United Methodist Reporter Blog

'Aging Well' columnist in the secular media

It's always nice to see friends get attention, and when the issue they're raising is so important, it's even better to know that the impact their work makes is continuing to grow.

Missy Buchanan, who writes the Reporter's Aging Well column, has been featured on the Spirituality page of Good Morning America's website. Her piece "Who Forgot Grandma?" is posted as the site's Weekly Inspiration.

Thanks, Missy, for answering your calling to keep reminding folks how important it is to listen to, build relationship with and care for the older adults in our lives.

The Prodigal

On my lunch break today, I spent a few minutes ripping "Lost Dog" signs off of light poles. It was for a happy reason, but it didn't feel quite right. Because what I really wanted to do was leave them up. I wanted to add to them. I wanted to slap a gigantic flourescent sticker on each sign to announce, "FOUND!"

Jay has appeared on this blog before. He's made a lot of progress since our friend and co-worker Cherrie adopted him from a rescue group, but he's still... well, different. Not an easygoing fellow. Which made it especially difficult when he got startled yesterday and bolted through the backyard gate.

Real Live Preacher's new calling

The first Q&A I ever did for the Reporter was with Gordon Atkinson, the guy behind the blog Real Live Preacher. I had followed his writing before that opportunity, and I still do.

Gordon recently resigned from his job as pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in San Antonio. While he remains a Real Live Preacher, doing some guest preaching here and there, he's feeling called to direct more of his energy to his writing, and he is still exploring what that role shift will look like. If you haven't checked out his blog before, or if it's been a while, you might enjoy moseying on over there as this new chapter begins.

Following up on two subjects

First, a follow-up from a couple of years ago, when special contributor Kathleen LaCamera wrote about a display of modern art owned by the British Methodist Church. Kathleen e-mailed to let us know that the collection is now available online. A snippet from the news release she forwarded:

Toby Scott, Director of Communications and Campaigns, said, "The works challenge the way we think of God, and how we visualise Jesus. Religious art has been at a cornerstone of western art for centuries, but these works of art continue to find new ways to depict the divine. The website is delight for art lovers and anyone seeking a different way to think about faith."

Thanks, Kathleen!

And a follow-up on Friday's blog post about recent developments in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Nadia Bolz-Weber pastors what is probably the least typical Lutheran church I've come across, House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver. She posted this sermon from yesterday on her blog, addressing the divisive vote head-on. And after the jump you'll find a transcript of the Facebook chat Nadia and I had Friday afternoon, as the two of us kept up with the ELCA Church-Wide Assembly via live streaming.

White House: Church choice still pending

On Monday I blogged about Time magazine's report of the President's church choice.

Not exactly true, says the White House.

Religion News Service has a brief Q&A on the matter with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. In short: no formal decisions, no formal membership. Here's an excerpt from Gibbs' answer:

"I will say I think one aspect of the article that is true, as I mentioned here in that same discussion, was the concern that the President continues to have about the disruptive nature of his presence on any particular Sunday in some churches around the area."

From what's been reported about the First Family's visits to D.C. area congregations, that does seem like a valid concern.

The new, hot UMC number: 6

As the site to which I'm linking states, the UMC has 1 mission (no mention of 2 anything), 3 simple rules, 4 areas of focus (folks in the newsroom are sick of the plural "foci"), 5 practices, and now 6 questions.

6 Questions for the United Methodist Church is a follow-up to the 40-day prayer campaign spearheaded by Jenny Smith, Ben Simpson and others who have become involved at www.umcyoungclergy.com. I received an invitation earlier this week and added a few questions to the list myself. One of the people I invited has asked me how this effort is different from any other conversation we've attempted in recent years. My answer? I don't really know how different it is, but I figure it's worth giving it a try.

So, if you're curious, go visit the site, and follow its link to the list of questions on Google Moderator, where you can add new ones and vote for those already posted. You can also follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #6qumc, and become a fan on Facebook. We'll see what comes of it when the push concludes on September 30.

Who's next at UMR's helm?

I'm back from my third Annual Conference in two weeks, and one thing I've learned from all my time in those hallways and display areas is that after people congratulate our departing CEO Sarah Wilke on her new role at Upper Room Ministries, the second most popular comment is, "So, who's UMR's next CEO?"

The short answer at the time was, "A search committee is forming." Now that committee is in place, and its members have finalized the details of the position.

We've just posted the information online. Interested in seeing what we're searching for? Here's the scoop.

