Saturday Morning (February 15, 2025)

Good morning. We have been in Memphis for three days, visiting family, eating good food, watching television. We had coffee two mornings at Cafe Eclectic, barbecue from Rendevous, and catfish at Soul Fish Kitchen. The change of scenery has been good. Memphis is urban, a majority black city. Our granddaughters attend majority black public schools. They are thriving. For a city of this size, the options are amazing— an NBA team, a very good college basketball team, music, food, civil rights history, an excellent independent bookstore, and the Mississippi River. We try to get here every few months. Paige and Natalie are growing up fast. We fly back to Charlotte today. Air travel is an exercise in constraint (small spaces) and patience (delays). But I have something to read. All will be well.

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A word about our national state of affairs. I have lived through republican and democratic administrations, so for me this is not partisan. I believe we are in a constitutional crisis, set in motion for the transfer of wealth, and with increasing collateral damage. I have reflected on this in other places, including BlueSky, and so I will trust you to find your own sources. I simply affirm the need of Supplemental Nutrition for children, public education for special needs students, research into diseases, vaccines, access to the national parks, Medicaid, medicare, and Social Security, which citizens have earned, and a just peace for Ukraine.

In the dismantling of many of these goods, the cruelty is the point. And when the pain becomes too great, the tide will turn. A next question is how we live through all of this. The options are withdrawal, denial or engagement. Here are some possibilities: Tell stories of courage and action in our constitutional crisis. Avoid turning on each other. Carve out space for beauty and joy. Be in it for the long haul. Set boundaries. Be open to new allies. Set a limit on doomscrolling. Work hard to bridge the divisions. Trust in God. Your gifts are for others. Live one day at a time.

And if our nation is becoming less compassionate and generous, individuals and small groups will need to learn to stand in the gap.

A part of our engagement has been to join a lawsuit to protect sacred spaces (houses of worship) from the expanded immigration policies of the new administration. We are in this with a few other UMC annual conferences and our Religion and Race division, and several other communions (Episcopal, Presbyterian, AME Zion, Baptist, Quaker, Mennonite, etc.). I gave my own rationale for participation earlier in the week.

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Our WNC Summit on Trauma last Saturday was extraordinary. Thank you to Crossnore and Lory Beth Huffman. Since then I’ve been reading The Awakened Brain by Lisa Miller. On Monday I’ll be with our WNC Clergy Respite and Recovery gathering at Duke. Thank you to Kim Ingram, Laceye Warner and Ken Spencer.

I’ve been listening again to Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. And I watched the documentary on the making of The Sopranos (Wise Guys) and the creative vision of David Chase. The Sopranos was an amazing series— it was dark, but life can be dark—and it is not PG13. I will say that The Sopranos explains a lot about what is going on in our national state of affairs; it is all about loyalty and retaliation.

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A core aspect of trying to follow Jesus is discovering alternatives to retaliation. This is one of the big ideas in his teaching (the Sermon on the Mount) and in his death on a cross for us. I hope you will join us in the Junaluska Peace Conference on April 4-6. I’m grateful to Beth Crissman for her leadership, and for the legacy we have in the previous conferences. This comes at a perfect time: equipping, learning, support and encouragement.

So today friends, be at peace. Even amidst the storms (Luke 8). Grind the beans. Spring training is upon us. We are reading the ninth chapter of Luke. Do not despair. There is strength in people who seek compassion and justice for each other. It is a God-given capacity. I’ve seen it the last few days, even in very young children.

Wishing you a blessed day. Thanks for reading, subscribing, sharing and mostly for your friendship and the connection.