A theological statement....

a work in progress, no doubt...

I believe in God who created and creates with love, grace, mercy, peace and justice, who cares for each individual creature deeply, and calls and empowers us all to a new vision wherein, with God’s help and by the example of Jesus the Christ in the power of God’s Spirit, we heal our broken relationship with God, each other and God’s world.

I believe in Jesus the Christ, the incarnated word of God: in his life, he taught us the message of God’s love and the vision of God’s realm, a community of equality and radical inclusion. It was for this message and vision that he was willing to die; in his death, he embodied pure love and true faith in us and God, thus making possible the restoration of the broken covenant relationship between us and God. In his resurrection, he liberated humanity from suffering and death and proved that life is infinitely more powerful than death; he healed the breach between God and humanity, extending to humanity the promise of abundant life in God, both now and in eternity.

I believe in God’s Spirit, present in the life of the church, the lives of individual persons, and moving throughout all creation, communicating throughout history the gospel of God’s love, and inviting all people into active participation in God’s realm. It is through God’s Spirit that we experience love, grace, mercy and peace, and are given the courage to struggle for justice. I believe that all of God’s creation - human, animal, and earthly - is an expression of God’s very own self, that it reveals God’s Spirit, and must be revered and cared for as God’s own, for it is of sacred worth and infinite value.

I believe in God’s church, that community of individuals empowered by God’s Spirit to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The church is called to extend the gospel message of God’s extravagant, scandalous love for everyone to a world that desperately needs to be loved and healed. Through regular worship and celebration of the sacraments, the church is equipped to do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God, and to serve the world with open hearts, open minds, and open doors.

Photography

Here are some recent photos taken around Madison, NJ. The photograph of the park benches was taken in Central Park near 72nd St.

Evan goes to Madison, NJ.

I wrote this soon after my arrival in NJ last year (winter 2009)...

As I drove into Madison, New Jersey, a quintessential suburban town, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Actually, I should back up; I had second thoughts about my chosen path as I sat in rush hour traffic in the Bronx on my initial trek to graduate school. Second thoughts might have seemed premature, I know; however, my “fight or flight” instinct had taken over, and I felt like fleeing. The plethora of sights, smells, and sounds of the city, a veritable sensory overload, filled me with uncertainty and a desire to retreat to more familiar surroundings. And Madison, overflowing with hurrying people living in identical houses and dining in bustling eateries open past 8 p.m. made me pine for the friendly faces and simple serenity of downeast Maine. But I persevered, clinging to the enticing offer of a full-scholarship to seminary and following, sometimes grudgingly, the ministerial call (and I have come to appreciate restaurants open late!).

However, after a couple of weeks in my temporary hometown, feelings of unsettledness and uncertainty began to dissipate. In addition to classes and the multi-faceted parts of seminary life, I found myself navigating the subways of New York City and thoroughly enjoying the cultural and social offerings of the Big Apple. I attended Sunday service at Riverside Church on the Upper West Side, and saw the pulpit where one of my heroes, the Reverend William Sloane Coffin, anti-war activist and eloquent advocate for justice and human rights, preached his prophetic sermons. I’ve pushed through shoulder-to-shoulder crowds in Times Square, seen Jim Morrison’s hand written lyrics to The Doors' “L.A. Woman” at the Hard Rock Cafe, and enjoyed some delectable vegetarian Indian food at a funky restaurant in the Lower East Side. I now understand why many refer to New York City as the greatest in the world.

Madison, and indeed Morris County, presents a stark contrast to any Washington County, Maine town. The median income is nearly six figures and the Jaguars, Mercedes, BMWs, and Hummers line the streets. A cursory glance through any real estate brochure reveals the average price for a home rarely falls below half a million dollars. I have discovered, though, regardless of such economic disparities, New Jersey folks can be as warm and hospitable as downeast Mainers. Despite the stereotypes of New Jersey waving with one finger, being uncourteous in check-out lines and ignoring basic rules of driving, I have found many kind souls who, thankfully, have shown these hackneyed ideas to be untrue. So, while I may not call Madison, New Jersey my permanent place of residence, I know I’ll enjoy the next few years.

