Notes From My Knapsack
The last year has been an interesting one in the life of our larger church
connection, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I use
"interesting" quite deliberately, because there is much going on that can
be seen as both good and bad, and perspectives vary. You're about to get
mine!
A few months ago, Christian Board of Publication announced that "The
Disciple", a general news and information magazine aimed at our
denomination, would close in March. Readership had dropped from almost
80,000 subscriptions to less than 20,000 (out of a denom. with about
800,000 members). 86% of clergy subscribed, while less than 2% of lay
members did. It was about to go back to losing large sums of money -- and
CBP is not a "subsidiary" of the Disciples anymore than Hebron Christian
is, as folks learned everytime they asked why the General Minister &
President couldn't "do something" about a cover they didn't like, or an
article they disagreed with. CBP is an independent expression of our
common life as Disciples, and still will be; just without that particular
magazine.
Then Rev. Lois Artis (some of us heard her preach at Reg. Assembly two
years ago) gave the Basic Mission Finance report for 2001: the good news
is that designated giving was up in Reconciliation, Week of Compassion, and
specified outreach causes. The bad news was that overall BMF giving
declined 4%. In the past, investments have been able to cover such losses
and allow program & budget growth, but as we all know, that didn't happen
this year and can't be counted on next year. A number of commenators
pointed to a continuing trend to donors wanting to have more sense of what
their gifts are specifically going to do, and being less willing to give to
a general fund -- we've seen some of that right here, too.
And finally, just a few weeks ago, the National Benevolent Association, our
Disciples-related care facility organization, announced that they would
"close" the Cleveland Christian Home, a 101-year-old part of our mission
and ministry here in Ohio. NBA reported that, with reimbursements falling
drastically behind costs, and investments also cutting a hole in planned
earnings, they could no longer cover the operating shortfalls that NBA
claims has plagued them for over 5 years. I put "close" in quotes because
the residents (36 there in the building, others in nearby group homes) will
receive services until appropriate placements are found for all, and
another group or even the staff themselves may buy out the Home and try to
run it themselves. Some want to come and make a presentation at area
churches, including of course Hebron Christian.
So. . .that's a bunch of information, and it only skims the surface.
Anytime any of you would like to know more, or be pointed in the direction
of more information so you can consider it yourself, please let me know and
I'm happy to help. If there are ways more of this kind of info could be
shared with the congregation, let me know your thoughts on that as well.
Some say the problems are rooted in pastors' not sharing all of this info
regularly with their congregations . . . but obviously printing a magazine
with all those details wasn't too popular, either.
Meanwhile, if you've read on this far, here's why I actually think this all
could be seen as good news, of a sort. We have been talking a good game,
among the clergy & church leadership, about the need to change and adapt
our ministries to effectively preach the Gospel to our present time and
place. I'm afraid what we have actally done is adapt the Gospel to
effectively maintain the ministries we're used to and comfortable with, and
the Gospel doesn't -- can't -- shouldn't change, and the times always do.
Over the last 100+ years we've seen magazines come and go (something will
replace "The Disciple", never fear), outreach ministries have gone from
orphanages to foster care to . . . ?, and the very nature of overseas
missionary work has changed dramatically, because they've heard the Gospel
and now they're coming back to preach it anew to us!
I believe that 10 to 15 years from now half of all Disciples congregations
will be led by non-ordained leadership. Our decision isn't whether or not
that's going to happen; our decision is whether or not we can see that as
something to nurture and celebrate. I believe that there will be 18 or so
regions then, not 35 -- whoops, 34, because they're already consolidating,
and that's long overdue. I believe that there will be nothing resembling
our General Office as it is now, and why wouldn't that be a good thing?
Magazine titles, organizational structures, and particular forms of mission
aren't the Gospel, but simply expressions of it; and I don't know many
people who keep the same expression on their face for very long, do you?
I believe the Gospel is still the Light of the World, and that we Disciples
will have a special role to play in sharing it: because youth mid-winter
and leadership events in our region are filled and popular, because lay
training events are filled to overflowing, because congregations are
working together in Christ in places like Hebron & Licking County, because
hands-on work projects "gettin' dirty for Jesus" have never been more
popular in the life of our churches in Ohio and around the Disciples'
fellowship. Thanks for reading this far, and visit, call, or e-mail me if
you want to hear more about how things are changing in our denomination,
and I believe largely for the better.
In Grace & Peace,
Pastor Jeff
Monday, February 25, 2002
Hebron Crossroads
by Jeff Gill
One of the most beautiful sights I know is driving into Hebron on US 40 around dusk from the west. As you crest the hill at Sunset Inn and curve a bit north coming down into the village, the view spread out before you is wonderful.
But what is the name of the hill we see to the west of town? I asked Mary Lawrence (someone said she'd know!), and she thought it had been called "Smith Hill", but she wasn't sure. Sunset Hill sure sounds nice, and I may keep calling it that unless some Smiths want to straighten me out.
This did get me to thinking about some of our other landforms around Hebron, many of which are quite striking from that drive into town from . . . Sunset Hill. Straight ahead, over the old Mill that the ribbon of road points to, is what I call "Dawes Heights." As you get closer, it resolves into a number of hills, like Hawthorne Hill and Oak Ridge, but the high point you see from the west is east of 79, with an Adena mound on it that is just inside the Arboretum boundaries.
Looking back from the bowl the village sets in toward the west, Sunset Hill drops a bit north of 40, and then starts a rise that continues on to Beaver Run; I call it Blatter Ridge, but Martha Blatter says it used to be called "Road Hill." Martha is a modest woman, but I like my name better.
Of course north of the village limits across Beaver Run to the north is Seminary Hill, for the PIME facility that sits on its crest. Ironically, Canyon Road runs up the high ground between the seminary and Blacks Hill, until it reaches one of the area's other dramatic evening views, the one down into the valley filled with the lights of Newark and Heath. Then Canyon does drop down towards Union Station, into the "canyon" of Auter Creek, which is what I'm going to keep calling Ramp Creek until it catches on!
Do you know of other lost or alternate names for local landmarks?
Our legacy from the past is held in names and memories and other various kinds of landmarks. The "Leave A Legacy" program here in Licking County is an interesting attempt to help people shape their legacy after their death with careful consideration of their wills.
While the Licking County Foundation has been very helpful in getting this started, this isn't about getting people to leave their money to them! What the "LAL" committee is trying to do is get information out to local non-profits, service groups, and yes, churches, helping them help their members to leave a legacy.
The program is based on three simple facts. Nationally, 70% of people give money regularly to some group or another; that's 76% in Licking Co., no surprise there. But only about 3% of wills leave anything to groups or charities. When "LAL" looked at the last five years' worth of wills in our probate court, even counting a simple $50 gift to their church, only 6% in Licking County had done so. And finally, 82% of the country's richest individuals left nothing to charity!
So the point is to simply offer the information. People may well want to leave something, but have never been asked or approached with a way to do so. A training event for representatives of organizations that want to learn more is on March 5 at the old Pennsy Depot, the Foundations Building in Newark, from 7 to 9 pm. The cost is just $5, and I went to their first one and it was well worth it. Call 345-7351 for info or registration.
Two legacies of changing times in Hebron are the former municipal building and the old library, both right downtown. Offers have already been made to rent, buy, or use these structures, and village council has asked a few of us to meet to review options and make a recommendation back to them on what to do with them. Theirs is the final decision, but these local citizens will be meeting soon after they've been cleaned to consider what is in the best interests of Hebron.
Please feel free to forward to me or through Mike McFarland, village administrator (Mike's handed me a couple already) what your thoughts are, but consider these points. First, the village can't "give" the buildings to anyone, no matter what the cause or purpose of the organization (the solicitor sez that's the law, folks). Second, anything like a youth center which would require staff is a tough proposition, considering we voted down the last parks levy. Third, being a landlord has some significant downsides. Ask any landlord! Renting the buildings out is already a last option.
They are good, solid buildings, and they have good locations, but are neither "accessible" under the law, which would further limit some public uses for either. With all that in mind, be creative and pass your ideas along, and this committee will prioritize them and return our list to council.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a member of a variety of committees (for his sins). If you have a
story idea or other feedback for him, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
by Jeff Gill
One of the most beautiful sights I know is driving into Hebron on US 40 around dusk from the west. As you crest the hill at Sunset Inn and curve a bit north coming down into the village, the view spread out before you is wonderful.
But what is the name of the hill we see to the west of town? I asked Mary Lawrence (someone said she'd know!), and she thought it had been called "Smith Hill", but she wasn't sure. Sunset Hill sure sounds nice, and I may keep calling it that unless some Smiths want to straighten me out.
This did get me to thinking about some of our other landforms around Hebron, many of which are quite striking from that drive into town from . . . Sunset Hill. Straight ahead, over the old Mill that the ribbon of road points to, is what I call "Dawes Heights." As you get closer, it resolves into a number of hills, like Hawthorne Hill and Oak Ridge, but the high point you see from the west is east of 79, with an Adena mound on it that is just inside the Arboretum boundaries.
Looking back from the bowl the village sets in toward the west, Sunset Hill drops a bit north of 40, and then starts a rise that continues on to Beaver Run; I call it Blatter Ridge, but Martha Blatter says it used to be called "Road Hill." Martha is a modest woman, but I like my name better.
Of course north of the village limits across Beaver Run to the north is Seminary Hill, for the PIME facility that sits on its crest. Ironically, Canyon Road runs up the high ground between the seminary and Blacks Hill, until it reaches one of the area's other dramatic evening views, the one down into the valley filled with the lights of Newark and Heath. Then Canyon does drop down towards Union Station, into the "canyon" of Auter Creek, which is what I'm going to keep calling Ramp Creek until it catches on!
Do you know of other lost or alternate names for local landmarks?
Our legacy from the past is held in names and memories and other various kinds of landmarks. The "Leave A Legacy" program here in Licking County is an interesting attempt to help people shape their legacy after their death with careful consideration of their wills.
While the Licking County Foundation has been very helpful in getting this started, this isn't about getting people to leave their money to them! What the "LAL" committee is trying to do is get information out to local non-profits, service groups, and yes, churches, helping them help their members to leave a legacy.
The program is based on three simple facts. Nationally, 70% of people give money regularly to some group or another; that's 76% in Licking Co., no surprise there. But only about 3% of wills leave anything to groups or charities. When "LAL" looked at the last five years' worth of wills in our probate court, even counting a simple $50 gift to their church, only 6% in Licking County had done so. And finally, 82% of the country's richest individuals left nothing to charity!
So the point is to simply offer the information. People may well want to leave something, but have never been asked or approached with a way to do so. A training event for representatives of organizations that want to learn more is on March 5 at the old Pennsy Depot, the Foundations Building in Newark, from 7 to 9 pm. The cost is just $5, and I went to their first one and it was well worth it. Call 345-7351 for info or registration.
Two legacies of changing times in Hebron are the former municipal building and the old library, both right downtown. Offers have already been made to rent, buy, or use these structures, and village council has asked a few of us to meet to review options and make a recommendation back to them on what to do with them. Theirs is the final decision, but these local citizens will be meeting soon after they've been cleaned to consider what is in the best interests of Hebron.
Please feel free to forward to me or through Mike McFarland, village administrator (Mike's handed me a couple already) what your thoughts are, but consider these points. First, the village can't "give" the buildings to anyone, no matter what the cause or purpose of the organization (the solicitor sez that's the law, folks). Second, anything like a youth center which would require staff is a tough proposition, considering we voted down the last parks levy. Third, being a landlord has some significant downsides. Ask any landlord! Renting the buildings out is already a last option.
They are good, solid buildings, and they have good locations, but are neither "accessible" under the law, which would further limit some public uses for either. With all that in mind, be creative and pass your ideas along, and this committee will prioritize them and return our list to council.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a member of a variety of committees (for his sins). If you have a
story idea or other feedback for him, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Monday, February 18, 2002
Whew! Is that a buncha stuff, or what? Two months content in one day; but housecleaning sure feels good when it's done. Hope this is enjoyable and useful to anyone wondering about some of what goes on in the Hebron area, around Hebron Christian Church, or just with Jeff, Joyce, and Chris! I'll continue to use this as a repository of generated text, and would welcome feedback as to what's useful to you, the reader!
Are there readers? Holler back and let me know . . .
pax et gratia,
jbg
Are there readers? Holler back and let me know . . .
pax et gratia,
jbg
Hebron Crossroads
by Jeff Gill
"Everyone has a stubborn spot," says Larry, one of the top-choppers at Henry Porter's Barber Shop on Main Street.
I'm not sure if he's talking about that awkward edge on my square Scotch-Irish head, or my three-year-old's cowlick he was working on at the time -- or about the human nature he's seen up close and personal over the decades of haircutting.
"Everyone has a stubborn spot;" the winter that won't quite go away, and keeps hanging on stubbornly, or the spring that persistently continues to peer out of groundhog burrows, buds on tree limbs, and the faint nudging of crocuses at the humus covering them.
What is more stubborn: the tendency to keep writing 2001 on our checks, or the enjoyment of a new year that looks the same way front and back, 2002? Is it that stubborn spot that keeps Christmas lights up on roof lines, and gets out the seed catalogues while the frost still peels off our windshields in wide, thick ribbons?
Our stubborn spots are probably best seen in how we keep trying to fit seasons into tidy categories and people into narrow little boxes; taking each day as it comes, accepting people on their own merits, enjoying what's happening right now takes very little stubbornness to master.
Kind of like Larry and Henry do at the Barber Shop . . .
A number of local families are already collecting and cooking down their own maple sap for syrup, like John & Penny Slater on Canal Road. Christian, Samuel, & Abigail are in for some good flapjackings this next year, if the return on all their folks' effort matches the smell. "We've been doing this the last three years," says Penny, "tapping our own trees and evaporating it down with our own equipment." It takes some persistence, if not stubbornness, to see this whole process through to a tasty conclusion. What I really love about their home set-up is the giant wok that they found which happened to fit over the gas burner perfectly, keeping a hard boil in the center but a gentler temperature up the sloping sides. What was that commercial 30 years ago that ended "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"
Speaking of learning self-sufficiency, Prime Producers 4-H Club is kicking back into high gear this Sunday, Feb. 24th, at 6 pm. 4-H is 100 years old in Ohio this year, and it is a great program for children who want to learn and share their learning about anything from small engines to sheep & hogs, from meterology to making making clothes to making . . . well, maple syrup! Call Martha Cable at 929-1282 for more info; they'll be meeting at Hebron Christian semi-regularly right up to Hartford Fair time in August. Come and pick a project and improve your head, hands, health, and heart in 4-H.
The Hebron Historical Society is having their next meeting on Monday, March 4th at the Masonic Lodge building.
Joe Artz will tell us about the Hebron Power Plant, an attractive and imposing structure which once stood right behind Porter's Barber Shop. For more information on the meeting, call Marsha Justice at 929-1545.
Soccer is really getting rolling in the Lakewood area, with intermediate school kids getting into the action; if you have more information about that or youth baseball starting up, contact me at the e-mail or phone number below. With adults working on their Lenten commitments or still-surviving New Year's resolutions, and with parents eager to get their kids up off the couch and out of the house, plus the kids themselves starting to feel a touch of spring fever -- or is it cabin fever? -- outdoor activities are starting to look more and more attractive to all of us.
We'll see you on the walking track at Lakewood or Evans Park: don't let your stubborn spot hold you back!
--
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and has a stubborn streak, not just a spot, about a mile wide. If you'd like to try to budge him with news or info of interest, e-mail disciple@voyager.net, or call 928-4066.
by Jeff Gill
"Everyone has a stubborn spot," says Larry, one of the top-choppers at Henry Porter's Barber Shop on Main Street.
I'm not sure if he's talking about that awkward edge on my square Scotch-Irish head, or my three-year-old's cowlick he was working on at the time -- or about the human nature he's seen up close and personal over the decades of haircutting.
"Everyone has a stubborn spot;" the winter that won't quite go away, and keeps hanging on stubbornly, or the spring that persistently continues to peer out of groundhog burrows, buds on tree limbs, and the faint nudging of crocuses at the humus covering them.
