Musings

Endorsed and Entangled

If Barack Obama asked me to endorse him, I'd have to excommunicate him for his own good.

That's my conclusion after the messy consequences of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's association with Obama, and of Pastor John Hagee's proclaimed support for John McCain.  The gonzological utterances of these pastors have given all of us Christian clergy a bad rap, to say nothing of the harm they've done to the candidates they aimed to support.  The best thing that religious leaders can do for their favored candidates, and for our profession, is to avoid the entanglement that comes with endorsement.

That won't stop me, nor should it stop spiritual communities, from taking action on issues that figure significantly in the upcoming presidential election.  Issues like the overwhelming need for comprehensive health care reform, so that Americans finally get universal, single-payer medical coverage that is enjoyed by citizens of most other industrialized nations.  Issues like America's occupation of Iraq, which needs to end swiftly.  Issues like how to deal with Iran and Syria and Palestine/Israel - it is time for our nation to show its true strength by talking directly with their leaders, working hard to deal with the root causes of conflict wherever possible, instead of stonewalling and saber-rattling.  Issues like ending America's disastrous "war on drugs" and adopting a more humane and pragmatic "harm-reduction" approach instead.   Issues like breaking up our prison-industrial complex, giving judges more flexibility in sentencing and giving inmates more opportunities for education and rehabilitation.  Issues like marriage equality:  giving support for the California court decision making gay and lesbian marriages possible. (Anybody out there whose straight marriage is falling apart because gay marriage is now allowed?) 

Strongly as I feel about these issues, the Christ inspires me to a humility that avoids claiming that my opinion is God's, a humility that admits that I don't have the last word on how society best should be ordered.  The Christian faith calls us to care deeply about all the great issues of our day, and take action in response.  But it doesn't unequivocally explain how these questions should be answered. 

So I'll stick with Jesus' gospel of kindness and love that impels me to care about matters political, and also reminds me to stay open to the perspectives of people who disagree with me.  I'll avoid the pitfalls of mixing my pastoral role with partisanship: I'd never vote for a politician who would advertise my endorsement!
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PS for my fellow Northern Californians: I hope you'll join me at a rally for universal, single-payer health care at noon on June 19th, Thurs, at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, 4th and Howard: www.singlepayernow.net for more info.  I'll be there with a contingent the California Council of Churches, to protest in front of the annual convention of the health insurance industry.

PS for all Californians:  I hope you'll join me in voting no on Prop 98 and yes on Prop 99.  Proposition 98 poses as "reform" of the eminent domain laws, but hidden in its wording is a provision that would end all rent control laws in California.  Proposition 99 is a reasonable, minor reform of eminent domain laws.  Having been involved in an eminent domain proceeding once, I saw how important it is for local governments to have this power - as long as it is exercised fairly toward property owners.

Welcome Home

Lee Gernand’s heart ached as she looked out of the window of her upper-floor apartment in Palo Alto, California.  There, below her, sleeping in the bushes along San Francisquito Creek, was her son.  When he was stricken with schizophrenia as a young adult, she did all she could to find help for him.  His illness resulted in behavior that made it impossible for him to live in her home.  The security guards at her condo complex wouldn’t let him in the door.   And in those days it was harder to find shelter and services for him elsewhere.  The anguish of seeing him living in the rough, right before her eyes, was overwhelming.

Her story touched my heart and the hearts of the others who came together in the early 1980’s to create the Urban Ministry, in order to provide better services for people like her son.  Lee was unstinting in her support for our organization.  There was only so much she could do for her own son, so she channeled her mother-love into strong advocacy for the mentally ill and homeless in our community.  She was one of the founders of a local group that later became part of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.  For decades, Lee advocated for local, state, and national legislation to improve services for mentally ill people.  She was the soothing voice on the other end of the phone when distraught family members called NAMI for advice.  She was fluent in the acronyms and argot of the mental health field, but more often than not, her greatest service was simply listening with compassion.

Lee didn’t look like a radical.  She loved nice clothes and, as her daughters report, she wouldn’t even go downstairs to pick up her mail without first putting on her lipstick.  But she was a force to be reckoned with, as any local politician could attest.  She was living proof for anyone who doubted that a citizen without gobs of money or special connections has the power to change “the system”.

Lee Gernand knew and loved many of the people who lived on the streets of Palo Alto.  She, like the rest of us who worked with the Urban Ministry, was appalled that our homeless program was itself homeless, operating our drop-in center outdoors from an old Winnebago parked behind the Red Cross building, in the heat of summer and the rains of winter.  So it was a poignant moment for both of us when, at a NAMI meeting, she presented me with a check for $50,000 from its chapter in Santa Clara County to help fund the construction of the Opportunity Center.  It was also a joy to see her beaming face in the crowd a few years ago, when the Center was dedicated.  The building, which houses formerly homeless people and also shelters the Urban Ministry’s drop-in center, embodied her deepest intentions.

Lee’s son now lives in a board and care home.  Life is better for him and many other people who live with this kind of disability, in part because of the loving dedication of his mom and so many others like her.

Lee died on May 7 at the age of 94.  I had the privilege of officiating at her memorial service yesterday.  She died at home, and her family told me that was just the way she wanted it.  She wanted to finish her days in the place she called her own.  She also wanted that for the people she loved, and for people she never met.  Something more than a damp sleeping bag by the side of the creek, or a battered motor home in a parking lot.  On the other side of the river of life, I pray she’s hearing voices saying, “Lee, welcome home!”

Island Prayer

Island Prayer

I scan for your island horizon
I follow the fish in your sea
I swim past the stones in your tidepool
And slide on the sand of your beach

I study your tracks in the ocean
I’m guided by stars in your sky
I aim myself toward your volcano
And follow your birds as they fly

I slip on the paths in your jungle
And slosh through your tumbling creeks
In each step of my seeking I find you
As I climb up the spines of your peaks….

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PS: Have a look at my updated website, OPENCHRISTIANITY.COM - especially the new pages for KIDSOUL - progressive, pluralistic, interfaith resources for families with kids.  I'd love to get your suggestions re: resources, programs, materials, and curricula for families that want to raise their children in a spiritual but not necessarily traditionally religious manner. Also, I'd love ideas and feedback from you for my whole openchristianity.com site.  By the way, my first book, OPEN CHRISTIANITY, is back in print - you can get it at this specific site: Open Christianity at Amazon.com (the version now in print is from St Johann Press)