conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

the fifth day of christmas: something to share

We leave Lynchburg tomorrow morning. Most likely, we will leave about six o'clock in the morning and drive, drive, drive. Tonight some of Trish's family came over. I cooked. Well, I made a couple of things for the pot luck: bread and a kickbutt pasta salad with grilled salmon in it. It was a good time.

We did make it downtown for some window shopping. And, as expected, The Inklings ended up with a little of my Christmas Loot. It was a 50% off sale. I was helpless!

Erdman, Charles R. The Gospel of Mark The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pa. 1928

Seidenspinner, Clarence Form and Freedom in Worship Willett, Clark & Company, Chicago and New York, 1941

Theilicke, Helmut The Trouble With The Church Harper & Row Publishers, New York, NY, 1965

I am looking forward to all three.

I also received a belated gift from Trish's parents. Robin Bullock has several CD's out there. I recommend them all. The latest for my library is Between Earth and Sky. Inside the jewel case is the following quotation.

Music is a way of being in the world. It becomes an integral part of existence, is inseparably connected with it; it is an ethical category, no longer merely an aesthetic one. - Pierre Boulez

It figures that I would provide a textual quotation from a CD. But there you go. There is a brief quotation from Theilicke: "The one who takes a position exposes themself." It would seem that preaching in the mid-sixties was at a low. The great theologian wanted to shake things up a bit. I will look forward to this missive.

Two links to pop in on: AKMA links to an interesting podcasting story. And a friend sent me this link to Mother Jones.

See you all soon!

body of christ, bread of heaven

We are in Lynchburg. Yesterday, Trish, my mother, and I exchanged gifts. Mother was very generous this year. Trish now has more pottery than she knows what to do with. We will have to protect it from the cats, but the gifts were thoughtful and lovely.

We gave everyone copies of wedding photos this year. Mom was especially moved. So, I thought I would pick one of my favorites and blog it. This photo is of our friend Davie passing the communion bread. It's a great memory. Anamnesis, people. Live it.

Trish's head cold came on full bore yesterday. So, she spent the day on Mom's couch napping or opening gifts. Thankfully, she is feeling better today. We may go to downtown Lynchburg to stroll through some antique shops and Inklings Bookstore if she feels up to it. Tomorrow we will go back to Chicago. It is about thirteen hours from Mom's place. It is a pleasant drive, taking us past Foam Henge (I am not proud of this.) and Natural Bridge. We'll take I-64 to Louisville and then I-65 to the Skyway...and then the Skyway into Chicago. Oy.

Tonight we are hosting a little suare at Mom's. It is not much, just one last opportunity to see our Metro-Lynchburg friends and family. It is amazing how many people we know here. I would never have dreamed it.

Saturday night One of the Girls will be playing at the Poitin Stil. You should come to ring in the New Year with us. The Stil does get smokey, so if the smoke bothers you, come at about eleven o'clock, stay for two hours, and then leave. You could come at nine o'clock and try to ignore the gradual build up, but it is your call. I find the latter strategy easier to bear. Also, it may simply be less smokey this time. Who knows who might turn up for this shindig? I certainly don't. Maybe some of the lobbyists for the Chicago smoking ban will attend!

Well, I hope you all have a great holiday. I may blog again later today. I don't know. After that it is hard to say. My computer at home will not boot. I do have backup disks for everything, but I made the mistake of performing a Microsoft Update on my six year old machine. Now, of course, it won't even boot up. Joy. I guess I will have to reformat the hard drive or something. If anyone has any ideas, leave a comment or give me a call.

Peace.

the fourth day of christmas

We are still in Huddleston. I hope to get to Lynchburg by eleven. We shall see. Trish is wrestling with a cold, so we are moving slowly this morning.

Yesterday we went to T&G for breakfast...eggs, biscuits with sausage gravy, hashbrowns...you know the stuff. Diet foods. Vegan cuisine. Trish's family lives near the diner, so they know everyone. Trish went to school with the owner's kids. Others have worked there. So it is always a reunion when we go.

We spent the afternoon with Lynn, Trish's uncle. He's a kind old country bachelor who likes to tell me the news from his Baptist church. He plays the piano there. If you were at our wedding, you heard him play. He plays it hard and fast...and all by ear. I always tease him about it. He's quite good, but he's a great sport and takes the teasing well.

The evening was spent with Todd and Emily. They moved here from Chicago. Todd's family is from Lynchburg, so this was moving back home for them. We had dinner at Smith Mountain Lake, played games, took photos with the new digital camrea, and watched the stars from their back deck. It's like living in a planetarium.

Well, I'll post again from my mother's place. Y'all have a good day!

on the third day of christmas

Greetings to one and all from Huddleston, Virginia.

The trip out east was good. This is the first time Trish and I split up the drive. I think we might be doing that again. Fifteen hours is simply beyond our stamina levels now. So, we drove to Louisville on Thursday and to Doswell on Friday.

A Doswell Christmas

I am sure I will be wrestling with a serious bout of homesickness when all of this is over. I usually do. But this year got me good. The Hudginses all managed to come our way on Christmas Eve. Aunt Virginia was a noted exception. She is in hospice care in Richmond. Keep her in your prayers. Aunt Ginny is a grand old woman. Her leaving will be a great loss.

But people enjoyed themselves. My brother, Chuck, and our cousin, Doug, managed to spend six hours talking about the game of craps, the gamblers fallacy, and "causal" somethings. Basically, Doug is a brilliant old time gambler and my brother is working through the critical thinking portion of his Philosophy PhD. They have entirely too many working brain cells.

The rest of us caught up with the family news and employment plans. This is where the homesickness piece came in. My uncle Joe is all about our returning to Virginia. He is quite overt in his opinions. So, we spent the evening chatting about future plans, weddings, ministries and sports. How I miss Joe.

Amy Dale and Scooter came by later that evening. We exchanged gifts and ate more food. Have I mentioned the food. I have lost about 10 or 15 pounds in the last several weeks. I believe I have gained it all back. Pork loin, shrimp, beef tenderloin, smoked ham, orzo salad, cookies, cookies, cookies, fudge, cheese, and other happy holiday moments were our hourly fare the entire time there. My father and step mother are tremendous cooks.

Christmas day was bitter sweet. Spending it with my father, step-mother, brother and my wife is a great thing. And later when the other Watlingtons came calling we had a grand time. We did, however, go visit my step mother's mother in the nursing home. Lelia has Altzheimer's Disease. She was such a brilliant woman. It is a sad shame. It broke my heart. And what was more difficult was watching my step mother shoulder that burden. That just about did me in.

