only is the theology kind of horrifying--God as The Punisher--there’s also a problem with reality here. I mean, thousands or millions of faithful Christians have had cancer. God can’t be punishing all of them for atheism, right?

2. God is not using this cancer to catch Jay’s attention. Now, there is just enough truth in this to make it a really tempting error in thinking. Here is truth it springs from: Some people find blessing in cancer. Some people come through cancer and say “I didn’t want this stuff, I wouldn’t want to go through it again, but you know, in some ways it was really good for me. I learned how precious life is, I cherish each moment now, I learned I have many people in my life who care deeply for me,” and, from Christians sometimes, “I discovered that God never abandoned me and am confident God never will.”

I'm aware as I write this that I have no right to write this. I don't know if I would be up to that kind of attitude. But it does happen.

I’m not saying cancer survivors have to talk like this. I appreciate Jay’s approach of letting the emotions fall where they may, good and bad, blessing and curse. But I know people, some of them quite secular, who really have felt their cancer was a blessing.

Here’s what I think happens for Christians. God is with us in all events, happy and sad and scary and serene. But the sheer intensity of the cancer experience makes it stand out from ordinary life, marks it as an occasion for deep meaning, possibly opens eyes to life and love in a way that’s not normally accessible.

Shoot, God’s with us even in death: Jesus went through it (and came out on the other side). I have been at the bedside of Christians who faced their own death with utter fearlessness and even joy.

Again, this is not prescriptive (“Cancer? Don’t worry! Be happy!”). It is descriptive. Some people do come through cancer with a deeper appreciation for life, love, and God. However, that’s a long way from saying God gave them cancer as a wake-up call.

Cancer happens. It is not some kind of awful tool for conversion. For the Christian, though, it holds the possibility of experiencing the sacred.

Next post: Productivity. One of the things that is causing Jay a lot of emotional pain is that he doesn’t have his usual energy, isn’t thinking as clearly and swiftly as usual, and is about to go through chemo and radiation that will make the situation worse. Protestants should sympathize; after all, they named a Work Ethic after us. However, I wonder if the Bible has some wisdom for those of diminished productivity. (It may be a while until the next post happens. I don’t work so fast.)

Storying - Genesis 3

2009-09-17T19:20:18Z

My latest brainstorm at church is to orient worship around telling/hearing a Bible story. Not new, you say, there's scripture in every worship service everywhere. Yes, but I'm telling the Bible as a story, word-for-word, from memory, a chapter at a time. OK, not the whole Bible. I've chosen 37 chapters that will take us from Genesis 1 to Revelation 21, the length of the Bible.

I thought I'd record some of what happens during the week I prepare for the telling, because it's somewhat different from preparing for a sermon. I do Bible study, look up words, etc., just as usual. But these things are now in service of telling the story.

For instance: when God says to the serpent, "cursed are you," is God angry? Sad? Firm? Since it's God's piece of dialogue, I have to decide.

How about the woman's "the serpent tempted me, and I ate"? A brave admission? Or does she cast her eyes down and squirm?

Another decision: what translation to use? I settled on the New Revised Standard Version, as both accurate and dignified. I know there are times when it won't be as clear or as vigorous as, say, The Message; but paraphrases and dynamic equivalence translations either update the metaphors and images or omit them entirely, and embed too many exegetical decisions in the translation, for my purposes.

(After the story, I connect the story to life, and challenge the congregation to connect the story to their lives. Which, come to think of it, good stories do by their nature; but I give the congregation time to pursue the question.)

Wil this fly in my churches? Stay tuned.

Christians and Torture

2009-05-01T15:38:40Z

This morning jaylake noted that Christians are "more likely to back torture." As Christians who actually do try to follow Christ, to love God and neighbor, this is obviously not good news. So I spent some time on this.

Christians are more likely to back torture - than whom? I asked myself.  So after following Jay's link, I went to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which did the survey.

The question they asked: "Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?"

The Pew material doesn't give "Christians vs. everyone else" breakdowns. The Christians involved are white evangelical Protestants (62% answer "often or sometimes"), white non-Hispanic Catholics (51%), and white mainline Protestants (46%); the non-Christians have one group, "the Unaffiliated" (40%)  There's also a summary line for the population as a whole (49%). In all other categories, sample size was too small to report.

White mainline Protestants are actually less likely to "back torture" than the population as a whole, which is some small comfort. The big bump is from evangelicals, who are more likely than the population. All of the Christian groups are "more likely to back torture" than the single category of Unaffiliated.