More Amendment videos

Several years ago, Thomas Friedman's book The World Is Flat made a big impact on the business world, and on some of us in the church, too. The flattening of the church has become more evident in the last couple of years, and most recently through new postings on YouTube.

Last week staff writer Bill Fentum, who did tons of research for his story on the UMC constitutional amendments up for ratification by this year's Annual Conferences, posted a blog entry linking to a few videos. Since then, I've become aware of a couple more, both made by clergy and geared toward Amendment One:

Jim Bankston of the Texas Conference introduces Bill Taylor and his son Dawson, who share their personal story (a rather uncomfortable one);

And Sam Powers of the Oklahoma Conference presents his stance on why we should ratify Amendment One.

They're both worth a viewing if you're still thinking about what your vote will be. There are others out there now, too (check the "Related Videos" sidebar at the links above), but these are the ones I have watched in their entirety.

Our UM of the Year makes news again

Remember Katherine Commale?

Just before Katherine's 8th birthday, the Reporter staff named her our United Methodist of the Year for 2008 for all the work she's done raising money to combat malaria through the Nothing But Nets campaign. (Here she's pictured with a diorama she made to illustrate the concept of bed nets protecting families from the mosquitoes that carry the disease.)

In today's Twitter feed from the Malaria Summit, I've learned that Katherine's fundraising total now stands at $92,000; that in 5 years of bed net distribution, malaria has declined by 30 percent; that 50 million pregnant women contract malaria each year; and plenty of other facts and challenges.

Something I've been aware of all week, but haven't yet acted upon, is that tomorrow is World Malaria Day. You can mark the occasion in many ways, but one simple action is to visit www.nothingbutnets.org and give $10 for an insecticide-treated mosquito net. Skip a lunch, send a net, save a life. Most of our readers can afford that, even in this economy.

This Just In: Better than we knew

As regular readers of this blog will recall, the Reporter news staff was happy-dancing about a month ago when we learned of the awards we'd won from the Religion Communicators Council.

Mary Jacobs is in Boston representing us at the RCC national convention, where they actually hand out the statuary. And there are a few awards that they don't announce in advance. Just a little while ago, she texted us that we'd received one of those surprises.

Best of Class 2009 in the single issue category (October 17, 2008).

Complete with a pic from her camera phone:

More Updates to That Ol' Time Appointment System

Earlier this month I blogged about some Conferences that are changing their approaches to appointing pastors. Last night Mike Holly commented on that post, and included a link to a new announcement from North Alabama, including video from Bishop Willimon and district superintendent the Rev. Ron Shultz. (You might want to keep your speakers off for the intro music. You've been warned.)

Seems that transparency is the new hotness in the realm of making pastoral appointments. You won't hear me complaining. (Although I do think it's kind of creepy that they call conferring with three DSes "The Triad Process.")

Thanks for the link, Mike!

Green stuff

I've had a bunch of faith-related earth-friendly items appear on my radar recently, so here's a sampling for you.

1 - Last month Bill Fentum did a cover story on churches participating in fair trade efforts. The most widely-known product may be coffee, but Bill also mentioned EcoPalms, which pays fair wages and helps protect the environment where the palms are harvested. So, I pitched it to the team that makes those kinds of decisions in the congregation where I'm a member, and this Palm Sunday we will be using EcoPalms for the first time. It's a responsible and affordable step we can take, even in this economic tight spot.

2 - Steve and Rachel Heyduck, a clergy couple in the Central Texas Conference, are on a mission to seriously reduce their carbon footprint. Read Steve's latest blog post for a report on how cutting back to just one car is working for them.

3 - Caring for Creation conferences are being held at two Jurisdictional retreat centers this year: Mount Sequoyah in Fayetteville, Ark., and Lake Junaluska in N.C.

Want more resources? The United Methodist General Board of Church and Society is a partner with Eco-Justice Programs of the National Council of Churches.

Now, as I continue my work I'm sure to be humming "For the Beauty of the Earth" for the rest of the day...

Tiny Blessings

Sometimes, one blessing leads to another.

A little over a year ago, I wrote this story about Regina Binz, an Arkansas mom whose baby was stillborn. When it came time to say goodbye, nurses at the hospital provided a gown to dress the baby – but it didn’t fit. 

“He was very small, only about 3 ounces and 7 inches long,” Ms. Binz recalled. “The clothing was way too big.

Update: In Memoriam

The Rev. Kathleen Baskin-Ball, 50, passed away at 10:10 this morning.

