Why I Resist Trump

Saddam Hussein, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Idi Amin...If more people had resisted them before they became super powerful, brutal, autocratic dictators, history might have unfolded a bit differently. My opposition to Trump is not partisan. I don’t reject him because he’s on “the other team”...I reject him because he is a danger to decency, justice, fairness, equality, and peace. I am not a member of his party (and neither was he for most of his life), but I didn’t wake up in a deep, despondent depression on Nov. 9, 2016 because I’m a tax and spend liberal who doesn’t believe Science is Satan’s tool and who believes compassion is not a sign of weakness and my lady lost (with 3 million more votes than the so-called winner...though that fact is galling)...I woke up in deep despair because an incompetent, soulless, psycho rode a wave of racism, xenophobia and corruption to immense power and I was honestly scared.  We will have R and D presidents and they will do things I agree with and things I don’t...my 100% rejection of Trump has nothing to do with that. My rejection of Trump is my chance to say I did what I could when I could to prevent an Idi Amin (who was in power for 8 years...may that not even be an option for us!) from ruling with unchecked brutality in my own country.

My Not Very Lefty Attitude Toward Bush 41

My possibly controversial attitude toward the passing of President Bush. 

Full disclosure (and unless we met 10 minutes ago, you know this already): I am not a member of the Republican Party. I have never voted for a GOP candidate who was running opposed by a Democrat. I have only voted for Democratic presidential candidates (so far). I believe we need and deserve and can afford a strong social safety net. I believe war should be avoided whenever possible. I believe the government should try to protect the environment. I believe health care is a right, and higher education should be affordable. No person who works full time should ever be living below the poverty line. I am pro-choice (realizing that even “choice” implies privilege that not everyone has).  I am a person of faith and cherish the freedom of religion, AND, I am furious that “religious freedom” is misapplied and intentionally misunderstood to protect and promote a variety of prejudices and injustices. Reasonable gun safety legislation is desperately needed. I hold the radical view that LGBTQ citizens are entitled to equal protection and equal opportunity and are, in fact, fully human. And, the Reagan-era silence and apparent apathy in the face of AIDS was almost unforgivable, and certainly cost many lives. Had the sufferers not been largely gay folk, I honestly believe the response would have been swifter and more compassionate. So...you know, a hard right winger I ain’t. 

That being said, my own health and sanity depend on a level of grace, a measure of forgiveness, a need to see more than misdeeds when evaluating a human life, especially a life that was dedicated (in whatever flawed way) to public service. 

I do NOT share the ever so popular view that Reagan was a great leader. He was charming and patriotic and eloquent, and often, wrong. 

At this point in my life, I can say absolutely nothing positive about Donald Trump. I hope I grow to a point where I can one day say something good about him, but I find him to be the least qualified, least moral, and most dangerous person to occupy the WH in my lifetime. But I tire of hating him, and I do pray that I am or will evolve to the point of being able to pity him, forgive him (and those who enable him), and look to a future filled with hope.

I am more gracious when it comes to Bush 41. I did NOT vote for him. I AM aware of a series of things that I think he could have done better. I am also aware of things he did well. I believe his intention was to serve honorably. I am not excusing his mistakes or misjudgments, I’m simply not reducing his life to them. I know many of my friends and fellow liberals are outraged by him, but I’m so tired of hatred and rage and despair and regret...I am NOT chastising anyone who feels entitled to such feelings or who feels that such feelings are the only feelings available to them, but I am saying that for me, for my peace of mind, I have to be able to honor his service and let him depart this world with dignity and peace. No one has to share my view, but I hope those who don’t will understand that it is also a legitimate path. Our complex world offers very few all right vs. all wrong answers...we’re all just to trying our best to make meaning in the midst of chaos. 

I have personally been hurt, betrayed, insulted, deceived by people, and anger is natural. Trust is sometimes destroyed forever. But eventually, I find myself being willing to be willing to forgive...if only because the anger is too exhausting and I’m getting too old to haul it around all the time. If I can forgive, or try to forgive, or be willing to allow forgiveness to overtake me when it comes to people in my life who proved untrustworthy, then I can probably forgive well meaning, flawed, sometimes myopic political leaders who deal with pressures, challenges, and choices I will never face. That’s not a pass to all A-holes, but it is a declaration that at some point, I have to let the A-holes go so that they don’t continue to hurt me because I am keeping them active in my own head. 

I voted for Dukakis. I voted for Clinton. Bush 41 wasn’t my candidate, but he was my president.  And so to President Bush I can say, “Rest in peace.”  And that actually gives me some peace.

Prayers Make a Difference

So here’s a delightful observation I made yesterday (my birthday). 

Of course there were the copious wishes for a happy birthday (and it was happy, and the wishers of happiness certainly contributed to that fact!). There were also lots of prayers, affirmations, and blessings.  It reminded me of how tangible the energy of kindness is, how savory goodwill is, how delicious love is, and how intentions travel on currents of thought and feeling to actually touch and uplift those for whom they are offered. 

We all pray in different ways, but the methods are secondary to the intent. Good wishes, affirmations, invocations of hope, expressions of love, and requests made of a Universal Presence all contribute to something wonderful being shared in the world. So, I am grateful for the good wishes and blessings yesterday (and some have continued today...every day is a good day to offer a blessing) and for the reminder that prayers of every sort make a difference. Keep praying, y’all. Not just for me, but for whoever may cross you mind today. It’s good business!

Midterm Election Prayer

Midterm Election Prayer
By Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

Spirit of shared life,
In the United States it is election time again.
It is time to choose our House of Representatives, a third of our Senate, and many of our governors and local officials.
We can’t ask you to do what we will not, but we can invite you into our thinking, into our actions, into our attitudes, and into our service.
It is both a right and a responsibility of all citizens to vote.
May we have the courage to resist voter suppression.
May we have the desire to participate in shaping the direction of our nation.
May we know that our votes matter, and are needed.
And may we vote according to conscience and character.
May our votes be influenced by both head and heart.
May our votes protect equality, promote justice, preserve peace, and proclaim a respect for the dignity of all people.
Inspire us to vote in this election, and in every election that follows.
May we do our best to be our best, in the name of all that is good and holy. Amen.

