Music, Culture, Confessions and Sandals

I had a revelation about music in the life of communities yesterday. I want to write about that but first I need to make a confession.

I am a pastor but I really don't like being called "Pastor." I know there is a time and place for being called pastor. There are touching times when I am so pleased to be able to be pastoral as I pastor to those who need my care. But I am more than a pastor and I like getting to use my gifts in places where they just know me as Karl (often in a teeshirt and sandals.)

One of those teeshirt and sandal places is Rockridge Little School. I guess it is quite a coincidence that the preschool is located at the historic College Avenue Presbyterian Church and I am a Presbyterian Pastor but the school only rents from the church and when I am leading singing with the children I am only Karl. I like it that way. As Karl I am valued by my actions and not by some preconceived idea of what kind of person a pastor is.

With the confession out of the way let me get to the music stuff.

Yesterday I had the chance to lead the wonderful teachers at RLS in a discussion about music at the school. We talked about our own feelings about singing in public and we shared some of our experiences.

In general in seems we all like singing or at least being part of a group that sings. It was also shared that while we loved to sing as kids we were not necessarily encouraged in our attempts at song. As a parent you might try something other than "You can't carry a tune in a bucket" if you want your child to love singing. It was also agreed that we would like RLS to be a "singing" school and I got a deeper appreciation for why this would be a good thing during our discussion.

Two revelations from the day...
1: That our songs are our prayers.
I don't mean this in an organized religion sense. What we talked about was that songs are very close to our hearts and souls. Songs we loved as kids and youth can still have a powerful emotional effect on us today. They can make us cry and make us laugh when we least expect it. And our songs can be a way of expressing our hope and our vision and our collective dream of things being more just. "We are the world" aren't we? It seems right that as we shape the lives of these small ones in our care that we give them songs to take with them that lift up the values that we are seeking to instill in them; Values about friends and family, love and justice, nature and an appreciation of community.

2: That songs/music have been central in building and supporting community in society.
I shared an experience I had in a small township in South Africa when a group of children at an orphanage put on fabulous concert for me. I was taken by the complex parts and harmonies they sang. When I asked how long they had been practicing for the performance I was told most of them had never sung together before. They said this was their music and they all knew how to sing it. One of the teachers shared how her boy friend from Lebanon is so comfortable playing a drum and how all the kids know how to do music in his community. It is part of the culture, it is part of life, it is part of being a community.

This got us thinking about how we have become an audience in our culture and what a loss this is to our communities. I can't help but see what a good job we are doing at exporting this mentality. It is much easier to market ipods than it is folk songs I guess. The profit margin is certainly better.

I think we missing the opportunity to give our children the wonderful gift of music. Not as those that have ipods or watch American Idol but as a community voice where the effect of the music on the heart is more important than its effect on the ear. A community where everyone does music.

I will be sharing song with lots of children this Fall. I will be working with three kindergarten classes at Berkeley Arts magnet, a couple of classes at Rockridge Little School and possibly a first grade class at Rosa Parks. I also have a couple other invitations I am contemplating and of course I will be singing with my grandkids every chance I get.

What a joy, sharing music with kids. I am Blessed.

Save the Children of the World

As advocates for Children we must let our leaders in Washington know we support them when they use our money wisely to help those who can not help themselves. I just received this update from the folks at ONE. Lets make our voice heard. Let those in office know that what gets our votes is not cutting taxes for folks who don't really need it (like you and me even) but doing the right thing for all God's children everywhere. Thanks for taking the time to make a difference. Blessings to all, Karl

Support the Global Child Survival Act

The U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act would provide much needed funding for the fight to save the lives of the 10 million children under five who die each year from preventable causes. Right now the bill is stuck in committee and needs our support to move forward. Please enter your information below and send a message to your members of Congress.

Reporting with passion from my small place in the world

Blogging Towards Sunday - September 2 "True Humbleness..."

