Oh my, your words bring forth a piece of the truth in you Evangelist heart and truly miss your thought provoking words, sometimes a little Jewish in sentiments. Yes, the Good of the News is always in my heart and going back to the old is most easy for most and I for one must stay alert not to fall prey to the old.

My prayers are for many to know Jesus’ Easter to be forever and again miss your words of truth to help more reflect on the Good News 24/7. I truthfully understand your role as a Cannon,now within our most lovingly Body of our Christ.

May you and yours always share the Love of our Lord Jesus from your hearts, with hope for many to be free, to become, who God has called them to be.

Frederick I saying a Amen or A…..Men

Part of the challenge is to get “progressives” to act progressively, not factionally — with a focus on doing what it takes to move us forward, instead of what it takes to show we are right. “Being right” isn’t enough. Our own parish can be (pardon the phrase) a pissy bunch, with people “talking with their feet” and walking away when they disagree with one another, rather than staying and deepening our bonds to one another through conversation and community life together.

The other challenge is how to bring together people at a common table; the divided nature of the world right now actually sits us down with each other very rarely. We “send messages” to “the other side” rather than turning to a neighbor and talking. If we can quit lobbing barbs at one another, maybe there’s hope we can stop doing the same to people with whom we have serious differences.

St. Thomas’ has “on opening” to work on both of these. I think it needs to become a central mark of our “education and formation” work together.

Regarding… “Still, the majority of us declared on Tuesday our intention to seek to move beyond the bitterness, divisiveness, polarization, demonization, and greed that have run amok for so long.”

My burning question is, are we truly capable of coming together as a nation to work with our new president to solve the enormous challenges we face?

While we celebrate, there are many people beyond the beltway who are deeply bitter about the result and not exactly eager to work with Obama for change. I was reminded of this tonight during a phone call to my parents who live in an intensely “red” part of N.C. They’re struggling to understand and accept these results, as are many of their neighbors and friends. But it seemed like they really wanted to try.

As I listened to them, I sensed an opening, a real desire for healing. In spite of their deeply conservative views (not socially, as they strongly support me as a gay man, and always have), I think they really want to bridge the divide too. It gave me some hope for the rest of us.

Perhaps the 2nd act of this “very long play” will be to somehow begin a dialogue with those across the divide — one that is respectful, gracious, empathetic and open-minded — qualities neither side has really practiced in recent these recent months.

Maybe it’s up to us, those who elected Obama, to initiate this — to take the first steps. Regardless of how it happens, I don’t see how a revolution is possible until both sides can step outside of their ideological cocoons and somehow learn to respect each other as human beings, really listen to one another and try and find some common ground.

From everything I’ve learned about Obama, he seems to already be there. I just hope the rest of us are too.

Beth

I voted midmorning at Eliot Jr. High School in NE Washington, not far from RFK Stadium, and a neighborhood that’s not been immune to drugs and violence. On the way in, a white woman in a shiny new SUV pulled up to the school gate, and being told that she couldn’t park on the school yard but could park on the street, where there was plenty of space, refused to do so. Then on the way home, a very disheveled African American man approached me on the street and I braced myself to be hit up for a handout. But he simply looked at me with tired eyes and asked, “Where is the voting place?” like he was asking me where he could get a cup of water.

I pointed him to the school, but since have had this unshakeable feeling of contrast between the woman who was willing to forgo her civic duty out of fear for her Lexus and the man who maybe was going to vote for the first time ever and looked like it was his last hope in life. I don’t think it’s going to be the last time I tear up today.