ToledoFAVS is the fourth hub site for Religion News LLC's three-year community religion news project, funded through the generosity of the Lilly Endowment. The site officially launched in summer 2012 as a gathering place for nonsectarian coverage of faith and values news from the Toledo, Ohio region.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York reviews New York’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. (2010) RNS photo by Gregory A. Shemitz.

NEW YORK (RNS) When Cardinal Timothy Dolan used the morning talk shows on Easter Sunday to say the Catholic Church could do a better job of welcoming gays and lesbians, his remarks were hailed by one activist as an “Easter miracle” and by another as an encouraging “first step.”

But two months later, it’s still not clear what the second step in this fraught process might be, or even if there is a second step. And there are signs that things may only get more complicated.

Since Easter, three more states have passed same-sex marriage laws, and next month the U.S. Supreme Court will hand down a gay marriage ruling that will again spotlight the bishops’ full-throated opposition to a whole host of civil protections for gays and lesbians, particularly marriage.

Moreover, as Americans — and American Catholics — grow increasingly accepting of homosexuality, and as foes of gay rights grow increasingly determined, conflict at the parish level seems inevitable. The uneasy “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” policy that once allowed gay and lesbian Catholics to take church positions is clashing with their increasing visibility in the form of marriage licenses or wedding announcements.

Nicholas Coppola (left) with his husband David Crespo at home. Photo courtesy Nicholas Coppola

Soon after Dolan’s comments, for example, Nicholas Coppola went public with his story of being dismissed from his duties at a Long Island parish after an anonymous letter tipped off the local bishop to Coppola’s marriage to another man.

In Columbus, Ohio, officials at a Catholic high school prompted an outcry in April by firing a teacher, Carla Hale, after someone pointed out that she listed her lesbian partner’s name in her mother’s obituary.

“How just is it to fire someone whose life or practices are not in accord with official church teaching?” Francis DeBernardo, head of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for gay and lesbian Catholics, wrote after two men were fired from their parish music director jobs because they were gay.

“Where do you draw the line?” he wondered in a column for National Catholic Reporter. “Do you get fired if you have remarried without an annulment? Do you get fired if you don’t attend Mass on Sunday regularly? Do you get fired because you are a Protestant who does not recognize the Catholic hierarchical structure?”

In the year since he wrote those words, DeBernardo noted recently, there have been a dozen similar incidents. Those are are in addition to past episodes in which the children of gay parents have been rejected from Catholic schools, or the case of a gay Catholic who was denied Communion at her mother’s funeral.

According to a number of priests, most of whom spoke on background to avoid publicity that could spark protests, the inevitability of such clashes is a growing concern.

“The fact is that it is going to get worse,” said the pastor of a large Midwest parish who has had to fend off complaints about a lesbian member of his staff. As critics become more insistent, and as gay and lesbian Catholics become more public, he fears the resulting controversies will take a serious toll on the church.

“We have to come to some kind of pastoral accommodation,” he said.

Joseph Amodeo led a group of gay Catholics who tried to get into St. Patrick’s church in New York City but were turned away. Photo courtesy Gay Marriage USA

Such an accommodation is also necessary, said DeBernardo, because the flip side of the high-profile dismissals is that more and more parishes are publicly welcoming gays and lesbians and are thus potential lightning rods. A New Ways roster now boasts over 200 gay-friendly parishes, up from 20 a decade ago.

One of those parishes is St. Matthew’s in Baltimore, where the pastor, the Rev. Joe Muth, not only started a ministry for gays and lesbians a few years ago but he also supported parishioners who were lobbying for a Maryland referendum last fall that legalized same-sex marriage — despite strong opposition from the bishops.

Gays and lesbians “just move into the regular life of the church” at St. Matthew’s, Muth said, as he believes is perfectly normal.

But he also said they are aware of the “sensitivity” of their presence, so they have made a concerted effort to reach out to other groups in the parish, and the parish has also made sure to include one of Baltimore’s bishops in meetings.

That dialogue has been invaluable, he said, and he has received few complaints or protests. But Muth also had to cancel a parish-sponsored forum on the same-sex marriage law last year at the behest of Baltimore Archbishop William Lori.

Muth also said that if some of his gay parishioners get married under the new law and their marriage becomes public, Lori could well remove them from ministry. “I probably wouldn’t have too much of a say in it. That’s the way things work.”

In fact, the patchwork nature of the responses is part of the problem, say gay advocates. “It’s not that there is a witch hunt out there,” said DeBernardo. “But there are witch hunters. … For the most part I don’t think bishops go after these folks. They don’t create controversy; they only respond to controversy.”

At the moment, there are no guidelines to help pastors and parishioners deal with these issues, and there doesn’t seem to be an effort to develop anything comprehensive.

The Rev. Paul Check, head of Courage, a church-approved ministry that encourages gay Catholics to remain celibate, declined to be interviewed. A spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said questions would have to be answered by each diocese. Prominent diocesan ministries for gays and lesbians, like Chicago’s Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach, did not respond to requests for comment.

When ABC’s George Stephanopoulos tried to pin down Dolan on exactly how the church could be more welcoming to gay and lesbian Catholics, Dolan confessed that he wasn’t sure: “Well, I don’t know. We’re still – we’re – we’re trying. We’re trying our best to do it. We gotta listen to people.”

When Dolan later blogged that all sinners are welcome in the church so long as they wash their “dirty hands” before dinner, a group of gay activists showed up at St. Patrick’s Cathedral with ink-stained hands in a bid to test that welcome. They were turned away.

The upshot: Even if such a dialogue does take place, it is not likely to end the controversies. But advocates for gay and lesbian Catholics say it may be the only way forward for now.

“Right now it’s a step-by-step process of helping people to be church,” said Muth, of St. Matthew’s in Baltimore. “That’s the way I see it.”

