free to be: July synchroblog

July Synchroblog: Liberty on the WordPress blog

This month's synchroblog header pic is via the Facebook group; the prompt for this month reads:

"July is here and I always associate that with Independence Day. I suspect that’s not terribly strange. For this month we’re working with one word: Liberty. You can write whatever you want about that word ... what feelings does it evoke? How do you define it? Do you think you live it? Or not? Those are just some ways you could look at it. You could write a poem, or a story, or a more traditional blog post. Just use the word, 'liberty' as your starting place and see where you go."

In school and out of school, I've participated in discussions of liberty and freedom, and I even found an article that describes both, particularly in terms of Thomas Jefferson's use of the term:

One should distinguish between the terms "freedom" and "liberty." Speaking generally, Freedom usually means to be free from something, whereas Liberty usually means to be free to do something, although both refer to the quality or state of being free. Jefferson's use of the terms almost always reflected those meanings. Thus, he never spoke of freedom as a right, though liberty is listed in the Declaration as one of our inalienable rights. It is safe to say that whenever Jefferson spoke of freedom, he referred to that state that is free from despotic oppression.

Especially in his epistles to the churches at Rome, Galatia, and Corinth, the Apostle Paul frequently proclaims and counsels eleutheria, typically translated into English as "freedom," the kind of easygoing, grace-filled living devoid of fear and anxiety, that lack of attachment to sin we know in Christ Jesus. And truly experience with our entire beings all too rarely. That particular freedom also is the bounded liberty (=liberation) of the children of God―free in Christ, but also keeping our own freedom along with that of our friends and neighbors whole by obeying the commandments. With its neither Jew nor gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, Galatians 3:28 ain't no emancipation proclamation! However, the Apostle Paul's, "but I was born free!" quoted in Acts 22:28 is not eleutheria-liberty at all, but indicates his being well-born as a Roman citizen, and therefore already "emancipated." Emancipated in terms of not being a subject of or potentially subject to slavery, bondage, ownership or control by any other individual or entity. For us in this century, living as citizens of a first- or second-world country with relatively open, transparent, and accountable government structures is one type of freedom, for sure.

According to Nobel Poet Laureate Joseph Brodsky: "Freedom is when you forget the spelling of the tyrant's name." I like to counsel myself and others, "Don't let people wag you! Don't let them rent space in your head!" Be your own person.

Although any synchroblog is pretty much a free-choice response, I especially love this month's suggestion simply to start with "freedom" and then go wherever it takes you. So a couple more things for now. One of my favorite contemporary Christian songs by Don Moen insists "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" as it quotes the opening of Romans 8:1-25

July in the northern hemisphere and in southern California is very very summer; by then most schools are out, though there are some year-round elementary schools in these here parts, and of course, for all ages, there's summer school, which I've always loved. By late July we're well into fun activities like picnics, parties, potlucks—vacation bible school will be here soon! Until a few years ago, summer always had been true freedom time for me. By "true freedom time" I mean nothing much bothered me, I didn't obsess about why someone said what they did, why someone else acted how they had—no matter what might have been going on during the previous months, whatever still stood in my way despite its being summer, and even considering what the upcoming autumn schedule looked like. For this almost over July 2014 and for the upcoming months, I'll do whatever's possible to make liberty about being free to be myself. Again. Just as it used to be.

July Synchroblog Participants so far:

• Jerry Wirtley – Liberty …
• Bobbi Ann Allen – My Allegiance Has Changed
• Justin Steckbauer – The Topic Of Liberty
• MinnowSpeaks – The Talk
• Jeremy Myers – Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death?
• Carol Kuniholm – Liberty and Constraint
• K.W. Leslie – Why I Don’t Want Go To Church: No Freedom
• Jesus Without Baggage – Where The Spirit of The Lord Is, There Is Liberty
• Glenn Hager – Rebel
• James Carter – The Law of Liberty
• Mallory Pickering – Don’t Give Up target="_blank"
• Leah Chang – Free To Be
• Liz Dyer – Fighting For Freedom & Equality

desert spirit's fire is 12!

Today marks the 12-year anniversary of this blog!—yay, me! When I began blogging a dozen summers ago simply because blogging had become the thing to do – and because I'd started writing and even reading some again – who knew by now I'd be approaching 1,000 discrete posts? Despite my also having three other theology blogs that still are public if you know where to find them, who knew this is the one that would best endure?

