A Response to Steve’s Comments

I have tried to respond to Steve Grech’s comments to my previous post, point by point. His words are in italics. (This is coming as a new post from me since I could not figure out how to do the italic thing within the “reply” box.) Please scroll down to read my previous post on abortion.

After reading this, I have an important question for you “What is your personal belief as to when life begins?”

I am a real conservative on the matter of when human life begins. From the Book of Genesis right on through many religious and legal codes through the millennia, human life begins when we take our first breath.

Why is this important? Because in your own words, you relate “Language is metaphorical and symbolic.” If you believe that, nothing can be a foundation for you. Life, love, Jesus, God, faith, Incarnation, Resurrection, blessing, miracle-are these all “symbolic’? You cannot build a life of faith on “symbolic”.

I did not say that life and faith etc. are symbolic. I said, “Language is metaphorical and symbolic.” Language is composed of signs, symbols, and sounds. The word “horse” is not a horse. It is a symbolic representation of another reality to which it points. And there is a great deal of subjectivity in the word “horse,” because one person hearing the word may think about a particular horse he has ridden, while another may think of an equestrian granite statue.

“Symbolic” language leads you to believe Planned Parenthood gets a “small percentage of its operations” from abortions. Fact (not symbolic):

1. In its last annual report (June 30, 2010), PP received $487.4 million tax dollars.
 2. Over that some time period it performed 329,455 abortions.
 3. It provided prenatal care to 31,098 women.
 4. It referred 841 women to adoption agencies.

Steve, I believe that if you check that same report you will see that Planned Parenthood provided over 11 million services during the reporting year, of which 3% were abortions. According to my math that qualifies as a “small percentage of its operations.”

“Small percentage” is a very poor symbol when talking about the facts listed above. 91% of pregnant women seen by PP get abortions.

Be careful here. My dad was a statistician who used to claim that “figures lie and liars figure.” (Please don’t take this personally. My dad didn’t. I only quote him to make the point that we must read the numbers carefully, so that we don’t draw conclusions that are not revealed in the data.) Again, according to the report, only 31,098 women received prenatal care. But prenatal care is not Planned Parenthood’s primary mission. 1,144,558 women received pregnancy tests, of which at least a few probably came out positive. In addition, statistically, some of the over 5,775,000 who participated in cancer screenings/prevention and STI/STD testing and treatment were pregnant as well. So it cannot be accurately claimed that “91% of pregnant women seen by PP get abortions.”

When you speak about the “official position of the Episcopal Church”, you relate women should have the legal right to choose…” The government does not grant “rights”, only God can give rights.

We have a Bill of Rights amending our Constitution. The Supreme Court has affirmed that a woman has a legal right to choose an abortion. I referred to “legal” rights. Existential rights may be granted by God, but “legal” rights are spelled out in constitutions, legislation, and court rulings.

Government needs and should be limited in scope.

I agree. Government should not be in the business of regulating women and their bodies. As I said in my original piece, “If government can force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term, then government could also force a woman to abort (as has been the case in China).”

Abortion is not a “right”. Abortion is an act. What you left out of your paragraph was this interesting part of the 72nd Convention: “That this 72nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church express grave concern about the use in the third trimester of pregnancy…called partial birth abortion…except in extreme situations”. Really?! What possible extreme situation would cause a doctor to puncture a hole in the base of a baby’s skull, suck the brains out, and then pull out the rest? Is this language too “symbolic”? And you as a priest, stand by and support this?

A circumstance is that of a hydrocephalic fetus that cannot be delivered and may or will kill the mother. Another may be extreme septic shock. Please note that the General Convention did make an exception for extreme situations. Yes, as a priest, I follow the teaching of the bishops, priests, and laity gathered in General Convention.

“Bringing an unwanted infant into the world…having a baby with known or probable defects-these are just a few examples”. Where is God’s hope in this? Have you heard of Ben Carson (reknowned surgeon), Steve Jobs (adopted), Larry Ellison (adopted), Scott James (autistic singer), baby Isaac (recommended for abortion and now a happy 4 year old boy), and last, but not least, Rebecca Kreisling-conceived in rape and now an attorney. God’s hope is always there but its hard when the word “hope” is symbolic or metaphorical.

