Greenland, Icebergs and...the Greek Orthodox Church?

Greenland, icebergs and…the Greek Orthodox Church? You betcha. Last September Patriarch Bartholomew sponsored his seventh water-borne symposium in the series “Religion, Science and the Environment.” The Patriarch is committed to being a good steward. To that end he has sponsored symposia around the world. This past symposium was titled, “The Arctic: Mirror of Life.”

The symposium highlighted a timely ecological crisis while bringing together religious leaders from around the world. They included Jews, Christians, Jains, Sikh, Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus. For this year Inuit and Saami leaders from the arctic also joined the symposium.

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew lead the leaders in common prayer. The icebergs and the coast of Greenland were the backdrop for this group of world spiritual leaders. While the services were moving the reason for being there was sobering.

The most dramatic change was been the rapid rate at which the ice shelf is melting. The ice shelf is the smallest on record and the meltage is believed to be the result of global warming. The loss of ice will effect the culture and way of life of the Greenlanders. It will also result in rising water around the world. The fear is that the result will be the disappearance of smaller island nations and the swamping of lowland coastal areas such as Bangladesh and Florida.

The members of the symposium sailed around Greenland, a trip of over 750 miles. The trip ended with services at the ruins of Tjodhilde’s Church. This is the site of the first church in North America. It was built in 1000 C.E. by Eric the Red’s wife, Tjodhilde.

Patriarch Bartholomew stated, “What must immediately take place is repentance, together with the change of life that accompanies repentance.” May it be so.

Is the Election Over Yet?

Well, the Florida Primary is almost here. Super Tuesday is almost here. I love politics, I love democracy. I do not like this system of electing a president.

I do not like a system of campaigning that involves at least two years of a candidate’s life. I can not believe all of the financial resources, the human resources and time spent that could be used for something important.

Don’t get me wrong, picking a president and picking them intelligently is important. That is not what this is about. This is about selling a candidate. This is about selling candidates who change their position to match the electorate and then call that being a leader. This is about candidates who apologize for past discrepancies between their record and their current position. Worse they apologize for any past discrepancies in their record and the party line. What about integrity, values, and standing up for what you believe?

Never mind that the majority of Americans are moderates. Most Americans want a strong defense, they want limited government but they also want services from that government. Never mind. Once the candidates run for president they run for the extremes. Moderates are viewed as “liberal” or “conservative”. It never occurs to these folks that neither word is a bad word.

So, there is not enough money for education or health care. There are not enough resources to do something to stop the genocide in Darfur. There are not enough resources to improve the infrastructure of America. But there is enough money for 24 months of campaigning. There are enough soap boxes to talk about what is really important, namely them.

The world is in a mess. Our country has challenges from all fronts. It is important that we know as much as possible about our candidates. That does not take two years. European nations can pull off an election in six weeks.

So, I will watch and listen. I will decide and decide and decide again between now and the conventions and between the conventions and November. Just please, please, please, let them all take a day off of campaigning.

Snow, Fort Wayne and a Good Dog, Yes!!!

Good News, Bad News, Good News.

Good News: I was walking my dog Reese in Foster Park early yesterday morning. The Good News is that it had snowed. The sky was clear and deep blue and the moon, three fourths full, was shinning as if it’s only purpose was to make me smile.

Reese is a great dog that follows secret trails. She sniffs out the rabbits, ground hogs, raccoons, possums and red fox. She follows their trail by scent. I am always amazed to see her catch a trail and then follow this invisible trail as it loops around, loops back, goes here and there. Well today there was snow on the ground and there were tracks. I could finally see the trail she was following.

The Bad News: it was -5 degrees, a little cold for a before breakfast walk. However, that also meant the St. Mary’s River was frozen. The sheets of ice that had moved were now frozen in place. Ice was jutting around, sheets of ice (river) were on top of other sheets of ice and it was all covered with snow. Reese and I looked down at the river, it was a beautiful sight.

Reese is not just a trail dog, she is (or rather was when she was younger and had better sight) a looking dog. She would stop, sit and watch birds in trees, she would watch airplanes and helicopters. So, looking at the river was natural.

I was also a “looker”. I was looking at the trees. It is January and they are all bare, naked to the limbs. During gray overcast days this just adds to the sense of depression. However, not today. Today the black silhouetted trees against the deep blue sky looked like something from an art gallery.

Good News, Bad news and, oh yeah, the second Good News. Last night Reese demanded a late night walk. I got my coat on opened the door and it was snowing. This was a beautiful snow. The kind of snow that looks like a combination of Ivory Soap flakes and crystal. It was thick, every step we made left large prints. Reese did what she always does in the snow, she rolled over and made “snow bears”. We walked, ran, discovered and played. So the last Good News? It is always Good News to have a dog when it is snowing.

http://www.youtube.com/v/ADcWn5ZgLQI&rel=1
Searching for Common Ground

A Common Word: A Bridge Between the Islamic and Christian World?

As stated earlier, on 13 October 2007, 138 Muslim leaders called for a dialogue between Muslim and Christian leaders. The open letter to the leaders of Christianity is known as “A Common Word Between Us and You". Some have criticized this proposal as not representing a broad enough spectrum of Islam or not representing the countries that are most identified with the War on Terror. However, a reading of the document disputes this. The signatory members represent universities, NGOs, nations, religious organizations and humanitarian organizations. The leaders in fact hail from around the globe and include members from:

Nigeria, Chad, Jordan, Morocco, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Sudan, Mauritania, France, Syria, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Algeria,
Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Russia, Slovenia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Germany. Gambia, Malaysia , Pakistan, Egypt, Oman, Iraq, Canada, Switzerland, Brunei, United Kingdom, Croatia, Palestine, Belgium, Ukraine, Kosovo, Indonesia, India, Uzbekistan , and Syria.