A statement from the Muslim Council of Britain condemned the slaughter of the soldier by two men – both believed to be Christian converts to Islam – as “a barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and which we condemn unreservedly.”

Abdullah al Andalusi, a spokesman for the Muslim Debate Initiative, which brings together Islamic scholars and researchers in the U.K., said: “These people claimed they killed the soldier in the name of protecting others from UK foreign policy. But if what they claim is true, they have acted no differently from the crimes they claim they wish to see stopped.”

The slain soldier was identified Thursday as 25-year-old Drummer Lee Rigby of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Every major British newspaper carried graphic photos of one of the suspects, identified as 28-year old Michael Adebolajo, waving a butcher’s cleaver, his hands soaked in blood, following the attack.

Media reports indicate his Nigerian-born parents moved him to London at age 15 to get him away from Islamic fundamentalists; a report in Thursday’s London Evening Standard said that he had been raised as a Christian but had converted to Islam.

“They have done a cowardly, barbaric act,” said Imam Ajmal Masroor of the Islamic Society of Britain. “They have insulted God and Islam. They are low vile scum. We, the British, will remain together resolute and strong.”

Prime Minister David Cameron, who cut short a visit to Paris when he heard the news of the horrendous slaughter, said the nation remains “resolute” in the face of the attacks but also tried to prevent a backlash of anti-Muslim violence that has already resulted in attacks on at least two mosques.

“We will never give in to terrorism in any of its forms,” he said. “This was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life. It was also a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to this country. There is nothing in Islam that justified this dreadful act.”

A prominent Muslim in the city of Leicester told Religion News Service that he and his community are “extremely worried” about right-wing reaction to the slaughter in London.

“This could fuel the anger of organizations like the English Defence League and the British National Party,” he said, requesting anonymity because he feared for his safety. “The EDL last night had over 250 of its supporters wearing white balaclavas near the scene of the murder. They were shouting anti-Islamic slogans.”

EDL leader Tommy Robinson told reporters: “They’ve cut off one of our army’s (soldier’s) heads in the streets of London. Our next generation are being taught in schools that Islam is a religion of peace. It never has been. What you saw today is Islam.”

Kevin Anderson's collection of "Nested Meditations" was created to "Delight the Mind and Awaken the Soul."

A contributing writer for Toledo Faith & Values, Anderson published his first collection of nested meditations in 2003, titled “Divinity in Disguise: Nested Meditations to Delight the Mind and Awaken the Soul.”

Each Monday, we will publish a nested meditation with the belief that these offerings will, as the book’s subtitle explains, "delight the mind and awaken the soul."

A fuller explanation of the structure and format of nested meditations is available by clicking here.

If you enjoy the format and have a creative spirit, we invite you to try your hand at writing your own nested meditations and sending them to Kevin Anderson via email, kevineanderson7@gmail.com.

* * *

What is a nested meditation?

By Kevin Anderson

I have chosen to call the pieces in my book nested meditations rather than poems. The verse in "Divinity in Disguise" is out of step with modern poetry in several ways. First, it is subject to certain structural rules, on which I will elaborate shortly. Robert Frost once said that writing in free verse (no rhyme or meter) is like “playing tennis without a net.” He felt that the demands of structure improved his poetry. Most modern poets, however, prefer to write with no net because it gives complete freedom to create without rules.

Second, nested meditations are meant to be highly accessible – short and understandable upon first reading, though rich enough to invite repeated readings. Modern poetry is often inaccessible to the average reader, either because the poems are difficult to comprehend even with repeated readings or because their length discourages all but poetry enthusiasts.

Third, while good poetry generally avoids the use of clichés or idoms, the nested form sometimes uses them to set up an expectation in the reader’s mind, only to change and deepen the meaning of the piece as later lines are added.

Fourth, nested meditations use wordplay that would be considered appropriate only in “light” or humorous verse by most poetry critics. However, the use of wordplay in nested verse is usually not intended for humor. Rather, it is meant to surprise the mind with a new and unexpected image or thought.

Finally, most poems, even modern ones, have titles. Just as Emily Dickinson, however, did not give titles to her brief poems, I have chosen to forego giving titles to these meditations. This is because much of the enjoyment of a nested meditation is in the shifting meaning of the piece as it unfolds, which requires that the reader have no prior knowledge of the themes present in the meditation. In most cases a title would serve to spoil the surprise.

So what is a nested meditation? It is easiest to describe this form by considering an example:

I picked you.

I picked you
to be my wife.

I picked you
to be my wife
and I didn’t know you.

I picked you
to be my wife
and I didn’t know you
were a wildflower.

This piece is called “nested” because each stanza contains the previous stanza and adds a single line that usually changes the meaning of the piece.

The goal of a nested meditation is to let each stanza stand alone as its own statement or meditation. In "I picked you,” the second stanza is a simple statement: I picked you / to be my wife.

The third stanza address the reality that when we choose to marry someone, we really don’t know him or her as well as we think, though we’re convinced that we do. The fourth line in the final stanza (were a wildflower) both conveys the beauty of the beloved and sheds new light on the first line (I picked you). As in this example, some nested meditations have a circular quality. That is, after reading the entire piece, the reader can circle back to earlier lines and find new meaning in them.

The rules for writing nested meditations are as follows:

• The piece begins with a single line which forms a complete sentence.
• Each succeeding stanza contains the previous line or lines and adds one new line.
• Each stanza forms its own grammatically correct, complete sentence (or, in some cases, more than one sentence).
• No words in previous lines of the piece can be changed, with the exception that a word can be capitalized or uncapitalized. The order and spelling of words cannot be changed. (I have violated this rule twice in my book. In “Help me!” the spelling of “damn” changes to “dam,” and in “My wife is my home” the word “raise” becomes “raze.”
• Punctuation changes in previous lines are allowed. This includes the addition or removal of hyphens, commas, periods or other punctuation. In this form, altering punctuation is one of the main devices for altering meaning.

