Confessions on the 5th Anniversary of the Iraqi War

Yesterday we read the following during our two worship services. It's a Litany of Confession- where the Pastor reads the light print, and the community responds with the dark. It was written by Shane Claiborne

It was incredibly powerful for me and my own personal spiritual journey. Once again, reminding me that I am a child of God...not a child of America.

Regardless of religion, I hope that this confession moves you spiritually.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
Free us from the bondage of sin and death
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
Hear our prayer. Grant us peace.

For the victims of war
Have mercy
Women, men and children
have mercy
The maimed and the crippled
have mercy
the abandoned and the homeless
have mercy
the imprisoned and the tortured
have mercy
the widowed and the orphaned
have mercy
the bleeding and the dying
have mercy
the weary and the desperate
have mercy
the lost and forsaken
have mercy

O God- Have mercy on us sinners
Forgive us for we know not what we do
For our scorched and blackened earth
forgive us
for our caesars and our herods
forgive us
for the violence that is rooted in our hearts
forgive us
for the times we turn others into enemies
forgive us
deliver us, O God
Guide our feet into the way of peace
hear our prayer
Grant us peace

From the arrogance of power
deliver us
from the myth of redemptive violence
deliver us
from the tyranny of greed
deliver us
from the ugliness of racism
deliver us
from the cancer of hatred
deliver us
from the seduction of wealth
deliver us
from the addiction of control
deliver us
from the idolatry of nationalism
deliver us
from the paralysis of cynicism
deliver us
from the violence of apathy
deliver us
from the ghettos of poverty
deliver us
from the ghettos of wealth
deliver us
from a lack of imagination
deliver us
deliver us, O God
Guide our feet into the way of peace

We will not conform to the patterns of this world
Let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds
with the help of God's grace
let us resist evil wherever we find it
with the waging of unjust war
we will not comply
with the legalization of murder
we will not comply
with the slaughter of innocents
we will not comply
with laws that betray human life
we will not comply
with the destruction of community
we will not comply
with the pointing finger and malicious talk
we will not comply
with the idea that happiness must be purchased
we will not comply
with the ravaging of the earth
we will not comply
with principalities and powers that oppress
we will not comply
with the destruction of peoples
we will not comply
with the raping of women
we will not comply
with governments that kill
we will not comply
with the theology of empire
we will not comply
with the business of militarism
we will not comply
with the hoarding of riches
we will not comply
with the dissemination of fear
we will not comply

today we pledge our ultimate allegiance...to the kingdom of God
we pledge allegiance
to a peace that is not like Rome's
we pledge allegiance
to the gospel of enemy love
we pledge allegiance
to the kingdom of the poor and broken
we pledge allegiance
to a king that loves his enemies so much he died for them
we pledge allegiance
to the least of these, with whom Christ dwells
we pledge allegiance
to the transnational church that transcends the artificial borders of nations
we pledge allegiance
to the refugee of Nazareth
we pledge allegiance
to the homeless rabbi who had no place to lay his head
we pledge allegiance
to the cross rather than the sword
we pledge allegiance
to the banner of love above any flag
we pledge allegiance
to the one who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist
we pledge allegiance
to the one who rides a donkey rather than a war-horse
we pledge allegiance
to the revolution that sets both oppressed and the opressors free
we pledge allegiance
to the way that leads to life
we pledge allegiance
to the slaughtered lamb
we pledge allegiance
and together we proclaim his praises. from the margins of the empire to the centers of wealth and power
long live the slaughtered lamb
long live the slaughtered lamb
long live the slaughtered lamb

Old Man... i'm a lot like you...24 and there's so much more

Thanks to everyone who contributed to dilemma 08! I will keep you updated as we move closer to the date, and my decision.

This week I read two posts that made reference to growing old- both mentioned some of the lighter side of getting older. I think laughter, and sometimes poking fun at ourselves makes it easier to cope with the fact that growing old means having more responsibility. Ahhh..responsibility, quarterlife, and adulthood- gotta love it.

I thought this might be a cool opportunity to make each other laugh. List in the comments section some of the funny parts about growing old- Reid mentioned "drinking coffee at McDonalds for hours," and Quinn threw out watching Murder She Wrote & a new found affinity for talk radio.

What can you add to the list?

Oh, and check out my friend Caro's blog- it is one of my new fave reads. She lives and works in the political arena of New York City. Hear her thoughts on the recent Governor scandal, get tips on running, and learn about how being a bitch is the new black.

