This video talks about our upcoming book on Faith and Politics, called SPLIT TICKET. The song in the background is one of my spoken word pieces, called “Revolution.”
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
NEW VIDEO: “Split Ticket,” Book #2 in WTF series
Monday, June 14th, 2010NEW VIDEO: Concert at FCC Granbury, Texas (June, 2010)
Friday, June 11th, 2010My good friend, Shannon Moore, and I got the chance to do a little concert at First Christian Church in Granbury, TX together in June, 2010. Here are some video highlights from that evening.
A Walk Around the World
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010(Originally printed in PULP)
One of my biggest issues with Western religious groups is how we tend to treat the human body. Aside from too often condemning our bodies as inherently dirty or sinful, we also tend to over-indulge them when it comes to food, to say the least. We too rarely speak of the spiritual importance of other self-care practices such as exercise.
Ideally, we wouldnt have to preach about it, but rather would live as examples to our communities. But more often than not, it seems like the religious leaders who are set apart are some of the worst offenders when it comes to self-care, or lack of it.
This isnt the case in all religious circles, however. For example, Yoga is a spiritual practice that emphasizes physical and spiritual wellness, and celebrates balance, both figuratively and literally. When I was not active in organized religion through much of my twenties, I found both the sense of community and discipline I longed for in martial arts. I was particularly drawn to Shaolin boxing, which was touted as the most ancient martial art, crafted by monks both as a spiritual practice and a method of defense.
So, although there are exceptions, it seems that religions originating from Asian cultures generally tend to get the importance of physical discipline and self-care, better than we westerners do. So, it was no great surprise when my latest spiritual inspiration was a Buddhist monk.
Endo Mitsunaga, a Japanese Zen Buddhist, is only the 13th monk since World War II to earn the honor of daiajari for completing an arduous pilgrimage. A resident monk of the Enryaku-ji temple on Mt. Hiei, near Kyoto, Mitsunaga completed a 26-mile trek in a single day through the mountains, marking the journey with 260 prayers along the way.
To complete such a task in itself is impressive, walking the equivalent of a marathon on the side of a mountain, but the 34-year-old monk has done the same walk a thousand times in the past seven years. He does the circuit, which brings him back to the monastery at its end, in strings of 100 or 200 days in a row, while wearing sandals hand-woven from grass.
By completing this pilgrimage, he has walked the equivalent of the distance around the planet Earth.
For most of us, this regimen would be all-consuming in itself, but he does this in his free time, since hes also charged with taking care of the other monks in the monastery seven days a week. His daily tasks take up about 80-plus hours a week, so he wakes up at 12:30 in the morning to begin his walk, finishing by 8 a.m. so he can work until after prayers at 8 p.m., sleep for four hours and get up to do it all over again.
Some might see the monastic life as selfish, not really offering anything to the world by walking in circles day after day around a mountain. But to me, such commitment, focus and self-discipline reveal how much were truly capable of as human beings. We tend to fall back on the my life is already too crazy argument for not praying, serving others or even caring for ourselves, but clearly, its more a matter of priorities than a matter of ability.
Its unfortunate that we have so few examples of sacrificial discipline in Western culture to help illuminate a path by which we might better ourselves. But at least, from somewhere on a mountaintop halfway around the globe, a monks quiet footsteps are heard half a world away.
Im not likely to join a monastery or walk around 26,000 miles in sandals any time soon, but Endo Mitsunaga serves as a heartening and challenging example that, given the will to do so, I can always do at least a little bit more.
New Video: Thoughts on the LOST Finale
Thursday, May 27th, 2010A recap of the show as it relates to the themes raised in my book, LOST: A Search for Meaning.
Priests and Abuse: Misplaced Anger?
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
(Originally published in PULP)
It seems almost cliché to write about religious sexual abuse scandals in a faith-oriented column, but sometimes news stories simply demand a response.
First of all, I want to make clear that, as a leader in a faith community, Im personally both saddened and outraged every time I hear about another innocent soul falling victim to a sexual predator who uses the context of the ministry to cloak themselves in protective immunity. With every new revelation of such abuses, my question isnt why these predators arent defrocked; its why theyre not sitting in a cell somewhere.
