Spring Language

Gradually over the last couple of weeks the flora has turned from a deep brown to a bright green. Asparagus has poked through the earth's crust, lilacs are budding, violets have opened, and #3 is trying his best to describe what he sees. Case in point, two yellow blooming flowers: dan-der-lions and daf-fer-dills.

Now the contest is on: how long can I wait until I have to mow the grass? This is an unofficial contest my neighbors and I have waged. Last year I was second to last, this year will I be last? Who knows. When we first moved here a gentleman from the church mowed the grass for me. But there were two problems, no three, with this situation. 1. He would always start mowing when #1 was napping. #2 he would get too close to my garden beds (I think he knew this made me a nervous wreck). #3 he would always mow over our tulips. Eventually I wound up mowing the grass myself. I do, however, miss the service if for nothing else the gentleman mowed the grass at the highest speed possible and would drink diet beer while doing so. I had seen men drink while playing golf, while bowling, selling cars, playing cards but never while mowing grass - a New England memory if there ever was one.

Furthermore, it is time for my annual Dan Champion memorial sentence. Dan Champion was a dear classmate and friend from seminary. One day while eating lunch Dan mentioned how frivolous the late night programming was on ESPN2, yet people still watch it. He said he bet if ESPN2 put two guys passing baseball people would watch it. As #2 and I passed ball yesterday I thought you know I bet I would watch two guys passing baseball...

Miss you Dan.

A New Men's Clothing Site

My anglophile tendencies have a way of infecting almost every part of my life from choice of clergy fashions, to worship books, to poets, detectives authors, and especially clothing. I love the british look of a spread collar, cufflinks, and a windsor knot. Therefore, I was quite pleased to discover the S Buckingham web page the other day. I ordered the matching silk tie, handkerchief and cufflink set (waiting till a later date to disclose my choice of color and design). Yesterday my heart raced when the Nick the mailman delivered the package with the clearly labeled "Royal Mail" sticker. I opened to find a well constructed and sharp feeling gift set. I am making S Buckingham my first choice for ties.

A Tribute to Peter Carman

This weekend the Lake Avenue Memorial Baptist Church of Rochester, NY celebrated the last Sunday of their beloved pastor Rev. Peter JB Carman. I was unable to be present for the service so I thought I would publish my thoughts of thanksgiving for the person I consider to be my pastor.

A number of years ago when the VOR and I drove from Richmond, VA to Rochester, NY so that I could explore the possibility of transferring from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, VA to Colgate Rochester Divinity School one of the first people I spoke with was Peter Carman. I met Peter because someone pointed to him and his church as a modern example of church living out the social gospel. From the get-go Peter was warm, thoughtful, and gracious. His example and presence clearly steered my vocational choice.

I transferred schools thinking that I would have a better chance of getting into a top PhD program with a degree from CRDS. I wanted to devote my life to the study of the social gospel, especially the life and writings of Walter Rauschenbusch. The school, at that time, housed the American Baptist Historical Society's library (which is the steward of the Rauschenbusch papers). I did immerse myself in the life and writings of Rauschenbusch. Looking back on the school almost 10 years removed I can genuinely say they did approach ministry from a social gospel perspective. I took the maximum number of classes, audited two every semester, and spent any spare time in the archives; I even worked in the archives so I could spend more time with the material. During all of this time, however, I was worshipping at Lake Avenue and watching and conversing with Peter. His presence and words graced me so when it came time to submit application papers to PhD programs I found myself saying "No" and saying "Yes" to pastoral ministry.

Peter Carman witnessed for me that one could be a scholar, a pastor, a friend, a husband, and a father. Peter showed me how one could be a liberal and love Jesus with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. Peter showed me that being a liberal is not about being against conservatives but is about the true root of the word liber: to be free. I have taken this admonishment to heart - I am not a pastor who seeks to make others in my own image. I simply want to help folk to be free people, free people living out the image of God within them. I am still amazed at the various theological positions of folk at the church I serve. When I describe myself as an evangelical liberal I think of this model as my working definition.