Y’all, We Just Have to Do Better

I don’t say this to be unkind, to be condescending, or to be disrespectful of cherished values...I say this because our survival may depend on our waking up. If someone tells you the earth is 6k years old, that person is either a moron, a crazy person, a jokester, or a very sheltered and naive person who has been woefully misinformed. In any case, s/he is WRONG. Who cares? We all should, because if we ignore reliable science on matters like the earth’s age, then we’ll ignore science about climate change, gender identity, sexual orientation, childhood/adolescent/adult development, dementia, immune suppressing diseases...stuff that really matters. You get to have your god, your religion, your rituals, your myths, your values, and your dreams (I am very thankful for my own), but you must also be open to learning, to reason, to peer reviewed information, and to ideas that offer solutions other than “hate/fear those brown people or those queers or those non-Americans over there.”

Children are in cages. Families are torn apart. Refugees fleeing for their lives are being turned away (or turned back to the hells they escaped). The environment is under attack. Same gender loving people and gender non-conforming/non-binary/transgender/two spirit people are having their families, their lives, their very identities threatened. It’s time to wake up. It’s time to be smarter than we’ve been. And it is certainly time to participate fully in our democracy. Apathy is hurting us even more than the dedication of the unenlightened.

The earth isn’t flat and it isn’t young. Living, breathing, named, thinking, socially interactive children matter at least as much as fetuses. The earth isn’t invulnerable. And ignoring these facts has put our collective butts in a sling. Please, let’s do better.

Lots of Feels as EDS’ St. John’s Chapel is Deconsecrated Today

The Philadelphia Divinity School and the Episcopal Theological School merged in the 1970s to become the Episcopal Divinity School. EDS had diverse faculty (Episcopal, Presbyterian, Jewish, Asian, African American, Caucasian, men, women, gays, lesbians, lay, ordained) and a diverse student body (Episcopal, Catholic, Lutheran, UCC, Unitarian Universalist, MCC, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Anglicans from Kenya, Uganda, Jamaica, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, etc), and it was part of a world class consortium (The Boston Theological Institute) which included Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard.

EDS was a special place dedicated to anti-oppression work, to an inclusive gospel, to sharing the all-inclusive and unconditional love of God.

And, more than a school, it was a community. One never really was graduated from EDS. One was degreed, but never felt the need to “leave.” One to three times a year, every year since I earned my DMin there, I would go “home” to EDS.

EDS lives on in the ministry of the church I pastor and in parishes, Cathedrals, Chaplaincies, service organizations, the diaconate, classrooms, and hearts all over the world.

Last year, EDS was closed down (unnecessarily, in my view, and in ways that many of us resisted). EDS’ name and money still exist as EDS@Union (basically the Anglican house of studies at Union Theological Seminary in NYC, my other beloved theological alma mater). If the merger had been done more transparently and honestly (by EDS trustees), and if EDS could have retained a degree program (MATS or DMin maybe), I think it would have been something I could have celebrated (two great schools joining forces), and/or if they had kept one or two EDS faculty (they sacked them all) that would have been at least kind (and bridge building). Instead, the merger feels more like loss and has caused grief for many.

These thoughts are with me as St John’s Chapel on the campus of what was EDS in Cambridge, MA is deconsecrated today. God bless the EDS diaspora and the EDS energy that still flows through so many ministries.

Pardon My Overshares

Pardon My Overshares
When I came out to myself, I came out to the world (and btw world, in case you forgot, I’m still gay!). And it was such a liberating and life-giving experience that it taught me to live my life openly, gladly, and as much as possible without shame or fear (or at least in spite of fears).

And so, I may “overshare” on occasion. I share my doubts, my challenges, my victories, my hopes, my joys. I share about my battles with (and various victories over) depression. I shared about my detached retina, long healing process, and the joy of finally having better vision than before the incident. I shared when loved ones passed from this life experience to whatever is next. I share about my long, complicated, and often dysfunctional relationship with the scale. I share about coming of age in the world of AIDS and living well as a long term survivor. Recently I’ve shared about a fairly brief experience of Bell’s Palsy (and the exciting and rapid improvement that followed).

I am not looking for sympathy (well, not from the masses...I have my personal sympathy providers and I’ll call them when I need them). I’m not looking for anything, actually. What I want to do is share that living a life of faith is not necessarily a life of constant ease, but it can be a life of constant hope and joy that is frequently renewed. I want to show that faith can help us find and employ tools that will enable us to conquer, survive, learn from, or reinterpret the challenges in life. Faith can even give us the power to laugh and laughter, as it turns out, is healing.

I simply want to be a credible witness to the truth that while experiences come and go, we always have the power to hope, to love, to laugh, to keep moving forward. We can demonstrate blessings in the middle of uncertainty, and we can experience love, peace, gratitude, and optimism regardless of the circumstances at hand.

I don’t always do it as well as I’d like. I can feel defeated or overwhelmed or afraid like everyone else, but I do try to remind myself that I don’t have to stay stuck in those feelings forever. And when I change my attitude about something, I almost always, to some degree, also change my experience of it. And I hope that is encouraging to others who may be facing difficulties.

So, forgive me for the overshares, but I offer them as gifts, and like all gifts, if they don’t appeal to you, “accidentally” leave them in the car and forget about them (possibly regift them later). But if they do encourage you, I am so glad and that alone makes it a blessing for me.

—Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
Sunshine Cathedral
Ft. Lauderdale

PASTORAL RESPONSE TO “MASTERPIECE” SCOTUS DECISION

PASTORAL RESPONSE TO TODAY’S SCOTUS DECISION
(Re: Colorado Baker refusing to make same-gender loving wedding cake)

Dear Friends,

Same-gender loving and gender non-conforming people have been bullied on playgrounds, harassed in classrooms, physically attacked in parking lots, preached against in pulpits, abandoned by their families, mocked in entertainment, and had their rights to full citizenship debated, voted on, and fought over in courts. The ongoing demonization and dehumanization of LGBTQ people is demoralizing to us.

And so, today’s SCOTUS ruling in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a gay themed wedding cake for a same-sex couple is troubling to us, but it is too soon to let ourselves be overly discouraged.

The ruling, apparently, was specific to the one case and does not settle the debate about religion giving one the right to deny service to same-gender loving couples. That conversation will continue for a while and will probably be very hurtful at times to those of us who remain a topic of debate.

But here is what I know:

+ALL people have sacred value.

+Religion has too often been weaponized; however, many of us have discovered that a life of faith can offer hope, joy, compassion, courage, and peace and we are committed to offering a counter-narrative to weaponized religion.

+No court ruling at any time will determine (or limit) our dignity.

