One of the other things I thought about putting in this sermon, and didn't because I didn't really have time, is a reflection on a current debate going on in the child welfare community.
The American Pediatric Association came out with new guidelines around female genital cutting in America recently. For those of you who do not know, there is a tradition in many African countries of cutting off part of a woman's genitals, to varying degrees of severity, sometime between infancy and puberty (usually between 4 and 10 years old). The operation is often immediately painful and dangerous, and usually permanently reduces or even eliminates sexual enjoyment.
In general, the APA's recommendations were uncontroversial-Female Genital Cutting is dangerous and unhealthy, and should not be done by American doctors, and families that want it for their daughters should be educated about its dangers.
However, at the end of these reflections, they mentioned the possibility that maybe a small ritual nick might serve as a replacement for more invasive surgery for families committed to following the cultural ritual, but aware of its dangers.
This has sparked a great deal of controversy (some thoughts here) http://bigthink.com/ideas/20004, as you might imagine.
This is exactly the kind of question that I think it is most useful for Christians to talk about-are the potential benefits of exchanging a dangerous and painful operation for a purely symbolic action worth the dangers of increased social acceptance of what is a morally problematic action? How do we decide? Is this purely a cost/benefit analysis, that can be determined by testing if cutting increases or decreases with either course of action, or is it a philosophical question, best decided by our unwillingness to be complicit in a broken system?
What does it mean to demonstrate the love of Christ in this situation?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Discipleship discipline
One of the things that I often wrestle with as a pastor and a Christian is the challenges of efficiency as opposed to faithfulness. Not that these are contradictory values-far from it, really. I think its important to be effective in the good work of God, with an emphasis on both effective and good. But I think there is always this wrestling that we do, because we don't necessarily know the real consequences of our actions.
This week, my sermon is on the choices we get to make as Jesus' disciples, and what those choices say about how we interact with the world, and how important ethical purity and concrete progress are for our lives.
This is a living conversation in the congregation-when we studied incarceration this last year, one of the challenges is having some sense of what might be wise public policy (particularly around issues of mental illness and drug addiction, both of which are exacerbated by the current prison system) but feeling fairly powerless to offer superior solutions, and/or shape public policy.
As a way of engaging this conversation, here is a wonderful video about ways that we can in fact use data to shape our discipleship, focusing our Christian energies on programs that actually work.
This talk focuses on how to actually help Sub-Saharan Africa, and it is worth a couple minutes of your time.
This week, my sermon is on the choices we get to make as Jesus' disciples, and what those choices say about how we interact with the world, and how important ethical purity and concrete progress are for our lives.
This is a living conversation in the congregation-when we studied incarceration this last year, one of the challenges is having some sense of what might be wise public policy (particularly around issues of mental illness and drug addiction, both of which are exacerbated by the current prison system) but feeling fairly powerless to offer superior solutions, and/or shape public policy.
As a way of engaging this conversation, here is a wonderful video about ways that we can in fact use data to shape our discipleship, focusing our Christian energies on programs that actually work.
This talk focuses on how to actually help Sub-Saharan Africa, and it is worth a couple minutes of your time.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The City of God
Here is my sermon for this week-
My favorite response was a gentleman who informed me afterwards that he certainly hoped that the city was just a metaphor, because he has no interest in spending eternity in a city. I see his point.
http://saintlouissports.homestead.com/
John 14:23-31
Revelation 21:10-22:5
Gathering in the city:
Good morning everyone, it is good to be with you this Sunday.
We’ve been working through Easter stories in this time before Pentecost (the celebration of the Holy Spirit that occurs on May 23rd, for those who are curious), as well as some visions of Christ to come, like the one from the book of Revelation that we have today.
Reading through the lectionary texts, I was struck by this image of the city of God. This is a story told with a tremendous amount of care-the image is stunning in its detail. Because of its length, we cut out some of the ornateness of the description, but the new Jerusalem has twelve gates, twelve foundations, its fifteen hundred miles per side, made of gold and jasper and sapphire and emerald and topaz and I could go on-but I won’t.
My favorite response was a gentleman who informed me afterwards that he certainly hoped that the city was just a metaphor, because he has no interest in spending eternity in a city. I see his point.
John 14:23-31
Revelation 21:10-22:5
Gathering in the city:
Good morning everyone, it is good to be with you this Sunday.
We’ve been working through Easter stories in this time before Pentecost (the celebration of the Holy Spirit that occurs on May 23rd, for those who are curious), as well as some visions of Christ to come, like the one from the book of Revelation that we have today.