After I chose (or it chose me) the pastoral vocation I went to work in WV. I loved the church and my time there. After a couple of years it was apparent (due to finances) I would have to explore another call. I looked for a little piece then Peter called "Hey Travis I used to serve a church in Lincoln, RI - would you care if I submitted your name." I said sure but there was no way I was moving to RI, I thought it would be good experience. A few phone calls, an interview and yada yada yada I was called to be the pastor of the Lime Rock Baptist Church. During my tenure here I have leaned on Peter and am thankful for his advice, his causing me to laugh, and his integrity.

Peter will soon begin a new venture as the pastor of the Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church. I know he will do a great job and the church will be a even greater presence in Chapel Hill and the research triangle area. Godspeed Peter and family.

One last note, while I was going through the ordination process Peter insisted on talking to my dad one day while we were in Rochester. My dad enjoyed Peter very much; my dad was not easily impressed but Peter impressed him.

A Teachable Moment

Last week as I prepared my Palm Sunday sermon I went through at least four drafts. As I told the congregation usually multiple drafts means the expulsion of several hundred if not a couple thousand words. Last week, however, the words kept coming - eight full pages plus an additional couple in extended notes and questions I wanted to tackle. Finally on Friday afternoon I asked myself what was going on.

My main quandary centered on all of the questions of Palm Sunday and Holy Week. Even though I do not like the combination of Palm Sunday with Passion Sunday - I understand the liturgical importance of celebrating both on the day. I tried to ask questions from the point of view of the religious and political authorities: why was Jesus perceived as such a threat? I have a shelf full of books answering this question, all from a social-scientific perspective. I can describe countless peasant bandits in first century Palestine, Roman taxation policies, and importance of Mark's specific usage of "Gentiles" in chapter 10. But this stuff is hard to formulate in a narrative more or less a sermon. Nevertheless if folk do not spend some time on why Jesus was killed then the surprise of Easter Sunday aint what it could be.

So I scrapped my lengthy sermon and went with a hybrid bible study/sermon. I wanted to wrestle with some questions: What was Jesus doing in Jerusalem the day we call Palm Sunday? Why were the folk waving palms and singing portions of Psalm 118? What did the cleansing of the Temple and the foretelling of its destruction look like from a Roman perspective?

The reaction: I could not believe how receptive folk were to it. I even surprised myself with some of the stuff I said! As we walked through Jesus' time in the City I was struck by how if the story ended on Good Friday it would still have been a transformational story. Why? Take the Last Supper story - God in Jesus Christ giving everything God has, Godself. Of course we read the story on the other side of the Resurrection but it is quite a story on pre-Resurrection side (but is there really any pre-Resurrection portion of the New Testament? Or any word that is not shaped by the Resurrection?). I asked folk this week just to stay with the story up till then so we can be surprised by God's mighty work on Easter.

For the love of Donuts...

There is a new Henry book!

Yesterday perhaps the world's best children's librarian saved for us the new D. B. Johnson book: Henry's Night. When I was a child I spent a good portion of the summer (after baseball season of course) at the Norvell farm/camp. I once traced the call of a whippoorwill too. Only the bird did not land on my head, instead when I got real close it shot up from the ground and nearly scared me to death.

Wanted: Spring

The other morning the weather (in the 20s) made #1 so furious she grabbed her crayons, a piece of paper and went to work producing this poster:I cannot say that I blame her. I too am a bit tired of my water bottle that I leave in the car after running being frozen every morning. And I am a bit tired of the still present mounds of ice-snow in parking lots (the salt preserves them for a good spell).Spring is coming though. The kids, the VOR and I have been out in the yard passing baseball, the lilacs are budding, the rhubarb is emerging, and the ground is thawed and muddy.

In other news the VOR and I volunteer in #2's class every Monday (on a rotating basis). When one of us enters the school we have to sign in. Normally they have the standard Bic pen for the sign in folder. This week, however, nothing could have prepared me for the writing instrument that awaited me.

Ordination

When I was ordained to the Christian ministry I asked a trusted and wise elderly colleague to offer some words on ministry. The late Rev. Bob Newell looked at me and said "Look, there are too many problems in the world. You cannot solve them all. Instead, find one issue where you can make an impact and there invest your time and energy." The "issue" that spoke most to me was the protection of the environment. Water, Air, Earth the basic elements every living being must have for life and the elements we all have to share.

My late father was a natural environmentalist. When we would go trout fishing this time of year in the mountains, when there would still be a fresh layer of snow on the ground, he would always pick up the trash along the river bank. My memory of him doing such a small act made a large impact. Later on when the coal company bought our family farm and destroyed it the image of a once lovely place bleeding acidic ooze made a large impact too. I recall reading a line from a Philip Roth novel that childhood ends when you see your father cry. I remember seeing my father cry when we sold the last remnant of the farm, that impacted me too.

I mention all of this because yesterday the EPA issued two letters that ordered the cessation of all mountain top mining permits (issued by the Army Corps of Engineers). Were the letters smoke and mirrors from the Obama administration? I do not know. But I know they are a hopeful start.

Ken Ward, Jr. has written a fine piece in his blog, Coal Tattoo, for the WV Gazette.

“This is one of those things where I want science to help lead us,” Obama said. “I will tell you that there’s some pretty country up there that’s been torn up pretty good.

“I will also tell you that the environmental consequences of the runoff from some of these mountains can just be horrendous. … Not taking that into account because of short-term economic concerns, I think, is a mistake. I think we have to balance economic growth with good stewardship of the land God gave us.” (President Barack Obama while talking to a reporter, Mr. James Carroll, from the Louisville Courier-Journal).

Come Round Right

Some more garden news.

1. I once heard that gardeners are not actively gardening unless they are out in the yard killing plants, i.e. trying to grow plants in regions that they are not supposed to grow. This year I decided to take a more aggressive approach to my garden. About four years ago I started some leeks from seeds. I let a few go to seed just to see what would happen. What happened? Every year a clump of leeks grow next to my rhubarb, every year i mow over the leeks and think I ought to do something about them. This weekend I dug up the clump, divided them and replanted them. Have you ever noticed a patch of wild onions growing in your yard? You know, you mow over them and smell the pungent aroma of onions. Yesterday I dug a clump of them up, separated the bulbs, and replanted them to see if they would mature. If they all die, no big deal.

2. We celebrated St. Patrick's day by planting Thomas Laxton peas, a pleasantly sweet pea. Although I imagine they would make an excellent edition to a salad, they never make it inside. Usually me and #1 sit at the vine, pick, shell, and eat.

3. This weekend the groundhog was spotted. My question: how in the dickens did she emerge larger than when she went in her hole for hibernation? She just had to show herself as I planned the Spring garden, smart aleck.

4. More on the White House garden. My big question: Where are the tomatoes? In the garden designs there are no tomatoes! This should be more of an outrage than the AIG bonuses.

5. BIttman also had a great piece on organic food (I call it a great piece because I have been saying the same thing for the past few years).

6. While on the topic of newspapers. Yesterday I went to the convenience store to pick up a newspaper. Get this, Providence Journal: $3.00, Boston Globe: $2.50. I could not believe it.

7. Finally, my nephew is doing great. He begins physical therapy this week. He has a long way to go towards full recovery but he is well on his way. Your prayers, kind words, and thoughts are deeply appreciated.

Spring

The news from last night, the good news from last night I still cannot fully fathom it. I know my nephew has a rough road ahead of him, right now he is in terrible pain but the cancer has been removed his spine will cease to push on his brain, the headaches will stop, his spine will stop pushing on his legs, the night screams will stop, amazing, simply amazing.

Today is the first day of a new life for him. Fitting that it is the first day of Spring. So for my nephew may we all pray the prayer/poem written by Robert Frost:

A Prayer in Spring

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

Author: Robert Frost
Online Poetry at PoetryFeast.com

In a fitting way on the first day of Spring the NY Times ran a first page story on the organic garden to be planted on the White House grounds. I feel this is huge for community gardens, healthy eating, whole foods, joyful alternatives to agri-business models of farming, and the slow food movement.

If you have not yet checked out Google's logo today and you are an Eric Carle fan then you need mosey over to google as Michael Scott said last night "ASAP as possible."