The nested meditation seems most similar in its intent to a familiar form of poetic expression, the haiku. In three lines, a haiku aims to capture the pristine beauty of a moment. The language is simple and fresh, intending to draw the reader into an experience of the moment as the writer felt it move her or him to words. Though longer than the haiku, the nested meditation likewise follows a brief and simple structure and is intended as a succinct expression of an aspect of life as the writer has experienced it.

The reader is encouraged to try writing his or her own nested meditation. I suggest this because I have found that the writing of these pieces often reveals something new to me about myself or about life. Frequently I am surprised by the words as they appear on the page. One begins with a single line and follows the piece where it goes, learning about oneself and life in the process.

My hope is that any quiet enjoyment you experience in the pieces I have written will inspire you to further reflection through the writing of your own nested meditations.

The purpose of the event is to inform the public and to ask for help in in eradicating the human rights abuses in Iran.

Kevin Anderson's collection of "Nested Meditations" was created to "Delight the Mind and Awaken the Soul."

August marks the five-year anniversary of the imprisonment of seven beloved Baha'i leaders, the Yaran (Friends). At that time, they were sentenced to an imprisonment of 20 years in Evin Prison, to live in the worst conditions of any prison in Iran.

The imprisoned Baha'is are an ad hoc committee of five men and two women who are responsible for tending to the needs of the 300,000 members of the Iranian Baha'i Community.

They are not alone in their plight. They serve their time along with other prisoners of conscience. They are there with religious and ethnic minoritie, students, journalists, educators, women and labor leaders.

Independent United Nations experts have called on Iranian authorities to immediately release of seven Baha’i community leaders.

“The Iranian Government should demonstrate its commitment to freedom of religion by immediately and unconditionally releasing these prisoners of conscience,” the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, said in a news release that also urged the international community to join in the appeal.

Bahai's in Iran are suffering violations of their religious freedom. They are denied work in the public sector, pensions business licenses and access to post secondary education.

Just imagine what it would be like to live in a situation where any time you or your loved ones left the house, it might be the last time you would ever see them again! Maybe they would be tortured, imprisoned or just seem to suddenly "disappear."

This is the daily reality of Baha'is and others in Iran, and we hope to be successful in our demand for immediate release, and an end, once and for all, to the human rights violations in Iran.

Join us Saturday. Pray with us and learn more.

A story in the Wall Street Journal this week reported that many baby boomers are preparing for second careers that embrace faith and service to others. Are you finding fulfillment in your career or would you like more "meaning and purpose" in your job?

The percentage of students in theological schools who are 50 and older is at an all-time high as boomers put aside retirement and plan to work as chaplains, missionaries, spiritual counselors or social workers, according to the WSJ article.

When asked what fields they would like to work in, the top three were social services (28%), health care (25%) and religious or faith-based (24%), followed by human rights or social justice (21%), arts and culture (20%) and at-risk youth (20%).

Imagine what life would be like if Adam and Eve would have just followed that one simple rule.

The first couple had the easy life while living at their Garden of Eden address. The garden was the best place to live on the planet, nestled on the banks of a river.

It was paradise.

Jerry the Janitor is glad he wasn't the one who spoiled everything in the Garden of Eden with Eve. Photo Illustration by David Yonke (with apologies to Adriaen van der Werff) http://www.flickr.com/photos/telemax/3304568178/lightbox/

The easy life that Adam and Even enjoyed was intended to be ours. If Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit from the forbidden tree, we would be enjoying the easy life, too. At least that’s what people claim.

I beg to differ. I, for one, appreciate the fact that Adam and Eve took one for the team.

My worst nightmare is to imagine if Adam and Eve had followed all of God’s rules. The result would be everybody living the perfect life. For thousands of years, people would be having their morning coffee in the Garden and having a chat with God each day. Everybody would be so happy.

Time marches on and it is now February, 1959. A future janitor is born. By my best calculations, the good life would come to an end for humankind within just 13 short years.

I am here to tell you that I know myself. I know I would have messed life up for you all. I figure that by 1972, at the latest, God would have decided that I was old enough to be accountable for my actions. At this time in history it would be paradise lost. Party over.

I would have felt pretty bad about messing paradise up for the rest of the world. Adam and Eve, by their sacrifice and poor judgment, took a lot of the pressure off of me.

Like I said earlier, I know myself. I am a sinner. Even on what I would call a good day, I imagine I do something to make God shake his head and wonder just what I was thinking. That's what my Dad plenty of times over the years. Dad never should have told me to use my own judgment ... but that is another story for another time.

The point I'm making today is: I am a sinner; God forgive me.

Apparently I have a better chance of God forgiving me than being forgiven by those of you who still blame Adam and Eve for all your problems.

Adam and Eve sinned a long time ago – thousands of years ago. My guess is that people would still be pretty mad at me for something I did just 40 years ago -- not to mention things I did last week or even today.

I appreciate the fact that Adam and Eve just took care of business and got it over with. They made life a lot easier for the rest of us. We can only dream of what we missed out on, how life should be.

Adam and Eve had the apple and took a bite; they knew what they gave up. We are much better off only having a dream. So much for that theory of, “It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.” I believe a person can’t miss what they never had.

In honor of Adam and Eve, take some time and think about how well you would have handled their situation.

Adam and Eve were the best people for the job at the time. Yes, they messed it up. Thank God they did. Their sin spared me from being the one who gets blamed for the entire “Fall of Man” thing.

Somebody was going to come up short. I am very happy life got messed up before I reached the age of accountability in 1972.

"I would have felt pretty bad about messing paradise up for the rest of the world. Adam and Eve, by their sacrifice and poor judgment, took a lot of the pressure off of me."

