- I have to say that I’m very disappointed that thousands of dollars available were simply not applied for in Montana for HIV prevention and treatment dollars,
Lets get our act together, people,
Hospitality Is the Best of Humanity
Nearly all of the world’s faith traditions call their faithful to protect and offer hospitality to immigrants. Judeo Christian scriptures urge adherents time and again to welcome the stranger and offer special care for widows and orphans. We are called to welcome our immigrant sisters and brothers with compassion, and to keep families together, regardless of faith or place of birth.
Yet, in communities across our nation, including in Montana, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security routinely employs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who subvert protocols and training, and terrorize citizenry with arbitrary practices which threaten to destroy the trust that local leaders have built with their communities and should have with local police. As a result, immigrant families and those connected to them may not ask for help or report crimes, fearing the repercussions if local law enforcement would turn them in to immigration officials.
Many methods promoted by the Department of Homeland Security tear apart families, rend the fabric of our communities, and threaten policies that would harm our local economies. Many such policies and actions are also opposed by a majority of U.S. citizens. The Montana Interfaith Network questions budgets which further fund suffering and hate. With the Rev. Jim Wallis of the Sojourners community, of Washington, D.C., we see budgets as moral documents. From private households to municipal, state and federal levels, the way we designate our common resources indicates where our priorities lie, as families, cities and as a nation. Will we designate our common resources and tax dollars for efforts that promote fear, threaten public safety and destroy families? As interfaith leaders, our traditions call instead for us to treat each other with dignity, compassion and peace.
For these reasons, the Montana Interfaith Network urges our national representatives to oppose any expansion of funding to the Department of Homeland Security. Our federal budget should reflect the values of compassion and peace, lift up families and support thriving communities. As Montanans, we do not want our common resources spent on suffering, hate, and division. We are our brother and sisters’ keeper. We belong to each other. No matter where someone came from or how they arrived in the United States, their life is of value and they deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion.
We ask for an end to budget policies that would further current Department of Homeland Security efforts that incite fear and division, and we urge our federal lawmakers to deny further funding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement practices that do more harm than good. Let’s instead designate those common resources, our tax dollars, towards the things that makes us thrive like education, bridges and disaster response, care for our veterans and seniors, and maintaining this beautiful landscape that all of us call home.
In Solidarity,
Montana Interfaith Network
Free Speech or Hate Speeech?
Guest post:
My stomach churned today, as I read the comments of Maria Cole in an article tucked into the inside of the Independent Record entitled “Journalism school rejects conservative Cole lecturer.” First, while the title of the article is true, it is also misleading. The Dean of the School Of Journalism at the University of Montana, Larry Abramson, declined to sponsor Mike Adams from the University of North Carolina – Wilmington, because of his hostile, offensive remarks about some classes of people, including LGBT people and feminists. Abramson did not reject Adams because he is conservative.
Cole accuses Abramson of chilling free speech. She claims she chose Adams for her Jeff Cole Distinguished Lecture series in order to “spark civil discourse,” and asks rhetorically, why would she bring a “hatemonger” to campus. First, Adams routinely makes inflammatory remarks about women, transgender people and “LGBTQIA” people, by referring to them as “mentally ill,” the “A” having “something to do with the buttocks,” and women “reclaiming the “c-word.” This cannot be characterized as “civil discourse” under anybody’s definition of the term.
Second, Cole’s rhetorical question is worth asking: Why would she bring a hatemonger to campus? And, perhaps more importantly, why would the School of Journalism sponsor it? Lauding Adam’s comments about other classes of people as “free speech” is an insult to the first amendment, the purpose of which is to allow for dissidence, and indeed encourage civil discourse. Adam’s manner of speaking simply does not comport with this purpose, as it seeks to dehumanize and marginalize people simply because of who they are. This is hate speech.
As George W. Bush said yesterday, it is the kind of speech that can be characterized as “discourse degraded by casual cruelty.” Adam’s comments deny “the image of God we should see in each other.” As the former president said, it “is blasphemy against the American creed.”
And, Cole calls Adams a “strong Christian.” The word, “Christian” is not a noun. It is an adjective. As author, Dr. Benjamin L. Corey writes, the term, “Christian” “is used to describe people who actively did what Jesus said to do. Essentially, the word meant ‘little Christs.’” I was raised to believe that I should be “Christ like.” Referring to transgender people as “mentally ill” is not Christ like. In fact, Jesus did not refer to transgender people as mentally ill. While there are many different versions of the Bible, basically, Jesus said if you can accept being transgender, you should accept it. Matthew 19:12 NIV. People may quibble about biblical interpretation, however, the inescapable truth is that, given the opportunity, Jesus did not judge or condemn transgender people. If Jesus did not judge or condemn transgender people, why is it alright for any “Christ like” people to judge or condemn them? It is certainly not acceptable for a “strong Christian” to do so.