Then I tried to find the margin of error for the survey; 742 respondents seemed like an awfully small sample size to me, and the largest group they split out - evangelicals - included only 174 respondents. Pew didn't give the margin of error. However, their first report on this survey split out other demographics. There, the closest group to this sample size was 188 respondents. For that group, the margin of error was plus-or-minus 8% to give a 95% confidence level. In other words, if we want to be 95% sure the survey is accurate, we should read the line as:
     41%-57% of   the U.S. population   answer "often or sometimes."
     54%-70% of    evangelicals
     43%-59% of    white non-Hispanic Catholics
     38%-54% of    white mainline Protestants
     32%-48% of    the unaffiliated

Which is still stunningly bad, I think. Those of us who are involved in churches may want to bring this up.

My own take? Obviously, followers of Jesus do not torture.

Those who justify torture often use the "ticking bomb" scenario: "If a terrorist nuclear device was about to explode in New York City and your captive knew where it was, wouldn't you use any possible means to find out?" Well. Let's suppose two things: 1. I decide to torture, and 2. I get accurate information (which is actually unlikely) and save New York City. The proper thing for me to do is turn myself in as a lawbreaker and be prosecuted for it. That's what happened at civil rights sit-ins and marches; demonstrators deliberately broke unjust laws and were arrested for it, in order to demonstrate that the law was wrong.

Review of Mainspring

2009-02-21T07:51:09Z

This is a review of Jay Lake's Mainspring, focusing especially on the portrayal of the protagonist as a person of faith.

I've put most of it under the cut. It's huge, more suitable for some wacked-out university class--except I don't footnote it! (And also, it's probably a "B" paper at best.)

A caveat: I have chosen to write this before reading Escapement, in order to let Mainspring stand on its own. So by now, everything I say may be inoperative.

***

ABSTRACT: This review attempts to examine Hethor, the protagonist of Jay Lake’s Mainspring, as a person of faith. The plot is driven by a revelation to Hethor, his call to action, and by his subsequent trust of that revelation. Therefore, if the book is to succeed, he must be believable as a person of faith. Is he? I find that he mostly is. Beyond Hethor himself, his world is, I argue, a world split between one culture that’s rationalist, clockwork, and essentially faithless; and one that’s magical, mythical, musical, into which some faith can enter. In the person of Hethor, those poles are reconciled. In the faithless North, he is a person of faith; and to the faith-borne South, he brings unmatched ability with the clockwork earth.

I. Plot summary

Hethor is born in the northern hemisphere of an alternate Earth. Hethor's is a clockwork Earth. A massive cog rises from the earth's equator like a huge wall; this gear meshes with a track on the sky, and it's this mechanism that makes the world go 'round. The power that keeps the earth moving is a gigantic spring ("Mainspring") deep inside the earth.

Furthermore, this wall forms a nearly-impassable barrier between the northern and southern hemispheres of the world, a gigantic terrestrial corpus collosum.

One of the great influences upon Hethor's faith is this very visible, awesome clockwork. Indeed, he's especially sensitive to it, knowing with great precision when it's operating properly and when it's not. He "knows" it better than anyone.

God (through the angel Gabriel) gives Hethor the task of healing the world. The Mainspring is winding down. Hethor is to locate the tools he needs (e.g. the Key Perilous) and then rewind the Mainspring. His determination to do so--his faith--drives the action of the novel.

Therefore, Hethor’s depiction as a person of faith is key to the success of the novel.

II. Definition of faith

Is Hethor believable as a person of faith? By one common definition, no. This is the stereotype Richard Dawkins lifts up: faith is “blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence” (The God Delusion, p38). But Hethor has repeated physical evidence of a “higher power,” some one/thing with powers far beyond those of mortal human beings: the Wall, yes, but also feathers left by angels and tablets with angelic communications. Therefore, he doesn’t need faith, right?

Not so fast.

No person of faith would ever define the term the way Dawkins does. We might go to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary and find: “1. complete trust or confidence. 2. strong belief in a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.” Or we might pick up a more specifically Christian dictionary and agree that faith is “trust in, or reliance on, God who is himself trustworthy” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary).

If one were to choose a single word as synonym for “faith,” it would be: “trust.” Dawkins gets that right. “Blind trust,” though, is a calumny, as is “absence of evidence.” It is true that faith sometimes requires going beyond the evidence, but the launching pad is an experience of God as trustworthy--it is spiritual conviction, based on evidence.

If you want a picture of faith, think of Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail: remember when he comes to the last chasm before reaching the cave of the Grail? Based on his father’s research, he reasons that there must be a bridge there, though he cannot see it. He tests his reasoning as far as he can--he throws sand on it--but still can’t see any bridge. He steps anyway. This is an act of faith.

