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.

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)

Two Names, One Reprehensible Organization

ISIS or ISIL? They are the same scary (terrorist) group; why the different handles? I've wondered this for weeks, but have yet to ask anyone for clarification. I think I prefer ISIL so as not to blaspheme the glorious goddess Isis (an archetype shared by Christianity's Mary and one of my fave childhood Saturday morning TV programs), but that's probably not a proper argument for one over the other.

Since originally posting this, I have learned that ISIS stands for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, while ISIL stands for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (preferred by those who don't want our rhetoric about the organization to suggest an attack on Syria). Also, apparently both "syria" and "the levant" are possible translations for the actual Arabic word used.

Additionally, I heard a commentator today say that he would prefer people call ISIL an Islamist state rather than an Islamic state (The former suggesting fanatical extremism and the latter representing legitimate religion practiced on the whole by sane, decent people). I'm not sure most non-Muslim Westerners would "get" the distinction, but I appreciated his wanting to distinguish between religion gone wrong and religion practiced responsibly.

80% Free Isn't Free Enough (More on the Hobby Lobby Court Decision)

In the fall out from the Hobby Lobby decision yesterday, some have argued that HL's insurance plans offer 16 of 20 possible contraceptive options; they only are denying plans that cover so-called abortifacients (such as the "morning after pill) because, in the view of Christianity held by the owners of Hobby Lobby, full human-life begins at conception.

But that is irrelevant. For Hobby Lobby owners to passionately hold a philosophical view is their right; it is not their right to enforce that view on anyone, not even their employees. If medical therapies are legal, then it should not be in the employer's power to make health care decisions for individuals.

The HL family is apparently evangelical in their beliefs; but if they were Christian Scientist, would they have the right to deny any insurance to anyone because they passionately disbelieved in the efficacy of "materia medica" for "true" healing? If they were Jehovah's Witnesses, who passionately and honestly oppose blood transfusions, would they be allowed to prevent employees from choosing them? If they were Scientologists who diagree with psychiatry, could they prevent people from taking medication that might control an anxiety disorder? You see, it doesn't matter if you agree with HL's view about birth control; the precedent has now been established that one's religious beliefs can trump someone else's personal freedom to choose, and that opens the door to religion being used in ways that you might later not find agreeable.

See, the issue isn't whether any of us share the HL family's faith (and as a pro-choice Christian, I do not); the issue is that as a corporation, the HL BUSINESS does not have religious liberties (though, according to the court which has established the personhood of corporations, I seem to be mistaken). Religious freedoms are afforded to individuals and to churches (or other religious bodies, e.g., temples, synagogues, etc.), and the beliefs of the HL owners are interfering with the rights of individuals to make their own health care choices. Someone who doesn't hold the HL's belief (aka opinion) should not be denied their freedom to choose for themselves.

So, the Hobby Lobbyists (a good phrase for a variety of reasons) are entitled to their beliefs, but they have now persuaded five MEN on the nation's highest court to give them the power over their female workers' bodies. They now have the ability to say of 20 options available, you may choose one of 16 regardless of what YOUR values, opinions, beliefs, or perceived needs are and regardless of what your medical practitioner believes is in your best interest. They have said 80% freedom is free enough, and I disagree.

This isn't about how devout the owners are; this is about the wage earner being denied legal choices. The worker must now sacrifice sovereignty over her own body to comply with someone else's values, and that is neither moral nor just.

Rev Dr Durrell Watkins

Sunshine Cathedral

Senior Minister

Pastoral Response to the SCOTUS "Hobby Lobby" Decision

"[MCC] affirms that all people are entitled to the rights and resources that equip them to make their own decisions about their bodies, their sexuality, and their well-being, including the inalienable right of women to control their bodies. We call on all levels of government and civil society to honor and respect those rights." from MCC's Statement of Faith on Women's Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice

Companions on the spiritual journey:

As a faith leader and a parish minister, I stand in solidarity with other people of faith who are outraged by the US Supreme Court's decision on June 30th, 2014 in the "Hobby Lobby" case. The Court ruled that requiring family-owned corporations to pay for insurance coverage for contraception violated a federal law protecting religious freedom. This decision, in my view, privileges the religious biases of a company's owners while treading on the rights and freedoms of individuals.

As so many leaders have already stated, this decision opens the door for a series of injustices. If legal medications can be denied because of someone's religious views (other than the one taking the medication), then it is entirely possible that family owned business could refuse to offer medical coverage for blood transfusions, AIDS therapies, vaccinations, psychiatric medications, medical marijuana, or any number of medical procedures because someone other than the recipient of the legal medications objected to them for "religious" reasons. Dogma is rarely life-enhancing and in this instance may prove to be very dangerous.