It is high time we as a society draw a sharp distinction between free speech and hate speech. Not that we could, or should outlaw hate speech, but our publicly funded institutions sure as heaven should not sponsor it.
Roberta Zenker
#istandforyou
Sermon Matthew 15.10-28
“It is not what goes into a person’s mouth that defiles them, but the thing that comes out that defiles.”
We have had a week of confrontation, violence and even murder. We have had displays of ignorance, hate, anger and fear.
We have seen people stand up to hate- even at the risk of their well-being.
“It is the thing that comes out that defiles.”
And what is this defilement?
It is in believing that I am better than anyone else- and then saying that.
Defilement is this: hateful thoughts that become words that become actions that defile this world.
It starts with thoughts that become words, words that are not loving.
It is in saying that other human beings are inferior to me.
It is in saying that certain human beings have no right to live.
It is in speaking hate.
And what is hate?
Hate is a fundamental denial of the reality that every human being on this planet is made in the image and likeness of God. It is a refusal to believe in the fundamental goodness and value of every human being.
This is against what we believe. To quote the Book of Common Prayer’s ritual for Baptism- which most of us have participated in once or twice during the past few months:
“Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin repent and return to the Lord?
I will with God’s help.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people; and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will with God’s help.”
This is what we believe.
If you don’t believe that, this is not the place for you.
We must be totally clear. In the words of pastor Jay Abramson:
“Racism is an extremely dangerous sin, invisible to the one suffering under it. Jesus condemned it when He commanded, “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” No one who holds racist beliefs can call themselves a Christian. The group in Charlottesville held these views against all but Anglo-Americans. Those views have led them, in the past and now in our present, to despicable acts of violence.
How should we respond to these events?
You and I are not able to recognize the disease of racism in ourselves. We need to find another Christian to pray with us and honestly help us identify any racist tendencies so that, through the Holy Spirit, we can follow the instructions of 2 Corinthians 10:5 and “take every thought captive,” and then daily live out Jesus’ command of love. If you are Anglo, I suggest you find a believer of another ethnicity for this purpose.
We live in dangerous times. Racism has destroyed whole cultures and it will destroy ours unless it is fully and finally dealt with. Followers of Christ should be at the forefront of this healing process. May we all enter into a season of concentrated prayer to that end.”
Former Presiding Bishop Edmond Lee Browning wrote in 1997:
“Sunday at 11 O’clock is the most segregated hour in the American week. The history of every religious denomination in our country is shot through with the scars of racism- fresh scars and older ones. Racial bigotry frequently cloaks itself in religious language.
We all recoil from its extremes, like the Ku Klux Klan or the Aryan Nation, but we must acknowledge the link between even the politest prejudice and violence. It is a short step from holding a group in contempt to considering that group less than human. If it is true that the longest journey begins with a single step, it is true for ill as well as good, and small hatreds are the first steps toward great ones.
The custodians of a society’s religious and moral traditions are precisely the ones who constitute the greatest danger; we are the ones people look to for guidance. If we begin to lead those who seek God down a path leading to hatred, or stand quietly by while others lead them there, they may well follow. And the judgment against us in heaven will be more severe. Our God of love can only be served with love. If we- of all people- succumb to the virus of bigotry and hate that afflicts so much of the world, our state is a grievous one indeed.”
So, what do we do?
We love.
We love until it’s the hardest thing that we’ve ever done in our lives. We love until it hurts; we love even if we bleed, we love until our strength is gone- we may have to love until we lose our very lives.
Just as Jesus did.
We must choose the power of love over the love of power- just as Jesus did.
And most importantly, we don’t stand silent in the face of injustice, oppression or abuse.
We stand up. We speak out. We do it, because as Christians we MUST- even if we are crucified because of it.
Because we are created in love; we are created by love; we are created for love; we are created TO love.
Let us pray.
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people and kindle in them the fire of your love. Speak the Word and we shall be created, and together we’ll renew this pained and confused world.”
Amen.
The MT Office Of Public Instruction Erases LGBTQ Protections
According to my sources, all LGBTQ language has been scrubbed from the Montana Every Student Succeeds Act- meaning they only want non-LGBTQ students to succeed.