For desert spirit's fire's 12-year blogoversary post, I've created a desert scene full of textures and even included a slice of desert graffiti. Thanks to everyone who has visited and read, even if you've never left a comment. Looking forward to lots more!

But I Don't See You as Asian! review

But I Don't See You as Asian: Curating Conversations about Race by Bruce Reyes-Chow (on Amazon)

Bruce Reyes-Chow still is best known to me as moderator of the 2008 218^th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), though he has an extensive online presence! In his own words, Bruce compiled this book, "...to find that sweet middle space where, after our intellect is stirred in the classroom and our hearts moved on the picket line, we can sit down to eat, drink, and commune." So this is more about finding a dining table to gather around than it is about the also essential intellectual and historical exploration that happens in a university classroom, than it is about the planning, actions, and outcomes of a political rally. You do realize every one of us needs to learn to dialogue, because the USA still is far from being post-racial in behaviors, attitudes, and mindset?! You've also experienced how good food and good drink help people start letting down their own walls and begin opening up about their lives? The subtitle is because "the curator prepares the room with essential items, but also continues to care for that room once it is set up."

Bruce shorthands ethnicity, culture, and race into the single word race, because "...it generally encompasses both genetic background and sociological location." Initially he lined out the book by selecting "...statements and comments that [regardless of intent, created resentment, hostility, and divisions within a community that genuinely seeks understanding, compassions, and wholeness] people have made to me or that I have heard people say to others." At times he also refers to other observable, more external attributes such as gender, height, weight... social class? Yes. Because how a person dresses, does their hair and makeup, walks and talks can reveal so much, but at least in the USA, those factors also are functions of your geographical area.

Reyes-Chow invites everyone to be set free by naming, claiming, and acknowledging the complexities of their individual lives, their experiences and their appearances. I loved the anecdote about the Korean-born youth, adopted and raised by parents in North Carolina, who considered himself White. His cultural phenotype indeed was middle class White American, though his genotype was Asian. In the HS youth group at the church I served in City of History, there was one teen whose physical features were African-American, but who was more culturally White than a lot of the genetically White kids who lived in the nearby very racially diverse neighborhood. Each of us has lifelong contextual historical and cultural locations. What are yours? What are mine?

For this overview of a single individual's experience and perspective, along with his invitation and encouragement for readers to do the same, I found Bruce's insights, revelations, and reminders helpful at least five stars's worth. You could use it in a high school or college classroom as additional reading alongside a book or books that approached the topic from a more thoroughly historical or structural perspective. It would be excellent for a racially or culturally homogenous or multicultural church discussion group, in a library or other book club. Participants even could read a chapter or chapters right then and there, and talk about it immediately afterwards, so no homework necessary. But because Bruce is not a professor or an Actual Academic, and because of its style and content, it could not function as the main class textbook.

my amazon review: but we still need to talk!

another random 5

Today it's another random 5; Karla hosts.

1. What makes you happy in your happy hour? ...essentially, what do you do to relax at the end of your week (day, etc.)?

Back in the day, it almost always was meeting up with friends or a friend for lunch, dinner, or a snack; because I knew they'd always be there for me, I also used to be cool with a more solitary activity. These days nothing seems to work. Or play.

2. What’s your favorite summer “garment”?

I love printed or plain short skirts and shorts―sandals, too. These days I usually wear fairly good quality flip-flops, but at the end of the last century it was Tevas that now seem so very very 20^th century; before that I had two pairs of custom-made leather sandals and resoled each pair twice. I've been noticing lots of long skirts and long dresses everywhere, as in the supermarket and big box stores. I love long, as well, but historically have reserved them for Sundays and church. Need to rethink that one! One more thing: in this coastal desert, nights are very cool, so you need at least to have a long sleeved shirt or sweater with you.

3. Karla told us she'd discovered Ipswich (Massachusetts, New England) fried clams, and wonders, "Do you have a summer food you might splurge on once or twice in the summer?"

Hey, I've lived in New England; from the North End of Boston and from the North Shore in Salem, had to drive up the shore at least once each summer to The Clambox. More recently and more locally? There's gotta be something good. Let's make it two scoops of Thrifty Ice Cream at any RiteAid!

