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CHI RHO
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Vol. V, No. 17
15 October 2004
1. A Reflection on Canadian Thanksgiving 2004 -- 6 Years After Matthew Shepard Died by Gary Simpson
2. 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar Published!
3. Soulforce Plans Fifth Witness to Catholic Bishops by Lawrence Reh
4. New Chi Rho Press Board Members
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This Issue's Quotes:
Here are some suggested winning responses in a contest to collect good ways to respond to telemarketers.
"That offer sounds great. Is it dischargeable in bankruptcy?" or "Do you accept welfare checks?"
If you catch the caller's first name, cry out in surprise, "Judy? Is that you? Oh my God! Judy, how have you been?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where she could know you from.
Another reader wrote in about an irksome problem he has with telemarketers. "Because our home is under my partner's name, they almost always call asking for him. When I tell them he's not here, they then ask for 'Mrs.' I finally got brazen enough to reply, 'You're speaking to him. Now what can I do for you?' More times than not, they hang up, especially if it's a man calling. I guess the whole gay thing makes some of them uncomfortable." Another of the many benefits of same gender relationships!
"Caller number nine you're on the air. What would you like to hear?"
Remember, the best way to avoid these calls is to get on the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call Registry.
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Welcome once again to the Chi Rho Connection, the electronic newsletter of Chi Rho Press.
To join our list, send an e-mail message to ChiRhoPress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
To remove yourself from this list send an e-mail to ChiRhoPress-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Direct all other e-mail to Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.
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1. A Reflection on Canadian Thanksgiving 2004 -- 6 Years After Matthew Shepard Died by Gary Simpson
This was written by Gary Simpson (garysdeskcom@hotmail.com) who works as a Guidance Counselor in a High School and who is a Science, History, Business Education, and Religion teacher. We thank Gary for his kind permission to reprint his reflections on Thanksgiving (in Canada) and the anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard six years ago this week.
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Canadian Thanksgiving was last weekend (Oct. 11). For Canadians who are interested in gay rights, Thanksgiving weekend is a time of mixed emotions. The Thanksgiving weekend is difficult for me personally, because I work with a couple of human rights related web sites.
Like other Canadians, we go to the homes of loved ones, eat too much turkey and fine food, enjoy the feeling of being full to the brim and good times with family. But under the surface of the Thanksgiving celebrations, there is the feeling of sadness for the gay community and for the families of people who have lost loved ones, because of homophobia. We know that the Shepards will always have an empty plate at Christmas and Thanksgiving. Matthew Shepard is not going to be coming home again. He is not away at college. He is not working too far from home to make it back for Thanksgiving. He is dead. His death was due to the fears and hatred of two young men.
Matthew Shepard's death shows the world how ugly homophobia and hate can be. The gruesome details of his senseless death and his heroic battle clinging to life in the hospital riveted the attention of the world on the needs of an oppressed minority, gay people. Unfortunately, Matthew Shepard was not the only person to be murdered for being gay. Many other gay people have been killed. The names of several other young gay people who were murdered in the United States come to mind in mere seconds.
Somehow, Thanksgiving seems like the right time to remember Matthew Shepard and the many other victims of homophobia and gay bashing. While we remember the injury or loss of so many talented and dear people, we can also look to the progress the gay community has made and be thankful.
A gay Canadian Member of Parliament, Svend Robinson, was sickened by the protests at Matthew Shepard's funeral. He introduced a private member's bill that added gay people to the list of minority groups protected by hate crimes legislation. Private member's bills rarely get passed. His bill was passed. Now it is illegal to promote hatred against gay people in Canada. We owe that to Matthew Shepard's death and to Svend Robinson's hard work.
Many people have been touched by Matthew Shepard's death. Some people have e-mailed us, or have posted comments in the guest book or the forum stating that Matthew Shepard changed their lives.
Somehow out of a very terrible situation, God is moving to bring some good things. That realization is part of what Thanksgiving is all about. Even within the darkest of times, there is hope. And at Thanksgiving, we express our gratitude for the blessings we have, blessings that give us hope and courage for a better world.
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2. 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar Published
Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary, Year A, November 2004 through November 2005, compiled by Raye-Anne Dorn and the Rev. Clay Witt. $11.95 each, six or more copies, $9.50 each, plus shipping and handling.