This is blatant discrimination at its finest- the OPI has decided “let’s hit our most vulnerable students with a complete denial of reality”. This cannot stand. I urge you to express your displeasure at this move by writing the OPI here: ESSAinput@mt.gov .
This is institutional bullying- and we cannot let this stand.
Update from Kim Leighton, Pride Foundation, Montana staff:
Approximately 40% of youth experiencing homelessness identify as #LGBTQ with the number one reason being family rejection. Parents or legal guardians often kick their children out of the home once they come out, simply for who they are and who they love; or the home becomes so untenable they are forced to leave. This is both heartbreaking and alarming as approximately 7% of the total youth population identifies as LGBTQ.
After nearly a year of working with allies at OPI to get inclusive language specific to the disproportionate impact of youth homelessness on LGBTQ youth, we’ve learned that the draft of the Montana State ESSA Plan has removed all LGBTQ language. The erasure of queer youth from an entire policy is unacceptable. Pride Foundation is working with service providers, partner agencies, organizations and national partners to address this. We will keep fighting to make sure queer youth experiencing homelessness are heard, seen and valued across these policies.
The public comment period is open until August 11th. You can submit comment at the following link: ESSAinput@mt.gov .
Clergy to Daines: Healthcare is vital
Signatures:
1) Montana Interfaith Network
Direct Contact: Executive Director Rev D Gregory Smith, STL, MA
montanainterfaithnetwork@gmail.com
406-442-5506
2) Bishop Karen P. Oliveto
The United Methodist Church
ExecAssist@MountainSkyUMC.org
303.733.0083
3) Rev. Dr. Marc Ian Stewart
Conference Minister
MT-NWy Conference United Church of Christ
marc@mnwcucc.org
406.657.0822
As leaders within our faith communities, we hold a deep respect for human life and recognize the inherent dignity of each person, regardless of his or her economic status. At our churches, we especially preach about upholding the dignity of all people: the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly, the hungry, the immigrant, and so on.
Because our faith calls us to care for others, we find the Senate GOP health care plan, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, reprehensible. Health care is a life or death matter. This unjust plan is destined to cause many members of our delegations undue hardship and suffering.
Senators who support this bill will be voting to take away health insurance from the elderly, the disabled, and children. Medical bills often drive families, especially those who struggle to make ends meet, into hunger and poverty. These families we speak of are our friends and neighbors whom we see each Sunday to gather in prayer and reflection.
Even with a longer timeline to phase out funding, the GOP health care plan would dismantle Montana’s Medicaid program. We know this program serves as a lifeline for many across the state. Currently Medicaid provides coverage for one in every three children in Montana. Medicaid also offers critical health services for people of all ages with disabilities to stay in their homes and live with dignity.
Where will these families go when they no longer have coverage and access to care? Where can our friends and neighbors turn when rural clinics are shuttered and small-town health programs are eliminated?
As people of faith, we believe health is a community value. Cold, virus, plague, disability, and death are not something we experience as individuals but are something we experience and react to through our schools, work places, health care networks, ecosystems, and faith communities. Our holy texts often describe ‘healing’ as a return to community, and this leads me to believe that caring for others in their time of need stands as the cornerstone of a strong community. In our congregations, we help our neighbors. We do the very best we can to help each other during hard times and serve our communities. While prayer, pastoral care, and loving friends are critical for holistic health, they cannot replace quality, life-saving, life-sustaining medical care.
On the topic of the health care debate, Senator Daines has said, “Government should serve the people it’s meant to serve.” Unfortunately, the Senate GOP attempt at a health care plan prioritizes excessive accumulation of wealth for the most powerful at the expense of ordinary people’s lives, health, and wellbeing.
This is not the faithful way forward. Our faith challenges us to heal the sick and care for the most vulnerable in our society. This Republican bill does the opposite. We urge our Senators to vote NO on the Better Care Reconciliation Act. Instead of making our health care system less accessible to those who need coverage most, Congress should strive to improve the system so that all Americans have the health care coverage they need. Lives are at stake.
Without love…
I love Donald Trump- much like a parent who loves their child who is hell-bent on the family’s destruction.
I do not agree, condone or approve- but I love.
To do anything else violates my most basic values. To do anything else violates my most dearly held beliefs. To do anything else ignores the message of Jesus.
And don’t get me wrong- I will oppose the anti-Christian policies of this administration with everything I have.
But I will love.