Faith as trust in God: it is in this sense that I will ask, is Hethor believable as a person of faith?

III. Where Hethor’s faith rings true

As the book opens, the teenage apprentice clockmaker, Hethor, encounters the brasswork angel Gabriel. The angel tells Hethor that the Mainspring, which keeps the world turning, is winding down, with world-shaking consequences (literally). Hethor’s task is to find the Key Perilous and rewind the Mainspring.

The scene echoes Biblical call stories: the child Samuel, asleep in the sanctuary, hears the voice of God (1 Samuel 3); Mary, an insignificant peasant, is visited by the angel Gabriel. These are two of the great figures of faith in the Bible; many more names could be added. In this way, we are primed for Hethor as a faith hero.

Hethor, like Mary and unlike Samuel, gets physical evidence of the visitation. Mary’s evidence is her pregnancy. Hethor’s is a silver feather.

From that point forward, Hethor encounters the world as a person of faith. He’s confronted by people who don’t believe in his call, or who actively resist it, but he keeps going forward. He’s mentored by experienced persons of faith, including his master (a clockmaker) and a librarian, but also including wise persons of no apparent worldly importance. In the Northern Hemisphere, rationality plays a huge role in supporting faith. (“Proof of the divine was incontrovertible,” he thinks; p34).

Hethor is aware of “heresies.” Most notably, the “rational humanist” William of Ghent tries to persuade him to abandon his quest, for purposes of his own (he wants the Mainspring to wind down, so that “we will be saved by an ordrly univers,” [sic]).

He is given privileged communications, metal tablets, by (one assumes) angels. A big part of his quest is the desire to read them. He works at translating them, but cannot, at first.

He must encounter the Southern Hemisphere first.

The steampunk tools of the Northern Hemisphere--airships, military power--suffice to bring him to the Wall, the tremendous cog that separates the northern from the southern hemisphere. It’s twenty miles across, and he must traverse it in the space of one day, or be squashed as the gears engage. Though he’s wounded in the process, he crosses this Jordan.

In the Southern Hemisphere he finds a world of magic and mythical creatures. Well, not mythical exactly, but unlike any he’s encountered before. Most importantly for his quest, he takes up with the Correct People. (He learns their name by conversing in broken Latin, p206; I wonder if it would be better translated “The Righteous People.”) These are a remnant of Eden, people with an intuitive sense of God; though, Hethor perceives, a different God than his, one who “breathed with continental green lungs of an African jungle” (p226).

Frankly, I find the second part of the book less inventive than the first. I do not know if this is deliberate. I do think the archetypes of the Noble Savage, the remnant of Eden, flowers blooming in the desert (okay, in the Antarctic ice) are important for the author’s purpose, which is this:

If he is to save the world, he must unite in his person the mechanical genius of the Northern Hemisphere and the mythical, intuitive, and emotional blessings of the Southern. He must learn to worship. And especially, he must learn to love (especially, a hairy cutie named Arellya). “His journey wasn’t to find the Key [Perilous]. It was to understand how to use it” (p. 319). Once he understands love and “God’s attention,” he is ready to heal his friend, his enemy, and the world.

And supremely, he’s ready for the test he must take, his Gethsemane: a journey to the heart of the world, the Mainspring, on which he is beset by trickery and temptations to abandon his quest. Perhaps irrationally, stubbornly, he never gives up, but continues to pursue the task given him by God. And that is a triumph for any person of faith.

IV. Where Hethor fails as a person of faith

Actually, I’m not sure he does. True, he does stupid things: he treats things that are holy with a distressingly cavalier attitude (holy feather? Oops, lost it. Holy tablet? Oops, lost it). Oh well, he’s young yet.

I was also going to chide him for not engaging in the practices of faith. In our world at least, if you’re religious, you may do certain things: prayer (communication with God), fasting and self-purification, communal worship, reading of holy texts. For most of his journey, Hethor engages in none of these. Oh--he prays to Gabriel at first (p. 10). And he attends a worship service, a military funeral; which begins with a one-sentence celebration of the Tetragrammaton and then morphs into a celebration of the “English spirit” (p. 96); a worship service in which the Captain “did not consult Holy Writ during his homily.”

But in general, no. I was left thinking: do none of these people have faith? That is, trust in the Tetragrammaton, trust expressed in action, in the practices of faith?

But then I realized that the answer is, of course, no. With a few incidental exceptions, only Hethor acts in faith. He follows from the first, but he has to learn the practices that will sustain him.

