In a time of great financial trouble in academia, perhaps we should examine our goals before setting budgets

Read the CDSP Strategic Task Force report here.

CDSP is going through a strategic restructuring of its assets.  Or, so says the report that all the students received yesterday.  The proposal to cut tenured faculty, increase contracted instructors, and remove any deployment staff at the school makes me cringe.  In a seven page document the mission statement of the school stands out, only because it is a foot note - yes, it is seriously a footnote.

The report structures itself as saying that the school must attend to the different ways in which it delivers theological education.  And yes, the school has done that.  However, it has not done it in a fashion which is either sustainable, or provides the idea that it takes that role seriously.  An example: this summer, about two weeks before school started actually, the student employee staff person sent out an email in search of someone to fill a fairly specific job.  That job was to capture, catalog, database, upload, and make available for professors and students all the hybrid offered courses that involve both in-class and/or online participation.  This job was to be a student worker (or in this special case, treated as such even if the person was not a student) position and the pay was set at $12/hour and limited to 12 hours per week.  Further, the position was to be eliminated at the end of the Fall term.  The fact that CDSP places the distribution, creation, and imagination of new forms of educational pedagogy at the same level as it does answering phones, trimming hedges, and filing paperwork is disconcerting.  A job such as the one mentioned above is easily a full time position, the emphasis that needs to be placed on new media pedagogy is immense.  If we are, as we were told today by Rod Davis, "going to be leaders on the edge education at the GTU" how are we going to do that if we can't take seriously that education is changing.  Let alone the changing needs of the church and the world.  

The major problem that I have with addressing institutional change from a solely budgetary standpoint is that it fails to get at the human factor.  There is an unfortunate sense, to me, that CDSP has forgotten that students are not news outlets and don't want press releases emailed to them; they are not potential donors who need to be sold on the school; they are not simply numbers in a strategic budget plan.  Students are the face of the school right now, faculty are the face of the school for years to come.  Disenfranchised students and faculty paired with a balanced budget does little to help the school.  CDSP needs radical systemic change.  We need to recognize that this is not business as usual.  Money can be made in Denniston by seriously taking it on as a sustainable cafe and getting that word out into the streets.  Money can be saved by planting community gardens, zero-scaping the lawns, attending to the simple energy loss that occurs throughout the buildings due to lack of maintenance.

I love CDSP.  It is an amazing place.  But lately it has been awkward to really push the school to potential students I meet around the country.  I hope that the school, the staff, the president, and the faculty all take on the challenges that a new century, a changing world, and a changing church throw at it.  Systemic change is not inevitable, but death is.  I raise my glass to change rather than death this week.   

When we think about ecology, we think about home.

I am a fan of recognizing the fact that we are aware of what goes on around us but at the same time there are things going on that we never realize.  Our realization that home means different things to different people is a good example.  What we don't realize is that there is a certain way in which we think of home and organize our lives around it that is beyond our own personal notion of 'home'.

Oikos is the Greek word for house, which could then be expanded to understand home.  From oikos we get the latinate prefix eco- which is relating to those things around us which make home.  Ecology, the branch of science which deals with living organisms in relationship to their surroundings; economy, the disposition or regulation of the parts or functions of any organic whole, or an organized system or method.  Ecology and Economy act as two structures in which we, as humans, think about our home.  The relationship that we have between our surroundings and living organisms, and the exchanges that are present as an ordering system present in those structures provide most of what we need to know when we think about home.

Social structures which frame ecology or economy forget that the two insist each other when we think of home: ecology and economy.  We, modern animals of 30-second lattes and outsourced calendar keepers, seem to forget that home is both our interaction with our surroundings and how we order those interactions.  What we must remember in structuring our world that we carry with us values which need expression through close relationship.  A relationship understood as intimacy between ourselves and other humans; between ourselves and our immediate surroundings; between ourselves and the our resources; and especially in an intimacy with our own thoughts.  Reconciling our inner thoughts is the first step to reconciling ourselves with our oikos.  Until we recognize, within ourselves, what we want home to be we will not be able to manage its maintenance; in the case of ecology, we will be unable to steward its creation.

