Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

While enjoying a very good game between my beloved St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves this evening, I was struck by comments made by the Fox Sports Midwest announcing crew.  Al Hrabosky and Rick Horton were covering the game this evening, and made a point of lifting up the success of Braves’ pitching coach Roger McDowell for the success of a very young Atlanta pitching staff.  While this credit is no doubt deserved, I found myself taking exception with comments made to the effect that McDowell was an “example” for his young players.  After his inexcusable behavior earlier this season prior to a game against the San Francisco Giants in which he made homophobic comments and gestures towards fans (actions for which he was suspended and fined by Major League Baseball), McDowell shouldn’t be paid the compliment of being an “example.”

And frankly, if we want to see positive change made surrounding the bigotry, we need to hold our media and its personalities accountable for lapses such as this.  So I’ve emailed the booth live during the game (through the FSMidwest website) and sent the following email to their rather generic contact email: midwest@foxsports.net.  I hope you’ll take a moment to draft your own letter – feel free to lift liberally from mine if that’s helpful – and make it clear that we won’t accept the excusing of bigoted behavior in the public square.

To the staff at Fox Sports Midwest, a letter to the broadcast team for the September 9, 2011 game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves.

Dear Mr. Hrabosky and Mr. Horton,

I want to thank you for your well informed and enjoyable coverage of the game this evening.  I’m a die-hard Cardinals fan and look forward to tuning in every chance that I have.  However, this evening I was disappointed by your praise for Braves’ pitching coach Roger McDowell.  While his record as a player is strong and it is hard to argue with his results considering the youth of the Atlanta pitching staff, I have to take exception with your comments lifting him up as an example for the team.  His behavior earlier this season in San Francisco for which he was suspended and fined by Major League Baseball for homophobic comments and gestures is not the type of example I would like to see set for young players or for young fans of the game.  While we all understand that there are certain provisions of the old “gentleman’s game” that allow for less than gentlemanly behavior, this type of bigotry should never be applauded, and surely should not be lifted up as an example.

I don’t expect a personal response, nor do I necessarily expect that any retraction or further comment will be made, but I feel personally that it is necessary to bring this contradiction to light regarding your words concerning Mr. McDowell.

Respectfully,
Clint Collins

It’s long past time that we demand accountability from our public figures.

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I stumbled onto an incredible little factoid while doing some research. Apparently there are two human-made structures that can be seen from space. One of which you may have guessed: the Great Wall of China. The other, you likely will not have guessed. It’s the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, New York. So when the angels look down upon us, they see one of our great ancient achievements and one of our greatest contemporary failures.

Unfortunately, our record doesn’t look to be improving on this count. As our garbage output increases, the amount of landfill space has decreased to about 80% of its capacity 30 years ago. Many states – including Oklahoma – only have about 20 years of landfill space left, and that’s only if our waste production rates continue to increase at a constant level – leaving no room for population growth or other factors. Furthermore, the landfill practice of dumping and burying waste actually creates an environmental problem for organic materials. When plant waste is buried, it will break down, but only very slowly and will ultimately create large amounts of methane – a greenhouse gas more potent that carbon dioxide.

However, the art of gardening offers a potential solution: composting. Large amounts of plant waste that we throw away – vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, and the like, can be safely and quickly composted to create nutrient rich soil for growing next year’s vegetables. This not only reduces the amount of waste going into landfills, but also decomposes the waste in a faster manner that doesn’t produce methane gas. A little effort to separate plant waste from the rest of the trash could save land, help save the atmosphere, and grow healthy food all at the same time.

In a way, it’s resurrection x 3 (that’s multiplication if it didn’t make sense at first). Plant waste is composted back into new plant life, landfill space needs are reduced, and greenhouse gases are diminished. We are already considering a compost project for our community garden at First Christian, which includes the possibilities of getting everyone involved in composting efforts to make it more successful in the long run. And I’d love to hear your thoughts about it! So pull me aside on Sunday morning or send me an email and let me know what you think. Christians are in the business of resurrection, and multiplying it by three sounds like gospel to me! What say you?

Walking the Lenten journey of justice,
Clint

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It turns out that this late Lenten Season is making for a very busy time of the year – and busy can mean a lot of excitement. This year we are definitely living up to that billing, and I want to take a moment to fill you in on what’s going on.

Aside from our Lenten outreach campaign to raise money for our local ministry partners (a campaign that is right on track, by the way – we’ll be giving you a full update this coming Sunday!), we are also moving forward in partnership with Project Osiyo and the existing Tahlequah Community Gardening initiative to put in our own garden plot right here on our property. Things are still in the early stages of growth (Ok, so I did intend the pun), so there’s plenty of time to jump in and help. If you’re interested in becoming part of the leadership team that will help us get this project off the ground, please get in touch with me so we can this work moving!