4. A specific fond memory of summers of your childhood?

The early teens summer or two I wasn't old enough yet to legally work, but sick and tired of simply chillin', so despite never being much of a reader, I joined the library summer reading club and read up a storm. Probably didn't even come close to reading the most books for my age group, but it sure was fun!

5. Use these words in a sentence: snail, baby duck, camper, ice cream, surfboard, cherries.

Did you realize the yellow rubber ducky that ships with Adobe Photoshop is an adult? But you can use Photoshop to shrink him/her and create your own baby duck; (classic non sequitur) after all, with the ascendancy of email, snail mail has become even more of a pleasure than ever. Getting Thrifty ice cream with cherries {they don't really have toppings} at RiteAid is a year-round treat, even more so during summer when surfboards proliferate and I need to consider soon becoming a literal happy camper for a few days north of here in the desert.

the unguided pastoral missile: review

The Unguided Pastoral Missile by Barry Pearman on Amazon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and was not required to write a positive review; the opinions in this review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR Part 255.

"The Unguided Pastoral Missile" title may make people who aren't serving as church pastors or in a para-pastoral role imagine Barry Pearman's insights and resources in this short book won't apply to them, but they'd be very mistaken. I'll begin by recalling more than one actual pastor I've encountered who was at Stage 1 in the Conscious Competence Learning Matrix: "Unconscious Incompetence (You don't know that you don't know)." Enough said!

On to my review. The Unguided Pastoral Missile, "Five things you need to know for the sake of others," is amazingly well-structured, thoroughly considered, doable, and non-overwhelming; it's not a sentence longer than it needs to be.

At the start of the book, Pearman tells us, "Pastoral care takes the visionary lead from the Holy Spirit [Paraclete = called alongside]. ... In reality though, I have come across plenty of people who would consider they are being parakletes. People who come alongside, but instead become Unguided Pastoral Missiles." Yes. Once again, a serious problem, and not exclusively an officially pastoral one.

In fewer than fifty pages, here are practical exercises in becoming consciously disciplined into self-awareness. Most middle-class people will consult a psychotherapist or counselor once or twice or off and on again during their lives, but simply working through this book will help increase self-awareness and social functioning. The narrative, suggestions, and the exercises you can do in your own head or with pencil/pen and paper would be excellent not only for Christians and others who formally serve as pastors, deacons, therapists, teachers, or counselors, but for everyone who hopes to know themselves and their histories better, each person who aspires to do better with others. Pearman provides some scripture references and examples from Jesus of Nazareth's life and ministry. This is about learning to be interdependent as the Trinity is in its perichoretic dance of life! It would make an outstanding, realistic, personal journaling resource, and/or a series of blogging prompts.

Quotes from famous people at the bottom of most pages enrich the presentation, which concludes with a single page of resources: a pair of courses; two websites, including Barry Pearman's own Turning the Page that I've subscribed to for a while now; and only eight books. Everything about the entire book is small, manageable, and inspiring.

To conclude, The Unguided Pastoral Missile will help anyone "Be there for others, but never leave yourself behind." –Dodinsky

my amazon review: very definitely not only for pastors!

Resurrection City

Resurrection City: A Theology of Improvisation on Amazon by Peter Goodwin Heltzel

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free through The Speakeasy and I was not required to write a positive review; the opinions in this review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR Part 255.

"Resurrection City offers a Christian prophetic vision for justice... in "the style of improvisation players of jazz offer." After all, "...traditional theology has most often been written in the style of Western classical music." ...the style of Western classical music? Despite the Christian scriptures not originating in the contemporary western world, until recently, most theologians have originated in the contemporary western hemisphere, so how else are they going to express themselves? Yet still I appreciate "classical music" in the sentence, since jazz also is a musical genre, and in this case, comparisons can be valid.

