Respect The Comma: Faith

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From Charlottesville's Daily Progress:

Experts told the Associated Press that the Amish believe they should accept and absorb hostility by turning the other cheek. When I turn the other cheek, I find it gets slapped as well and I start slapping back. Not the Amish.

When we “English” saw their plight and their reaction, we started sending money to help with the medical costs of the wounded girls. By their rules, the Amish couldn’t ask for help, but accepted it with humility. Then they asked that a special fund be set up to help the shooter’s widow and children.

They have been tested very publicly in a way that would make Job cry and they have proven their merit. I will no longer mock them. They are different but they are people who practice the peace they preach.

The world could use more people like them.

Late last year, I began a new search for a church home.

I had done this before, and while I liked some aspects of the church I picked, it didn't quite align with I thought God, faith and religion to be. I believe in a God that accepts people for who they are, no matter what their faith is, who they are inside or out. I believe in a forgiving God, an accepting God, a God that has a sense of humor, a God that loves all people all of the time for all time. As an aside, I took to heart the book, If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person.

I had stopped going to the old church, spent some time reevaluating my faith and was in the course of reading 52 books in 52 weeks, a lot of them with a spiritual component. Spending time in reflection, I decided that I needed a new home. I browsed some websites and got advice from someone who had a strong connection to the UCC. On that, I decided to find a UCC branch close to me.

I did, finding the Fredericksburg Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, and I haven't regretted it. For a small congregation, there's a wonderful wealth of compassion, caring and diversity among the people who fill the small coffee shop every week.

On October 1, our church's sixth anniversary, I will, officially, become a member.

So why the name Respect The Comma?

The UCC has something called God Is Still Speaking, which uses the comma as a symbol of this. It comes from a Gracie Allen quote, "never place a period where God has placed a comma."

I plan for this to touch upon what's happening in church, but even more importantly, in life. I plan for this to be a conversation, and while I'm the only one talking for now, I don't plan for it to stay that way. It'll have reflections on sermons and activities in church, sure. It'll also have reflections on what's going on in the world outside our window--to borrow a title from a Tanita Takirim song. But the thoughts really go to a Bruce Hornsby song, Look Out Any Window:

There's a man workin in a field
Sees the rain and its burning
He's saying this can't be real
As he sees the color of the fields turning
Far away the men too busy getting rich to care
Close their eyes and let it all out into the air
Hoping nobody else would care

Look out any window
Look out any open door
Look out any window
See whats going on in the world around you

There's a man working on a boat
Pulling lines from the water
Just trying to stay afloat
Filling the nets is getting harder
Far away they bend the rules so secretly
Close their eyes and let it all out into the sea
Hoping nobady else would see

Look out any window
Look out any open door
Look out any window
See what's going on in the air around you

Far away too many leaders let them get their way
Close their eyes and let it all out into the bay
Say they'll clear it up another day

Look out any window
Look out any open door
Look out any window
See what's going on in the air around you

Look out, look out for the big boys
Telling you everything they're gonna do
Look out, look out for the fat cat builder man
Turning this into a wasteland
Look out, look out for the back room boys
That say the smoke is gonna blow away
Look out, look out for the men who say it's okay
Sitting in a building far away

With all that, let the conversation begin

,

Page Turners 2006 (7)

Lindsay Moran: Blowing My Cover: My Life As A CIA Spy
A really enjoyable read, filled with insight on a deceitful, and mostly unilluminated job. (****)
Rich Smith: You Can Get Arrested For That
Amusing in parts, but thin in substance overall. (*)
Fish, A Remarkable Way To Boost Morale And Improve Results
Nice small compact inspirational way to live a productive and happier work life. (****)
Christopher J. Walsh: No Timeouts: What It's Really Like To Be A Sportswriter Today
I thought I was getting more practical insight into the world of a sportswriter than I actually got. Though examples of stories and the author's progression was nice, I thought it padded the book to make it longer than it needed to be. (**)
Dan Brown: The Da Vinci Code
Much better than the movie; the plot moves well. (****)
Dan Wetzel: Glory Road: My Story of the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship and How One Team Triumphed Against the Odds
Much better than the movie, as it provides more insight behind the story of Don Haskins and Texas Western; would have liked more about the players and their perspective on playing for him. Probably falls somewhere between 3 & 4 on the star rating. I guess I'd just like a more comprehensive telling of the story. Actually, though people may come out of the book/movie with the idea that this was the first time 5 black players took the basketball court at the same time and won a championship, that actually happened in 1957 (9 years earlier) when Tennessee State won the NAIA championship. (***)
Leif Enger: Peace Like a River
Enjoyed this book, my first of 2006. The characters stay with you, left me wanting more. Had some trouble with the old west references, but nonetheless the prose painted plush pictures. (****)