The letter points out that half of the world’s population consists of members of these two world religions. The writers believe that without dialogue, without peace between these two faiths there cannot be peace in the world. They then identify the common ground on which to dialogue. This includes Love of God and Love for Your Neighbors. The writers point out that these two tenets of faith can be found over and over in the scriptures of both faiths.

Over 300 Christian leaders from around the world and from various denominations have responded positively to this initiative. On Nov. 19, 2007 the Vatican responded, stating, "Without ignoring or downplaying our differences as Christians and Muslims, we can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely the belief in one God.” A working meeting is scheduled between the Vatican and members of the open letter.

Those critical of the letter or at least pessimistic about its impact have elucidated a number of concerns. These include that a reading of the document makes it clear that the signatories view their faith more favorably than Christianity. However, when have leaders of faiths or denominations not viewed their faith or denomination as superior to others? If they do not hold this view why are they the leaders of that faith?

Another concern is the discrepancy between love of neighbor and the human rights violations and religious discriminations of Christians by Muslims in some Islamic nations. While this is a valid concern the counterpoint would be that Islamic citizens also are the target of hate crimes and discrimination in Christian nations. The call for dialogue is not to deny problems but to open up a forum to solve problems.

A reading of the blogosphere will reveal numerous articles that bring up the Muslim massacres of minorities over the centuries. There is no value in denying history. At the same time the counter point could easily be the religious wars of Europe, the Crusades or imperialism in the name of God. There is enough guilt for everyone. The signatories are asking to focus on the tenets of each faith and not the failings of each faith’s followers.

I remember citizens in Iran, Jordan and Egypt standing in solidarity with America after the attacks of September 11th. I remember Islamic scholars denouncing the terrorists and I remember Americans asking why Muslims weren’t standing up to terror! I did not understand how those responses could be ignored and I do not understand how this current offer to dialogue, to attempt to bridge differences can so easily be viewed as suspect.

Father Dan Madigan SJ, founder of the Institute for the Study of Religions at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome and member of the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims, points out that the Christian West distorts history when they point to Islam as the “greatest threat to mankind”. His arguments to the contrary include:

In the past 15 years millions of Christians have been killed in Africa by fellow Christians
A Catholic missionary is “dozens of times” more likely to be killed in Latin America than in the Muslim world
The 20th century witnessed the murder of millions of Jews by people who grew up in Christian nations

There is no doubt that we are living in a new age of martyrdom. The plight of Christian minorities throughout the world is a very real and serious concern. There is no doubt that many followers of Islam fear their faith is being threatened by the secular West. However, we might do better to respond not only as theologians and religious leaders to this call for dialogue. Perhaps we need to respond as the parents and brothers and sisters of those who have died, of the innocents. There has been too much suffering, too much killing and dying. The plight of Christians and Muslims just trying to live in the world, the death of our loved ones and the tenets of our faiths demand that we talk to one another, that we talk to our neighbors.

Here I am Lord

Here I am Lord, St. Josephs Cathedral Choir, Hyderabad, India.

Pray for Christian Unity: Over and over, and over and...

This is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We, all Christians of various denominations and Rites, are to pray unceasingly for unity. We are to recognize that there is more that unites us than divides us, there is more that we agree on than we disagree on.

I agree but it is difficult. We all know that we are right and yet it is not about us! We started out as one church but when were there not divisions? Certainly Saints Peter and Paul knew of divisions. Were we to follow the Law, stay kosher, and follow all the old commandments? Were the Gentiles, the Greeks free of the Law and yet open to salvation? Certainly the Church Fathers knew divisions, otherwise why all of the Ecumenical Councils? Certainly the Bishops and Metropolitans knew division, the Bishop of Rome was first among equals and yet the councils met everywhere except Rome.

Disunity has resulted in so much loss. The churches of the East and of Northern Africa are diminished in size but not in contribution to the Body. Yet where is our support and appreciation of these churches. We (many Christian denominations) send missionaries to the lands of the Eastern Churches to make them like us, Western. Why are we not helping them survive as a testament to their heritage and contribution to all of us?

If there were not divisions than why so many Romes? First Rome than Constantinople the Second Rome, then Kiev and then Moscow the New Romes. Schisms, Reformation, Inquisitions, Holy Wars, all in the name of one God, one Church. Yes, let’s pray for Christian Unity!

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is the result of the ecumenical movement. It is an attempt to heal the divisions within the Church. We are to reflect on: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." We are to reflect on: “when two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Mt 18:20) In the United States this year the Society of Atonement marks one hundred years of praying for Christian Unity.

In 1894 Cardinal Mercier wrote the “Testament of Mercier”. This is the foundation of Unity Week. The Cardinal stated,

In order to unite with one another, we must love one another;
in order to love one another, we must know one another;
in order to know one another, we must go and meet one another.

You can tell when unity is present by its gifts. The Council of Churches in Sudan consists of the Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Episcopalian Church, African Pentecostal Church, African Inland Church, and the African Interior Church. They have been instrumental in negotiating a peace settlement that has ended a 21 year civil war, the longest war in African history.

The Roman Catholic Church and various Orthodox leaders have cautiously but continually been exploring points of unity. Lutherans, Anglicans and Catholics continue this important dialogue. Peace Churches find ways to work with one another to achieve peace while not minimizing their important theological differences.

All over the world one can find examples of denominations sharing resources and personel in an attempt to feed the poor, heal the sick and advocate for justice. Still, the divisions are real and they interfere with these good works.

So, again, let us pray for Christian Unity.

Pax