Resurrection City moves along at the approximate pace of the biblical book of Acts, and like Acts, brings us stories of discipleship, exploitation, inclusion, injustice, healing, conflict, resolution, and resurrection from death. Like Acts, Resurrection City tells us of the eschatological reign of the Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. According to the author, Resurrection City has [at least] a double meaning: new life for the poor, heaven in the biblical book of Revelation, "an ethical goal and future destination for world Christianity." Although the book title refers to many locations and ways of being, most specifically Resurrection City is the Beloved Community that gathered and grew in Washington, D.C., beginning in spring 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Out of a thoroughly orthodox Theological (Christological, Pneumatological) perspective, author Peter Goodwin Heltzel chronicles triumphs that have occurred because of faith-filled prayer, discernment, direct, and less-than-direct action. Heltzel outlines possibilities for a more inclusive, more justice-oriented future for the entire planet. You could describe much of Resurrection City as scripturally-based instructions and encouragements of ways to "practice resurrection" until the real, enduring experience of God doing a New Thing happens in the power of the Holy Spirit. The blues are a state of mind, blues often signal it's time to start reaching for change, sometimes a case of the blues is a place to rest and reflect for a while. In Peter Heltzel's Resurrection City, blues and jazz are all of the above. Very very highly recommend!

my amazon review: improvisation into resurrection

Friday the 13th 5

Karla hosts Friday 5, right on time for Friday the 13^th

SO, let’s get right on it―

1. Are you superstitious about anything?

I'm always reluctant to mention new possibilities to anyone until the deal is very close to being signed, sealed, and delivered. Some kind of anxiety that it might not happen if I speak too soon, so that sounds like a type of minor superstition.

2. Karla tells us "I’m going on vacation on Tuesday," and asks, "What are you looking forward to?"

I'll refer and defer to my answer to (1) for this one. Yes, there's almost definitely something new and exciting in my future... leavin' it hangin' at that.

3. There is a lot going on in sports right now–World Cup, Basketball finals, and much more. If your life were a sport, what would it be, and why?

I'm not a big sports fan, though I've been known to get very excited by the NBA finals, and (of course), World Series when Red Sox are playing. One of my bosses told me I loved "the thrill of the chase," and that I do, so despite my almost never acting remotely like a drama queen, I'll describe my life as a baseball game, with indeterminate length of innings and entire games, some small, subtle dramatic moments you'd need to be looking for and almost expecting even to notice, some others so large, public and spectacular you couldn't miss them. We're also talkin' totally unpredictable number of innings, too. I think the longest game I experienced live in the ballpark was 17 innings, a close parallel to the recent Times and Innings of my Own Life.

4. Hey! Remember orange push-up ice cream treats? What happened to them? What is one of your favorite summer treats? Ice cream sandwich, popsicles, frozen grapes, fruit pizza, DQ Dilly Bar, etc.?

I esp loved the orange covered vanilla ice cream on a stick—I think they called it dreamsicle where I lived; also fudgesicle, chocolate covered, and at one point and place the ice cream sandwiches were awesome because the chocolate cookie part was soft and a little chewy, like a brownie.

5. So there is this thing called “Listserve” that picks one random person per day to write an email to like a million people world-wide. It’s pretty cool. Some people make music suggestions, offer sage advice, or plug their latest interest/project. If you could write a note to a million people around the world, what would you say?

The best I can do is to counsel everyone they need to find a viable, (reasonably healthy) supportive, church or other community that will love, challenge, encourage, and hold them accountable, because without that, mere individual efforts to keep on keepin' on will not succeed. I needed to end today's play on a serious note of advice to myself.

Theology from Exile: Luke

Legal note - "Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free from The Speakeasy in hope that I would mention it on my blog, and was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR. Part 255: 'Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.'"

Theology from Exile: Commentary on the Revised Common Lectionary for an Emerging Christianity on Amazon

Gaia Rising, Sea Raven's blog

Many of my remarks about Sea Raven's commentary for RCL Year A, Matthew, also apply to this book about Luke's gospel.

About Exile in the book title:

Who are the exiles from the Church of Jesus Christ today? Those who have left the interventionist God of childhood far behind, who have set down roots in a latter-day Babylon, where new understandings about who Jesus was and what Jesus said reconstruct and transform the faith. These exiles ... find salvation in the awesome nature of the cosmos, and divinity revealed in all acts of compassionate justice.... [pp. 12-13 in the digital pdf edition]

On page 19: "Postmodern, post-enlightenment people cannot reconcile a changing, developing, evolving postmodern, post-enlightenment cosmology with traditional religious belief." Oh. I didn't realize that. I'm totally cool with a 3-layered universe (but what's a firmament?). Reminding myself and my readers that the Way of Jesus is comprehensive: political; economic; social; spiritual―and translatable, transferrable to any culture, because as did everything about all lives everywhere, it began incarnate in a particular culture. As SR observes [page 46], "The organizers of Christian tradition were masters of the appropriation of local cultural myth and metaphor."