And still we gathered and celebrated. We share memories and laughter. We gave gifts. It was fantastic.

Thus far, the most fun gift has been George Carlin's book, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops. It is my father's attempt to participate in my continuing theological education. Wow. It is an insane volume. I love it.

We arrived in Huddleston yesterday, exchanged gifts last night (digital camera - yahoo!), and will spend the day tooling around and visiting Trish's family. It is good to see my wife so happy. Her family is insane in all the right ways. I enjoy visiting them.

I'll post more on that later on.

Tomorrow we leave for Lynchburg.

merry christmas to all and to all a good night...

Please don't forget them.

Katrina's toll in Mississippi
$125 billion Estimated dollar amount of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina
231 Identified dead statewide
5 Unidentified dead
67 Missing
65,380 Houses in South Mississippi destroyed
383,700 Mississippi insurance claims filed (Katrina and Rita)
$5 billion Claims paid (as of Nov. 21)
141,000 Insurance claims filed in South Mississippi
$1.3 billion Claims paid in South Mississippi
44 million Estimated cubic yards of debris in South Mississippi
21.8 million Cubic yards removed as of Dec. 5
20,447 Red Cross staff and volunteers in Mississippi
5,543,006 Red Cross meals served
42,768 People sheltered by Red Cross
229 Red Cross shelters opened
$185 million Red Cross money spent in South Mississippi as of Nov. 30

christmas list

Well, it is time. Trish and I will leave in only a few hours to press eastward in the little red Jesus pod. We plan on driving to Louisville tonight and then make the rest of the way to Doswell tomorrow. It should be a good day or so for driving.

Before I left, I wanted to leave you with this image.

The instruments that these sharp gentlemen are holding are mandolinharps and a guitarharp. If someone is struggling to find a last minute gift for this Baptist, a mandolinharp would be more than fine. Thank you for thinking of me.

May peace be with you this Christmas.

Come let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

underwood closes baylor tenure urging grads to challenge 'prevailing orthodoxy'

This is some interesting news in academia.

By Ken Camp

WACO, Texas (ABP) -- Bill Underwood ended his time as Baylor University’s interim president by challenging graduates to think for themselves and respect the right of other people to disagree with them.

“You are entering a world where you will be discouraged -- even repressed -- from thinking for yourself,” he said. “You will be discouraged from challenging what you see, hear and read in the media. You will be discouraged from challenging political authority. You may well be accused of being unpatriotic if you do. You will be discouraged from challenging ecclesiastical authority. You may well be accused of being a heretic if you do.”

Underwood, a law professor and former Baylor general counsel, told the graduates at the school's December commencement ceremony they owe it to themselves not to give in to those who would deny their freedom of thought.

“Your responsibility to yourself demands that you not be discouraged from thinking for yourself. Your responsibility to yourself demands that you exercise your individual freedom of conscience. Let me go further. Let me suggest that your responsibility to others -- to your community -- demands that you exercise your freedom of conscience,” he said.

Underwood, president-elect of Mercer University, used his final address at Baylor to underscore themes of individual liberty of conscience and academic freedom -- ideals many Baylor observers viewed Underwood as championing during the last turbulent years of Robert Sloan’s tenure as university president. Those same issues also appear on the front burner at Mercer, which recently cut ties with the Georgia Baptist Convention.

“If we are to be a great Christian university, we cannot be afraid to pursue the course of truth, wherever that course might lead. Indeed, if our pursuit of truth leads us to question our existing view of God, it may just be that God is trying to tell us something,” said Underwood, who assumes the helm at Mercer on July 1 after Kirby Godsey retires as president. John Lilley becomes Baylor’s president Jan. 2.

Students attending Baylor these last few years had a ringside seat to observe a debate over the nature of Christian higher education, Underwood noted. He characterized the controversy as “a conversation among good people” about how truth is taught, about individual freedom of thought and about responsibility to the community.

“You have witnessed a conversation that has captured the attention of much of the Baylor community and even the world of Christian higher education -- a conversation about two ideas that throughout history have been in endless antagonism,” he said.

Indeed, some of the graduates literally might have been in the audience more than a year before when Underwood debated then-Provost David Lyle Jeffrey on the proper role of academic freedom in a religious university.

At the time, Underwood spoke against the evils of “autocratic dictates” -- seen as a not-too-veiled reference to Sloan’s and Jeffrey’s interpretation of what it meant to integrate faith and academics.

In speaking to the Baylor graduates, Underwood quoted with alarm a statement by theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas of Duke Divinity School: “No task is more important than for the church to take the Bible out of the hands of individual Christians in North America.”

Underwood underscored Hauerwas' view as consistent with the position of a “colleague here at Baylor” who “has described the idea that individual believers have the freedom to reach their own conclusions regarding the Scriptures as ‘incoherent or simply a bad idea.’” Underwood later declined to name the person who made the statement, saying he wanted to focus on the ideas rather than the personalities.

Taken to its extreme in an academic setting, he noted, the same attitude prompted Adrian Rogers, a recently deceased leader among Southern Baptist fundamentalists who Underwood also did not mention by name, to declare that teachers should be required to teach agreed-upon orthodoxy, “And if we tell them to teach that pickles have souls, then they must teach that pickles have souls.”

“Under this idea, we would have spiritual masters to tell us what to teach, what to learn and what to believe,” Underwood said, comparing that attitude to the scribes and Pharisees of Christ’s day.

“God has given us the gift of reason,” he continued. “And Jesus commanded us to use our minds -- to love God with our hearts and our souls -- but also to love God with our minds. Surely, keeping this greatest of all commandments requires us to think for ourselves and come to our own conclusions.

“Indeed, when we stand before God on judgment day, it would hardly be a defense to say that we just believed as we were told. You see, we are responsible for our souls. It is this responsibility that requires us to think for ourselves and come to our own conclusions.”

Underwood disputed the criticism that commitment to individual freedom of conscience leads to cultural relativism and the belief that there is no objective truth.

“There is truth. There is right. There is wrong. And sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes our ideas are lousy and ought to be rejected by others,” he said. “Our great theologians are sometimes wrong. Our philosophers can be wrong. Even our university presidents are sometimes wrong.”

The awareness that no one possesses perfect knowledge should lead to a humble pursuit of truth, both by individuals and by Christian schools, Underwood said.