In addition to our outreach campaign, I will be joining with Help-In-Crisis to raise awareness of domestic violence and help support their efforts financially by participating in their “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event on April 16. I, along with other men from the community (maybe including a couple other members of our congregation) will be looking for folks to sponsor us for our attempt to literally walk a mile in heels. I’ll be bringing a sponsor sign-up sheet with me to worship if you’d like to pitch in, but I’d also love to see people out at the event, which will take place at Norris Park, to cheer us on as we work to walk our mile!

And while I’m toting around my sponsor sheet for Help-In-Crisis in the coming weeks, I’ll also be carrying tickets for Tahlequah Area Habitat for Humanity’s annual Spaghetti Luncheon that will take place on Thursday, April 28 at the Community Building in town. Advance tickets are $5 (it’s $6 at the door), and all proceeds will go to help build house #18 for our local chapter. This event will also feature the Habitat birdhouse auction, so drop in to take a look at the beautifully constructed and decorated birdhouses and maybe even make a bid!

Of course, I’ll be reminding you of all of this in the weeks to come, but feel free to seek me out if you’d like to know more!

Walking the Lenten journey of justice,
Clint

———

I must honestly reiterate that I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen.
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

These words, written by King as an open letter to respond to a statement made by eight members of the local clergy previously in the week, issue a stinging indictment of the church. In this letter, King condemns not only those Christians who actively opposed civil rights, but also those who took the position of silence – expressing even greater disappointment in those who did not speak at all.

As I reflect on his words, the climate in which he wrote, and what history has taught us since then, I can’t help but wonder: which Christians are we today? Are we those who distort the gospel and actively deny people their full humanity? Are we those who want to spread a gospel of love, tolerance, and understanding, but remain silent because it might be deemed “controversial”? Worse yet – are we the ones who remain silent because we seem not to care? I think these are worthwhile questions to ask in taking stock of the Christian movement as a whole.

However, I think it gives us some food for thought here in our own congregation as well. You all well know that I’m not afraid to speak my mind at times, and sometimes I push that “controversial” envelope from the pulpit and in my writings. Yet this is still a relatively safe, and in some ways silent, witness in a world in need of some gospel grace. I’m left to wonder, if we were pushed as a congregation to speak on any of the great public, and potentially “controversial” issues, would we be willing to speak?

While observing the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday this week, it is important to remember his crucial role in the extension of civil rights to emancipated but still oppressed African Americans. Yet his greatest and truest legacy is not the history that we created behind us, but his continuing challenge to be faithful as we face what is in front of us. I suspect that our day is coming, both as First Christian Church and as Christians as a whole. Will we speak when the time comes for the world to hear a prophetic word from the church? The world is listening.

Seeking God’s justice in a new year,
Clint

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This week we bring the church budget process to a conclusion with the congregational meeting that will follow our worship service Sunday. This is good news – we have a budget ready for the new year that continues to support our ministries within our congregation and beyond! While this is worth celebrating, I hope you’ll grant me the opportunity to talk about another budget concern – the one that is going on in our nation’s capital.

With the midterm elections creating a shift in power in the House of Representatives in January, we have heard a lot about taxes for the past few weeks – probably more than we ever cared to hear! But in all of the debates over whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for everyone or just the middle class, a couple of key provisions in the tax code that are set to expire have been all too conveniently forgotten: the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).

Bread for the World (www.bread.org), a Christian organization that works with Congress to promote policies to end hunger and eliminate poverty, promotes an “Offering of Letters.” The offering of letters is a call to Christians to write their senators and representatives and urge them support programs that will work to provide opportunity to low income and impoverished families that often times find it difficult to put food on the table – and this year they are working to support the continuation of the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits.

Why does this matter? In 2006 alone, 309,747 Oklahoma households claimed the EITC and received an average of $1,974 per household in tax breaks. In that same year, 192,848 Oklahoma households claimed the CTC for an average break of $1,028 per family unit. For low-income families that live below the national poverty line, $3,000 a year can mean the difference between basic nutrition or a diet of processed foods high in sugars, salts, and other unhealthy additives. Proper diet for a child can mean the difference between a chance at a healthy life or one lived with recurring illness and disease, a problem we see time and again in the poverty of Cherokee County alone.

