tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35364210752552748182024-02-18T21:19:11.728-08:00Katie H.Reflections from a vegan, low waste, nerdy, co-pastor Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536421075255274818.post-90545346191223906452021-02-21T16:22:00.002-08:002021-02-21T16:22:42.825-08:00I've moved! <p> <span face=""Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Hi Friends! </span></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Thanks so much for following this blog! It has been my blogging home for a number of years! Some of these posts have migrated to my new website home. That will include more blogging, as well as worship resources. </div><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">I have moved to <a href="http://katieheishman.com"><span style="color: #2288bb;">k</span>atieheishman.com</a>. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">New last name, new era, new blog. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://katieheishman.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Won't you join me? </span></b></a></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536421075255274818.post-34875995333641671652019-06-01T12:28:00.002-07:002019-06-01T12:28:08.683-07:00Because of Rachel Held Evans <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Rachel Held Evans came into my life through her words. She came into my world, in my early 20s, when I was exploring what it means to be a female Christian leader. I first found her through her book “Biblical Womanhood” and immediately was drawn to her invitational way of wrestling with scripture. She explored scripture with humbling, poignant, humorous reflection and I deeply resonated with her writings. She brought women and their experiences of scripture forefront in that book and she reclaimed what it meant to be an Eshet Chayil, a woman of valor. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">She was a female mentor to me when I had been longing for female mentors. When I had been longing to know what it truly means to be female and a faith leader. Her voice and the voices of Sarah Bessey, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and Sarah Miles were formative for me during that time in my early 20s. I consumed all of these books written by incredible women faith leaders because I was longing to discover how to be a woman faith leader in my own right. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I was surrounded and worked with so many incredible women faith leaders during that time. It was a blessing to work at the General Offices and have the opportunity to interact with so many incredible people. Emily. Becky. Tracy. Mary-Jo. Chris. Dana. Donna(s). Kim. All Christian female leaders in their own way and all formative for my own leadership in meaningful ways. I remember, specifically, leading a chapel service and being given the warmest, most encouraging hugs from Mary-Jo, Chris, Donna, Becky, Emily. I don’t remember the service I led, but the affirmation and encouragement of these wonderful women is a vibrant, warm memory. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">After diving into Biblical Womanhood, I read Rachel’s other books about her own faith formation and soul-searching. I continued to read her blogs through the years and rejoiced when she announced her pregnancy. I appreciated her words and reflection as current events took place. She was a voice of comfort, a voice of reason, a voice of deep theologically thinking spoken to everyday people. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The loss of Rachel Held Evans is stirring in me the sadness and rage I felt at the loss of female leaders in my own denomination gone before their time. I grieve the enormous loss of her leading and the formation of people to come. I mourn and rage the unfairness that such vibrant and powerful life can be extinguished. I grieve the loss of her continued voice, her continued teaching, and continued prophesying and preaching. I grieve the loss of her vibrant life for her husband and her children, for her family, and her friends who journeyed with her. I grieve her loss and all that was yet to be. </span></div>
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536421075255274818.post-18306229173644958062019-04-28T18:03:00.000-07:002019-04-28T18:03:00.097-07:00Sermon | The Goodness of Creation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few weeks ago in Bible Study, we were studying a scripture in Matthew leading up to Easter and we asked those gathered: “where and how do you experience God?” And after a moment, every single person responded with some aspect of nature. The beach with toes sinking into the sand and the dull roar of the waves crashing onto land. In the blooms of spring and in the bird songs chirping and singing their delight at the changing seasons. Or in the those special camping trips that really allow you to escape light pollution and to see every tiny pin-prick of star. The promise of God’s love and commitment to us in the sign of the rainbow in the sky. God is revealed to us in the created world because God was and is the creator. God’s fingerprints are on it all and for many of us, when we touch nature we touch