“This pursuit of truth requires exposing our students to the great thinkers of today and yesterday -- not so that they will blindly accept the conclusions of others, but instead to aid them in their search for truth,” he said.

Underwood challenged students to think for themselves and exercise their individual freedom of conscience, even if it means challenging prevailing wisdom. At one time, he noted, racial segregation was the “prevailing orthodoxy” in the South, and too few free thinkers challenged it.

“How many other beliefs at one time firmly held as true have been proven false with the passage of time? What so-called ‘truths’ that we hold dear today will the passage of time prove false? And how will we know if we accept what others have declared as orthodox without question?” he asked.

Repeating his charge to the graduates, Underwood closed: “Use the intellect that God has given you. Think critically. Have courage. And acknowledge -- no, embrace -- the right of others to disagree.”

evolution and such - how I do love us baptists

Religion vs. Evolution: A false dichotomy
By J. Brent Walker
December 20, 2005

The debate over whether and how to teach evolution in the public schools continues 80 years after the Scopes "monkey trial" in Tennessee. Now the dispute itself has also evolved into a pitched battle in the larger culture wars.

President Bush has declared his support for the inclusion of "intelligent design" in the curriculum of public schools. Last month, eight members of the Dover County, Pa., School Board were voted out of office after adopting a policy that mandated the introduction of intelligent design in biology class. The policy provoked a federal lawsuit and led a Bush-appointed judge to find it "abundantly clear" that the teaching of intelligent design in science class is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court has been clear about teaching religious theories of origin in public school science classes. Banning the teaching of "creationism," the Court said, "There is and can be no doubt that the First Amendment does not permit the State to require that teaching and learning must be tailored to the principles or prohibitions of any religious sect or dogma." Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97, 106 (1968). The Court also ruled unconstitutional a "Balanced Treatment Act" which sought to require the teaching of creationism where evolution is taught. Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 587 (1987).

In the aftermath of these rulings, opponents of evolution adopted other strategies. Some tried to spruce up creationism by positing the concept of intelligent design, arguing that nature is so complicated that one must infer a designer of some sort. Although its advocates do not name the designer, the concept is no more than creationism with a little lipstick. Conservative columnist, Charles Krauthammer, calls the anti-evolution movement a "national embarrassment" and palming off intelligent design as science a "fraud." As a Baptist minister, I believe in an intelligent designer whom I unabashedly call God. But this is a religious affirmation, not a scientific proposition suitable for inclusion in a science classroom.

Others have sought to attack evolution itself by claiming evolution is not a fact but only a theory. This ignores the overwhelming support for evolution in the scientific community. It also fails to appreciate that a scientific theory is not a mere hunch, but a model that has endured scrutiny under the scientific method, even if it fails to supply all the answers.

Finally, some have tried to use intelligent design to drive a wedge between religion and science. This is a false dichotomy. Evolution and religion are not mutually exclusive. As former President Jimmy Carter, both a scientist and devout Baptist, wrote in his recent book, Our Endangered Values, people of faith who take the Bible seriously and appreciate good science can comfortably embrace both. Both seek truth, but in different ways. One tries to answer the "who" and "why" questions through faith; the other addresses the "how" through scientific inquiry.

But, the idea of intelligent design need not be ignored in the public schools. It can be discussed and debated in the appropriate context - such as in a comparative religion course examining theories of origin or in a social studies class that teaches the controversy itself. Nor does it mean that evolution cannot be critiqued in science classes. But such challenges must be based on science and launched by scientists, not theologians.

Proponents of intelligent design should abandon their efforts to stoke the flames of the culture war by forcing these divisive and religious tenets into science classes. Instead, they should seek ways to promote their religious beliefs in their homes, churches, private schools and the public square, and, if they desire, seek appropriate inclusion in public schools' religion and social studies curricula.
A failure to appreciate this common sense understanding of the relationship between religion and science threatens to make monkeys of us all.

For more coverage on the intelligent design decision, visit the BJC Web site at www.BJConline.org/issues/id.htm and Blog from the Capital at www.BJConline.org/blog.

J. Brent Walker, an attorney and ordained Baptist minister, is executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C.

american baptist news

ABC Leaders Express Regret, Concern Over PSW Recommendation

VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS)-American Baptist leaders have responded with profound regret and concern over the recommendation issued on Dec. 8 by the Board of Directors of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest to withdraw that region from the denomination's Covenant of Relationships.

A regional meeting of its churches to advise the leadership is tentatively scheduled in May 2006. After that meeting, the Board will make its final decision. If approved, the recommended action would effectively remove the region from a formal relationship with the American Baptist Churches in the USA.

"American Baptists are deeply disappointed at the decision of the leadership of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest to recommend a break-away from the denomination," General Secretary Dr. A. Roy Medley said today.

The conflict American Baptists find themselves in is sometimes described as a liberal/conservative division over the issue of homosexuality. In reality, American Baptist statements on human sexuality and marriage have consistently been conservative, evangelical and traditional. We all hold biblical authority as primary for Christian discipleship and church life-but we have always respected dissent in interpretation.

When the proposal was first made to break Covenant, one of the region's own Board members wrote, " I voted against withdrawing from the ABCUSA because I do not agree with the idea of requiring uniformity in the matter of interpretation of scripture, in this case, in the area of human sexuality. If there is one principle that drew me to become an American Baptist, it was the belief that each person can read the Bible and form his or her own conclusions without any imposition from others. As Baptists, we agree on a number of central Bible doctrines but still affirm the freedom of each individual to interpret scripture for himself or herself, under the leading of the Holy Spirit."

Even though Baptist churches have been organized in America from the 1600s until the present, it wasn't until 1907 that the Northern Baptist Convention, now American Baptist Churches in the USA, was formed. In structuring a national denomination, these Baptists were careful to safeguard the primacy of the local church so that the national body could not usurp the rights and privileges of the local congregation to exercise authority over them. These basic principles were derived from the Bible and represented early Baptist desire to properly reflect the New Testament teaching concerning the nature of the church. The principle of the primacy and autonomy of the local church is reflected in the name-the denomination is not the American Baptist Church-it is the American Baptist Churches.

"Because schism in the church is grievous to our Lord, we have done-and will continue to do-everything we can to maintain the unity of the Body of Christ, which is so clearly taught in scripture," Medley emphasized.