Jerry the Janitor

Jerry Thompson, better known as Jerry the Janitor, says his job helps give him a different perspective. Well the job, plus a lot of other factors contribute to Jerry's unorthodox views. 

A Toledo native, Thompson studied at "Old Hard Knocks U" and has worked as a church janitor for 15 years. A self-professed "history nut," he enjoys historical re-enactments, making flags, and plans to study gunsmithing.

Enjoy his first column, "Adam and Eve Appreciation Day," tomorrow morning (May 23) -- only on ToledoFAVS.com.

“(T)his ‘closing off’ that imagines that those outside, everyone, cannot do good is a wall that leads to war and also to what some people throughout history have conceived of: killing in the name of God,” Francis said Wednesday (May 22) in remarks at the informal morning Mass that he celebrates in the chapel at the Vatican guesthouse where he lives.

“And that, simply, is blasphemy. To say that you can kill in the name of God is blasphemy.”

Francis explained that doing good is not a matter of faith: “It is a duty, it is an identity card that our Father has given to all of us, because he has made us in his image and likeness.”

To both atheists and believers, he said that “if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good.”

In a passage that may prompt a theological debate about the nature of salvation, the pontiff also declared that God “has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone!”

“Even the atheists,” he said to those who might question his assertion. “Everyone!”

Wednesday’s remarks displayed the kind of plain-spokenness that has become a hallmark of Francis’ homilies and speeches, and they also developed themes that Francis frequently mentions in a pontificate that is just over two months old.

One is that the Catholic Church must be open to the world and not “self-referential, closed in on herself,” as he said last weekend at Pentecost. Another is that the church must be humble and recognize its own shortcomings, and that it should be tolerant of nonbelievers.

Francis’ homily on Wednesday was inspired by the passage in the Gospel of Mark in which the disciples tell Jesus that they tried to stop someone from driving out demons because he was not one of their party.

Jesus rebukes them saying: “There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

The pope’s remarks were reported by Vatican Radio.

Atheists Giving Aid

Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma

Catholic Charities USA

Episcopal Relief and Development

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America tornado fund

Foundation Beyond Belief

International Services of Hope/Impact

Islamic Relief USA

The Jewish Federations of North America

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Disaster Relief Fund

Presbyterian Mission Agency: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief

United Methodist Committee on Relief

Daniel Celentano's "Festival, 1934." Photo courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum/Creative Commons

Is your church, parish, temple, synagogue, mosque or faith-based organization planning a festival, or perhaps a Vacation Bible School?

You can post an announcement for free on Toledo Faith & Values calendar page. Just on the calendar/submit an event button and, once you have registered on ToledoFAVS.com (also free), you will be able to tell the world about your upcoming event -- not just festivals but everything from concerts and special worship services to rummage sales and community meals.

If it has to do with faith, values and religion, it has a place on ToledoFAVS.com.

An F5 tornado struck Moore, Okla., on May 20, 2013. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:May_20,_2013_Moore,_Oklahoma_tornado.JPG

Then came Super Storm Sandy and this week’s devastating tornado in Moore, Okla. My kids are 13  and 10 now. My 10-year-old and I were talking about the Creation story yesterday. I reminded him that in the story, God gave people the gift of the earth and then God also gave us the responsibility to take care of it. I said: “How do you think we are doing with that?” My 10-year-old did not miss a beat and answered, “Not good.”

It is clear to a10-year-old that we are not taking care of our planet. Of course his parents have talked to him about climate change. He also learned about it from a naturalist who came to his school on Arbor Day. The man encouraged the children to take better care of the earth. Another adult in the crowd was visibly upset that this viewpoint was being voiced. I guess not everyone is yet convinced that climate change is really affecting our earth. I don’t know how many 400-year storms in one year it is going to take in order to convince them.

I am praying for the people of Moore, Okla. I prayed for the people of New Jersey affected by  Sandy. I am praying for the people who will be affected by the next storm because there will undoubtedly be one. But we need to do more than pray. We need to put our prayers into action.

Christians and people of faith need to change our ways. We all need to reduce our usage of carbon-based energy. We need to call our elected leaders to pass legislation that will protect our planet and direct resources toward development of new clean energy sources for the future.

Bishop Marcus Lohrmann of the Northwest Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America welcomes Angella Ngakonda, one of seven delegates from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania's Dodoma Diocese, at the local synod's 2013 assembly. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

More than 400 voting members of the Northwest Ohio Synod of the ELCA participated in the 2013 assembly with the theme “One in Christ: Always Being Made New,” held Friday and Saturday (May 18 and 19) on the campus of Bowling Green State University.

Among the featured speakers was the Rev. Stephen Bouman, national executive director of congregational and synodical mission.

Bishop Marcus Lohrmann, who presided at the assembly, said Bouman has “a deep passion for the Gospel as well as the way the Gospel intersects with the world’s needs.”

Lohrmann also welcomed a delegation of seven from the Northwest Ohio Synod’s African partners, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

In an interview with Toledo Faith & Values, Bouman said his unit at ELCA headquarters in Chicago oversees a wide array of programs throughout the country.

The Rev. Stephen Bouman, national director of congregational and synodical mission for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

“We have all the advocacy, disaster response, immigration, social ministry organizations, colleges and universities, seminaries, technological education, new starts and renewal of congregations, disability ministries, and all of our ethnic association,” he said. “If it’s in America, it’s in our unit.”

One of the most urgent priorities for the ELCA is to increase the number of Latino members, which now make up about 1.5 percent of the 4.2 million-member body, Bouman said.

“Within 10 years, we need to be at least 20 percent Latino,” he said.

That aligns with the ELCA’s mission to increase minority membership overall, according to Bouman and the Rev. Marc Miller, director for evangelical mission for the regional synod.