Tentative service plans have been made for Saturday, December 6 at 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Richardson, Texas.

Debaters 2.0 - History hits the 'reset' button

Ten months ago, our own Bill Fentum did a feature piece on the story behind the film The Great Debaters (and gave the movie itself a good review, too).

I thoroughly enjoyed the film (and not just because of the dreaminess of one Mr. Washington, despite what others in the newsroom might say). It brought to light the segregation not just in our country's past, but in our denomination's past, too (Wiley College is Methodist-related). The first inter-racial debate for the Wiley College debate team -- and the first in the history of the South -- was hosted by another Methodist-related college, Oklahoma City University.

This weekend, OCU hosts a series of events dubbed "The Great Debaters 2.0," partnering once again with Wiley College. According to the news release from OCU, the events aim to remind "students and the public not only about the debate itself, but also about lessons learned since the racial tensions of the 1930s."

Full information after the jump... Check out some more of the connections -- for example, the current UMC bishop in Oklahoma is the son of a former Wiley College president.

Conviction, part 2.

In the 6/13 edition of the Reporter’s "ReligiOddity" column, I reported on a story involving an Amish community’s dispute with the state of Pennsylvania. Here’s the text, in case you missed it:

The Associated Press reports that the Swartzentruber Amish community of Ebensburg, Pa., is fighting with the state over the handling of waste from their school’s two outhouses. The waste has been gathered in plastic buckets and dumped into fields, which violates state sewage disposal law. The dispute has remained civil, but the threat of jail time looms. "We feel this sewage plan enforcement along with its standards is against our religious [beliefs]," seven leaders of the Amish community wrote. “Our forefathers and the church are conscientiously opposed to install the sewage method accordingly to the world’s standards."

The tone I got from the articles I read on the subject indicated that, yeah, no one here was really acting in anger, and no one wanted to see it come to jail time. Well, looks like it did.

It keeps getting better

You may remember Bill's blog post last week about how some churches are coping with the gas pinch. Bill mentioned Middle Road Baptist Church in Baltimore County, Md., and their offer to pay 50 cents for each gallon of gas pumped at a nearby station.

Other churches seem to be getting into the act, like this one in Yuma, Ariz.:

The church sold gas at $3 a gallon with a 10-gallon limit on Saturday. It was sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

"We call it random acts of kindness,'' said Jason Taylor, pastor of The Vertical Church.

This is the second year the church subsidized the cost of gas for drivers.

Which isn't the only no-strings "giving back" program The Vertical Church has offered over the years:

Church member and kindness project coordinator Barbra Legan said the church looks for ways to give back to the community every month, including wrapping Christmas gifts, giving away free stamps on tax day and holding a milk giveaway at a local grocery store.

I can see arguments for and against this kind of church activity—random acts of kindness are always encouraged, but how far is too far before you just get softheaded?—but I tend to view these gestures as "building the brand." Your church's name lodges itself in people's memory, and sooner or later you may hit that one person who has, perhaps subconsciously, begun casting out nets for meaning in their life.

I'm pretty sure the architect won't select any of these

In The Wittenburg Door, a Christian satire magazine based in Dallas, John Bloom writes about feedback he's received from United Methodists about articles on the Bush Library at SMU: "How Nasty Can a Methodist Get Anyway?" 

That drew my attention. But what's even more fun is he includes a link to the Chronicle of Higher Education's “back of the envelope” contest, which solicited readers' designs for the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Some of them are pretty clever -- and pointed. Including one of a "W Library and Fun Ranch," complete with a WMD Sky Ride and a Katrina Water Follies. 

Thank goodness for the junk file

It's not often that I automaticaly divert e-mails to my e-junk mailbox, but I've done that with two readers who just don't know when to quit.

Responding to their concerns didn't help. They didn't really want to engage in dialogue. They just wanted me to agree with them.

So they besieged me with links to "stories" on conservative Web sites that "prove" their point. Mostly, it's about two issues.

Can you guess what they are? Yup! Homosexuality and immigration. They really bring out the Jesus in some people.

Clothed in caring

A few months ago, I wrote a story about a group of women at a United Methodist Church in Arkansas that had started sewing gowns for tiny stillborn babies at a local hospital. They began the project after Regina Binz gave birth to a stillborn baby. After the birth, Regina was able to hold the baby, but she had no way to dress him before he was laid to rest - there were no garments tiny enough for his size. Not wanting other grieving mothers to have the experience, this group of women started stitching the gowns, which are donated to a local hospital.

