Rector's BlogRector's Bloghttp://www.stlukesewing.org/rectors-blog/2010-01-01T01:32:43ZSquarespaceThe Difference Between Forgiveness and Reconciliationhttp://www.stlukesewing.org/rectors-blog/2009/9/14/the-difference-between-forgiveness-and-reconciliation.htmlRector2009-09-14T16:14:40Z2009-09-14T16:14:40ZI'm thinking a lot about this as I've been reading Religion and Reconciliation in South Africa to prepare for my sabbatical in South Africa next spring.  The sabbatical's theme is "Buiding Community Through Reconciliation & Prayer" and I want to see how the churches in South Africa are helping to build community in the wake of apartheid.

As Americans, Christians, and Anglicans, I think we tend to have a very romantic perception of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in bringing healing and fostering peaceful transition to post-apartheid South Africa.  Yet, as I read more and more South African literature, I'm disocvering a fair amount of ambivalence. 

It appears to be almost universally accepted that the TRC did its job in uncovering the truth of apartheid abuses (although there are some perceptions - distinctly minority -  that the TRC uncovered truths desired by the politcal needs of the time).  But what about Reconciliation?

Of all the Truth commissions that have existed since 1974, South Africa's is the first to include Reconciliation in its mandate.  As a Christian, that excited me no end. As an Episcopalian and Anglican, I burst with pride that Abp Desmond Tutu was it's chair.  But 15 years after the dismantling of apartheid, and after the end of the TRC's work, where does Reconciliation stand?

Chile was the first to includ reconciliation under the mandate of Truth Commission, but their commission's approach was to uncover truth for the purpose of reconciliation.  In other words, telling the truth would be the first step in longer process of healing, but the purpose of truth-telling was not an end of itself, but to make reconciliatio possible.

So, where is South Africa?  I don't know.  I'll know more when I get there.  But I find it a sobering reminder that reconciliation is a process that has to be addressed on many level - individual, community, and institutional among others.

Very perceptively, Audrey Chapman, one of the co-editors of the book Religion & Reconciliation in South Africa, observes that reconciliation is more than just a "willingness to let go of the past and not seek vengeance."  Reconciliation looks to the future as well, with a commitment to repair and re-establish relationships; and, ultimately, "to create and sustain a network of understanding and relationships necessary to shape and support a new and common future."  (p. 13).

So, it seems that truth must come before anything (truth told and accepted by all parties), that forgiveness may draw to a close the power of the past, but that reconciliation is about building a future. So, as I go to South Africa, I will be excited to see what kind of future is being built.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation

- 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

 

]]>What I'm pondering todayhttp://www.stlukesewing.org/rectors-blog/2009/5/19/what-im-pondering-today.htmlRector2009-05-19T20:27:28Z2009-05-19T20:27:28ZSomething came up twice today in conversation I had with two different people - "We need structure."

The first was with a college student exploring the possibility of a call to priestly ministry.  The second was with a priest who works with youth in the Mercer County Juvenile Detention Center.  Both spoke of the importance of structure in a world that gives chaos, and both spoke of this structure as something the church can give.  Indeed, that it might be our particular charism (gift) as Anglicans and Episcopalians to give.

I'm wondering if the shape and structure of our liturgy, our daily rhythms of prayer, our weekly rhythms of feasts, and our seasonal rhythms of fast and celebration are needed more now than ever before.   As Anglicans, I wonder if our particular approach to these rhythms is particularly rich and helpful because we use them to help us engage with the world rather than flee the world.  Thus, we can encounter the redeeming work of Christ amid the chaos around us, rather than having to abandon the chaos for the (supposed) safety and calm of "let's keep to ourselves" that some other traditions offer.

I also wonder if the rigid rules and life-codes of conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists aren't a different way of answering the same hunger for order (since they don't have liturgy).  Personally, I'll take liturgy over that any day of the week!  But, the younger amongst us are more conservative . . . .  It's  point to ponder.

