From the Rev

Dear Friends,

When I hear about the violence and terror in Paris, a city 4,535 miles away from me, or San Bernardino, a town 2,203 miles away from me, I wonder just what I can do as one person. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O’Neil, once observed that all politics is local. And really, so is all of life. Sure, we are citizens of our nation and world, but life really happens every single day in the place we call home. This is the one place in this broken and challenging world where you and I can make a difference for the good and do so quickly. It’s easy to forget or neglect this truth and instead feel as if the world is spinning out of control and that we are powerless to do anything.

I think many of us feel this way because we live in such a digitally connected world today. We learn in real time what is happening anywhere, anytime, anyplace. We don’t have to wait for tomorrow’s newspaper. With live, moment to moment coverage, it’s almost as if we are there in person, watching in horror and feeling helpless to do anything. And to make matters worse, social media gets flooded with uninformed , self-righteous accusations and opinions. Facebook and Twitter overflow with arguments, debates, finger-pointing, and holier-than-thou pontificating. Even people of faith smear one another with stereotypes and rumors. It gets really ugly.

Wouldn’t you like to be a part of the solution and not the problem? Wouldn’t you like to make a difference for the better? Well here’s a radical idea: turn off your computer, television and phone and get out into community that surrounds you. There is a neighbor whom you have not met…introduce yourself. There is someone at work who worships God in a different way than you…ask them about it. There are people whose politics differ from yours…talk about it calmly and respectfully. There is someone who always rankles you with their strong opinions about the President, or immigration, or guns. Sit down right next to them and ask them to talk about why they believe what they believe. And then just listen. Really listen. Try to understand what moves and motivates them. Share your thoughts with them. Have a dialogue, not a monologue. Get to know the people with whom you live, work and play as fellow children of God, as friends. Instead of being tempted to close down your heart and mind in fear of the world, open up to the world, and do so with holy wonder and curiosity.

If the world is going to change, transformation has to begin in your neighborhood, over the fence, at the sidelines of a youth football game, in a local restaurant over a meal, across the pews at church.

I’m willing to give it a try. How about you?

“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”

You are loved,
Wayne

Dear Friends,

“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” It’s a question I asked numerous times this past week and the answer always had something to do with family and friends around a table. There is something sacred about a table, isn’t there? I like the way the famous chef, Michael Symon, put it:

“Every lesson I learned as a kid was at the dinner table. It is where we laughed, cried and yelled but most importantly, where we bonded and connected.”

Tomorrow I will sit down for my 65th Thanksgiving meal. That’s a lot of lifetime turkey! As a child we always gathered at Grandma’s house. You could smell the turkey baking in the oven as soon as you walked in the door. In short time the table was filled with epicurean delights: sweet potato casserole, corn bread, green beans, cranberry sauce (the canned stuff with its perfectly round gelatinous slices, totally processed and totally delicious), and my favorite…the potatoes, mashed and whipped and silky smooth, with a perfect indentation on top to pool the fresh made gravy and melted butter! The delicious aroma was only dampened by the totally gross smell of the smashed rutabaga that Grandma insisted on making every year. After the turkey rested in our stomachs for an hour or so, all the various pies were brought out…pumpkin, apple, and mince meat.

The Thanksgiving cast of characters around the table has changed over the years. My Dad who once ruled over the turkey, carving knife in hand, is no longer with us; nor my dear Mother, and other aunts, uncles and friends who once graced our table. I miss them. But tomorrow the tradition will continue and I can’t wait. Not just for the food but more important for the people who will gather around the dining room table in our home, the folks I love most in this world. My family and good friends.

But what is faithful and true and unchanging on Thanksgiving for us is the ideal that always we are summoned to come together again around a common table and to break bread. It’s a tradition as old as Creation itself, reflecting two of our most basic human needs: food to fuel our physical bodies and love to fuel our hearts and souls. As we gather once again around the Thanksgiving table our lives have no doubt changed in the past 364 days, both for the good and the not so good. We’ve got a new job or a new significant other. Or it was a hard year because of illness or unemployment or divorce. We share the stories of our lives. We are refreshed and renewed.