What is more stubborn: the tendency to keep writing 2001 on our checks, or the enjoyment of a new year that looks the same way front and back, 2002? Is it that stubborn spot that keeps Christmas lights up on roof lines, and gets out the seed catalogues while the frost still peels off our windshields in wide, thick ribbons?
Our stubborn spots are probably best seen in how we keep trying to fit seasons into tidy categories and people into narrow little boxes; taking each day as it comes, accepting people on their own merits, enjoying what's happening right now takes very little stubbornness to master.
Kind of like Larry and Henry do at the Barber Shop . . .
A number of local families are already collecting and cooking down their own maple sap for syrup, like John & Penny Slater on Canal Road. Christian, Samuel, & Abigail are in for some good flapjackings this next year, if the return on all their folks' effort matches the smell. "We've been doing this the last three years," says Penny, "tapping our own trees and evaporating it down with our own equipment." It takes some persistence, if not stubbornness, to see this whole process through to a tasty conclusion. What I really love about their home set-up is the giant wok that they found which happened to fit over the gas burner perfectly, keeping a hard boil in the center but a gentler temperature up the sloping sides. What was that commercial 30 years ago that ended "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"
Speaking of learning self-sufficiency, Prime Producers 4-H Club is kicking back into high gear this Sunday, Feb. 24th, at 6 pm. 4-H is 100 years old in Ohio this year, and it is a great program for children who want to learn and share their learning about anything from small engines to sheep & hogs, from meterology to making making clothes to making . . . well, maple syrup! Call Martha Cable at 929-1282 for more info; they'll be meeting at Hebron Christian semi-regularly right up to Hartford Fair time in August. Come and pick a project and improve your head, hands, health, and heart in 4-H.
The Hebron Historical Society is having their next meeting on Monday, March 4th at the Masonic Lodge building.
Joe Artz will tell us about the Hebron Power Plant, an attractive and imposing structure which once stood right behind Porter's Barber Shop. For more information on the meeting, call Marsha Justice at 929-1545.
Soccer is really getting rolling in the Lakewood area, with intermediate school kids getting into the action; if you have more information about that or youth baseball starting up, contact me at the e-mail or phone number below. With adults working on their Lenten commitments or still-surviving New Year's resolutions, and with parents eager to get their kids up off the couch and out of the house, plus the kids themselves starting to feel a touch of spring fever -- or is it cabin fever? -- outdoor activities are starting to look more and more attractive to all of us.
We'll see you on the walking track at Lakewood or Evans Park: don't let your stubborn spot hold you back!
--
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and has a stubborn streak, not just a spot, about a mile wide. If you'd like to try to budge him with news or info of interest, e-mail disciple@voyager.net, or call 928-4066.
* * * * *
Commissioner’s Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
This is the time of year that unit leaders hear about "the charter."
Is this just another piece of Scouting paperwork, or is there
something special about a charter? The best way I can summarize the
significance of this annual ritual is in three words: identity,
continuity, and liability.
Identity, because unlike other youth service organizations (i.e., Girl
Scouts, Indian Guides, etc.), Scouting does not "own" our units; your
chartering organization is where your Scouting identity is held, even
if that’s not where you meet as a pack or troop. Scouting comes to
you "through" their partnership with you, the unit leaders.
Continuity with that chartered partner, as well as your updating of
leadership, training status, and membership, is how the unit gains
history and credibility in your community, and allows some units to
wear the silver or gold bar above your number. And liability because
. . . well, this is almost a whole ‘nother Comm. Corner, but suffice
it to say you want to get your charter in on time before your next
unit axemanship demo, OK?
If the district commissioner staff or our district exec have missed
you with this year’s charter, or you need help getting it filled out
properly, or even if you just want someone to come pick up the darn
thing, call me at 928-4066, or e-mail at disciple@voyager.net.
* * * * *
Commissioner’s Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
Scouting’s birthday in the USA is February 8th, and this year Simon
Kenton Council is drawing attention to the Scouting movement in
central Ohio by holding our annual meeting and Silver Beaver
recognition on that date in the State Capital atrium in Columbus.
Not all of us can get over to Broad & High on that evening, but any
troop or pack can hold a Scout Sunday observance on Feb. 2nd or 10th
simply by going to a worship service together, in uniform, ideally in
the religious service of your chartering organization. Many units who
are not chartered to churches may meet in a church building or simply
pick a service that is nearby; the point is that the presence together
of a well-ordered group of youth, looking sharp and observing the 12th
point of the Scout Law, can make a lasting impact on a community where
many may not know much about our history and program.
If you contact the priest or pastor in advance, you may be surprised
at how quickly your Scouts might be offered the chance to post the
colors, offer a reading, or otherwise participate in the service.
Give it a try! If you want info about how to do this, involve your
Scouts in chaplain aide or religious award programs, call me at 928-
4066, or e-mail at disciple@voyager.net.
* * * * *
Commissioner’s Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
The Roundtable – brave knights of old, wise King Arthur, clever Merlin
the Wizard. Is this what you think of when you hear "Roundtable?"
Well, you’re not far off if you also think about the first Tuesday of
the month, 7:15 pm at First United Methodist in Newark. There you
will find experienced knights of the Scouting fellowship, the
leadership of the district if you have questions or concerns, and
monthly programs that can bring some wondrous wizardry to your pack or
troop programming. After an opening and annoucements, the Cub leaders
and Scout leaders each go off to battle dragons of challenging
behavior problems, the trolls of discontent, and the Dark Knight of
"what are we going to do next month?" Strap on your armor or pack up
your crystal ball and join us at the Roundtable, where the fellowship
is as bold as Arthur’s was . . . but please don’t throw the mutton
bones on the floor.
If you want to know more about Roundtable night for unit leadership,
or just want a ride on the back of someone else’s charger to get
there, call me at 928-4066, or e-mail at disciple@voyager.net.
* * *
Commissioner's Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
Scouting is Outing -- we've used that phrase for years, mainly because it is true. Baden-Powell organized Scouting in 1907 around the principle that young people, whenever possible, tend to prefer to be out-of-doors to inside a classroom or building. Soon I know that teachers will be faced with pleas from their classes: "Oh, please, can't we go outside for class?" And "no recess" will again be a useful threat . . .
ScOUTING -- we need to get the kids outside; not only for campouts and Klondikes and camporees, but during meetings and as part of even the simplest activities. Yes, that means you need your adult leadership to be fully present (and not over at the coffeepot), and it means activity prep is a little harder, but if your physical fitness activity is on the sidewalk instead of on linoleum, if your star talk is out on the lawn as dusk gathers instead of on an overhead projector, if your equipment display is on a groundcloth on the porch instead of on a folding table under fluorescent lights -- the payoff is in more excited, and in fact more interested kids . . . who come back for more troop/pack meetings, as well as for your next outing!
* * * * * * *
Commissioner's Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
For our Cubs and Boy Scouts, the Oath & Law make up all they really need to know about the meaning and purpose of the Scouting program. We adults understand that there are some guiding principles that, while we don't exactly hide them from the kids, we don't lead with them, either.
In Scoutmaster & Troop Committee training, the summary of the adult side of Scouting is in Three Aims and Eight Methods that are our common benchmarks for providing a true Scout experience in our units. The Aims are: 1) To Build Character, 2) To Foster Citizenship, and 3) To Develop Fitness. All our programming on the patrol & den, troop & pack level should in some way fulfill those aims.
But what makes Scouting truly unique are the Methods, which are the use of 1) Ideals -- the Oath & Law, 2) Patrol Method, 3) Outdoor Activities, 4) Advancement, 5) Personal Growth, 6) Adult Association (call it role-modelling), 7) Leadership Development, and 8) Uniform. These particular methods are what makes Scouting, well, Scouting!
How is your unit doing in making all eight of these methods part of your program?
* * * * * * *
Commissioner's Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
Last week we talked about the Aims & Methods of Scouting as a tool for understanding what adult leadership needs to offer and maintain with our youth leadership. Of the eight methods, the last one is the least understood and also the most misunderstood; let me try to take some time to talk about the Scout uniform.
Can you be a Scout without a Scout uniform? Of course you can; the problem is . . . how long will you be a Scout without one? Forgive me if I lapse a bit into my day job as a pastor, but this question reminds me of the often asked, "Do you have to go to church every Sunday to be a good Christian?" My answer is, actually, "No, you don't, but I find it highly unlikely!" Habits of mind tend to follow habits of body, and if you're on the 12th Hole during the worship hour, my strong suspicion is that your mind will not be much on God during that hour or many others in the week, as well. The uniform is a reminder -- to oneself, as well as to others -- of who you are trying to be.
When I ran a Scout summer camp back in Michigan, two staffers had to go into Kalamazoo to pick up some equipment, and I asked them to wear their uniform since they were going by both the United Way and Red Cross offices before returning that evening. They agreed, and left; returning after dinner, one grinned at me as we walked up the hill and said, "Y'know, as hot as it's been, we would have stopped for a beer on the way back if we hadn't had on. . ." Seeing the smile on my face, he stopped, and then added, "You rat! (Or words to that effect) You knew we wouldn't . . ."
Exactly. (More on uniforms next time!)
* * * * * * *
Commissioner's Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
Uniforms are a visual reminder of the Scout Oath & Law, of our history as an organization as well as telling a bit of our own history, if properly worn. They are primarily a tool for eliminating unfair distinctions of wealth and class between Scouts, and that's precisely as Baden-Powell intended it back almost 100 years ago. He saw how some of the other youth organizations intended to bring together youth of different backgrounds, but often failed on the basis of the social divisions that so plagued England in his day.
Just as we often bemoan the insanity of $200 sneakers and the pointless competition in brand names between our kids, even Baden-Powell on Brownsea Island wanted to leave those cultural markings behind, and so he requested everyone get a uniform that was easily obtainable by any family from an Army surplus store, and would look the
same regardless of the the family income or lack thereof. Soon there would be distinctive marks on those khaki-clad kids, but they wouldn't be corporate logos or multinational swooshes, but badges of merit and symbols of earned rank. The coolest uniform, then and now, couldn't be bought, but had to be earned.
As a church camp director each summer, I find myself wishing I could bring uniforms into the mix, and banish logos and t-shirt ads and the consumer fashions of the day. It makes me appreciate all over again how wise B-P was to bring uniforms into Scouting as one of our distinctive methods. Uniform banks, church clothes closets, and even
the stray shirt from a surplus store can bring a shirt and insignia within the reach of every youth in every unit.
Come to Roundtable and ask around if you need uniform parts for some of your Scouts and I'll bet you'll find all you need!
Commissioner’s Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
This is the time of year that unit leaders hear about "the charter."
Is this just another piece of Scouting paperwork, or is there
something special about a charter? The best way I can summarize the
significance of this annual ritual is in three words: identity,
continuity, and liability.
Identity, because unlike other youth service organizations (i.e., Girl
Scouts, Indian Guides, etc.), Scouting does not "own" our units; your
chartering organization is where your Scouting identity is held, even
if that’s not where you meet as a pack or troop. Scouting comes to
you "through" their partnership with you, the unit leaders.
Continuity with that chartered partner, as well as your updating of
leadership, training status, and membership, is how the unit gains
history and credibility in your community, and allows some units to
wear the silver or gold bar above your number. And liability because
. . . well, this is almost a whole ‘nother Comm. Corner, but suffice
it to say you want to get your charter in on time before your next
unit axemanship demo, OK?
If the district commissioner staff or our district exec have missed
you with this year’s charter, or you need help getting it filled out
properly, or even if you just want someone to come pick up the darn
thing, call me at 928-4066, or e-mail at disciple@voyager.net.
* * * * *
Commissioner’s Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
Scouting’s birthday in the USA is February 8th, and this year Simon
Kenton Council is drawing attention to the Scouting movement in
central Ohio by holding our annual meeting and Silver Beaver
recognition on that date in the State Capital atrium in Columbus.
Not all of us can get over to Broad & High on that evening, but any
troop or pack can hold a Scout Sunday observance on Feb. 2nd or 10th
simply by going to a worship service together, in uniform, ideally in
the religious service of your chartering organization. Many units who
are not chartered to churches may meet in a church building or simply
pick a service that is nearby; the point is that the presence together
of a well-ordered group of youth, looking sharp and observing the 12th
point of the Scout Law, can make a lasting impact on a community where
many may not know much about our history and program.
If you contact the priest or pastor in advance, you may be surprised
at how quickly your Scouts might be offered the chance to post the
colors, offer a reading, or otherwise participate in the service.
Give it a try! If you want info about how to do this, involve your
Scouts in chaplain aide or religious award programs, call me at 928-
4066, or e-mail at disciple@voyager.net.
* * * * *
Commissioner’s Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
The Roundtable – brave knights of old, wise King Arthur, clever Merlin
the Wizard. Is this what you think of when you hear "Roundtable?"
Well, you’re not far off if you also think about the first Tuesday of
the month, 7:15 pm at First United Methodist in Newark. There you
will find experienced knights of the Scouting fellowship, the
leadership of the district if you have questions or concerns, and
monthly programs that can bring some wondrous wizardry to your pack or
troop programming. After an opening and annoucements, the Cub leaders
and Scout leaders each go off to battle dragons of challenging
behavior problems, the trolls of discontent, and the Dark Knight of
"what are we going to do next month?" Strap on your armor or pack up
your crystal ball and join us at the Roundtable, where the fellowship
is as bold as Arthur’s was . . . but please don’t throw the mutton
bones on the floor.
If you want to know more about Roundtable night for unit leadership,
or just want a ride on the back of someone else’s charger to get
there, call me at 928-4066, or e-mail at disciple@voyager.net.
* * *
Commissioner's Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
Scouting is Outing -- we've used that phrase for years, mainly because it is true. Baden-Powell organized Scouting in 1907 around the principle that young people, whenever possible, tend to prefer to be out-of-doors to inside a classroom or building. Soon I know that teachers will be faced with pleas from their classes: "Oh, please, can't we go outside for class?" And "no recess" will again be a useful threat . . .
ScOUTING -- we need to get the kids outside; not only for campouts and Klondikes and camporees, but during meetings and as part of even the simplest activities. Yes, that means you need your adult leadership to be fully present (and not over at the coffeepot), and it means activity prep is a little harder, but if your physical fitness activity is on the sidewalk instead of on linoleum, if your star talk is out on the lawn as dusk gathers instead of on an overhead projector, if your equipment display is on a groundcloth on the porch instead of on a folding table under fluorescent lights -- the payoff is in more excited, and in fact more interested kids . . . who come back for more troop/pack meetings, as well as for your next outing!
* * * * * * *
Commissioner's Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
For our Cubs and Boy Scouts, the Oath & Law make up all they really need to know about the meaning and purpose of the Scouting program. We adults understand that there are some guiding principles that, while we don't exactly hide them from the kids, we don't lead with them, either.
In Scoutmaster & Troop Committee training, the summary of the adult side of Scouting is in Three Aims and Eight Methods that are our common benchmarks for providing a true Scout experience in our units. The Aims are: 1) To Build Character, 2) To Foster Citizenship, and 3) To Develop Fitness. All our programming on the patrol & den, troop & pack level should in some way fulfill those aims.
But what makes Scouting truly unique are the Methods, which are the use of 1) Ideals -- the Oath & Law, 2) Patrol Method, 3) Outdoor Activities, 4) Advancement, 5) Personal Growth, 6) Adult Association (call it role-modelling), 7) Leadership Development, and 8) Uniform. These particular methods are what makes Scouting, well, Scouting!
How is your unit doing in making all eight of these methods part of your program?
* * * * * * *
Commissioner's Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
Last week we talked about the Aims & Methods of Scouting as a tool for understanding what adult leadership needs to offer and maintain with our youth leadership. Of the eight methods, the last one is the least understood and also the most misunderstood; let me try to take some time to talk about the Scout uniform.