When he gets to the Wall, he begins to learn these practices, with a monastic Sacrament of Listening. On the other side of the wall, he’s present as the correct people bow to the word of God (on the tablet he’s brought), and as they “sing up the moon” (p. 216). He learns worship.

And, in a mystical intuitive (prayerful?) way, he translates the Word that’s on the tablet. He’s worked hard on it in rational ways, which gets him ready for the intuitive breakthrough.

“The heart of God is the heart of the world.

“As man lives, so lives God.

“As God lives, so lives the world.”

I could write another essay examining Mainspring’s God, and what this message tells us about Him/Her/It. Suffice it to say it’s not a Christian God, since the Christian God is First Cause--before man lived, God did; if man didn’t live, God still would; and the world certainly does not live in the way God lives, though perhaps the third sentence is meant to imply that God’s ongoing presence sustains the world, which is a Christian concept.

At any rate, the way it all works out seems to be in a “Thou art God,” “Love is God,” even sexual fashion.

And there’s another misstep: “I choose to live the way I will” (p. 320), which, take an face value, is about as far from a faith statement as one can imagine.

So I was all set to chide Hethor for his limited view of God. Not that he has to behave as if his God is the Christian God--but with the awesomeness of the Clockmaker God all around, Hethor’s spirit is big enough only to love Arellya!

And then he goes and heals his enemy.

I’m still not sure this rings true to me, I’m not sure it’s been set up in the text.

But at least it’s a bigger-hearted ending: “Love is the heart of God” (p. 321).

(And therefore, Love is the heart of the world.)

Although the denouement has its disappointments--apparently in this universe, you have to earn a place with God, and few do--it ends, or nearly ends, with a mature statement of faith: “I shall have to trust in God as He trusted in me.”

V. Conclusion

Hethor’s journey is the story of a maturing faith, which begins in cold rationality, adds revelation, struggles through difficulty (physical and spiritual), pushes on anyway, and finally becomes adequate to accomplish the God-given task. On the whole, I find Mainspring’s depiction of Hethor as person of faith to be believable. Beyond that, the depiction of the Wall is thought-provoking. The Wall is the Corpus Collosum of the world, separating the analytical from the intuitive hemispheres. Hethor becomes the great unifier of the two. And if, as a person of faith, his greatness comes a little too much from humanity and perhaps too little from God, well, his journey is still fascinating and his character faithful.

Planetarium projector

2008-10-09T05:41:51Z

Here's a link to an interesting set of statements from e.g. the Adler Planetarium, concerning the $3 million projector Sen. McCain was complaining about. Turns out, you can't get one of these at Best Buy.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/8/111343/511/549/623891

Religion and Science Friday: Vaccinations

2008-08-29T21:03:21Z

Religion & Science Friday 01

Vaccination and authority

Today on Science Friday, one of Ira Flatow’s guests was Dr. Paul Offit, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The question under consideration: why do people refuse to have their children vaccinated, when the evidence is strong that it’s both safe and effective? Dr. Offit said the main reason is that journalists look for “balance” when they report, even if the evidence is overwhelming that vaccines are safe.

Chantelle wouldn't buy it.

For maybe 15 minutes, they talked to Chantelle, a mother of young children who called herself a “delayed vaccinator” – refused to have her children vaccinated at age six months.

Why? The medical profession recommends six different vaccinations at one time, which seems like too much for her children’s small size. Dr. Offit explained that the amounts of aluminum in these vaccines (Cantelle’s stated concern) were very small compared to the amounts in, say, formula or even breast milk. And in terms of interaction (another concern), Dr. Offit said there were somewhere around a thousand studies about just such concerns, and they came up “thumbs up.” He said vaccines are the most thoroughly studied input in the world, with more rigorous testing even than drugs.

Chantelle wouldn’t buy it. Why? Because the testing is done by people she doesn’t trust – the pharmaceutical companies and those funded by them.

Finally Ira Flatow asked: Is there anything that would change your mind? She said if the government funded objective testing, then maybe, but as it is, no.

Flatow and Offit said to each other, I think most people can be persuaded – unlike Chantelle.

My take: Dr. Offit is not credible to Chantelle. I would broaden it further and say that broad segments of the population question the authority of science. True, almost everyone will agree that life is better because of science, but will no longer take its recommendations on faith. Maybe Chantelle is an extreme case, but some of her distrust lurks in many people I know.

I think media plays a part in this distrust, but only a part. Dr. Offit spoke as if people would of course come to his way of thinking if only they knew how confident scientists were in their results. He’s wrong. Until people trust the scientists, it won’t matter what they say.