That said, I think some of us are focusing our righteous anger in the wrong direction. Yes, priests and other religious leaders who exploit their position to take advantage of anyone in their congregation, be they of age or not, have no business in ministry. And yes, those in positions of greater power who knowingly obfuscate the scale of the problem, making it even worse by moving guilty priests around, should also be removed. But simply to direct our ill feelings toward these individuals is to ignore the deeper, more disturbing reality.
By its very nature, church leadership roles present extraordinary opportunities for abuse. Few other jobs offer such a combination of power, lack of accountability and social pressure to present oneself a certain way. People trust ministers or at least have done so historically because of their positions. Its assumed that it takes a special kind of person to accept a call to act as a servant of a church and its followers.
The problem is that, although this is generally true, it also is an imperfect system. True, some potential predators see ministry as a system waiting to be taken advantage of, but more often than not, I am of the opinion that the systems of religion themselves are guilty of creating these monsters, and not just letting them slip through the cracks.
Imagine being told that, for the rest of your life, people will look at you as if youre set apart, different. In some ways, they will hold an unnatural admiration for you, but this same perception also will distance you from the rest of the culture. Add to this that, in some cases, youre expected never to act on your natural sexual impulses, or even the innate craving for emotional and physical intimacy, all sexual acts aside.
Then youre given a uniform and are afforded authority over people that, by its very nature, places them in a vulnerable state, while also being drawn to you. And though its assumed youre carrying out the duties assigned to you by the higher authorities from day to day, the level of oversight generally doesnt match up with the level of responsibility you have.
Weve all heard the stories about how lots of men turn gay when sent to prison for long periods of time. Its not that these guys actually are suddenly more attracted to men than women, but for lack of a woman, a guy will have to do. This is not uncommon throughout the animal kingdom, with same-sex animals pairing off when its the only option.
So is it that these priests who molest boys are actually gay? Some may be, and may likely arent, in the sense that a homosexual act does not a gay person make. But the system itself places young boys in the trust of male priests all the time, and lo and behold, the combination of personal repression and otherworldly expectations find an outlet, though in a chilling and violent way.
An immediate reaction to such moral tragedies is to clamp down, enacting zero tolerance policies and throwing the so-called book at perpetrators. And although such action might make us all feel better for the moment, its not likely to change the behavior of a person who is already risking everything they have in the world for what amounts to a licentious thrill.
I believe that the biggest problem is the repression. When we ask people to be something theyre not by nature, those repressed dimensions find a way of seeping through the tiniest of cracks. And when they do, its usually not pretty. If we were actually more open about allowing our spiritual leaders to accept that their sexuality is actually a beloved gift from God rather than a dirty thing to be despised, it would go a long way toward allowing them to be what they actually are: human beings.
Not only that, but it also would give those followers within the church permission to accept as much about themselves, hopefully coming to realize that healthy sexuality expressed in mutually consenting relationships is as God meant it to be. Otherwise, none of us would be here!
From the first stories in the Bible, were wrongly taught to hate our bodies and to understand our sexuality as detestable and wrong. But as Ive heard it said many times before, hows that working out for you?
Couldnt it be that reading stories like those about Adam and Eve could tell us why we tend to view our bodies with shame, rather than taking from it that we should hate our physical selves? Couldnt it be that, if we are indeed created in the image of a Creator, our impulses and urges are supposed to be there, to be used and expressed in wonderfully creative ways?
If we can learn anything from history its that nature wins over the will of humanity every time. We may like to think that having the appearance of control over our sexuality makes us more highly evolved, or even somehow closer to God. Ironically, its those same God-given impulses that, when repressed find other ways into the light.
The problem is that, by then, its too late, and the shame continues.
Vehicular Manslaughter = $100 Traffic Ticket (NewSpin)
Friday, May 7th, 2010(Originally published in PULP)
We are a society whose order is built upon laws. Though there certainly is no guarantee of safety and quality of life, we generally can rest assured that the legal system will provide some recourse for victims and appropriate justice for those causing harm.
But things dont always work out the way they should.
Last September 30, Betty Joyce Kuykendall, 62-year-old Pueblo resident ran a stop sign on Tejon Avenue, rolling 85-year-old William Doroughs car with him and his two passengers, Katherine Waller, 75, and Spencer Waller, 19, inside.
Dorough was admitted to Parkview Medical Center the next day, and on October 27 died from complications from injuries related to the accident.