In order to clearly understand the concerns of the Pacific Southwest, and in the hope of maintaining the desired unity of Christ's Body, many national and regional officers and staff have devoted extensive energy, time, resources and prayer in continuing dialogue with the region. In addition to previous visits by the President, the General Secretary, and the National Executive Council, Dr. Dale V. Salico, Executive Minister of the Pacific Southwest, has had multiple opportunities to speak to the concerns of the region, including meetings with the Regional Executive Ministers Council, the General Board Executive Committee, and the full General Board-the denomination's governing body.

One result of these meetings was a decision by the General Executive Council to send a delegation to meet with the appropriate leadership groups of the region. Dr. Alfred Fletcher of the American Baptist Churches of Maine and Dr. Desmond Hoffmeister of the American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains, were appointed and made themselves available for whatever meetings would be most helpful to the region leadership. They spent six hours of discussion with the five-member Executive Committee. There was a meeting of the full Board that followed, to which the two Executive Ministers were not invited.

Fletcher and Hoffmeister, in their meeting with the Executive Committee, expressed the deep care and concern of all mission partners in the denomination toward what, for over 100 years, has been one of the strongest regions in the denomination. They reported: "We made a pastoral and passionate appeal on behalf of the GEC for PSW to remain at the ABCUSA table. We challenged some of their assumptions, were surprised by some of their assertions, and they were surprised by some of the information that we shared. They were encouraged by the fact that we represented all the covenanting partners. Notwithstanding the positive tone of the meeting, we left feeling that it will take a monumental effort to reverse the advanced and propelling momentum of their intended process."

If the region withdraws, it will assume control of the disbursement of mission money historically given by the churches in support of American Baptist missions. In 2004, that amount was over $2.9 million. At the same time, as the region is distancing itself from the denomination and expressing the intent to formally break covenant, the Pacific Southwest is negotiating ways to continue doing ministry with American Baptists-specifically the pension/benefit and mission boards of the denomination.

In the final analysis, each of the 300 churches in the Pacific Southwest will make its own decision regarding its continuing relationship with ABCUSA. Each church-in the Baptist way of decision making-will have the opportunity to choose for itself.

"Regardless of the region's decision, there will be a continuing American Baptist presence in southern California," Medley said. "Every effort will be made to enable and support churches wishing to remain in covenant with us."

In addition, Medley stated, "The Los Angeles Baptist City Mission Society, one of the most racially and ethnically diverse evangelical mission organizations in the nation, is a cooperating American Baptist region, and has given us assurances through its Executive Minister, Dr. Samuel Chetti, that it will stay at the table."

In reflecting upon his visit to southern California, Fletcher said, "Hope keeps bringing us back."

Medley added, "And in that hope we press on."

father christmas

So, for various reasons I have been thinking about fatherhood this season. No, Trish is not pregnant. Boy, that would be news though. Wow. Anyway, I've been thinking about the nature of fatherhood again because of some posts on Cliff's blog ( quelle surprise) and Camassia's blog (another surprise).

One of the things I am wondering about is the idea that family should hold a particularly precious place in our hearts. Somehow, the love of/for family should eclipse all other loves. Cliff did not say this and Camassia did not say this, but somehow this is a vibe I get this time of year. Family, so we are told, is everything. We gather with family and friends. We trek, sled, haul, gather, meet and do whatever we can to be near family. Trish and I will put about 3,000 miles on the car this week. Don't get me wrong. I am looking forward to this journey. I am looking forward to seeing my family. So, get out of your head that this will be a diatribe against family. I ain't interested in that right now.

So, what makes Christmas so special and why do we focus on family? I think that they go hand in hand and it has everything to do with the Nativity and the Trinity. I am not even going to pretend that these are organized thoughts in my mind. So, keep up and good luck.

So, here are the things I know: God came into the world, incarnationally, by being born to Mary in a manger in Bethlehem. God came into the world to redeem the world. Some will believe God came for this purpose. Some will not. But this does not limit the purpose nor does unbelief dilute the effects. As we will see in a few months, the human response to this attempt and promise of redemption is pretty violent. We kill Jesus. We deny Jesus. But Jesus forgives us, blesses us and promises to return to us.

At this time of year, we Christians try to be cognizant of this reality and, in some very particular and profound ways, we remember this story with one another. We decorate. We buy gifts. We visit family and friends. Perhaps we are simply more kind in our daily interactions. You get the picture. Others, even non-Christians (gasp!) will participate in this celebration as well.

We wish one another peace and we try our darnedest to bring it into existance.

So, what does this have to do with Cliff and Camassia's posts on parenting and father/motherhood. Well, somehow it connects for me. I think we endeavor to treat everyone as family this time of year. We begin to recognise that God came to this world for all, not just our favorite people or our relatives, but for everyone and so we try to treat everyone as such. This is one theory at least. And this has evrything to do with fatherhood.

You see, if we run with the metaphor of fatherhood (leave the debate of actual fatherhood on the back burner for a second), and we understand fatherhood as sacrificial both through Christ's own sacrifice and through Paul's theology of family systems, then doesn't it stand to reason that we should all serve as fathers to one another? Meaning, our love for one another, that may be particularly exemplified at Christmas, is uniformly sacrifical and the particularities of family are only particularities and not "special relationships?"

If, as Christ said, he came to dismantle how we understand family, and, as Paul said, fathers are to be sacrificial in their love and leadership, and, just to top it off, we are all called to love as Christ loved, loving our neighbors as ourselves even if that means sacrificing ourselves in the process...because Christ so loves us...what place in the world has violence except for the place of sin? Even violence in self-defence is not virtuous but sinful simply because it does not reflect the reality of God's sacrificial love for all creation.

Christmas is a time when the lines that we have created that separate family off in tidy little ways become more blurred. I have brothers and sisters in Christ. I have daughters and sons in Christ. I have mothers and fathers in Christ. We are all called to "father" one another, to lay our lives down for one another as friends and family.

Okay. I think my brain just stopped. Sorry that this is chaotic and disorganized. Welcome to my brain.

more news worth knowing

"A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources." - from the Washington Post

Oh, and here is an op/ed piece from Reason.com.

two news stories on i.d.

Here are two news stories on Intelligent Design that you may find enlightening. Follow the extended link.

This is an interesting article pro-design. It's from First Things. And for an interesting thread that is anti-I.D. you should go here. G. Brooke is a bright guy. Give him gander.