Can you be a Scout without a Scout uniform? Of course you can; the problem is . . . how long will you be a Scout without one? Forgive me if I lapse a bit into my day job as a pastor, but this question reminds me of the often asked, "Do you have to go to church every Sunday to be a good Christian?" My answer is, actually, "No, you don't, but I find it highly unlikely!" Habits of mind tend to follow habits of body, and if you're on the 12th Hole during the worship hour, my strong suspicion is that your mind will not be much on God during that hour or many others in the week, as well. The uniform is a reminder -- to oneself, as well as to others -- of who you are trying to be.
When I ran a Scout summer camp back in Michigan, two staffers had to go into Kalamazoo to pick up some equipment, and I asked them to wear their uniform since they were going by both the United Way and Red Cross offices before returning that evening. They agreed, and left; returning after dinner, one grinned at me as we walked up the hill and said, "Y'know, as hot as it's been, we would have stopped for a beer on the way back if we hadn't had on. . ." Seeing the smile on my face, he stopped, and then added, "You rat! (Or words to that effect) You knew we wouldn't . . ."
Exactly. (More on uniforms next time!)
* * * * * * *
Commissioner's Corner
Jeff Gill, District Commish
Uniforms are a visual reminder of the Scout Oath & Law, of our history as an organization as well as telling a bit of our own history, if properly worn. They are primarily a tool for eliminating unfair distinctions of wealth and class between Scouts, and that's precisely as Baden-Powell intended it back almost 100 years ago. He saw how some of the other youth organizations intended to bring together youth of different backgrounds, but often failed on the basis of the social divisions that so plagued England in his day.
Just as we often bemoan the insanity of $200 sneakers and the pointless competition in brand names between our kids, even Baden-Powell on Brownsea Island wanted to leave those cultural markings behind, and so he requested everyone get a uniform that was easily obtainable by any family from an Army surplus store, and would look the
same regardless of the the family income or lack thereof. Soon there would be distinctive marks on those khaki-clad kids, but they wouldn't be corporate logos or multinational swooshes, but badges of merit and symbols of earned rank. The coolest uniform, then and now, couldn't be bought, but had to be earned.
As a church camp director each summer, I find myself wishing I could bring uniforms into the mix, and banish logos and t-shirt ads and the consumer fashions of the day. It makes me appreciate all over again how wise B-P was to bring uniforms into Scouting as one of our distinctive methods. Uniform banks, church clothes closets, and even
the stray shirt from a surplus store can bring a shirt and insignia within the reach of every youth in every unit.
Come to Roundtable and ask around if you need uniform parts for some of your Scouts and I'll bet you'll find all you need!
Hebron Crossroads
by Jeff Gill
As the days are lengthening, with the light prying open the blinds earlier and earlier each morning, the morning schedule seems to have a bit more room in it, and it doesn't seem like evening already at 2 in the afternoon. The Old English (ital) lencta (end ital) meaning "to lengthen" is the source of the word Lent, the season of the Christian calendar that began last week with Ash Wednesday.
Before the activities of Spring are well and truly upon us, there might be some time for soaking up a little local history in the early morning light or during a quiet evening, as part of your Lenten meditations. A web site that you can find at www.heritagepursuit.com has a number of Ohio turn-of-the-century histories scanned in that you can read right on your computer (or print off if you like to hold onto your reading material). If you go to "heritagepursuit" and scroll down to Licking County, you'll click into N.N. Hill's 1881 "History of Licking County, O., Its Past and Present."
Scholarly historians may rightly point out that such "boosterish" histories of that era are as filled with myth and wishful thinking as they are accurate description of real events, but this volume -- also available at a number of local libraries -- is almost the only first-hand glimpse into this area's pioneer days. If you go down to "File Eight" you'll have the section that tells the story of Union Township, and Hebron as well as Luray, Moscow, and Union Station.
You'll find some of the landscape shift beneath your feet: Ramp Creek is almost exclusively referred to as "Auter Creek" (how'd we let that name get away?), and many localities are referred to as the "Blank Farm," with serene confidence that the Blank family had always and would always live on that property.
All the townships of Licking County are described and narrated in this huge work, which often took accounts or letters that no longer exist anywhere else, and fortunately preserved them here. In looking at the histories of area churches like Licking Baptist or White Chapel United Methodist, whose roots go back to 1805 or even 1803, "Hill's History" is often the only source or corroboration of tales we've long told each other.
So think about spending some of your am or pm quiet time these next few weeks reading a little bit about how we got here around the Hebron crossroads!
Sunday, Feb. 17th, around noon will be another Health Fair in the basement of Hebron Christian Church; with coronary artery disease, diabetes, and colon cancer leading the list of treatable, preventable killers, it is long overdue for more of us to start looking at preventative medical care -- to get better before we get sick, and to take care of ourselves so we can get better faster when we do fall ill. Blood pressure checks, health info, healthy food tips and even healthy food, and some friends from the Mantonya Chiropractic Clinic will all be on hand from about 11:45 am to 1 pm. Also in that same church basement on Wed. the 20th, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, the Interfaith Legal Aid folks will be back to offer free, basic legal advice; we'll see them again on March 20th as well. These lawyers from around Licking County are moved by their faith to offer assistance to those who need a quick legal overview without having to pay for a full legal representation. This Lenten season I hope we're all on a journey to a healthier, less stressful life!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and also a lover of archaic words and ancient stories; if you'd like to point out a sign of the season or suggest a story idea, call him at 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
by Jeff Gill
As the days are lengthening, with the light prying open the blinds earlier and earlier each morning, the morning schedule seems to have a bit more room in it, and it doesn't seem like evening already at 2 in the afternoon. The Old English (ital) lencta (end ital) meaning "to lengthen" is the source of the word Lent, the season of the Christian calendar that began last week with Ash Wednesday.
Before the activities of Spring are well and truly upon us, there might be some time for soaking up a little local history in the early morning light or during a quiet evening, as part of your Lenten meditations. A web site that you can find at www.heritagepursuit.com has a number of Ohio turn-of-the-century histories scanned in that you can read right on your computer (or print off if you like to hold onto your reading material). If you go to "heritagepursuit" and scroll down to Licking County, you'll click into N.N. Hill's 1881 "History of Licking County, O., Its Past and Present."
Scholarly historians may rightly point out that such "boosterish" histories of that era are as filled with myth and wishful thinking as they are accurate description of real events, but this volume -- also available at a number of local libraries -- is almost the only first-hand glimpse into this area's pioneer days. If you go down to "File Eight" you'll have the section that tells the story of Union Township, and Hebron as well as Luray, Moscow, and Union Station.
You'll find some of the landscape shift beneath your feet: Ramp Creek is almost exclusively referred to as "Auter Creek" (how'd we let that name get away?), and many localities are referred to as the "Blank Farm," with serene confidence that the Blank family had always and would always live on that property.
All the townships of Licking County are described and narrated in this huge work, which often took accounts or letters that no longer exist anywhere else, and fortunately preserved them here. In looking at the histories of area churches like Licking Baptist or White Chapel United Methodist, whose roots go back to 1805 or even 1803, "Hill's History" is often the only source or corroboration of tales we've long told each other.
So think about spending some of your am or pm quiet time these next few weeks reading a little bit about how we got here around the Hebron crossroads!
Sunday, Feb. 17th, around noon will be another Health Fair in the basement of Hebron Christian Church; with coronary artery disease, diabetes, and colon cancer leading the list of treatable, preventable killers, it is long overdue for more of us to start looking at preventative medical care -- to get better before we get sick, and to take care of ourselves so we can get better faster when we do fall ill. Blood pressure checks, health info, healthy food tips and even healthy food, and some friends from the Mantonya Chiropractic Clinic will all be on hand from about 11:45 am to 1 pm. Also in that same church basement on Wed. the 20th, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, the Interfaith Legal Aid folks will be back to offer free, basic legal advice; we'll see them again on March 20th as well. These lawyers from around Licking County are moved by their faith to offer assistance to those who need a quick legal overview without having to pay for a full legal representation. This Lenten season I hope we're all on a journey to a healthier, less stressful life!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and also a lover of archaic words and ancient stories; if you'd like to point out a sign of the season or suggest a story idea, call him at 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Hebron Crossroads
by Jeff Gill
The Hebron Public Library is starting their popular "Storytime" program for children & adults on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 11:00 am.
Pat Walters says "we want lots of kids with a parent or grandparent to accompany them to come for the story and craft of the day." The staff at the library, on the north side of the new Municipal Complex, is pleased to be able to offer this early start on reading skills for pre-schoolers.
Storytime will continue on Tuesdays to June 30th, after which it will take a brief summer break.
My little boy Chris and I attended a few in the old library space, where table space was at a premium and floor space non-existent, and some adults would peek in the soor, see the crowd, and turn and take their youngster away. That won't happen in the new libary! It is truly exciting to see parents learning to work as their child's "first teacher," and the librarians are so glad they can effectively serve more families.
Most days the program goes exactly a half-hour, which for the five and four year olds who are the bulk of the audience seems about right. After the story is read by either a staffer or guest reader, a craft activity is ready for all the kids to do with their adult escort. Of course, many stay after Storytime to browse the shelves of books, videos, and publications.
A recent acquisition at the Hebron Library that might be of interest to adults is a book on display titled "From The Ashes -- A Spiritual Response to September 11th." This book contains sermons, prayers, and newsletter articles out of churches, synagogues, and mosques in the wake of the terrorist attacks. A good friend of mine and fellow Disciples of Christ pastor wrote a poem which is included in this volume, which he had told me about at a retreat we were at, but I hadn't seen until . . . I went to the library!
Another tip for adults and older children is the service available at www.npls.org. There you can check to see if a particular title is available in the county-wide system that we're part of, and see if it is available and read more catalog information about the book.
Trying out the system, I looked to see if "The Proud Tower" by Barbara Tuchman was still in a library nearby; this book is about the world before World War I, and the second section on anarchism throws some interesting light on the century-old roots of terrorism today. Type, type, click, click, and there's my answer: one is on the shelf in Newark and can be requested.
You can't actually read whole books on-line at home, but how soon might that be coming, as well? Meantime, what we have right now is amazing enough, and I'm glad I still have to go down to the library, talk to the friendly staff, and actually end up holding a book in my hands. See you at Storytime next Tuesday!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and also the proprietor of a substantial little library that is his wife's dust-magnetic despair; if you'd like to borrow a book from him (and not return it, which Joyce would appreciate) or suggest a story idea, call him at 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
by Jeff Gill
The Hebron Public Library is starting their popular "Storytime" program for children & adults on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 11:00 am.
Pat Walters says "we want lots of kids with a parent or grandparent to accompany them to come for the story and craft of the day." The staff at the library, on the north side of the new Municipal Complex, is pleased to be able to offer this early start on reading skills for pre-schoolers.
Storytime will continue on Tuesdays to June 30th, after which it will take a brief summer break.
My little boy Chris and I attended a few in the old library space, where table space was at a premium and floor space non-existent, and some adults would peek in the soor, see the crowd, and turn and take their youngster away. That won't happen in the new libary! It is truly exciting to see parents learning to work as their child's "first teacher," and the librarians are so glad they can effectively serve more families.
Most days the program goes exactly a half-hour, which for the five and four year olds who are the bulk of the audience seems about right. After the story is read by either a staffer or guest reader, a craft activity is ready for all the kids to do with their adult escort. Of course, many stay after Storytime to browse the shelves of books, videos, and publications.
A recent acquisition at the Hebron Library that might be of interest to adults is a book on display titled "From The Ashes -- A Spiritual Response to September 11th." This book contains sermons, prayers, and newsletter articles out of churches, synagogues, and mosques in the wake of the terrorist attacks. A good friend of mine and fellow Disciples of Christ pastor wrote a poem which is included in this volume, which he had told me about at a retreat we were at, but I hadn't seen until . . . I went to the library!
Another tip for adults and older children is the service available at www.npls.org. There you can check to see if a particular title is available in the county-wide system that we're part of, and see if it is available and read more catalog information about the book.
Trying out the system, I looked to see if "The Proud Tower" by Barbara Tuchman was still in a library nearby; this book is about the world before World War I, and the second section on anarchism throws some interesting light on the century-old roots of terrorism today. Type, type, click, click, and there's my answer: one is on the shelf in Newark and can be requested.
You can't actually read whole books on-line at home, but how soon might that be coming, as well? Meantime, what we have right now is amazing enough, and I'm glad I still have to go down to the library, talk to the friendly staff, and actually end up holding a book in my hands. See you at Storytime next Tuesday!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and also the proprietor of a substantial little library that is his wife's dust-magnetic despair; if you'd like to borrow a book from him (and not return it, which Joyce would appreciate) or suggest a story idea, call him at 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Feature Cover story for the Community Booster East
Dawes Maple Syrup Tours
"This is one of our visitors’ favorite times of the year," says The Dawes Arboretum’s Laura Kaparoff, speaking of their Maple Syrup season.
Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 19, Laura says, "The Maple syrup tours at The Arboretum are perfect for families and groups. It gives people an opportunity to get up close and personal with the whole process."
"We have both guided and unguided tours, depending on your preference. The log cabin will be open with staff members and volunteers on-hand to answer questions." You can take a self-guided Maple Syrup Walk at any time, dawn to dusk, until March 10th; interpretive signs tell the story of maple syruping.
If you want a tour led by a guide, those are available for no fee, but must be reserved by Feb. 15 and have at least 6 people. Volunteers and staff will be waiting for either kind of tour at the Sugarhouse from 10 am to 5 pm daily, except for Sundays starting at 1 pm.
This is a uniquely North American activity: only the United States & Canada produce maple syrup and maple sugar! Ohio is third, behind Vermont and New York state, in the production of maple syrup. You can see a picture of the basic process on Vermont’s commemorative quarter, as a woodsman taps two maple trees in a barren winter landscape.
The time of year is important, and hasn’t changed in centuries. David Vermilion, who heads the History department at Dawes, is also the co-ordinator of the Annual Maple Syrup Tour programming. He points out that, while Beman & Bertie Dawes began tapping trees and making maple syrup shortly after purchasing the farm and house they called "Daweswood" in 1918, there was "maple syruping on these same hillsides long before Columbus sailed the ocean."
A simple gash of the tomahawk into the tree bark, an inserted stick to direct the dripping sap into hollowed-log troughs on the ground, and fire-heated rocks helping to evaporate the water out of the sap reaches the same result modern day equipment can—just a whole lot faster!
No matter what the method or the speed, you still can’t rush Mother Nature and the basic timing of this process. As winter tip-toes towards spring, when night temperatures are below freezing and day temps are above, the sap starts running—the life-blood of those trees as they wake from dormancy. At two percent sugar in the sap of an average sugar maple (black maple, birch, and
butternut trees can also be used), they can spare a bit for our pancakes.
There’s plenty of hard work between tapping a "spile" (the metal tap that is hammered through the bark to get to the sap) and pouring syrup onto your flapjacks. Long-ago settlers may have begun simply by setting out a bucket of sap on a cold night, scraping off each morning the top layer of ice until enough water has left the bucket to concentrate the sap. The process you will see at Dawes is the next step up from that basic method, with evaporators that once were fired by wood, but now are gas-heated, speeding up the job considerably. That’s important when you consider it
takes about 43 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup!
In the Arboretum gift shop you can buy your own spiles for tapping a backyard maple, or skip a few steps and buy not only locally made syrup, but also maple tea, granulated maple sugar, and other products a la maple.
"Feel free to stop by and taste a little maple candy," says Ms. Kaparoff. "This is a time to learn and spend time in Nature." The Dawes Arboretum is north of Jacksontown on Rt. 13, and you can reserve a free tour by calling 800-44-DAWES.
Dawes Maple Syrup Tours
"This is one of our visitors’ favorite times of the year," says The Dawes Arboretum’s Laura Kaparoff, speaking of their Maple Syrup season.
Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 19, Laura says, "The Maple syrup tours at The Arboretum are perfect for families and groups. It gives people an opportunity to get up close and personal with the whole process."
"We have both guided and unguided tours, depending on your preference. The log cabin will be open with staff members and volunteers on-hand to answer questions." You can take a self-guided Maple Syrup Walk at any time, dawn to dusk, until March 10th; interpretive signs tell the story of maple syruping.
