A Birthday Prayer for FDR

Each January 30, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park and the National Park Service hold a celebration at the Presidential Library Rose Garden to honor his memory.  For the twelfth time in a row, I have offered the invocation at this event which typically includes politicians (last year, David Patterson was the featured speaker), local dignitaries and business people as well as an honor guard from West Point and at least one or two generals.  Sometimes Roosevelt family members come, though not this year.  Below is the invocation I prayed.

Ten days ago this nation inaugurated a new president, and we welcomed a new era.

Some have compared President Barack Obama to President Franklin D. Roosevelt because the times we live in remind us of those dark days when FDR entered office.  And so let us offer up a different prayer today:

As we thank You, God for 

The Wisdom Franklin Roosevelt showed in guiding this nation out of despair (despite the inevitable mistakes that come with leadership), let us pray that our new president may show like wisdom, and greater, for the stakes are high,

As we thank You, God for

The Hope President Roosevelt restored in our nation, let us pray that President Obama may restore hope in our day,

As we thank You, God for

The Foresight your child Franklin showed in leading our nation away from helplessness toward self-reliance, away from a defeatism toward a spirit of “We Can Do It,” let us pray that your child Barack will show similar foresight and lead us away from self-pity toward a spirit of “Yes We Can.”

As we thank You, God for

The Courage he showed not only in facing the depression with those immortal words, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” but also in leading this nation through a devistating world war, let us pray that our new president will know that same courage in our time of doubt and war.

As we thank You, God for

Franklin Roosevelt’s Insistence that ALL your children are equal in Your eyes, and that all deserve equal treatment, let us pray that Barack Obama will pick up that torch and lead this nation to a place of even greater equality among all your children everywhere.

As we thank You, God for

The Self sacrifice Franklin Roosevelt showed in Pouring out his life for his nation, let us pray that President Obama may display that same dedication in service, but also that such sacrifice may not be necessary, and that we may know a new day, a new era of hope, respect, and light.  Amen.

Obama and Warren

The shock of the century -- Barack Obama picked Rick Warren as the chaplain of his inauguration.  

I’m not shocked.  Nor am I as horrified as some.

You surely know that Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, is the author of the wildly popular, “The Purpose Driven Life,” and its sibling, “The Purpose Driven Church.”  He’s especially popular with the likes of Forbes Magazine which called his book, "the best book on entrepreneurship, management, and leadership in print.”

His own website touts his success as the nation’s most influencial pastor (The Economist).  And, according to The Times of London, “Business and political leaders across America are turning to Rick Warren for guidance.”

But that’s not what has people upset about Rick Warren and the inauguration.  It’s that he is anti-gay and anti-choice.  He let the fight to pass Proposition 8 in California, which bans same-sex marriage and equated homosexuality with pedophilia and incest.

Let me be very clear about where I stand on those issues.  I believe gays in this country need to have the right to marry or choose whatever equivalent form to marriage they feel is appropriate (gay friends disagree as to whether it should be called marriage or something unique to same-sex bonds.  I don’t care but feel they should decide) -- and that it should be set out in our laws.  I also believe that abortion must remain legal, and that making it illegal will do nothing to reduce the number of abortions in our country.  

Obama has always said he supports the rights of gays to marry, but anyone who has watched the election should know that he is, above all, a political creature.  Despite the betrayal many gays and lesbians feel in this selection, Obama knows that the LGBT community is small, and he feels under great pressure to prove just how “center” he is.  

For the record, Bill Clinton had Billy Graham give his inauguration, and Graham was just as anti-gay as Warren -- probably more so.  It’s clear that Obama, who doesn’t have a church at the moment, chose a pastor who had wide popular appeal and would assuage the right-wing evangelicals.  Anyone who thought he would move forward purely on conviction seems to neither have followed Obama very carefully nor have a sense of how politics works.   

Having said that, was it the smartest move he could have made?  Doubtful.  Mr. Obama could have chosen an unknown pastor of a middle-of-the-road church with unstated views on anything controversial.  He could have picked somebody respectable but completely uncontroversial so that the invocation would have been a non-event.

That would not have been anyone in my church, of course, because we are hated by the right as being too liberal, too pro-gay, too pro-choice.  But there are others he could have invited.  Brad Braxton of Riverside Church in NYC comes to mind.  There you’ve got an evangelical affiliated with the UCC and the American Baptist Church.  Yet, the church quietly affirms its support for same-gender civil marriage.  Of course, Mr. Obama probably does not know Rev. Braxton.

So, I would not have picked Rev. Warren for my inauguration.  On the other hand, just as it is wrong for him to put gays in the same category as pedophiles -- just as much as I disagree with him on that entire front -- it’s also wrong for his opponents to equate him with Nazis (as I’ve seen) or with the KKK.  Yes, he’s wrong, but he’s not evil.  

And he has shown himself to be capable of learning.  He changed his view on the environment, for example, not an insignificant conversion.  

Still, my biggest objections to him have more to do with how he views the church -- essentially as a corporation, as as entrepreneurial enterprise.  That’s why business and political leaders love him.  Which is why I wouldn’t have him speak.  But that's another article.  

Besides, I have my own religious leader.  And if I ever become President-elect, I'll pick her.

