HarvestBoston

Listen to the 3 minute audio at the top of the page.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89164759

Thanks to Justin for the link.

Have to share this powerful poem from the amazing site, Jesus Manifesto:

Welcome to
The Church of Consumer Jesus
The eternal prophylactic,
Protecting you from
The scum
Of the earth
And all their mortal filth.
Protecting
For your peace of mind
The Holy Status Quo,
The warmth of knowing
That somebody else
Will get around to
Cleaning shit up
On someone else’s dime,
‘Cause Consumer Jesus
Died to give you
A mansion in the sky.

Author: John O’Hara

When it comes to global warming, I fall in the “cynic” category.  Not cynical about the existence of global warming or humans’ involvement in it, but about the motives that drive the movement.  I am of the opinion that much of the environmental movement in the United States — specifically the push to end global warming — has as its ultimate goal political strength and money-making.  What’s more, media coverage of global warming continues because of the piles of cash there is to make on the issue.  (it’s hard to see any monetary payoff for, say, the crisis in Darfur, sex trafficking in Asia, or the fight against homelessness in America)

Just look around you — nearly every company has released a “green” product of some kind.  They’ll continue to carry their “non-green” products, of course, but they want us to know that they are aware of the problems that we face regarding our Earth and are hard at work doing something about it.  Do you think the car or oil companies really feel morally obligated to fight global warming?  Of course not!  While Chevron brags about leading the industry in research on renewable energies, they send lobbyists to Washington to convince politicians that more science needs to be done with regard to global warming.  So jumping on the environmental bandwagon is awfully opportunistic for these companies.  The bottom line, of course, is the bottom line.

That said, I am a fierce environmentalist.  I believe the Earth is heating up and breaking down, and that we have some part in causing it.   I do my part to reduce my impact on the Earth and my neighbors.  We don’t own a car.  We have those expensive twisty bulbs.  We cook at home a lot.  We eat organic and fair trade foods whenever we can.  And the list goes on.  We just try not to get swept up in the marketing of the issue.  For me, it’s as much about self-sacrifice and discipleship as it is reversing global warming. (the egotism of much of the rhetoric — “we can reverse global warming”; “we can save the planet” — is really mind-boggling sometimes)

It is good to see the Southern Baptist Convention rise above political polarity to name environmental care as a moral issue at its recent conference.  The other sign that the apocalypse is upon us is a commercial hitting the airwaves this week featuring Pat Robertson and Al Sharpton sitting on a couch (Pat on the Right; Al on the left, of course) advocating for environmental care.  Al Gore’s foundation is putting up the money for the media blitz, and CBS News reports that other unlikely pairings will include Toby Keith and the Dixie Chicks and Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich.

… has been removed.  It came to my attention that my post could be construed as anti-Catholic, which I am not, but it is a line I definitely do not want to walk.

—————————

Can I just make a coupla blog recommendations?

- Priest is blogging again, thank goodness.  Love his outlook.

- I continue to really like Revolution in Jesusland, which explores the shifts going on in Evangelical Christianity. Speaking of which, did you catch Mike Huckabee’s statements about Jeremiah Wright’s (Obama’s pastor) rantings from the pulpit?  Profound indeed.

- You a traveler?  I love the tips and destination info given at The Traveler’s Notebook, a new blog for travelers and travel journalists.  (I’ve written a few pieces for them, which you can find here and here)

- Gotta shout to my boy Miller.  The video he recently posted titled “Ser Paz” is amazing, and worth the 9 minutes it would take to watch it.

- Justin echoes some of our own struggles with “not going to church.”

- Listen to this Bill McKibben speech.  I am currently working through Deep Economy, which is a fascinating and prophetic book.  McKibben, a devout Christian, brings to a wider audience the good news that we don’t have to live divided from one another, that our economies can truly help all people, and that God’s creation is something to be shared and protected.  Hopefully, I’ll be hearing McKibben speak at the Down2Earth Conference this weekend in Boston.

- Finally, here’s a question for you all: What is a story — about a person, a trend, an idea, a place, whatever — that you wish some freelance journalist would pick up and write?  You’ve probably said the following at some point in the last 6 months: “Why don’t the newspapers and magazines pick up this story?  This is a great story!”  OK, here’s your chance to tell the “newspapers and magazines” (sort of…) what to write.