Luke 14:1, 7-14 (see below)
I posted this passage earlier than I planned because I am going to be meeting with my friend Albert Lee tomorrow to talk about it. I think the passage has a lot to do with proper humility and I don't know anyone more properly humble than Mr. Lee. Humbleness is not very highly valued in western culture so I think I have lots to learn (Albert spent most of his life in Hong Kong).

I am working with Albert on this because I will be preaching at a combined service with English and Mandarin on September 2. Albert will be my most able translator. We have sermons in Mandarin and English every week at Calvary but it is special when we get everyone together for one translated sermon. I am excited about getting to share with all our members at one time and it is extra special because we will be gathering around the table together for the Lord's Supper.

I value your thoughts on the passage as we discern together "What God has to say to us today."

Luke 14:1, 7-14 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

⁷When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; ⁹and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. ¹¹For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” ¹²He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

our son, industrial design, ammunition and a free iphone

Sorry if I misled you - I thought I would try one of those entreating titles to get your attention But this post is important because it is about our son and his cool new job...

Our son Karson went to The California College of Art - CCA (name change... was the College of Art's and Crafts but everyone thought the graduates did basketweaving...) in The City and is an industrial designer. After graduating he has worked for four different design companies. Now he has landed back in The City (SF) (which we love as does his girl friend) and has gone to work for this edgy new startup named Ammunition. I bring this up because there is an article today in the SF Chronicle about his new boss and the company. How cool is that?

I wonder if I can get that cool new Sound Machine iPhone dock (as well as the iphone to go with it) now that I have a child in the business?

Reporting from my proud small place in the world

Blogging Towards Sunday - August 26, 2007 - Luke 13:10-17 - "The Trouble Maker"

The gospel lesson for this Sunday is Luke 13:10-17

This is the powerful story of the healing of a kyphotic (humped-back) woman by a very compassionate but unruly Jesus. The way the writer Luke leads us through this story leaves me with lots of questions, lots of wondering...

I wonder why Jesus called this woman over to him? He must of known the trouble it would get him in. He must have know the attention it would attract. He must have had an idea how his actions would shame the religious leaders. He was leading them into a trap for the people to see them for who and what they really were. I wonder what required him to take such action?

I wonder what the woman was thinking when he called her to come to him? She must have grown tired of the stares, the whispers, the mocking of the children. I wonder why she came to him at all? She must have know that this would lead to no good when the synagogue leaders found themselves standing with egg on their face. I wonder if she had hope that things would change?

I wonder what it would be like to be bent over for so many years? I wonder if the woman had given up hope? I wonder what it was like not to see the sunrise and sunset? I wonder if this aliment was more than just a physical impediment? I wonder if Luke was speaking of you and me as a bit bent over ourselvesf, bent over just enough to miss some of the best God has to offer God's people?

These are the things that I am wondering about as I prepare for the sermon this Sunday. I would love to hear about what this passage causes you to wonder about.

Report from my vantage point in this small place in the world.

* I hope my friend that I stole this title (Blogging toward Sunday) from agrees that imitation is the best form of flattery. Thanks Monte...

So... you want to raise bright, happy, healthy kids...

It is not easy when everyday they are being bombarded with all the material things they just have to have to be complete people (and will not have until you cave-into their constant pleas). What can you do?

Well I have an antidote to all this madness. Try singing to your kid. (or invite me to come and share music in your child's classroom). Sing songs of love. Sing songs about justice. Sing songs about nature and friends and silly songs that make you laugh and dance. Sing songs that make you feel good about yourself and the world. Sing songs that reflect your values.

Here is the Good News. I am creating a new blog called "little bird music for kids". On the blog I am sharing what I have learned about singing with Kids for the past 20 years. It will contain words of songs that I use in the classroom and the way I have been using these songs to complement a positive learning environment.

Be one of the first to check out this work in progress. Much more to follow.