We got a lot of response to the story, so Regina and her husband have set up a website with instructions and downloadable patterns for other groups that might like to make the gowns.  She sent the line with this note: "This is something that is needed all over-- not just Arkansas. My hope is that this project can help as many grieving families as possible."

Visit the website here. 

Falling further down on religious literacy?

One of United Methodism's blogging bishops, Sally Dyck, hadn't posted in a while (can't imagine how a bishop's schedule might limit her ability to blog, huh?), so I was glad to see something from her pop up on my feed reader this morning. She wants to know if you speak Bible, and cites an NPR story that shows how limited that language is among the populace these days. The report uses biblical references from Mike Huckabee's stump speeches as quiz questions.

In addition to sharing the NPR piece, Bishop Dyck quotes Stephen Prothero of Boston University. Robin Russell has covered a talk of his for the Reporter, and the points he made two years ago are still valid today -- probably even more so.

As a professional church nerd, I'm pretty attuned to biblical references, so it's good to be reminded that the rest of the world isn't. It's also scary to be reminded of it. I think back to autumn 1993, Seventeenth-Century British Literature, studying the poetry of Donne and Milton as Dr. Alice Hines admonished believers and nonbelievers alike: "Ladies and gentlemen, know your Bible! You cannot understand these poems if you don't know your Bible!"

Today's version might well be, "Ladies and gentlemen, know your Bible! You cannot understand these political candidates if you don't know your Bible!"

Awakening from a Religious Right stupor

I had an engaging phone conversation earlier this week with Sojourners founder Jim Wallis about his new book, The Great Awakening, and what that looks like across the country.

He told me he's seeing more and more young adults in both evangelical and mainline churches who are finding common ground and who are highly motivated to work for a deeper and broader agenda of social change -- kingdom living at its best -- that goes beyond what politics alone can achieve.

Wallis, who has a "great affinity" for the Wesleyan tradition of evangelism and social justice, said he fully expects that United Methodists will be part of this Great Awakening.

I asked him if he thought the Religious Right's power was waning -- and in particular, what he thought about James Dobson's latest effort to sign up a million "values voters" who will vote only for pro-life candidates who support traditional marriage.

Read on for his answer.

Real Live Preacher... In Real Life

About a year ago I interviewed Gordon Atkinson, a.k.a. Real Live Preacher, by phone for a Q&A piece that appeared in the Reporter. I'd already been reading him for years, so I got a kick out of having the opportunity to speak with him. At one point I referenced something specific he'd written, and he responded with, "Wow, you really do read the blog!"

"Whore to the world"?

Last week at a news briefing for the 2008 General Conference, I heard a panel of United Methodist conference and agency spokespersons discuss a proposed call for divestment against the manufacturing firm Caterpillar, which makes bulldozers used by the Israeli military to build separation walls and also demolish homes of Palestinians in refugee camps.

It's a specific call, for a specific company, for a specific reason. But for many people, when it comes to talking about Israel, the word "divestment" is an incredibly loaded term.

There's no easy solution to the Middle East tension. But as word of this proposal leaked to the press, it was blown off course by amazingly outlandish speculation.

Among the worst of the alarm-ringing pieces was this commentary posted on World Net Daily (a far-right, conservative, online news site) by its founder Joseph Farah, describing the proposed UMC action as "morally blind apostacy."

PTSD hits chaplains, too

As I write a feature story on their work, I've been talking with a number of military chaplains lately. So yesterday afternoon when a friend heard the beginnings of an NPR feature on a chaplain with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, I was grateful that she called and told me to get to a radio.

Have a read (and click on the "listen now" link on that page for even more detail). This side of the chaplaincy was one I hadn't seen yet.

Certainly we need to pray for all those in military service. But throw in some extra prayers for the chaplains, who serve out of a calling to help others bear their burdens. That call often involves holding an unsafe amount of emotional weight.

Is the United Methodist Church "racist"?

A follow-up story by the Religion News Service about the recent decision to not re-elect Larry Pickens as chief executive of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns quotes Dr. Pickens as saying that "racism is a reality in the United Methodist Church."

The story cites complaints by leaders of three black Methodist denominations who are unhappy with the commission's board's decision to dismiss Dr. Pickens.

It's not the first time such concerns have been raised.

Christmas shopping -- still bah, humbug

So I watched that screener copy of the documentary What Would Jesus Buy? last week and have a review coming up in the next edition of the Reporter (12-21).