Steven M. R. Covey says credibility is build on four core questions:

1. integrity: are you congruent?

2. intent: what's your agenda?

3. capabilities: are you relevant?

4. results: what's your track record?

Integrity? Science says it’s after answers, and acts like it’s after answers.

Intent? Here is where Chantelle excoriated pharmaceutical research. Because science is funded by corporations that make lots of money from the results; because researchers are paid by those corporations; and because the specific intent of those corporations is to make money; her trust in the intent of the researchers is very low. In other words, Chantelle was not going to believe Dr. Offit, no matter how confident he is, because she sees him as part of Big Pharma.

Capabilities? Obviously science is very relevant to questions of health. But I’m not sure Chantelle would say it’s relevant to her. Because science looks for answers, and Chantelle is interested in having a healthy child; two different questions.

Results? Science’s track record is very good, but this may not be enough to overcome the issues of trust.

How does this relate to religion?

Surely church folks are hoist on the same petard. The “authority” we used to have in Christendom is gone now. Here in Oregon, at least, people no longer assume that our actions match our words, or that our intent is benevolent. They don’t see that our message is relevant to them, and they don’t see that our track record is much to brag about. This has to do with media presentation, but it’s much deeper.

And I can point to our successes, I can cite the transformative effects of religion on people, I can even point to scientific studies on the benefits of religion; but until people trust that my desire is for their health, their physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being, it will mean nothing.

That’s why I’m pushing my church folks to be more upfront and vocal about their faith, their wholehearted commitment to living the Jesus life. And why I’m pushing myself to match my own actions to my words.

In both cases, religion and science, people have lost faith. And are poorer for it.

And then life was normal, no story here, move along

2008-07-21T05:00:00Z

Back home and doing homely things, after electing two bishops. (OK, after watching two bishops get elected. Twenty-five ballots.) Tuesday through Saturday, for the second time in a month, I dusted off my video production skills and directed the support video at a United Methodist meeting.

And Friday, I made a fast run back to Eugene (from Portland, where we met) to see Becky in her theatre camp final production. They did bunches of songs from various musicals. She was in "Speaking French," from Lucky Stiff, plus all-attender production numbers. It was cool. Songs! Dances! That's my Becky up there!

So now I'm back in town. I preached this morning. I attended a Church Council meeting. I took Becky to a pool party (the wet kind). I did some phone counseling, about which I cannot tell you. Supper. Then for family night, we watched WKRP in Cincinnati and had prayers. Let me see... oh yes, I napped.

I read other people's journals and some of them can make the mundane sound exciting. Not me. But you know what, there's something to be said for routine.

[Personal] Birthday & Reunion

2008-07-15T18:26:32Z

Happy birthday to Becky! She's 14, since yesterday (14 on the 14th!). Her favorite part of the celebration didn't actually involve Kathy or me. At theatre camp, 51 trained singers and a former Broadway accompanist sang "Happy birthday" to her. In harmony. 51-part harmony? I dunno, I wasn't there.

Also, Kevin had a day off from staff work at Suttle Lake Camp and rafted down the McKenzie River to get here. OK, the camp staff had a river outing planned, and he caught a ride at the end of it. So we were together for the first time in, golly, what, a month?

Good times, and rich Market of Choice cake, were had by all.

Twist again, like we did last summer

2008-07-05T17:27:43Z

Yesterday, from 4 PM to 9 PM, Kathy, Becky and I twisted balloons at the Lights of Liberty celebration in Springfied. I find it hugely fun to relate to the kids who want balloon hats or animals. But we don't do many five-hour gigs twisting for a line, and I forget my moves.  Not how to twist necessarily - but management issues.

For instance, in all that time I only took one break - 20 minutes for supper. Ten minutes each hour or two is better. With three of us there, I could do that. It's a little harder because there are certain pieces I do that Kathy and Becky don't. And it's easy to forget because the line never stops and there's always the next child looking forward to her pink poodle. But if I don't take breaks...  well, yesterday my hands cramped up. A nice young man waited his 20 minutes in line or whatever and wanted a gold motorcycle. Motorcycles are of moderate difficulty; not super hard, but they have an apple twist and a couple of split twists and so on. Furthermore, gold balloons are metallic (not real gold though!), which makes them more resistant to twisting. And, without breaks, I had been without water. So when I tied it off, my thumb cramped and contracted toward my palm. I pulled it back and tried to continue... several times, but I couldn't do the small twists required. So I gave the poor guy's mother a business card and said call me, I'll bring a motorcycle by.

Drank water, rested a moment, and did swans and doggies (easy stuff) till my hands recovered.