By Robert Marus

HARRISBURG, Pa. (ABP) -- A federal judge has ruled that, while "intelligent design" may itself be intelligent, it isn't science -- and shouldn't be taught as science in the public schools.

The Dec. 20 decision by U.S. District Judge John Jones III is a broad -- and strongly worded -- defeat for advocates of intelligent design being taught in public-school science classrooms. It comes in the federal courts' first foray into the raging controversy over teaching the theory as an alternative to evolution.

Jones found unconstitutional the Dover, Pa., school district's practice of requiring teachers to preface a high-school biology course with a statement suggesting that evolutionary theory "is not a fact" and that intelligent design is a plausible alternative. ID theory posits that some life forms are too complex to have arisen from naturalistic evolutionary processes without the aid of an unseen, super-intelligent designer.

The statement also directed students to an ID textbook, titled "Of Pandas and People," as a resource for those wanting to learn more about the theory.

In a far-reaching and often-scathing opinion -- weighing in at 139 pages -- Jones said, "the disclaimer singles out the theory of evolution for special treatment, misrepresents its status in the scientific community, causes students to doubt its validity without scientific justification, presents students with a religious alternative masquerading as a scientific theory, directs them to consult a creationist text as though it were a science resource, and instructs students to forego scientific inquiry in the public school classroom and instead to seek out religious instruction elsewhere."

After reviewing an extensive trial record that included weeks of testimony from some of the nation's foremost scientific and legal experts, Jones found that ID theory, as currently formulated, cannot be separated from its creation-science antecedents. The Supreme Court has already ruled that theories about the origins of species based on the creation accounts in the Christian and Jewish Scriptures cannot be taught in public-school science classes.

"The evidence at trial demonstrates that ID is nothing less than the progeny of creationism," Jones wrote. "ID uses the same, or exceedingly similar, arguments as were posited in support of creationism. One significant difference is that the words 'God,' 'creationism,' and 'Genesis' have been systematically purged from ID explanations, and replaced by an unnamed 'designer.'"

In particular, Jones noted how earlier versions of the "Of Pandas" text, published prior to a 1987 Supreme Court decision on creationism, used "creationism" where the book now inserts "intelligent design."

The opinion in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District was the result of a lawsuit filed on behalf of 11 Dover parents by attorneys from Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union. The parents claimed the school board's policy violated the First Amendment and undermined their rights to instruct their children in religious matters.

***

By Robert Marus

WASHINGTON (ABP) -- Supporters and opponents of teaching "intelligent design" in public-school classrooms were either appalled or thrilled at a federal judge's strongly worded decision condemning the practice.

Federal District Judge John Jones III issued his sweeping opinion in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District Dec. 20. The decision, stemming from a Pennsylvania high school policy, is the federal courts' first foray into the raging controversy over teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution.

"The Dover decision is an attempt by an activist federal judge to stop the spread of a scientific idea and even to prevent criticism of Darwinian evolution through government-imposed censorship rather than open debate. And it won't work," read a statement from the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, the leading group advocating the teaching of ID.

"Judge Jones found that the Dover board violated the [First Amendment's] establishment clause because it acted from religious motives. That should have been the end to the case," the organization said. "Instead, Judge Jones got on his soapbox to offer his own views of science, religion and evolution. He makes it clear that he wants his place in history as the judge who issued a definitive decision about intelligent design. This is an activist judge who has delusions of grandeur."

The Dover school board instituted the policy in 2004. Shortly thereafter, a group of 11 parents filed suit against the district, saying the policy violated the federal and Pennsylvania constitutions.

The parents were represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Officials for those groups, understandably, praised the ruling.

"Public schools should teach science in science class, and let parents make their own decisions about religion," said Barry Lynn, AU's president, in a statement. "It's a simple idea that the Religious Right has never been able to grasp."

Judge Jones found unconstitutional the practice of requiring teachers to preface a ninth-grade biology course with a statement suggesting that evolutionary theory is flawed, "is not a fact," and that intelligent design is a plausible alternative. Intelligent design theory posits that some life forms are too complex to have arisen from naturalistic evolutionary processes without the aid of an unseen, super-intelligent designer.

The disclaimer also directed students to an ID textbook, "Of Pandas and People," as a resource for those wanting to learn more about the theory.

Jones said not only that school-board members had clearly religious motivations in instituting the policy and that ID was merely spruced-up creationism, but also that it fundamentally does not constitute science.

"[W]e find that ID is not science and cannot be adjudged a valid, accepted scientific theory, as it has failed to publish in peer-reviewed journals, engage in research and testing, and gain acceptance in the scientific community," Jones wrote. "ID, as noted, is grounded in theology, not science. Accepting for the sake of argument its proponents', as well as defendants', argument that to introduce ID to students will encourage critical thinking, it still has utterly no place in a science curriculum."

But one advocate for intelligent design said the court's decision ultimately may not prove to be the best for either side.

"It's not the way you want [the controversy over ID] resolved," said Hal Poe, a professor at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. "You don't want it resolved by the courts; you want it resolved by the academy."

Poe, who is the Baptist-affiliated school's Charles Colson professor of faith and culture, said neither intelligent design, in its current form, nor the aspect of evolution it challenges qualify as science.

"My view is that intelligent design at the present moment is philosophy of science rather than science," he said. "With natural selection, you have the argument that mutations [in life forms over time] occur by random chance. The argument of intelligent design is that mutations occur through some intentionality."

But both are predicated on competing philosophies of science, Poe said.

"So it's a major problem in the academy, because most scholars, most professors have no training in philosophy to recognize it when they see it."

a declaration

A Declaration on an Issue of Importance On our National Budget

American Baptists are persons who take seriously the gospel call to care for the needy, to protect the vulnerable, to advocate for the oppressed, and to engage in ministries of healing and wholeness. In a range of Policy Statements, including the Policy Statement on Human Rights (7021:12/76), the Policy Statement on Hunger (7015:6/75), the Policy Statement on Housing (7033:6/83), and the Policy Statement on Family Life (7036:6/84), we call on our people and our churches to advocate for government programs and policies that strive to ensure the well-being of all people. In the Declaration on an Issue of Importance on Children in Poverty, adopted unanimously by the General Board in its June 2005 meetings, we called upon American Baptists to recognize and prioritize the needs of economically disadvantaged children and to work to change systems that create and perpetuate poverty.

