Where two or more agree

Litany for World AIDS Day
modified from umc-gbcs


LEADER: in the midst of the long night, is there anyone who cares?

PEOPLE: We say the church cares.

LEADER: When relatives have died, is there anyone who cares?

PEOPLE: We say the church cares.

LEADER: When fingers point and tongues wag, is there anyone who cares?

PEOPLE: We say the church cares.

LEADER: In the struggle to find meaning and peace on the boundary of life and death, is there anyone who cares?

PEOPLE: We say the church cares.

LEADER: To the family whose son, daughter, father, mother, sister or brother has died of HIV/AIDS – is there anyone who cares

PEOPLE: We say the church cares.

LEADER: To the person who is HIV positive or has AIDS, is there anyone who cares

PEOPLE: We say the church cares.

ALL: We say the church cares. In the name of Jesus Christ, the church must care. In the name of Jesus Christ, the church does care. In the name of Jesus Christ, the church will care.

Poem about Rhythm

Here's the first draft of a poem I am writing. I'm not sure when I'll get back to it so I thought I would post it to get it out there ...

There's a Rhythm

There's a rhythm to the city
the traffic lights
horns honking syncopated
with the dance of obscene gestures
crossing of streets
catching of buses and trains and cabs

There's a rhythm to the body
lungs breathing
heart beating
toes tapping
digestion
skin shedding
eyes blinking and nail biting

There's a rhythm to Earth
wind blowing
rivers flowing
birds building nests
squirrels hiding nuts
lion stalking prey and
prey listening, gathering and running

There's a rhythm to our exploitation of Earth
oil pumps pounding out her blood
clothing her surface with pavement
filling her body with refuse
machine aninmals ritually led to
milking
shearing
slaughter

Chicagoland World AIDS Day 2006

Your Sacred Soul

The creation story in Genesis teaches us that when God created this natural world, the sea, the plants, and the animals – that God declared them all to be good. When we get to the part where God creates us humans, God again declares us to be good. In Genesis 1:31 it says, “God saw everything that God made, and indeed, it was very good.” I can not stress this enough! We are sold a bill of goods by many preachers today that incite us to be shameful of ourselves. They teach that our souls are inherently dirty and need to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. They also teach that they know the steps to take to receive this cleansing. I believe that nothing is farther from the truth than that. You were born good. Each and every one of us was born good. Each and every one of us was born with an inherent understanding of God and God's love for us. Preachers and teachers who want to be powerful try to shame us and pit one group of people against another – the rich against the poor, white people against people of color, queer and non-queer, men against women, and Christians against non-Christians. The want us to intellectualize, rationalize and quantify our faith. I do not ascribe to these teachings.

There is a tension within most of the Christian epistles regarding who we are in Christ and how we are to live; between being free from sin and being humanly unable to not sin. There is this tension because we live both on the earth and within the realm of the Divine and Holy One. Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is within us, not to look around or wait around for it. Jesus also tells us that we are not to consider the Kingdom of Heaven to be like the Kingdom of Earth with its hierarchies and power struggles. We are people living in the intersection of the temporal and the eternal. We are also people who have both finite bodies and infinite lives. We are bound to fall short of the call of God and our own expectations. We are bound to sin now and then. Grace tells us to not beat ourselves up over this and justice tells us to dig deeper within ourselves to find the Divine and Holy because it has been birthed within us.

This Thanksgiving, I encourage us to remember that we live in the intersection of the temporal and the eternal, of the ordinary and the extraordinary. Remember that you are free in the grace and love of the Divine. Let this sink in to your soul and motivate you to express your appreciation of this gift through encouraging each other in your faith and in your lives. We are also called to let this motivate us to good deeds. Focus on the truth of your sacred essence – your sacred soul – and the freedom it gives you to live and love. And above all, be thankful.

In The Midst Of Chaos

The voice of Alexandra Billings brings clarity, comfort and courage!

Last night I watched Grey's Anatomy ... for the first time. It was a wonderful episode.

I understand that Alexandra was playing a character. And I understand that she was saying lines that someone else wrote. But also true is that she made those lines her own. The honesty with which she played the part of Donna encouraged me in my own struggle as an "other" in the gendered world.



Thank you Alexandra!!
Peace and Pride,
AnnMarie

All Saints Day Prayer

Today we lift up our voices
with heavy hearts
Today we look to our Mother
for consolation
Today we remember those we've known and loved
but who are no longer walking with us on this earth
Today we try to remember to be thankful
in the midst of our sadness
Today we rely on You God
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
for Divine Compassion
And the strength to grieve
Today we rely on You God
for Infinite Encouragement
to remember the wonderful ways our lives have been
changed by the sisters and brothers that we miss
Today we rely on You God
for Transcendent Assurance
that we will be reunited with our departed loved ones
in Life Eternal