God. <br /><br />The first creation story in Genesis is not meant to be a scientific explanation of the origins of our planet and universe, but a theological one. This scripture tells us about God and the character of God and that God’s fingerprints are indeed on every part of the created world. Through the creation of the world, we learn that our God is a God who creates. Our creative God made the complex systems necessary for our life on this planet. <br /><br /><b>Our creative God</b> made the honey bees, which when they find a good source of nectar fly back to their hive and show their friends where the source is by doing a dance that positions the flower in relation to the sun and hive. <br /><br /><b>Our creative God</b> made the spider, who has silk that is thinner than human hair, but also five times stronger than STEEL of the same width! <br /><br /><b>Our creative God</b> made the trees, which themselves create air for us to breath by lifting up to 100 gallons of water out of the ground and transforming it into oxygen! <br /><br /><b> Our creative God </b>made this planet, which is the only planet in our solar system able to sustain abundant and diverse LIFE. <br /><br /> God’s creation is incredible! The complexity and the creativity of the natural world around us is breathtaking and humbling to behold. It’s no wonder that when we look to nature, we find God there. <br /><br /> In the beginning, God spoke into being the lights in the sky, the waterways and oceans, and creatures of every kind. God made everything in perfect order--creating the systems necessary to sustain life on planet earth and then populating the earth with plants, animals and then humans. Along the way, every single thing that God did and created was named “good.” Each element of life and the elements necessary to sustain life are declared good. We are part of God’s creation and, male and female alike, share the unique blessing of being made in the image or images of God. <br /><br />As God says to humanity after their creation, “Fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Some have exploited this, thinking that the earth is ours to exploit and use without thinking of the generations that will come after. That the earth is ours to use however we see fit without thought for brothers and sisters around the world who suffer from the greed of a few. Yet, if we are made in the image of God, we are blessed with a similar spirit of creativity and capability of love for the created world. <br /><br />When we look to other parts of scripture, we can discern that an ethic of exploitation is not God’s intention for the “rule” of the land. Even from the perspective of the Old Testament, God desires a much different kind of dominion or rule than one based in exploitation alone. In Psalm 72, the psalmist shares a coronation Psalm for King Solomon, saying, (8) “May he have dominion [radah] from sea to sea…” Ruling and having dominion is what Kings did. Yet, later in the Psalm, the psalmist goes into specifics about what that dominion looks like: (12-14) “he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.” The rule and dominion are to be focused on the poor and the needy and on delivering them from oppression and violence. “As a ruler accepts taxes and tributes from his subjects, so too we receive a bountiful sustenance from the fruits of creation.” And at the same time, we have an obligation to guard the natural beauty, preserve endangered species, and even work to restore those places which have been ruled with force and harshness.” <br /><br />When we read the Bible from the perspective of Jesus, we are reminded of what kind of ruler and leader Jesus was on earth. He paid attention to the little ones, he spent time with the sick, he criticized systems of injustice. He spent more time preaching from mounts and hillsides than in buildings, he prayed and spent time alone in the wilderness and in gardens, he navigated the seas by boats and ate with his friends on the beach. In today’s second scripture, the Pharisees are attempting to test Jesus by asking him, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” For one, there were ten basic commandments, but there were also rules about ritual purity and temple worship that Jesus would have to sift through, but instead he doesn’t hesitate. He responds with: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest. Meaning that Jesus had answered their question and could have left the conversation there, but he went on to name the second commandment, which is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Everything can rest on these two. <br /><br />When we are discerning how we are to live our lives as faithful disciples, we can ask ourselves, “Is this an example of me loving God with all of my heart, soul, and mind? And is this an action that demonstrates a love for my neighbor as I love myself?” These two commandments, Jesus states, are what all of the teachings of the Law and the Prophets are based on. So, as we think about “ruling” or caring for God’s created world--do our actions show a Love of God with heart, soul, and mind? Do these choices I’m making show a love for neighbor? <br /><br />We might not think about the environment and its connection to our