Let’s talk about the 30,000 children who starve to death every day. Remember, words are symbolic. Not the reality to which they point.

Congrats to you also for being a foster and adoptive parent. Foster parents and adoptive parents are very special. Using your reasoning about bringing “unwanted children into the world, birthing a child with physical or emotional ‘defects’” which child do you think should have been aborted? When they were born, I’m assuming there was no hope in their lives, out of the 80 children you fostered, chances are high one or more had physical or emotional “defects”, and as you state “every child born into this life places an additional burden on the earth’s resources”. So which child? All the mothers had that choice you support ardently. Can you honestly look at their pictures (or your grandchild’s pictures) and say “Abortion would have been so much better”.

Once they are here, breathing, fully human, yes, I will fight to defend their presence among us and their rights and care with all my life. Too often, that‘s when many folk want to abort them post birth by denying them health care, education, food and general welfare. Please note: “Abortion would have been so much better,” are your words, not mine. So which child would I choose? That’s my point. I don’t get to choose. I’m a man.

Finally, when you state “the individual must make her choices with fear and trembling, always in the belief and confidence that righteousness is an unearned gift”. I learned in EFM, righteousness is “walking with God”. Righteousness is not “unearned”. The person must make a decision to turn and walk and follow. God does not follow, He does not hover. He leads after He asks (free will) and you decide. Is the woman afraid of God (i.e. “trembling and fear”)? Why? Why can’t her priest in her life convince her God is love and not death? Where are the reverends to hold her hand and say, “The church will help you through this because God has a plan!”

I beg to differ. As a former EFM mentor and as person with a doctorate in theology, I maintain that righteousness is a gift from God that cannot be earned. It is a gift from God that we call “grace”. Grace is never earned. As you know so well, this was the main theological thrust of the Protestant Reformation.

Regarding the language “trembling and fear,” you will remember that Philippians 2:12, says “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

In your world, words are “symbols and metaphors” so only you can answer the question I asked at the beginning: Where in your personal belief does life begin?

See above.

Babies die if you answer wrong.

No. Fetuses are aborted. If they do not breathe, they are not babies.

Many Christians will disagree, and you are certainly among them. As often portrayed by the media, yours is THE Christian position on the matter. But as I stated in the beginning, mine is a Christian perspective that is held by many faithful people.

–John Paddock

Reflection on Abortion: A Christian Perspective

In light of proposals to defund Planned Parenthood because a small percentage of its operations are providing abortions, and in response to the renewed call for “heartbeat” and other anti-abortion legislation, I thought it might be useful to provide some theological and personal reflection on the issue.

We often hear in the media about The Christian Perspective on issues, as if there is only one. But there are many Christian viewpoints—even in my own Episcopal Church.

It is the official position of The Episcopal Church, by action of the Bishops, laity and clergy gathered in General Convention, that women should have the legal right to choose whether to continue or end pregnancy.

We must recognize and honor the moral agency of women. There is a long history of sexism that stands behind the “choice” debate that men and paternalistic government get to choose for women. If government can force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term, then government could also force a woman to abort (as has been the case in China). Perhaps it is time to get government out of the equation altogether.

The Church recognizes the grave nature of such a choice and encourages women considering abortion to carefully consider their options, to consult with their clergy, and to pray for wisdom in their choosing.

In the best of all possible worlds, the willful termination of a pregnancy might be wrong on many levels. However, not only do we not live in such a place, but the world of any woman seriously considering the issue is far removed from perfection. She is often not choosing between right and wrong, good and evil, but may well be confronting many shades of gray.

Although abortion may be fraught with moral danger, the other choices may be just as bad. Bringing an unwanted infant into the world; birthing a child without physical or emotional resources to provide for its well being; having a baby with known or probable defects—these are just a few examples. Choosing to abort a fetus may be a moral wrong. But too often the issue is not balanced with the corollary that choosing to not abort is always a moral good.

The very real list of options from which a woman must select is narrow, and each option may be fraught with difficulty. Therefore, I strongly agree with the church’s teaching where the woman can have good medical, psychological and spiritual information and care in order to make her own choice.

My religious perspective is a thoroughly Anglican hesitancy to be too certain about anything. God is other; and neither God nor her will can be fully grasped by the human mind. (“Now we see through a glass dimly.”) Language is metaphorical and symbolic. Motives behind our behavior and our choices are often mixed. Therefore, any sources of authority to which we might turn for guidance are often themselves unclear or questionable. Scripture, tradition and reason must all be brought to bear to inform the conscience. And then the individual must make her choices with ”fear and trembling”; always in the belief and confidence that righteousness is an unearned gift.

The other perspective I bring to the question is that of a foster and adoptive parent. For over 30 years my wife and I fostered nearly 80 children, mostly infants. We adopted six. Although we dearly love each one, the majority of our children have had serious problems as the result of poor pre-natal care, alcohol and drug effects, neglect, and/or overt abuse. Neither the foster care nor adoption systems can ameliorate the needs of many of these children. The education, childcare, medical and social welfare systems that should provide and care for them are often not capable of doing so.

In many states, one of the few areas of government that consistently grows is the criminal “injustice” and prison system. So while our society struggles with pre-birth abortions, we seem to have little problem with what some have called post-birth abortions. We work hard to see that children are born, and then we abandon them by refusing to pay for quality healthcare, education and so forth. And in some of those same states, the number of third or fourth graders failing to read is used to project the number of additional prison cells that will be needed within the next decade.

Finally, we need to consider stewardship of the environment. Overpopulation is one of the main engines driving the various ways that we are destroying the planet. If we are to be responsible stewards, then (at the very least) we must pay much closer attention to birth control issues around the globe. Although I do not advocate abortion as a form of birth control, many who argue against abortion also oppose birth control in any form. We must recognize that every child born into this life places an additional burden on the earth’s resources. From this perspective, then, advocating and/or legislating against birth control places the earth and the lives of future generations in jeopardy. It at least raises the question about what is the true pro-life position on these matters.

For a Jewish perspective on abortion visit this website: http://www.bethabrahamdayton.org/words

–The Rev. John Paddock

 

Yoke of Interdependence on Independence Day

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:29-30, NRSV)

The simplest meaning of yoke is attachment.  A common image is the wooden beam across an animals shoulders yoking one to another.  Try to imagine if we were each attached individually to Jesus that would mean that those with shelter and the homeless would be attached to him.  The laborers and unemployed would be attached to him as would be the employers, the haves and the have-nots.  The sick would be attached; those of a different political view would be attached; even, those we call our enemies. There’d be this vast set of yokes all reaching out from Jesus at the center-a wheel with many spokes of yokes

“Learn from me,” he says.  And as he totally gave of himself, imagine that as he empties himself for the least of these, he breathes his spirit into the wheel leaving everyone to be attached to each other in his spirit. A wheel with center and spokes of yokes becomes a vast interdependent network.  Through that network, needs are met, music is heard, and the realm of God has come near.  It would be so vast that no one would fall through.

On this Independence Day weekend, may we find our greatest freedom and our greatest well-being in our interdependence upon each other, through the yoke of Christ, even those we consider our enemies.

– Rev. Mary Slenski

Transportation Planning for Seniors

Sometimes items come to our attention that need to be shared. Many of us have faced the difficult choices confronting aging parents and friends regarding housing and transportation. And some of us are now approaching or are already in our senior years.

The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission recently distributed a report published by Transportation for America regarding some special challenges.

As many people age, mobility and transportation can become problematic. Living as we do in an automotive culture, getting around for groceries, medical appointments, church and all the other things we do can become very difficult. In a new report entitled Aging in Place; Stuck Without Options, Transportation for America outlines the problems and offers some things to think about ahead of time.

We encourage seniors to think through their transportation options before they are stranded. Some  Christ Church members have recently taken these issues to heart and have made arrangements to deal with their current or potential future needs. The full report from Transportation for America can be found at this link:  http://t4america.org/docs/SeniorsMobilityCrisis.pdf

If you would like to speak to someone about these matters please contact The Rev. John Paddock in the church office (937-223-2239 or jpaddock@christepiscopal.com)

Death of Christendom

There are many changes taking place in our society. And one of the biggest for Church folk is the demise of what we call Christendom. Some date the beginning of Christendom to the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine who recognized Christianity and made it the religion of the Empire. It prevailed in numerous places, especially in Western Europe and the United States, until fairly recently. Although Christianity was never the official religion in our country, it was the de facto religion. Church and state were closely linked.

But more importantly, in Christendom the Church served as a kind of touchstone in consideration of public issues—for good or for ill. People wanted to know what the Church’s official position was on any particular topic. After the Reformation, the grip of Christendom began to loosen with the rise of multiple churches. The emergence of sovereign nation states, universities, large corporations and economic institutions, mass media, and the internet all began to serve as other touchstones for people in our society. The voice of the church today is only one among many—and it is frequently a disjointed and weak voice.

One result is that fewer and fewer people look to the church, attend church, or seek to know the church’s teaching or theological reflection. Christendom is now dead.

There are multiple implications for Christian formation, ministry, and mission which we will explore in coming posts. I invite you to share your thoughts and observations by replying.

Thought on a Hot Summer Day

Feeling the heat today. The repairs to the church air-conditioning are still not complete. So we are making do.

I am always making plans for this or that, and then, life intervenes. The plans go out the window, and I have to scramble to adjust. To paraphrase Robert Burns, “The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.”

I only really get in trouble when I insist on my original plan, or complain that my planning is more important than the new information and circumstances. Why should my plans be more important that those of others or of God?

Humility seems to be the right attitude for a Christian. It is a kind of self-forgetfulness.

“Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts.  It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all.”  ~ Archbishop William Temple

May News

As many noted this past weekend, our air conditioning is not working. Just before Easter our mechanical services contractor discovered that fully half of our system had failed due to corrosion in the water that circulates within the air conditioning. The Finance Committee, Endowment Trustees, Building and Grounds Committee, and Vestry have explored repair options and financing. The result is that work has begun. If all goes well, then we should have air conditioning by Sunday, May 29, which is the Memorial Day weekend.

We were privileged to experience worship this past Sunday in the flavors tasted by our youth at Procter Conference Center. Especially moving were the prayers and the testimonies offered by our young people. (Click the link to hear them.) Their faith, enthusiasm, and energy are inspiring and welcome to those of us who may have lost touch with or forgotten what life and faith is like when it is fresh.

The facelift that began last summer and fall with the new sidewalks, entry ramp, and parking lot resurfacing will continue this spring and summer. “The Great Lady of First Street” as our facility is known in the parish history will have her bricks repaired, tuck-pointed and sealed. Of course, it will have to stop raining long enough for everything to dry out!

We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Goodwill/Easter Seals, which is cleaning our building interior. Many are observing that things are a bit brighter and fresh. The main worker is Ezell McCleskey. Ezell is generally here during the day on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. And he returns on Saturday evenings to make certain that all is ready for Sunday mornings. Not only do we benefit, but it is good to partner with such a fine organization.

–The Rev. John Paddock

Titles as Icons

Alone.  
The Confession.  
Dead or Alive.  
Unbroken.  
Heaven is for Real.  
Known and Unknown.  
The Hidden Reality. 
Life. 

Each word or phrase on the list  is the title of a book on the NYT Combined Print and E-Book Best Sellers list. Each points to the most basic questions of life, death and the relationships in between.  It’s the spiritual undertone to each word or phrase that has me fascinated.  A good title of a book serves in some way as an icon to connect what the author is offering between the pages and what the reader wants or needs to hear.  If these are best sellers, I’d propose that each one of these titles point to an epidemic of spiritual hunger, of desire for connection.

Many people today claim to be spiritual rather than religious. The difference is the role community makes.  Spirituality is between me and the God who goes by many names. That’s a good and wonderful thing but for the relationship to be all that it can be, it’s the community of others sharing the spiritual journey and shaping a common life as one body that makes the difference.  Where do you see evidence of spiritual need or desire for connection to something greater or deeper than ourselves?  What should be our response?          –Mary Slenski

What are you looking for?

Jesus asks two of John the Baptist’s disciples, “What are you looking for?…They said to him,’Rabbi, …where are you staying?’” (John1:38) 

 What are you looking for?

We started something new at Christ Church in the fall.  On the First Friday of the month we’d gather at some local watering hole from 6-8 pm.  The point is to gather, talk, share our day and our week, connect and re-connect, hopefully in a venue and format that would make it easy to include our friends and acquaintances.  We also said that we would commit to 3 or 4 months and then re-evaluate.  It’s been four months.  There’s a photo of our last gathering on our FB page.  Ten or more folks have gathered each month.  Different folks have come each month.  We’ve tried three different venues (Marion’s Piazza, Brixx Ice Co, and Blind Bob’s Tavern.) 

There’s a real tension in the venue and time decision.  Central Miami Valley…or out in the suburban sprawl?  Quiet…or not so quiet?  Alcohol available…or not?  Child friendly…or adults only?  Cash only…or plastic money.   Anyway we choose, somebody will feel that it’s not for them.  There’s no good way to resolve the tension.   Rather than give up, I say let’s stay in it, fully conscious that’s it’s imperfect but at the same time extends our reach of hospitality into the community.  After all, gathering in the first step in our worship as the people of God.  As people called to bear Christ to the world, let’s ask “What are you looking for?” 

Jesus then said to those two disciples, “Come and see.”

–Rev. Mary Slenski

Preparing for the Prince of Peace

It’s now Advent, a short season of preparation for the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace.  Living as close as we do to a large military installation, we can either be very conscious of the military presence in our midst, try to ignore it or become so used to it that it blends into the landscape and ceases to be noticeable.   Many in our parish family have served directly in the military, or a loved one has or is.  It’s a mixed blessing to be so dependent upon the economic stability Wright-Patterson AFB brings to the Miami Valley.  If peace on earth and goodwill toward all truly reigned, we wouldn’t need such an installation.

Military service and the reality of war present real challenges of conscience for those who follow the Prince of Peace.  It’s the work of living our Christian faith in a violent world.  We make all sorts of decisions weighing the options and we don’t always agree with each other.  Support the people who serve is a familiar faith response.  Whatever you think of the war or the decisions around it, support the people who serve.  At Christ, Dayton, we do that in our prayers and in the care packages sent to troops overseas.  And, we respond further. Installation art on the church wall made of the names of those who’ve died keeps the cost of violence along side us.  Parishioners are involved as peace activists.  But, we can do more. We can make changes that will reduce the violence.

Let’s expand supporting the people who serve to simply…support the people. Jim Wallis, a well-respected writer and advocate for social justice, wrote: “We should know by now, and most of those on the ground in places like Afghanistan do, that what re-builds a broken nation; inspires confidence, trust, and hope among its people; and most effectively undermines terrorism is an old and proven idea — massive humanitarian assistance and sustainable economic development. And it costs less — far less — than continued war.”  We can, each of us, support the people in war-torn and at-risk countries and develop stability and sustainability.

For your holiday giving, consider redirecting a gift from a retailer to one of the many charitable organizations supporting the people of the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Africa.  Our own Episcopal Relief & Development www.er-d.org works in all of these areas as does Heifer International www.heifer.org.  For a more personal approach, consider Kiva www.kiva.com, not a charity in the same way, but an organization that focuses on administering micro-loans and building economic stability around the world.  There are many others; find one that speaks to you.  Certainly, let’s continue to support our veterans and those serving in this time of war, but let’s also strive to build a world where peace is possible.  I can think of no better way to prepare for the coming of the Prince of Peace.            –Rev. Mary Slenski

To read the entire blog: http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/29/afghanistan-a-whole-new-approach/

PS:  I wrote this a year ago for a different congregation and sadly, it’s still just as relevant today as it was then.  -M