I apply this to life and take it as a parable. Probably many possible morals, but I remind myself: self-discipline involves self-care, not self-punishment.

This gig, BTW, is a family tradition. The last two years we've done this as a foursome. But this year, of course, Kevin's at his summer job.

A couple thousand people came by...

2008-07-04T16:01:59Z

... our house this morning. It's July 4, it's Eugene, so it's the Butte to Butte! A 10 K race from Spencer Butte (south of town) to Skinner Butte (north). And no Olympic Trials will prevent the true Eugenean from running! So I must not be a true Eugenean, because I watched it from our street. We're on the first big hill they have to run up, which separates the serious runners from the runners-for-fun. Our neighbors brought lawn chairs and we all cheered the runners. Across the street, a ukele band entertained and encouraged the runners, and they passed out free doughnuts.  My son usually runs, but he's away, so my daughter and her friend joined me in watching, or I joined them.

We don't always get a chance to do neighborly things, so this was fun.

And this afternoon, the Raines family will twist balloons into little doggies and things, at the Lights of Liberty. Then fireworks!

All in all, quite a 4th.

What was great about supper

2008-06-25T19:42:08Z

A very nice supper, with grilled steak, grilled vegetables, a nice Caesar salad, and fresh fruit. But what was great was, Becky cooked it, with her friend Tory; at Tory's house. I am not sure we can expect such provender every evening, but this, I enjoyed.

The world's problems are now solved...

2008-06-23T04:47:34Z

Well, maybe. I just got back from Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference, the yearly meeting of United Methodist clergy and laity in this region. We passed a resolution that Congress should establish a "Truth and Accountability Commission," to look into the high crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush administration. So that's done. (The maker of the motion: "when your grandchildren ask what you said when civil liberties went down the toilet, do you want to say 'nothing'?")  We couldn't get impeachment through, though.

We also sponsored a free rock concert by Jars of Clay, a multiple-platinum, Grammy-winning Christian rock band. Our ticket in: we had to provide two cans of food for the Marion County food bank. The Salem--and more distant--community was invited, in fact it was mostly for them, not us. It was fun, lots of energy, and showed (we hope) a movement toward meeting the spiritual needs of young adults and youth.

I did tech; I returned to my salad days, and directed the video floor coverage of conference. I really like directing live, unscripted TV. There's an excitement there. Also, when you direct live TV, the camera operators often do what you tell them to. Um, not that church members DON'T, of course.

It's not broadcast, but it's still fun.

Also Becky, the theatre child, ran the sound board, or part of it. So that was fun.

We had wonderful worship, all the way from a processional with Latin chant to praise band to light jazz to, well, Jars of Clay. Worship also included video segments and presentation software. Our bishop preached often, and he's really a good preacher. He doesn't mind challenging the conference to change, and he's clear about the direction he sees as necessary, but he's also gracious and appreciative of people.

We did lots of other stuff too.

Another day, another graduation...

2008-06-17T05:10:51Z

... or, excuse me, a "ceremony of completion." Becky graduated from 8th grade, and the school had a ceremony. Becky not only graduated, but also helped produce a video about the 8th graders. (Wow, produce video... just like I used to do! *snif*.) And now she's at an end-of-year dance. Parents got to peek in and see the decorations, Then we were shooed out. I gotta say, it was AWFULLY dark in there...

Pics when they're available!

Give a guy a cap and gown...

2008-06-16T01:11:32Z

And he looks very happy.

Graduation Day for South Eugene High School, and here's Kevin!  Grandma and Aunt Mary came down from Portland and the Seattle area (respectively). We had wonderful cake.  Then went to the Hult Center and sat in the eighth or tenth row from the front. Got pictures, too.

South Eugene HS is an amazing place; full of high achievers academically, artistically, athletically. Kevin ran in fast company and kept up. Tomorrow he's off to summer camp... as staff. It'll be different around here.

Writing

2008-06-14T03:04:45Z

I took Kevin to his summer job staff training and waited for him to get done; so I spent Thursday and Friday at Suttle Lake Camp, in the Cascades. I had my own private cabin (bathroom and everything!) and two days with no interruptions.

This is the way to write: roll out of bed when you want to, maybe 7:30 AM; get some writing in while waiting for the Prilosec to take hold; eat some nice shredded wheat; write some more; take a break, walk among the mountain pines and along the ridge; write some more; spread peanut butter on bread and eat it; take the typewriter table out among the pines and firs, and write some more; eat at the potato bar prepared by the camp cook; relax in the evening with walks, reading, and OK, solitaire.