Reading through the lectionary texts, I was struck by this image of the city of God. This is a story told with a tremendous amount of care-the image is stunning in its detail. Because of its length, we cut out some of the ornateness of the description, but the new Jerusalem has twelve gates, twelve foundations, its fifteen hundred miles per side, made of gold and jasper and sapphire and emerald and topaz and I could go on-but I won’t.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Top Ten Reasons to Join a Mennonite Disaster Service Crew
Just an excuse for some new pictures:
Number 1) The relaxing schedule-you get a full 30 minutes between 6:30 AM and 7:30 PM that is not devoted to eating or working (I usually take a shower).
Number 2) It’s Diet friendly! While you eat 3500 calories a day, you work most of it off as you go.
Number 3) The luxurious accommodations- between the bunk beds, the cold showers, and the bathrooms in a different building from both the bedroom and the kitchen, when you get home, you’re living in the lap of luxury.
Number 4) the scintillating nightlife-between checking in at 10:00, and the long discussions on the Canadian tax code and the US national debt, we own the night.
Number 5) Meeting Canadians-enough said. Did you know that the Maple Leaf flag dates back to only 1967?
Number 6) Free publicity-we were interviewed by a reporter from the Wall Street Journal today-here is the official Wall Street Journal photographer at work.
Number 7) Learning new skills-from crawling in attics putting in insulation, to crawling on floors, scraping off old varnish, to crawling under floors, in dirt and other things, our boundaries are always stretched.
Number 8) Seeing new sights-the Bayous, the mighty Mississippi , the ‘wrong’ side of the tracks in New Iberia, and wildlife-frogs, lizards, dogs, birds, and the stray snake.
Number 9) New stories-friends who share things you never new before, new friends who have wonderful adventures. People we have known for twenty years can still surprise us.
Number 10) helping people in need, connecting to new children of God, getting to know them, and the satisfaction of service (Mr. Green, owner of the home I'm working on).
Number 1) The relaxing schedule-you get a full 30 minutes between 6:30 AM and 7:30 PM that is not devoted to eating or working (I usually take a shower).
Number 2) It’s Diet friendly! While you eat 3500 calories a day, you work most of it off as you go.
Number 3) The luxurious accommodations- between the bunk beds, the cold showers, and the bathrooms in a different building from both the bedroom and the kitchen, when you get home, you’re living in the lap of luxury.
Number 4) the scintillating nightlife-between checking in at 10:00, and the long discussions on the Canadian tax code and the US national debt, we own the night.
Number 5) Meeting Canadians-enough said. Did you know that the Maple Leaf flag dates back to only 1967?
Number 6) Free publicity-we were interviewed by a reporter from the Wall Street Journal today-here is the official Wall Street Journal photographer at work.
Number 7) Learning new skills-from crawling in attics putting in insulation, to crawling on floors, scraping off old varnish, to crawling under floors, in dirt and other things, our boundaries are always stretched.
Number 8) Seeing new sights-the Bayous, the mighty Mississippi , the ‘wrong’ side of the tracks in New Iberia, and wildlife-frogs, lizards, dogs, birds, and the stray snake.
Number 9) New stories-friends who share things you never new before, new friends who have wonderful adventures. People we have known for twenty years can still surprise us.
Number 10) helping people in need, connecting to new children of God, getting to know them, and the satisfaction of service (Mr. Green, owner of the home I'm working on).
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Pictures!
As promised, a few photos from our trip so far. More later.
The first is Prejean's, the Cajun restaurant we ate at the first night.
The accomodations are luxurious, a big trailer with indoor plumbing! You can see Kyle in the background.
We had a good day today, I'll report back after I've collected some stories.
We even have a stove-which I'm using as a dresser since we are a little bit cramped. 
And the most impressive part of MDS-Pick-up Truck Row, prepared to leave as a fleet of do-gooders every morning. 
We had a good day today, I'll report back after I've collected some stories.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Mennonite Disaster Service
I'm down in New Iberia, Louisiana, working with seven other people from SLMF for Mennonite Disaster Service.
We're all here safely, and have happily finished up our first day on the job.
Its been a learning experience for all of us.
Rich Howard-Willms learned that the pancake platter at Hardies has pancakes.
Most of us learned what alligator meat tastes like for the first time (its good-firm, not fishy at all, and it does not taste like chicken) when we tried some at a cajun restaurant in Lafayette.
This evening, we played a game of Malarky, where Arnie Sprunger taught us such useful information as 'the Arabic numbering system came from India' and 'the phrase 'stealing your thunder' comes from an obscure British playwright.'
And I've learned how to be a construction group leader, because the MDS people decided to make the least experienced person on the trip from SLMF take charge of a bunch of very patient and very polite Canadians who drove three days down from Ontario because they have a sick sense of humor.
New Iberia is an interesting city, its a small town with some extreme differences between the wealthy and the poor. We're helping at a number of different houses around town with some significant interior and exterior maintenance. We're all pretty exhausted after the first day, and are looking forward to the snoring symphony that is the men's bunkhouse.
