SECULARISM and HISTORY

There seem to be an increasing number of conversations going on in theological and ecclesiastical circles at the moment related to the subject of secularism. The ideas involved are no longer based on a simple contrast between the church and the world, or the religious and the secular. New vocabulary includes terms such as "Christian Secularism," which turn the old debates upside down, and more recent and frequent references to "procedural secularism" and "programmatic secularism."

Should we as Christians be keeping abreast of these "isms" - how they came or come about; in what manner they grow or evolve; how and when they give way to yet another "ism?" The answer is a certain yes if we are able to do so, and if such knowledge will improve our communication of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our neighbor. But we can't be tricked into thinking that knowledge of an "ism" means that we can control it. This is a mistake that too many politicians, theologians, and political theologians have made before us.

There is another problem too. Not everyone agrees on the nature of secularism, how it originated, and the good or harm that it does to the Christian Church or the faith of its members. The following quotation from "No Future in the Ghetto" by Francis Campbell (The Tablet, 18 July, 2009) provides a good example of some of the interesting twists in opinions on this issue:

"Europeans take it for granted that modernisation and secularism go hand in hand. But the experience of the rest of the world tells a different story. The challenge is maintaining faith while living peacefully with those who do not share it. Retreat is not an option.

"In A Secular Age, the philosopher Charles Taylor asks how we moved "from a condition in 1500 in which it was hard not to believe in God, to our present situation just after 2000, where this has become quite easy for many". Taylor contrasts secularism with religion. For him secularism sees human good and human flourishing as being focused solely in this world, while the religious outlook is transcendent.

"The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is rather more specific. He describes secularism as opening a space, but also potentially closing a space. Positively a secular society would hold up ideals of freedom and equality. It would oppose any kind of theocracy, any privilege given to an authority that was not accountable to ordinary processes of reasoning and evidence. More negatively, secularism could rule out arguments that would arise from specific commitments of a religious or ideological nature. This approach is underpinned by the Enlightenment conviction that authority which depends on revelation must always be contested in the public sphere.

"When getting at the meaning of secularism, Taylor rejects what he calls the "subtraction story" which sees science gradually chipping away at the credibility of faith. Instead he argues that secularism and faith come from the same well and that secularism emerges not through scientific discovery, but through history. In this way secularism is not pitted against religion but is part of a proper distinction between the temporal and religious realms.

"Secularisation theory on the other hand attempts to describe a process of change ushered in around the time of the Industrial Revolution, whereby states modernise as they secularise. The idea is very simple: the more modernity, the less religion."

To my mind all of this is made much easier if, no matter what else we hear or read, we remember that as Christians we are in the world but not of the world (John 15-17) - and that Jesus Christ has empowered us to serve Him as a light to the world. (Matthew 5:14).

DEACONESS of the EVERGLADES

In recent years, Amazon and eBay have often listed a book called Deaconess of the Everglades, by Elizabeth Scott Ames (Cortland, NY, 1995), about the life of an Episcopalian deaconess named Harriet Bedell (1875-1969). Deaconess Harriet's story is an interesting one. Her diaconal ministry took her to Oklahoma to work with the Cheyenne; to a remote Alaskan village to help the local ice-bound peoples; and finally to the Floridian Everglades area (and Marco Island) where she served as missionary to the Seminole Indians.

Sometime during the current Episcopal Convention in California (July 8-17, 2009) Harriet Bedell's name will be added to that denomination's "List of Lesser Feasts and Fasts." Since she died on January 8, that date will be designated as her "feast day" in the Episcopal Church.

Another new book about Deaconess Harriet, titled Angel of the Swamp, features quotations from her acquaintances in Florida, along with many photographs. Copies of this new book are available at the Museum of the Everglades in Everglades City or at www.ecity-publishing.com.

ASK the QUESTIONS

While traveling from Pennsylvania to Oregon – to attend the national Lutheran Women’s Missionary League convention – some interesting “coincidences” occurred. During the layover at a Chicago airport I sat down right next to the mother-in-law of a fellow deaconess. At the same gate, sitting in the row of seats facing us, was a deaconess whose name I knew but not not recalled ever meeting.

In both instances, the awareness of “who” these people were became apparent after someone was brave enough to ask an opening question. I asked the lady sitting next to me if she was on her way to the LWML convention (sometimes it’s easy to spot such ladies)! And the deaconess across the aisle saw a copy of In the Footsteps of Phoebe sitting on my luggage and walked over to me and asked if I was Cheryl.

The first question isn’t always easy, but it is necessary if we want to have conversation, and especially if we desire to develop new relationships. Our lives are rendered more interesting by the acquaintance of other people and their stories, and often, how their lives and stories already somehow tie in with our own lives.