If you want a tour led by a guide, those are available for no fee, but must be reserved by Feb. 15 and have at least 6 people. Volunteers and staff will be waiting for either kind of tour at the Sugarhouse from 10 am to 5 pm daily, except for Sundays starting at 1 pm.
This is a uniquely North American activity: only the United States & Canada produce maple syrup and maple sugar! Ohio is third, behind Vermont and New York state, in the production of maple syrup. You can see a picture of the basic process on Vermont’s commemorative quarter, as a woodsman taps two maple trees in a barren winter landscape.
The time of year is important, and hasn’t changed in centuries. David Vermilion, who heads the History department at Dawes, is also the co-ordinator of the Annual Maple Syrup Tour programming. He points out that, while Beman & Bertie Dawes began tapping trees and making maple syrup shortly after purchasing the farm and house they called "Daweswood" in 1918, there was "maple syruping on these same hillsides long before Columbus sailed the ocean."
A simple gash of the tomahawk into the tree bark, an inserted stick to direct the dripping sap into hollowed-log troughs on the ground, and fire-heated rocks helping to evaporate the water out of the sap reaches the same result modern day equipment can—just a whole lot faster!
No matter what the method or the speed, you still can’t rush Mother Nature and the basic timing of this process. As winter tip-toes towards spring, when night temperatures are below freezing and day temps are above, the sap starts running—the life-blood of those trees as they wake from dormancy. At two percent sugar in the sap of an average sugar maple (black maple, birch, and
butternut trees can also be used), they can spare a bit for our pancakes.
There’s plenty of hard work between tapping a "spile" (the metal tap that is hammered through the bark to get to the sap) and pouring syrup onto your flapjacks. Long-ago settlers may have begun simply by setting out a bucket of sap on a cold night, scraping off each morning the top layer of ice until enough water has left the bucket to concentrate the sap. The process you will see at Dawes is the next step up from that basic method, with evaporators that once were fired by wood, but now are gas-heated, speeding up the job considerably. That’s important when you consider it
takes about 43 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup!
In the Arboretum gift shop you can buy your own spiles for tapping a backyard maple, or skip a few steps and buy not only locally made syrup, but also maple tea, granulated maple sugar, and other products a la maple.
"Feel free to stop by and taste a little maple candy," says Ms. Kaparoff. "This is a time to learn and spend time in Nature." The Dawes Arboretum is north of Jacksontown on Rt. 13, and you can reserve a free tour by calling 800-44-DAWES.
Hebron Crossroads
by Jeff Gill
Charlie and Marian McDaniel live in one of the historical gems of Hebron, the Madden House on Deacon Street --
they could live there another 50 years and it would be "the old Madden House." They have a love of history that is
shown by their care and sharing of that home, especially with the Hebron Historical Society each year at Christmas.
Along with Larry Rodgers as president, they serve as vice-president and secretary-treasurer, and invite the
community to their first Monday of the month meetings, which are generally held at the Masonic Lodge (another one
of Hebron's great historic buildings). The next meeting is Monday, Feb. 4th, at 7:30 pm.
Virginia Artz was a long-time member and supporter of the society, and the theme of the next meeting, in honor of
her passing last year, is her "History of the Hebron Library." That community institution, now housed in the north
wing of the new municipal building, has a long and proud history, which Virginia documented and which will be
shared again at the meeting next Monday -- and watch next week's "Hebron Crossroads" for more on library
programming, particularly the "Storytime" which starts again soon for young people.
Marian says that, in honor of Mrs. Artz' love of history and the Hebron Historical Society, they'd love "to do extra
this year in her memory." Dues are $3 a year and visitors are always welcome to the meetings.
Speaking of the Madden House, it is generally estimated that the structure goes back to early canal days in Hebron,
making it perhaps 170 years old; it was only about 100 years ago that "Deacon" Madden bought it for the money in
his pocket and arranged to have it moved to the current location from where it was to be torn down by the canal
banks. He needed a larger home for his growing brood, and with typical Yankee ingenuity rolled it to where he
needed it!
Intersecting the Ohio & Erie Canal and giving Hebron a reason to exist was and is the old National Road, now US
40. Most of us in the Hebron area live sandwiched between US 40 and Interstate-70, its more modern cousin to the
south (aka "The Main Street of America"). As we approach the opening of the Winter Olympics, did you know that
the western terminus of the National Road today is, in fact, Park City, Utah? Originally built to connect
Cumberland, Maryland (as you can see clearly on the milestones dotting US 40 through our neighborhood) to
Vandalia, Illinois, it has extended both further west and east, now running to the Atlantic in . . . Atlantic City. I-70
ends east of us near Catonsville, MD just outside of Baltimore and to the west just dead-ends at another interstate in
Utah, making the National Road still the longer of the two, even if not coast-to-coast.
So think of that the next time you dash down Hebron's Main Street, remember that turning west and driving that
same strip of asphalt far enough will lead you to Olympic gold at the end of the National Road rainbow!
by Jeff Gill
Charlie and Marian McDaniel live in one of the historical gems of Hebron, the Madden House on Deacon Street --
they could live there another 50 years and it would be "the old Madden House." They have a love of history that is
shown by their care and sharing of that home, especially with the Hebron Historical Society each year at Christmas.
Along with Larry Rodgers as president, they serve as vice-president and secretary-treasurer, and invite the
community to their first Monday of the month meetings, which are generally held at the Masonic Lodge (another one
of Hebron's great historic buildings). The next meeting is Monday, Feb. 4th, at 7:30 pm.
Virginia Artz was a long-time member and supporter of the society, and the theme of the next meeting, in honor of
her passing last year, is her "History of the Hebron Library." That community institution, now housed in the north
wing of the new municipal building, has a long and proud history, which Virginia documented and which will be
shared again at the meeting next Monday -- and watch next week's "Hebron Crossroads" for more on library
programming, particularly the "Storytime" which starts again soon for young people.
Marian says that, in honor of Mrs. Artz' love of history and the Hebron Historical Society, they'd love "to do extra
this year in her memory." Dues are $3 a year and visitors are always welcome to the meetings.
Speaking of the Madden House, it is generally estimated that the structure goes back to early canal days in Hebron,
making it perhaps 170 years old; it was only about 100 years ago that "Deacon" Madden bought it for the money in
his pocket and arranged to have it moved to the current location from where it was to be torn down by the canal
banks. He needed a larger home for his growing brood, and with typical Yankee ingenuity rolled it to where he
needed it!
Intersecting the Ohio & Erie Canal and giving Hebron a reason to exist was and is the old National Road, now US
40. Most of us in the Hebron area live sandwiched between US 40 and Interstate-70, its more modern cousin to the
south (aka "The Main Street of America"). As we approach the opening of the Winter Olympics, did you know that
the western terminus of the National Road today is, in fact, Park City, Utah? Originally built to connect
Cumberland, Maryland (as you can see clearly on the milestones dotting US 40 through our neighborhood) to
Vandalia, Illinois, it has extended both further west and east, now running to the Atlantic in . . . Atlantic City. I-70
ends east of us near Catonsville, MD just outside of Baltimore and to the west just dead-ends at another interstate in
Utah, making the National Road still the longer of the two, even if not coast-to-coast.
So think of that the next time you dash down Hebron's Main Street, remember that turning west and driving that
same strip of asphalt far enough will lead you to Olympic gold at the end of the National Road rainbow!
Hebron Crossroads
By Jeff Gill
While many school districts across Licking County had something to
celebrate when the state proficiency test scores came out, no one in
all of Ohio had more to be proud of than Lakewood Local Schools, which
on achieving 19 of the 27 possible standards had the largest increase
in standards met of any district in the state – 11.
From 8 to 19 is an impressive advance, showing that our students,
teachers, and staff are all on the right track, setting a new
benchmark that will be hard to top . . . impossible, as a matter of
fact, since improving another 11 would take us to 30 and there’s only
27 standards all told! (Kudos, of course, to our neighbors to the
north in Granville who showed us that achieving all 27 can be done
right here in Licking County.)
Our status with the state Dept. of Education now goes to "continuous
improvement," leaving "academic emergency" far behind, and our
continuous improvement plan (CIP) that Lakewood staff assembled two
years ago will continue to guide us. Superintendent Lou Staffilino is
very proud of the work that the students have done to demonstrate
their proficiency in academic achievement, and also of administrators
like Arnie Ettenhoffer who prepared the CIP that laid the track for
the engine of accomplishment to follow.
Lakewood continues to face challenges in finance and public
education about funding and budgeting in the district; our school
board has held four public comment/question sessions by the time you
read this. Board President Larry Harmon has facilitated discussion at
the earlier gatherings, with questions about cost savings and the
possibility of income tax versus property tax both raised and
answered -- with business and industry paying about 60% of the school taxes now, versus none under an income
tax, the consensus is stick with the property tax.
Our teachers and staff continue to work under one-year contracts, which is very rare in Ohio, and again have
received no raise other than the small stipend each full-time employee got in December, which supports neither
their retirement nor other benefits. In teacher pay Lakewood is again 11th out of eleven districts in Licking
County
All residents of the Lakewood district will have to be forgiven if they want to
do a little bragging on the performance of the young people of our
district!
---
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a believer in Mark
Twain’s dictum that "those who don’t read have no real advantage over
those who can’t!" If you would like to support literacy by putting
interesting information into Hebron Crossroads to make it even more
worth reading, call 928-4066
By Jeff Gill
While many school districts across Licking County had something to
celebrate when the state proficiency test scores came out, no one in
all of Ohio had more to be proud of than Lakewood Local Schools, which
on achieving 19 of the 27 possible standards had the largest increase
in standards met of any district in the state – 11.
From 8 to 19 is an impressive advance, showing that our students,
teachers, and staff are all on the right track, setting a new
benchmark that will be hard to top . . . impossible, as a matter of
fact, since improving another 11 would take us to 30 and there’s only
27 standards all told! (Kudos, of course, to our neighbors to the
north in Granville who showed us that achieving all 27 can be done
right here in Licking County.)
Our status with the state Dept. of Education now goes to "continuous
improvement," leaving "academic emergency" far behind, and our
continuous improvement plan (CIP) that Lakewood staff assembled two
years ago will continue to guide us. Superintendent Lou Staffilino is
very proud of the work that the students have done to demonstrate
their proficiency in academic achievement, and also of administrators
like Arnie Ettenhoffer who prepared the CIP that laid the track for
the engine of accomplishment to follow.
Lakewood continues to face challenges in finance and public
education about funding and budgeting in the district; our school
board has held four public comment/question sessions by the time you
read this. Board President Larry Harmon has facilitated discussion at
the earlier gatherings, with questions about cost savings and the
possibility of income tax versus property tax both raised and
answered -- with business and industry paying about 60% of the school taxes now, versus none under an income
tax, the consensus is stick with the property tax.
Our teachers and staff continue to work under one-year contracts, which is very rare in Ohio, and again have
received no raise other than the small stipend each full-time employee got in December, which supports neither
their retirement nor other benefits. In teacher pay Lakewood is again 11th out of eleven districts in Licking
County
All residents of the Lakewood district will have to be forgiven if they want to
do a little bragging on the performance of the young people of our
district!
---
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a believer in Mark
Twain’s dictum that "those who don’t read have no real advantage over
those who can’t!" If you would like to support literacy by putting
interesting information into Hebron Crossroads to make it even more
worth reading, call 928-4066
Ok -- if there are readers of Knapsack blog; here's the new deal -- i'm going to start putting my Hebron Crossroads weekly column from the Community Booster here (a weekly published by our local daily, for you out-of-towners); and also my almost weekly Commissioner's Corner articles that appear on our area Scouting e-update and are reprinted at wclt,com. I', genrating so much text these days i'm not producing anything for "here", so i'll use "here" as a place to put, well, this --
Hebron Crossroads
by Jeff Gill
If you're looking for an entertainment option on a post-Christmas budget, one of the best sports values I've found is
down US 40 at Lakewood Middle School for the 7th & 8th grade boys basketball games. The other area papers do a
good job of following the senior high school teams, and occasionally mention the JV or freshmen outings, but for
just $3 you still have a chance to see some great basketball played this Saturday, Jan. 12th at 10 am, or on
Wednesday, Jan 23rd at 5 pm. Usually the 7th graders play first, followed quickly by the 8th grade game.
Josh Halter first told me that these games were "worth watching," and he was right in more ways than one. Have
you ever watched the Cavs or even a Buckeye game, whether in person or on TV, and wondered what exactly was
going on, sometimes? A half-dozen bodies all come flying together, the ball goes up, the ball comes down,
sometimes there's a foul whistled and sometimes there's not. . .and I have no earthly idea why. These 7th & 8th
graders are playing some very skillfully executed full court basketball, and even when they make some mistakes
(hey, they're middle schoolers), they're not as wrapped up in stuff like how to mug the other player without getting
caught by the ref -- they're there to play ball. I've seen good sportsmanship as well as excellent athleticism in a style
of play where the average observer can still figure out why the foul was called (well, most of 'em, anyhow) and can
see the shots as they're being set up. Quite a few go in the hoop, too.
The last game I attended started late enough that I got to see most of the 7th grade game, and William Harris had a
pretty good cheering section there, and later on Drew Daubenmire knew he had some fans in the crowd -- many of
them named Daubenmire! There are plenty of good seats at these games, and the players really know you're
cheering them on. School spirit and community support mean so much to our kids, and the three bucks is cheap at
twice the price for what you're supporting, let alone what you get to watch. If you know of any other
"underappreciated sports" for boys or girls, get me the information and we'll talk about it in Hebron Crossroads.
Hebron Crossroads
by Jeff Gill
If you're looking for an entertainment option on a post-Christmas budget, one of the best sports values I've found is
down US 40 at Lakewood Middle School for the 7th & 8th grade boys basketball games. The other area papers do a
good job of following the senior high school teams, and occasionally mention the JV or freshmen outings, but for
just $3 you still have a chance to see some great basketball played this Saturday, Jan. 12th at 10 am, or on
Wednesday, Jan 23rd at 5 pm. Usually the 7th graders play first, followed quickly by the 8th grade game.
Josh Halter first told me that these games were "worth watching," and he was right in more ways than one. Have
you ever watched the Cavs or even a Buckeye game, whether in person or on TV, and wondered what exactly was
going on, sometimes? A half-dozen bodies all come flying together, the ball goes up, the ball comes down,
sometimes there's a foul whistled and sometimes there's not. . .and I have no earthly idea why. These 7th & 8th
graders are playing some very skillfully executed full court basketball, and even when they make some mistakes
(hey, they're middle schoolers), they're not as wrapped up in stuff like how to mug the other player without getting
caught by the ref -- they're there to play ball. I've seen good sportsmanship as well as excellent athleticism in a style
of play where the average observer can still figure out why the foul was called (well, most of 'em, anyhow) and can
see the shots as they're being set up. Quite a few go in the hoop, too.
The last game I attended started late enough that I got to see most of the 7th grade game, and William Harris had a
pretty good cheering section there, and later on Drew Daubenmire knew he had some fans in the crowd -- many of
them named Daubenmire! There are plenty of good seats at these games, and the players really know you're
cheering them on. School spirit and community support mean so much to our kids, and the three bucks is cheap at
twice the price for what you're supporting, let alone what you get to watch. If you know of any other
"underappreciated sports" for boys or girls, get me the information and we'll talk about it in Hebron Crossroads.
Thursday, December 06, 2001
Three months and no additions to this weblog, and now two in one day!
Here's a seasonal essay with a thoughtful edge: an analysis, first published in "Commonweal", of the social context and subtext of "Going My Way", which i first found at --
http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/pennvalley/biology/lewis/crosby/goingmyway.htm
But here's the text of it if you don't mind reading it here...
* * * * * * *
Going which way? Catholicism and pop culture.
by Dennis O'Brien, Commonweal, Sept 22, 1995
In 1944, Bing Crosby starred as Father Chuck O'Malley in Going My Way. The film won seven Oscars. Father Chuck, alias Crosby, made a deep impression on Catholic imaginations (Weblog note -- And mine, too. Fr. O'Malley is still one of the most vivid "models for ministry" i have among my mental furniture....sorry, last editorial intrusion! jbg).