Oh yes, make sure the sun is out and it's 72 degrees, with just a breath of wind.

OK, I did some church work too. But I tweaked and formatted my Writers of the Future entry for this quarter; I worked through two plot problems that have hung up my little novel for two years; I fixed a broken scene; and generated new words to boot.

I missed my family, but other than that, it was great. Of course the good thing would be to create like that anywhere, anywhen. But this was very pleasant.

The Co-Director of the Year

2008-06-09T20:46:34Z

...The eighth grade year at Spencer Butte, that is. Becky and her friend Hannah applied to be the directors of the Student-Directed Play this year, and were chosen. So they've been working for five or six months to pull it off.

Saturday and Sunday, it all came together in two performances. The reviews are in: "brilliant!" "Funny!" "If you see only one production of _Murder's in the Heir_ this year, make this the one!" And that's only ONE review. (Well... mine.)

I was pleased and proud that these two directors could put together an acting-and-tech team capable of holding my interest for two hours. It's a formidable task, but then Becky and Hannah are formidable people.  It was great to see Becky In Charge - firm but calm (usually) - and wonderful that the result was worth the effort.

We throw a party

2008-06-09T20:30:50Z

... for Kevin. Next Saturday, he graduates from South Eugene HS. So the Woman, and Becky, and I hosted an open house yesterday (Sunday) from 5-8 pm.

Now here at the House of Raines, we face formidable challenges when it comes to parties.

The House itself is great. The problem is, we have filled it with things. Books, for instance. Newspapers. Twelvepacks of pop. Unpaid bills and offers to save us money on insurance. The occasional dirty pan or glass.

On the other hand, we have resources. Under deadline pressure, we become lean and efficient and energized. We have the audacity of hope! We believe we can transform our living quarters! Yes, we can!

And we did. We all worked hard and one of us (me) stayed up into the early hours of the morning (the LATE early hours) to clean. Okay, we wouldn't have passed a white-glove test, but the house became comfortably clean and decluttered. (Now the GARAGE is a different story - we forced boxes under pressure into an already-dense environment.)

We displayed pictures of Kevin. We ate Costco cake with the touching message, "Congratulations, Keivn." [Sic.] We had a shrimp plate, and potato chips, and dip. And you know those little chocolates, Nestle's Treasures? We had those, because they're wrapped in purple, one of South's colors.

Becky left her cast party early to attend. (More on that, next post.) About 20 people come by, including friends from eighty miles away, folks from my church, Alex the Only Biological Cousin, and a set of Kevin's friends who were entirely different from the friends we were acquainted with (who knew?). They seemed to have a good time wrestling on the deck and discussing colleges. (Separate events.)

And so did we. Have a good time, I mean. Not wrestle.

Evolution and Expelled

2008-06-05T18:57:18Z

Just read a long and nuanced review of _Expelled_, the Ben Stein movie claiming Intelligent Design proponents are unfairly "cast out" of the scientific establishment. The review is posted at www.asa3.org, an organization of scientists who are also Christians.

Jeffrey P. Schloss, the author, divides the movie into three central claims:

Is Evolution Wedded to Atheism?

     Do “anti-science bigots stifle science”? (That is, by “the reigning intellectual worldview... sound science [ID] and those pursuing it are being expelled from the academic enterprise.”)
     Did Darwin Lead to Hitler?

Stripped of nuance (unfair to him), Schloss' answers are no, maybe or maybe not, and no.

His closing statement:

Ever looking for a voice on this issue that will “speak the truth in love” - my own reading of scores of reviews, commentaries, and responses suggests that the rhetoric of Expelled’s critics is more often wanting in love, Expelled’s advocates more often wanting in truth.... This does not bode well for walls being overcome.

(Thanks to jaylake whose link to an article on bacterial evolution led me to Schloss' review.)

My own take: there are arguments to show natural selection as compatible with our faith, but lots of Christians haven't been exposed to them. Mea culpa, but I'm planning to correct that in September.

Productivity Requires Chocolate

2008-06-03T04:59:07Z

Family night out! Went to Allann Brothers so the students in the family could get away from the computers and the internet and do some homework. I started a new short story, a pastiche on cyberpunk. Kathy read newspapers. Good times and hot chocolate were had by all. Except Kevin, who likes chai tea. I have a neat family, and it is good when we are together.

Outreach and/or worship

2008-06-03T04:51:46Z

On Wednesday nights, Ebbert puts on a supper (pizza, soup, whatever) and invites community folk in; homeless, street people, neighbors. After the supper, we have a contemplative worship service. The question is, how do we get from the one to the other without (a) making our guests feel like they're expected to worship in exchange for a meal, and (b) shortchanging the church folks who want to worship? Also, come to think of it, (c) burning out our cooks?? (Note to self: do not use "burning" and "cooks" in the same sentence.)