In a similar vein I see the loss of home as something which is unimaginable.  I think of those who have lost their physical homes to natural disasters.  They are devastated and nearly paralyzed by the concept that one must continue, either rebuilding their old home or making one anew.  There are lessons to be learned about our stewardship of ecological systems from those whose homes have been lost.  The greif that is felt is concrete and the steps they take to managing that greif are real and present.  That is the same greif that we are starting to feel about the loss of control over our own ecological systems.  But, like slowly rising flood waters our home is being lost room by room at the moment.  We have not yet been forced to action because some parts of our home still maintain their veneer.  The paint has yet to start peeling however, there is a black mold growing between amongst the plaster.

Old West Church Boston: the political pulpit in three parts

This is the outline / notes that I am using for a presentation I am giving tomorrow evening (November 16th, 2010) as a case study of Old West Church in Boston, Massachusetts. I have attempted to frame the physical structure within its political and theological milieu as a lens to understand the functionality of the space. I may turn this into a self-contained presentation with narration, but as for now it is two items: 1) the outline here contained; and 2) the Open Office presentation that matches up with the notes. If any one is interested in either or both feel free to let me know.

Old West Church in Boston, the political pulpit in three parts: first, the history 1737 until 1820 or so; second, the architect Benjamin Asher; third, the building itself.

History 1737 until 1820(ish)

• Charles Lowell, the fourth pastor of West church gave a sermon on the fifteenth year of his pastorate and in the midst of this he tells a brief history of the society that now occupies West Church.

  • Lowell hearkens back to John Robinson, the pastor of the Pilgrim Father's in Leyden as the progenitor of the church now settled in America.

  • Whether he can actually trace a line back to the original dutch and english puritans is questionable, but his choice of characters to pick from history is interesting

    • Robinson left England to go to Leyden where he and his followers could practice their form of puritan worship outside of the constraints of 17^th c. england.

    • His theology and politics were fairly radical, pushing for non-prayer book oriented congregationalism that focuses on the church society as the prime structure toward salvation – this is held in contrast to the concurrent english Caroline Divine theology which upheld scripture as interpreted through tradition and reason

  • The choice of Robinson then shows the strong attachment that lived in West Church to the English dissenters, as well as the traditions of congregationalism

• Pastors: Hooper, Mayhew, Howard, Lowell

  • while each man had his place as a political figure in eighteenth, or early nineteenth century boston the man who I would like to focus on is Jonathan Mayhew

  • Mayhew, a 5^th generation American became pastor at West Church 1747 after graduating from Harvard – as was the custom of most of the West Church

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    congregational pastors.

  • Preaching heavily against an episcopal model, and emphasizing a unity with nature Mayhew becomes a political figure in America.

  • Mayhew is considered one of the forerunners of Unitarianism, he held an arian theology which meant that he understood Jesus to be the son of God, not coeternal with God. This obviously drew some questions from both local pastors as well as English Anglicans.

  • Mayhew became one of the greatest polemical writers in eighteenth century America.

    • This makes him both the target, as well as the shooter of ecclesial politics across the Atlantic, and he often exchanged letters and tracts with both English dissenters as well as the Anglican defenders.

  • At his death Mayhew was considered a “transcendent genius” and one of the greatest men of his time

• Mayhew is decidedly the most public figure that occupied the West Church pulpit, but his legacy continued. The political nature of the sermons given can be drawn out all the way into the middle of the nineteenth century. The relationship that the church had with the community, and the nation was set.

Asher Benjamin

• Author of five books on the study, and practice of architecture Asher Benjamin was an early influence on the building style of towns throughout New England.

  • His books emphasized a correct way, and hierarchy of all the various architectural accouterments that you could use

  • He was one of the leaders in the federalist style of architecture.