"You share music with them... you share your heart"

I told the dad of one of the preschoolers that I was surprised by the love shown to me by the children. He was not surprised, "You share music with them... you share your heart."

Once a week I pack up - my guitar, kazoo and holder, capo, picks, an electronic stuffed California Quail, and music I have been collecting for 37 years - and join with 40 preschoolers for an hour of singing. We sing silly songs and songs that make you cry. We sing protest songs and aerobic songs that make an old man like me breakout in a sweat. Sometimes we don't sing and just listen. Sometimes we find our neighbor's hat more interesting than the music and sometimes we find our own antics more fun than the music - until the teachers redirect us back to the music.

I have been singing with the children at Rockridge Little School since March but for a couple of weeks in July I had to take a break because of my Big Brother's death. I had received many condolences about my brother's passing but none more touching than the unexpected one I received on my return to Little School.

"Karl, Karl, Karl..." "Yes, what?" "Karl, I heard something really bad happened to your brother. I am sorry. Are you OK?" "Yes and thank you for asking" (take a deep breath and do your job). adding a couple of other voices to the conversation "I love you Karl" "I love you too..." I say Thank you again and count my blessings.

I was caught off guard by the community we have been building. We are making connections. We matter to each other in some small way. The words we are sharing are remembered. We are getting inside each others heads and hearts.

I love singing music in a group. I think singing old songs is a way of paying respect and joining with those who have gone before us. I believe that music speaks in a very special way to the head and the heart. I love singing with the kids at Rockridge Little School. I love the kids at RLS and I am so blessed that they love me.

Reporting from my small (little kid like) place in the world

I got myself into a little fix - "what shall I do?"

One day on our family vacation - when I came back from my morning walk, coffee and a morning bun with my youngest grandson - I was met by two frantic grandchildren and their concerned parents.

It seems that while I was gone my almost five year old grandson had shared with his 7 year old girl cousin a conversation he had had with me on a walk the week before. Now with my return to the house they expressed their worry about my possible demise at the hands of some evil people involved in a war. The seven year old met me at the door, "they won't kill you - will they grandpa?" "What?" "Sage says they are killing people. They won't kill you - will they grandpa?"

Grandma came to my rescue reminding me of my conversation with Sage the past week when he was staying with us. Looking at me, the parents, me, she said, “You should explain grandpa.”

On our walk I had told Sage how angry I was about the on going war in Iraq and how I was going to go and tell our leaders that they needed to stop getting people killed and how I was going to go to Washington and tell them that this craziness needs to stop, NOW! etc, etc, etc.

Sage seemed pretty into it at the time and I was letting off some steam.

It seemed like a good idea to share my plans with him on our walk that day.

I was thinking about how my wife and I had taken our youngest child on marches against guns in the neighborhood and in support of the farmworkers. I was thinking about how I had marched in the city before the war started. I was thinking about how I wanted Sage to have some outrage of his own about the injustices that we face each day and the injustices he would face.

I wasn't thinking about how this would translate to a 5 year old and I certainly wasn't thinking about what their parents would think about my conversation when they couldn't get their kids to sleep at night because they thought their grandfather would be killed on his mission.

I sat down and explained to my grandchildren that no one was going to kill me and that I was not going to the place where the war was but to Washington D.C. where our leaders work. I told them I was just going to join with others in protest to the war and I was not going to get hurt in any way.

The grandkids took the explanation well and the parents seemed to be understanding, again, of my slightly bad judgment in what I said/say to their kids.

But I am not out of the woods yet.

Today when I saw my granddaughter (a full two weeks after my explanation talk) she ran up to me and whispered, "grandpa, have you gone to talk to them about the war yet?"

Before I answered I had to make a decision - a quick decision. I paused... and thought...