Dilemma 08: Which Comes First ???

Yesterday the first round of summer concerts in Bend were announced. We are a town of about 85,000 so good concerts don't come around every week. I have seen some great concerts in Bend (Jack Johnson, Talib Kweli, Matisyahu, Pedro the Lion, Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Harper, Damien Rice, Fiona Apple, and others)- but last summer's lineup was pretty weak sauce...

...in other words, the Bend concert scene owed me one. So announced for Memorial Day Weekend were Friday: Michael Franti & Spearhead, Saturday: Death Cab for Cutie, Sunday: Modest Mouse.

So my question to you all- tickets are $35 each plus service charge. Or, you could buy a 3 pack for $99 plus service charge. I really want to see Michael Franti & Death Cab- and most of my friends here really want to see Modest & Death Cab...should I just go for the 3 pack???

And finally, leave me a comment listing the three acts in order- starting with whom you would like to see most.

Thought this might be a little fun musical diversion from the bummer political news last night.
And also, while running last night I went for the summer of 2002 mix on my i-pod: finch-what it is to burn, yellowcard- one for the kids, and the used- self titled. Ahhhh memories...

Hold Fast Hope

This last weekend I came face to face with great hope and great despair.

Over the course of the last year I have had the opportunity to become involved in active peace, justice, and reconciliation work with a Muslim community in Portland. This relationship began when our community hosted Imam Toure- a sixth generation Imam from Senegal, spiritual guide of the Bilal Mosque, and founder of the Institute of Islamic & Interfaith Studies. He spoke on the universal principles of holiness at an afternoon lecture, and delivered the sermon at both of our worship services last Fall. Our community was deeply moved by his visit- having many assumptions and stereotypes about the Islamic faith shattered. His visit birthed a friendship between our communities, and birthed within me an urgency and priority for this type of conversational reconciliation work between the faiths.

I am consistently reminded of this urgency as I watch the news. This last weekend saw the death of over 100 Israeli & Palestinian men, women, and children- the highest death tolls in over a year...ultimately leading to the end of the current peace talks.

Enter great despair.

Not to mention,these current events all came on the heels of a visit Dave and I took to Portland to visit our Muslim friends Thursday night. The evening was filled with great hope. Dave and I attended an interfaith event at Bilal Mosque with a group from the Quaker community (this community was the first to offer their support to the mosque after Sept. 11th).

Now...to be honest, I have always been skeptical of interfaith events. I usually feel as though all faiths become "watered down" at these kind of events in the name of tolerance and not wanting to step on anyone's religious toes. But, this was different. It pushed passed tolerance and moved into a deeper appreciation of faith, whether that be Muslim, Jewish, or Christian. I don't know how to explain it...other than to describe it as beautiful, pure, and authentic.

Unfortunately, this type of work isn't always valued in faith circles- especially within the fundamentalist branches of the Muslim & Christian community. Nativity (our community), and particularly Dave have been added to many prayer lists, have been confronted about "being duped" into thinking that Muslims might be "good people," and have been ostricized by a few churches in Bend for having Imam Toure speak. My favorite story involves a woman sent from her church to deliver a copy of a book called "Because they Hate," to Dave- to prove to him that all Muslims are evil. Ugggh...once again..enter great despair.

Pushing past the despair, and moving into great hope- Dave, Imam Toure, and Rabbi Areah (a friend of Toure's from Portland) have begun to plan a spiritual pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine for next year. Each community will be bringing ten representatives to learn, invest, and commit to reconciliation work pre and post trip. We met face to face after the event on Thursday evening for the first time to discuss the trip.

Enter great hope.

It was a beautiful evening. We ate food from all over the world, and enjoyed the company of people from Jordan, Turkey, Yemen, Pakistan, Senegal, Thailand, and the Philippines as we talked about the importance of taking a trip like this. I am becoming more and more convinced that with all of the problems in the middle east, we all need to move this kind of dialogue to a higher place of priority on our personal "social justice lists." As for now friends, I leave you with this:

May our conversations transcend tolerance and move to action and appreciation. May we all reach out to our Muslim brothers and sisters soon. May great hope win out over great despair. And finally, may we push our leaders to bring forth peace (with justice) in the Middle East.

Thanks for reading. We are all in this together...hold fast hope.