For this, Kuykendall was fined $100 and faces no further criminal charges.
So what happened? A number of things, actually. First, the Sheriffs deputy handling the accident reported that no one was injured seriously enough at the time, following a medical exam, to warrant any charges related to bodily injury. Instead, Kuykendall was issued a ticket for failing to stop at the stop sign and the rest was left to the insurance companies to deal with.
Kuykendalls lawyer advised her to plead guilty and to pay the fine. Her check was processed at the Colorado Department of Revenue on October 26, one day before Dorough died from complications related to the wreck.
The Pueblo District Attorneys Office, which is responsible for determining if the initial charges were sufficient or if she should be charged with something like vehicular manslaughter, didnt receive the Sheriffs report of the accident until December 16. By then it was too late to charge Kuykendall with anything further, as she was protected by the principle of double jeopardy as outlined in both the Colorado and United States constitutions, which ensures that a plaintiff cannot be charged twice for the same crime.
By the time our office received the full report and evidence, says Bill Thiebaut, Pueblo District Attorney, and a copy of the summons and complaint, and the disposition of the traffic case, the defendant had entered a guilty plea to the traffic charge.
In most cases, explains Thiebaut, Our office would staff the case and determine if someone committed a chargeable offense. If it was determined that a defendant should be charged, our prosecutors seek justice with a charge or charges equal to the offense. The problem is, at least in this situation, that it took two-and-a-half months for the paperwork to reach the DAs office.
I wondered if this is a normal timeframe for processing the materials needed to determine appropriate charges. It is not unusual that we receive reports after this length of time elapses, Thiebaut says. It takes time to put together the case.
As for the injuries not being reported, Thiebaut states: Apparently, the deputy sheriff did not know the extent of the injuries to the victim and issued a summons and complaint at the scene for a traffic violation.
I asked Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor for his assessment of the incident, to which he said, In reviewing the case, I have found that my deputies responded appropriately given the circumstances that they were faced with. This was a terrible tragedy and atypical when it comes to investigating and prosecuting an offender.
According to the Sheriffs report, the lack of reported serious injury is based on medical exams performed at Parkview Medical Center by a doctor and nursing staff. When the parties from the accident were taken to the hospital, says Taylor, my deputy inquired with the hospital personnel whether or not the individuals had sustained injuries that would amount to Serious Bodily Injury (SBI) as defined by statute. He was advised on the night of the accident that there was no SBI by both the doctor who examined them as well as several nurses.
The Sheriffs report details the nature of Doroughs injuries, not discovered upon intake at Parkview the day of the accident, but identified the following day when Dorough returned to the hospital and was admitted for complications. His neck was fractured and required surgery that would fuse portions of his cervical spine together.
In the week following the surgery, Doroughs condition worsened, ultimately requiring him to be intubated. He later had the tube removed but by then had partial quadriplegia, according to the report, which meant William (Dorough) could move his extremities but did not have any strength.
On October 27, medical staff recommended a second intubation, but Doroughs family declined, citing quality of life issues. He died at 11:11 am later that morning.
Deputy Jonathan Post, the one reporting on the investigation for the Sheriffs Department, questioned Dr. Rochelle Elijah, Doroughs hospital physician, asking why the Sheriffs Department was not told about Doroughs injuries when he returned to the hospital the next day. Elijah said she did not know, according to the Sheriffs report.
Asked also if Doroughs death was directly linked to the accident, Elijah said it was. The report does not list any of the medical staff by name that examined those involved in the accident the day of the wreck.
Following Doroughs death, Deputy Post and others from the Sheriffs department returned to the scene of the accident, gathering further information about the scene, which then was forwarded on to the District Attorney. But since Kuykendall had paid her traffic ticket, the DAs hands were tied.
So the DAs office did what they could, given the information they were provided when they got it. The Sheriff s Department issued the only reasonable ticket they could, given that attending doctors found no serious physical injury to any of the victims.
I asked Thiebaut if this kind of thing happens elsewhere, or if this was a freakish, isolated incident. Yes, there is precedent, he explains, however, this does not come up as often as you might think. Most bodily injury, serious bodily injury or death cases follow the model procedure [where the person causing harm is charged with inflicting injury or death]. On rare occasions, however, this scenario does play out.
