MORGAN'S MOMENT...
“My mother died…
       last night…
       just wanted to let you know.”
It was my cousin calling…
       with news
       not unexpected.
My aunt was 92…
       the last of my aunts…
       didn’t want a funeral.
Kids are more into cousins
       than aunts
       at least in my experience.
Aunts are great for treats…
       cookies and milk
       and sometimes cake.
She hovered happily
       with mom and other aunts
       shooing we boys off to play.
Later years added dimensions…
       historic family memories…
       a living connection to the past.
I respected her for living tough years…
       making do in poor times
       doing good with very little.
She was interested in many things…
       and an interesting person…
       with a ready laugh.
This is the memorial she didn’t want…
       to a much larger audience…
       a little tribute to my Aunt Violet.
— Art Morgan 
BOOK CORNER
The most recent read was Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.” We saw that it was selected by the city of Tacoma for its annual reading and discussion book. It’s 40 years old (just like the Rachel Carson book). The idea of snooping and censorship has currency with the intrusive aspects of the new “Patriot Act.” Many insights.
MOMENT MINISTRIES
Mar. 3, 2003
home address:  25921 SW Airport Ave.
Corvallis, OR 97333   541-753-3942
email at  a-morgan@peak.org
CLERGY DILEMMA
 
One thing I learned in the first year of the ministry was that people in my church did not always agree with me or with each other. 
A recent Sunday feature article reported how many congregations are pretty much equally divided about the pending war. Each side would like a definitive position statement from the pastor. Whichever side is taken will alienate many.
As I think back on the issues during my ministry in three churches it seems to me that I was in the minority most of the time, on social issues, theology, and politics. 
In my first church (where I stayed 7 and ½ years) I held theological and biblical understandings that were not those of the majority of my members.
In my second church, when we were all suddenly forced into a crash course in civil rights issues, I was once again in a minority(!) situation. “Open housing” was a hot issue that ended many a ministry in those times. We also had the Vietnam War to deal with. Once again, churches were split down the middle. I stayed 6 and ½ years.
My third (and last) church had its own issues that I lived with for 8 and ½ years.
Some ministers need their jobs too much to say anything very divisive. Some ministers have no qualms about telling people how to think. Some wise ministers figure out how to help people think without telling them what to think. One must weigh whether an issue is worth dividing the church over. 
The trick of survival is in being true to one’s own convictions, being clear about what is believed, without being obnoxious about it. Ministers have their own approaches. It’s a real dilemma.
NEXT MOMENT…
THURSDAY, MARCH 13
Eating, singing, thinking
toward Easter
Gather at 6 — Potluck at 6:30

(back page)

 
HE’S GOT SADDAM IN HIS HANDS?
      Don’t try this in church. Although I sometimes did equally outrageous things.
      We were doing our Thursday “Moment” featuring songs that used the word “world.” I thought it might be a good thing to do something “worldly” rather than locally. 
      One song with the proper word was “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”
      I like to sing the song, but it has some problems. It’s a bit anthropomorphic for me, although the idea of the world in gentle hands has an appeal. We don’t actually believe God has hands, but we’ll sing it anyway.
      Then the reality of the theology is in dispute. If the world is actually in God’s hands, then why is the world in such a mess? No answer required. I’m just raising the question that comes to mind.
      Not to be picky, but if we have to have a God with human qualities, are we all agreed that the human quality of God is masculine?
      All that aside, moving away from left-brain analysis, we sang on about God with the whole world, the little bitty baby, you and me brother (and sister?), in His hands. 
      Now, get ready for the outrageous moment. I leaned over to Paul’s ear and whispered, “He’s got Saddam Hussein…”
      Paul and I have worked together for over 30 years and we have done some unusual—and I think very meaningful—things. Some were my ideas, some his. Without lifting an eyebrow or missing a beat he lead us into a new verse. “He’s got Saddam Hussein in his hands…”
      I saw some eyebrows rise in the group, but we sang on. I probably should have stopped to explain how Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies and those who persecute us and to make friends with our accusers. I could also have come up with a pretty good argument that if there is God in the world, God can’t be choosing favorites. 
      If there were ever someone when we’d really like to have God have someone in God’s hands, we should hope it would be Saddam Hussein.
      I leaned to Paul’s ear again to suggest the next verse; “He’s got George W. Bush in His hands…” I thought maybe the eyebrows were relaxed a bit for that verse. Again, we can only hope. Whatever we think about our national leaders we’ve got to hope that they follow the right path. I suppose the true patriot assumes a God that knows which side to be on. We pray for both, just in case.
      The question, of course is not who is right, but what is right. Our longing is for both or all leaders to be embraced by justice and goodness. We long for them to overcome greed and pride and arrogance. We really pray the Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush are “in His hands.”
      Or do we? 
      Jesus was criticized for similarly outrageous ideas. We like our presumed places of moral superiority. We love our enemies to be our enemies. 
      At any rate, if you are into Christian praying, you might attempt to sing
"He’s got the whole world in his hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands,
 He’s got the whole world in his hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands.
 He’s got Saddam Hussein in his hands; He’s got Saddam Hussein…
 He’s got George W. Bush in his hands; He’s got George W. Bush…”
      On the other hand, you don’t have to sing it if you don’t want to. It really is outrageous. I also happen to think it might be Christian.
Art Morgan, March 2003