So you are invited to conspire to make a difference. The Outreach Committee will be sponsoring a letter writing campaign to our senators and representative, encouraging them to support the renewal of the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits. We will set up a computer and printer at the Tasting Party next Sunday evening to allow you to sign a personalized form letter to our elected officials. Or if you would rather give it a truly personal touch – feel free to write your own letters and bring them to the Tasting Party and we will mail them as a collection to our respective officials. But all you have to do is show up and sign your name to make a difference.

I hope you’ll join me and the Outreach Committee in supporting this important tax credit for fighting hunger and poverty!

Your fellow conspirator in the Gospel of Jesus,
Clint

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In the smoldering heat of the last few days I’m sure that none of us have been tempted to take for granted the value of water. It parches our thirst and cools our bodies. It grows our food and greens our yards … and we know it can be fairly scarce during these dry summer months. But even in the driest of months here in Oklahoma, we have yet to experience the drought that inflicts impoverished and developing nations around the world. We can celebrate the blessings of well-developed water delivery systems and the convenience of the municipal authorities that provide them – and we should – but we are called as followers of Christ to remember our fellow human beings in Nicaragua, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, Burma, and beyond who don’t share in our blessings.

Of course, we’re not only called to remember the needs of the water- insecure around the world, but to stand in solidarity with them and to help make a difference in their plight. You may remember that we took a stand during the season of Lent to collect funds during the H2O Challenge – an act of solidarity and support. This Sunday we’ll gather together to once more hold the thirst of our world in prayer and to dedicate the gifts of water wells that will be provided through Church World Service, a global mission partner of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

However, we also plan to take another stand in solidarity with the impoverished and economically oppressed by collecting one final offering for the plight of water insecurity. Special envelopes will be available in the pews with a picture of a heart and entitled “Love Offering” that will allow you to offer another gift for the cause of safe and plentiful water. All special gifts collected this Sunday will be shared through Global Ministries with our mission partners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where over 600,000 fellow Disciples live and worship.

So please plan on joining us as we dedicate our gifts and remember those who do not have that which we enjoy. As Jesus reminds us in Matthew 25, those who see the plight of the thirsty and offer them a drink are doing the work of the kingdom of God. Let’s join in sharing the abundance of God’s creation with all who lack, and carry the vision of the gospel from our sanctuary to the ends of the earth.

Seeking the path of God’s justice,
Clint

———

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek–
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean–
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today–O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

These words from the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes cry out a lament for those of this nation who have never enjoyed the fruits of life and liberty, nor the freedom in time and means to maintain that ever elusive pursuit of happiness. As we allow this 4th of July holiday to begin to fade from our minds, let us take a moment of pause to be mindful of those who have not experienced the riches or richness of this land we call America. Whether we reflect on the immense poverty of Cherokee county, a lasting remnant of the forced assimilation of the Cherokee people, or turn our thoughts to the growing list of Oklahoma ghost towns dying in the aftermath of the oil boom, or the devastation of a once plentiful and green Oklahoma during the dust bowl, we don’t have to look far to find the people about whom Hughes was writing.

But we don’t have to turn far into our bibles to find the message of justice God declares for the oppressed – or to find our calling as Christians to tend to those who are downtrodden. Jesus gives us the gospel answer to Hughes’ lament. Quoting from Isaiah 61, he declares:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19, NRSV)

And as he concluded, with all eyes fixed upon him, Jesus declared, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. (v. 21)” There are some who like to interpret this as meaning that Jesus was the fulfillment of those words. I prefer to read “in your hearing” as meaning that we are called to be the fulfillment of Isaiah’s call. So let’s let the gospel be the gospel again and seek out our place in God’s call to justice and equity for all people everywhere.

Seeking the path of God’s justice,
Clint

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“I will not let you go until you bless me.” (Gen. 32:26)

Every Wednesday at noon, Mrs. E is there. She sits in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, Korea with her friends to ask the Japanese government to apologize for its past treatment of Korean women as sex slaves during the Asia Pacific War. Mrs. E is elderly, as are her friends. Many of the so-called “comfort women” have passed away. Mrs. E hopes that justice will be done before she meets her grave. She is surrounded by a crowd of civilians who support her struggle. Over the loud speaker a statement is read, a song is sung, a prayer is given. The window blinds of the Japanese embassy are shut. Stone faced guards and secret police make sure there is no outright confrontation. This peaceful sit-in has continued for seventeen years.

In December 2009, religious leaders from around the world, gathered for the Second Conference on Article Nine and Peace in Asia. There were various Buddhist, Christian and Muslim denominations represented. There was great meaning when we gathered in Seoul, because we were all made aware of the realities of the Cold War which still divide the Korean peninsula. East Asia has not been able to move beyond the dualisms of the Cold War era. What we witnessed was a wall; a remnant from the Cold War. The wall is invisible, but no less as real as the wall being built in Israel.