On the other hand, you know what, I am excited about Wednesday nights. We're leaving our comfort zones and trying cool things; we're unleashing the creativity and passion of some of our leaders, and getting to know some pretty neat neighbors of all kinds. And if there are bumps along the way, so what? The journey continues.

Recital

2008-06-02T05:26:43Z

I'm gaining an appreciation for a particular classical musician - my daughter Becky now plays viola. Okay, she's played it for four years, and I've seen her in concert. But today her teacher's students combined for a recital. Each student played one piece. It was really cool to hear what Becky sounds like when playing all by herself! (Of course, as far as I'm concerned, she's the star of whatever event she's in.) She played a gavotte with trills and dynamics and all. Except for the, quote, "crappy C-string" on her rented viola, it came off very well. She practices hard and long, and it's nice to see the work pay off.

Obama and Trinity UCC

2008-06-02T05:13:19Z

joycemocha has a response to a Street Prophet post about Barak Obama leaving his church. I posted this at her LJ:

I'm a pastor who has received such letters of resignation. During the runup to the invasion of Iraq, I preached on the text "turn the other cheek." That week I got a letter from a couple who wrote, "We're patriots!" and said they wouldn't be coming back. So that's the context into which I put Obama's resignation, and I thought: "That's not the way to do it! You have to stay and work it through!"

But okay, in this case, maybe not. Separation is a last resort, but it looks like they've reached the last resort.

Church and school

2008-06-01T06:00:10Z

Tonight, members of one of my churches threw a "senior banquet" for son Kevin, and another senior. We had a very nice supper (pork chop, fettucini Alfredo - not too rich, this version, just right - salad, strawberry shortcake, rolls...). Then we told stories and heard stories. Becky told about the time Kevin gave the pizza delivery person our street name, but the numbers from our telephone number, and sent the pizza to a non-existent house. I told about how Kevin used to take paper from the church Children's Packet and fold them into throwing stars. Kathy remembered Kevin, age two, asking about a local community college and, upon being assured that he could go to college when he was older, proclaimed: "Well, I'll need a CAR!"

One of the things I love about Kevin is that he laughs easily, and can laugh at himself. Aren't firstborns supposed to be super serious? Like, well, me?

Continuous diary / journal

2008-05-30T05:55:15Z

I've always had a love-hate relationship with journals. I read and hear from people who use them extensively and find them necessary for their own growth. Myself, to derive any benefit from them, I seem to need at least forty-five minutes per entry; and few are the days any more that I spend that much time. So usually I content myself with two smaller journals: a "Daybook," one-sentence summaries of the day's most notable events; and a "Commonbook," where I record story ideas, sermon ideas, scene descriptions, thoughts, quotations, short research topics, and anything I want to remember. I use my Palm TX for these.

However... on the net, I ran across a method used by early Methodists. My version is as follows: every day, record -

BLESSINGS.
SINS.
DETAILED ACCOUNTS OF DAILY ACTIVITIES.
BOOKS READ.
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER METHODISTS.
MEANS OF GRACE (inc. prayer time).
DEVOTIONS.

The early Methodists apparently stopped every hour to record the above events.  I'm not quite that compulsive, I'm afraid.

I've set this up as a repeat in my Palm, so every day I can keep track of the above. Seems like this will be useful. If not, I've set the repeat to end in a month!

Confirmation

2008-05-29T05:47:43Z

Remembrance of a few days past...

Becky (my daughter) was confirmed last Sunday. (This means she "confirmed" for herself vows that were made on her behalf when she was baptized as an infant.) Wife Kathy got to be there, though she had to zip away as soon as it was over, to reach Jefferson in time to lead worship.  Son Kevin was there, too, having walked this journey himself.

In Confirmation classes, we talked about prayer, Bible study, group life, giving, service, and what it means to be a United Methodist. During class, I was really impressed by how thoughtful Becky is about faith. For 13 years now ,she's stuck with it, or it's stuck with her; and she has decided Jesus is for her. She'll change, she'll grow in spirit, but right now she decided to "confess Jesus Christ as savior" and promise "to serve him as Lord."

And one of the cool things about being a pastor-dad is getting to lay hands on her head and say, "Rebekah Joy Raines, the Holy Spirit work within you, that having been born through water and the Spirit, you may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ." Wow.

Oh yes, two fine thoughtful young men were also confirmed last Sunday...