“When the ELCA was formed 25 years ago, it was 2 percent people of color,” Miller said. “Now it’s 4 percent. So in a generation it’s doubled. It’s still a small number, but in three generations we hope to catch up with the United States [demographically].”

Bouman, a former pastor and bishop in New York City, said one of the ELCA’s more innovative programs is its “Jesus and Justice New Starts,” which gets the poor and homeless involved in ministry.

“We have a cohort of 15 congregations that are among the poorest of the poor, many of them among homeless people,” Bouman said. “We’ve gathered leaders from these new starts and they are people who are homeless or who have been homeless. And we’re finding that these leaders are really good. They have a kind of seminary of the streets.”

African missionaries to Africa

Another notable effort has been working with refugees from South Sudan who have settled in the United States, training them to be evangelists and then sending them back to the fledgling African nation that achieved its independence from Sudan in 2011.

“There is no Lutheran church in the Sudan,” Bouman said. “They heard about Lutherans in the refugee camps and so they want to start a Lutheran Church in South Sudan. We’re starting a new communion there. I just think it’s so neat that Africans are missionaries back to Africa.”

In the United States, the Lutheran church is aiming to help reverse urban decay, especially in areas where the ELCA has a long history such as with Salem Lutheran Church near downtown Toledo, Bouman said.

The Rev. Marc Miller, director for evangelical mission for the Northwest Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

“Let’s face it, at least in the Lutheran Church in the cities, we moved away from the neighborhoods because we didn’t want to be with those people. And then we left them in dilapidated neighborhoods with old churches and with the bill, and we expected them to make something of it,” he said.

The ELCA needs to “come together and listen to God and to each other and to the community,” Bouman said. “The best thing we can do … is to come alongside and advocate for them and also walk with them.”

Urban churches depend on financial support from suburban Lutheran congregations, but that’s not enough, Bouman said. “The support and partnership needs to be more than money, it needs to be people getting involved where they can.”

And the church must do more than provide meals and clothing and material goods; it must preach the Gospel, he added. “I think it’s important for the church to not stop being a church.”

Church Grows in Tanzania

The Rev. Samwell Mshana, assistant to the bishop of the Dodoma Diocese, said about 5 million of Tanzania’s 48 million people are Lutherans, and the denomination is growing.

“Evangelism is the backbone of our church, so in every diocese we are busy doing evangelism, preaching and sending people to the schools and helping them in one way or another,” Mshana said. “They see that the church is there to help them mentally, physically and spiritually. That is why they join the church.”

At the same time, the number of Muslims in Tanzania also is growing, he said, citing growing tension between Muslims and Christians.

“The conflicts between Christians and Muslims, that is a big challenge in our country nowadays,” Mshana said. “We have some tensions that were not there before. Maybe because of the leadership we have, we are now very tense.”

Another challenge for the African nation is posed by malaria, he said. While the number of people dying from AIDS is declining, the number of fatalities from malaria is on the rise, he said.

The Rev. Samwell Mshana, assistant to the bishop of the Dodoma Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

“In every diocese, we have people helping with health care,” Mshana said.

The Tanzanian Lutheran Church operates schools and universities with the long-term goal of helping people break out of the poverty cycle.

“Poverty is still a problem to our people but we are sure that, in the near future, the schools will help people go out of poverty. Education is the key,” Mshana said.

Trustworthy, responsible and web savvy student needed for editorial internship at Toledo Faith & Values, a nonsectarian, nonprofit religion news website, for summer or fall 2013.
Intern would be responsible for posting stories on the site from the Religion News Service, of which ToledoFAVS.com is an affiliate, as well as copy editing, headline writing, light photo editing of stories submitted by local contributing writers.

Additional duties also could include setting up the site’s main home page and changing Editor’s picks on the front page  up to 3-4 times daily. Most duties can be completed from a computer, anywhere in the United States.

Interns will be mentored by David Yonke, an award-winning journalist and author with 36 years of experience including teaching at the university level.

Reporting, photographer, video internship:


Trustworthy, responsible journalism student needed for internship at Toledo Faith & Values, a nonsectarian, nonprofit religion news website, for summer or fall 2013.

Intern would be responsible for writing, photographing, or creating videos of faith-based news events and features in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. We believe that faith & values angles can be found in virtually any event, not just from religious organizations. Topics of interest include politics and government, cultural events such as movies and music, and trend stories.

Reporting interns should be available to cover press conferences, conduct interviews by phone or in person, and write news and feature stories ranging from 400 to 1,200 words.

Photographers and videographers can work with reporters or editors, or submit their own photo or video projects of interest that contain faith or values angles.

Interns will be mentored by David Yonke, an award-winning journalist and author with 36 years of experience including teaching at the university level.

Social media internship:


Are you a wiz at Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr and more? Trustworthy, responsible and web savvy student is needed to become a Toledo Faith & Values media intern for summer or fall 2013. Intern would be responsible for posting within the ToledoFAVS’ social media accounts and other websites about news content on the nonsectarian religion news website. Duties include using different social media sharing techniques (quoting passages, linking, flagging photos for Pinterest and more) to promote the site’s content.

Expectations would be 7-10 social media postings per day and two email blasts through ToledoFAVS accounts each week. The best thing about this online internship is it can be completed without leaving your dorm room, though journalistic interview training is available if students are willing to stretch their skills.

Weekly hours:


Flexible, from 5–15 hours per week.

Internship dates:


Summrt 2013 with the option to continue into the fall 2013 and spring 2014.

Benefits:


Learning the inner workings of a database-driven modern news site, writing, photo, video and copy editing experience, experience working in a fascinating, niche area of journalism.

Interested?


Submit a resume and cover letter to David Yonke. Call 419-346-1007 with questions.