Chi Rho Press is pleased to announce a brand new Liturgical Calendar for the coming 2004-2005 church year. The Liturgical Calendar features readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, widely used as the ecumenical consensus on readings for each Sunday and holy day in the three-year cycle. Our Liturgical Calendar is packed with useful information for planning worship and preaching in the local church for each Sunday and Holy Day of the Church Year. It is intended for use by pastors, musicians, altar guilds, teachers, theological students, and anyone using the Church Year as a basis for worship or education. The Liturgical Calendar is spiral bound so it can lie flat for easy use, in the popular 8 ½" x 11" format.
Featured in this new Liturgical Calendar are these sections: A Heading that identifies the day in the church year (for example, the first Sunday of Advent, or Proper 20) with alternative descriptions where appropriate. The Revised Common Lectionary readings, including a brief summary of each reading.
Next is a section on Worship Planning, including the liturgical Color of the day, Symbols and decorations that can be used to enhance the worship experience, and Special Events and secular and Jewish holidays for the week which the congregation may want to remember and commemorate on Sunday.
Rev. Witt has added lots of Notes in the Worship Planning section which serve to explain in more detail information about the time of the church year, provide resources for further study and information, and develop liturgical themes to make your worship experience more rich and meaningful.
The last section for each Sunday is called Following God's Footprints and is the unique contribution of Raye-Anne Dorn. For every day of the year, Raye-Anne gives us a traditional saint, with a brief overview of an important theme for which the saint is remembered and what that particular saint can teach us. Some Diversity Dates are also included, special occasions for celebrations of diversity, such as special celebration days for specific cultures (e.g., Cinco de Mayo) and special days for the GLBT community (e.g., a day of remembrance for Matthew Shepard).
The 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar will be a helpful aid for anyone involved in planning worship, as well as a useful resource for all who want to know more about the Church year and the rich liturgical life of the Church Universal.
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You may now order the 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary on the Chi Rho Press Web site.
You may also order by sending your order, along with your name, address, telephone, and credit card name and expiration date by e-mail (to Orders@ChiRhoPress.com), snail mail (to Chi Rho Press, P.O. Box 7864, Gaithersburg, MD 20898), or telephone or fax (at 301/926-1208). Or if you prefer you may send a check or money order to our post office box.
The Liturgical Calendar is $11.95 each, six or more copies are $9.50 each, plus shipping and handling.
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3. Soulforce Plans Fifth Witness to Catholic Bishops by Lawrence Reh
This short essay was written by Lawrence Reh, a good friend and investor in Chi Rho Press, and moderator of the excellent First Light list-serve, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FirstLight/.
A bishop in Spain likened same-gender marriage to releasing a virus into society. A cardinal in Mexico said our families are fake -- that they are like counting cats and dogs and even cockroaches living under the same roof as family. These are but two of the many extreme examples of intemperate rhetoric that the Roman Catholic hierarchy around the world has unleashed into the LGBT community -- like flame-throwers -- in just the most recent weeks. Rhetoric that demeans our personhood and denies our place in the family of God, but which also demeans the Catholic faith, bleeds it of the compassion of Christ, and provides justification for the so-called faithful to condone and even perpetrate violence against LGBT people.
It reminds me of a slogan that was stenciled in paint on the urban sidewalks around my church in downtown Oakland by anti-war activists in the early months of 2003, prior to Bush's launch of his war against Iraq. "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" Like the war that continues against the Iraqi people, Vatican assaults on LGBT people are based on false assumptions, inflated claims of threat, and demonization of 'the enemy.' Who would Jesus condemn and exclude? His harshest recorded words in the Bible were uniformly directed at religious leaders who believed they had a monopoly on truth and righteousness, believed that their judgments were God's judgments.
The Catholic Church has a long and ignoble history of condemning opinions, behaviors, even demonstrable scientific facts which challenge the church's orthodoxy, its rigid doctrines, because each such challenge was seen as a threat to the church's authority, prestige, status, and most of all, its power to dictate and control the lives of the people. In the face of such massive misinformation and disinformation, one of the goals of Soulforce, Inc., is to relentlessly confront the untruths of our sisters and brothers in God, reminding them that only God has ultimate truth, that we are called by Jesus to 'love one another, as I have loved you.'
Visit Soulforce at http://www.soulforce.org and join with Soulforce in Washington, DC for the fifth year in a row witnessing at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops annual meeting, November 14 through 17, 2004.
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4. New Chi Rho Press Board Member
Please join us in welcoming Chi Rho Press Board member the Rev. Martha Daniels. Here is a little bit about her:
Martha Daniels is pastor-elect of MCC-Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She earned her Master of Library Science degree from the University of Maryland, and her Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC. Martha worked as an information specialist with several corporations in the Washington, DC area before she began her ministry in the United Methodist church. She served in several capacities as a layperson, and as associate pastor and then senior pastor before transferring her clergy credentials and ordination to the Metropolitan Community Churches.
Her special interests are in the areas of liturgy, theology, and exegesis, particularly in the interplay between the three. She has also done a study of Christian theology after the Holocaust, and the ways in which Christian exegesis has created and reinforced institutional anti-Semitism. Currently she is studying body theology and sexuality.
She and her partner, Diane, recently celebrated their Holy Union at MCC Baltimore.
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5. "Christian with a Twist"
Because we have published two books of reflections and meditations on Scripture this year, we want to be able to share samples of both with you. The weekly Chi Rho Reflection, e-mailed every Sunday, features the meditation of the day taken from our first major book this year, "Living as the Beloved: One Day at a Time," by the Rev. Dr. Sandra Bochonok. "Living as the Beloved" and is available for $20.95 each, six or more copies for $15.75 each, plus shipping and handling.
Not wanting to short change our readers, we have decided to include a selection from our second major book of reflections, "Christian with a Twist: Reflections on Scripture that are a bit more inclusive, a bit more relevant, and with a bit of a bite," by William Gaston, in each of the Chi Rho Connections, published twice a month.
"Christian with a Twist" is available for $19.95 each, $14.95 each for six or more copies, plus shipping and handling. You can read more about it and order it from our website.
Bill Gaston wrote these reflections each Sunday over a three year period for publication in the church bulletin and newsletter of MCC of Washington DC. Bill's reflections are based on one or more of the Lectionary readings for the Sunday and his work pretty much covers the three year cycle of the Lectionary. As the subtitle suggests, Bill's writing has a bit of a bite, and we believe you will enjoy his sharp, but loving take on Scripture, life, and faith.
Here is a selection from the Ordinary Time section of "Christian with a Twist."
Please read Psalm 46:1-2, 6 and Matthew 7:21-27
Refuge
We refer to the main room of our church as the sanctuary – a sacred place, a place to seek refuge. It is that, and maybe even more. It is the place where we come to be fed spiritually. Though it is cumbersome, I am glad that in MCC Washington we make a point to refer to the congregation as the church and the building as the ministry facility.
Our building is mostly a glass house. It could never afford protection on its own. We protect one another by declaring our place of worship to be a safe place where all are welcome to come and seek to know the God of all creation.
We are a Christian Church. We do not just come together to do any old thing. We try to follow the path Jesus laid out for his disciples and the church leaders who came after them. Like our sanctuary, the rituals we carry out and the lessons we teach and learn are fashioned by human hands and minds. God-given and Christ-guided hands and minds, but still very human. We cannot depend on them any more than we can depend on the glass and cinder block walls.
The God of Creation is our ultimate refuge and the source of our strength. Church buildings and even congregations will come and go. The best of them get corrupted and fall. God never falls and God never fails.
Jesus taught us the greatest commandments – to love one another and the God who created us. Doing that, we can always build a beautiful sanctuary and gather together another group of supportive people. We cannot create an uproar that God cannot calm with the word by which God created us all – LOVE.
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6. Sanctoral Cycle
As a regular feature in the Chi Rho Connection, we are offering up traditional and modern saints and various holy days and holidays listed in the 2004 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary from today until our next scheduled electronic newsletter.
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Fri. Oct. 15 (approximately, it depends on the sighting of the moon), Ramadan (Islamic). Holy month of Islam that commemorates revelation of Qur'an to Mohammed. Begins when new moon of the ninth month is sighted in Saudi Arabia. Strict fasting is observed daily from sunrise to sunset. (All Islamic holidays begin at sunset the preceding evening. The actual dates sometimes may vary from this calendar, as the day is based on the actual sighting of the moon.)
