This administration’s virulent vacuity

I pray. All the time. It’s rarely obvious. I don’t care to be associated with much of today’s religion, which (with blessed exceptions) I find naive at best or nefarious at worst. If this is disturbing, let’s have a cup of coffee after this RSV departs what’s left of me. I’ve ordered some Bourbon Infused Pecan Coffee from Jumpingoat Coffee Roasters in Cleveland, Georgia. Like those sisters I met in a Mobile monastery in 1972, we can “pray for the world” as we share our individual and collective fears and hopes.

I pray as I process. I’m wired for moments like Friday night Jewish sabbath ceremonies, a Sunday night jazz service, a Midnight Christmas Eve Communion, a Dying Moments ceremony at a Kairos prison ministry weekend, or Barack Obama ending Clementa Pinckney’s eulogy by singing “Amazing Grace.” The Buddhist Walk for Peace has opened an inner dialogue with whatever Christianity is in me and whatever Buddhism might be in me. This nascent Buddhism has been helpful as I deal with RSV. I pray as I write each of these 2,084 posts. It’s a vital part of my ongoing spiritual therapy. By the way “salvation” means “healing.”

I missed church today. I’m more impoverished when I don’t participate. The amazing congregation embodies a kind of diverse community that expresses the best of our world. The staff understands and lives out the concept of Servant Leaders, a much-needed practice that (that our present federal administration seems hell bent to exterminate). Our senior pastor, Kevin Thomas, spoke prophetically at a hearing last week as the Alabama Legislature considers immigration legislation.

I’m still prayerfully processing yesterday’s embarrassing performance at the Homeland Security Director’s news conference (played to an “audience of one” who resides at Pennsylvania Avenue). Much is going on. In case you missed it:

Statement from the U.S. Conference of Mayors Following Death of Another Protestor in Minneapolis.

“This morning, on a street in Minneapolis, at least seven federal agents tackled and then shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse for the local VA hospital.”

Is this finally America’s breaking point?

The extra-judicial execution of Alex Pretti

Portraits of the Minneapolis Resistance

Execution in Minneapolis

They Keep Lying to Us

Lies and Lawlessness

To help us cope, to pray, to be safe, to be faithful, let’s have a cup of coffee together if possible, or virtually. Be well. Stay warm. Be strong. When it arrives, I’ll give you a review of the Bourbon Infused Pecan Coffee from Jumpingoat Coffee Roasters.

A Day of Remembrance

For me, this isn’t a Day of Mourning. November 25, 1963 was a Day of Mourning. Etched in my memory is John F. Kennedy’s riderless horse with boots facing backward. I remember older people describing their shock when Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly at 63. April 14, 1945 was a Day of Mourning.

Jimmy Carter was elected Governor of Georgia at 47 in 1971 and President at 52 in 1976. It’s sobering that I remember when Carter was young. I began seminary in Atlanta midway through his term as Governor. He was elected President five months after I graduated.

I cannot mourn his death because he made the most of his long life. Bob Costas delivered eulogies for Mickey Mantle (1931-1995) and Stan Musial (1920-2013). In a 5-minute video, Costas reflects on Mantle’s regret for missed opportunities and Mantle’s respect for Musial for making the most of his.

Carter’s family and friends said he was determined to accomplish in retirement what he was unable to do because he was denied a second term. Carter’s “second term” was better than his first, and longer. It was 12 times longer–48 years. He saw opportunities in defeat and made the most of them.

A Day of Remembrance