+We are each a child of God. No matter who uses God’s name in vain to deny that truth, we will always boldly proclaim that we ARE the beloved children of God.

+Sunshine Cathedral remains committed to celebrating, blessing, and affirming the Rainbow community. LGBTQIA+ have always been lifted up at Sunshine Cathedral as God’s miracles and not God mistakes, and that will continue no matter what.

Today’s SCOTUS decision may have been disappointing to many of us, but remember, it was a “narrow” ruling and hasn’t settled other issues. And, as Jesus said, the kin-dom (the non-kingdom, the anti-empire, the commonwealth, the beloved community) that we belong to is not limited to this world’s systems.

The kin-dom of God is an idea that Jesus held, preached, and died for...a vision of a world of justice, peace, generosity, hope, compassion, goodwill, and equality. We continue to hold the vision of the Kin-dom of God, and we will continue to work to make that vision a reality. “Thy kin-dom come!” Amen.

There is more work to do. We are the laborers to do it. And I affirm that God’s blessing is upon us today and always.

Yours in shared service,

Durrell Watkins, MA, MDiv, DMin

Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral

SunshineCathedral.org 

Reclaiming Jesus: A Pastoral Letter

Dear Friends,

I was born and reared in the MidSouth where church was central to social life. Between Sunday school and youth groups, church camps and church sing-alongs, camp meetings/revivals/spiritual renewals, bible colleges and religious radio stations, billboards and bumper stickers, cemetery decoration picnics with prayer services (it’s a thing)…religion was ubiquitous. And while there were some progressive Christian and non-Christian religious communities, the overwhelming feel of the world I grew up in was conservative (and often fundamentalist) Christian.

I have always been drawn to faith and I have never experienced a day where Jesus, God, and scripture didn’t pop up in some manner, and most days (perhaps it’s an occupational hazard), those topics dominate my thoughts!

Early in life I jettisoned the strict, narrow, condemning, fearful, proselytizing brand of Christianity that seemed so normative in my childhood. The God of my experience and understanding is pure love and isn’t partial to Christians or to certain brands of Christians, but responds with grace to anyone searching for Truth and meaning regardless of the symbols and vocabularies that one chooses for the search. My fondness for Jesus and for God as I’ve experienced God through Jesus is genuine and not mere “fire insurance” for the next life. The God to which I have devoted my life and work is bigger than false binaries, bigger than either/or limitations, bigger than our fears and prejudices and self-imposed restrictions and conditions. The God I know and worship and preach is all-inclusive, unconditional, everlasting Love.

But you know what? That doesn’t mean the conservative faith that introduced me to religious living was all wrong. I remember those revivals, those meetings, those renewal services, and I see the wisdom of them. Faith, like anything we take for granted, can become routine, lax, even a bit lifeless. We need to reenergize now and again; we need to renew our commitment, revive our passion, and remember why we chose a life of religious devotion in the first place (or did it choose us?).

Last week, Robert and I were in DC for the Festival of Homiletics and then we participated in the Reclaiming Jesus prayer vigil. A week of preaching, teaching, prayer, and then a vigil of affirmations, reflections, an intentional reclaiming of the healing, compassionate, justice seeking, inclusive ministry and good news of Jesus (followed by a silent procession to the White House) was reviving! In fact, one minister from the Progressive National Baptist Church said, “This feels like a revival.”

This summer, let us have a revival of faith, a revival of progressive values, a revival of commitment. Let us reclaim the message and mission of Jesus and let us faithfully support that message and mission.

Sunshine Cathedral, as always, I am asking you to support the work of this church with your time, talent, and treasure. Pray daily for the church and for its leaders. Make worship a priority and when events are offered to bring us together, support them. Invite people to play and pray with you at Sunshine Cathedral. And if you are away, take faith and commitment with you.

When I travel I almost always visit a church. My only requirement is that it seem to offer a welcoming and inclusive ministry where I can share with others the experience of worship and reflection. I love church. I need it. And even when I can’t be at the one I love the most, I still find myself somewhere worshiping in community. I wish for all of us to so love church that we crave it, that we commit to being part of it no matter where we are. Current trends suggest that such devotion isn’t as common as it once was, but faith has never depended on trends. We can know the joy of devotion. We need it. We deserve it.

23 Christian leaders, men and women, Black and white, Catholic and Protestant, liberal and conservative, evangelical and mainline came together as a council of elders to draft the Reclaiming Jesus affirmation of faith. The entire (and powerful) statement can be read at ReclaimingJesus.org. It includes the following affirmations and denials:

1.     We believe each person is made in God’s image. Therefore, we reject white nationalism and racism.

2.     We believe we are one body. In Christ, there is to be no oppression based on race, gender, identity, or class. Therefore, we reject misogyny…We confess sexism as a sin, requiring repentance and resistance.

3.     We believe how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick and the prisoner is how we treat Christ. Therefore, we reject language and policies [that] would debase and abandon the most vulnerable children of God.

4.     We believe truth is morally central to our personal and public lives. Therefore, we reject practices and patterns of lying that are invading our political and civil life.

5.     We believe Christ’s way of leadership is servanthood, not domination. Therefore, we reject any move towards autocratic political leadership and authoritarian rule.

      We believe our churches and our nations are an international community whose interests always surpass national boundaries. The most well-known verse in the New Testament starts with “For God so loved the world”…We, in turn, should love and serve the world and all its inhabitants, rather than seek first narrow, nationalistic prerogatives. Therefore, we reject “America first” as a theological heresy for followers of Christ. While we share a patriotic love for our country, we reject xenophobic or ethnic nationalism…

The elders state: “WE ARE DEEPLY CONCERNED for the soul of our nation, but also for our churches and the integrity of our faith. The present crisis calls us to go deeper—deeper into our relationship to God; deeper into our relationships with each other, especially across racial, ethnic, and national lines; deeper into our relationships with the most vulnerable, who are at greatest risk.”

Reclaiming Jesus is nothing less than a call for renewal, revival, recommitment. Jesus has been weaponized to cause shame and fear and to marginalize many in society; we who believe in the inclusive gospel message must reclaim it, support it, and share it. May God bless us as we do so.

