Monday, July 13, 2009

"What Is Jazz?": Sermon for 6 Pentecost

John the Baptist lost his head because of a disagreement over family values, namely his reprimanding King Herod for marrying his brother's wife. While today's hottest social issues, abortion and homosexuality, won't get anyone's heads chopped off (in the U.S., that is), corrosive debates about them could lead to further dismemberment of the church. That's one reason the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams (shown above), and others have worked hard at this month's General Convention in Anaheim to change the subject to global economics -- not that everyone agrees on that subject, either. Perhaps the best we can do is honor each other's passion for a better world and church and remember, as House of Deputies president Bonnie Anderson reminded us, that unity isn't the same as agreement. My Saturday evening sermon is here.