    • Federalist style is a Renaissance of sorts, all the buildings you think of when you think of Boston and the Colonial look are typically Federalist style buildings

    • The style is very concerned with appropriating symbols, and styles from Roman and Greek architecture – this very conscious effort leant a sense of history to the very new country and its buildings

    • The style permeated all building types, houses, civic spaces, and church buildings

• Working in Boston in the first years of the nineteenth century Benjamin was an engineer architect, or housewright as he was listed in the town directory. (1807)

• His emphasis on correctness of form, reduction of vanity, and the way in which a structure is to be used made him very suitable for the task at hand for the congregational churches in Boston.

  • To his name he has more than ten churches, and over 40 different major works.

  • The emphasis in the congregational church as non-liturgical, and eschewing vanity and ornament within their building meant that Benjamin's aesthetic fit well with the theological understanding of the church.

The Building itself

• old church was built in 1737, and was a wooden building with a steeple

  • was taken down by continental troops in 1775 because there was fear that they were signaling to cambridge from the elevation in the tower

  • original building was razed in march 1806

• new building corner stone was laid april 4 1806

• 27^th November the church was “opened to the service of God” -Charles Lowell, 1820 sermon reflecting on his 15 years in pastorate. Note the language of opened versus the language of liturgical consecration.

• The building itself was

  • 75 feet long, and 74 wide; the walls 34 feet high; the porch 17 feet wide, and 36 feet long, the walls of the porch 73 feet high and finished after the Doric order.

  • On the porch is erected a cupola 29 feet high which is finished in the Ionic order.

  • The house contains 112 pews on the lower floor and 46 in the galleries, besides suitable accommodations for the singers

  • The ceiling has a dome in its centre 42 feet in diameter at the base the horizontal part of the ceiling is ornamented with pannels fans &x, and the house is warmed by four close stoves

• Of interest is that the total cost, after selling the old lot and donating money to the African Church was $51,921 dollars 60 cents

• Pews sold for $300 - $700 each, first days sales were on 20^th november $49,555. All but 13 were sold by 1820

• Now that we have a grip on the theological and political milieu that the building occupied we can examine how the space meets those needs

  • White washed walls

  • No ornament in terms of paintings or stained glass

  • some very subtle wood-work in the form of carvings on the stairs and in the columns

  • No formal liturgical movement in the space, simply the centrality of the sermon – which often takes on strong political overtones.

  • Clock –Characterized as an “excellent clock” by Charles Lowell, first pastor at the new building, it was donated by John Derby Esq. Son of Richard Derby of Salem, a shipping magnate. Interesting because of the contrast of two items:

    • One of the very few pieces of actual ornament in the whole building and

    • Note the eagle atop the clock. Interesting to contrast the civic nature of the eagle, as well as the symbolism of having a clock inside the building at all. Shows a dedication to the outside world – unlike in churches where there is an expectation of being away from the worldly, here you have a clock which ties you to the outside world

Conclusion:

West Church Boston marks a fascinating place in American history – the combination of a political pulpit with the highly influential federalist period, in a city that was heavily congregationalist all added to make West Church an American institution. And a model for rethinking politics in the pulpit outside of a state mandated church.

Oh Ernest...

"My training was to never drink after dinner nor before I wrote nor while I was writing." - Hemingway, A Moveable Fest

I am often in awe of the Papa Hemingway. I also wonder whether he actually followed that training of his or whether this was a late attempt of his to reconcile the drink with his life. Either way I follow a decidedly different training. I too do not drink before and rarely while I write. But after dinner is certainly fair game. I do wonder what it would have been like to sit on a bar stool in Spain in 1924 and drink in the afternoon. Or to have shiny drinks in the post noon hours in pre-war Paris.

For me it is India Pale Ale in the dark of night after a dinner full of rice and beans. Or a bowl of pasta with some brightly colored sauce: green, pink, even the brightness of the white is amazing.

Do we entertain the idea of reality as one which is subjective? Is the reality that I see the same as Benjamin's? In the end are we both striving for the same goal? If I don't believe in the afterlife am I inherently doomed for eternal damnation?