At Sunshine Cathedral, our food sharing programs (Brown Bag Lunch program and collections for food banks), our housing dozens of 12 step groups, our support of the Global Justice Institute, our participating in BOLD-Justice (Broward Organized Leaders Doing Justice), our civil rights history tours, our efforts to help the people of Puerto Rico after the hurricane, to raise funds for Mother Emanuel AME after the shooting at their church, to encourage people in Jamaica and Cuba, our work for marriage equality (and to protect it), our support of transgender services, our efforts to raise money for local HIV/AIDS services and for Heifer International, and our various other programs are all important and are in the spirit of Jesus, but let us also be very clear about who Jesus was and who we who follow his light are meant to be. Reclaiming Jesus is central to everything we do.

As the Reclaiming Jesus elders affirm: “Our urgent need, in a time of moral and political crisis, is to recover the power of confessing our faith. Lament, repent, and then repair. If Jesus is Lord, there is always space for grace. We believe it is time to speak and to act in faith and conscience, not because of politics, but because we are disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Amen!

Bright blessings,

Durrell Watkins, MA, MDiv, DMin

Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral
www.sunshinecathedral.net 

The Right is Wrong

Christians are not being persecuted in the U.S. Christian fundamentalist domination is being resisted (and rightly so!).
White people are not being persecuted for their whiteness. Their (our) unearned white privilege is being named and challenged (and rightly so!).
Patriots are not being persecuted. The many who love the values of integrity, generosity, compassion, justice, equality, and opportunity which our nation has always claimed (even if it has not always lived up to and into those values) will not let such patriotism be replaced by petty, bigoted, angry nationalism.
The cruelty, fear, tribalism, and violence that has been presented as religion and politics is being challenged, but that is because ultimately, the Good must prevail. This is an anxious time, but anxious times are times for hope, and hope leads to better days. The Good will prevail.

Memorial Day and Summoning our Better Angels

Memorial Day Weekend: a time to remember & honor those who gave their lives defending a nation that promises life, liberty & pursuit of happiness, that pledges justice for all, that guarantees freedoms of peaceful assembly, of press and political speech, of (& from) religion. To honor their sacrifices let’s not allow the values and hopes they died defending be trampled on. It’s so truly time to summon those better angels that Lincoln mentioned.

Thieves (The Far Right)

“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy...” - Jesus (as imagined by the writer of John’s Gospel, Holy Bible)

The “Far Right” (religious fundamentalists, nationalists, would be oligarchs, etc.) have stolen so much. They’ve stolen hope from people who need it most. They have stolen religion. They have taken the name of Jesus and weaponized it. They have seized the flag. They have tried to remove honorable patriotism and replace it with selfish, fearful, exclusionary nationalism. I don’t like calling them conservatives. Conservative doesn’t have to mean cruel, or hateful, or violent. I think it’s unfair to compassionate, decent, caring, generous people who just happen to be conservative on a few issues to lump them in with the bigots, warmongers, and science deniers who have even stolen the world “conservative.”

No, the Right isn’t any more entitled to the “conservative” label than they are to the “religious”, “patriotic,” “Christian,” or “values voters” labels. They have stolen those words and swung them like medieval maces against those they would dehumanize and marginalize. So I won’t call the Extreme Right “conservative.” They are thieves who cause unwarranted suffering to far too many people. 

I am not very conservative on many issues, but I have known good people who are more conservative than I am, and they don’t deserve to be counted among those who make up the terrifying religious and political Far Right.

God is here

When I don’t know “what” to pray but feel the NEED to pray, I simply whisper, “God is here.” When “God” seems like an almost arrogant or silly assumption that I know what can’t be known or understand what I in my finite human experience could not possibly understand, I replace “god” with “Hope” or “Compassion” or “Wisdom” or “Peace” or “Strength.” The Mystery beyond our naming is HERE. Somehow, that simple affirmation always comforts me. God, even God beyond God, is here. And, if God is here, God is also “there” because the infinite includes everything. So, if you are facing a struggle today, I am knowing that God (that great field of unlimited possibility to which the word “god” points) is there, with you. And so it is.

Calling People Animals: A Bible Lesson

Calling People Animals

by Durrell Watkins, DMin

“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Matthew 15.27

When a woman from an ethnic group that Jesus' community had long held in disdain and with suspicion approached Jesus to help her suffering daughter, Jesus responded in a perplexing manner. He basically called the woman a dog, or perhaps "dog" was an ethnic slur sometimes used against people of her heritage. Tradition and certain readings of ancient texts would have justified Jesus' seeming dismissal of this woman and her pain, but she challenged Jesus. She basically says, "Even if I were a dog, you'd show me some compassion. You'd give me table scraps, scratch my head, speak to me in a gentle voice. How about you treat me as well as you would treat a dog?!" And Jesus then had a change of heart, praised her faith, and blessed her daughter.

If Donald Trump really believes hurting communities are "animals" (another of his famous and frequent insults), then that is a matter for his conscience to wrestle with and hopefully he will experience a breakthrough; but in the mean time, could he maybe show such people the kindness and generosity that we would expect people to show toward animals? We work to rescue, feed, medicate, and shelter animals. It's ugly enough to call people animals, but uglier still to treat people with less kindess than we tend to show animals.

There is so much animosity and hatred in the world right now. Let us pray for healing, and let us be the answers to our own prayers. And when anyone, no matter who he or she might be, dehumanizes an entire community, let us not be silent but rush to affirm the dignity and sacred value of all people.

A Case for Prayer in these Difficult Days

A MESSAGE FROM SUNSHINE CATHEDRAL'S SENIOR MINISTER

Let us pray: 
Dear God,
may our souls be refreshed,
may our fears be relieved,
may our wounded hearts be comforted,
may our will to be agents of positive change be strengthened.
Renew our capacity for hope and let us know that better days are on the way. Give us the wisdom and the courage to help facilitate that very miracle.
Amen.

Dear Friends,

It is unfortunate that the phrase “thoughts and prayers” has become almost trite in its frequent use and is often seen to give those with responsibility some cover for not doing what they are meant to do. Some people have become antagonistic toward any mention of prayer because they feel it is a substitute for action.

But I know the power of prayer. In fact, the prayers of my heart have led to very meaningful action indeed. Of course, what God does for us God must do through us. Prayer isn’t a magical incantation that will spare us personal effort, but prayer can open our hearts and minds, renew our energy, broaden our perspective, and help us maintain hope.

Abraham Heschel wisely stated: “Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, or mend a broken bridge, or rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.”

Prayer can help us change for the better, and then we can help change things for the better.

We are assaulted daily by news reports of gun violence, broken treaties, the rise of nationalism, threats of war, racist demonstrations, and a seeming increase in callousness and cruelty. Honestly, it is exhausting. Sometimes, it’s terrifying.