As a religious progressive, I support the idea that universal health care is a right, not a privilege; and I further affirm the verity that that neither churches nor corporations nor governments own human bodies and women are the ultimate authority when it comes to their own health care and procreative choices.

LBGT people know what it is to be judged, marginalized, and vilified for their consensual, adult relationships and gender identities; in other words, the Queer community knows what it means to have their bodies and their sovereignty over them diminished. As a Queer man I object to the colonization of bodies even (and maybe especially) when it is done in the name of religion.

The consciences, needs, and values of workers were ruled to be secondary to the religious opinions of business owners in the June 30th decision. The values of the powerful and privileged were affirmed while the values of workers of modest means were dismissed, and that is not justice.

It is time that people of faith insist that patriarchy and its wayward children: heteronormativity, racism, nationalism, and misogyny cease to be elevated to the position of religious values. It is time that we speak out more passionately than ever before when we see people being punished for their class, gender identity, sexuality, or procreative choices.

Yours in the spirit of justice-love,

  

Rev Dr Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral

PS ~ Below are some powerful statement by other faith leaders:

Rev Dr Nancy Wilson, Presiding Elder & Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches: 

"The high court of the United States put all of our freedoms at risk today. Conservatives will now seek to deny a range of civil liberties and religion will be an excuse to discriminate."

A statement from The Religious Institute, led by Unitarian Universalist minister Rev Debra Haffner:

"The Religious Institute decries today's U.S. Supreme Court decision undermining true religious freedom--the right of individuals to make their own moral choices."

Unitarian Universalist president, Rev Peter Morales:

"I am deeply concerned by the growing rights granted to corporations by this decision and others of this Court and our Congress. I am also deeply concerned by the growing use of the religious freedom argument as a tool of discrimination and oppression."

Rev Harry Knox of The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:

"The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice is dismayed by the Supreme Court's decision...which perverts our nation's historic understanding of religious liberty. As a coalition of denominations and religious organizations, RCRC is gravely concerned about the Court's notion that a for-profit corporation is able to exercise religion."

Dr Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York:

"As a Christian, I believe that God creates human beings individually, and that the mark of our individual blessedness before God is our souls. It is this soul that allows us to be bearers of rights and obligations and rational agents capable of holding religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby would have us believe that corporations, too, have souls. This is not the case. I am horrified by the thought that the owners of Hobby Lobby as Christians think their corporation has a soul, and I'm even more appalled that the Supreme Court agrees."

Bishop Gene Robinson (The Episcopal Church):
"The Jesus I follow always stood with the poor and powerless - and trust me, this struggle is about power. Whether the issue touches women or gays and lesbians, our religion should be about more love, not less; more dignity, not less."

A Prayer in Response to Recent Waves of Religion Inspired Homophobia

Homophobia is running rampant (again)~Arizona, Tennessee, Nigeria, Uganda...a lot of crazy in the world right now, and religion at its most dysfunctional is the root of almost all of it. Some have given up on religion (and honestly, who could blame them?).

Others of us have found myths and rituals and community to be healing and life-giving and we just refuse to give them up even if far too many have used religion as a weapon to oppress, vilify, marginalize, and torment first one group and then another.

As one who still believes in the potential of healthy religion, or at least in shared spirituality which religion at its best faciliates, today I pray:

May the divine Power, the indomitable hope, the mystery of life, the power of love, the vastness of the universe, the invisible ties that unite all living beings, the wisdom of ages, the indefatigable creativity of the human spirit known as gods and angels and guides and ancestors and magic lead us in the ways of healing, peace, and justice. May religion ill used be redeemed; and may those who use religion as a weapon have a change of heart. As I think of those who live in fear or danger because religion has dehumanized and demonized them, I pause in this moment to affirm their sacred value and to wish them safety and well-being; in the name of all I call holy. Amen.

-- Durrell Watkins (2014)

Various Thoughts & Prayers Re: Possible Strikes on Syria

"Jesus’ call to be peacemakers takes us in a different direction than missile strikes. I believe the just cause being laid out against Assad is indeed a moral case, and I trust both President Barack Obama and Secretary John Kerry’s intentions around that cause. But I believe that the military strikes now being proposed are not the best moral response to this moral crisis — and they could ultimately undermine both our moral case and the moral intentions." Jim Wallis

Even some of the most conservative religious voices oppose military intervention at this point: "Geoff Tunnicliffe, CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance, pointed out the negative effect military strikes would have on Christians in the Middle East. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said in a letter to Obama that strikes would be 'counterproductive' and 'exacerbate an already deadly situation.' And the Southern Baptist Convention’s Russell Moore echoed the concerns, saying, there are just-cause principles missing 'both to justify action morally and to justify it prudentially.'"