A Prayer for President-elect Obama

We have  a new President-elect, and I am filled with hope.  While others may not, it is important that we all understand a few things.  First, no one person (Jesus excepted) is perfect.  Neither can he do it all alone.  Second, we as a country are bigger than the work of any one person -- good or bad, we will persevere.  Most importantly, we have the obligation as citizens and people of faith to support and pray for President-elect Obama.  With that in mind, here is a prayer from our Book of Common Prayer.

Lord our Governor, whose glory is in all the world: We commend this nation to your merciful care, that, being guided by your Providence, we may dwell secure in your peace.  Grant to President-elect Obama and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do your will.  Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in your fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.  Amen.

Political Excommunication

Saw an interesting article about Roman Catholic lawyer and professor Douglas Kmiec who endorsed Barack Obama for President.  He was denied communion by a priest who just before had excoriated him for his endorsement.

While I'm no Roman Catholic and don't believe for a minute that this one priest's actions were the work of the entire church, I do believe the congregation or ministry where that priest works ought to receive the attention of the IRS.  Why?

Well, during the last presidential election, a retired Episcopal priest was guest preacher at an Episcopal congregation and mentioned the names of Bush and Kerry.  He told the congregation that Christians should vote and should do so based on Christ's teachings and example.  Then he compared Bush's and Kerry's statements on various issues and asked the congregation to consider them in light of the Gospel.  

He did not tell people who to vote for.  However, a supporter of George Bush took this to be an attack on the president and filed a complaint with the IRS which then revoked the tax-exempt status of the congregation. It was only after much public outcry that the congregation retained its tax-exempt status.

Now, this was a case of a guest speaker -- not the pastor -- saying something that might be construed as supporting one candidate or another.  In this case, however, the priest denied another Roman Catholic communion for openly supporting a particular candidate.  In essence, what that priest said was, "You must support John McCain or else."  That's blatant political action.

I realize this isn't the whole church saying it, but it is the ministry of that priest, and if it's good enough for a supposedly liberal congregation to receive that treatment, it's certainly good enough for a ministry with a neocon priest as well.  

For the moment, though, I think a public reprimand of that priest would suffice -- after all, just in the case of the Episcopal congregation, it is the action of just one individual.

Obama's speech.

Aside from the fact that this is Holy Week, two important things happened this week (three is you're a New Yorker).  That third thing is the swearing in of David Paterson as our new governor, the first black governor of this state and the first legally blind governor in the country.  

I had an opportunity to meet Governor Paterson last January when we both took part in the official observance of Franklin D. Roosevelt's birthday at the presidential library.  He spoke about being a disabled person in public service - much like FDR.  Most of what I remember is that he was very pleasant, spoke well, and was not wearing a coat in those freezing temperatures.  I kept thinking, "The man's Lieutenant Governor, for goodness sake.  Get him a coat!"

The other big thing this week is the fifth "anniversary" of the Iraq War.  Ignoring protests around the country, President Bush said the world is a better and safer place for it.  His supporters condemn those of us opposed to it as defeatists who want to "surrender".  They are wrong.  We lost the minute we invaded a country that had not so much as threatened us.  We could not win even if we had any concept of what a victory might look like -- which we don't.  We cannot win, because we were wrong to start, and we have made a mess of their country and ours.

But what I want to look at most -- because it may be the most important event of this week -- is Barack Obama's speech on race.  

I did not hear the speech, but I read the transcript.  And then I read numerous commentaries on it.  

One of the biggest criticisms of the speech was that Mr. Obama did not renounce Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor who has made incendiary remarks about race in this country.  

I say, good for Mr. Obama.  You do not shut out a person because he says things we don't like.  Christ wouldn't.  But more than that, what we know of Rev. Wright is contained in CNN and Fox sound bites.  Mr. Obama knows him much more intimately -- and he has said over and over that there is much more to the man than what we have seen.

What's more, Martin Marty, one of America's prominent theologians, knows Rev. White and Trinity Church quite well, and he says what we see is not what you get.  Marty, a white, noted that Rev. White and Trinity have done great things for the poor and race relations in their community.  Those who say the church is only about racism most likely have never been there or met the man.  I haven't either, but if there's anyone I trust, it's Martin Marty.

Besides, I'm a pastor.  I say things some of my parishioners hate (like, "This war is immoral").   But I've buried their loved ones, baptized their children, officiated at the marriages of their sons and daughters, listened to their troubles in my office.  We are more than our differences, even when those differences are extreme.  It would be easy for Mr. Obama to cut all ties with Rev. Wright -- and cowardly.  Much more difficult and brave to say, "We are not in agreement with these views, but we share more than just that."  It seems to me, Mr. Obama has a healthy understanding of being a Brother in Christ.

As to the speech itself, I believe it will be taught in schools for years to come because it does something that few speeches (and certainly not campaign speeches) have done in recent decades.  It elevates us.  Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" said he spoke to us like adults.  Amen.

Obama's speech acknowledged the anger on the side of blacks as well as whites.  He acknowledged that there was hurt on many sides and reminded us that we are more than merely those hurts.  We are, as he said, more than the sum of our parts.  

His was a visionary speech, not naive but hopeful.  And as we walk through the dark days of Holy Week -- Good Friday is tomorrow, after all -- hope is what sustains us.