Still, there are things we can do: we can vote and write Congress and support causes we believe in and speak out against injustice; we can even march and protest and demonstrate if our beliefs and passions call for such action. We ought to do what we can to be good stewards of the planet, helpers of the vulnerable, and allies to targeted and marginalized populations. In fact, our prophetic traditions and gospel witness demand that we love our neighbor, treat others as we would wish to be treated, defend the “widows and orphans” (all who face peril), and that we be generous with our resources.

What we also need to remember is that our faith-action is undergirded by the practice of prayer. Prayer soothes our souls so that we can then tend to parched fields. Prayer helps our hearts heal so that we can keep trying to heal our world. Prayer can fortify our will to do and be better so that we can repair what has been harmed in and among us.

There’s a lot of work to do, and there may be more discouraging news in the days ahead, but I say that prayer is one of our best tools to help keep us focused and optimistic. Our thoughts and prayers must be more than a slogan we toss around, because, as the bible tells us: the fervent and effectual prayers of righteous (committed, justice-seeking, compassionate) people avail much!

We are people of faith, and as such, we are people of prayer. Keep praying. Our prayers will sustain us in these uncertain days. As the old song says, “When nothing else could help, love lifted me.” The Love that God is, the Love that dwells within us, is what we contact and experience in moments of sincere prayer - and It will continue to lift us up.

Hear our prayers, O God.
Grant us hope.
Grant us peace.
Grant us justice.
Grant us the courage to be the answers to our prayers.
Grant us wisdom to do what is right so that we can be healers in our world.
Amen.

Lovingly shared,

Pastor Durrell

I’m a Minister, but By No Means a Puritan

A well meaning person (a relative actually) asked me an honest and heartfelt question on social media. He observes my sharing my life on social media (as one does) and he knows I’m a clergy person (he also knows that I’m gay but he didn’t bring that up). He wondered how it is that I, as faith leader, can swear and drink. He posted that question in response to something I shared (but did not write) that had a “four letter word” in it. Drinking was not mentioned in the post, but I suppose he has seen me posting at other times from bars, restaurants, parties, etc. A tea-totaler I am not. 

While his question struck me as having a tone of shame and blame, I nevertheless realized that my life doesn’t look austere or dour like a missionary character from an old movie. I haven’t taken a vow of celibacy, my legal spouse shares my gender identity, and I am often given the honor of being asked to make a toast at special events. My world is simply different from his, and I give him credit for asking a question. Here was my response to him:


If one begins with the assumption that spirituality is about what one is against or about what one must avoid or what one should condemn, then most clergy that I know will fall short of such Puritanical standards. But if clergy are voices for justice, builders of community, “peddlers of hope”, officiants of rites of passage, public intellectuals, and sharers of compassion in moments of need, then one won’t be to bothered by their swearing or enjoyment of cocktails or other “worldly” pleasures. In fact, it is possible that such outloud living is absolutely sacramental!

I’m an out and proud (non-celibate) gay man (a non-starter for most in the finger pointing, wrist slapping, glaring down their noses crowd). I am pro-choice, fought hard for marriage equality, am in favor of legalized marijuana, I believe war is rarely ever justified, humans are meant to be good stewards of the planet, we are to care for the poor, the sick, the refugee, and mostly, our spiritual traditions should encourage us to share joy, relieve suffering, work for justice, and empower people to live authentically.

I couldn’t care less how much one swears (as long as they do it well), who they have sex with (as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult and relationship covenants are honored), if people drink (unless they have an addiction, in which case, recovery programs are a god-send), or if they use the same vocabulary and texts and traditions that I do to discuss and honor the Sacred. The fundamentalism that was so prevalent in the world of my youth is not the tradition that I represent, but i do try to represent progressive spirituality as I understand and practice it as authentically and joyfully as possible.

US Attacks Syria: Let us pray...

Goddess/God, Spirit of Life, Universal Presence, Higher Power:
Once again a despot attacks his people.
Once again, bombs are dropped.
Once again combat is initiated.
Once again, we find ourselves hacking our way through mendacity and deception to discover what is true, what is trustworthy, what is real, what is wise.
Once again, lives are placed in danger by those who will not have to personally face such danger.
Once again, we feel overwhelmed by the chaos and uncertainty that is all around us.
Once again, we are compelled to pray but we scarcely know how to pray in such times. Do not be limited by our inadequate words but rather, be moved by our hearts’ desire for healing, for peace, for justice, for goodwill to prevail. Help us be better than we’ve been. Stir compassion and hope and kindness within us. Let healing flow to where lives are in peril, and as we constantly pray, “May peace prevail on earth.” Amen.

Chris Ladd’s Piece on the Cruelty of White Evangelicalism

https://www.politicalorphans.com/the-article-removed-from-forbes-why-white-evangelicalism-is-so-cruel/

Why White Evangelicalism Is So Cruel
By Chris Ladd

It was initially posted on Forbes’ site, but later removed. The author posted the article at the link above. It is a must read.

I've Seen ( and experienced) Resurrection

Resurrection Narratives symbolize (for me) the possibility of renewal:

I’ve seen churches that were facing extinction experience a revival of passion and purpose and become thriving faith communities again.

I’ve seen people who were rejected by their families form new families of choice that were loving, functional, joyful, and life-giving.

I’ve seen people who were not the best parents get a second chance and prove themselves to be absolutely heroic grandparents.

I’ve seen old emotional wounds finally heal.

I’ve seen people who dropped out of school go back 50 years later and finish what they started.

I’ve seen people accomplish in wheelchairs more than they ever did when they had stronger bodies.

I’ve seen people face their addictions and live in freedom.

I’ve seen people outlive their prognoses by decades.

I’ve seen victims transform into survivors, and then into helpers who show others how to survive.

I’ve seen people come out and live in the powerful truth of their gender identity or their sexual orientation and realize that what they once thought of as a problem is in reality a great blessing.

I’ve seen people who had no self esteem come to believe that they are indeed God’s miracle and not God’s mistake!

#Resurrection #Renewal

Is the Bible Just a Bunch of Fairy Tales?

I am often asked if the bible is "just" a bunch of fairy tales or "just" some old stories. For a lover of stories, "just" seems misplaced. 

Religion is mythological. Myths are meant to help us get at truth, not facts. 