In these cases, with double jeopardy shielding the would-be plaintiff from further criminal consequences, the only option for victims is to sue. According to Thiebaut, there is a civil case underway.
Incidentally, Betty Kuykendall has since been diagnosed with a neck fracture of her own from the accident and was scheduled to undergo surgery, according to the final report addendum included in the Sheriffs file.
Parkview Medical Center and staff involved in the case may end up being the subject of civil action before all is said and done, but I was left wondering what kind of legal responsibilities the medical staff may have failed to meet. Could emergency room doctors and nurses face legal fallout for missing two serious injuries in two different people the day of the wreck, one of which was eventually related to a mans death? And are they legally bound to report the injury to the Sheriff once it was discovered, considering an investigation was underway?
To be continued…
My new video: Where do we go when we die?
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010Public School Cuts Run Deep
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010NewSpin
By Christian Piatt
Originally published in PULP
Call it schadenfreude, but I couldnt help but smile when I read about Dr. John Covington, former Pueblo City Schools superintendent, having to contend with the ugly business of shutting down nearly half of Kansas Citys public schools. Granted, it was clear when he split town for the Midwest that he was entering a hot mess of a district.
But hey, when upward mobility calls, right?
Despite my sadistic need for karma to beat up Covington a little, the closure of 29 schools is nothing short of a crisis for children and families living in the city. Such a dire situation makes some of the recent developments in our own back yard a little easier to swallow.
Schools District 70 announced that, as of next year, it will be cutting back to four-day school weeks to try to balance the budget. Naturally, parents are concerned about the quality of their kids education, young ones taking the bus in the dark and what to do with the little buggers an extra day of the week when the rest of the world works.
Many parents in Pueblo are barely making ends meet as it is, particularly in outlying areas covered by District 70, and the challenge of paying for an extra day of child care every week might be the difference between making the car payment and giving it up to the bank. Obviously, the schools are trying to save money, so to stay open just to babysit would make no sense, but what to do?
As a vocal advocate that churches and community service groups should step up when theres an identifiable need, this is a great opportunity to put words into real action. Some churches offer parents night out or daytime relief once a month or so for caregivers. But if retired, unemployed or underemployed congregants could provide a safe haven for children to play and continue learning, it might actually help all of us justify those big buildings that, too often, only get used on Sunday mornings.
The busing issue is more easily addressed. True, there might be days when the buses have to run in darkness or at least twilight, but how many parents are content to leave their children at a bus stop on their own, even in broad daylight? I realize that rural areas tend to create a climate where everyone knows everybody else, but given the fact that sexual crimes against children are usually committed by relatives or family friends, this is hardly an excuse for a lack of vigilance.
When I rode the bus to school the city bus, mind you, not a school bus in Dallas, my folks stayed with me until the bus came. Yes, it took time, but it also communicated to me that my safety was a priority. Sometimes wed carpool and parents would take turns at this job, but even in the winter months when the bus ran into the evening, I knew there was always someone waiting for me on the other end.
Regarding the quality of education, the comments of a teacher friend of mine from District 70 makes the point well. She explained that, given busing schedules as they are now, combined with all the transitions kids have from one class or program to another, its hard for teachers to pack in all the curriculum-mandated material theyre expected to cover.
With the four-day schedule, she explained, teachers will still have the same number of contact hours in a week, but with one-fifth fewer transitions. This means longer periods of contact in the classroom, and, according to her, a better chance to cover important content than in a five-day system.
This still doesnt point to the 800-pound gorilla in the room, the absurdity of a donut-shaped district the educators and administrators are struggling to manage. Meanwhile, Pueblo City Schools sit square in the middle of it all, with some of its schools much closer to District 70 facilities than other schools in their own district.
Its understandable how reluctant either district may be to consider redrawing district lines or cost-sharing more than they already do, but considering what Kansas City schools are now facing, reshuffling the deck sounds like a much less bitter pill to swallow if funding continues to lag.
Finally, this still doesnt address the other problem we have in Southern Colorado, which is the value or lack of it that we seem to place on public school funding. Ours is one of the absolute lowest in per-capita funding of public education compared to income, and within Colorado, our two districts are near the bottom of that miserable pile.
