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CHI RHO
CONNECTION |
Vol. VI, No. 5
1. St. Patrick's Day
15 March 2005
2. Looking for Writers for "The Journey is Our Home:" Sharing Our Faith Journeys
3. Invest in a Promissory Note!
4. Have you read "Come Home!"?
5. Why God Never
Received Tenure at Any University
6. "Is There a Church in
the Coachella Valley?"
7. "Christian with a Twist"
8. Sanctoral Cycle
9. Adam's Last Word
This issue's Quotes:
"There is growing up in society a Pharisaic system which adds to the Commands of
God the precepts of Humanity; to that system I will not yield for an hour.
The preservation of my liberty may bring upon me the upbraidings of many of the
good, and the sneers of the self-righteous; but I shall endure both with
serenity, so long as I feel clear in my conscience before God."
Charles H. Spurgeon
"Bigoted and selfish Christians are as contrary to God's spirit as theft or
drunkenness."
John Newton
"The love of God created us, but the humility of God saved us."
Hildegaard of Bingen
(Thanks to Dr. Ralph Blair and Evangelicals Concerned, from whose wonderful
newsletter we found these quotes.
Subscribe to the Record, the Newsletter of Evangelicals Concerned, by writing EC
at 311 East 72 Street, New York, NY, 10021.)
*****
Welcome once again to the Chi Rho Connection, the
electronic newsletter of Chi Rho Press.
To join our list and automatically receive these newsletters by e-mail, send an e-mail message to ChiRhoPress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Direct all other e-mail to Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.
*****
1. St. Patrick's Day
In honor of St. Patrick's Day this Thursday, March 17, (and my son Patrick's
25th birthday on March 18), we offer this prayer of St. Patrick.
St. Patrick's Prayer
This day I call to me:
God's strength to direct me,
God's power to sustain me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's vision to light me,
God's ear to my hearing,
God's word to my speaking,
God's hand to uphold me,
God's pathway before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's legions to save me.
Amen
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2. Looking for Writers for "The Journey is Our Home:"
Sharing Our Faith Journeys
We are still looking for authors to contribute essays for our series in the Chi
Rho Connection in which people tell the story of their faith journeys. You do
not have to tell everything about your faith journey, of course, just a piece of
it!
The title of this column, "The Journey is Our Home,"
comes from a wonderful contemporary hymn by Ruth Duck, called "Lead on, O Cloud
of Yahweh." The whole second verse reads,
Lead on, O fiery pillar,
We follow yet with fears,
But we shall come rejoicing
Though joy be born of tears.
We are not lost, though wandering,
For by your light we come,
And we are still God's people,
The journey is our home.
Won't you contribute to this series? Our writers will be well known and not
famous at all, clergy and lay people, LGBT people and non-gay people, people
from all walks of life, and even Christians and non-Christians. And we are
waiting for YOUR journey of faith.
If you would like to contribute the story of your faith journey for inclusion in
"The Journey is Our Home," please try to limit your story to 500 words.
Write us at Connection@ChiRhoPress.com with your submission.
--------------------------------------------------
3. Invest in a
Promissory Note!
The Board of Directors of Chi Rho Press has authorized issuing new Promissory
Notes at 6% simple interest.
The Promissory Notes are a way for Chi Rho Press to seek capitalization for our
ministry. The investments will be used to pay down existing, more expensive
debt, increase staff effectiveness, and fund the printing of new publications.
We urge you to invest in this ministry with $1,000 or more in Promissory Notes.
This is an excellent investment for your church building fund, as well as for
individuals who want to receive a good return on their investment while helping
the LGBT community.
Promissory Notes in $1,000 increments are available from Chi Rho Press, at 6%
simple interest, repaid in eight quarterly payments over a two year period.
Write Adam@ChiRhoPress.com for the text of the Promissory Note, and send your
check for $1,000 (or $2,000, $3,000, or even $5,000!). We will send a signed
Note upon the receipt of your check.
Of course, contributions to Chi Rho Press are fully tax deductible. If you are
able to make a financial gift to this ministry, we would welcome your support.
Our Guardian Angel Individual Sponsors program starts with a minimum gift of
$150 a year and our Guardian Angels receive discounts on Press publications,
free gifts during the year, and special other perks.
Thanks for your support!