Oh Ernest give me words and punctuation to explain it all! Simplicity please!

The Reality of the Eucharist

I'm not a huge fan of the idea of emerging church. I will admit that I say that mostly on my own account, but I feel that some of my friends too would agree with the sentiment. I'm not one who thinks we should drink coffee in the pews, or god forbid get rid of the pews altogether. Nor am I one who wants to move our services into the future - or more accessible style of worship that include powerpoint, video, and projection screens. I have had more than my fair share of conference calls, media exchanges, and video conferencing in the business world; when I find myself entering into the world of the divine I like for it to be an escape of sorts. I, and I think my friends as well, enjoy the incense that gathers at the pitch of the roof, the procession of the cross, and the candles on the altar.

Keeping in mind the slightly old-school idea that I find myself, and my friends operating from makes it very odd for me to discuss the idea of meta-eucharist. I don't know what the eucharist is all about completely, and yet I still find it to be a powerful representation and participatory act of my own devotion to the church.

A friend was telling me of this idea of mailing a eucharistic host to her god-child in South Africa, and then at a predetermined time they would start up a Skype conversation to celebrate the eucharist together. Have a priest present, and via the wizardry of the twenty-first century they would bless the host via-Skype, say prayers and share in the body of christ together.

The idea of blessing something through the technology of video-conferencing and the internet seems like such a crazy idea. But the fact that each party would be in communion with the other, even if not in the same hemisphere, creates a connection and bond that is key to the idea of what our worship revolves around.
The strangeness of it probably won't fade for me, and I truly hope that video-eucharisting won't become commonplace, but if you are in a remote part of the world and those with whom you share a common communion are nowhere to be found it seems like a fascinating alternative.

Intercessory Prayer as Social Justice tool

Few things annoy me more than prayer vigils. Prayer vigils to end violence in the streets; prayer vigils to end the war in Iraq; prayer vigils to end capital punishment...You get the idea. I've never understood the purpose of hiding yourself away in order to pray to a higher power to stop something when in reality you could be out protesting, writing letters to congress, or working with local non-profits to deal with issues. I've always looked at it as an ivory tower kind of action, city of a hill sort of thing. We are better than these people who perpetrate the actions we hate, so all of us good people are going to gather and share our concerns about you people who are not as good as us. And of course by "share our concerns" I mean pray to a divinity and make requests. I wanted to use the word supplication to explain what happens at prayer vigils, but I don't think that the definition matches the reality in my mind. Supplications require one to beg for something earnestly, or humbly. And I will be honest and say that I feel that few prayer vigils are full of humble people.

Well for those of you who have firm belief in the power of prayer will be glad to hear that some of my concerns regarding prayer vigil type meetings were allayed last night. That is not to say that I myself am going to run out, stand in a circle in the dark with candle in my hand and start praying to end war and global poverty. What it does mean is that I am beginning to gather a vague understanding of why some people feel prayer vigils are important. Equally I am beginning to see the value in intercessory prayer as a tool for social change among groups that worship together.

Last night I listened to Dr. Ruth Meyers speak on intercessory prayer, and its relationship to liturgy. I wasn't really sure what to make of it at first - given my proclivity to shun prayer as a means for change in the world. However as I listened what I found most engrossing was her analysis of "what are we doing when we pray?" I was intrigued by the idea that as a faith community shares their concerns over political, social, and economic matters the community forms an understanding of what their issues are as a single body. The example she gave was a small town who had a teachers strike. As the strike continued the community was concerned about the well being of their children's education. So they had a prayer vigil. Within a day of this prayer vigil the community formed a fund to pay for interim teachers to instruct their children until the strike came to an end. While this example is - for me - littered with ethical issues I am struck by the fact that out of a prayer vigil which deals with the intangible language of the divine came such a certain tangible result.
It had never occurred to me to think about intercessory prayer as a vehicle for social action. The act of speaking your concerns out loud in the context of a faith community that you may or may not share values with can move you, and perhaps others, to act on your words. I had never thought about the power of words in this context - when two or three are gathered with the same thoughts about a need for social justice they can convince and encourage each other to act on it.