I understand the resistance to raising taxes, particularly when were all hurting financially. But the old adage, you get what you pay for, tells only part of the story when it comes to childrens minds. Actually, the lack of investment will have a negative ripple effect, for decades to come, in the form of overburdened social services, swelling criminal-justice dockets, teen pregnancies, dropouts and substance abuse growing unchecked.
Maybe the more appropriate saying is pay now, or pay later. The four-day week may be relatively good news, compared to what may be coming if we dont step up to support public education. Unless were looking for John Hatchet Man Covington to come back our way and work similar magic for our kids, its time to make big changes while we still have a chance.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…in Church?
Friday, April 9th, 2010Dont Ask, Dont Tell
in Church?
By Christian Piatt
Originally published in PULP
Lots of adjectives have been attached to my name in the past, but provocative is one that seems to keep sticking. As a writer of mainly theological material, its expected that Ill use certain buzzwords and will avoid some topics that simply should not be talked about in polite company, let alone church.
Sounds like a challenge. I like challenges.
Enter the new book series Im co-creating and editing for Chalice Press, called Wheres the Faith? The acronym by which the series is known is WTF?, a brief nod to the provocateur in me. Part of the idea behind this series of books on matters of young adults and faith is to tackle the issues were supposedly not allowed to, so of course, the first book out of the gate had to be about sex.
After about eighteen months of planning and hard work, Oh God, Oh God, OH GOD: Young adults speak out about sexuality and Christian Spirituality hit the streets to at least so far rave reviews. The common sentiment, at least from those who will actually pick the thing up, is that its about time we started talking about things like alternatives to abstinence-only sex education, homosexuality, pornography and other hot-button topics.
For the essay on homosexuality, I was excited to bring on my friend, Shannon, who attended seminary as an openly gay man with my wife, Amy, back in Texas. In his essay, Growing Up Gay, he talks in both humorous and heartbreaking terms about what its like being a man living in a faith calling, while also being transparent about his sexual orientation.
I was afraid of being stabbed in the middle of the night, he writes, recalling his childhood in North Carolina, and of being kidnapped, of being beaten up by the bully at school, of failing my grade and of missing the rapture. I was most afraid, however, of being different in general and of being gay in particular. I didnt want to be laughed at and made fun of and called names. Instead, I just wanted to fit in and be like everyone else.
As one who serves in a local church, I can tell you that working in ministry isnt exactly the best way to blend in. But he feels led to a life of spiritual service, sexuality aside, and so the long, uphill climb began.
Actually, the phrase sexuality aside doesnt exactly fit the situation, as I learned while watching him struggle through the ordination process. When a seminary student completes his or her graduate school requirements and practical ministry work in our denomination, they may apply to be ordained by a team of other ministers in their region. Our denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), varies widely from region to region in policies, given that we have an intentionally weak central governance structure.
But this also means that, while some states or regions will gladly ordain openly gay ministers, others are less affirming, or even tolerant. No surprise that Fort Worth, Texas, fell into the less affirming category. Basically, they take the Bill Clinton approach to this issue, which is dont ask, dont tell, at least during the ordination process. This creates a system that, put simply, asks people seeking a life in ministry to lie or obfuscate to their peers.
Everyone on the ordination committee who knew Shannon knew he was gay, and if you meet him, its not exactly hard to figure out. I mean, the guy has a poster of Barbara Streisand in his entryway, for Gods sake. But he was advised to make his sexuality a non-issue as he moved through the process, buying into the game long enough to get his certification, at least.
Easy enough for someone who is straight to say. As a left-handed person in a right-handed world, I notice how very little righties think about being right-handed. But we lefties encounter things every day, from scissors to keyboards and so on, that make real the bias of the world against our nature.
I can only imagine the anger and disappointment Shannon must have felt in being told that something so central to his identity was a non-issue. On the contrary, his sexual orientation had everything to do with his ministry. Not that he wanted to start a gay church or anything, but it pointed to the very issues of justice and compassion of which he has become an unfortunate object lesson, far too many times.
So he came out to the committee and forced its members to deny him ordination because of his orientation, which they did. Several times in years since, he has considered leaving the ministry, though we encourage him to hang in there. After all, why would the systems ever change if theres no one on the inside trying to break down the old walls of intolerance?
Its tragic, though, that his road is so much harder than ours, simply because of who he is. What in the world would Jesus think?