WALL*E

Last night Will and I went to see WALL*E. Now, to get a 12 year old to see a movie with his dad is one thing, to get him to go see a Pixar movie with his dad is quite another thing. I was pleasantly surprised when he actually jumped at the chance when I suggested it at dinner. Sunday, he and I spent the better part of the afternoon cleaning his room and boxing up a number of toys that he's outgrown. It's a bittersweet deal, knowing your youngest child is, well, really no longer a child. But I digress. I had read a number of really good reviews and comments about the movie. I was intrigued by the entire premise of the movie - that earth is no longer habitable and earthlings had become fat, lazy, drones of a corporation who no longer really lived but rather existed. Intermingled within this story is a love story about two robots, WALL*E and EVE, that I found less compelling than many critics have. Yet this is a really good movie, one that takes a not so subtle swipe at the choices we humans have made with respect to using our natural resources as well as the rampant hyper-consumerism that we now view as a standard way of life. Which leads me to the biggest problem I have with this movie. Well, not the movie itself, but rather the Disneyfication of the message. Despite ripping on the hyper-consumerism during the movie, Disney/Pixar are marketing this movie and all the associated trinkets that go along with it, i.e. toys, bed sheets, back packs, etc., just like every other movie that has come from their studios. How refreshing it would have been to not be able to link to a page full of WALL*E toys? Still, a movie worth seeing and discussing.
Peace,
Jeff

New Look and Some Updates

I've added a few new links and changed a few things around. A couple of the links are UMC-related and have been added to the "People doing good things" section. Thanks to Pastor Rory for bringing the UMCOR link to my attention. I think we tend to overlook the good things that we Methodists do! I recall a trip to Tree of Life a few winters back and unloading a truck with supplies from Global Ministries. When you see something like that you get a greater appreciation for the importance of apportionments. I've also added a couple of links to some sites that offer up some religious-based humor. Finally, I added a link to Wild Idea Buffalo. WIB, is a sustainable bison operation run by author Dan O'Brien. He's a first-rate author, wildlife biologist, and advocate for sustainable agricultural practices. Be sure to check out his Cheyenne River Writings and if you haven't read "Buffalo for the Broken Heart", please do.
Peace,
Jeff

We're heading into one of my favorite parts of summer. It's the time when the prairie's palette starts to really get full. Currently, among the common roadside plants, one can see the oranges from the butterfly weed, the purple flowers from the lead plant and the yellows from the grey-headed coneflowers. A little more searching and purple coneflowers, purple prairie clover, and one of my favorites, common spiderwort can be found. I like the spiderwort for a few reasons. First it produces a lovely, delicate bluish flower. However, the cool thing about the flower isn't just the color. It's the fact that each bloom lasts for only one day. Each day for a couple of weeks each plant produces a single flower that blooms just at dawn and by mid-morning has folded into a small gelatinous sack that will eventually form a seed. The gooey mass in the sack is a dark blue and was used by indigenous peoples of the prairie to make a form of paint.
One of the reasons I love the prairie is the vast diversity of life that lives there. The prairie is a harsh place to live. Drought, severe heat or cold, and excessive moisture are part of life on the prairie. However, the plants and animals that live there have adapted to these harsh conditions which means there will always be prairie. It is that diversity that shields the prairie from these harsh conditions. It is that diversity in nature that should remind us, as humans and part of creation, we need to embrace the diversity of humanity as well. Just as the prairie has evolved and flourished through diversity so too should humanity.
Before summer is over, I'd encourage you to do a prairie walk. Get out and experience some diversity. If you need some places to look, let me know.
Peace,
Jeff

Faith and Slime

We had a nice break and a good visit with my parents over the last four days. Friday, Will, Jeanne and I took a little excursion up to Wisconsin's Door County. We did some tourist stuff, visiting some little shops, ate lunch along Green Bay, and then headed over to the Lake Michigan side of things. I've mentioned this before, I'm drawn to big landscapes like the Great Lakes and Lake Michigan is great. Granted, it doesn't have the awesome geological formations that can be found on Lake Superior, but it is still a great lake. We stopped at Cave Point Park and walked along the limestone formation that is part of the Niagra Escarpment; this is the same limestone formation that on the eastern most point forms Niagra Falls, on the western edge it can be seen as a ridge that forms the Door Peninsula then runs southward forming the eastern edge of Lake Winnebago and the famous Horicon Marsh (second only to the Everglades in the size of a freshwater marsh). It's rather easy to find fossils embedded in the limestone and we found some sea fans and sponges. We watched the waves crash into the caves and wished we had brought along the kayaks so we could have done some exploring as well. But this trip did provide us the opportunity to plan a longer future trip.