faith very often, because as a society we are more disconnected from the natural world. Most of us don’t live the majority of our lives in the elements or know the names of the people who are growing our food and their unique struggles. When I was in the camping world, we would talk about whole generations of children being diagnosed with “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Or a lack of time spent outdoors leading to depression, anxiety, a disregard for life, and attention problems. We as a culture are separated from the natural world and as a result our faith is disconnected from the natural world. <br /><br />The authors of Genesis would have lived close to the elements and in a much more intentionally connected natural system. When a drought struck California, they couldn’t rely on Mexico or Brazil to provide produce in the way that we can. When disaster struck, they might be forced to migrate to a completely new region in search of better conditions, the way that Naomi’s family must migrate for food in the book of Ruth. We have the privilege of turning a tap for water, instead of drawing it from a well or walking to collect it. It’s this kind of disconnect from the natural world that has led to the transformation of our culture into throw-away culture and one ruled by bottom lines and not sustainability for the future. <br /><br />This throw away culture has led to the creation of products that are made with the sole intent of being used one time and then being discarded. Things like to-go containers, plastic straws and silverware, Starbucks or gas station cups, ziploc bags, and plastic bottles are all items that had to have resources extracted from the ground, created, shipped, are used for a very short time some as little as 30 minutes, and then live forever in a landfill. Is that really the most creative thing that we could come up with? Our creating God endowed us with the similar qualities of creativity and love of creation and we have allowed ourselves to settle with a throw-away culture.<br /><br />Our trash lives forever in landfills, instead of being part of natural processes of decomposition that return nutrients and minerals back to the ground. And these landfills are becoming bigger, and bigger and are built in the backyards of our poorer neighbors, who are predominantly black and brown brothers and sisters. The poor and the disenfranchised don’t have the social capital to stop landfills from being built in their backyards. And sometimes these landfills malfunction and break. A local landfill, which is really so large it’s known as a megafill, broke resulting in mercury leaks into the surrounding waters, a trash-slide, and uncontrollable fires. This megafill is located outside of Cinncinati and is the highest point in the area dubbing it Mount Rumpke. Many of us probably have our trash picked up by Rumpke. <br /><br />We don’t have to think about our trash, because we don’t have to see our trash. We have tucked it away into the backyards of our neighbors and down the road a bit where we can’t see it. If we had to keep track of the trash we created and see it piling up--we’d become completely overwhelmed by it. What if every water bottle, pop bottle, paper plate, plastic silverware, coffee cups, paper towels--what if every piece of trash we made as a church was placed in our beautiful green yard by the East parking lot. Every week another bag or two would be added. Every time we had a potluck heaps of bags would be added from lunch plates and leftover food dumped out. We would take notice and we would look for a solution. We would look for a way to limit the amount of trash that we made if we truly had to reckon with it. <br /><br />As Christians, what impacts one vein of creation ultimately affects us all. And in the midst of an imperfect, broken system, we have to ask: is this what God really intended? Is this how God wanted us to use our creativity? Does God look at what we have done with this beautiful, plentiful intricate creation and say, “it is good. It is very good”? <br /><br /><b>What would God say about… </b><br />The steady collapse of bee colonies with beekeepers losing 30-90% of their honey bees every winter from an extensive use of pesticides. <br /><br /><b>What would God say about… </b><br />A world that was plentiful and rich with natural, lush rainforest, but within 100 years there may be no rainforests due to clear-cutting for agricultural grazing land. <br /><br /><b>What would God say about… </b><br />People fleeing their countries because of violence caused by lack of food and basic resources from changing climates. <br /><br /><b>What would God say about… </b><br />A whole colony of penguins disappearing overnight because of the collapse of sea ice from warming water temperatures. <br /><br /><b>What would God say about… </b><br />The way we pull precious resources from the ground for a plastic fork we use for 30 minutes and then toss into a landfill for eternity. <br /><br /><b>Would God say, “Yeah, this is all very good?” </b><br /><br />One of the greatest problems with our throw-away culture is that it has convinced us that there will always be more. There will be more plastic bottles to drink from, there will be more places to put