"No Rose, I am going to do that in the Fall" and I will - for the sake of my grandchild

Reporting from our small, but important, place in the world

Tip of the Day #7 - Peace Candles

When I was back at a conference in D.C a few years ago I went to a service at the National Cathedral. In the back of the Cathedral they had a display of peace candles that you could light. I lit one. After the service we were invited to take a candle back home to our churches and invite our congregations to join in the liturgy of lighting a candle for peace.

I carried a candle to Calvary. We burned this peace candle during worship for a while but then we misplaced the candle (or something) and it never got replaced. That we a few years ago.

Now we are lighting a candle for peace again in our service. This time it is a little different. There is a growing sense in our midst that we, as a church, need to be about peacemaking in our world. This time we have added a a "5 minute Prayer for Peace" and made the candle lighting a liturgical act proceeding the prayer. I feel a new Spirit among us calling us to do more in seeking peace in our world.

I came across this idea in my Internet wanderings as I was seeing how other faith communities are seeking to bring about God's peace in the world. This would be a way for us to bring our commitment to peace making at worship into our homes and neighborhoods.

What do you think?
_____________________
Join thousands of others around the world...
Light a Peace Candle in your front window each evening.

Let your neighborhood and the whole world know you support peaceful means of ending conflict, that you seek God's shalom in every area of life.

Make it your daily Peace Ritual a rite which comes from the heart & is supported in prayer.

Tell your friends and family about it.

Got a loved one serving in the military? On active duty?
Pray for them each time you light your peace candle.

Have a neighbor going through a difficult time? Send up a prayer for them.

Reporting from my small place in the world

Tip of the Day #6 - Transit 511 or "How to get the heck out of your CAR!"

Sage (my almost 6 year old grandson) and I were walking back from BART the other day (after a trip to San Jose on - car, foot, train, bus, BART). I asked him why we walk. He said, "because it's good for the environment and it makes us strong for when we grow up, right Grandpa?" "Right Sage!"

I am a huge advocate of getting around without a car whenever possible and in the Bay Area it is so easy and enjoyable to do. Lately I have been using a new Internet tool that makes it even easier.

511.org is this great internet site that has everything you need for planning a trip in the greater Bay Area if it is long or short - on foot, bike, BART, car, boat or train.

If you ride a bike check out this site. Here you can plan trips, get information about maps and bikes on transit and even finding a bike buddy to ride with and so much more. I have used bike 511 for planning trips to Pt. Richmond, Novato, San Francisco etc. I get great detailed information with printable maps, bus and BART options and bridge information.

Last Saturday my family (10 of us) went down to see San Jose State University, my son's new school. To plan the trip I got on 511.org. I plugged in my start and end points. Indicated I wanted to take Amtrak on the way down and BART on the way back. I pressed a button and wa-la -- I had detailed directions of how to make my trip with - times, cost, maps, travel advisories - all printable to take with me.

So next time you are planning a trip don't just get in your car and drive. Make your trip an adventure - Take a friend or a child or a grandchild - Take a bus or a bike or boat or a train - and remember some Sage advice - "we walk because it's good for the environment and it makes us strong for when we grow up, right Grandpa?" "Right Sage!"

Reporting from my small - and walkable - place in the world

RIGHT NOW... take 5 minutes to pray for peace!!!

Light a candle for peace








































































AMEN!
Didn't that feel good?

Now I don't stand a chance

Hot off the newswire...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drinking more than three cups of coffee a day helped protect older women against some age-related memory decline, French researchers said on Monday, giving women more reason to love the world's most popular stimulant.

Men did not enjoy the same benefit, they said.

"The more coffee one drank, the better the effects seemed to be on (women's) memory functioning in particular," said Karen Ritchie at the French National Institute of Medical Research, whose work appears in the journal Neurology.

_______________________

All the women in my life are already smarter then me and now with this coffee research news I know I will just keep falling farther behind. Now I understand that my wife's (Myrna) regular consumption of Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath bar Crunch* in the evening is not just an enjoyable habit but a diabolical plan to outsmart me again :)

*as well as another argument for this Ice Cream being a health food - chocolate=antioxidants, milk=calcium, coffee=better memory - what a deal!