--------------------------------------------------
4. Have you Read
"Come Home!"?
"Come Home! Reclaiming Spirituality and Community as Gay Men and Lesbians,"
second edition, by Chris Glaser.
First published in 1990 by HarperCollins, the second edition was published in
1998 by Chi Rho Press with the addition of five new chapters to the original 20.
"Come Home!" is perhaps Chris Glaser's best book. It is divided into five
sections, each with five chapters.
The five sections are entitled, "Welcoming God's Acceptance," "Receiving Our
Inheritance," "Discerning Our Call," "Making Our Witness," and "Declaring Our
Vision."
Bishop John Shelby Spong called "Come Home!" "powerful, sensitive, and
provocative. . . . Glaser stands inside his own humanity as a gay male and hears
the word of God through the Bible. Christians, gay and straight, need this book
if we are to be the body of Christ."
This is a brilliant and important book by perhaps the best-known Gay Christian
writer in the U.S. today.
The Rev. Carter Heyward called "Come Home!" "an enthusiastic compelling
testimony to the power of faith in the lives of many gay and lesbian
Christians."
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott said, "If courage, honesty, and insight are beautiful,
then this is one beautiful book. . . . I rejoice that in this book all the gay
men and lesbian women who have been robbed of their spirituality are issued an
urgent invitation: Come home!"
"Come Home!" by Chris Glaser offers a vision of faith, hope, and affirmation
inviting gay men and lesbians to come home to their spirituality through
Christian faith and community. Order your copy today!
"Come Home!" is available for $19.95 each, $14.95 each for six or more copies,
plus shipping and handling.
See it on our Web site at this link:
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevComeHome.html
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5.
Why God Never Received Tenure at Any University
(Editor's Note: Again, something we found on the Internet.)
God had only one major publication.
It was in Hebrew; had no references; wasn't published in an academic journal;
and some doubt God wrote it himself.
God may have created the world, but what has God done since?
The scientific community cannot replicate God's results.
God never received permission from the ethics board to use human subjects.
When one experiment went awry, God tried to cover it up by drowning the
subjects.
God rarely came to class; telling the students to, "Read the book."
Some say God had God's son teach the class.
God expelled the first two students.
God's office hours were irregular and sometimes held on a mountain top.
Although there were only ten requirements, most students failed.
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6.
Is There a Church in the Coachella Valley?
My dear and long time friend, the Rev. David Pelletier, pastor of MCC of the
Coachella Valley (Greater Palm Springs, California), sent this:
At Christmas this year our church was blessed with the gift of an electronic
carillon. This beautiful addition to our congregation rings out on the quarter
hour, the half hour, 45 minutes to the hour, and at the hour we are treated with
a beautiful hymn or a Christmas carol.
It was the first week that the carillon was up and running, when a congregant
met me in the parking lot.
We were just chatting after a meeting at church. It must've been the hour
because we both heard the carillon begin to play "Joy to the World."
The congregant looked a little befuddled and asked me, "Pastor, is there a
church around here? I can hear their bells!"
Not missing a beat, I smiled at the congregant and said, "Don't look now but
you're in a church's parking lot. Our church's parking lot!"
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7. "Christian with a
Twist"
Here is 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 the late William Gaston.
"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 at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevChristianWithATwist.htm
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 entitled "The First Rainbow"
from the Lent section of "Christian with a Twist."
Please read Genesis 9:8-16
Bible stories both explain things and make us wonder.
What for example, was it that people were doing that got God so upset that God
sent this flood to destroy virtually every living creature? And what made God
repent? Yes, repent. We usually think of our needing to repent of our sins
before God, but in this story God clearly promised Noah to never do again what
had just been done and set a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of that repentance.
Now, as a rainbow people, should not imagining what had happened be right up our
alley? Imagine, just imagine for the sake of fundamentalist argument that one of
the things the people had been doing was not using their reproductive equipment
in exactly the way God envisioned in creating Adam and Eve. You know, the old
"not Adam and Steve" argument.
This, we could imagine, among other things, got God so upset that God instructed
old Noah to build an ark and stock it with bona fide heterocritters. So Noah did
that. Loaded them on two by two.