In 1977, Fleetwood Mac's single "Go Your Own Way" sold 12 million copies. If Going My Way was popular culture for the decade of the forties, one can sense a radical change in pop just by song titles. What happens to popular music from Bing to the Beatles and beyond? Going whose way? My way, your own way, the way of Christ or Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols who proclaimed himself--for what that is worth--the Antichrist?
Start with the Crosby image of Father O'Malley. We first see him seeking directions to Saint Dominic's Church in black clericals and a straw boater. A peculiar combination of religious restraint and jauntiness which perfectly defines the developed character. It turns out that Father Chuck worked out with the Saint Louis Browns and led a small scat band in his previous existence. He may be a priest, but he is a real OK guy. There is even "romance." In a later scene an old flame, played by Rise Stevens, invites him to her dressing room at the Metropolitan Opera. While dressing in the adjoining room she asks through the open doorway why he had never
answered her letters, "You wrote to me in Rome, Florence, in Naples, Vienna, Budapest ... From there I went to South America. There were no more letters. What happened Chuck?..." As it happens, Chuck has been wrapped in a raincoat up to now so that Ms. Stevens has not seen the clerical collar. She emerges from the dressing room: "What happened Chuck? What hap--." She sees the Roman collar, beams in surprise, "Father Chuck!" Father Chuck knows all the American ways of sports, jazz, and romance--but from another life.
Father Chuck's actions in the film express a sort of magical priestliness as he solves every problem great and small from the finances of Saint Dominic's to street gangs. The problems are solved in disguise, as it were, just as the straw boater disguises his true priestly power. Novelist and critic Mary Gordon writes:
Father O'Malley's great gift is to see everyone's need and provide for it. He is infinitely flexible, infinitely equipped with resources. He's both the ideal father and the ideal mother, nurturing yet with access to power, particularly in the sacred American precincts of show business and sports. Although his aura is maternal, his identity is necessarily and inextricably connected to maleness.... His maleness is iconic, but it is a particular kind of maleness cut off from the implications of sexual demand.
Desexualized power, the iconic male capacity to fix things as if it were all improvised on the spot, a lucky accident, a spot of grace, expressed in the nonchalant manner of the Groaner, Der Bingle. In the sequel film, Bells of Saint Mary's, Father Chuck reassures a distraught Sister Ingrid Bergman that when in trouble she need only dial "O" for O'Malley. Mary Gordon reports on a priest friend who claimed that for generations, Father Bing was the paradigm for priests. So be it for the "golden oldies," but I suspect that somewhere in the passing years, Father Chuck's line has been disconnected.
It is not just the magical power of Father Chuck that attracts. Consider the message in the music written for the film by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Huesen. All the songs are songs of aspiration, cultural uplift, and deferred gratification. The Academy Award winning Swinging on a Star is sung by a street gang converted into the Saint Dominic's choir. The point of the song is that if you don't go to school, you may grow up to be a mule. On the other hand, attention to the books, and you "could be swinging on a star." If you are "going my way" "...this road leads to "rainbowville." Gratification is deferred -- "happiness is down the line."
The most interesting message for this priestly story is in the first song of the film. The local very Irish cop brings to the rectory a young girl who has run away from home. The cop is afraid that she may end up, ahem!, on the streets. The girl tells Crosby that she will make it on her own as a singer. Father Chuck offers to give her a tryout to his accompaniment. The girl sings the song with some awkward "jazzy" gestures. Father Bing tells her to put heart into the song and he shows her how. The song reads, "The day after forever / All through a lifetime / I'll be loving you / And on the day after forever / I'll begin again."
Again the dominant theme of gratification deferred. Just as Father Chuck's "romantic life" is elsewhere in another time and place, so fulfillment is elsewhere: Take a short cut to what you wish and you may end up as a fish, happiness is down the line, and love is not just today, it is "the day after forever." So, if you are going my way, the destination is tomorrow, not today.
The songs in Going My Way are in no way idiosyncratic; they are wholly within the Tin Pan Alley tradition which dominated American popular music down to the revolution of rock 'n' roll. Briefly put, Tin Pan Alley's great composers, often Jewish immigrants trained in traditions of European operetta, wrote music of cultural aspiration and deferred gratification.
If deferred gratification, cultural uplift, and commitment to the day after forever are the metaphysics of Tin Pan Alley and the theme song of Going Father Chuck's Way, all this changes radically for contemporary rock culture. Happiness is not "down the line," in the words of two best-selling albums of the Rolling Stones, it is Satisfaction and Now. A lyric by Robert Hunter, one of the principal writers for the legendary band The Grateful Dead, states the themes of rock. The song is called "Aim at the Heart" and the message seems the very antithesis of "the day after forever":
Time doesn't fly
Just hangs over like the sky
It's we who go by
Makes no difference how or why
Everything you cherish
Throws you over in the end
Thorns will grab your ankles
From the gardens that you tend
Damned if you do
Double damned if you don't try
Caught on the fly
Hello fades into good-by
What can you say?
Here tomorrow, gone today
Faith fades away
For idols with their feet of clay
The chorus is: "Aim at the heart / Don't ask whose love you're stealing." I am certain that swinging Father Chuck would be horrified by the theme of Robert Hunter's lyrics. Hunter's world is as fragile and transient as the title of his 372 pages of collected lyrics, A Box of Rain (Viking Penguin).
Plato says in The Republic that changes in musical style indicate profound changes in the culture. For this reason he is determined to prevent of the Lydian mode into his ideal state. Rock music broadly conceived is one of those radical changes in musical style that deserves notice for what it promotes -- especially what it might promise or deny to religious sensibility. What does rock culture suggest: a new religion, an emotional collectivism which will rule the world (Peter Townshend of Who), or "overblown nonsense" (Mick Jagger)?
It seems clear enough from title alone that Going My Way and Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" inhabit different emotional territories. Everyone has listened to enough rock -- willingly or not -- to have some idea of the musical character of such songs. Clearly this is not Crosby crooning "the day after forever." It is, as music critic Greil Marcus has written, "an assault, a hammering ... moaning, pleading, damning...."
The religious question I want to ask is contained symbolically in Marcus's description of the music. It is, he says, rough, harsh, hard to follow." As spiritual advice, is "going your own way" rough, harsh, a prescription hard to follow? Does "going your own way" lead to traumas and tragedies well beyond the gentle comic life of "going Father Chuck's way" where the burden is easy and the yoke is light?
Sam Phillips, the legendary producer of Sun records out of Memphis, the discoverer of Elvis Presley, characterized rock as the music of disillusion -- "the passion of a moment that was meaningless." Jimi Hendrix stated its metaphysic: "I am what I feel." If, as Robert Hunter says, "Faith fades away / for idols with their feet of clay," life is something "caught on the fly."
On its face, it would seem that rock is not only distant from the Saint Dominic's of Father O'Malley but from the saint himself and the dominant Christian tradition. One could dismiss rock as mere paganism all over again. But if old paganism became new gospel, maybe there is something in the new Eleusinian mysteries worth recapturing for the Old Time Religion.
In Marcus's description of "Go Your Own Way," he tries to explain why an instrumental solo, normally a "rest" in the performance, is suddenly a burst of even greater energy:
"Building in any successful rock 'n' roll record is a sense of the power of the singer to say what he or she means, but also a realization that the words are inadequate to that task, and the feeling of fulfillment is never as strong as the feeling of frustration .... The singer still comes up short; the performance demands the absolute lucidity it has already promised ... and so an instrument takes over. It is a relief, a relief from the failure of language. The thrill is that of entering a world where anything can be said, even if no one can know what it means."
Having described how music finally transcends verbal message, Marcus goes on to discuss a hokey song called "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," as performed by English rocker Elvis Costello with some simple, nonsinging, chord changes on his
guitar.
Not only is the built-in hokiness of the tune diverted, the irony is boiled off; the guitar notes don't neutralize the pathos of the lyrics, they validate it. What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding? Now, nothing. For an instant, the search for peace, love and understanding is what life is all about. You come back into the ordinary world, the world of ordinary language, with a wonderful story: "I saw it! I heard it!" "What was it?" everyone asks, and you open your mouth, and begin to wave your hands in the air.
Imagine the Apostles preaching on the street corner, certain that peace, love, and understanding is what life is all about. "I saw it! I heard it!" Someone begins to write it out: the New Testament with lyrics by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But suppose the original experience was validated where language broke down, and some elemental music of life allowed one to believe that even after an experience of defeat, betrayal, and death, "peace, love and understanding" is what life is all about.
Traditional Christian theology argued that the noble Greek virtues -- courage, temperance, justice -- were, after all, only "splendid vices" in comparison to the distinctly Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love. This is a defensible claim only if the life of the spirit is our fundamental human reality. The theologian John Dunne, in Time & Myth (University of Notre Dame Press, 1975), traces the life of the spirit in Dante's journey from Hell to Paradise. The stages of that journey reflect the basic possibilities of spirit. Somewhat revising Luther's characterization: Hell is despair; Purgatory is hope; Heaven is certainty. Spirit contains the fundamental "mood" of life.
The traditional moral virtues may have their place, but for the Christian the fundamental issue is whether they dwell within the spirit of despair, hope, or certainty. Macbeth despairs: life is "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" but for all that, he is courageous. One may dispense justice as a futile gesture of despair, or with a certainty that the heavens rejoice in the doings of the just. Because despair, hope, certainty lie behind the acts of every day, setting the tone if not content of life, we can, as it were, fail to notice them;
we fail to recognize the life of the spirit.
Because the life of the spirit, the mood and music of life, is so fundamental, we properly label it as "mystery." I mean by mystery not something hidden from knowledge, like the cure for AIDS, but something so revealed, so present, that we cannot distance ourselves sufficiently for proper appraisal. Gabriel Marcel defines mystery as "a problem which encroaches on its own data." Assessing my spiritual state fits that description, am I hopeful examining my hope?
The contrast between Tin Pan Alley's Going My Way and the rock experience of "Go Your Own Way" is a contrast between morality and mystery. Going My Way as movie and song moves in the world defined by morality. Will stingy banker Gene Lockhart relent on the mortgage to the church? Sexual morality as sexual restraint is a central issue in the celibate state of the priests and the temptations of the runaway and her boyfriend. Father Chuck is ultimately a moral magician who shows everybody that if you don't care a feather or a fig, you
may grow up to be a pig. He is magical because conversion to proper conduct requires only a slight symbolic gesture. Since there is little enough morality these days to go around, I am not going to knock it no matter how it is achieved, but I do want to say a good word for mystery.
Sexual restraint is central to Going My Way not only as a good in itself and a sign of priestliness, but as the most striking example of gratification deferred in the formation of moral character. Post the rock revolution, sexuality is flaunted; "don't care a feather or a fig!" A morality of deferred gratification appears to put off the real me to another day, but I can't really postpone my life. No wonder that rock
appeals to teenagers, a stage on life's way when one seems to be full grown, yet stuck in a nest of economic and social deferrals and dependencies. Enter rock music as a statement of fullness now! The adoption of animal names for Rock groups--Eagles, Beatles, etc.--is not accidental. Animals, unlike humans, lack future pretensions; there are no fish striving to be archbishops. Animals are all in all, just what
they are; it is this "fullness of being" which rock seeks to recover.
Rock reminds critic Camille Paglia of the great mystery religions. It is mystery even on its surface. Tin Pan Alley types like myself complain that they can't understand the words. But that is the point; like the cries and shouts of the Bacchantes, these noises suggest more than they can say until finally even the words give out and the crash of sound prevails. Rudolf Otto described the holy as mysterium tremendum, et fascinans: a good description of a major rock event. The sound and the effects are tremendous and fascinating. The mystery evoked is a self, the Whatever-It-Is that is "going your own way." The rock n' roll self is not the moral self which is always beyond itself, deferring the present for the future, weighing and assessing the course of action. The rocker's self is the whole present reality, the very feel
of present existence.
If sexual deferral is an important symbol for the music of morality, flaunting sexuality is an important symbol for the mystery in rock 'n'
roll. Whatever else one might say about sex, it is an overwhelming experience of presentness. One of the reasons that moralists are so
suspicious of sex is its ability to waylay the distancing and appraisive stance which is required for moral effort. Rock aims to get moral
appraisal out of the way: Elvis Presley starts off the rock revolution on the proper note with his first big hit, "It's All Right, Momma!"
Momma's moral injunctions are put aside.
I would like to propose a proper synthesis of morality and mystery, but the exact synthesis eludes me. My initial sympathy is with the
rockers. I am inclined to believe that the spiritual journey is "rough, harsh, hard to follow," and that Father Chuck's world is only
charming fantasy. In the long run--and the short run--you have to "go your own way." As the old black spiritual puts it: "You got to walk
that lonesome valley by yourself; ain't nobody here gonna walk it for you...." There is something fundamentally out of kilter in a view
which translates Christianity into nothing but moral injunction. I tell you the story of Christianity: a zealous peasant preaches a message
of mercy and forgiveness, he is betrayed, abandoned, tortured, and put to a cruel and horrible death only to rise above death through God's
almighty hand--and by the way, he didn't approve of premarital sex. I fear that this is the religious distillation of Going My Way and all
too many traditional Sunday sermons.
Rock with all its excesses has the advantage of inhabiting spiritual territory, a territory where despair and hope, absolute loneliness and
transcending love can abide. It is easier to think of converting a sexually passionate Augustine to burning Christian belief, than turning
Father Chuck into Saint John of the Cross.
But if rock opens into the life of the spirit, while O'Malley's moral musical messages do not, one has to assess the spiritual life expressed.
There is certainly a strong current within rock of Sam Phillips's "disillusion." Death, like sex and drugs and the rocker's scream,
accomplishes the fullness of being-there is nothing yet to come.
If that is the final message of the music, it is certainly unacceptable to Christian belief. Nevertheless, rejecting the rocker's world is not
easy. The disillusion and despair which are everywhere expressed in the music only make sense in a world of hope and love denied. In the
back of the minds of the most disillusioning rock tune is a belief that "peace, love and understanding" is the real meaning of life. The
problem seems that there is no known way of getting there. Except for the music itself.
Except for the music itself: in the mystery which is at the center of the spirit, there is a paradox within anyone who creates and crashes out
a great hymn of despair. The lyric says despair," but the music can transcend despair in its very boldness and assertion. W.B. Yeats says that Lear is "gay" in the very depth of his suffering.
Finally, rock can only believe in artistic enactment; Christianity makes the bolder claim about reality. You can call yourself an Eagle,
Door, or Stone, but one remains, alas, merely human. Humans have to work themselves up (or down) to the fullness of animal intensity,
but the moment passes until the next dose or drum beat. Sexuality may be a symbol of fullness, but, unfortunately, humans cannot live in
the innocence of animal sexuality. The fullness has to be human sexuality. Humans finally have to deal with the fact that the sexual other is
a person--a category which transcends animal structures and the only one which validates a quest for peace, love, and understanding.
The story of Jesus claims that actual human life, not the bold artifice of rock, can express the fullness of being. The rock impulse recognizes
the superiority of the world of the spirit, but finally there is no incarnation, no daily bread. The spirit is reached only outside ordinary
daily life in drugs, ecstatic sex, overwhelming music. One longs for a world of peace and love, but there is no assurance that it can exist
anywhere except in the right riff and set of chord changes. Finally, rock is an aesthetic passing as religion--not the first or last time that
noble gesture has been tried!
T.S. Eliot, who of course knew nothing of rock 'n' roll, expresses in The Four Quartets a view which might encapsulate a Christian response to this music.
For most of us, there is only the unattended
Moment, the moment in and out of time,
The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight,
The wild thyme unseen, or winter lightning,
Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all, and you are the music
While the music lasts.
... The rest
Is prayer, observance, discipline, thought, and action.
Lacking incarnation, the spiritual world of some to-be-named rock group, Wild Thyme, cannot move to "prayer, observance, discipline, thought, and action."