Reporting the sad news from my small place in the world

Our 5 Minute Prayer for Peace

I was amazed... I had thought that 5 minutes of silence during our worship service would be anything but silent.

We had just celebrated communion. After a short introduction for our 5 minute prayer for peace my co-pastor and I sat in our seats (as instructed by the team who came up with this experiment).

Then I waited... for the noise, for my uneasiness over a forced silence, for a kid upsetting the moment. But none of this came to pass.

I had thought the 5 minutes would feel like worship dog years (5x7=35). I must say that I had thought this was a bad idea but I had to live by my mantra. "Ask for forgiveness rather than permission." Change happens best when you try things first and then evaluate the new experience. I had to give this new idea a chance.

I waited... and to my amazement I found myself worshiping. I don't worship much on a Sunday morning but yesterday I did. I found myself lost in this wonderful moment. I found myself in prayer. When the 5 minutes was over I wished it was longer (but I did not want to press our luck).

I look forward to continuing this experiment and hearing how others in my community are responding to the silence. I hope others found a deeper sense of worship in our service last Sunday. I hope others experienced a bit more of God's peace.

Reporting from our small place in the world

Pressing On... for our children

Lets continue to work together to pass this important legislation for Children. It is just too important and we are so close. Please pass this reminder on to your friends. Thanks

My Max & Kedrick

August 6, 2007

SCHIP Reauthorization Takes Two Big Steps Forward

Last week both the House and Senate passed legislation to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) guaranteeing coverage for millions of uninsured children around the country. The House approved expansion of SCHIP to $50 billion over a five year period and the Senate approved a smaller expansion of SCHIP to only $35 billion over a five year period. Although neither piece of legislation will cover all 9 million uninsured children in the U.S., both decisions are steps in the right direction. The House and Senate passed bills will now go to conference, where their differences will be resolved, and when Congress reconvenes in September, both legislative bodies are expected to vote on the negotiated package.

Take Action: President Bush has threatened to veto this important legislation. Your help is still needed. Please thank the members of Congress who voted in support of SCHIP reauthorization, and continue to contact our California elected officials (particularly Republicans) so they know you support funding at least $50 billion for children's health insurance. To contact your elected officials now, please go to: www.childrensdefense.org/takeaction.

Your Advocacy for Children's Health Insurance Made A Difference! Let's Finish The Job Together.

The success of the House and Senate bills is owed in part to your advocacy around the ALL Healthy Children Act (S. 1564/H.R. 1688) which proposes to cover all 9 million uninsured children nationwide. Through your calls, emails, and letters you have helped to keep the importance of health and mental healthcare for all children at the forefront of our elected officials’ agendas. Thank you for all of your hard work; we are making progress.

If this SCHIP Reauthorization is signed into law, we still have much work to do to ensure that the remaining uninsured children receive the coverage that they need.

Reporting on important issues in our little place in the world

Refections on Sunday's Sermon

Sunday, August 5, 2007
"Someone in the Crowd” Luke 12:13-21

This statement is taken from Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

“The Contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are. But the Judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.

_________________________

This Sunday I will present a first person sermon of the man in the crowd from Luke's story in the 12th chapter of his Gospel. In Luke's story you have a young man asking Jesus to get his brother to be fair in splitting his inheritance and Jesus responding by telling the parable of the of the rich farmer trying to deal with a bumper crop.

As is so often true in Jesus' stories the two men, the young and the rich, seem to be pretty descent people by the standards of the community.

The actions of the young man are in line with what who be expected of him in his situation. His father has died and now there is a disagreement with his brother as to how the money is to be split. Just as I often get request as a minister to help families sort out issues so the young man goes to this respected teacher to get him to weigh in on the family squabble. The problem is that the young man is asking the wrong question of this particular teacher. It is not about money, for Jesus, it is all about relationships in the context of God reign.