our trash, there will be always be access to green space and there will always be every kind of produce at the grocery store. Yet, as Christians, God is calling us to look around and take heed that at our current pace and current practices aren’t ones that promote the life-cycle of the world--one of rejuvenation and reusing--but instead are ones that promote depletion and destruction. As caretakers, how are we making choices now that will impact our children and grandchildren? <br /><br />When I was a young girl, I lived next door to my great-grandfather. He was in his 80s, when I was born and I just adored him. He was a rural Virginian man wearing a uniform of a worn white t-shirt and weathered blue jeans with a baseball cap. He kept a huge produce garden between his house and his field of beef cattle. He grew corn, green beans, lima beans, tomatoes, beets, and on and on. I loved running through the corn when it grew tall, but my favorite part of the garden was the sunflowers. He grew sunflowers that towered over my elementary school frame with blooms bigger than my head. Bees and butterflies would fly in and around the sunflowers--drawn to their beauty and their pollen. <br /><br />One time we were walking in the garden together and a butterfly was fluttering by and my grandfather stuck out his hand and the butterfly landed right on him. He just held so still as that butterfly rested in his hand. I remember thinking that moment was so magical. That was over 20 years ago and in that time the Monarch Butterfly population has declined by 80%. Butterflies and little honey bees aren’t just cute, but are necessary pollinators for the produce that we eat. And the use of intense herbicides for soy and corn crops, especially, impact the pollinator populations. Does God call this good? <br /><br />The choices we make about truly caring for creation extend beyond honoring resources and making less trash, but include daily choices like shorter showers, and planning our commutes and car usage. It might mean that we keep those pesky bright yellow dandelions in our yard for the pollinators, instead of using herbicides which kill pollinator populations. Or intentionally plant some milkweed, which gives a place for butterflies to lay their eggs and sustenance. It might mean stopping your use of single use plastics and disposables and swapping them for things which can be reused over and over again. Perhaps, you take a walk or a bike for short trips instead of driving your car. Maybe you think about the impacts of industrial agricultural production on waterways, forests, and neighbors and limit the amount of red meat you have in the week. These are all individual actions that can be taken in the midst of a system that has been created imperfectly, and that is broken in relation to our environment. They’re not perfect actions, but they are movements toward a type of rule that God describes. <br /><br /> Remembering our Bible Study, and the way that every single person had experience God’s love, God’s goodness, God’s promises in creation...I think about our brothers and sisters around the world who are not privileged with access to green spaces the way that we might be. I wonder if it is hard for them to experience God in the created world, too? Do they feel God’s presence when their water is polluted and undrinkable? Do they see God’s hands in the lack of food caused by changing climates? Do they experience God as their local Amazon forests are bulldozed for more grazing land? We are privileged to have places like State and National Parks and Dayton’s amazing metro parks, which preserve so much green space and allow for a place set apart to see God in the created world. Yet, there are ways that humans are “ruling” that do not promote the care of creation in a way for God’s children to find God within. If I have the privilege of becoming a great-grandparent will I be able to stand in a garden with my great-grandchildren and teach them about the importance of butterflies and wait patiently for one to land on my outstretched hand? Will I be able, in my old age, to point to rainbows and clean beaches and the return of spring as signs of God’s goodness? <br /><br /> My prayer is that we will live in God-honoring and earth-honoring ways that connect us to the goodness of God found in creation. My prayer is that we connect with the natural world around us so that our understanding of God increases. My prayer is that your experiences of God in nature remind you that we are all connected through God’s beautiful web of creation and we have been called to love God and neighbor. <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536421075255274818.post-40574274991459813852017-12-16T07:10:00.002-08:002018-01-13T17:23:23.808-08:00Touching the Dark Side Within Us All (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">In <i>Star Wars: The
Last Jedi</i>, Rey (Daisy Ridley) is on Ahch-To and has finally convinced Luke
(Mark Hamill) to train her in the Jedi ways. Her very first lesson is an
invitation to sit on the mountain side and “reach out.” She experiences the
force—peace, violence, life, death, new life rising—and the balance of it all. As
she meditates she is drawn to the dark side, it invites her and calls to her.