How to resolve the dilemma presented by Going My [Moral] Way and "Go Your Own Way" As I read the gospel message, "Go Your Own Way" remains fundamental in the sense of that black gospel hymn. Each person lives and dies the one life that is his or hers alone. There is a fundamental aloneness to being human; an aloneness that makes the animal warmth of sex and heavy metal a seductive anodyne. It also makes the moral message of O'Malley seductive. I lose myself in moral earnestness. That may be a better path in so far as morality is a distinctively human trait. Chastity as a symbol of human freedom is better than sex as an ardent retreat from care. But common morality cannot be used as a shield for the aloneness of the spirit. Mary Gordon concludes her account of Father Chuck as follows:
[Father Chuck's] maleness is iconic, but it is a particular kind of maleness cut off from the implications of sexual demand. It is part of his vocation to make no demands, so he gives no ground, no place for anyone to stand. There is no there with Father Chuck.
If there is no there to Father Chuck, what is missing is the aloneness of the spirit. If sexual fulfillment is a traditional symbol of spiritual fulfillment, sexual demand, then, can be a symbol of spiritual need. Antiseptically cleansed of sexual demand, Father Chuck becomes spiritually neutered.
If the final word is "Go Your Own Way," a way that is "harsh, rough, hard to follow," Christianity at least says that one is accompanied on that way. Jesus is not the absent moralist who sets out the road map for life; Jesus is the one who comes with, on the same journey, living his own story which ends in loneliness and abandon. Yet he goes forward, and he goes forward alongside the Christian believer, so that his story of resurrection and my story exist for one another. There is a there to Jesus which is not present in the clerical figure of Father Chuck. Jesus and the lone believer are spiritually open for one another. In one of her mystical experiences, Teresa of Avila hears the question, "Who are you?" "I am Teresa of Jesus," she answers, "and who are you?" "I am Jesus -- of Teresa."
The implications of the pop culture of rock music for churches are ambiguous. The New York Times ran a feature article "Rock Finds Religion Again" (January 2, 1994.) The author, Guy Garcia, noted an almost apocalyptic denunciation of empty materialism -- themes which have been stated in more measured terms by John Paul 11. But the "salvation" sought by a rock singer like Michael McDermott in his album Gethsemane is strictly personal, outside if not against the churches. In a song called Leave It up to the Angels," McDermott sounds the broad theme of disillusion that runs through rock: "I'm frightened by the way I feel, maybe you are too/I'm losing faith in everything and everyone but you ... leave it to the angels."
The implication for official Catholicism may be contained in McDermott's personal history. A former altar boy, he contemplated entering the priesthood but, he say, "[I am] too weak a person to ever be a priest." The ghost of the omnipotent, invulnerable Father Chuck haunts the church: far from an image of sympathy or salvation, he is--in rock idiom--a "real turnoff!" Only a narrative responsive to passion, loneliness, and defeat responds to the rocker's urge. The Gospels have such a narrative (though with a startling twist at the conclusion). A God so vulnerable may require vulnerable ministers of grace.
Here's a seasonal essay with a thoughtful edge: an analysis, first published in "Commonweal", of the social context and subtext of "Going My Way", which i first found at --
http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/pennvalley/biology/lewis/crosby/goingmyway.htm
But here's the text of it if you don't mind reading it here...
* * * * * * *
Going which way? Catholicism and pop culture.
by Dennis O'Brien, Commonweal, Sept 22, 1995
In 1944, Bing Crosby starred as Father Chuck O'Malley in Going My Way. The film won seven Oscars. Father Chuck, alias Crosby, made a deep impression on Catholic imaginations (Weblog note -- And mine, too. Fr. O'Malley is still one of the most vivid "models for ministry" i have among my mental furniture....sorry, last editorial intrusion! jbg).
In 1977, Fleetwood Mac's single "Go Your Own Way" sold 12 million copies. If Going My Way was popular culture for the decade of the forties, one can sense a radical change in pop just by song titles. What happens to popular music from Bing to the Beatles and beyond? Going whose way? My way, your own way, the way of Christ or Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols who proclaimed himself--for what that is worth--the Antichrist?
Start with the Crosby image of Father O'Malley. We first see him seeking directions to Saint Dominic's Church in black clericals and a straw boater. A peculiar combination of religious restraint and jauntiness which perfectly defines the developed character. It turns out that Father Chuck worked out with the Saint Louis Browns and led a small scat band in his previous existence. He may be a priest, but he is a real OK guy. There is even "romance." In a later scene an old flame, played by Rise Stevens, invites him to her dressing room at the Metropolitan Opera. While dressing in the adjoining room she asks through the open doorway why he had never
answered her letters, "You wrote to me in Rome, Florence, in Naples, Vienna, Budapest ... From there I went to South America. There were no more letters. What happened Chuck?..." As it happens, Chuck has been wrapped in a raincoat up to now so that Ms. Stevens has not seen the clerical collar. She emerges from the dressing room: "What happened Chuck? What hap--." She sees the Roman collar, beams in surprise, "Father Chuck!" Father Chuck knows all the American ways of sports, jazz, and romance--but from another life.
Father Chuck's actions in the film express a sort of magical priestliness as he solves every problem great and small from the finances of Saint Dominic's to street gangs. The problems are solved in disguise, as it were, just as the straw boater disguises his true priestly power. Novelist and critic Mary Gordon writes:
Father O'Malley's great gift is to see everyone's need and provide for it. He is infinitely flexible, infinitely equipped with resources. He's both the ideal father and the ideal mother, nurturing yet with access to power, particularly in the sacred American precincts of show business and sports. Although his aura is maternal, his identity is necessarily and inextricably connected to maleness.... His maleness is iconic, but it is a particular kind of maleness cut off from the implications of sexual demand.
Desexualized power, the iconic male capacity to fix things as if it were all improvised on the spot, a lucky accident, a spot of grace, expressed in the nonchalant manner of the Groaner, Der Bingle. In the sequel film, Bells of Saint Mary's, Father Chuck reassures a distraught Sister Ingrid Bergman that when in trouble she need only dial "O" for O'Malley. Mary Gordon reports on a priest friend who claimed that for generations, Father Bing was the paradigm for priests. So be it for the "golden oldies," but I suspect that somewhere in the passing years, Father Chuck's line has been disconnected.
It is not just the magical power of Father Chuck that attracts. Consider the message in the music written for the film by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Huesen. All the songs are songs of aspiration, cultural uplift, and deferred gratification. The Academy Award winning Swinging on a Star is sung by a street gang converted into the Saint Dominic's choir. The point of the song is that if you don't go to school, you may grow up to be a mule. On the other hand, attention to the books, and you "could be swinging on a star." If you are "going my way" "...this road leads to "rainbowville." Gratification is deferred -- "happiness is down the line."
The most interesting message for this priestly story is in the first song of the film. The local very Irish cop brings to the rectory a young girl who has run away from home. The cop is afraid that she may end up, ahem!, on the streets. The girl tells Crosby that she will make it on her own as a singer. Father Chuck offers to give her a tryout to his accompaniment. The girl sings the song with some awkward "jazzy" gestures. Father Bing tells her to put heart into the song and he shows her how. The song reads, "The day after forever / All through a lifetime / I'll be loving you / And on the day after forever / I'll begin again."
Again the dominant theme of gratification deferred. Just as Father Chuck's "romantic life" is elsewhere in another time and place, so fulfillment is elsewhere: Take a short cut to what you wish and you may end up as a fish, happiness is down the line, and love is not just today, it is "the day after forever." So, if you are going my way, the destination is tomorrow, not today.
The songs in Going My Way are in no way idiosyncratic; they are wholly within the Tin Pan Alley tradition which dominated American popular music down to the revolution of rock 'n' roll. Briefly put, Tin Pan Alley's great composers, often Jewish immigrants trained in traditions of European operetta, wrote music of cultural aspiration and deferred gratification.
If deferred gratification, cultural uplift, and commitment to the day after forever are the metaphysics of Tin Pan Alley and the theme song of Going Father Chuck's Way, all this changes radically for contemporary rock culture. Happiness is not "down the line," in the words of two best-selling albums of the Rolling Stones, it is Satisfaction and Now. A lyric by Robert Hunter, one of the principal writers for the legendary band The Grateful Dead, states the themes of rock. The song is called "Aim at the Heart" and the message seems the very antithesis of "the day after forever":
Time doesn't fly
Just hangs over like the sky
It's we who go by
Makes no difference how or why
Everything you cherish
Throws you over in the end
Thorns will grab your ankles
From the gardens that you tend
Damned if you do
Double damned if you don't try
Caught on the fly
Hello fades into good-by
What can you say?
Here tomorrow, gone today
Faith fades away
For idols with their feet of clay
The chorus is: "Aim at the heart / Don't ask whose love you're stealing." I am certain that swinging Father Chuck would be horrified by the theme of Robert Hunter's lyrics. Hunter's world is as fragile and transient as the title of his 372 pages of collected lyrics, A Box of Rain (Viking Penguin).
Plato says in The Republic that changes in musical style indicate profound changes in the culture. For this reason he is determined to prevent of the Lydian mode into his ideal state. Rock music broadly conceived is one of those radical changes in musical style that deserves notice for what it promotes -- especially what it might promise or deny to religious sensibility. What does rock culture suggest: a new religion, an emotional collectivism which will rule the world (Peter Townshend of Who), or "overblown nonsense" (Mick Jagger)?
It seems clear enough from title alone that Going My Way and Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" inhabit different emotional territories. Everyone has listened to enough rock -- willingly or not -- to have some idea of the musical character of such songs. Clearly this is not Crosby crooning "the day after forever." It is, as music critic Greil Marcus has written, "an assault, a hammering ... moaning, pleading, damning...."
The religious question I want to ask is contained symbolically in Marcus's description of the music. It is, he says, rough, harsh, hard to follow." As spiritual advice, is "going your own way" rough, harsh, a prescription hard to follow? Does "going your own way" lead to traumas and tragedies well beyond the gentle comic life of "going Father Chuck's way" where the burden is easy and the yoke is light?
Sam Phillips, the legendary producer of Sun records out of Memphis, the discoverer of Elvis Presley, characterized rock as the music of disillusion -- "the passion of a moment that was meaningless." Jimi Hendrix stated its metaphysic: "I am what I feel." If, as Robert Hunter says, "Faith fades away / for idols with their feet of clay," life is something "caught on the fly."
On its face, it would seem that rock is not only distant from the Saint Dominic's of Father O'Malley but from the saint himself and the dominant Christian tradition. One could dismiss rock as mere paganism all over again. But if old paganism became new gospel, maybe there is something in the new Eleusinian mysteries worth recapturing for the Old Time Religion.
In Marcus's description of "Go Your Own Way," he tries to explain why an instrumental solo, normally a "rest" in the performance, is suddenly a burst of even greater energy:
"Building in any successful rock 'n' roll record is a sense of the power of the singer to say what he or she means, but also a realization that the words are inadequate to that task, and the feeling of fulfillment is never as strong as the feeling of frustration .... The singer still comes up short; the performance demands the absolute lucidity it has already promised ... and so an instrument takes over. It is a relief, a relief from the failure of language. The thrill is that of entering a world where anything can be said, even if no one can know what it means."
Having described how music finally transcends verbal message, Marcus goes on to discuss a hokey song called "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," as performed by English rocker Elvis Costello with some simple, nonsinging, chord changes on his
guitar.
Not only is the built-in hokiness of the tune diverted, the irony is boiled off; the guitar notes don't neutralize the pathos of the lyrics, they validate it. What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding? Now, nothing. For an instant, the search for peace, love and understanding is what life is all about. You come back into the ordinary world, the world of ordinary language, with a wonderful story: "I saw it! I heard it!" "What was it?" everyone asks, and you open your mouth, and begin to wave your hands in the air.
Imagine the Apostles preaching on the street corner, certain that peace, love, and understanding is what life is all about. "I saw it! I heard it!" Someone begins to write it out: the New Testament with lyrics by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But suppose the original experience was validated where language broke down, and some elemental music of life allowed one to believe that even after an experience of defeat, betrayal, and death, "peace, love and understanding" is what life is all about.
Traditional Christian theology argued that the noble Greek virtues -- courage, temperance, justice -- were, after all, only "splendid vices" in comparison to the distinctly Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love. This is a defensible claim only if the life of the spirit is our fundamental human reality. The theologian John Dunne, in Time & Myth (University of Notre Dame Press, 1975), traces the life of the spirit in Dante's journey from Hell to Paradise. The stages of that journey reflect the basic possibilities of spirit. Somewhat revising Luther's characterization: Hell is despair; Purgatory is hope; Heaven is certainty. Spirit contains the fundamental "mood" of life.
The traditional moral virtues may have their place, but for the Christian the fundamental issue is whether they dwell within the spirit of despair, hope, or certainty. Macbeth despairs: life is "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" but for all that, he is courageous. One may dispense justice as a futile gesture of despair, or with a certainty that the heavens rejoice in the doings of the just. Because despair, hope, certainty lie behind the acts of every day, setting the tone if not content of life, we can, as it were, fail to notice them;
we fail to recognize the life of the spirit.
Because the life of the spirit, the mood and music of life, is so fundamental, we properly label it as "mystery." I mean by mystery not something hidden from knowledge, like the cure for AIDS, but something so revealed, so present, that we cannot distance ourselves sufficiently for proper appraisal. Gabriel Marcel defines mystery as "a problem which encroaches on its own data." Assessing my spiritual state fits that description, am I hopeful examining my hope?
The contrast between Tin Pan Alley's Going My Way and the rock experience of "Go Your Own Way" is a contrast between morality and mystery. Going My Way as movie and song moves in the world defined by morality. Will stingy banker Gene Lockhart relent on the mortgage to the church? Sexual morality as sexual restraint is a central issue in the celibate state of the priests and the temptations of the runaway and her boyfriend. Father Chuck is ultimately a moral magician who shows everybody that if you don't care a feather or a fig, you
may grow up to be a pig. He is magical because conversion to proper conduct requires only a slight symbolic gesture. Since there is little enough morality these days to go around, I am not going to knock it no matter how it is achieved, but I do want to say a good word for mystery.
Sexual restraint is central to Going My Way not only as a good in itself and a sign of priestliness, but as the most striking example of gratification deferred in the formation of moral character. Post the rock revolution, sexuality is flaunted; "don't care a feather or a fig!" A morality of deferred gratification appears to put off the real me to another day, but I can't really postpone my life. No wonder that rock
appeals to teenagers, a stage on life's way when one seems to be full grown, yet stuck in a nest of economic and social deferrals and dependencies. Enter rock music as a statement of fullness now! The adoption of animal names for Rock groups--Eagles, Beatles, etc.--is not accidental. Animals, unlike humans, lack future pretensions; there are no fish striving to be archbishops. Animals are all in all, just what
they are; it is this "fullness of being" which rock seeks to recover.
Rock reminds critic Camille Paglia of the great mystery religions. It is mystery even on its surface. Tin Pan Alley types like myself complain that they can't understand the words. But that is the point; like the cries and shouts of the Bacchantes, these noises suggest more than they can say until finally even the words give out and the crash of sound prevails. Rudolf Otto described the holy as mysterium tremendum, et fascinans: a good description of a major rock event. The sound and the effects are tremendous and fascinating. The mystery evoked is a self, the Whatever-It-Is that is "going your own way." The rock n' roll self is not the moral self which is always beyond itself, deferring the present for the future, weighing and assessing the course of action. The rocker's self is the whole present reality, the very feel
of present existence.
If sexual deferral is an important symbol for the music of morality, flaunting sexuality is an important symbol for the mystery in rock 'n'
roll. Whatever else one might say about sex, it is an overwhelming experience of presentness. One of the reasons that moralists are so
suspicious of sex is its ability to waylay the distancing and appraisive stance which is required for moral effort. Rock aims to get moral
appraisal out of the way: Elvis Presley starts off the rock revolution on the proper note with his first big hit, "It's All Right, Momma!"
Momma's moral injunctions are put aside.