On Friday, November 19, 2005 the United States House of Representatives passed the House Budget Reconciliation Bill by a vote of 217 to 215. It proposes a national budget that will cut $50 billion from some of our most vital anti-poverty programs ? food stamps, Medicaid, child care, student aid and loan programs and more. The Bill, if enacted, will immediately harm the most vulnerable in our land and thus further imperil the well-being of all U.S. citizens. In the upcoming weeks the budget will face negotiations in the House and Senate, followed by separate votes in each chamber.

We, therefore, call upon our Office of Governmental Relations, our churches and members to advocate for the poorest among us by calling upon our legislators to refuse the passage of any budget bill that eviscerates vital programs that ensure basic human needs and to work to restore necessary funding to anti-poverty programs so that all people in our nation might experience the wholeness and shalom God intends for us.

Approved by the ABC General Board ? November 2005

Yes: 69; No: 0; Abstentions: 4

IRAQ: Waiting is the hardest part

This is from the CPT.

by Greg Rollins

As this kidnapping draws out I am reminded of the Tom Petty and the Heart
Breakers song that says "the waiting is the hardest part." We fill our days
with work--important work--but work that helps us avoid the waiting. If we
stop and wait we grow restless, even edgy.

What we are currently experiencing here in Iraq is nothing new. Iraqis
civilians are kidnapped often. Almost every Iraqi knows someone who has been
kidnapped. In the past few weeks we have taken a lot of cues from our Iraqi
friends. They have told us how to word letters or statements, how to talk
to the local press and how to find the ear of people of influence.

The day before the abduction of our colleagues, Jim, Harmeet, Norman and I
visited a Chaldean church where we met a seventeen-year- old who was
kidnapped a year ago. His kidnappers held him for several weeks. They didn't
know him; they only wanted money from his family. He told us they treated
him well.

Recently, I was in a police station. While I sat there, a man walked in and
asked how many kidnappings the police were familiar with in 2005. "I
couldn't tell you the real number," the police officer said. "There are too
many. It is too high." After some questions and guess work the officer
behind the desk concluded he was familiar with around three hundred cases.
And these are just the ones that people reported to the police in his
designated area of Baghdad. Many families do not say anything when one of
their kin is abducted. They choose to deal with it as quickly and quietly as
they can.

How often do those of us outside Iraq hear about kidnapped Iraqis? Very
rarely. In the news, we hear about the bombs and ambushes. We hear about
the assassinations of political and religious leaders and the fighting in
Anbar province, but we rarely hear anything about the many Iraqis held
hostage.

And what about the innocent Iraqis arrested in sweeps by Multinational
Forces or Iraqi Security Forces? If they are innocent they still have to sit
in jail. Isn't that similar to a kidnapping? Just because governments do it
with a "legal" force while others do it as criminals, doesn't change the
circumstance for the people that are taken. Witnesses have told us that
prisoners in the custody of the Multinational Forces and Iraqi security
forces can be tortured and killed. How is that different than what criminal
kidnappers are capable of doing?

If we in CPT have received a lot of press over our kidnapped colleagues, it
is only because we are foreigners. I am disturbed that CPT's personal
tragedy outshines the more frequent abductions of Iraqi civilians, but in
the end, it doesn't matter if you are Iraqi or a foreigner, the waiting is
still the hardest part.

Pray that the war be over soon.

cross left

Well, this is fun. My sermon from yesterday landed on Cross Left. Very cool. Check it out...and spend some time with Cross Left.

a sermon podcast

Hello, gang.

This is the link to a podcast of my sermon from Sunday at Reconciler. I was told by a friend that it sounds like an audiobook. In this case, I am glad. I was thinking of Bing Crosby sitting in a chair reading to a bunch of well-groomed children on a TV special. So, I did not vest and delivered the sermon seated in a high-back chair. I hope you enjoy it.

You can find the lectionary readings in the extended link.

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

7:1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,

7:2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."

7:3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

7:4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan:

7:5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?

7:6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.

7:7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"

7:8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel;

7:9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

7:10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,

7:11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.

7:16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26

89:1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.

89:2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

89:3 You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:

89:4 'I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.'" Selah

89:19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: "I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.

89:20 I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him;

89:21 my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.

89:22 The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him.

89:23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.

89:24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted.

89:25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.

89:26 He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!'

Romans 16:25-27

16:25 Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

16:26 but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith --

16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Luke 1:26-38

1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

1:27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

1:28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

1:29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

1:30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

1:31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.

1:33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

1:34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

1:35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

1:36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.

1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God."

1:38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

little blog traffic

The time has come to prepare of the trek eastward. Trish and I will likely leave after work on Thursday. But between now and then there is much to do. There are cookies to bake, presents to buy and wrap and ten or twenty loads of laundry to do.

Monday we are going to a party with the cast from Trish's current show, Dear World. Tuesday, I will rehearse and play with One of the Girls. It will be a good sendoff for the season. Wednesday there is something going on...most likely baking, laundry and packing. Thursday evening we leave.

Keep us in your prayers. Traveling mercies are greatly desired.

Also, when I return, I want to pick up some older threads on this blog. I hope you all will keep me honest and on task.

1. Podcasting for AKMA
2. Podcasting for moi
3. The Emergent Church and Orthodoxy
4. Religion and Politics (Yeah, I know I have been working on this a bit.)

See you off and on when I can.

last night's fun

Well, the gig went swimmingly. We sold a few CD's and brought a lot of business and joy to the Poitin Stil. The owner/barkeep wants to book us for three more gigs in the coming year. This is great news. We make good money at the Stil.

So, you should come New Year's Eve. There is a $10 cover that takes care of the champagne and the...wait for it...Irish Breakfast! It should be a great time. I can't wait.

See all of you there.

oh...

Go to this new blog!

http://www.theuo.blogspot.com/

You will looooove it....yooooo wiiiiiillll aaaaaaaaaaaallllllll looooooooooooove it.

public faith and private politics

There is an interesting conflation of realities. Often I hear about private faith and public politics. But one of the things that I have become more and more convinced about is that faith is almost always public. This does not mean that I stand on a corner and recite the creed on Wednesday afternoons...though I may someday. Heh.

Aaaanyway, how can faith be truely private unless we utterly compartmentalize our beliefs and vote/make policy with a different set of guidelines. Meaning, I am a pacifist but if I vote for war hawks because I believe that faith realities and governmental realities to be that divergent then I am voting with a different set of guidelines or mores. Yes, there are ways to nuance this or conflate this, but there you go.