Sea Raven frames her thoughts on the RCL texts by presenting the God of the bible as nonviolent, inclusive, oriented to distributive (rather than retributive) justice, and to deliverance. Sometimes I love the author's energetic explanations because so many of hers agree with mine, but then she apparently needs to let us know she is right because her theology is on the left, and her more "fundamentalist" siblings in Christ have it mostly wrong. Not left. This is the year 2014, and I'm definitely post-enlightenment and post-modern, but I also do mystery, paradox, ambiguity, and all those less than-logical, not-intellectual, non-physical dimensions of life and divinity and humanity quite well. But then again, at one point in the text, she acknowledges the ability to live with ambiguity ad irresolution is a mark of spiritual and human maturity. But in her Trinity Sunday chapter, on page 117] she has it so correct that in this postmodern world, "Somehow the concept of 'grace' (charis – 'free gift') has become anything but 'free.'"

Luke is far and away my favorite of the four canonical gospels, so I approached this book with a more open heart and mind than I did the parallel Matthew volume. Of course Sea Raven "cherry-picks" her interpretations the same way the Revised Common Lectionary "elves" (name taken from Tolkien) choose their texts. And it's important to remember this series does not pretend or aspire to be of the same scope as (for example) Anchor or Interpreter's Bibles. Although I've participated in churches of differing traditions, all have been (progressive, liberal, etc.) relatively activist types who regularly reach out to their neighbors nearby and beyond, so I don't know for sure if Sea Raven's suggestions about more fundamental / conservative / evangelical scriptural interpretation are exaggerated, facetious, or not. Or what. Unlike in her Matthew, Raven includes propers for Reformation Day / Sunday in the main body of the book; she writes about Monday through Saturday of Holy Week in Appendix Two. In both Sea Raven's Matthew and Luke, I truly appreciated being able to read through and consider micro-commentaries on the entire church year by turning a couple hundred pages. I love that she included at least three passages describing the Eucharist from creationist Matthew Fox. She includes nice baptismal and eucharistic liturgies, as well; you easily could use them as-is, though In my own tradition I'd want to expand those somewhat. The conclusion to my review of SR's Matthew also applies to her Luke: "...Theology from Exile still is a useful, insight-filled resource; it's a keeper for my library!"

my amazon review: Sea Raven on Luke

Theology from Exile: Matthew

Legal note - "Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free from The Speakeasy in hope that I would mention it on my blog, and was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR. Part 255: 'Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.'"

Theology from Exile on amazon.

on good reads

Gaia Rising, Sea Raven's blog

I'll begin by stating a few years ago I'd sometimes make a theological observation and then add, "the Jesus seminar notwithstanding." Author Sea Raven has Jesus Seminar connections, but I'll leave it at that because I found so very much to like about this book, and I'll use it as a reference whenever Lectionary Year A, aka "Matthew's Year," rolls around.

Her constantly referring to the 1992 lectionary compilers as the Elves (she told us where she found that idea), and her endless comments about their "Cherry Picking" texts and portions of texts began annoying me by the 101^th or so instance. With a quick search I couldn't find a synonym for cherry picking, and though I'd heard the term, I still needed a definition:

Wikipedia: "...suppressing evidence, or the fallacy of incomplete evidence is the act of pointing to individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position, while ignoring a significant portion of related cases or data that may contradict that position."

Merriam-Webster: "to decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities."

Like Sea Raven, I've been distressed when the RCL's gathering of texts seem to imply or at least point toward supersessionism. I've been at least annoyed when they've broken up a key text between a couple of Sundays. It irritates me almost no end when they've grouped texts together in a way that implicitly support our more theologically conservative brethren and sistern in Christ.

Sea Raven frames her thoughts on the RCL texts by presenting the God of the bible as nonviolent, inclusive, oriented to distributive (rather than retributive) justice, and to deliverance. But she seems to insist on only a single style of scriptural interpretation that apparently excludes mystery and paradox! Jesus' way is comprehensive, and though my theology tends toward the confessional traditions of the Reformation, I have almost no disagreement with the content of Theology from Exile, only long for at least some acknowledgment of the mysterious, paradoxical, humanly unexplainable ways in which God frequently self-reveals and acts in the world.