While I'm drawn to open spaces, I'm also always on the look out for examples of God's presence in nature and how those examples of the natural world can help shape our understanding of the natural world as well as our faith. (For example, this past spring I wrote about how we can learn about faith from Canada geese.) This particular day I found two examples of how creation can demonstrate faith for all of us. The first was the algae that was growing on the limestone just at the point where the force of the waves hitting shore was the greatest. Because the area is relatively shallow it has the greatest amount of solar energy, something that's pretty important if you're a plant. Nearshore areas like this also tend to have high concentrations of nutrients as they mix from running off the land and as the currents and waves keep them close to shore. That's the upside. The downside of course is that the area is constantly bombarded by waves. I sat and watched as the waves tossed the algae filaments back and forth, watched as the waves crashed on top of the colonies. This algae was lush, long, dark green, and thriving. It occurred to me that perhaps we need to be more like these algae. As life gets tough and beats down on us, we need to open ourselves up to God, show some faith that as we weather the waves we can still grow, still have lush, thriving lives. Algae are the basis for all life in an aquatic system. Similarly, faith is largely the basis for a full life and for developing a relationship with God.
I'll write a bit more about the other example later this week.
Peace,
Jeff

Thoughts from the road

I've spent the last few days at the University of Minnesota Duluth's Natural Resources Research Institute with the other members of the DNR's Fisheries Research Unit. I enjoy getting together with my collegues from around the state. We talk about the new things we're doing and what we'd like to do in the future. We do a lot of "cutting edge" research on fish and aquatic resources and we push each other pretty hard. Despite that, it isn't as cut-throat as some academic settings I've been in. Overall, it's a group of very good and intelligent people and I'm glad that I'm part of it. However, I must admit that while being generally supportive of my theological studies, there is some obvious tension that has developed over the last year. Unfortunately, that has probably become expected between scientists and theologians.

This afternoon, we're heading to Wisconsin to visit my parents for a few days. It will be nice to unwind for a few days and see what's new in the old home town - although it is small enough that not much ever changes!

Peace,
Jeff

Candidacy Ceremony

Monday evening I followed the thunderstorms down I94 to St. Johns. I arrived just before 7 p.m. just in time for evening prayer at the Abbey Church. Suprisingly, the choir was quite full which made for a rich, full sound as we all chanted the psalms. Following evening prayer I met with the Director of Oblates for the Abbey. I'd heard about oblates a while ago, but always just assumed that you needed to be R.C. to become one. I've since learned otherwise and as my interest in the Rule of St. Benedict has blossomed so did my interest in oblation. So, for the last month or so, I've been mulling over this path and last week decided that it was something I wanted to pursue. There are a number of reasons, including a continued bond with St. John's; no matter where I end up with my theological studies I'll be forever bound to the the St. John's community. I've also found the Rule fascinating and wish to delve into it at a much greater level which will require some assistance.

The ceremony was short, and simple. A couple of my instructors, who happen to be monks, stuck around as did some folks that are already Oblates (the Feast of St. Benedict is this week, as is the Annual Oblate Retreat). I received my St. Benedict's Medal, a guide to Benedictine study, and a series of questions about the Rule that I need to discern and write about. The entire candidacy period lasts at least a year, in which I'll need to write about 9 aspects of the Rule. I'll try to post those on here as I do.

The one part of the Rule that drew me into this path deals with hospitality. At its root, Benedictine hospitality requires one to treat everyone they encounter as though that person is Christ. I've found it valuable to frequently ask myself "Did I see Christ in that person and did that person see Christ in me?"

Peace,

Jeff

An interesting question ...

Fellow blogger David Bard, recently posted an essay on the debate over whether or not clergy should endorse candidates. (You can read his entire essay here.) There are a couple of reasons that I'm uncomfortable with this possibility. First and foremost I see the responsibility of the church to work with and give guidance to government to solve social problems. There needs to be a partnership to solve problems of poverty, racism, and other social justice issues and the church needs to be able to work with whomever is sitting in the big leather chair in Washington D.C., St. Paul, or where ever power sits. If clergy are picking favorites and endorsing people, that relationship gets to be very tenuous should the other person win. I would go as far as to say that if that happens, the working relationship can suffer to the point that the big losers are those whom have no voice, the people and issues that need attention the most.

The second problem I have is this seems to be more about the ego than about really wanting to help people. The recent flap over a pastor from International Falls going on record that he will openly preach about and endorse John McCain for President wreaks of self interest and self promotion. Chances are pretty good that anyone that attends this church already knew the pastor's position, was it really necessary to grand stand about it? I feel for the person in that congregation that might have a slightly less favorable opinion of Sen. McCain and is now silenced through intimidation.

So, what is the role of clergy in our political system? It is my belief that their responsibility lies in telling people the truth about what it means to be a Christian, to preach the life of Christ. Though largely ignored, I believe if social doctrine based on Christ-centered teachings such as the UMC Social Principles or the Catholic Social Teachings (this would also include other religious traditions) were routinely included in sermons and liturgy there would be no need to for clergy to be endorsing candidates. Having written a few for course work, I can attest to the fact that these sermons are difficult to write; it is difficult not to step on toes or make people sitting the pews feel uncomfortable. Yet giving preference to the poor, being tolerant of all, and promoting peace are what Christianity is all about, no matter how uncomfortable that might be for WASP congregations.
With that in mind, here are a few books worth considering:
Lazarus at the Table: Catholics and Social Justice and Vote Catholic? Beyond the Political Din both by Bernard Evans. (Bernie is my co-advisor of sorts at St. John's and is one of the most thoughtful people I know.)
The Truth about God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon.

Peace,
Jeff

Sweet Grass

Yesterday many of the roadsides in the area were being hayed. It is a bittersweet cutting in June, I miss the tall grasses along the roadsides but I get the occasional fragrance of sweet grass as I travel. That seems worth it; the grass will grow back.

Last night I cut my sweet grass, it never gets really tall anyway. I spent some time sorting it by length and got some braids done. My braids are never very fancy like the ones you can get on the rez. This morning the garage smelled like sweet grass, it was wonderful. One of those great things about summer.

Peace,

Jeff