Faith, Grace, and Hope

Yesterday (9/14) was the second anniversary of my ordination. It's hard to believe it's been two years since all those hands and prayers pressed down on me. I remember other pastors talking about how heavy that felt on their ordination. It didn't to me at the time, but I suspect the weight increases over time. I had particular reason (and time) to reflect on my own vocation yesterday as I sat in an Anchorage courtroom and waited out a jury selection. Despite having a relatively low draft number (so to speak), I was not selected. I did not try to get out of service. I try to fulfill the duties of citizenship, since I do enjoy its privileges. A few people asked if I was going to wear my collar and I said I wouldn't. I didn't because I don't wear it on a day to day basis. It's not really part of my wardrobe and not totally expected from my community. However, there was another collar in the jury pool. A late-middle-aged man wore a black shirt with the little wh...

I recently finished reading the ELCA's Draft Social Statement on Genetics (found here ). It's broad document, like most social statements, that seeks to provide a biblical and ethical framework for discussions around the topic of genetics. When people hear the term genetics, they may believe the conversation is linked to heritability within human or animal populations, but the conversations around genetic research stretch into farming, global communication, insurance, social service programs, cloning, artificial reproductive technology, food distribution, medicine... and on and on. As with most of the ELCA's social statements, the draft social statement on genetics offers a few strongly worded passages on the church's stands and, also, much acknowledgement of the reality of sin in the world and in our lives. At the conclusion of the statement (p. 35) is this passage: Since the earliest days, Christians have claimed to be part of a koinonia . They have unders...