Bible stories, for me anyway, are allegories for life. I honestly couldn’t care less if not one thing in the Bible ever literally, factually happened...because in my experience, what the stories are trying to communicate are true and timeless and relevant for my life. I’m Joseph. I’m Jacob. I’m Mary. I’m Elizabeth. I’m Miriam. I’m Aaron. I’m Elijah. I’m Amos. I’m the serpent. I’m Eve. I’m Noah. I’m Peter. I’m Paul. I’m Stephen. Each story shows me who I am, or who I have been, or who I can be. Each story shows mistakes I’ve made or are likely to make. Each story shows me that redemption is possible, that I am more than what I currently know and more than what I’ve done so far. So, they are true for me, even if they are not factual (and, honestly, I doubt if many of them are entirely factual).

Remember the famous editorial in the 1897 Sun answering the question “Is there a Santa Claus?” When “Virginia” asks if Santa is real, the writer explains that what Santa represents (hope, generosity, kindness, goodwill, etc.) is very real and very much needed. “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” is the most remembered line from that piece. There isn’t a man living at the North Pole, flying with magic reindeer tossing presents under trees, but there is a human urge and need to care for others, to express love, to be generous...we need, and in our best moments believe in everything Santa is supposed to be. So, Santa is true, while not being factual. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Marcus Borg said there are three phases to faith development:

1. Precritical.
They sold it, we bought it. We accept the stories as they are, taking them as literal facts with no need to question them. This is how we start out.

2. Critical.

Things don’t make sense and we have a lot of questions. We start to not believe some of the stories. Walking on water? Lazarus coming to life after 4 days of decomposition? Abraham willing to slaughter his son? People in the desert being cured of snake venom by looking at a serpentine tchotchke? At the critical level, we start to call “bullshit.” [Of course Borg didn't say "B/S". The categories are his; the explanations of them in this piece are mine]

Most people get stuck at the first or second level. But Borg says there’s an important third. We have to go through 1 and 2 to get to #3, but 3 is the goal.

3. Post-critical.
That’s where we reclaim the stories and find new meaning and relevance in them. We don’t take them literally, but we no longer need to toss them out entirely. We read them and breathe new life into them and let them be free of the bondage of literalism and they become alive for us and fresh and exciting.


Sometimes people fear that expanding their understanding of and relationship to the bible is akin to giving up on God. One - don't worry about that. Two - we all give up old notions of God as we grow. We've all cast upon the garbage heap of life old gods (or understandings of the divine) that no longer serve us. Meister Eckhart wrote, “I pray God to make me free of God.” When God is presence and power and goodness and possibility rather than a person (with personality quirks), that may not be abandoning God as much as simply letting God be bigger for us...beyond description and images. Graven images of God are too limiting, that’s why the Decalogue discourages us from having them.

And what of the biblical Jesus? Was he a prophet? A teacher? Philosopher? Rebel? Social activist? Healer? Miracle worker? Revolutionary? Messiah? Divine being? Someone who lived so authentically into his humanity that people thought he must something more?

Jesus himself (in the story anyway) asks the important question: “Who do YOU say that I am?” Following Jesus, in my view, will include seeing Jesus differently over time. Relationships grow and evolve. If Jesus is going to have a primary place in my consciousness, then my understanding of him will probably change over time.  I don’t think we can get it wrong really, unless we stop trying. 

No wonder one is to work out one’s own salvation “with fear and trembling” (h/t the Apostle Paul)! It is a lot of work, and every question leads to more questions, and every answer must eventually be discarded or replaced or upgraded. But that’s the journey. That’s the faith walk. Doubting and questioning and wrestling and wondering...that’s the gig! And that’s what we see in scripture...people working out their stuff and sharing their journey in literary, symbolic, allegorical, metaphorical, mystical, mythical, tragic, comedic, political, ritualistic, poetic, clumsy, smooth, and courageous ways. 

Even if the characters aren’t real (and honestly, some aren't), the writers certainly were real, and the writers are using their characters to tell their stories and when we read and question them, we are adding our own. That’s the magic of scripture. Again, I don’t need one character to be historical in order for their stories to be relevant and powerful and life changing for me. 

Those of us who free ourselves of literalism find the Bible to be new and refreshing...offering something powerful with each new reading. It’s a conversation rather than a crystal ball, a builder’s tool rather than an anchor, an open door rather than a locked one.  So, maybe there was no Abraham. Almost certainly there was no global flood (there may have been a regional disaster). Of course Jonah didn’t live three days in a fish. Snakes and donkeys do not talk and never have. Virgins and 90 year old women don’t have babies. And the resurrection may be more about resurrecting hope and purpose and courage than about one body that was reanimated for a few weeks. AND...none of those “facts” change the truth that I find in each of those stories - truth that is applicable to my life, my journey, my faith. 

Black Panther: A Truly GREAT Film (and here's why)

Of course I LOVED Black Panther. 
We got to see the glory of what could be without the evils of colonialism. 
We got to see the struggle with understanding the difference between serving and saving a nation. 
We got to see the struggle with the tempations of isolationism (and the possible dangers of openness, but still, we are left with the supremacy of bridges over barriers). 
We got to see the mixture of tradition and inovation. 
We got to see the complicated dance of fighting oppression without emulating the oppressor. 
We got to see the difficulties of being a good leader while also being a good person, a person whose values inspires the leadership rather than being sacrificed in the name of leadership. 
And we got to see the pain caused by even well intentioned dishonesty. 

A high regard for science and technology was featured. 
An almost all Black cast, no white savior (though the importance of being an ally was featured), the beauty of shamanic religion, and super bad-assed women warriors were all part of the mix. 

The governing council was gender balanced and age diverse. 
And, the message that war should always be a last resort was unambiguous. 

We also saw the danger of having an unprepared, illegitimate ruler fueled by hate and anger assume power. 

To Queer eyes, there was even a moment for LGBTQ people...a child was left behind/sacrificed to protect a lie (how many children have been abused, rejected, psychologically tormented to protect the lie that heteronormativity is sacred and anything else is damnable?)..the pain that caused impacted him and others for years thereafter. 

The film was beautiful and sophisticated and the social, philosophical, theological, psychological, and political messages artistically communicated could fuel a graduate level academic project (and probably will). All of that with breath taking vistas and thrilling action (and a sweet love story). And miraculously, with all of that going on, it wasn't scattered; it wasn't too much. It remained coherent, focused. The film was entertaining and empowering at the same time. By almost every measure, it is a truly great film.

I Can Say Something Good About Most Presidents, but Not Trump

PRESIDENT’S DAY
Today I reflect on President Ford trying to bring healing and normalcy after Watergate. 
I recall President Carter as one of the most moral and decent presidents in U.S. history. 
I remember President Reagan appointing the first woman to the Supreme Court. 
I remember President Bush organizing (with James Baker) a global coalition that quickly and decisively liberated Kuwait from Iraq. I also remember him signing the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
I remember the charm and erudition of President Clinton (and the strong economy he presided over).
I remember the 2nd President Bush appointing the first African American Secretary of State and the first woman National Security Advisor (who later became the first Black woman Secretary of State). 
I remember President Obama being an orator, a diplomat, and a constitutional scholar as well as the first African American president, appointing the most diverse cabinet ever, appointing the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, and overseeing the most gains for LGBTQ Americans in US history. 
I recall Hillary Clinton being the first FLOTUS to hold elected office and being the first woman to  head a major party presidential ticket (and making history by winning the poplar vote in that election - “the people’s president”). 

I can say at least one good thing about every president in my lifetime (I was too young to remember Johnson, who did increase the safety net making life better for may Americans, and I barely remember Nixon); from Ford on, there was something admirable about each president. Until now. 
Without being partisan or petty or intentionally mean, I honestly cannot say one good thing about the current president’s skill, intellect, character, motives, or achievements. 

On this President’s Day I celebrate the good that was done by all the presidents of my lifetime (choosing to not focus on mistakes or philosophies and policies I might have disagreed with)...except the current one. And that, truly, makes me sad (and more than a little nervous). Nevertheless, may our nation find healing and reclaim its potential and promise.

A Pastoral Response to ANOTHER Mass Shooting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Pastoral Response to ANOTHER Mass Shooting
By Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral
Fort Lauderdale, FL
SunshineCathedral.org

A high school in Broward County has been attacked. Another mass shooting. More victims. More traumatized children. More devastated families.

There have been almost 30 mass shootings in the US just in the last 45 days. Let that sink in. No other developed nation has such an incomprehensible mass shooting epidemic.

I used to say, “that’s not who we are.” I acted as if each outrageous mass assault was an appalling exception to who we are as a nation. And, of course, the attackers are few in comparison to the larger population. But I can no longer say it isn’t who we are. It continues to happen and we do very little to prevent it from happening again.

Oh, some of us cry, or pray, or yell  into the ether that someone should do something. But how many of us demand that our government leaders do something? How many of us use our vote to bring about positive change? How many of us can’t be bothered to vote in any case? Our inaction, apathy, or acceptance of this on-going soul sickness of our nation is showing who we are. I don’t like it any more than you do. In fact, it breaks my heart to say it. But the evidence is clear: As of this moment, this IS who are. We are a nation that allows our children to be sprayed with bullets.

This time, the tragedy is in my county. This time, the violence is on my local news broadcast. This time, the senseless brutality has struck near me. But, of course, it was naive to ever imagine it wouldn’t be my community next.

Aurora showed that this could happen anywhere.
Sandy Hook Elementary School showed that this could happen anywhere.
The Washington Navy yard showed that this could happen anywhere.
San Bernardino showed that this could happen anywhere.
Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston showed that this could happen anywhere.
The First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, TX showed that this could happen anywhere.
The Pulse nightclub in Orlando showed that this could happen anywhere.
Las Vegas showed that this could happen anywhere.
And now, Douglas High School in Broward County.

God forgive me for not expecting it. God forgive me for not shouting from the rooftops many mass shooting ago, “We’re infected with an apathy toward violence and it’s time to repent.”

It’s time for prophetic voices to call for us to beat our swords into plough shares.

This is not a political issue where many sides have merit. This is a nation that calls itself good, democratic, and evolved that has allowed mass violence to happen so routinely that multiple deaths no longer stun us or even remain in our thoughts for long beyond the initial news of the event.

Today, on this Ash Wednesday, on this day of repentance, that is, on a day that calls for a change of heart and attitude, I do lift my voice to call my congregation, my community, my family, and my nation to repentance. Bullets are raining down on us like a biblical plague. Children are dying. We talk and sing and preach about peace when there is no peace. Toxic attitudes come to kill, steal and destroy. And it is time for people of faith, and leaders of communities of faith, to speak up and say, “Enough!”

Let us pray for the victims of today’s violence. But let us not take too much comfort in our prayers, especially if those prayers are not leading us to speak up and to do what we can to change a culture where mass murder is normalized. Let us pray, and then let us be the answer to our prayers.

Who we are is a country infected with out of control violence and too little righteous indignation about that. But, just maybe, we are also a country that remembers the moral victories of the Civil Rights movement, the Women’s Rights movement, the Marriage Equality movement, and maybe, please God let it be so, we are the kinds of people who are determined to work for what is right again, and to not settle for anything less than the healing our country so desperately needs.

For our country and our culture, I pray the words of a hymn which is also my favorite prayer of repentance:
“Dear Mother-Father of us all, forgive our foolish ways. Reclothe us in our rightful minds, in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise.” Amen.

/End/

It Took Trump to Make Me Appreciate Other GOP Presidents

When the U.S. invaded Lebannon I called the 40th POTUS a maniacal bastard in a sociology class. After presiding over 100 or so AIDS funerals, I called the same POTUS a murderer (blaming his silence and his reluctance to address the AIDS crisis or provide funding for research and care on helping the epidemic take more lives than it needed to). Today, I look back and while still disagreeing with his philosophies, policies, and inaction regarding a health crisis, I now see a decent if flawed human who was sincere in his beliefs even if I did not share them and who conducted himself with diginty and decorum. You shouldn't get bonus points for not being a total A-hole, but these days that seems like a really big PLUS.

Poppy Bush never really embarrassed me (except when he puked on the Japanese PM, but hey, people get sick...what can you do?). He built a world coalition to save Kuwait from Iraqi agreesion (or, James Baker did, but he was smart enough to have JB). Of course, he also chose an idiot for his VP and that was a little scary. Still, over all, he was a pretty good president (although we now know he may have gotten a little handsy now and then...SMH).

When Bill Clinton (who I very much admired) signed DOMA and allowed DADT turn into a witch hunt, i was disappointed. I know he believed in government and to govern is to make sacrifices and compromises, but nevertheless, I felt a little betrayed. And then when he had an affair with an intern (I didn't care about his sex life nor did I presume to know the covenant that he had made with his wife, but I was very much disappointed in the abuse of power - the most powerful man in the world seducing or allowing himself to be seduced by a virtually powerless intern - the breech of ethics was astounding), my only defense of him was that being a bad husband didn't make him a bad leader. In hind sight, taking advantage of an intern is almost unforgivable and I should have been more outraged. Still, his charm, his oratory skills, his intellect...those I miss to this day.