Yes, there is something precious and sacred about a table and folks gathered around it to eat and talk and laugh and cry and say grace over plates and bowls and platters of food. Think of how many thousands of meals you have eaten around such a table in the company of others. In a world where too many people can’t get to that table for lack of food or because of war or conflict or a family split or for whatever reason, we should never, ever, take for granted the miraculous gift of a shared meal.

Every major world religion reflects the sacredness of “the table” in their beliefs and rituals. The communion table for Christians. The Sabbath table for Jews. The fast breaking table for Muslims. The sacred vegetarian meal prepared and blessed by Sikhs in the Temple and then shared with others. For finally it is at the table, perhaps more so than at any other place in this human life, that we are finally shaped and formed and made and loved into who we are.

So once again this year let’s pass the turkey, hand over the fresh rolls just out of the oven, pass the potatoes and gravy, and remember the rutabaga. But first: may we offer a prayer of real thanksgiving to God for our Thanksgiving meals and for the sacred tables where those feasts will take place. There is no other place quite like “the table” in all the world.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You are loved

Wayne

Dear Friends,

So many of us today want some credit for everything we do. If it is commendable, please commend it. We don’t even mind a certificate just for trying hard! We don’t have to win, do something spectacular, or even memorable. But we appreciate the pat on the back and the sense of appreciation. That’s how many of us are different than veterans. When you talk to the average veteran and thank them, their response is simple: “All I did was serve.” We know! And what’s crazy is the fact that you don’t demand recognition or applause or medals or standing ovations or even certificates. You are happy to have done your part.

We are happy you did your part, too. Thank you!

Those who serve make a sacrifice many of us do not appreciate, especially being away from their family for months at a time. Our daughter, Brittany, has just moved to Tallahassee from Texas where her husband, Ben, has been serving in the Air Force a Ft. Hood. She is a professional photographer and one of her specialties is capturing those special times when the soldier returns home from months in Afghanistan. Through her photography she tells the story of their homecoming. Whenever I see these photo-stories I am moved to tears as Brittany captures the emotion of a long awaited reunion. Click HERE to view one of her stories, and as you scroll through these pictures, say a prayer of thanks for our veterans and all of those who currently serve today:

Veterans, we honor you today. We honor those who did not get to come home. We honor those who came home wounded. We realize that we Americans have not always shown you the honor you deserve. For that, we are sorry. We want you to hear us before it is too late: Thank you!

It doesn’t matter to us where you served, when you served, or in what branch of service you served. We are grateful. We will remind our children. We will say a prayer. We will celebrate freedom. We will remember. We will thank God for you and all you have provided for us.

Dear Friends,

I heard it again the other day. And it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard a waiter or a waitress make this comment:

“Sunday’s are the worst. These people come in after church, say a prayer over their food, treat me as if I’m their slave and then leave a measly tip….if they leave one at all!”

As a minister and the father of a son in the restaurant business, I find that extremely embarrassing. I wonder how many young waiters and waitresses we’ve lost to the church because of their experience with so-called ‘religious’ people who come to their restaurants and are rude like that. You know, religion is a tool, like a hammer. Why do some people who own hammers have no talent for building certain things? Kindness is a skill that develops with practice and motivation. Religion is a framework for practicing certain skills….like kindness. Just because you have a tool doesn’t mean that you know how to use it.

Obviously.

So friends, can’t we just be kind? This world is a crazy place. People scream and yell and fight all the time. It’s on us to make it better. It begins with a solitary moment, a simple word, an idea, and an impetus to do good, to be better. Every stranger knows something you do not. Let them teach you. Each person you pass on the street has something to share…a dream, a passion, a pleasure. Let them show you. Start today. Just be kind. The choice is yours and there are many options, but please take kindness with you wherever you go.

Everyone deserves kindness. Sure, sometimes bad people will do bad things to you. If you get angry, they win. The best revenge is a happy life. Rise above . Accept and elevate. Take it as it comes, one day at a time, moment by moment. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s everything. You can make a difference for good in someone’s life today.

Just be kind.

You are loved,

Wayne