It also makes me question a bit more deeply the profound chaos that our national and international church structures are in - and they are in totally dysfunctional chaos.  I have no doubt of that.  The question is whether this is a chaos we have to stop or leave behind, or if this is a chaos that we can't control but out of which God will create a new and more fruit-yielding future.

God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind.  Jesus stilled the storm that scared the disciples [insert earthy expletive]. Ultimately, I am convinced that the church's mission and the church's grace is to be the island of calm in the midst of the storm.  It's not our mission to abandon the storm, nor is it our power to subdue the storm, but we are to be Christ in the midst of the storm out of which God will speak.

It's the old Kipling Poem, "If," that my stepfather gave me for graduation -

"If you can keep your wits about you while all around you are losing theirs, then you have become  man, my son."

(Apologies for the sexist language, but the point's the same.)

The only way I can keep my wits and be calm in the midst of the storm is to strengthen my rootedness in  Christ.  So, it's Tuesday, it's almost 6, and therefore I'm off to centering prayer . . .

Dirk+

]]>Walking the Cross in Iraqhttp://www.stlukesewing.org/rectors-blog/2009/4/9/walking-the-cross-in-iraq.htmlRector2009-04-09T18:42:42Z2009-04-09T18:42:42ZEach year I find a lens through which I look at the Holy Week services. There are several themes swirling around in my mind this year, but one person who seems to be a living illustration of all that this week preaches.

Photo: Geoff Ziezulewicz / S&S Click photo for full size. Canon Andrew White celebrates Palm Sunday with his flock in Baghdad's St. George's Anglican Church.He is the Rev. Canon Andrew White, the Anglican priest in charge of St. George's Anglican Church in Baghdad. Since 2005, Canon White has served a Christian community of 2000 souls that routinely faces kidnappings and murder. He is nicknamed "the Vicar of Baghdad" because very few Christians congregations are left, and he has the distinction of having more personal security (up to 35 body guards) than any other cleric on earth. The Pentagon arranges his transport. His ministry models for me what it means to walk in the way of the Cross.

When God moves people to assist him in leading the congregation up leaders for his congregation, Canon White tells them, "Your rewards will be out of this world," and he means that literally. His first year, his entire staff were kidnapped and killed. This year, a family pleaded with him to be baptized. A few days after their baptisms, they were murdered.  Canon White routinely negotiates for release of kidnapped parishioners.  Last year, over 190 were kidnapped.  He managed to secure release for about 40.

Canon White has been involved in reconciliation and negotiation/mediation efforts in the Middle East for over a decade.  He came to St. George's after the congregation was nearly wiped out in the violence following the start of the Iraq war.  He says that he could not resist their cry, "We have no one for us."  Today, the community that was established in the 1930s for English diplomats is teeming with Iraqi Christians.

What is even more remarkable, is that Canon White faces his own personal challenges as well.  Since he was 33, he has lived with Multiple Sclerosis which affects his speech and his mobility.  Yet, he is a person of tremendous energy and hope.  

Here are two links to stories about him and a link to a 60 Minutes interview:

Priest in Baghdad Fights for Parishioner's Souls - and their Lives (Stars & Stripes)

The Vicar of Baghdad - Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death (London Times)

Vicar: Dire Times for Iraq's Christians (60 Minutes)

Canon White is also author of Iraq: Searching for Hope , a first-hand account of his involvement with Iraq. (Link opens in Amazon.com)

 

Canon White' story reminds of the hope and the darkness that shroud this week.  His MS is his cross, his ministry in Iraq is the promise of Christ to be with us even in our darkest moments.  His hope and the smiles and laughter of his congregation despite the threats the face is Easter.

I can't help but feel both challenged and proud - proud that Canon White is an Anglican making a powerful difference in the world; and challenged in a way that makes me wonder if we worry more about power and less about the path of Christ in our current conflicts in the Church.

 

 

 

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