The omission of texts for Holy Week seemed like the big thing it really was, but the Speakeasy sent me a copy of Sea Raven's parallel Theology from Exile volume on the gospel of Luke that does include Holy Week; I plan to blog and review that book, too.

The mostly 3 or 4 pages long, relatively lightweight commentaries on each Sunday's RCL readings all incline to highlight ways that particular Sunday's texts come together―or sometimes don't cohere. Although like probably many of Sea Raven's readers, I attended a mainline (liberal, progressive... what terminology does one use these days?) seminary, and received instruction in twentieth century theological trends, that doesn't mean my entire theological perspective remains thus. Or ever was entirely grounded in what some folks have referred to as fundamentalism of the left―the type of apologetics that suddenly discovers or discerns the way scripture recorded an event is possible after all, because (after all) modern science has deemed it possible. But Theology from Exile still is a useful, insight-filled resource; it's a keeper for my library!

my amazon review: Theology from Exile: Matthew

trash treasure tea 5

trash treasure tea 5, hosted by Deb. Today we get to be excited about one of my all-time fave activities, experiences, and places—thrift stores, charity shops, [usually church] rummage sales, yard and garage sales, etc. I adore our local freecycle group, and have freecyced at least a coupled hundred items. In addition I'll explain that most of my stuff had been in storage for a few months, so in anticipation of one or two short-term local moves and eventually relocating north of here, prior to then I unloaded a lot, and can't legitimately answer 2 or 4 and also can't provide pics at this time.

1. TREASURE: What is the best thing you’ve ever found at a rummage sale? Was it a bargain or just something you’ve longed for but couldn’t afford?

Because I've found so many treasures, this is Impossible to answer, but for now I'll go with the two white Heller plates designed eons ago by iconic designer of almost everything, Massimo Vignelli. If I remember correctly, thy were about $2 each, and currently would be in the $20 – $40 range on eBay.

2. TRASH: What is an item you couldn’t WAIT to donate to a sale like this, and then were surprised that someone not only bought it, they were so excited to have?

The Angelical Kitteh Tree my kittehs had played on and loved very very well that got lots of hits when I offered it on freecycle; it had been a wonderful, fairly expensive piece and even included a pawprint appliqué, but had turned into an eyesore even the kittehs ignored. I got at least 5 or 6 hits from people wanting it, and I'd posted a bunch of pics from every angle, so the condition was clear! On the other hand, I was very surprised that only one person wanted a semi-upholstered green chair that once had been a nice piece, was unraveling some, never had been my taste. I knew lots of folks would want to revitalize / re-upholster it, and I was so mistaken.

3. BUDGET: How disciplined are you at these kinds of events? Can you stick to a budget, or do you empty your wallet?

Most things aren't all that expensive, so in general I'll pay for and carry home whatever I think I might want, which means I'll probably find myself with a few things to re-donate very soon into the future.

4. TAKE IT AWAY: What’s something you’d gladly donate right this minute if I would just come pick it up?

Per my intro to this post, since I knew I'd be temporarily moving to another place or two within the same city, I'd pretty much donated most of the stuff I wanted to unload.

5. TEA: Do you have a favorite tea? Or a special teapot? Tell us more!

I'm far from a connoisseur of tea, so no faves here, but in general I prefer black teas to herbal. Unsweetened tea literally makes me nauseous, so it needs to have a fair amount of sweetener and preferably some milk. However, I love the various fruit- and berry-flavored ice teas that have become popular in recent decades. I realize there's a distinction amongst what people typically refer to as "tea" drinks, but I couldn't find it with a quick search, so I hope you know what I mean.

FOW Opening Prayer

Opening Prayer for today's meeting of the Faith, Order & Witness committee.

God of Creation, Lord of the Church, your Holy Spirit calls us together here to unity, to conversation, to agreement, to disagreement. As individuals and in our diverse theological graduations, we differ on interpretation of scripture, yet agree Jesus Christ is the ultimate interpreter, the Living Word of God.

How timely that the lectionary has been bringing us the gospel of John with Jesus' command to obedience and his pleas that the church might be one. As we soon celebrate and rejoice in the festival of the Spirit of Unity on the Day of Pentecost, may be one in your Spirit of Unity. We thank you for the healing in N's life, and ask your healing presence with all those who cannot be with us today.

We pray in Jesus' name―Amen!