It just reinforced my feet-dragging on this manic spending spree we call Christmas.

The documentary is produced by Morgan Spurlock, creator of Super Size Me -- a rant against what fast-food does to our bodies and minds. That inspired me to write the following lead to my review, which won't be posted til next week's edition comes off the press:

"A holiday-bedecked shopping mall is to Christmas what McDonald's is to the American diet: a cheap substitute for what really nourishes our body and soul."

Can you say "Amen"?

Those of you who are not out shopping, that is.

More Methodist conversation on sex

Do you ever have a topic surface that tends to ride a wave on your consciousness for a while? I wasn't sure I wanted to blog about it again, hence my waiting until late afternoon to do so. But, since my blog posting a week ago and the Reporter's release of Andrew Thompson's latest column, seems like I'm seeing a particular issue in a lot of places.

Not only have Andrew and I been continuing the conversation about sex on campus, some other folks have jumped in over at his blog... among them my friend Steve Heyduck, chaplain at Methodist Children's Home in Waco, Texas. My favorite thought from Steve? He proposes that perhaps Andrew and I are too old to be listened to by current college students, and I think he has a point. (Thank you, Steve!  Andrew and I aren't exactly "young adults" any longer.) 

Another spot where sex has surfaced in the Methoblogosphere is over at John Meunier's blog, Come to the Waters.  His teenage daughter surprised him by bringing up sex while he was driving her to her praise band practice yesterday. The interesting part to me is how they arrived at the topic. He was talking about original sin, and she said, "I thought original sin was sex."

So you wanna be a pastor?

Somebody help me out of the maze!

I've been learning a lot about the thorny path to ordination in the United Methodist Church, as readers will find out in our upcoming special Higher Education issue on Nov. 2.

Researching the rather dysfunctional process is enough to make your head hurt.

No surprise that nearly 40 percent of United Methodist candidates for ordination at some point consider switching denominations, where getting to the place of ministry is SO much quicker.

What pronoun do we use?

Religion writer Stephanie Simon of the Los Angeles Times visited with and wrote about the Rev. Drew Phoenix, the transgendered United Methodist pastor in Baltimore whose reappointment will be reviewed by the denomination's Judicial Council in October.

She uses both "she" and "he" when telling about Ann Gordon's transformation into Drew Phoenix.

It's an ongoing dilemma for reporters who write about people who consider themselves a different gender than the one they were born with, as Terry Mattingly of the Get Religion blog points out.

Should-be-illegal response

Sometimes when people of faith follow their conscience, it stirs up some really strong feelings in others.

Case in point: A Chicago United Methodist congregation, seeking to follow church teaching and biblical admonitions to care for the foreigners among us, and with the full support of the conference bishop, gave sanctuary to an illegal immigrant for a year.

Even before we wrote about Elvira Arellano's eventual arrest and deportation this week (it's in our 8-31 issue), we received some mighty strong words from folks who had seen the story elsewhere. These folks felt compelled to write to the pastor of Chicago's Adalberto UMC, and sent us a copy.

These folks just hate, hate, hate the notion that someone would help these "criminals" who are working in the U.S. without documentation. Here's a couple of snippets:

"So what if this non-citizen had children, what about the thousands that go to jail every year in this country, do we need to make special arrangements for them to stay out since they have children? NO, they are ALL criminals according to the laws of this land!"

This letter writer also had a unique suggestion for the pastor: "Maybe a few weeks in a maxim [sic] security prison being beaten & gang raped might help you to see the light!"

Another angry letter writer, who says he's a Vietnam veteran, wrote: "[Elvira] is a criminal and so are you for aiding and abetting her to break Federal Law. I hope and pray that the government takes action against your church. THIS IS MY COUNTRY."

He rather ominously adds that he hopes "some vigilante group and the Federal Government takes action against your church."

It's a stark reminder that when people of faith get serious about following church teaching (which presumably is based on what Jesus--or John Wesley, for that matter--would do), somebody somewhere is not going to like it.

So what's a good United Methodist to do? 

The United Methodist Book of Resolutions urges local churches to "welcome, assist and empower . . . undocumented persons in their neighborhood."

The denomination's Social Principles call upon United Methodists "to resist or disobey laws that they deem to be unjust . . ."

And the Book of Resolutions refers to some immigration legislation as "evil and unjust."

Not everyone will agree with the decision to provide sanctuary to undocumented workers. But unfortunately, some people will not be able to merely disagree.