Would this have been a time of rejoicing for the people on the ark? Sure, they
were high and dry, but all their neighbors, the butcher, the baker, the
candlestick maker, and even the hairdresser were dead and rotting unburied in
the mud. Besides, it was beginning to stink to high heavens all closed in on
that ark.
No, both Noah and God saw that this was not a pretty sight. Destruction and
condemnation do not lead to a better world. God had created in God's own image a
kind of critter that would follow an unpredictable path. Chromosomes, hormones,
and God only knows what led to more diversity than maybe even God had bargained
for. After all, as far as we know this was the first time God's hand had been
tried at creation.
God saw that mass destruction was not a good thing, and decided to never do it
again. God put a rainbow in the sky to show the world that variation was natural
and good. Much, much later God would send a special son to teach the people of
the world to not condemn one another either, but rather to love those who are
different. It took a very long time, but one day people began to make rainbows
of their own and to fly them with pride. It was a bright and sunny day for God.
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevChristianWithATwist.htm
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8. Sanctoral Cycle
As a regular feature in the Chi Rho Connection, we are offering up traditional
saints listed in the 2005 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary from today until
our next scheduled electronic newsletter.
*****
Tues., Mar. 15, St. Louise de Marillac (Patron saint:
social workers). Our brother's keeper: "As for your conduct toward the poor, may
you never take the attitude of merely getting the task done. You must show them
affection; serving them from the heart inquiring of them what they need;
speaking to them gently and compassionately; procuring necessary help for them
without being too bothersome or too eager," St. Louise de Marillac.
Wed., Mar. 16, St. Julian of Antioch. The good
example: We are all blessings to someone else in spite of ourselves! "The
heavens declare God's glory, not because their voice is heard, but because the
very sight of them leads us to praise their Creator," St. John Chrysostom.
Thurs., Mar. 17, St. Patrick (Patron saint: engineers).
Zeal: The United States owes much of the Christianity found here to the faith
and zeal of the sons and daughters of St. Patrick, the Irish. St. Patrick's life
was one of prayer and penance, his humbleness increasing as he grew older. "Your
faith is confirmed, not only in the hearts of people, but before their eyes.
Heaven bears witness to it and earth likewise, the angels in glory and the lost
in Hell," St.
Augustine.
Fri., Mar. 18, St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Trust in the word of God: "As a stout
staff supports the trembling limbs of a feeble old man, so faith sustains our
vacillating mind, lest it be tossed about by sinful hesitation and perplexity,"
St. John Chrysostom.
"Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last
forever" (Psalm 119:152).
Sat., Mar. 19, St. Joseph (Patron saint: carpenters).
Honoring the home: Joseph was God's chosen protector of God's Son on earth, so
we should be for all children. "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom
the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their
food at the proper time?" (Matthew 24:45).
Sun., Mar. 20, St. Cuthbert. Peace: God's peace is a living treasure. Cuthbert
teaches us that we must be at peace with ourselves and with our neighbor.
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith unto
this grace in which we now stand" (Romans 5:1-2).
Palm / Passion Sunday
Mon., Mar. 21, St. John Fisher. Judging others:
Be thankful for the gift of faith; and remember that, in some mysterious way,
God withholds this special gift from some people. Pray for the spirit of the
martyrs, the spirit that exults and rejoices in belief, the belief of faith, not
of credulity.
"I do not condemn any other one's conscience.
Their conscience may save them, and mine must save me," St. John Fisher.
Tues., Mar. 22, St. Nicholas of Flue.
Sanctification: As a young man working the fields of his native Switzerland, as
a father of a family, as a soldier, and as a public man, St. Nicholas shows that
it is possible to reach a high degree of prayer and union with God while living
and working daily "in the world."
Wed., Mar. 23, St. Toribio. Sympathy for those who
suffer: When we are united to Jesus' heart, our capacity to sympathize with
those who endure suffering and affliction increases. "Those who love the poor in
life shall have no fear of death,"
St. Vincent de Paul.
Thurs., Mar. 24, St. Irenaeus of Sirmium. Putting things in order: We are all
bound to love our relatives and friends, but it is imperative that we do so in
God and for God. When this priority is questioned, our relatives and friends
take second place to God. Jesus taught us what he requires of us. Perfection is
impossible without a certain amount of detachment. "Unhappy is the soul who is
enslaved by the love of anything that is mortal," St. Augustine.
