a prayer

This is the prayer I composed for church this morning:

God of peace and light, we come into your presence today as a community dedicated to hearing from you. Our hearts are heavy with care for the hurt in our world. We think of our sisters and brothers in our global community. In Haiti and Chile there are members of our body struggling to see the Holy amidst destruction and pain. We pray for our extended family in Cuba as they worship with us this morning in spirit. Our hearts cannot help but dwell on the hurt in our own community that we’ve experienced over the last two weeks. Show us comfort Lord. Give us healing. We pray desperately for your divine peace. Yet we cannot help but thank you for the moments of celebration. Today we celebrate the decision this week to advance equality in our nation’s capital, even as we work toward the same goals in our own community. We also ask your blessing on the tithes and offerings of money that are to be brought. May what we give be used to bring your peace and light into each of the lives our community of faith has the opportunity to touch. Kyrie eleison. Amen, and amen.

Emmie Cecelia Mears Webb

Emmie Cecelia Mears Webb, age 8, died from injuries sustained in a car accident on Wednesday, February 17.

Emmie is survived by her parents Amy Mears and David Webb, two sisters, Lara and Mia and brother, Danny; grandparents Ted and Betty Mears and Barbara and Billy Webb; uncles and aunts David Mears, Joel and Beth Mears, Andy Webb, and Matt and Dawn Webb; and 10 loving cousins.

Emmie was born June 1, 2001. She was a vibrant part of Glendale Baptist Church, in third grade at Glendale Spanish Immersion Elementary School, an enthusiastic soccer player, a student of the piano, and a lover of animals of all sorts and zebras in particular. She was bright and loving, kind and gentle, and Emmie brought joy into the lives of many.

A memorial service will be held at Glendale Baptist Church: A Caring Community of Equality and Grace (1021 Glendale Lane, Nashville) at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 20. Friends and family will gather in the Fellowship Hall following the service for lemonade and cookies. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be given in Emmie’s memory to Ring Lake Ranch (P.O. Box 446, La Crosse, WI 54602-0446) for the care and nurture of the horses on the Wyoming ranch that Emmie loved.

grief

I am not good at dealing with grief. I never have been. I would think that after having lost so many people over the last five years that grief would become easier. It has not.

My pastor Amy's husband and children ran into a deer on their way home this evening from the Ash Wednesday service. Emmie, the youngest, did not survive the accident. Emmie was precious. She was full of joy and life. Her loss hits us all deep in our hearts and souls.

I thought I would get on my blog and write some eloquent exposition about how grief, though unbearable, can strengthen the heart. I wanted to write about how I know God can overcome our pain.

I don't have any of those words tonight. This evening, I only have grief. Please pray for the Mears-Webb family, for Amy and David, for the other three children. Please pray for our Glendale Baptist family as we join together to comfort and to cry. Please pray that we would be granted peace and healing.

Thank you.

credo

I believe...

Those two words are incredibly profound. With them, lines have been drawn for conflict, unions have been formed in peace, and entire faith traditions have been established.

When I wrote those two words a few seconds ago, I had fully intended to jump into a long discourse about the many beliefs I hold. For some reason, that now seems inappropriate. Yes, this blog is my bully pulpit to speak about my many beliefs, but that's not really what I want to do tonight.

Last night I came home from my "Christianity in the Entertainment Industry" class in a absolute frenzy of frustration, anger, and sadness. This class is forcing me to apply everything I have learned over the last two and a half years of being a student of religion. I am having to cautiously weigh the opinions around me in order to form coherent statements that support my own minority opinion (as far as this class is concerned) about the world, especially as it relates to Christianity.

I won't go into specifics about the discussions that ensued last night (my gracious roommate already had to suffer through that venting session), but I will say that I was offended multiple times by statements made during class, both by other students and even my professor. I could have easily spoken out in anger. But I did not. I could have spoken out of sadness. But I did not. I could have spoken in a tone of utter frustration. But I did not. All of these would have been both accurate and, I think, justified responses to the things I encountered.

Yet I provided measured responses and challenges to each point made by my peers. I did my best to be generous, taking into account the fact that none of those in the room have been through the same experiences both in and out of the classroom as I have. And I had to remind myself that this did not make me or my opinions any better than their own. This was very hard for me. It drained me.

I spent today reflecting on last night's class. I came to a conclusion that saddened me more, but also helped me get a better handle on why last night was so difficult. Last night I was grossly offended by statements my peers made about those who are outside the Christian church. Having spent so much time in the School of Religion, I have gotten used to generous and genuine dialog about various faith traditions and the variety that exists within my own.

My conclusion then was really more of a realization. I remembered that a vast number of Christians would not accept the kind of church of which I am a member. A vast number of Christians do not agree with me that other faith traditions have value. It reminded me that I cannot be silent in the things I believe. I have to be willing to provide the differing opinion. I have to be willing to say that Muslims are not evil. I have to speak out when Jews are referred to as "those New York-type people." I cannot be silent about these things.

I titled this blog "credo" because of the first thing I ever learned in Christian Doctrine my sophomore year. The Creeds of my faith, both Apostolic and Nicene, have to do with what we believe as Christians. I offer now my own credo, adapted from the Nicene creed. It is a place for me to start as I pick up the pieces of my faith that was so drastically and unexpectedly shaken last night.

I believe in God, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things seen and unseen.

I believe in Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Child of God, begotten before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with Yaweh, by whom all things were made.

Who for us, men and women, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was made tangibly human; and he lived a life of example, filled with love, hope, peace, and liberation. It is this example that teaches us and shows us how to live our lives in similar fashion: showing love to all, having hope for tomorrow, seeking peace in all things, and working toward the liberation of all people from oppression.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from Yaweh and the Christ; who with Yaweh and the Christ together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets, a divine Other.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge the beauty of liturgy; and I look for the ways I may join my community in furthering the living goals and life-message of our faith. Amen.