She goes. Luke is terrified of her power and her willingness to reach out to
the dark side so easily. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">This revelation of
Rey’s power and inclination could be devastating to fans who expect her to be a
Luke Skywalker figure. A savior who is fully light <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+1%3A5&version=NRSV">“and
in him there was no darkness.”</a> We expect this spunky, pure girl to be fully
light and to be the much-needed counterpart to the First Order’s darkness. But
she’s not pure light. No one is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">During Rey’s time on
Ahch-To she seeks out the dark side of the island. She heads to the underbelly
hoping to find out who her parents are and effectively, who is she. The dark side
of the island is a cave with a towering glass wall. Rey once again reaches out
to the darkness touching the cloudy wall. Instantly, she experiences past and
anticipates future in a long series of Reys upon Reys. Her actions
reverberating as if in a chamber.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://culturess.com/2017/10/03/star-wars-last-jedi-ahch-not-far-far-away/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="850" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vPKWElkX44DgTgylzU6TlF-Q0GE4isrXc9BycLJ6CKjnZbIp48_fe3DO-NMJcrADzKLe-776jYA-ep9OVZSFHDILAeR2kWbzvZ3qPXkdyO8WIURRdz5Ky4joxTPcIAAh_lcRAJOQNMv3/s400/Rey+and+the+Darkness.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">As she allows
herself to move closer to the darkness, the foggy, frozen wall begins to clear
as figures move closer on the other side. However, it is Rey she sees and not
her parents. She is the only one revealed to herself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">Later in the film,
Kylo Ren and Rey have an exchange about her parents. They’ve been connected by
the powers of the Force through Snoke and have seen hidden parts of each other.
He encourages her to name who her parents were because, perhaps, she’s always
known and just hidden it away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">“They were nobody.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">Perhaps she had
always known that. She had lived on Jakku long enough to ask around about her
origin. It’s easier to compartmentalize and tuck it away. Of course, she reached
to the dark side hoping for answers to her question. The identity of her
parents and the hope of their return consumed her in the first film. Their identity
consumes her still. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">In the dark side of
Ahch-To, she didn’t reach out to the darkness to be consumed by it as others
have been. She reached out to touch it, to feel it, to understand, to know.
There will always be feelings of loneliness, anger, abandonment, jealousy, or
bitterness. We always have those emotions within our reach and they will come
and go in our lives. Rey is allowing herself to touch her dark emotions, but
not to be consumed by them. She touches her loneliness and doubt about
self-worth, but she does not remain there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">In Christianity, we
suffer from the same fears of the dark side as the Jedi. Our common metaphors
for goodness center around light and light banishing out darkness. We feel
comfortable centering our worship and praise around these things. Light is good
and dark is bad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">Historically, this
has led to awful theology which has driven white supremacy and the separation
of the races. It’s a theology which permeates our Christian life today and
white supremacy ideology continues to influence our institutions. What is the
redeeming theology of darkness that we have been too afraid to touch? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;">Star Wars: The Last Jedi</span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"> invites us into this theology in many ways.