Fri. Oct. 15, St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). Mystic and Doctor of the church. Raised in a wealthy Spanish family, Teresa became a Carmelite nun. In an age in which women's voices went unheard, she became a towering figure, author of four books, religious reformer, founder of 17 convents. As a woman who based her authority on mystical visions, she fell under the suspicion of the Inquisition. Her best known work, "The Interior Castle," describes the soul as a castle, and the journey of prayer that leads from meditation to mystical union with Christ.
Sat. Oct. 16, Thomas Cranmer (d. 1556). Creator of the Book of Common Prayer. During a time of political and religious turmoil, as Archbishop of Canterbury Cranmer was instrumental in the English Reformation and the institution of the Church of England. Under Queen Mary, a devout Catholic, he was declared a heretic and burned at the stake. His legacy is carried in the Book of Common Prayer, the beauty of its liturgical language and its influence on Christian prayer and worship even to our own time.
Sat. Oct. 16, National Boss Day (U.S.A.).
Mon. Oct. 18, St. Luke. Evangelist. Luke was the only writer to attempt to tell the story of not only the life of Jesus (the Gospel of Luke), but the founding of the early Church (the book of Acts). He was a Gentile who never met Jesus, but tradition says he was a physician and a later companion of Paul. We owe many important stories to his writing: most of the Christmas story, the parables of the Prodigal Son and Good Samaritan, Pentecost, and Paul's missionary journeys. Luke is marked by a special concern for the poor and marginalized, women, reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles, and liturgical prayer. His symbol is the ox, and he is patron of physicians and artists.
Wed. Oct. 20, Birth of the B'ab (Baha'i). Honors the founder of Baha'i, Mirza 'Ali-Muhammed, in 1819.
Fri. Oct. 22, Maura O'Halloran (1955-1982). Christian Zen monk. Born in Boston and raised in Ireland, Maura felt from an early age a deep compassion for human suffering. Her concern for social justice and attraction to meditation led her to explore Eastern spirituality. She applied for admission to a Buddhist monastery in Tokyo where many Catholic priests had studied Zen meditation. There she underwent intense training as a monk and was recognized for reflecting a remarkable state of enlightenment. On her return trip to Ireland she was killed in a bus accident in Thailand at the age of 27. Her short life of holiness has been compared to Therese of Lisieux, the French nun who also accomplished her spiritual purpose in this world at a young age and promptly departed.
Sat. Oct. 23, St. James of Jerusalem (c. 62). Brother of Jesus and martyr. James is traditionally believed to be a brother or cousin of Jesus, but was converted after Jesus' death and eventually became the first Bishop of the church in Jerusalem. He was leader of a more conservative Jewish wing of the early Jesus movement that was uncomfortable with Paul's preaching to the Gentiles, but Peter helped forge a compromise between them. He is traditionally associated with the Epistle of James, a short letter that tells us much about the early church. Some of its primary concerns include the intrusion of class divisions among the believers, showing mercy toward the poor, and letting our faith be reflected in our actions.
Sun. Oct. 24, United Nations Day.
Fri. Oct. 29, Clarence Jordon (1912-1969). Founder of Koinonia Farm. An ordained Southern Baptist minister with a doctorate in New Testament, Jordan founded Koinonia Farm, an experiment in communal Christian living in rural Georgia. Koinonia is the word in Acts that describes the early church's fellowship and sharing of resources. Long before Supreme Court decisions on desegregation, he promoted reconciliation between blacks and whites. Koinonia became the object of a violent campaign of persecution. Jordan wrote a vernacular paraphrase of most of the New Testament, called the Cotton Patch Version, which sets the story of Jesus in the modern rural South. Jordan was committed to living his faith as a disciple of Jesus in the here and now.
Sun. Oct. 31, Daylight Savings Time ends (U.S.A.). Clocks are moved back one hour at 2 a.m. (Saturday night/Sunday morning). Be sure you aren't early for church today!