And the seething hatred of a few never ceases to astound me.

"Hug your momma"

I had a nice e-mail conversation recently with a reader who, like my Mom, was raised in the Depression. It was a kindly sort of scold for my column about Mom's hoarding habits. Here's what he had to say:

"My grandmother raised me and our earthly possessions were few. New things, God willing, consisted of one pair of new pants for me and a dress for her once each year at croptime. She made my shirts out of flower sacks, and to this day I refuse to wear pastels. The glasses she wore had a prescription more than 30 years old (we must have made a good crop). We threw nothing away at any time.

"Last year at 64, I threw away my Army boots and five pair of the first shoes I bought after I joined the Army. Having those boots and shoes reminded me that when we acquired something, it was insurance that we would have something in the future.

"Our faith in God had nothing to do with with doubting He would provide. It is possible that you and your generation would have lost the faith we had if the conditions I described here were the same for you.

"Yes, we hoard stuff, and you children might have to come behind and clean it up, but it is my prayer that you had a better economic life growing up than either your mom or me.  Cleaning up is a small price to pay for the better life we provided for you. Hopefully my children and grandchildren will feel the same way, and forgive me for my hoarding habits.

"God bless and keep you and yours and be sure and hug your momma everytime you can."

I believe I'll do just that the next time I see her. (But I also still believe I'll hire a bulldozer for her basement someday).

Reminds me of a superb book I'm reading that has nothing whatsoever to do with religion coverage -- what an indulgence. It's The Worst Hard Time, about the Dust Bowl of the '30s. Unbelievable stories of survival, and the writing by Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times reporter Timothy Egan is nearly poetic:

"ON THOSE DAYS when the wind stops blowing across the face of the southern plains, the land falls into a silence that scares people in the way that a big house can haunt after the lights go out and there's no one there. It scares them because the land is too much, too empty, claustrophobic in its immensity."

We Boomers have had it much easier, indeed.

Good idea after a bridge collapse, or any time at all...

Bishop Sally Dyck's blog, WDYT: What Do You Think?, has some reactions to the I-35 bridge collapse.  Among the comments is one from the Rev. Carrie Binnie, the new associate pastor to young adults at Messiah UMC in Plymouth:

Messiah UMC (Plymouth) has decided to adopt and morph an idea we picked up from COR [Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas]: We have obtained a list of all the Plymouth police officers, fire stations, individuals who work with First Response, and other civil servants and service agencies in the Plymouth area. On Sunday morning, those names and agencies will be printed on cards available for people to take home with them. During worship, everyone will be encouraged to select a card and then go and do something to "bless our neighbor(s)." People will be encouraged to use their creativity (e.g. write a kind note, bake and deliver a pan of brownies, etc.) when blessing those who are in a profession of serving others. For those congregants who do not live in the Plymouth area, we are encouraging them to extend a blessing to someone(s) in their own neighborhood. Our hope is that many will be blessed around the Twin Cities. (Messiah apparently did something similar a few years ago, but directed its efforts towards people who work in nearby schools.)

Service takes many forms all around us. Even as I type about a disaster that happened nearly two weeks ago, more disasters develop -- some with lots of media attention, some with none at all. Those who answer the calls for help bring hope and healing with them. They step into gaps that some of us wouldn't dare to even look at. And I'm grateful that they do.

Hat tip: Victoria Rebeck of the Minnesota Annual Conference, via Mary Jacobs of the cubicle next to mine.

Plunging into journalistic hot water

In my decade or so covering religion, I've found that nothing ticks off some churchgoers more than the "H" topic.

Just back from covering the Reconciling Ministries Network convocation in Nashville (what was I thinking?), I'm now working on several stories for the 8-24 and 8-31 issues.

And I can already feel some nasty snail-mail and e-mail responses coming at me as I try to convey what GLBT folks are feeling, experiencing and hoping as they live and worship as United Methodists.

Did I mention nasty? One reader in Fort Worth e-mails his harshly homophobic comments using ALL CAPITALIZATIONS, just in case I miss that he's reeeeally upset.

It all just makes you feel the love.

Maybe United Methodists will prove me wrong. Stay tuned.

Still walking

Back in May, Mary Jacobs reported on Bill McDannell, a former United Methodist pastor who is walking across the country to express his opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We received an email update from Theresa Bescher, reporting that Bill and his wife Jonna were heading through Indiana.  Theresa even included links to a video of Bill on YouTube and Google Video.