Jimmy Shaw tagged me almost a month ago for this book meme, but I was buying a house, so I completely forgot to do it.  Anyway, it seems pretty cool.  Here’s the drill:

1. Pickup the nearest book (with at least 123 pages)
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Well, here goes:

But that has changed in the past few decades, as the economy nationalized and globalized. As we meet fewer of our neighbors in the course of the day, as we become ever more hyper-individualist in our economic lives, those bonds fell away. “Operating in a world of instant communication with minimal social tethers,” Whybrow observes, “America’s engines of commerce and desire became turbocharged.”

If you’re wondering (as I am, because I had not yet gotten to page 123 in the book) what, exactly, has changed, you’ll have to pick up Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, by Bill McKibben. Yeah, that little excerpt pretty much means nothing without the context of the rest of the book … or at least the 4th sentence on the page … so read it!

OK, who should I tag?  Who still reads this blog?

The Neaves, Miller, Justin, Brandy, and Taylor 

(you can minimize the music video box by clicking the “x” in the right corner)

Well, we’re all moved and getting settled into our new house. We’re excited about meeting our neighbors, walking the dog to one of the several dog parks in the area, frequenting Piers Park (in my opinion, the best park in the city), and generally working our way into the fabric of this eclectic and fun neighborhood. In many ways, we’ve already been doing that. For context, we’re still in East Boston, just a few blocks away from our old residence. We’re on the line, somewhat, of a neighborhood of predominately working-class whites and immigrants and a section of primarily middle-class artists and young professionals. Breaking anything in Eastie down cleanly is impossible, however, as there are mixes of all types of people everywhere. Our new digs will put us in closer reach of folks “like us”: twenty- and thirty-somethings, professionals and entrepreneurs, culturally and socially aware, pet owners, etc. (very generally speaking). We are still in close contact with our neighbors from our other neighborhood as well: still watching kids, eating breakfast with a few of them on Sunday mornings, taking trips to the store.

Hopefully, this will give you a better idea about what our life is like in Boston. We couldn’t be happier.

Music: “Photograph, live” by Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys

UPDATE: When you are a young white couple buying a home — not a temporary move — in a currently working class / immigrant urban neighborhood like East Boston, people give you funny looks.  Like, “Why would you do something like that?”  They think cities are meerly a short stop on the road to the suburbs for young’uns like us.  But not so.  Considerable evidence points to a return to city centers for many Americans.  One writer even recently suggested that the suburbs might become America’s “next slum“:

For 60 years, Americans have pushed steadily into the suburbs, transforming the landscape and (until recently) leaving cities behind. But today the pendulum is swinging back toward urban living, and there are many reasons to believe this swing will continue. As it does, many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and ’70s—slums characterized by poverty, crime, and decay.

As usual, David Fitch (and Slavov Zizek, of whom he is speaking), nails it with this post about theology, ecclesiology, and political theory.  Their questions define to a T where I am in my understanding of the Christian’s role in the political circus.  Here’s a sample, but read the whole thing:

We participate in National politics, its political ideologies of a more just society, even though we deeply suspect the corporate national machine insures nothing will change. We do this because it is much harder to think of the church itself as a legitimate social political force for God’s justice in the world. It is simply a lot less work to support Barack Obama for president than it is to lead our churches into being living communities of righteousness, justice and God’s Mission in the world.

I know Zizek might appear way too skeptical here for most of us. And there is always the cry “why can we not do both - vote for Obama and be missional communities for justice in our neighborhoods.” Yet (at the risk of being over provocative) I think the question is worth considering: “Are we supporting Obama because it’s easier than being God’s justice in the world ourselves?” Is our participation over here in electoral politics sapping our energy (or worse even assuaging us) from participation in the work of justice as an extension of the church.

In my Kayak.com newsletter outlining the best travel deals on the Web, I just read about an resort / eco-park in central Mexico that allows tourists to simulate crossing the US-Mexico border illegally. National Geographic seems to think it might be some sort of subversive attempt to highlight the struggles of local immigrants. My first impression (which is not necessarily my current opinion) was that it makes light of a horrible humanitarian crisis along our borders. Good, clean fun? Over the line? Read the Kayak description and decide for yourself:

Immigration and border patrol seems to be at the top of every political conversation. At Parque EcoAlberto, you can go on a pretend ‘Night Border Crossing Experience.’ The parque is owned by the Hnahnu Indians in Hidalgo, about three hours from Mexico City. The $18, four-hour night hike starts with the Mexico National Anthem. Your ‘coyote’ guide, Pancho, pulls off his black ski mask while actors gather around to scare you senseless along the way. Run from border control agents; dodge hidden actors shooting (blanks) at you, and make your way through barbed-wire fences. Survivors are blindfolded, led across a rickety bridge, and then set free to run across the border to freedom!