Part of our program was to join the sit-in, and pray alongside these women who were victimized by war. We were all moved by the experience. I was reminded of the story of Jacob who wrestled all night with the angel of God. Jacob refused to let the angel go until he received a blessing. Mrs. E is one of those Jacobs of our time. I see in her a faith that refuses to let go, trusting that God is a God of love and blessing for all.

Let us pray for the tenacity of Mrs. E and others that their belief in the possibility of justice becomes our call for the enactment of justice.

Jeffrey Mensendiek serves as a Global Ministries missionary with the Council on Cooperative Mission, and as director of the Gakusei (Student) Center in Sendai Japan.

For More Information
Xiaoling Zhu
Area Executive
East Asia and the Pacific
700 Prospect Ave.
Cleveland,Ohio 44115

216-736-3226
Phone: 866-822-8224 ext. 3226
Fax: 216-736-3203
zhux@ucc.org

———

This past Sunday I raised the question as to why hunger in the world is so rampant when our own food supplies here at home seem so abundant. It occurred to me that it might be a good time to follow up on that sermon with some information, so I turned to the United Nations World Food Program and found some pretty striking information. Did you know …

• · that roughly 1 in 6 people doesn’t receive enough food? (1.02 billion)
• · that this number rose by 75 million in 2007 & another 40 million in 2008 due to the rising cost of food?
• · that 65% of the world’s hungry live in 7 countries? (India, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, & Ethiopia)
• · that Vitamin A deficiency due to malnutrition kills a million infants a year?
• · that the World Food Program dewormed 10 million children in 2007? (Yes, that’s the same type of deworming we do for our pets.)

The facts are astounding and saddening – and all of this in spite of the fact that we easily produce much more than our food needs in this country. Perhaps even more saddening, we have the wealth to make a difference in the world, but we regularly choose not to do so. A 1970 UN Resolution pledged the industrialized nations of the world to contributing 0.7% of their national incomes to international aid by 1975. Over the last 35 years, only Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Denmark have consistently met this goal.

While I’m a supporter of international aid (I’ve encouraged you to contact your Senators and Representatives to support U.S. aid to Haiti in the wake of the earthquake), I can’t help but wonder if charity is really the answer. If we are bound by the fear that we live in a world of scarcity, we will undoubtedly horde resources to ensure our own security and survival. However, if we trust the biblical voices who teach about the abundance of God’s provision, then perhaps we are faced with the challenge to change the way we live. If we were to trust God – and I mean to do so in a radical way – then maybe we could afford to live with a few less grocery stores in order to ensure that more U.S. grown food is shared overseas.

I know this issue is much bigger than a single sermon or a newsletter column, but that doesn’t mean it’s too big for us to engage as people of faith. I look forward to spending more time as a community on the challenge of feeding a hungry world and our role in it as followers of the Christ.

Following the winds of Spirit,
Clint

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Easter has now come and gone, and with it a sometimes forgotten anniversary: the death of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thirty-two years ago this past Easter, King was assassinated on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He had arrived in the city just days before to offer his support to African American employees of the sanitation department who were striking for fair and equal treatment. Just the day before, he had delivered what is known as his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” address to the crowd at Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ. In it he reiterated his consistent theme of nonviolent resistance and protest against the injustice of segregation and bigotry.

Sadly, in all the liturgy and pageantry of Easter, we sometimes lose sight of moments like this where the story is reenacted in brutal ways throughout history. Much like Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood against the oppressive cultural regime of the world (or at least in their respective countries) and said that the status quo could not stand. Much like Jesus, he was ultimately killed for upsetting the system of “the way things are.”

But we might forget that much like Jesus, King resurrected in his own way as well. In his death he was lionized by the community of his followers and became the lasting icon of the Civil Rights movement in the United States. His mantle was taken up by the likes of his wife, Coretta Scott King, Jesse Jackson, and a host of other leaders who have continued to champion the struggle for equal rights and treatment, not just for African Americans, but for all oppressed peoples here in our country and around the world.

In much the same way, we are called to continue the legacy of Jesus as well. As Paul tells us, we are members of the resurrected body of Christ and are therefore charged with the ministry of the gospel of Jesus. It was a ministry of justice for outcasts, enemies, the diseased, and foreigners – and it still is today! Rev. King was just one of many who understood their calling as participants within the body of Christ. It’s my hope and prayer that we live resurrection in the example of Jesus the Christ and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Walking the journey,

Clint