So it's Easter today, Sunday. Another year, another Easter. I was rather shocked yesterday to receive a communication from a friend about the substantial cuts to our Morris public school coming up. Our reverent thoughts on Easter might be disrupted.
I'll be selfish here and say I'm relieved that the band program was spared! But holy cow, even the sacred cow of sports is affected. My friend emailed me the whole lengthy list of cuts. Does this have anything to do with how our new U.S. president has been trying to gut the Department or Education, maybe even to wipe it out?
And in spite of this, I saw a headline on Drudge a couple weeks ago about how Federal spending is higher now than when Biden was president. Can I ask y'all: what all does "conservatism" really mean?
And so many devout Christians - at least that's how they present themselves - feel that supporting Trump is an extension of their faith. They are offended by "gay rights." And we're now risking a damaging upheaval in this country because so many people got influenced by the "cultural issues." They retreated to church as a way to clutch those cultural issues.
I sense an equilibrium
"Gay rights" has definitely been a phase in America. I think it is subsiding now with greater quiet and a greater sense that gays are human beings who should have legal rights. At the same time, "gay activism" with their flag and all can be tamped down. And as for "trans," that's a different matter for me because I am completely against biological men being able to play on girls and women's teams. It pains me to sound like Trump but there I stand.
Gay rights? Let's all just "move on."
In the days when Good Shepherd Church of Morris was new - where does the time go? - the generation of younger adults around Morris could be heard calling it the "gay-bashing church."
I know for a fact today that Good Shepherd does not desire to "bash" anyone. Someone who I know and respect from that church said to me "gays are welcome to worship at our church."
Gays cannot expect perfection in their lives. None of us can expect to circulate in a perfect world according to our standards. I fully expect the synod of Good Shepherd to continue having a policy of no gay pastors. I can live with that and I think gays can "turn the other cheek." Of course, pastors are getting very difficult to find. Maybe the day will come when we're all thankful that gays are willing to step forward and be pastors at our churches.
Look at the story with women: the Lutheran denomination did not allow women pastors until 1970! 1970! I was 15 years old. It's the year I was confirmed at First Lutheran Church of Morris.
First Lutheran today is barely hanging on. Man, I remember that when I was young, we'd have three services for Easter! Three! Today it's one and I think there's a good chance the sanctuary will not be full.
First Lutheran belongs to the ELCA which is perceived as liberal. So back when the gay thing was quickly turning into a flashpoint, we lost so much support. Frankly it has been a staggering blow. The late Truman Carlson left us even though his children had been confirmed there. He was a high school teacher - a class of people generally known for being tolerant and progressive.
The concern I have about gays being pastors is that I think a lot of them would get carried away talking about gay concerns in church. And my rejoinder would simply be: church is not the place to be talking about sexual preference. Gays should be welcome to attend any Christian church and share in the joy of the gospel. A gay rights sermon would alienate me.
ELCA pastors acted like they felt they needed to talk about gay rights at the time of the transformation. By "transformation" I mean an end to the days when gays felt they were pushed into the closet. And we don't want that. But let's all support personal modesty some and accent the proper priorities of church.
Morris has three mainstream churches that are struggling now: First Lutheran, Faith Lutheran and Federated. The state of flux itself has become unhealthy. I hope this turns around.
As for the cuts to our Morris public school, remember that Republicans want to shoot down support for public institutions from Washington D.C., so we'll have to pay for it ourselves. Are you ready for this? Congratulations on "owning the libs." Of course the real actionable agenda for the GOP is more tax cuts for the wealthy, wink.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment