HYMNS THAT EXPRESS WHAT WE BELIEVE

At Lenten worship on March 29, we will ask ourr music leader to play some hymns of our choice for us to sing and for me to comment upon. Would you mind sharing what some of your favorite hymns are and why......

My personal favorite is Luther's A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD......Someday, I will go on about it in more detail.....

I've based several sermons on parts of the hymn...My first sermon in Union was based on a line from the hymn...OUR STRIVING WOULD BE LOSING...

I'd love to read your comments...

PB

RELIGIOUS MIXED SIGNALS

Last week, many of the state's Roman Catholics came to Hartford in protest of a possible change in the law which would, in essence, deny their church the right to govern according to their own theology and church polity. The change in law was a well intentioned matter,as many Catholic parishioners were rightly concerned with the way a priest in the Bridgeport diocese totally misused their parish finances. Nonetheless, the fundamental point here IS one of religious freedom.

What is troubling though is that there is clear evidence that many of the protesters used this occasion to get back at two state legislators, both of whom are gay, who have been strong advocates of human and civil rights for all, including homosexuals, and who were willing to conduct hearings on this law. The HARTFORD ADVOCATE does an excellent job documenting this in their recent FREE issue. From this article, it seems obvious that for many, the religious freedom protest was deeply intertwined with an anti gay rights protest. Ironically, the position espoused by those denying homosexuals the right to marry seems inconsistent with a sensible religious freedom position.

What is also troubling is the way some awful virulent attacks on these legislators, including a death threat, were unleashed in a protest defending ' religious rights'.

Bottom line: Religious freedom means religious freedom FOR ALL.

PB

So, what do you make of this number??

How do you evaluate this number? Traditional mainline Protestantism has dwindled to about 12 % of the population. Many mainline churches, including Congregational, UCC, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist.....have had to close or merge. What do you see as the future of the 'mainline' church?

I have my opinions...but I'd love to hear or read yours...

PB

Religion by the numbers.....

In the post below, I comment on today's story on www.courant.com In it, several numbers are tossed around: reduction of Catholics and 'mainline' Protestants in Connecticut, increase in religiously unaffiliated, slight increase in nondenominational Christians.....etc........

The reality IS that the religious landscape of America has changed radically over the course of many of our lifetimes. We middle agers and above live in an entirely different religious world from taht in which we grew up. At least that's what I think....

Realizing that memories are often colored by time......I'd be interested in your impressions of religious life today compared to back in your yesterday...however far back that might go....

I'd be interested too in your evaluation of this change.....or if in fact, it really is the change it might be cracked up to be...

What do you think?

PB

The Courant on Connecticut Catholics...

On today's http://www.courant.com/, I came across an article about the dropoff in the number of Catholics in Connecticut. While that was the headline, the article was REALLY about the many changes in religious practices among people of different faiths. Some interesting numbers were presented concerning the number of people declaring themselves as unaffiliated AND preferring NOT to have a religious funeral. If you have time, consider reading the article. I'd love to hear/read your comments.....

I'll chime in with some later...

Pastor Bob

THE BIBLE

Reading the Bible is an activity that is highly recommended for Christian believers, wouldn't you say? HOWEVER, if one wants to read the Bible, where does one begin? In our church, we are offering an Adult Education program on that very topic on March 15 before worship.....But I am wondering......how would YOU answer the question? What insights do you have about reading the Bible? What do you find useful?

I could write a lot about this, but I will use this space to make one suggestion.....READ A BIBLE WITH GOOD FOOTNOTES and read the footnotes carefully......I'll highly recommend the NRSV and if you can, the Harper Collins Study Bible.....but a good NRSV with footnotes would be great!

Let's talk about this more...

Pastor Bob

JFK AND THE UNSPEAKABLE

I just finished an absolutely haunting and frightening book entitled JFK AND THE UNSPEAKABLE by James Douglass. There are those who would say that it is a waste of time to spin conspiracy theories about events that happened long ago or to become preoccupied with the specifics of the assassination of JFK. They would argue that we should just let it be.

Sadly, this book documents that what appeared to be the truth for those of us who lived through those horrible days was really fabrication and not only fabrication and lies, but even more......evidence of something downright UNSPEAKABLE, in Thomas Merton's phrase. Jesus alerted us to be 'gentle as doves', but also' wise as serpents'. Books like this remind us that we need to have the ability to be reflective and critical, not merely buying the story and the myth others want us to believe.

Please consider reading this book...

PB

MULTIPLE CHOICES

In our Lenten sermon series MULTIPLE CHOICES, we look at the different ways we can all look at the same question/issue of faith. We also consider how we interpret the Bible and our faith in relationship to the question/issue...

Today, we will begin with a multiple choice which we will explore on March 8....
* Think about it
* Feel free to post a response EXPLAINING YOUR CHOICE and citing Biblical/theological reasons...

Ready?..............

Question: Which of the following statements BEST EXPLAINS the nature of human beings?

a. At core, we are made in God's image and are INCLINED TOWARD THE GOOD
b. At core, we are INCLINED TOWARD SIN
c. At core, we are NEITHER inclined toward sin nor inclined toward good
d. At core, we are inclined BOTH toward sin and toward good

If you are answering, please remember to cite reasons...

Pastor Bob