When W. invaded the wrong country for the wrong reason and lied about WMD, and when he "won" his first term ever so barely (damn Nader), I was certain he was the worst president in history. But, I think he really cared about most people, never intended to be cruel, thought of himself as a public servant, and while I bemoaned every minute of his presidency (he was certainly no advocate of LBGTQ rights), I'd trade the one we have now for him in a minute (but not his satanic vice president...what is it with the Bush boys and their veeps?).

President Obama was pretty close to perfect. Historic private sector job growth, marriage equality, protections for Trans people, elogquent speeches, optimistic rhetoric, a brilliant mind, a kind and generous demeanor, a way of connecting with people that was almost magical, a constitutional scholar, someone who took more abuse than anyone should with more grace than almost anyone could, recovery from the Great Recession...but even he, though close to perfect was not perfect. I was very disappointed with his use of drones and with his not fighting harder to get his legimitate SCOTUS choice to have a Senate hearing.

I'm a left of center kind of guy on most issues and my candidate doesn't always win, but I was never humiliated by any of the presidents. I was a kid for Johnson/Nixon/Ford/Carter and my views of them are shaped by what the grown folk were saying and by historical accounts (though I really like me some Jimmy Carter...he may be the best "person" to occupy the WH in my lifetime with BHO tying or coming in a razor thin second...I'm talking character, not skill, though both had plenty of that as well), but I have lived through Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama as an adult and in the end, they were all decent people...not always right in my view, but never evil, never insane, never cruel or infantile or a danger to the planet.

I don't think I will look back on 45 with the grace I have discovered for his predecessors. I hope we survive 45. But even the worst circumstances reveal a blessing. It took 45 to make me appreciate 40 and 43. The GOP platform is just too radically different from my values for me to vote for their candidates, but hopefully I will not in the future demonize candidates simply for having different views. Good people can disagree. Now, I will remain vehement and adamant when it comes to human rights - whether its LGBTQ people or immigrants or refugees or Muslims or whoever...justice and equality shouldn't be negotiable...but I believe that there are Republicans who share that view.

45 IS the worst ever (the data is pretty conclusive), and he is the most mendacious ever (a neat trick in the world of politics which lends itself to spin, exaggeration, and lies of omission), and he may be the most dangerous ever. He is the least decent and least moral. I find nothing good or commendable about him, except that his ineptitude and viciousness forced me to rethink some of his predecessors and see their good qualities. So, thanks for the lesson 45...Now, if only a house would fall on you and some chick with a dog from the midwestwould throw a bucket of water on Pence...

MLK Holiday Thoughts & Prayers

MLK Holiday Thoughts & Prayers

Jan. 15, 2018

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a prophet of justice, a minister of grace, an orator, a scholar, and a defender of human dignity. He stood up to the evils of segregation. He resisted an unjust war. He advocated for those who worked hard and were paid too little. He stirred the conscience of a nation. He challenged a government as boldly as the Prophet Amos. He comforted the hurting as compassionately as the Prophet Isaiah. He offered healthy ways of expressing righteous indignation in the manner of Jesus. And he envisioned a new, loving, fair world where evil was forever defeated as vividly as John did on Patmos. And, like the prophets and disciples before him, King gave his life for the divinely inspired vision he offered the world. 

Inspired by such a noble example of human charisma, courage, and conviction, let us speak truth today and seek healing where it is needed in our society and in our souls.

On this Martin Luther King Memorial Holiday it would be wrong to ignore or deny the rise of fear, hatred, and unrepentant bigotry that often dominate our public discourse.

We who seek to follow Jesus must surely be heartbroken when we hear of proposed "Muslim bans" or hear entire nations (whose populations are largely non-white) disparaged by people in our national leadership. We must be all the more disturbed when we hear such reprehensible speech defended by pugnacious preachers of pernicious piety.

We who have been instructed to love our neighbors as ourselves must surely feel sickened when our Transgender neighbors (and friends and family members) are demonized and dehumanized.

We who rejoice in the words of Jesus, "Come unto me all who labor and are heavy burdened and I will refresh you" must be overwhelmed with regret when we hear women time after time tell about their experiences of being threatened, mistreated, and assaulted. We must feel something close to outrage when their credible stories are dismissed and their assailants are rewarded with power and privilege.

We who pray weekly (if not daily), "Thy will be done" must surely wish for more to be done to help the inhabitants of St. Thomas and Puerto Rico who still struggle following the seasonal hurricanes.

And we who venerate the Prince of Peace must gasp in horror when threats of nuclear disaster become part of daily conversation.

So much healing is needed, and today is a good day to ask for God's grace and guidance. In the name of Martin, and in the name of Jesus whose way and witness inspired him, let us acknowledge the forces of oppression, pray for healing, and vow to resist injustice as Jesus the Christ did, as Martin the Apostle of Civil Rights did.

Let us pray:

Dear God,

     We acknowledge the sin of racism today. Lord have mercy.

     We admit that we have done too little to heal the wounds of xenophobia. Lord have mercy.

     We confess that we have not done enough to end poverty and to care for those who are poor. Lord have mercy.

     We acknowledge that we have not insisted strongly enough that women's sovereignty over their own bodies be respected. Lord have mercy.

     We admit that we have not done all that needs to be done to protect the rights of LGBTQ people. Lord have mercy.

     We confess that we must do more to defend the dignity of the aging. Lord have mercy.

     We acknowledge that we have not always been good stewards of the earth. Lord have mercy.

     We admit that we have rushed too often to war and have done too little to promote peaceful coexistence. Lord have mercy.

     We confess that love of money, power, privilege, or the comfort of the status quo has lulled us into acceptance of possible tyranny, especially when we thought we might not be the victims of it. Lord have mercy.

     God heal our brokenness.

     May love and hope unite us.

     May peace attend us.

     May we remember our divine inheritance and our sacred mission, and may we live more faithfully into our calling to live as if we were ONE (as in Truth, we are).

     Amen.

Yours in shared mission and ministry,

 

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister 

 "Let justice roll on like a river, 

righteousness like a never-failing stream!" 

Amos 5.25 

(NIV)