While I still am not sure that I want to go jump into a prayer circle, I am glad that I am starting to understand how prayer can influence people to act on the good they feel is needed in the world. So to intercessory prayer I say "Go you huskies!"

Episcopal Relief and Development personal reaction and debrief

I will admit I've never been one for leaving any thing up to providence. But that is exactly how I ended up being a seminary coordinator for Episcopal Relief and Development. On our incoming class retreat we were given the opportunity to "discern" who was called to work with as a representative to the seminary on this cause. In this process of discernment we went around in a group and shared our strengths and weaknesses. As it turns out I think I said something of particular interest to my classmates because they unanimously elected me to be one of the *six* coordinators between CDSP (Church Divinity School of the Pacific) and Episcopal Relief and Development.

Being that I was one of six people who were tasked with the of representation of this group that I had never heard of (Episcopal Relief and Development) to the school I felt like it was a bit of a sham to be honest. Do you really need six people to promote a fund raising, and outreach program that is built into the Episcopal church to an Episcopal seminary? Felt awkward.

Well I just attended my first seminarian network meeting for Episcopal Relief and Development this past weekend - and I am unable to express how much of a difference it has made in my understanding and appreciation of this kind of work.

I'll be honest and say I've always had great respect for those who work in non-profit, but I am hesitant to say whether it is a lifestyle that I would ever like to take on for myself. As I traveled to Virginia for the seminarian network meeting of the Episcopal Relief and Development I was quite suspicious of the whole situation - I was concerned it was going to be just a bunch of people sitting around a table talking about how saving lives is important, but not really doing any thing about it. As it turned out this suspicion was only partially true - we did sit around a table and talk, but we were talking about some very tangible ideas and gathering some great information.

I was quite moved by the fact that the meeting was held at Virginia Theological Seminary - the implications of this for me included the fact that I was able to visit a very good friend in Washington DC, and being a history nerd I was able to really embrace the locale and appreciate the history VTS has played in the Episcopal church. And in the midst of visiting my friend in DC I was able to experience the city as an adult, which is quite different from my random trips back as a child. I was able to talk about politics a little bit, and recognize the impact that things like a faith based organization can have to the politics even of a staunch atheist. The recognition that DC is both a monument to our nation, as well as a working city that runs our nation is a bit of a head trip. But in the greatest sense of the word realizing DC as a city, and monument is empowering. As someone who has been questioning the point of graduate school for a few weeks it was refreshing to feel like there is a place for a non-secular mind, in this secular world we live in (but don't get me wrong I still won't define the divinity for you).

What frustrated me most about the meetings this weekend were the varied theological understandings of what social justice within the context of the church entails. There were some in the room who felt that although by working to save the lives of those less fortunate we are not fulfilling out baptismal covenant unless we are trying to save their eternal souls as well. This frustrated me to no end simply because I am a person who sees the world through fairly secular eyes however I feel that I certainly have a tinge or religiosity to my world view. Within this religious-cum-secular view that I bring to the table I was simultaneously frustrated and confounded as to why social justice does not automatically equate to doing justice in the name of God.
Further more are we in any way failing our baptismal covenant by saving the mortal lives of people, or does our covenant require us to seek the eternal salvation of a person no matter their own belief? Further is it not the duty of the leaders of the church to help the people in the pews understand that whether you call yourself Episcopalian, Catholic, Baptist, or any other variant that it is your duty to help save the lives of those less fortunate. To me this is the great disconnect that I felt: I would rather have four living Muslim kids than one dead Christian kid - I mean that in the most sarcastic notion possible; but in reality I am far more concerned with the generation that I can help than the possibility of saving the soul of one person. The salvation of that one person is between that person and the Divine, not between me and my covenant as a person of faith.

I am invigorated, and really excited that the the secular political world has a place for a confused crazy kid like me. We'll see how it all shakes out...