I would like to propose a proper synthesis of morality and mystery, but the exact synthesis eludes me. My initial sympathy is with the
rockers. I am inclined to believe that the spiritual journey is "rough, harsh, hard to follow," and that Father Chuck's world is only
charming fantasy. In the long run--and the short run--you have to "go your own way." As the old black spiritual puts it: "You got to walk
that lonesome valley by yourself; ain't nobody here gonna walk it for you...." There is something fundamentally out of kilter in a view
which translates Christianity into nothing but moral injunction. I tell you the story of Christianity: a zealous peasant preaches a message
of mercy and forgiveness, he is betrayed, abandoned, tortured, and put to a cruel and horrible death only to rise above death through God's
almighty hand--and by the way, he didn't approve of premarital sex. I fear that this is the religious distillation of Going My Way and all
too many traditional Sunday sermons.
Rock with all its excesses has the advantage of inhabiting spiritual territory, a territory where despair and hope, absolute loneliness and
transcending love can abide. It is easier to think of converting a sexually passionate Augustine to burning Christian belief, than turning
Father Chuck into Saint John of the Cross.
But if rock opens into the life of the spirit, while O'Malley's moral musical messages do not, one has to assess the spiritual life expressed.
There is certainly a strong current within rock of Sam Phillips's "disillusion." Death, like sex and drugs and the rocker's scream,
accomplishes the fullness of being-there is nothing yet to come.
If that is the final message of the music, it is certainly unacceptable to Christian belief. Nevertheless, rejecting the rocker's world is not
easy. The disillusion and despair which are everywhere expressed in the music only make sense in a world of hope and love denied. In the
back of the minds of the most disillusioning rock tune is a belief that "peace, love and understanding" is the real meaning of life. The
problem seems that there is no known way of getting there. Except for the music itself.
Except for the music itself: in the mystery which is at the center of the spirit, there is a paradox within anyone who creates and crashes out
a great hymn of despair. The lyric says despair," but the music can transcend despair in its very boldness and assertion. W.B. Yeats says that Lear is "gay" in the very depth of his suffering.
Finally, rock can only believe in artistic enactment; Christianity makes the bolder claim about reality. You can call yourself an Eagle,
Door, or Stone, but one remains, alas, merely human. Humans have to work themselves up (or down) to the fullness of animal intensity,
but the moment passes until the next dose or drum beat. Sexuality may be a symbol of fullness, but, unfortunately, humans cannot live in
the innocence of animal sexuality. The fullness has to be human sexuality. Humans finally have to deal with the fact that the sexual other is
a person--a category which transcends animal structures and the only one which validates a quest for peace, love, and understanding.
The story of Jesus claims that actual human life, not the bold artifice of rock, can express the fullness of being. The rock impulse recognizes
the superiority of the world of the spirit, but finally there is no incarnation, no daily bread. The spirit is reached only outside ordinary
daily life in drugs, ecstatic sex, overwhelming music. One longs for a world of peace and love, but there is no assurance that it can exist
anywhere except in the right riff and set of chord changes. Finally, rock is an aesthetic passing as religion--not the first or last time that
noble gesture has been tried!
T.S. Eliot, who of course knew nothing of rock 'n' roll, expresses in The Four Quartets a view which might encapsulate a Christian response to this music.
For most of us, there is only the unattended
Moment, the moment in and out of time,
The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight,
The wild thyme unseen, or winter lightning,
Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all, and you are the music
While the music lasts.
... The rest
Is prayer, observance, discipline, thought, and action.
Lacking incarnation, the spiritual world of some to-be-named rock group, Wild Thyme, cannot move to "prayer, observance, discipline, thought, and action."
How to resolve the dilemma presented by Going My [Moral] Way and "Go Your Own Way" As I read the gospel message, "Go Your Own Way" remains fundamental in the sense of that black gospel hymn. Each person lives and dies the one life that is his or hers alone. There is a fundamental aloneness to being human; an aloneness that makes the animal warmth of sex and heavy metal a seductive anodyne. It also makes the moral message of O'Malley seductive. I lose myself in moral earnestness. That may be a better path in so far as morality is a distinctively human trait. Chastity as a symbol of human freedom is better than sex as an ardent retreat from care. But common morality cannot be used as a shield for the aloneness of the spirit. Mary Gordon concludes her account of Father Chuck as follows:
[Father Chuck's] maleness is iconic, but it is a particular kind of maleness cut off from the implications of sexual demand. It is part of his vocation to make no demands, so he gives no ground, no place for anyone to stand. There is no there with Father Chuck.
If there is no there to Father Chuck, what is missing is the aloneness of the spirit. If sexual fulfillment is a traditional symbol of spiritual fulfillment, sexual demand, then, can be a symbol of spiritual need. Antiseptically cleansed of sexual demand, Father Chuck becomes spiritually neutered.
If the final word is "Go Your Own Way," a way that is "harsh, rough, hard to follow," Christianity at least says that one is accompanied on that way. Jesus is not the absent moralist who sets out the road map for life; Jesus is the one who comes with, on the same journey, living his own story which ends in loneliness and abandon. Yet he goes forward, and he goes forward alongside the Christian believer, so that his story of resurrection and my story exist for one another. There is a there to Jesus which is not present in the clerical figure of Father Chuck. Jesus and the lone believer are spiritually open for one another. In one of her mystical experiences, Teresa of Avila hears the question, "Who are you?" "I am Teresa of Jesus," she answers, "and who are you?" "I am Jesus -- of Teresa."
The implications of the pop culture of rock music for churches are ambiguous. The New York Times ran a feature article "Rock Finds Religion Again" (January 2, 1994.) The author, Guy Garcia, noted an almost apocalyptic denunciation of empty materialism -- themes which have been stated in more measured terms by John Paul 11. But the "salvation" sought by a rock singer like Michael McDermott in his album Gethsemane is strictly personal, outside if not against the churches. In a song called Leave It up to the Angels," McDermott sounds the broad theme of disillusion that runs through rock: "I'm frightened by the way I feel, maybe you are too/I'm losing faith in everything and everyone but you ... leave it to the angels."
The implication for official Catholicism may be contained in McDermott's personal history. A former altar boy, he contemplated entering the priesthood but, he say, "[I am] too weak a person to ever be a priest." The ghost of the omnipotent, invulnerable Father Chuck haunts the church: far from an image of sympathy or salvation, he is--in rock idiom--a "real turnoff!" Only a narrative responsive to passion, loneliness, and defeat responds to the rocker's urge. The Gospels have such a narrative (though with a startling twist at the conclusion). A God so vulnerable may require vulnerable ministers of grace.
As much as i dislike recommending reading that requires paying for print, it may be worth $4 or at least a trip to the library for the Dec. 2001 Atlantic, and the article referenced below, but not readable on-line:
* * * * * * *
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/12/
One Nation, Slightly Divisible
The electoral map of the 2000 presidential race became famous—big blocks of Republican red stretched across the heartland, with brackets of Democratic blue along the coasts. Our differences are real, but how deep do they go?
by David Brooks
* * * * * * *
More than a simple "liberal/conservative" dichotomy, here is where i think the clash of world views between congregation and judicatory structures is played out. There is a very different way of seeing here, which can create great confusion of aims and purposes, but does not necessarily lead to hostility unless egos and power struggles provoke it. Any reactions along these lines would be of great interest to me...
In Grace & Peace,
Jeff
* * * * * * *
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/12/
One Nation, Slightly Divisible
The electoral map of the 2000 presidential race became famous—big blocks of Republican red stretched across the heartland, with brackets of Democratic blue along the coasts. Our differences are real, but how deep do they go?
by David Brooks
* * * * * * *
More than a simple "liberal/conservative" dichotomy, here is where i think the clash of world views between congregation and judicatory structures is played out. There is a very different way of seeing here, which can create great confusion of aims and purposes, but does not necessarily lead to hostility unless egos and power struggles provoke it. Any reactions along these lines would be of great interest to me...
In Grace & Peace,
Jeff
Sunday, August 26, 2001
A little update on the situation Enid Ray has been dealing with and that we've been praying for about her grandson Jon Columbini and great-grandson Jonathan: the news is good, and probably won't be publicized as widely as it ought. Seems the "kidnapping" mother decided that years in jail in America looked better than a lifetime in the self-proclaimed "Worker's Paradise".....
The Miami Herald (www.miami.com/herald)
Published Friday, August 17, 2001
6-year-old taken to Cuba by mom is back in U.S.
BY GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES
gepstein@herald.com
With tears that quickly melted into hugs, 6-year-old Jonathon Colombini was reunited with his father in Miami on Thursday, nine months after the boy's Cuban-born mother spirited him to her homeland in a 21-foot boat and refused to let him return.
Jon Colombini of Homestead greeted his son at Miami International Airport laden with Christmas presents that the boy wasn't here to open last December.
``He's doing great,'' Colombini said later from his car as he and his family headed for an out-of-town vacation. ``We've got a lot of things to work through, but it's going to work out pretty good.'' After some initial anxiety and crying -- mostly out of concern for his mother -- Jonathon was busy playing with a new Gameboy and ``a bunch of little finger bikes that you can take apart and put together,'' his dad said.
Federal agents arrested Jonathon's mother, Arletis Blanco, 29, of Key Largo, shortly after she stepped off the 5:10 p.m. flight from Cuba with her boyfriend, AgustÃn Lemus, 37, and their 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Jessica. She was wanted on a warrant for international parental child kidnapping and also faces state theft charges. Lemus, who was not arrested, left with little Jessica. Blanco knew she would be arrested, but said she wouldn't allow her son to return to the United States unless she and her new family were permitted to come back as well, said Colombini's lawyer, Michael C. Berry of Clearwater, who specializes in international abduction cases and escorted the family back from Cuba. Berry flew to Havana on Wednesday for the second time in recent weeks hoping that months of delicate negotiations wouldn't blow up and send him home empty-handed again. After meeting with lawyers for Blanco and Cuba's Foreign Ministry, he received word about 10:30 a.m. Thursday that the entire group had been cleared for travel, he said. They raced to the airport with crossed fingers and got seats on a 4 p.m. direct flight. ``It was a normal flight, nothing out of the ordinary except for some air-sickness by Jonathon,'' Berry said. ``It was a traumatic time for him, being reunited with his father, not speaking the language anymore.'' Jonathon, who was 5 when Blanco took him to live in Pinar del RÃo last November, now speaks only Spanish although he still understands English, his father said.
Berry complimented the Cuban government for its handling of the case. Even though negotiations were complicated by the lack of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, and even though ``everything in Cuba is on a `maybe' basis,'' Cuban diplomats treated it as ``a family matter and not political football,'' he said.
``I had an understanding with Ambassador [Fernando] RemÃrez at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C.,'' he said. ``We were able to avoid a long court battle. They did not impede progress; they were a conduit.''
In the end, before granting final travel permission, the Cuban government asked for a meeting to get a ``clear understanding'' of why Blanco was leaving the country, Berry said. ``They wanted to make sure she wasn't leaving under duress or coercion, and as long as she was leaving of her own free will, that was it,'' he said.
Blanco's explanation was put in writing and she and the lawyers had to sign the document, he said. In it, Blanco said she recognized that she would be going to jail but she was ready to return anyway.
``This was her home,'' Berry said of the United States. ``Even though she was born in Cuba she lived here all her life.''
Last year, Blanco told the Communist Party daily Granma she left the United States because she wanted a better life for her son and she had uncovered an anti-Castro plot developed by her former boss. Blanco said she fled, fearing for her life. Her employer has denied her story.
Blanco is wanted on a grand theft charge in Monroe County for allegedly stealing close to $150,000 from McKenzie Petroleum, where she was an office manager. In February, a federal grand jury indicted her for kidnapping.
Blanco was taken to the Federal Detention Center in Miami and is scheduled to have her first court appearance today, FBI spokesman Judy Orihuela said. If convicted of kidnapping, Blanco faces a maximum three years in prison. Colombini and Blanco originally had joint custody of their son, but after shetook him to Cuba a Monroe County circuit judge gave Colombini full custody.``We're going to go ride the big Scooby Doo roller coaster,'' Colombini said en route to an Ohio theme park that features Jonathon's favorite cartoon character.
``We're just going to spend some time together and do some bonding and
have some fun.''
The Miami Herald (www.miami.com/herald)
Published Friday, August 17, 2001
6-year-old taken to Cuba by mom is back in U.S.
BY GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES
gepstein@herald.com
With tears that quickly melted into hugs, 6-year-old Jonathon Colombini was reunited with his father in Miami on Thursday, nine months after the boy's Cuban-born mother spirited him to her homeland in a 21-foot boat and refused to let him return.
Jon Colombini of Homestead greeted his son at Miami International Airport laden with Christmas presents that the boy wasn't here to open last December.
``He's doing great,'' Colombini said later from his car as he and his family headed for an out-of-town vacation. ``We've got a lot of things to work through, but it's going to work out pretty good.'' After some initial anxiety and crying -- mostly out of concern for his mother -- Jonathon was busy playing with a new Gameboy and ``a bunch of little finger bikes that you can take apart and put together,'' his dad said.
Federal agents arrested Jonathon's mother, Arletis Blanco, 29, of Key Largo, shortly after she stepped off the 5:10 p.m. flight from Cuba with her boyfriend, AgustÃn Lemus, 37, and their 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Jessica. She was wanted on a warrant for international parental child kidnapping and also faces state theft charges. Lemus, who was not arrested, left with little Jessica. Blanco knew she would be arrested, but said she wouldn't allow her son to return to the United States unless she and her new family were permitted to come back as well, said Colombini's lawyer, Michael C. Berry of Clearwater, who specializes in international abduction cases and escorted the family back from Cuba. Berry flew to Havana on Wednesday for the second time in recent weeks hoping that months of delicate negotiations wouldn't blow up and send him home empty-handed again. After meeting with lawyers for Blanco and Cuba's Foreign Ministry, he received word about 10:30 a.m. Thursday that the entire group had been cleared for travel, he said. They raced to the airport with crossed fingers and got seats on a 4 p.m. direct flight. ``It was a normal flight, nothing out of the ordinary except for some air-sickness by Jonathon,'' Berry said. ``It was a traumatic time for him, being reunited with his father, not speaking the language anymore.'' Jonathon, who was 5 when Blanco took him to live in Pinar del RÃo last November, now speaks only Spanish although he still understands English, his father said.
Berry complimented the Cuban government for its handling of the case. Even though negotiations were complicated by the lack of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, and even though ``everything in Cuba is on a `maybe' basis,'' Cuban diplomats treated it as ``a family matter and not political football,'' he said.
``I had an understanding with Ambassador [Fernando] RemÃrez at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C.,'' he said. ``We were able to avoid a long court battle. They did not impede progress; they were a conduit.''
In the end, before granting final travel permission, the Cuban government asked for a meeting to get a ``clear understanding'' of why Blanco was leaving the country, Berry said. ``They wanted to make sure she wasn't leaving under duress or coercion, and as long as she was leaving of her own free will, that was it,'' he said.
Blanco's explanation was put in writing and she and the lawyers had to sign the document, he said. In it, Blanco said she recognized that she would be going to jail but she was ready to return anyway.
``This was her home,'' Berry said of the United States. ``Even though she was born in Cuba she lived here all her life.''
Last year, Blanco told the Communist Party daily Granma she left the United States because she wanted a better life for her son and she had uncovered an anti-Castro plot developed by her former boss. Blanco said she fled, fearing for her life. Her employer has denied her story.
Blanco is wanted on a grand theft charge in Monroe County for allegedly stealing close to $150,000 from McKenzie Petroleum, where she was an office manager. In February, a federal grand jury indicted her for kidnapping.
Blanco was taken to the Federal Detention Center in Miami and is scheduled to have her first court appearance today, FBI spokesman Judy Orihuela said. If convicted of kidnapping, Blanco faces a maximum three years in prison. Colombini and Blanco originally had joint custody of their son, but after shetook him to Cuba a Monroe County circuit judge gave Colombini full custody.``We're going to go ride the big Scooby Doo roller coaster,'' Colombini said en route to an Ohio theme park that features Jonathon's favorite cartoon character.