The rich farmer in the parable also reacts in an expected way. In the story he has fallen into the abundance of a good year. Now that he has received this unexpected blessing he must be wise in what he does with the gift. Not unlike the person who is careful to invest his unexpected luck in the sale of his Internet startup so the farmer decides to build a new silo to hold his wealth. This is a move that will set him up for life. Again this decision sounds sensible to the community but he is asking the wrong question about his blessings in the light of what Jesus is teaching, what Jesus is living.

In both these stories we see that Jesus is asking his followers to be more than decent people in the eyes of their community. In the gospel of Luke Jesus is calling his disciples to a revolutionary approach to living. It is a life of putting others' needs before your own needs. It is a life of sharing our abundance with others in ways that might seem foolish to those around us but just business as usual for those who are following in the sacrificial spirit of Jesus.

This Sunday we will seek to understand the motives of this young man after his father's death and take an educated guess as what might have happened to his life after his encounter with Jesus.

Reflections on my brother's death - repost

Some folks missed this post and asked to see it again. Thanks for all your love.

He had just turned 65 and almost received his first Social Security check. My brother has always been a tough guy, kind of like my own John Wayne. I remember telling kids about some of his escapades and enjoying their oohs and aahs that I was related to him.

At his beach memorial service (he was also the infamous old surfer dude tough guy -- Come to think of it, he was - fill in the blank- tough guy in everything he did) a friend told about how Chuck had straighted out some problems she was having with a contractor just by showing up one day on his BIG motorcycle in full leather, wraparound shades, beard and ponytail protruding from his helmet, sporting his infamous "I'm crazier than sh--" look. He did not have to say a thing to the workmen, he just gave his friend a hug and asked her how things were going. She said, with a friend like Chuck troublesome folks kind of fell into line.

I was glad though that at the end of my brother's life he was able to let go of some of his toughness, his rough edge. I know that some of that tough-guy-image was also a way of protecting a very fragile human being. I need to tell you sometime more about my brother's life but it will suffice for now to say he was hurt early on and had a hard time letting people get too close. I think his toughness was a shield to protect himself though it did come in handy at times to protect others as well.

My last conversation with my brother was so very sweet. We loved each other, we always had, though we had missed saying it very often until just the last few years. I thanked him for all the ways he had been my big brother and has taken care of me; getting me jobs, working with me, being proud of me. He told me he thought he had been to hard on me and asked me to forgive him. I did because I thought he really needed some forgiveness in his life. Not just for what he did to me, what he had done to me was pretty minimal, but the forgiveness we all need for lives that were often directed by fear and loneliness and some deep misunderstood wounds.

I drove back to Berkeley that day with a deep feeling of completeness, it was done, nothing stood between us now. We were really ready to be brothers. I also made personal promises to spend more time with my brother in the days and weeks, and I hoped, years ahead. I wanted more of this sweetness in my life. I needed more of this sweetness in my life.

My brothered died last week before I could see him again. I am sad but I still feel more complete than I felt before. He gave me a gift that no one else could have given to me. Chuck and I felt God was at work here, we talked about that as well.

I will always remember the last conversation I had with my big brother as I will always remember the last conversation I had with my twin sister before her death. I will carry them as gifts and they will make me stronger and better and a little wiser as I come closer to my last conversation with the people I love.

(Just a note: I have told my granddaughter that I can't eat so much garbage anymore and I have to ride my bike more so that I an play with her children someday. That means I have time to work on some very wise and wonderful last words to be remembered by.)

P.S. This evening over one hundred surfers will take part in a "paddle-out" in my brother's honor. They will form a circle out in his beloved ocean at sunset and remember his life. It is taking place at the bottom of Tioga Ave, Sand City which is Chuck's home break. They will have a big bonfire and party following the paddle-out -- I am sure they will have some great "Chuck Stories" to share. Press HERE to read my brother's obituary

Reporting from my place in the world