Those people which we have always anticipated as solidly good are not as we
imagined. Those people which we had believed to be solidly bad are not
necessarily so. The balance of the Force, the balance of life is that bad and
good reside in all of us. Dark and light reside in all of us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><a href="https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2017/09/new-image-of-rey-from-star-wars-the-last-jedi/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="819" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRK2droGe-RQP8QMFyGzDD1H1tlHtRxe93fr7yjVcl_lI4eHLUHHpzaHxWlvCWXOv1WkMfk5VyI9TZdypolB00gdOezZ5bnliHE5xK2w_dn0GZ4RfPto8qVOQ-FCjDnN-b16JL55hSwGsu/s400/Rey-Star-Wars-The-Last-Jedi-1.jpg" width="400" /></a><span id="goog_722659427"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_722659428"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">Just as the sun
passes from day to night, we cannot have light always. The writers of the Old
Testament understood the complex nature of life, injustice, hardship, and the
need for lament. The range of human emotion is experienced in the Old Testament
and the dark side of the soul is touched. Our own savior, Jesus Christ, had to
enter darkness in order for resurrection and new life to be possible. That is
the balance of Christian life that is the balance of the Force. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">As Rey entered the
dark side of Ahch-To to truly understand herself, so we must be willing to
enter the dark parts of our own soul. If we’re not careful, we can be consumed
by rage and harden our hearts. But it is not wrong to reach out and allow
ourselves to truly feel the dark side of the soul. It is what we choose to do
with those emotions that makes us somebody. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;">If you’re looking for a prayer that will help
you acknowledge and truly feel “dark” emotions or “light” emotions, I would
suggest the Welcoming Prayer. <a href="http://www.thought-management.com/welcoming-prayer/">Here are some
helpful resources</a> for <a href="http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/category/category/welcoming-prayer">practicing
Welcoming Prayer</a> in your own life. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536421075255274818.post-16245133743359829762017-01-05T08:14:00.001-08:002018-01-13T17:36:18.425-08:00Christian Ethic for Vegetarianism <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Vegetarianism as a Christian value has been an evolving ethic for me. It has been inspired by many books, experiences, and conversations over the years. I began my vegetarian journey in 2010 and have been refusing meat for almost seven years. Really the root of my decision to pursue a vegetarian lifestyle is based in my belief in Christian non-violence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace and came to overturn imperialistic oppression, set us free from violence and sin, and show us a third way of living in the world. Jesus taught the love of enemies and the intentional, relational care of the "least of these." Jesus proclaims Good News for the poor and release for the captives and I believe this extends to all of the created world.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLtPPO7PQfYfzQH1Y09kGki-R6FBplCcSgftESscJx0gS9oVLhsWXHzKrgQLs1BzZsvCGf7EvDue3-spN9gI2Qig9oXF0qzoq5KDN76qHazImLwb7yCKg3AY3VZ23aFQ9cjvh295Dk3e2/s1600/IMG_0890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLtPPO7PQfYfzQH1Y09kGki-R6FBplCcSgftESscJx0gS9oVLhsWXHzKrgQLs1BzZsvCGf7EvDue3-spN9gI2Qig9oXF0qzoq5KDN76qHazImLwb7yCKg3AY3VZ23aFQ9cjvh295Dk3e2/s400/IMG_0890.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Non-violence towards the land. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">In Genesis 2, humanity is born of dust. We are creatures OF the land--creatures created to till and serve the land. Our current agricultural system makes use of the land in an extremely unsustainable way. A way that is destructive, violent and not sustainable for all life on Earth, let alone all human life on Earth. The amount of land, water, and grain to feed to produce meat is astronomical compared to a vegan or even vegetarian based diet.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Water. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Around <a href="http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/10/909.full" target="_blank">2,500 </a>gallons of water is consumed in the production of a single pound of beef. If I had a single pound of beef <i>each week</i> 130,000 gallons of water would have been used. In relation to showers and water usage, if I took a 10 minute shower at 5 gallons a minute every single day of the year I would have consumed <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html" target="_blank">18,250</a>. While limiting showers and water usage in our home is important that's a small, small amount compared to the impact that our meat consumption has on creation. Not to mention the pollution of water-ways and ocean dead zones as a result of concentrated agriculture.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Land. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">A vegan diet uses 1/18th of the land that a meat-eater does in the course of a year. Over 45% of the Earth's landmass is being used for animal agriculture, which is a threat to the rainforest (and their indigenous populations-humans, animals, and plants). We argue about the ability to feed Earth's burgeoning population -- and yet, we possess more than enough land to feed and sustain humanity on a healthy vegan or vegetarian diet.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Non-violence towards other creatures. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Jesus calls us to care for the least of these. He continually draws attention to societies minorities in the form of women, children, the sick, lonely, imprisoned, and so on. Jesus' Kingdom is radical and upside down from the world around us.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Humans. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">I could not kill an animal myself--how could I ask that of someone else? The act of killing another animals is brutal. The mass production, industrialization of animals means that humans involved in slaughterhouses are killing many, many animals each day. <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/slaughter/slaughterhouse.html" target="_blank">One person's</a> job may be the slit a cows throat over and over again (after a metal bolt has been smashed into it's head). It's a difficult, ugly job to kill something in this way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">I see a connection between the killing of animals and the killing of humans. Often a murder or rape or killing occurs because someone has degraded, or dehumanized another. We can make others into <i>animals</i> justifying a killing because of a belief that they are less than human. A vegetarian ethic could, by extension, hold all human life with a higher value because of a value of other creatures.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Non-Human creatures. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Our Christian origin story in Genesis 1 and 2 suggests that God's idyllic plan for creation is vegetarianism.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">"God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so." - Genesis 1:29-30, NRSV</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">While we don't live at the beginning of Creation or in the Garden of Eden, our Christian call is to live as if we are in the Kingdom of God for it is surely among us (Luke 17:21). Not only does God prescribe a vegan lifestyle in the book of Genesis, but God proclaims that all of creation is <i>good.</i> We give reasons for not eating our cats and dogs, but the same reasons could apply to pigs, who are much smarter than dogs! Mountains and oceans, birds of the air and the fish of the sea, the flowering plants and creepy crawling land animals are all inherently <i>good </i>in the sight of God. Independent of our reliance on creation for sustenance and our very livelihood--creation has it's own worth independent of us. <i>Who are we to abuse and to kill?</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Do you practice a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle as a Christian? Why or why not? </span></div>
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536421075255274818.post-16568584277642157042016-10-27T12:23:00.000-07:002016-10-27T12:24:29.885-07:00So great a cloud of witnessess...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This October has been one of the most beautiful that I can remember. Brisk, cool mornings--the dew soaking my shoes through before 9 am. October: month of reflection, preparation, cool mornings and hot, sunny afternoons. Last October was an emotional roller coaster of a time: a dear woman passed away, Tim and I learned of the job we now hold, our wedding was two months away, and we were two months into our year-long internship.<br />
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<b>October 15, 2015</b> | A gorgeous day spent outside with fellow seminarians making apple cider. It was in the midst of this community that I learned of Tracy's passing. In the midst of the most perfect fall day of flannel, organic apples, and fresh-pressed cider, we learned of the worst news imaginable. They don't go together--the joy and perfection of a fall day and the death of a beautiful, kind, joyful woman.<br />
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<b>October 15, 2016</b> | Was the same kind of day. The quintessential fall day of cool mornings, vibrant leaves, and warm afternoons. Most of this day was spent in a classroom for a weekend intensive. I had been asked to craft a worship center on the theme "A Great Cloud of Witnesses." A year removed from her death, I reflected on the woman whom I consider to be one of my witnesses. As I moved heavy bricks, wound tulle, and lit candles, I remembered Tracy. I remembered her excited phone call upon receiving my Bethany application. I remembered Tracy tearfully, purposefully, mightily standing up for young women ministers. I remembered Tracy's beautiful worship style and invitational leadership. I remembered our walk to enjoy Harvey's in Bridgewater--talking about call and the happiness in our lives. I remembered her talking about her future husband and meeting him online, and how it's okay to date outside the Brethren pool. I remembered meeting her after she had raced through the airport to make our international flight to Burma. I remembered joy, belly laughs, intentional conversation, journeys, bible studies, ice cream, and real talk.<br />