Maundy Thursday
Fri., Mar. 25. St. Dismas (Patron saint: prisoners and thieves). Even those who
sin have a place in
heaven: Dismas is considered a saint because of Christ's words on the cross,
"Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise." Jesus Christ himself assured his
salvation. Although the name Dismas does not appear in the Bible, the word
dysmes in the old Greek means "dying."
Good Friday
Sat., Mar. 26, St. John de Britto. Faithfulness to your vocation: It is a great
honor to serve God and to despise all things that hinder or impede that service.
If you subject yourself wholly to God's will and allow God to lead you, you will
receive great grace.
Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday
Mon., Mar. 28, St. John of Capistrano (Patron saint:
judges, jurists). The Word: We all know that some sermons are "easier" to listen
to than others but we should try and persuade ourselves that the Word of God as
given in sermons has a special grace beyond the merit of the preacher. Devotion
to God's word is one of the signs that God has chosen us.
Tues., Mar. 29, Sts. Montanus and Flavian. Brotherly
love: History shows us how these two martyrs'
perseverance rested on the maintenance of true charity. Montanus had some
disagreement with Emperor Julian and they behaved rather coldly to one another.
Then Montanus in a dream seemed to stand in the white robed army of the martyrs
in heaven; but when he looked at himself he saw the dirty mark of his faults
within. On waking he went immediately to Emperor Julian and reconciled himself.
Wed., Mar. 30, St. John Climacus. Climbing ever
upwards: "Aim at being as absolute in your own heart as a king is in his
kingdom; and be as much raised above yourself by your reason's rule over your
passions as you are brought beneath God by humble and perfect subjection to
God's supreme power," St. John Climacus.
Thurs., Mar. 31. St. Cyril of Alexandria. The
Incarnation: The Incarnation is the mystery of God's dwelling as human with us,
and therefore, should be a most important object of our contemplation. It was
the passion of St. Cyril's life for he underwent toil and persecution and
willingly sacrificed credit and friends for this.
Fri., Apr. 1, St. Paul the Simple. Single-
mindedness: We have only thing to do the will of God! We have only one thing to
fear offense against God. One thing to hope for the possession of God's grace.
Our actions should have only one motive the glory of God.
Diversity Dates: Cancer Control Month
National Child Abuse Prevention Month
*****
Order the 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary, complete with the entire
year's Sanctoral Cycle, at this link:
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLiturgicalCa04_05.html
--------------------------------------------------
9. Adam's Last Word
Do check out the two new titles added to our Remainder Table. You can benefit
from the plumbing disaster which befell me in my house!
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/remainders.html
*****
This just in from Dr. Rembert Truluck:
http://www.truluck.com
"Today we have added free advertising from ?Google? to my website as a means of
earning some income to help pay for my Internet ministry and for my website
expenses.
Google selects the ads on the basis of their computer analysis of the content of
my website. You do not have to buy anything. Just click on the ads and look at
them. Each hit will give financial support to ?STEPS TO RECOVERY FROM BIBLE
ABUSE.? The ads do not reflect any kind of endorsement by me or my website.
Thank you for your help."
I really encourage to check out the ads on Dr. Truluck's Web site!
*****
We would like to have your input if you are one of the many Chi Rho Press
customers who use our annual Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary in worship
planning. Even though we are not far into this church year, our authors have
begun work on the 2005-2006 edition so that it will be published well before the
beginning of the next church year in November.
Now is your chance to make suggestions. If you use this publication, we would
like to hear from you about what you like about it that we should continue and
how we might improve it to better meet your needs. Please send your comments to
adam@chirhopress.com.
*****
We invite you to 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 at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevStepsToRecovery.html
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.
*****
Do you EBay?
Thanks to my son Patrick, I have opened an account on EBay under the user name
AdamThePublisher. With Patrick's help, we set up a store on EBay called The Chi
Rho Place.
If you like EBay, please go check it out!
We encourage you to check out The Chi Rho Place on EBay (maybe that will be the
name of our chain of brick and mortar stores some day!), though we still
encourage our regular customers to use our Web site at http://www.chirhopress.com
for their orders!
*****
Gracia y paz,
R. Adam DeBaugh, Director, Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.
******************************************
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Copyright 2005, Chi Rho Press, Inc.
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