The Religious Right, Racism, and SB 1070

If the recent immigration legislation passed in Arizona reveals anything, it is twofold: the blatant xenophobic hate-mongering of the religious right and their utter failure to “get” racism.

SB 1070 has been met with condemnation from the progressive, mainline religious community and many evangelical groups. However, some conservative religious groups, such as the American Family Association, lauded the bill. Bryan Fischer, director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association, in a statement issued by the AFA regarding Arizona’s SB 1070, praised this legislation, saying it “will make them [Arizonans] safer and will lower taxpayers costs for welfare, law enforcement, education, and health services.” Regarding the prospect of amnesty, which he believes is inevitably coming and is the true desire of the president (whom Fischer refers to as “our America-despising boy president”) and the “American Socialists,” Fischer remarks: “we will be inundated with disease-ridden, drug-smuggling criminals slavering over the prospect of getting the ultimate free pass.”

The hateful, xenophobic rhetoric is overt here; I need not undertake painstaking analysis to show that. The religious right, in their effort to preserve “[Christian] national identity, culture, ideals and values” (whatever that means), must necessarily despise diversity, and instead rely on fear and lies. Apparently, facts mean little to those xenophobes on the religious right. Statistics indicate that undocumented persons commit crimes at lower rates than natural born citizens. In fact, it generally isn’t until the third and fourth generations that crime rates in groups increase. Guess what? That’s lots of white European folks. Also, the vast majority of those coming across the border are not drug smugglers; they are honest, well-intentioned people looking for a better way for themselves and their families. An honest evaluation of facts shows the religious right’s rabid hysteria over immigration devoid of anything resembling sound analysis and solid data.

While expressing my dismay regarding SB 1070 and its inevitable reliance on outright racial profiling, an acquaintance of mine (coincidentally a religious conservative) exclaimed, “Well, I’m not racist; I have friends who are Hispanic!” As far as I can tell, this is the understanding of racism that so many on the religious right have. However, racism is not about not having black or brown friends, Hispanic or Asian friends. Racism is systemic, endemic, and institutionalized, and is inherent in legislation like SB 1070. The United States has instigated, and continues to perpetuate, systematized and institutionalized racism. Consider this: Arizona was once Mexican territory until the United States under President James K. Polk wrested it away from Mexico in the name of the pernicious doctrine of Manifest Destiny. How can these people be illegal in what has historically been their territory? Their ancestors lived here, not ours. In fact, wouldn’t it be much more accurate to say that white people are illegal in Arizona? If anyone should carry their papers in Arizona, shouldn’t it be the white folks?

Racism is about privilege and power, who has it and who doesn’t. As a white, heterosexual male, I participate in a system that benefits me; I never have to think about race, or if I will be served efficiently and politely in a restaurant, or what may happen if I am pulled over by the police. Racism is much larger than individual actions; it is about how some folks benefit within political, social, economic, and religious systems, and who suffers. White folk most definitely have luxuries not afforded others based upon the color of their skin.

In his letter from the Birmingham Jail, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” With this in mind, what if the Hispanic folks who walk across the border were met by a bunch of white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and every other sort of folk on the United States side and all marched together to demand the end of imperialism, the end of corporate fraud, the end of bigotry, the end of government corruption, and the end of cheap labor and economic inequality in the United States, Mexico, and everywhere else? Clearly, those of us who oppose SB 1070 don’t have our heads in the proverbial sand; at least I hope we don’t. We recognize that the system is broken, that the issue of immigration requires a thoughtful, comprehensive, and loving response. However, SB 1070 isn’t any of that. I believe that faithful, progressive people must use this opportunity to educate the population on what racism and white privilege actually are, and to courageously and boldly call SB 1070 what it is: racism.