In many churches in New Orleans I see some face I have met in prison, some one with whom I have pleaded, some one whose pledge I have taken. My work has not stopped here. I have gone to the judge and pleaded for leniency.
I wonder if perhaps the time has come to discard anthropomorphism in favor of light. Bishops John Shelby Spong and John A.T. Robinson have popularized the deconstruction of the antiquated, anachronistic, and anthropomorphic images of God. Those metaphors are well past their sell-by dates.
In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1170, Henry king of the English, son of Empress Matilda, held his court in Normandy at Bur, keeping the day of the Lord’s Nativity, saddened and troubled greatly because the archbishop of Canterbury did not wish to absolve the English bishops whom he had bound with the chain of excommunication.
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We are accustomed to a natural order of things, with seasons that follow each other in turn, with chores for each season, and beauty different to each season. We know that to do then; we know how to be summer people and how to be winter people.
“The dog down there is on too short a chain. Change it, lengthen it. Then he’ll be able to reach the shade, and he’ll lie down and he’ll stop barking. And the silence will remind the mother she wanted a canary in a cage in the kitchen. And when the canary sings, she’ll do more ironing. And the father’s shoulders in a freshly ironed shirt will ache less when he goes to work.”
Any clergy out there interested in sharing their initial experiences in their first post-seminary assignments? Any lay folks interested in sharing their experiences with newbie priests?
Americans are about 5 times more likely to give an “F” (24%) than an “A” (5%) to churches for their handling of homosexuality. Two-thirds see connections between messages coming from America’s churches and higher rates of suicide among gay and lesbian youth.
Grandmere Mimi has called our attention to a deeply moving story, and challenged us to do something about it.
People love to tell you, when you’re expecting your first child, all about how much becoming a parent is going to change you. About how your world is going to turn upside down, and you’re never going to be the same again. But I found that I changed far more, and learned far more (about myself and about God), with the birth of my second child, than with the birth of my first.