I'll have some pictures up tomorrow, which will be more fun-I was unable to get onto the wireless on my own computer, so I am limited to text today.
Good night, and God bless
We're all here safely, and have happily finished up our first day on the job.
Its been a learning experience for all of us.
Rich Howard-Willms learned that the pancake platter at Hardies has pancakes.
Most of us learned what alligator meat tastes like for the first time (its good-firm, not fishy at all, and it does not taste like chicken) when we tried some at a cajun restaurant in Lafayette.
This evening, we played a game of Malarky, where Arnie Sprunger taught us such useful information as 'the Arabic numbering system came from India' and 'the phrase 'stealing your thunder' comes from an obscure British playwright.'
And I've learned how to be a construction group leader, because the MDS people decided to make the least experienced person on the trip from SLMF take charge of a bunch of very patient and very polite Canadians who drove three days down from Ontario because they have a sick sense of humor.
New Iberia is an interesting city, its a small town with some extreme differences between the wealthy and the poor. We're helping at a number of different houses around town with some significant interior and exterior maintenance. We're all pretty exhausted after the first day, and are looking forward to the snoring symphony that is the men's bunkhouse.
I'll have some pictures up tomorrow, which will be more fun-I was unable to get onto the wireless on my own computer, so I am limited to text today.
Good night, and God bless
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Report from Illinois Mennonite Convention:
The Annual Illinois Mennonite Convention took place on April 9th-11th, and I served as representative for the congregation.
The gathering was a time of celebration and connection with people from around Illinois. I bring greetings from Chuck Neufeld, our conference minister, and other conference leaders, including our new Conference Moderator, Cal Zehr, pastor of Willow Springs Mennonite Church.
At the conference, I received financial reports about the conference. We spent about 150,000$ this last year (Chuck Neufeld and his support staff make up the vast majority of conference expenses) and brought in 175,000$, which is a pleasant change from the most recent years when we have gone into a deficit. Next year, Chuck would like to hire a half time associate conference pastor, so next year’s budget will aim for 180,000$.
Chuck is pushing all congregations to ‘Activate’ their membership in Illinois Mennonite Conference. Right now, 50% of congregations in the conference give nothing to conference at all, and 20% of congregations make up 80% of all conference giving. We fall in the middle 30%. Chuck is hoping that all congregations will engage in some conference activities and giving every year.
The Southern Illinois Mission Partnership continues to flourish, with small worshiping groups growing around Southern Illinois.
The denominational reports from Mennonite Church USA included a report from Mennonite Mutual Aid, which is changing its name to Everance, and from Mennonite Education Agency, which is working on a large scale Mennonite distance learning program for all age ranges. When it becomes a little more solidified, I will provide more information.
I encourage you to consider making a trip to the Illinois Mennonite Conference some year, it is a delightful experience, and a good chance to learn about the broader Mennonite Church.
If you are interested in more information, the annual workbook can be downloaded here:
http://illinois.mennonite.net/Docs_for_2010_Assembly_files/Annual%20Report%202010%2010318.pdf
Grace and peace,
Samuel Voth Schrag
The gathering was a time of celebration and connection with people from around Illinois. I bring greetings from Chuck Neufeld, our conference minister, and other conference leaders, including our new Conference Moderator, Cal Zehr, pastor of Willow Springs Mennonite Church.
At the conference, I received financial reports about the conference. We spent about 150,000$ this last year (Chuck Neufeld and his support staff make up the vast majority of conference expenses) and brought in 175,000$, which is a pleasant change from the most recent years when we have gone into a deficit. Next year, Chuck would like to hire a half time associate conference pastor, so next year’s budget will aim for 180,000$.
Chuck is pushing all congregations to ‘Activate’ their membership in Illinois Mennonite Conference. Right now, 50% of congregations in the conference give nothing to conference at all, and 20% of congregations make up 80% of all conference giving. We fall in the middle 30%. Chuck is hoping that all congregations will engage in some conference activities and giving every year.
The Southern Illinois Mission Partnership continues to flourish, with small worshiping groups growing around Southern Illinois.
The denominational reports from Mennonite Church USA included a report from Mennonite Mutual Aid, which is changing its name to Everance, and from Mennonite Education Agency, which is working on a large scale Mennonite distance learning program for all age ranges. When it becomes a little more solidified, I will provide more information.
I encourage you to consider making a trip to the Illinois Mennonite Conference some year, it is a delightful experience, and a good chance to learn about the broader Mennonite Church.
If you are interested in more information, the annual workbook can be downloaded here:
http://illinois.mennonite.net/Docs_for_2010_Assembly_files/Annual%20Report%202010%2010318.pdf
Grace and peace,
Samuel Voth Schrag
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