``We're just going to spend some time together and do some bonding and
have some fun.''
Friday, August 03, 2001
With this Friday, Aug. 3rd, our local edition of "Fair Season" kicks into full gear.
The Ohio State Fair in Columbus, including displays by Aaron Dunkle and Tracy Wildermuth, starts before and ends after our own Hartford Fair Aug. 5th through the 11th. Prime Producers and Stablemates 4-H will be well represented up in Croton, along with livestock from many of our farm families. I had the pleasure of dropping in on the last 4-H meeting of the season last Sunday night where a slight 7-year-old girl demonstrated (in case I ever need to know!) how to show a Black Angus, a skill that she clearly mastered "oh, years and years ago!" Then there's the Sweetcorn Festival parade Aug. 29th and the next few days in Millersport, and finally the Lancaster Fair as the air grows crisp of an evening -- a blessed thought!
These festivals are a piece of community building that we all have a stake in: whether we ourselves are deep frying doughnuts, ripping tickets, showing sheep, or just sitting in a folding chair as the parade passes by, our participation is a piece of real life and actual contact that sustains the event and can be an invitation to others to join in. Most of you reading this know that I feel the "bad side" of the internet has been over-emphasized and hyped up, and that on-line tools like e-mail and web pages are just that -- tools, that can be handled for good or ill, just as a hammer can't properly set a screw and a screwdriver handle is not right for driving nails. In the right time and place, the web can build community. For example, have you seen the pictures of VBS, Badger Camp, or Family Camp at our web site: http://go.to/Hebron_Christian ? But more and better pictures can be seen on the bulletin board on the back wall of the sanctuary if you actually come to church...
We need to keep alive our community festivals and gatherings because that's where real - not virtual! - human community can happen, and we need to be active about extending invitations to worship and fellowship to those around us because that's where real Christian community is formed as well.
The Ohio State Fair in Columbus, including displays by Aaron Dunkle and Tracy Wildermuth, starts before and ends after our own Hartford Fair Aug. 5th through the 11th. Prime Producers and Stablemates 4-H will be well represented up in Croton, along with livestock from many of our farm families. I had the pleasure of dropping in on the last 4-H meeting of the season last Sunday night where a slight 7-year-old girl demonstrated (in case I ever need to know!) how to show a Black Angus, a skill that she clearly mastered "oh, years and years ago!" Then there's the Sweetcorn Festival parade Aug. 29th and the next few days in Millersport, and finally the Lancaster Fair as the air grows crisp of an evening -- a blessed thought!
These festivals are a piece of community building that we all have a stake in: whether we ourselves are deep frying doughnuts, ripping tickets, showing sheep, or just sitting in a folding chair as the parade passes by, our participation is a piece of real life and actual contact that sustains the event and can be an invitation to others to join in. Most of you reading this know that I feel the "bad side" of the internet has been over-emphasized and hyped up, and that on-line tools like e-mail and web pages are just that -- tools, that can be handled for good or ill, just as a hammer can't properly set a screw and a screwdriver handle is not right for driving nails. In the right time and place, the web can build community. For example, have you seen the pictures of VBS, Badger Camp, or Family Camp at our web site: http://go.to/Hebron_Christian ? But more and better pictures can be seen on the bulletin board on the back wall of the sanctuary if you actually come to church...
We need to keep alive our community festivals and gatherings because that's where real - not virtual! - human community can happen, and we need to be active about extending invitations to worship and fellowship to those around us because that's where real Christian community is formed as well.
Tuesday, May 15, 2001
These are our ministry team goals suggested by the working groups at last November's Program Planning Retreat; we closed by intending to review the status and relevance of these goals by June at this board meeting for revisiting and perhaps reframing.
~ - in progress; * - done; > - for later in this year
Worship -- John D. Slater, advising elder
1. Family door greeters; More involvement in worship ~
2. Fewer announcements
3. Sunday afternoon sing-a-long/open house, perhaps to dedicate
4. Getting a new organ *
Stewardship -- Ila Mason, advising elder
1. Ask people more directly to give & serve */~
2. Spir. Gift inventory in worship *
3. "pledges" of time & effort; compare goals & gifts to budget priorities
4. Contact CCF/other gp. To look at Memorial Fund, policies
5. Prioritize expansion of the sanctuary
Missions & Benevolences -- Cheryl Maslowski, advising elder
1. Find different approaches to inform the congregation of the many current missions, and
2. Try an e-mail reminder system for special offerings ~
3. Take on a new mission project: "adopt-a-child"; Hebron UMC Heifer Project, school supplies for Hebron, Palestine…
Christian Education -- Martha Cable, advising elder
1. VBS: look at intergenerational teaching/learning approaches ~
2. Have input meetings (quarterly?) during assembly time */~
3. Harvest Party next Fall >
4. Use Family Life Center/604 W. Main for comm. ministry: afterschool, latchkey, or child care ~
5. Create program/retreat/support group for women who have lost a spouse [n.b. Health Fair]
Evangelism -- Mike Halter, advising elder
1. Develop a distinctive flyer, suitable for mass mailing purposes
2. Use advertising -- Advocate special section, GBLCC booklet [banners at Evans!] *
3. Do a Pictorial Directory *
4. Hold an Open House around a themed event [organ dedication/recital, sing-a-long, etc.]
Vision 2020 is working on a comprehensive timeline of goals with the Trustees, which began with the professional inspection of the 610 & 612 W. Main properties, and will continue with planning based on anticipated growth in both worship attendance and community outreach. I.e.; by 2010, we anticipate combined worship attendance to triple -- 324 -- and small group ministries to triple with that -- from 12 non-committee groups/classes per week/month to 36 groups/classes.
So, any feedback? The board received this update May 14, the elders will June 2, and we will restate our goals through the year at the next board meeting June 10th.
~ - in progress; * - done; > - for later in this year
Worship -- John D. Slater, advising elder
1. Family door greeters; More involvement in worship ~
2. Fewer announcements
3. Sunday afternoon sing-a-long/open house, perhaps to dedicate
4. Getting a new organ *
Stewardship -- Ila Mason, advising elder
1. Ask people more directly to give & serve */~
2. Spir. Gift inventory in worship *
3. "pledges" of time & effort; compare goals & gifts to budget priorities
4. Contact CCF/other gp. To look at Memorial Fund, policies
5. Prioritize expansion of the sanctuary
Missions & Benevolences -- Cheryl Maslowski, advising elder
1. Find different approaches to inform the congregation of the many current missions, and
2. Try an e-mail reminder system for special offerings ~
3. Take on a new mission project: "adopt-a-child"; Hebron UMC Heifer Project, school supplies for Hebron, Palestine…
Christian Education -- Martha Cable, advising elder
1. VBS: look at intergenerational teaching/learning approaches ~
2. Have input meetings (quarterly?) during assembly time */~
3. Harvest Party next Fall >
4. Use Family Life Center/604 W. Main for comm. ministry: afterschool, latchkey, or child care ~
5. Create program/retreat/support group for women who have lost a spouse [n.b. Health Fair]
Evangelism -- Mike Halter, advising elder
1. Develop a distinctive flyer, suitable for mass mailing purposes
2. Use advertising -- Advocate special section, GBLCC booklet [banners at Evans!] *
3. Do a Pictorial Directory *
4. Hold an Open House around a themed event [organ dedication/recital, sing-a-long, etc.]
Vision 2020 is working on a comprehensive timeline of goals with the Trustees, which began with the professional inspection of the 610 & 612 W. Main properties, and will continue with planning based on anticipated growth in both worship attendance and community outreach. I.e.; by 2010, we anticipate combined worship attendance to triple -- 324 -- and small group ministries to triple with that -- from 12 non-committee groups/classes per week/month to 36 groups/classes.
So, any feedback? The board received this update May 14, the elders will June 2, and we will restate our goals through the year at the next board meeting June 10th.
Wednesday, May 02, 2001
an interesting essay i copied from a church vitality website:
"Writing in Harper's magazine, Fenton Johnson reflects on
North America's search for vessels to shape their spiritual hunger. He
describes the "comfortable mediocrity" of congregations which feed on a
diet of religious consumables that never touch the heart of their longings.
The very congregations that pastors and denominational leaders strive so
hard to shape become barriers to encountering God in transformative
ways.
In light of Mr. Johnson's insight, it's no wonder that a
palpable dissatisfaction characterizes North American mainstream
Christianity. The impulse toward mystery and the desire to encounter the
sacred are stirrings that churches seem unable to satisfy. People hunger
for ways to resist the ubiquitous dominance of money, power, and sex as
signs of a fulfilled life, aware at some level that, in reality, they leave
our souls empty. So instead we search for a connection with something
that can't be bought, packaged, or marketed as a product. We want a way
of restoring-or discovering-order and values larger than the consumer
market or self-actualization.
This desire for genuine and meaningful connection
shapes the hunger of the people coming into our churches. But how do
we feed it? Christian leaders are bereft of a way. People do not need more
programs or propositions about the nature of the world. They need a new
way of life, the way of community defined in God's Word.
But welcoming people into a way of life requires
leadership that is radically different from simple competence in managing
programs, caring for people's needs, or preaching sermons. Such skills
are not unimportant, but they alone will not form a community that is
an institutionalized contradiction to the wearing, tearing, fragmenting
living that exists at the dawn of the twenty-first century. When we
manage our congregational systems through care processes and programs
designed for various age-and-stage points, we only lay a religious
covering over fragmented lives. Leaders are needed who call people into a
way of life. The comfortable mediocrity of congregational life and
pastoral leadership cannot address the unarticulated stirring in the soul of
North America.
Something else is required, and it must be both local and
institutionalized. Missional communities must be people living a certain
way of life in a particular place. Such missional communities will
require something more than the voluntary associations which currently
characterize congregational life, associations which only deepen the sense
that Christian life is an individualized spiritual experience supported by
local churches. What is required is the refounding of Christian life in
North America, the metamorphosis of congregational identity. Fenton
Johnson continues: "Life is like water: it takes the shape of the vessels
into which it is poured; remove the vessel and it's lost. What we are
seeking are vessels into which to pour the chaos of life, what we are
seeking are models of discipline." The vessels formed by the shaping of
middle-class, suburban life in North America since the middle of the
century are increasingly incapable of shaping the emergent forms of
social life that Christian identity must take in the decades ahead.
What vessels point to this reforming of Christian
identity? Monastic Christianity offers hints of what contradictory living
might become, but specific details will not be in our purview for some
time to come because ours is a period of gestation. We are seeing the
unraveling of one world, but not yet the emergence of what might be
woven from its threads. We are reaching for images, stretching
tentatively toward an unformed future that lies ahead. Nevertheless, some
general outlines of this gestation can be described, and we know that the
church now requires leaders who will commit their passions and lifelong
habits to developing and living into those contours.
Now the idea of monastic communities may be
misleading. We are not calling for a Christian identity removed from life
hidden in cloisters. We are instead reaching toward a form of secular
orders in which a Christian identity, as a distinct and contradictory
option, is lived out within this culture, not apart from it. The church can
only be a sign of hope if it once again offers an alternative way of living
that is in sharp contrast to society at large. This kind of identity can only
be shaped by commitments and practices that will result in an alternative
way of life in neighborhoods and cities.
In a society that extols the power of personal choice and
perpetual open-endedness, for instance, churches would become like
orders that voluntarily place limits on choice due to its conviction that
meaning and purpose greater than the accumulation of goods and the
actualization of self prevail in this world. People would be invited to
participate in a local order that witnesses to the alternative way of Christ
through lives shaped by common practices and commitments.
Critical to the formation of this witness are leaders who
can form such communities, and we have arrived at the point where this
leadership is essential. If the church in North America is to have a
meaningful role in the 21st century it will be discovered through the
missional engagement of local church communities. This discovery will
require a journey of faith on an untraveled road, with a horizon obscured
by clouds. If we are to start strong in this new century, leaders must
break from the familiar motions of the past and step onto this road."
"Writing in Harper's magazine, Fenton Johnson reflects on
North America's search for vessels to shape their spiritual hunger. He
describes the "comfortable mediocrity" of congregations which feed on a
diet of religious consumables that never touch the heart of their longings.
The very congregations that pastors and denominational leaders strive so
hard to shape become barriers to encountering God in transformative
ways.
In light of Mr. Johnson's insight, it's no wonder that a
palpable dissatisfaction characterizes North American mainstream
Christianity. The impulse toward mystery and the desire to encounter the
sacred are stirrings that churches seem unable to satisfy. People hunger
for ways to resist the ubiquitous dominance of money, power, and sex as
signs of a fulfilled life, aware at some level that, in reality, they leave
our souls empty. So instead we search for a connection with something
that can't be bought, packaged, or marketed as a product. We want a way
of restoring-or discovering-order and values larger than the consumer
market or self-actualization.
This desire for genuine and meaningful connection
shapes the hunger of the people coming into our churches. But how do
we feed it? Christian leaders are bereft of a way. People do not need more
programs or propositions about the nature of the world. They need a new
way of life, the way of community defined in God's Word.
But welcoming people into a way of life requires
leadership that is radically different from simple competence in managing
programs, caring for people's needs, or preaching sermons. Such skills
are not unimportant, but they alone will not form a community that is
an institutionalized contradiction to the wearing, tearing, fragmenting
living that exists at the dawn of the twenty-first century. When we
manage our congregational systems through care processes and programs
designed for various age-and-stage points, we only lay a religious
covering over fragmented lives. Leaders are needed who call people into a
way of life. The comfortable mediocrity of congregational life and
pastoral leadership cannot address the unarticulated stirring in the soul of
North America.
Something else is required, and it must be both local and
institutionalized. Missional communities must be people living a certain
way of life in a particular place. Such missional communities will
require something more than the voluntary associations which currently
characterize congregational life, associations which only deepen the sense
that Christian life is an individualized spiritual experience supported by
local churches. What is required is the refounding of Christian life in
North America, the metamorphosis of congregational identity. Fenton
Johnson continues: "Life is like water: it takes the shape of the vessels
into which it is poured; remove the vessel and it's lost. What we are
seeking are vessels into which to pour the chaos of life, what we are
seeking are models of discipline." The vessels formed by the shaping of
middle-class, suburban life in North America since the middle of the
century are increasingly incapable of shaping the emergent forms of
social life that Christian identity must take in the decades ahead.
What vessels point to this reforming of Christian
identity? Monastic Christianity offers hints of what contradictory living
might become, but specific details will not be in our purview for some
time to come because ours is a period of gestation. We are seeing the
unraveling of one world, but not yet the emergence of what might be
woven from its threads. We are reaching for images, stretching
tentatively toward an unformed future that lies ahead. Nevertheless, some
general outlines of this gestation can be described, and we know that the
church now requires leaders who will commit their passions and lifelong
habits to developing and living into those contours.
Now the idea of monastic communities may be
misleading. We are not calling for a Christian identity removed from life
hidden in cloisters. We are instead reaching toward a form of secular
orders in which a Christian identity, as a distinct and contradictory
option, is lived out within this culture, not apart from it. The church can
only be a sign of hope if it once again offers an alternative way of living
that is in sharp contrast to society at large. This kind of identity can only
be shaped by commitments and practices that will result in an alternative
way of life in neighborhoods and cities.
In a society that extols the power of personal choice and
perpetual open-endedness, for instance, churches would become like
orders that voluntarily place limits on choice due to its conviction that
meaning and purpose greater than the accumulation of goods and the
actualization of self prevail in this world. People would be invited to
participate in a local order that witnesses to the alternative way of Christ
through lives shaped by common practices and commitments.
Critical to the formation of this witness are leaders who
can form such communities, and we have arrived at the point where this
leadership is essential. If the church in North America is to have a
meaningful role in the 21st century it will be discovered through the
missional engagement of local church communities. This discovery will
require a journey of faith on an untraveled road, with a horizon obscured
by clouds. If we are to start strong in this new century, leaders must
break from the familiar motions of the past and step onto this road."
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