A new NYPD court filing shows the extent to which New York’s finest spied on Muslims. Reports the Associated Press:

New York City Police Department patch Photo courtesy of Sheryl Yvette/Creative Commons http://bit.ly/116wGuu

The NYPD’s court papers also reveal for the first time the scope of the monitoring by its Demographics Unit, now called the Zone Assessment Unit. In the past three years, the unit has filed more than 4,200 reports, or about four per day.

Bigger. Better. Faster. Our own David Gibson compares this year’s “Nuns on the Bus” tour to last year’s.

Monday’s Milestone: The Church of Scotland’s General Assembly voted to allow actively gay men and lesbians to become ordained ministers. There’s an opt out provision for dissenting parishes.

Did Pope Francis perform an exorcism on Sunday?

Laurie Goodstein at the NYT reports on a the newly-formed Catholic Whistleblowers, a group of priests and nuns that has charged itself to ferret out sexual abuse within the church and to support fellow whistle-blowers.

The Sistine Chapel has become a haven for pickpockets, who target upward-looking tourists mesmerized by Michelangelo’s work. The problem is getting so bad that guides have threatened a one-day strike to publicize the problem.

More

"Jesus’ message was a revolution but it evolved because of slow acceptance due to understandable skepticism. There’s no reason that, learning from the past, we can’t respond in a timelier manner."

Dave Scheuerman

This is Pope Francis, working for us. It’s up to us, the laity, to follow.

Pope Francis waves from the pope-mobile during his inauguration Mass at St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday (March 19) at the Vatican. Pope Francis waves from the pope-mobile during his inauguration Mass at St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday (March 19) at the Vatican. RNS photo by Andrea Sabbadini

Jesus’ message was a revolution but it evolved because of slow acceptance due to understandable skepticism.  There’s no reason that, learning from the past, we can’t respond in a timelier manner.

As Paul told the Thessalonians in northern Greece, “We must turn the world upside down.” Noting that, we must pray that it won’t take an evolution.

Here’s how Catholics, especially those on the fringes and other skeptics, can get moving in our roles as participants and students in the New Evangelization (non-Catholic critics also may be interested):

• Go to Mass on Sunday soon. Listen to and watch what is going on at the altar. I recommend a book, “A Biblical Walk Through The Mass,” by Dr. Edward Sri of the Augustine Institute.  It brings the Mass alive and explains how the Mass is based on scripture, to the surprise of many, I’d assume. For instance, when the priest walks down the aisle to begin Mass he is symbolizing Christ walking to Calvary to bring us expiation of sin. And Jesus’ example and the symbolism of the walk are celebrations because we are  on the way to salvation. Christ is the way and the truth!
• Read Catholic literature in order to get a view different from the secular media. My favorite reference is The National Catholic Register,  available bi-weekly in print and daily online. It is orthodox and faithful to the Magesterium, the Church’s teaching authority. Another resource is the newspaper of your diocese – the Catholic Chronicle in Toledo and The Michigan Catholic in Detroit. Both can be found online and the latter also in print.
• Listen to Catholic radio, in Toledo, Annunciation Radio, 89.7 FM or in Sandusky, 88.1 FM; also, online in English, or in Spanish. In southeastern Michigan, listen on Ave Maria Radio, 990 AM, based in Ann Arbor; its programming also are available on its smartphone app. The program, “Catholic Answers,” is a favorite of mine. It explains concepts and dispels myths of Catholic doctrine.
• Watch EWTN (Eternal World Television Network), available on most cable systems; also check its website, and the Vatican site, available in several languages.
• Find a Bible-study group. Nearly every parish has one.
• Consider weekly attendance at classes for non-Catholic inquisitors who learn the faith as they determine whether the Church fits them. This program is called the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). This also is a great opportunity for practicing Catholics to re-learns the Church’s doctrines. These classes are taught by priests, deacons and lay ministers of the various parishes.

Attendance at Mass and a study of Dr. Sri’s book and other Catholic outlets will promote a new peace and love of the Catholic liturgy – and most importantly, a different view of the Catholic world. (There actually are other things happening besides the priest scandals.)

Additionally, a study of "The Catechism of the Catholic Church" ought to be undertaken. Even though it is lengthy, it lays out the four pillars of the church:

• The Creed, the baptismal profession of the faith
• The seven Sacraments, practiced through the Mass
• The life of faith, which are the Ten Commandments (morality)
• And the prayer of the believer, "The Lord’s Prayer"

A wonderful alternative to the Catechism, is "The Compendium of the Catechism of the  Catholic Church." It is a faithful and sure synthesis of the Catechism and contains in concise form all the essential elements of the Church’s faith. It was approved by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Further, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults, which is a little more readable.

The Catechism does not equivocate. It teaches and elaborates the beauty and foundation of the Church. Give it a try and read two or three pages day, and you’ll complete it in several inspiring months.

Also useful, is a study of “The Bible Timeline,” by Sarah Christmyer, Jeff Cavins and Dr. Tim Gray of the Augustine Institute. It explains how the Church developed.

Google will be helpful in finding these materials.

There you have it. Work on your relationship with the Lord. This will bring to fruition the three dictums for a wonderful life my father, Harold, taught us: Help those who need help, make the best of things and overlook some things. These are Gospel principles.

Thus, the story of salvation is imprinted on our hearts. We have been schooled in the New Evangelism and equipped to spread the Church’s beautiful message.

May these suggestions help change your heart and lead you to a more peaceful life. My retirement years have given me time to study the Church and make my travel to trail’s end a time of wonderful expectancy of being with the Lord for eternity.

Here’s a list of faith-related groups that have reported what they consider to be inappropriate or unusual action by the IRS:

Updated Wednesday (May 22): Freedom Federation, an initiative of Liberty Counsel, a law firm focused on religious liberty, whose founder Mat Staver says he is still waiting for its 501(c)(4) status to be approved. An application was filed in July 2012.