“War brings on war! Violence brings on violence."
Pope Francis, who supports a negotiated settlement of the Syrian civil war, calling upon people of faith around the world to pray and fast for peace this Saturday, Sept. 7.

Prayer for Peace in the world:

"Great God...save us from ourselves, save us from the vengeance in our hearts and the acid in our souls.  Save us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt, to punish as we have been punished, to terrorize as we have been terrorized.  Give us the strength it takes to...trust rather than to fear, to try again and again to make peace even when peace eludes us.
We ask,... O God, for the grace to be our best selves. We ask for the vision to be builders of the human community rather than its destroyers. We ask for the humility as a people to understand the fears and hopes of other peoples. We ask for the love it takes to bequeath to the children of the world to come more than the failures of our own making. We ask for the heart it takes to care for all the peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq, of Palestine and Israel [and of Syria] as well as for ourselves...
[M]ay we be merciful and patient and gracious and trusting with these others whom you also love.
This we ask through Jesus, the one without vengeance in his heart. This we ask forever and ever. Amen" - Sister Joan Chittister, OSB

 

"Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee; all things are passing, God never changeth! Patient endurance attaineth to all things; who God possesseth in nothing is wanting; alone God sufficeth." Northumbria Community blessing

 

Prayer for Peace (adapted): 

"Eternal Hope, in whose perfect kin-dom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Light, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of...Peace, as members of one global family. Amen."

 

Under the heading of there is nothing new under the sun:

"[In 1914] Paul Jones was ... made Bishop of the Missionary District of Utah. He was an outspoken pacifist, and when World War I began in 1914, he spoke against it. As the war progressed, and when the United States entered the war in 1917, many Americans were vehement in holding that pursuing the war was a moral duty, and opposition to the war was immoral.In the spring of 1918... Bishop Jones resigned as Bishop of Utah. He continued to speak out within the Church as an advocate of peace and the Christian renunciation of war, until his death on 4 September 1941." James Kiefer

 

"If all our options are bad, why pick the one that involves missiles?" Rachel Maddow

 

Q&A with Dr Durrell Watkins

Question: As Christians, should we support attacking Syria?

Answer: The answer to questions of military intervention are always complex and defy simple answers. I can tell you that early Christians were pacifists and I can remind you of the angelic prayer from the Nativity story, “Peace on earth, goodwill toward all people.”

 

There is also an ancient Jewish tale of God reprimanding the people of Israel when they were celebrating the drowning of Egyptian forces. God, according to the tale, reminded them that the Egyptians were children of God also and God was very sad that they had perished.

And, of course, we know that peaceful revolutionaries such as Gandhi and Dr King changed the world with non-violent resistance.

From political or national security perspectives, there are probably arguments for and against military action. Ethicists might weigh in with their own understandings. From a theological viewpoint, or at least from my theological viewpoint, I always prefer peaceful solutions, or at least attempts at peaceful solutions to major conflicts. I always hope military action will be a last resort.

If a dictator has committed genocide against his own people, then it would be obscene to remain silent in the face of such atrocity. However, there may be ways of showing disapproval of such action and of standing in solidarity with the oppressed short of drone strikes that will also cost human lives. I also wonder why we find one act of atrocity to be worthy of military action and another to not require such action. We seem oddly selective about our moral outrage in these situations.

My opinion, or yours for that matter, will unlikely change the course of events. But I hope as a faith community we never are comfortable with rushing to violence. And, come what may, we should continue praying as we do every Sunday, “May peace prevail on earth.”

(from Sept. 8th, 2013 edition of The Sun Burst, Sunshine Cathedral's weekly newsletter)

 

"As humanitarians confronting the horror of the Syrian civil war, we must consider how we can best protect civilians, end the violence, and uphold the international prohibition on using chemical weapons. But we shouldn't make matters worse on the ground just to answer war crimes with a limited and largely symbolic show of force." Credo Action

 

11 Reasons Why We Shoud Not Attack Syria

http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/eleven-reasons-why-we-should-not-attack-syria#.UiSfQHAP2tE.facebook

 

 

 

 

 

More Than One Way to be Religious

More Than One Way to be Religious

WRITTEN BY REV. DR. DURRELL WATKINS

“Prophet” Cindy Jacobs recently declared that weather hazards and ecological problems are the result of divine wrath in response to presidential decisions. And without offering specifics, she prognosticated that more calamities are on the way. Of course, it’s a safe bet that something unhappy will happen somewhere. It doesn’t take a great psychic gift to make that guess!

Before this embarrassing statement suggesting that weather is caused by the gods and “bad” weather is the result of divine displeasure I had never heard of Ms. Jacobs, but I’ve heard her kind of blame, shame, and scare theology all too often.