I think most people's faith is made public through the way they engage politics. They may engage the political landscape of this country in a variety of ways. This may be through whom they donate money, charities, foundations, congregations etc. This may be through whom they work such as large corporations, arts agencies, or small businesses. This may be through where they send their children to school whether that be public school, private, or homeschooling. Again, these are simplified, but the simple truth is that we are always guided by our beliefs, thus our beliefs are public. Even the event of a compartmentalizing these things is a reflection of belief.

So, why does this matter. Well, to beat the dead horse, if we are all voting our beliefs all the time, then what is the current debate in our country about?

I think it is about Creeds. I think we are renewing the desire in this country to vote with our religious creeds or lack thereof. I think that we are finally falling prey to exactly what the founding politicians warned us against. So, how do we battle back? Well, sending money to the local chapter of We Like The Sepparation may not be the best way.

I think it is time once again for those of us who claim differing Creeds start talking with one another again. We have somehow let our relationships dissolve, believeing for too long that our Creeds were private. But they are not and, as they are descriptors of faith and belief, will never be. so, a dialogue must be struck. It must be public. And it must be intimate.

What do you all think?

friday glee

Good morning...if it is morning for you.

The last couple of days have been chaotic. I have been temping with a phone bank and the hours are hit and miss. So, I was sent home early on Tuesday and did not work for them Wednesday or Thursday. Fortunately I was able to secure 14 hours from the caterer. It pays better even though it is less consistent.

Today I am on the phone again.

I have a busy weekend coming up. Christmas is looming and there are cookies to be made, photos to be copied and gifts to be wrapped. Somewhere in there, I will attend an ordination and play in a concert. Ph, did I mention I am preaching Sunday? Yeah, that too. Oy.

This is the kind of thing I am working through with my sermon. I will, however, most likely include bubble lights in my sermon. Somehow they fit. I dunno.

"Our hearts are made for trusting."

satredey night's all right for...

...a One of the Girls extravaganza!

Yes, you too can participate in this evening of frolic and foolishness. Saturday evening, we will be playing at the Poitin Stil. You can go to the One of the Girls website for the details.

And now for the bad news. The CD's are no longer $5. Nope. $10. So, if you were not able to pick one up at the release party, you will have to shell out big bucks. Sorry. I, of course, fought this heartily. Sadly, it was to no avail. But come to the concert. Hear some sweet Irish tunes. Buy a CD!

missive

Good morning.

I have been thinking about monasticism and the American political system. I wonder what monasticism has to offer politics. Yes, I know that monastics can be political and shape thin thinking of politicians. But that is not what I am talking about.

How does the prayer life of monastics shape the world?
How can the discipline of monastic life shape political disciplines?

Maybe there is no clear connection or no Great Learning available in this thinking, but I will spend some time pondering it today while I am at my temp assignment.

Peace.

missive continued: I am thinking about vows.

In obedience a Franciscan not only promises to obey his legitimate superiors in the Order in everything that is explicitly contained in the Rule and Norms of the community, but also obliges himself to do whatsoever the superior might command him so long as it is something good and licit. By this vow, the Franciscan religious obtains a childlike purity of heart which makes him pleasing to God and offers God the greatest of all sacrifices, that of his entire free will.

In poverty a Franciscan not only renounces the ownership of all possessions, giving them to the poor, and promises to live a communal life with his fellow religious, but he entrusts his life to God's providence and accepts only the use of necessary things. As such Franciscans traditionally own no property, either personally nor as a community, nor do they own or use money or financial instruments or investments. They rely entirely upon the charity of the faithful in everything, accepting the use of things and consumables in exchange for their manual labor.

In chastity a Franciscan not only renounces the goods of marriage, but also promises to avoid all familiarity with women, as well as every interior and exterior act which is against virginal purity. By this vow the Franciscan religious, while on earth, takes on the angelic life of purity which is the life of all the saints in Heaven.

-or-

"Conversatio" (conversation): Living one's life as if it were a conversation with God, in a commitment to personal spiritual disciplines.

"Stabilitas" (stability): Living one's life in, of, and for metropolitan Richmond, in a commitment to this place as the locus of one's fundamental duty to be a part of the bringing in of the reign of God.

Obedience: Living one's life in response to God's will, in a commitment to the mission of the community.

Hospitality: Living one's life in service of others, in a commitment to welcome guests in love and a spirit of prayer.

Healing: Living one's life in hope for wholeness, in a commitment to inner healing and healing of the larger community of metropolitan Richmond.

Prayer: Living one's life in the presence of God, in a commitment to private, corporate, and intercessory prayer for metropolitan Richmond.

Racial reconciliation: Living one's life in attention to the particular wounds of race in metropolitan Richmond, in a commitment to racial reconciliation.

Community: Living one's life as life together, in a commitment to shared mission and a common life.

"Laborare et orare" (to work and to pray): Living one's life in a rhythm of work, prayer, and restoration, in a commitment to a thoughtful life-style.

Simplicity: Living one's life without excess, in a commitment to a modest use of resources that resists greed and consumerism.

Humility: Living one's life in perspective, in a commitment to assess and honor one's own gifts and those of others.

Ecumenism: Living one's life in fidelity to Jesus Christ, in a commitment to honor all expressions of Christian faith and in openness to other religions and faiths.

Christian social transformation: Living one's life for others, in a commitment to join spiritual practices with social justice in metropolitan Richmond. - Richmond Hill Rule of Life

These are but two examples of the vows that monastics may take. I just thought I'd add this to give you guys some sense of how I am thinking.

christian peacemaker teams update

CPTnet
7 December 2005

IRAQ: Love Your Enemies. Free the Captives. End the War

[The Iraqi group holding the four missing CPTers has extended their deadline
for the release of all Iraqi prisoners until Saturday, 10 December 2005.]

We remain concerned about the well-being of our team-mates Harmeet, James,
Norman, and Tom, and we ask for their release. We also remain concerned
about the well-being of all Iraqis who are suffering under occupation.

Those who are with our team-mates have demanded the release from captivity
of the Iraqi detainees held in United States' and Iraqi prisons.

Christian Peacemaker Teams believes that no single person, no single nation
can meet the demands of Justice.

No single person, no single nation can meet the demands of Peace.

But we believe that it is everyone's responsibility to do their part to
bring each combatant and each captive home to their families and to end the
war and occupation.

December 10th is International Human Rights Day.