Biblical Recorder, the North Carolina Baptist news journal that published a 2012 interview with Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy in which he said he was “guilty as charged” when asked about his support of the “traditional family.” The paper also supported the North Carolina marriage amendment. The IRS completed an audit of the news journal on May 9.

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which ran 2012 ads (paid for with designated funds from donors) supporting a North Carolina amendment that banned same-sex marriage and urging voters to consider candidates based on “biblical principles and support of Israel.” It was audited in October 2012.

Catholic League, conservative advocacy group, which says it was targeted shortly after the 2008 election of President Obama. Bill Donohue, the group’s president, said the IRS determined it “intervened in a political campaign,” but the group kept its tax-exempt status.

Catholics United Education Fund, an affiliate of the progressive Catholics United, which had an application that “languished for years” before its registration was approved.

Christian Voices for Life, a group based in Fort Bend County, Texas, which suffered delays in its application for tax-exempt status in 2011, the Thomas More Society said.

Coalition for Life of Iowa, which says it promotes “respect for human life … through prayer, education and raising awareness,” faced delays before getting its tax-exempt status in 2009, said the Thomas More Society.

Christian conservative leader James Dobson, the founder of the Focus on the Family ministry, has gained a new title: novelist. RNS photo by Harry Langdon.

Family Talk Action, the advocacy arm of James Dobson’s Family Talk, said its application for 501(c)(4) status was delayed and questioned between 2011 and 2013.

Samaritan’s Purse, which was audited in October 2012. Its president, Franklin Graham, wrote a letter to President Obama calling the audit, and that of the BGEA, “un-American.”

Z Street, a conservative Jewish organization, which has a July 2 hearing in U.S. district court after it sued the IRS for viewpoint discrimination.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case on whether prayers can be offered at government meetings. A decision is expected in June, 2014. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

The religious expression case, which comes to the court from the town of Greece, N.Y., focuses on the first 10 words of the First Amendment, ratified in 1791: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

That Establishment Clause was violated, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year, when the Greece Town Board repeatedly used Christian clergy to conduct prayers at the start of its public meetings. The decision created a rift with other appeals courts that have upheld prayer at public meetings, prompting the justices to step in.

Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based Christian nonprofit group, appealed the case to the Supreme Court. It is supported in separate briefs by 49 mostly Republican members of Congress and 18 state attorneys general.

“A few people should not be able to extinguish the traditions of our nation merely because they heard something they didn’t like,” said the ADF’s senior counsel, Brett Harvey.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, is representing the two women who challenged the town’s practice, Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens.

“A town council meeting isn’t a church service, and it shouldn’t seem like one,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, who noted that between 1999 and June 2010, about two-thirds of the 120 recorded invocations contained references to “Jesus Christ,” “Jesus,” “Your Son” or the “Holy Spirit.”

Kenneth Klukowski, a lawyer for the Family Research Council who filed a brief on behalf of the 49 U.S. House members, said the Supreme Court was correct to take the case to clear up differences among lower courts on the issue of religious expression. It represents the first such case to reach the high court in a generation, he said.

“If the Second Circuit’s decision is what the Establishment Clause requires, then Congress has been violating the Establishment Clause since it was ratified in 1791,” Klukowski said. His brief notes that in the 112th Congress, 97 percent of the prayers used to open House sessions were Christian, as opposed to Jewish or Muslim, yet the practice is widely accepted.

The court will hear the case in its next term, which begins in October. Its decision, expected by June, 2014, could have broad implications for public schools and events, as well as for individuals who seek to convey religious messages.

(Richard Wolf writes for USA Today.)

WaPo reports on the growing number of seminary grads who have no intention of ever going into the pulpit.

From the Dept. of So It’s Not Just Me, Pope Francis admits he sometimes falls asleep while saying his bedtime prayers. “But (God) understands.”

Thinking of bringing a couple of shotguns onto school property? That could get you in trouble with the principal, but it could also get you a scholarship to Liberty University.

Christian rocker Matt Maher has a growing following among evangelicals — even though he’s a cradle Catholic.

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"My mind is spinning. I wonder where God is taking me next. I grew up with no shoes, a village boy, and all of a sudden I’m a commercial pilot. And there’s another miracle behind me [pointing to the Cessna Grand Caravan]. I’m very excited, I don’t think you’ve ever seen a happier pilot before."

Gaston Ntambo

We are all one.

We are all one
step from the edge.

We are all one
step from the edge
of the annihilation.

We are all one
step from the edge
of the annihilation
of all hatred.

By Kevin E. Anderson

* * *

Toledo author and psychologist Kevin Anderson has created a poetic word structure he calls “nested meditations,” using a layered format that incorporates wordplay and unexpected turns of phrase to express a thought or concept.

A contributing writer for Toledo Faith & Values, Anderson published his first collection of nested meditations in 2003, titled “Divinity in Disguise: Nested Meditations to Delight the Mind and Awaken the Soul.”

Kevin Anderson's collection of "Nested Meditations" was created to "Delight the Mind and Awaken the Soul."

Each Monday, we will publish a nested meditation with the belief that these offerings will, as the book’s subtitle explains, "delight the mind and awaken the soul."

A fuller explanation of the structure and format of nested meditations is available by clicking here.

If you enjoy the format and have a creative spirit, we invite you to try your hand at writing your own nested meditations and sending them to Kevin Anderson via email, kevineanderson7@gmail.com.

Gaston Ntambo, a pilot for the United Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shows off his new plane.

Gaston Ntambo, a pilot for the United Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shows off his new plane. Ntambo, 43, trained to fly in Toledo and the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church helped raise $2.1 million to buy the new jet-powered Cessna Grand Caravan for his "Wings of the Morning" aviation ministry.