Sun. Oct. 31, Reformation Day. On this day in 1517 the German theologian, Martin Luther, posted his famous 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This was the normal procedure for announcing academic disputes at the University. There was nothing dramatic in this act, however the content was to forever change Christianity. It has come to mark the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, which together with the Counter-Reformation in the Catholic Church, led to major changes in Christian thought and worship. Today Catholic and Protestant churches are finding that in our faith in Christ we have much more in common than those particular beliefs which separate us.
Sun. Oct. 31, Halloween. Popular holiday, and one the "High Holy Days" of the GLBT community. In Wiccan communities this is known as Samdhain, a celebration of endings and beginnings, and a time for honoring elders.
Sun. Oct. 31, Nuzul al Qur'an (Islamic). Revelation of the Qur'an to Mohammed. (All Islamic holidays begin at sunset the preceding evening. The actual dates sometimes may vary from this calendar, as the day is based on the actual sighting of the moon.)
Mon. Nov. 1, Feast of All Saints. The tradition of remembering all the saints together dates to the early history of the Church, which affirmed "the communion of saints" as the mystical Body of Christ, transcending both time and space. Even when no one is visibly with us in our prayers and our spiritual path, we are surrounded by their presence and inspired by their witness. All the saints — some famous and some known only to God — answered God's call in their life in their own unique way. This collective feast reminds us that each of us has our own special gifts, and we are each called to do something holy for God.
Tue. Nov. 2, Commemoration of All Faithful Departed (All Souls Day). In some traditions there has been a distinction between remembering the official canonized saints on All Saints Day and commemorating those whose names are not on any calendar, but are cherished as models of faith, or are dearly loved family and friends. They, as well, are part of that great "cloud of witnesses" who encourage us in our spiritual journey.
Tue. Nov. 2, Day of the Dead (Mexico). Dia de la Muerte, a popular Mexican custom of remembering and honoring the dead.
Tue. Nov. 2, Election Day (U.S.A.). The importance of everyone voting today can not be overstated, especially in this election for President of the United States, when the very future of our country in is the hands of the voters who will either re-elect George W. Bush or elect John F. Kerry.
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Order the brand new 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary, complete with the entire year's Sanctoral Cycle. See the end of article number one in this issue of the Chi Rho Connection for ordering information.
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7. Adam's Last Word
Clay Witt, our new Web minister, has been updating our Web site, so please explore the site to see all the changes and what Clay has done.
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Because of the changes to the Web site, the link to the 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary has changed. Order your 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar now. You can find it at http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLiturgicalCa04_05.html.
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Please join Chi Rho Press as a partner in ministry with Dr. Rembert Truluck. You may buy his wonderful and inspiring book, "Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse," on line here on our website or make a fully tax-deductible contribution by making your gift check out to Chi Rho Press, designate that it is "For Dr. Truluck" in the memo line, and send it to Chi Rho Press, P.O. Box 7864, Gaithersburg, MD 20898, USA. If you prefer, you may make your contribution on line at this link: http://www.chirhopress.com/sponsor.html. Just note in the "Special Instructions and Comments" that your contribution is designated "For Dr. Truluck" and we will make sure he receives your generous gift.
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Please do not forget the new way for local churches to start their own church bookstores, our Church Bookstore Starter Kit. Chi Rho Press would certainly be only one of a number of publishing houses that a local church might want to purchase books from for resale. In order to make the process a little easier, we offer an easy to deal with starter kit of books on consignment for the first six months to serve as the nucleus for a new local church bookstore.
See the last edition of the Chi Rho Connection to review the terms for this opportunity, on the Web site at http://www.chirhopress.com/newsletter_archive/2004_archieve_files/newsletter_V_No16.html
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It is not too early to think about your holiday shopping! Christmas is almost two months away. Chi Rho Press never closes, at least our Web site never closes, and it is available for your shopping needs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (366 days this year!).
If you intend to order stained glass, it would be a good idea to place those orders as soon as possible, so our Stained Glass Elf has plenty of time to create your pieces in plenty of time for Christmas. We hope you will consider doing at least some of your holiday shopping at Chi Rho Press.
Gracia y paz,
R. Adam DeBaugh, Director, Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.
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Chi Rho Press, Inc. P.O. Box 7864 Gaithersburg, MD 20898
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Copyright 2004, Chi Rho Press, Inc.
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