Christian Peacemaker Teams calls for all people of conscience around the
world to initiate non-violent public actions for peace and for prayer on
December 10th in support of international human rights and in support of
ending war and occupation.

christmas podcast

I have recorded a podcast of a sermon by Peter Marshall entitled Let's Keep Christmas. It was published (or amazon) by his wife, Catherine Marshall, in the early 1950's after Rev. Marshall had passed away. It is a tiny volume with with great illustrations. I hope you enjoy listening to it.

set list

I thought some of you might like to know what we played at our very fun and successful shindig!

1ST SET

Hills of Connemara (D) Sean starts, syncopated rhythm, cut-time
-into-
Whistling Gypsy (D)

Britches Full of Stitches (A) Tripp starts, double time after 3rd B sec., punch ending
-into-
The Cobbler (A)

Monto (G) Sean starts, beer-time, repeat D-D7-G every b sec. b/w chorus and verse

Molly Malone (G) Count-off, start together, cut time

Reilly’s Daughter (A) Sean starts, trade up and down beats on D, cut time
-into-
Irish Rover (A)

All for Me Grog (C) Sean starts, audience participatory, might have a few more verses, 4/4

Grace (G) Sean and Tripp, count-off start, 4/4, Tom sings melody with Sean in chorus.

Wild Rover (G) Count-off, start together (tune lower string to D?), 3/4

Danny Boy (C) Sean starts, 4/4, 8 measure intro, Tom solo voce

The Meddle "E" (E) Count-off, start together

Black Velvet Band Try it in swing 3/4, ala Sweet Child
-into-
Sam Hall count-off to cut time
-into-
Isn’t It Grand? Carousing 4/4 time

2ND SET

The Gambler (C) Sean starts, rollicking 4/4

Finnegan's Wake (C) Tom starts, syncopated, chorus in cut time.

Johnny Jump Up (Dm) Count –off, start together, allegro 4/4, C punch every other 4th beat

Jug of Punch (E) Sean starts, cut time

Armageddon (Dm) Sean starts, low-key intro, Dm vamp, Sean starts singing, Tripp solo

God Save Ireland (G) Sean and Tripp count-off start, 4/4, Roger in with Tom, half time ending, suspend

She Moved Through the Fair (D) Roger and Sean count-off start, Tom and Tripp duet, rit. at end

Water is Wide (G) Sean intro and solo voce, allegro 4/4

Sea (C) Medley Sean starts, allegro bitches!

Bound for South Australia Cut time
-into-
Leaving of Liverpool alegrissimo 4/4
-into-
Home, Boys, Home

Big Strong Man (B-flat) Capo to third fret, Sean starts, audience participatory, faster repeats at end

The Medley (D) Sean starts, cut time

I’ll Tell Me Ma
-into-
Mountain Dew
-into-
Muirshin Durkin Repeat verse 1 Tell Me Ma, end chorus acapella

3RD SET
Spanish Lady (G) Washboard starts, bazouki follows, cut time

As I Roved Out (Dm) Roger starts, allegro 4/4

Man of Constant Sorrow (E) Count-off, start together, bluesy 4/4 (Mike possible guitar solo?)

Fields of Athenry (C) Roger and Sean count-off start

Modern Medley (G) Tripp starts, 4/4, snappy

Blister in the Sun 2nd verse, a sec.x2
-into-
You Shook Me All Night Long Chorus 8 measures, Blister a sec.x2, 2nd chorus 16 measures, a sec.x4
-into-
Women & Men punch ending

You Are My Sunshine Tom starts slow, allegro take-off, cut time

Sweet Child of Mine (E) Roger and Sean count-off start, swinging 3/4, count-off to cut time 2nd verse and chorus

BASS SOLO!!!

Stones Medley (D) Sean starts on D, whole notes, Roger count-off to cut time

You Can’t Always Get What You Want Hold D at end of chorus

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

Sympathy for the Devil 1st verse Sean duet, 2nd Roger, 3rd Tripp, audience participatory woo-woos

Parting Glass (D) Sean starts, 4/4

brief missive

I am looking forward to seeing all of you at our CD release party this sunday. I want to thank you all for maknig the effort to be there. You are all such great friends.

Huzzah!

from cpt net

CPTnet
30 November 2005

HEBRON: Palestinians seek release of CPTers missing in Iraq

On 30 November 2005 the National and Islamic Forces in Hebron held a press
conference to ask for the release of four CPTers being held by an Iraqi
armed group. They released a joint statement expressing their "sorrow at
the [disappearance] of four of the peace advocates from the CPT in Iraq."

The first speaker was Sheikh Najib Al Ja'abri, who hosted the press
conference at the Ali Baka'a Mosque in the Haret e-Sheikh neighborhood of
Hebron. He spoke of his warm feelings about working together with CPTers
over the years. The second speaker was Abdul 'Alim Dana of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine, followed by Fahmi Shahin, Coordinator
of the National and Islamic Forces in Hebron, representing the Palestine
People's Party.

Naim Daour, Public Relations Director for Hebron University, talked about
repeated closures of the university and CPT's work to help to re-open it.
"Sometimes it is hard to tell who is working for us and who is against us,
but really Christian Peacemaker Teams helps us - whoever is holding the
CPTers has made a mistake."

Fariel Abu Haikal, Headmistress of Qurtuba Girls' School, emphasized the
difference between CPTers and the American government. "Saif al-Haq ('Sword
of Justice,' the Iraqi armed group holding the CPTers) I don't know, but
these problems in Iraq, they come from George Bush. He is the problem, not
CPT." She described the accompaniment that CPTers have provided for
teachers and students at her school, who are often assaulted by Israeli
settlers from the nearby settlement of Beit Hadassah.

The last Palestinian to speak was Jamal Miqbal of Beit Ummar. Jamal and his
family live in the shadow of the Israeli settlement of Karme Tzur, and the
Israeli military issued a demolition order on their home. Many CPTers have
stayed at their home, both in tense times when the Miqbals feared that the
bulldozer would come, and in more relaxed seasons.

At the conclusion of the press conference, CPTers read this message: "We are
very worried about our four friends. We fear that whoever is holding them
has made a mistake. They are four men who went to Iraq to work for peace.
They oppose the occupation. They are not spies."

CPT Hebron feels deep gratitude for the efforts of these speakers, and for
the organizers who worked so hard on behalf of the CPTers missing in Iraq.
As the participants left, one after another stopped to express their
sympathy, and their hope that the four peace activists will soon be free.