Gaston Ntambo, a pilot for the United Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shows off his new plane. Ntambo, 43, trained to fly in Toledo and the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church helped raise $2.1 million to buy the new jet-powered Cessna Grand Caravan for his "Wings of the Morning" aviation ministry.

Gaston Ntambo, a pilot for the United Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shows off his new plane.

Gaston Ntambo, a pilot for the United Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shows off his new plane. Ntambo, 43, trained to fly in Toledo and the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church helped raise $2.1 million to buy the new jet-powered Cessna Grand Caravan for his "Wings of the Morning" aviation ministry.

Cessna Grand Caravan is heading to Africa. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

Interior is so roomy it's like 'another day at the office,' Gaston Ntambo said. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

Gaston Ntambo stopped at the Fulton County airport on May 18. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

'Wings of the Morning' ministry visits Ohio airports to thank supporters. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

About 50 people participated in a dedication and blessing at the Fulton County Airport. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

The Rev. David David reflects on the ministry of Gaston Ntambo. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

The Rev. David David and Gaston Ntambo are joined by others as they lay hands and pray for the Cessna Grand Caravan. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

Gaston Ntambo kneels as people pray for him and his minstry. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

A group of about 50 people pray for Gason Ntambo and his new plane at the Fulton County Airport. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

WAUSEON, Ohio -- A Congolese missionary pilot with ties to Toledo was on the verge of shutting down his ministry in Africa until United Methodists from Ohio helped him buy a newer, more efficient airplane.

“There was no way to be paying $20 a gallon for [aviation] fuel. And I hurt my back making repairs on the plane,” said Gaston Ntambo. “I was thinking maybe I needed to do something else. But God heard my prayers.”

On Saturday (May 18), Ntambo flew his newly refurbished 2003 12-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan jet-powered turboprop to the Fulton County Airport, one of six stops in Ohio to say thank you to the people and the churches who raised more than $2.1 million for the purchase.

“I am doing this so people can actually see where the money went to,” he said. “And the encouragement I get from the people, oh my goodness. I want to thank them not only for their sacrificial giving, but for their prayer support as well.”

About 50 people attended a blessing and dedication ceremony at the rural airport on Saturday, many of them taking time to tour the plane and chat with Ntambo.

The Rev. David David, formerly of Epworth United Methodist Church in Toledo and now pastor of Archbold United Methodist Church, led the group in praying for the plane and for Ntambo.

“There will be prayers and blessings at all of the stops he makes in Ohio,” David said. “Gaston and his plane will certainly be blessed before heading to Africa.”

Gaston Ntambo smiles from the seat of his refurbished Cessna Grand Caravan. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

Ntambo and the Grand Caravan will be at  Putnam County Airport, 6101-6239 Road J, Ottawa, Ohio, at 5:50 p.m. today (May 19) and then stop in Cincinnati on Monday before heading to the East Coast and then Africa.

The fund-raising among churches in the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church began in 2010. David’s rural congregation of 250 raised $22,000 for the refurbished plane, and funds also were donated by United Methodist conferences in New Jersey and Arkansas, the Rev. Adam Hamilton's Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan., and Ntambo’s home conference of North Katanga, which raised an impressive $25,000, David said.

Ntambo first came to Toledo 21 years ago to study accounting at Davis College, but his business career was sidetracked when he fell in love with flying. He went to flight school and was trained as an aviation mechanic while he attended Epworth, where he built many lasting friendships.

Now 43, Ntambo returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to run the aviation ministry he calls “Wings of the Morning,” based in the rugged and sprawling North Katanga Province.

His 1980 six-passenger Cessna P-210 airplane not only was much smaller and older than his new plane, but the aviation fuel it required cost three times as much as the jet fuel he uses with the Grand Caravan.

Aviation fuel was no longer available in the DRC, so when Ntambo got a call to help someone in a remote village he first had to cross the border to fuel up, taking time and requiring a $200 permit every time for an emergency clearance. He would then fill his plane’s tanks and numerous jerrycans before heading back in his “flying bomb” for the mission flight.

The time lost in traveling for fuel and filling out the government paper work could mean the difference between life and death for the people he was helping.

But it’s a different scenario with the Grand Caravan, whose Blackhawk jet engine runs on widely-available $7-a-gallon jet fuel.

“It’s a 2003 airplane, and it sat down for about five years waiting -- and my impression was God was just keeping this airplane for us,” Ntambo said.

The frame had less than 3,000 hours of airtime, he said, and it can go for more than 50,000 hours, so the Grand Caravan has a lot of life and ministry left in it, he said.

The new plane’s interior is so roomy that flying it “is like another day at the office,” Ntambo said with a smile.

Harry Berghuis, a pilot from the Netherlands, has been training Ntambo to fly the Grand Caravan, which was bought in Norway and refurbished in Ohio.

With its rebuilt 850-horsepower turboprop engine, the plane takes off at a rapid 1,500 feet per minute, and it sits high off the ground which helps when landing in the African bush, Ntambo said.

“My mind is spinning. I wonder where God is taking me next,” Ntambo said. “I grew up with no shoes, a village boy, and all of a sudden I’m a commercial pilot. And there’s another miracle behind me [pointing to the Cessna Grand Caravan]. I’m very excited, I don’t think you’ve ever seen a happier pilot before.”

The Cessna Grand Caravan uses jet fuel, which is one-third the cost of aviation fuel. Photo by David Yonke/Toledo Faith & Values

He said the new plane will “change the way we do ministry completely.” 

Ntambo will not just be flying critically ill people out of the Congolese villages, but he’ll be flying teams of doctors, nurses, and evangelists to the rural regions of North Katanga.

“We can go into a village with all our supplies, we can camp and spend five days in that village bringing spiritual and physical healing to everyone," he said. "That gets me excited.”