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I was in the chapel of Bethany Seminary--in a place to which Tracy had helped call me, had journeyed with me. The perfect fall light illuminating the otherwise dim, dormant sanctuary. Her rays of light continue to shine upon me like the hot afternoon October sun--adding warmth to a cool day.<br />
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536421075255274818.post-14844604966092486982016-01-21T13:02:00.000-08:002018-01-15T09:25:09.926-08:00Dishes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It was a natural choice—using the beloved, collected dishes from my mother and grandmother’s curio cabinets. Dishes so loved they live behind glass windows—like a piece of fine art in a museum. It was a natural choice to use the collections of Mamaw’s and Mama’s plates and tea cups—thrifted from Goodwill or yard sales, found in auction boxes and on wooden shelves. The church plates were a light green, plastic, and simply obscene for a navy and gold wedding. The beloved dishes of my loved ones weren’t plastic or styrafoam—they were washed and re-used, to be loved again and again. It was a natural choice to honor those I love and what they love. </div>
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Months before the wedding while visiting my mother, she tenderly takes the first set of dishes she ever owned from a box that lives in the attic. Holding one, silver rimmed, Winter Set plate from American Royalty, she smiles and talks about saving money to buy a whole set of nice dishes. Not plastic divided plates, not thick dinner plates, not a ceramic set from Target—a set of nice dishes. Her own set of dishes for hosting, for entertaining, for the sheer delight of eating from something nice. She laughs that she paid full price for them—she’s never done that for a set of dishes since.<br />
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The stories that came from the dishes on that special day were many. “I ate from a set of dishes I collected plate by plate from my local bank” or “the dishes you had are like a set of my great grandmother’s.” They were stories of love and memories of shoo-fly pie, green beans, and corn on the cob. Stories of homemade meals and slow food cooked by loving hands. </div>
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By using them, we honor them. By delighting in their form and function, we honor the something before our eyes. We honor the craftsmanship. We honor the artistry and the intricate design of the pattern. We honor the lives they’ve lived before gracing our tables. We honor my grandmother and mother who love dishes so dearly that they hunt for them, collect them, and display them behind glass doors in their homes.<br />
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536421075255274818.post-71913119032260242902016-01-13T11:22:00.001-08:002016-01-21T13:05:06.502-08:00Embracing 2016 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have never been a year-long resolution keeper--like <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2013/01/01/just-8-of-people-achieve-their-new-years-resolutions-heres-how-they-did-it/#2715e4857a0b1ea01fe3304c" target="_blank">the other 92% of people</a> who don't keep their new years resolutions. My friend, Marian, and I share our new years resolutions each year--although I know I will forget about mine in a couple of months. It's a nice idea, it's just never worked for me. </div>
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The idea of naming my year or living into a word for the year has really spoken to me this season. People have written all sorts about <a href="http://www.coolpeoplecoolthings.com/cool-things/naming-your-year" target="_blank">choosing a word</a> and or picking <a href="http://aliedwards.com/projects/one-little-word" target="_blank">one little word</a>. It's a way to frame your year, to live into your values, and to grow into a vision of who we want to be at the end of the year. The word I have chosen for 2016 is...</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">embrace</span></div>
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1. to hold someone in your arms as a way of expressing love and friendship </div>
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2. to accept (someone or something) readily and gladly</div>
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3. to use (an opportunity) greatly </div>
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There is so much change happening in my life--that has happened, is happening, and will happen! That I can see! That's not even the things outside of my longitudinal vision that are yet to be seen! Tim and I were married in December, are moving in February, starting a <a href="http://www.brethrenwoods.org/" target="_blank">new job</a> in March, and transitioning to becoming "connections" <a href="https://bethanyseminary.edu/" target="_blank">students</a>. My first tendency is to project myself into the future and not be present for the "now"--for what God is doing right before my eyes. </div>
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I fling my arms open to the newness that is unfolding and the journey that lies before my feet. </div>
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12240668169066213951noreply@blogger.com0