(here’s a Metro article about the park)

I’ve often been frustrated at my inability to speak conversational Spanish, despite four years of it in high school and a minor in it in college.  Everyone always tells me, “Steve, you just need that immersion experience in a Spanish-speaking country, ya know?”

I recently heard about the Transnational College of Lex, a fascinating community created in Tokyo in 1984 to research the unique relationships between human beings and languages. Based on initial and ongoing study, LEX Language Project Clubs, where individuals and families are immersed in a community where several languages are spoken at once, were formed. No books. No grammar lessons. No teachers. No tests. Just people interacting and learning naturally. Based on their success in bringing people together in community to learn multiple languages, LEX Language Clubs have popped up in cities all over the world, including Boston. Read this brief description of why the clubs work:

LEX Language Project, organized by LEX America, offers opportunities for multicultural and multilingual exploration to all people.

LEX encourages people to participate with family and friends, because when an entire family gets involved in the LEX language activities, the natural, total immersion environment that is best for acquiring languages is established. Family and community involvement in this program is essential to its success. Only in the richness of human relationships can real learning occur.

Languages are Like Music: Begin by Humming the Tune

At clubs we often say, “sing the sounds.” This is more than just a metaphor. At first we try to sing the big wave of language, the rhythm and melody which constitute the “Chinese-ness” of Chinese, or the “French-ness” of French.

Babies love music. At LEX gatherings, even babies who can’t walk yet will sway to the sounds of a song. Infants don’t learn their native language by breaking the language down into little pieces of grammar and vocabulary or by looking in a dictionary, thus children or adults do not need to learn other languages that way.

Without understanding the meaning of another language, people can begin to speak all the words, as if in a song. There are no mistakes, only exploration. If one does not even know where the separations between words are, the “past tense” or “plural form” or “articles” are all hidden inside of the whole, and it is impossible to be confused by them.

As my friend was telling me about this, I began to think about faith. I wonder if faith formation is more like learning a language through immersion and relationship than learning by being taught, mastering the do’s and don’ts of grammar, taking tests, reading books, etc. I began to think about the traditional ways that people of faith pass it on — studies, lectures, book and Scripture assignments, etc. Many faith traditions place a premium on the mastery of propositional truths and proofs, and these virtues shine through in the dominate methods of proselytizing.

There seems to be a renewed emphasis, however, on faith as a way of life. For Christians, we believe the way of Jesus is the very best way to experience abundant “life before death.” We believe we have been saved into a way of life that reflects — though imperfectly — our original humanity and goodness. We are learning how to be human again, how to reflect the glory of our Creator.

In this way, faith formation is a lot like learning a language. I dream of a world in which vibrant communities of faith popped up all over the world with the purpose of creating a space in which to be immersed in the gospel way of life. I dream of faith communities whose “tune” is so beautiful and lifestyle so attractive, outsiders are compelled to begin “humming along.”

We’ve got to stop trying so hard to make people see things our way.

We’ve got to stop forcing the sheet music down people’s throats before they’ve learned to hum along.

We’ve got to start living like communities who have something to say with our lives, and stop talking so much.

Can we do that?

Let me clarify a thing or two about what I am saying and NOT saying in the last post and subsequent comments:

I am not saying that people of faith do  not have an obligation to speak prophetically to and about the evil power systems of this world.  The last blog post, in a small way, does just that.

What I AM saying is that for people of faith to then go and dive headlong into that same corrupt political system is, in my opinion, a conflict of interest.  This is why non-Christians looked in disgust on the Moral Majority as they sought (and still seek, to some extent) to transform America through right-wing political legislation.  This is why some are beginning to attach the label “Religious Left” to people / groups of faith on the other end of the spectrum whose issues are different but whose tactics seem frighteningly similar.

What if people of faith stood up and said, “The system is broken, and we place no hope in it. We conscientiously object to participating in a process that seeks to do the same things over and over and expects different results. Our king is Jesus.  Our guide is the Holy Spirit.  Our judge is God”?

We preach a different way in every other arena of life, but why do so many people of faith become incensed when someone suggests that this extends to the political arena?

What if the church acted like the church with respect to issues of justice and mercy?

Thoughts?