This too is one of the pleasures of reading about historical figures, especially within the church. I have received so much joy from readers telling me that they discovered one of their relatives in my book. A few weeks ago a man phoned me from Texas to tell me that he has never known much about his grandfather, but that he heard about the release of In the Footsteps of Phoebe from his mother, and now he was excited to be able to learn quite a bit about his grandfather (who was a director of deaconess training for many years).

My thought for today is this: Ask the Questions that will connect you with people. You may even be surprised that in some way or another you already have a connection with them!

A TIME of REFRESHMENT

Holidays are always good when they result in refreshment, and that's exactly what the last week in a remote cabin in Tennessee has done for our family. No cell phone reception. No internet. No television. Just "down" time. Just face-to-face visiting and playing with those people whom we love, but seldom get a chance to encounter without the interruptions of advanced technological life. Fantastic!

Now it's time to get back into the routine of work again. Children and grandchildren have driven home or caught planes to other continents. The grass needs to be mowed. Articles need to be written. Mourning people need to be visited.

May God bless all of you, wherever you are, with a peaceful time of relaxation this summer.

CORPORATE History

The idea of "corporate history" is sort of like "corporate worship." It means "doing something together." We worship together. We make history together!

I have just returned from the annual meeting of Concordia Deaconess Conference - Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which many women attended, from all over the country and even from a few foreign countries. We were together to worship; read-mark-learn-and inwardly digest some Scripture; hear reports on mission work facilitated by Hands of Mercy and on the first ever meeting of deaconesses from across South America; encourage one another in our work and faith; take a tour of historic deaconess-related sites in Fort Wayne; and basically just enjoy being together and having some "down" time from our normally busy lives.

These conferences contribute to the ongoing collection of corporate history that makes the CDC what it is and what it will continue to be. The annual business meeting, always held sometime during the conference, also facilitates a moving forward - to be certain that the objectives and goals of the conference are met; to ensure that we continue to make corporate history in the future. It makes us happy that our history is rooted in in God's Word. That history is laced with a deliberate ministry of mercy to one's neighbor, but we know it is only a reflection of the mercy that Christ first provided for us.

I thank God for all of the women (and of course our Pastoral adviser) with whom I was able to share this past week. I can only hope that they are all as refreshed as I am after such a wonderful conference!

CONFIRMATION and GRADUATION

Today is a double celebration type of day at our congregation. In this morning's Divine Service we will witness the Confirmation of faith of four youth and three adults; and in the evening, a Graduation ceremony for the four eighth grade girls at the congregation's school.

It's important that these two events are celebrated separately, because they certainly are different. Confirmation is never a "graduation" from anything, but an affirmation of the faith received at Holy Baptism, and the public renewal of vows to remain steadfast in God's Word until death. When our personal history is written, it may include landmarks of growth in our faith life, but it will never include a "finish line" until we have joined our Savior in Heaven.

Graduation ceremonies, on the other had, celebrate the end of an era. A goal has been reached and those who have attained the goal are to be commended for their perseverance and perhaps for any unique or outstanding achievements along the way. On these occasions graduates are often reminded that they should not rest on their laurels, but must go forward with some sort of grit and determination into the next era of their lives.

Our personal history tells us that life does need grit and determination from time to time. But it also tells us, as does Scripture, that it is the Holy Spirit working through the Word and Sacraments which shores up, sustains, challenges, feeds, and grows our faith. We have no power in and of ourselves to do such a work. Thanks be to God that He gives us these means of grace!

SOLDIER of the CROSS

When I was a young girl it was taboo to ask anyone who had been in "the war" about their experience. War was just a bad memory that happened on another shore, in another age in past tense, to be forgotten once back to homeland and family.

My brother and I knew that dad served in the navy and that he saw a "mushroom" cloud from the deck of his "boat" in the Pacific. We did once see a photograph of dad with palm trees and a large group of "island children" that he and his buddies had provided with food, but the island had no name and the ethnic origin of the children was a mystery. When we were older, and particularly when my brother began to serve in U.S. forces, a few stories from dad's military service began to leak out. My brother was more interested than me, however, and I can't say that I could even repeat any of them now.

If everyone who ever fought for freedom is a war hero, then of course I know that my dad is a hero. But there is something in addition about my dad that cannot be left out of defining him as a war hero. For as long as I can remember, my "daddy" has been a Soldier of the Cross. And though I am proud of him for serving the USA in the cause of freedom, I am also proud of him for his untiring service to Jesus Christ and his drive to spread the Gospel to all nations and all generations.

Soldiers of the Cross, like my dad, have been in difficult wars without bullets. They have skirmished with those who would have the church succumb to the whims of the world; the whims of Biblical Criticism or Darwinism; the seductive preaching of "other Gospels." And though wounded, and perhaps scarred, they still live to support the Church and her work.

On this Memorial Day weekend, we salute the men and women of this country who have served to ensure freedom for its citizens. Let us also thank God for the Soldiers of the Cross - all of the men and women who have fought ugly battles for the freedom to have access to the Word and Sacraments, taught and administered in their truth and purity!