I spend my life building religious community. I offer a message of hope and healing to help people navigate the chances and challenges of life. I try to affirm the sacred value of all people. I work to get people to stand up and speak out for peace, diversity, equality, and justice. That is, in my view, is religion's high purpose.

Religion gives us language and space to celebrate joys, face difficulties, and form human bonds that prove to be the cure for loneliness. Religion is not meant to increase our fears, strengthen our prejudices, or give us enemies to blame for the uncertainties of life.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, heat-waves, blizzards, and even terrorist attacks have all been blamed on liberals, pro-choice politicians, same-gender loving people, and whoever else rightwing extremists might name as the reason for misfortune that they insist is Heaven sent.

I remember at the beginning of the AIDS crisis some preachers claiming that the disease was God’s punishment against people who Christian fundamentalists found to be unworthy of respect or even tolerance. Almost as reprehensibly, many other clergy remained silent as people continued to suffer and die from the then little understood but clearly devastating disease.

I don’t know why anyone would choose to embrace an understanding of spirituality that suggests a deity will send disease or any disaster. Such petty instance that everything unpleasant is proof that a supreme being hates all the people they hate makes religion seem irrelevant and oppressive; it also makes representatives of religion seem more committed to hatred and bigotry than to enlightenment and progress.

As a representative of religion (progressive religion, but religion nevertheless), I very much resent that religion is so often misused and I wish to offer a better, kinder, more reasonable, and more useful understanding of faith.

It is the worst sort of opportunism to use tragedies as a means of promoting hatred and intolerance. The appropriate response to tragedy is compassion, not blame. The best use of religion in times of trouble is to offer comfort, not condemnation. And if we listen to the “better angels of our nature” we will affirm human dignity in the face of chaos rather than using chaos as a weapon to further dehumanize those we may not understand or like.

We are each entitled to our own understanding of the Sacred, of course. But I, as a religious person, will have no deity that would not bless same-gender love, that would send storms to punish many just to torment a few, or that would send rather than heal disease.

But thankfully, there are other understandings of the ultimate reality that many of us call “God.” Some of us believe, teach, and experience the divine as a comforting presence, an urge to do good, the capacity to love, forgive, and share, and a deep desire to bring peace, hope, and healing to all people.

We are each entitled to our own understandings, but I for one will always choose those that build up rather than tear down, that heal rather than hurt, and that affirm diversity rather than demand division. I just wanted another religious voice to be heard today.

Durrell Watkins holds sociology and theatre degrees from Henderson State University and Goddard College, respectively, as well as a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Episcopal Divinity School. He is the author of Wrestling with God without Getting Pinned: Old Stories, New Thoughts, & Progressive Spirituality (Outskirts Press, available at Amazon.com), and is the Senior Pastor of the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale (www.sunshinecathedral.org).

Response to New Mob Attack in Jamaica

Sunshine Cathedral
A Metropolitan Community Church affiliated with The Center for Progressive Christianity

For Immediate Release
April 28th, 2007

Sunshine Cathedral’s Canon Precentor Responds to New Mob Attack in Jamaica

Once again, mob violence has erupted in Jamaica. According to a news report, a cross-dresser was identified as a man in women’s attire yesterday morning in the town of Falmouth. Apparently, the victim was simply waiting for public transportation when someone shouted out that the person who appeared female was actually male. Violence ensued, and escalated. The crowd that attacked the victim with sticks, rocks, and “whatever weapon they could find” was dispersed with warning shots from the police. The assault victim was taken by the police to the hospital. The story can be found in the Jamaican Observer (http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20070428T020000-0500_122324_OBS_MOB_BEATS_CROSS_DRESSER.asp).

The person who was attacked apparently did nothing other than to defy society’s gender norms. It is outrageous to think that simply being different remains so dangerous today. We again are reminded of the Golden Rule, stated variously across cultures and religions, but recorded in the Sermon on the Mount as, “Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about” (The Bible, Contemporary English Version). Would any of the attackers want to be singled out and outnumbered by a violent crowd? Of course not. And no one would want their child, grandchild, sibling, or friend attacked for being different. And so, again, in the name and words of Jesus, we say, “Treat others as you want them to treat you.”

We, the leaders of the Sunshine Cathedral, continue to condemn such unprovoked violence and we continue to call upon religious leaders in Jamaica and throughout the world to speak out against such violence. We further hope the Jamaican government will act to secure the safety of all its citizens. Finally, we continue to pray for the victims of violence, wishing them healing, hope, and peace.

/signed/

Durrell Watkins

The Reverend Canon Durrell Watkins, MA, MDiv
submitted on behalf of Sunshine Cathedral’s Canon Circle
www.sunshinecathedral.org office phone: 954.462.2004 fax: 954.462.7070

(End)
........................................................
To see previous press releases and reports dating back to February 16th, 2007, please email Durrell@Sunshinecathedral.org