I was talking with a friend and we were discussing a prayer that was said at a school function. I am keenly aware of those who want to strongly voice their faith in schools and other settings as a political act. I feel sorry for them. They are always getting worked up by those who speak on a regular basis on the talk radio airwaves-those defenders of the faith. These defenders always want to put the world into two warring camps.
On one side is a group of people who wants to make a cause of saying Merry Christmas to rally around the bible and fight what they see as an evil that is spreading among business and individuals- the dreaded saying "Happy Holidays". On the other side is a business community and a group that recognizes that there are more and more people each year who are not Christians. The Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and many other people of faith who live and work in our community every day. I read on my Google home page the hype about the war over Christmas and the people who actually keep a tally of what businesses and individuals are using the phrase happy holidays instead of Christmas.
The other day as I greeted a Jewish friend of mine I said Happy Hanukkah to him and he responded Merry Christmas to me. It seems to me that most people of faith would greet each other in a respectful manner. I am not Jewish and he was not Christian. Yet we both smiled and wished each other happiness and joy of the season. I would appreciate non-Christians greeting me with a wish for a happy Hanukkah or Passover, a greeting during the month of Ramadan would also be welcome. I believe there is a cancer that is growing among certain parts of the faith community. This cancer is the certainty that they alone have the truth and must proclaim it in a way that tries to assert their truth above all other truths. That we should all live under one state sponsored religion. There are several books written about the people who came to our shores and founded this country on the right to practice their faith in their own way. The freedom of religion. Of course if you read just a little later in our countries history you see that they too were just as intolerant of others faith and beliefs as the the countries that they fled from. Several colonies tried to establish a "state religion". It was only a few individuals who saw that a true democracy allowed everyone to pray to their creators in a way that suited them. That also gave the freedom for some not to pray at all.
So this Christmas I will celebrate the birth of a Jewish child. A child that grew up in a faith tradition that revered Abraham as the founder. An Abraham that founded Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. A Jewish child that stood up against those in his own faith who said that you must follow strict rules of obedience as set forth by the high priests and ministers of the faith. This holiday season I celebrate the birth of a light in the world that fought against bigotry, intolerance, and injustice, and not just against those in the ruling empire whose will was carried out by armed soldiers or tax collectors, but also against those of his own faith who would tear down others for daring to believe that they too could have a personal faith.
So I say Merry Christmas and to my friends of other faiths I hope that you will express their joyous expressions of your individual faiths right back to me. I've been listening to the musical "Rent" lately and the song 525,600 minutes runs through my mind as I think back over the moments that measure this past year. In most of those minutes this past year I hope that I have tried to listen instead of talk, tried to encourage instead of reject, and tried to love even when it was much easier to be angry or even hate. How do you measure the the moments of a life?
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
making a two cent donation
It's been a wild and crazy month for me since I last posted. Everything has been focused on work so I've been feeling a little overwhelmed. I had an experience a week ago that has been on my mind since it happened. I was presented with a situation in that I was ushering for my church a week ago. As part of the ushers duty you walk up to the front of the church with a collection plate and then walk slowly to the back as people put their contributions in the plate. The aisle that I was on had a small number of people in it. As I walked from the front to the back not a single person put anything in the plate. I reached the back and the plate was empty. I thought about it for a second and realized I could not turn that plate in with nothing. I got out my wallet and looked inside. I realized all I had was 3 one dollar bills. I took those bills and put them in the plate.
Now I'm fairly certain that the people who did not put something in the offering plate that day probably write a check and contribute like I do on a monthly or quarterly basis. But I don't know that for sure. Now the thing that made me stop and think was wondering what it looked like to someone who came to Grace Church for the first time. Sitting there noticing that most of the people they see don't put something in the offering plate. What does it look like to my own child who generally doesn't see me put anything in that plate. Does she know that I contribute on a regular basis to help support something I care about. When I was a kid my parents always gave me something to put in the collection plate. It was a way of teaching me that it is important to give, and to be thankful for what I've been given. It wasn't until later I learned that they also sent a monthly check to support the church.
When I'm out shopping with my daughter at Christmas, I always give her money to put in the salvation army kettle. Even if I've already given that day, I'll try to always put something in almost every kettle I pass. Even if its just a little bit of pocket change. Why do I do that? As I thought about it, I discovered it is important to me that the people who volunteer their time, especially kids who volunteer their time to go ring those bells understand that I appreciate their efforts to make our community a better place. We have a shared responsibility. I also recognize that I can't give to everyone who asks me. I wish I could be my family has limited resources. Making a donation to feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, and clothe the needy is something that we are called by our faith and as citizens to do. I support education and the arts as well because I think it is just as important to give knowledge to the mind and give nourishment to a person's soul through music, theatre, and dance.
As I reflected back on that empty offering plate I knew that I couldn't let it go up empty even though I had already given that month. It is important for people to "see" people giving. Working for a non-profit we always recognize our donors with a thank you and by posting their names in our program. But what about places like churches and salvation army kettles where your name isn't posted. Last weekend it became important to me not how much you give but that people can see that you give. You are making a statement of what is important to you.
So I've made my new years resolution early. When the collection plate or the salvation army kettle appears, even if I've already written a check and got my tax deductible donation recorded, I will put in something every time I can. It may be just a few pennies or a single dollar, but it will be something. I want to teach my daughter to extend her hand in a way that sets an example and encourages others to give no matter what the amount. Besides if everyone gave even just a little bit here and a little bit there it adds up. So that's my 2 cents to contribute.
Now I'm fairly certain that the people who did not put something in the offering plate that day probably write a check and contribute like I do on a monthly or quarterly basis. But I don't know that for sure. Now the thing that made me stop and think was wondering what it looked like to someone who came to Grace Church for the first time. Sitting there noticing that most of the people they see don't put something in the offering plate. What does it look like to my own child who generally doesn't see me put anything in that plate. Does she know that I contribute on a regular basis to help support something I care about. When I was a kid my parents always gave me something to put in the collection plate. It was a way of teaching me that it is important to give, and to be thankful for what I've been given. It wasn't until later I learned that they also sent a monthly check to support the church.
When I'm out shopping with my daughter at Christmas, I always give her money to put in the salvation army kettle. Even if I've already given that day, I'll try to always put something in almost every kettle I pass. Even if its just a little bit of pocket change. Why do I do that? As I thought about it, I discovered it is important to me that the people who volunteer their time, especially kids who volunteer their time to go ring those bells understand that I appreciate their efforts to make our community a better place. We have a shared responsibility. I also recognize that I can't give to everyone who asks me. I wish I could be my family has limited resources. Making a donation to feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, and clothe the needy is something that we are called by our faith and as citizens to do. I support education and the arts as well because I think it is just as important to give knowledge to the mind and give nourishment to a person's soul through music, theatre, and dance.
As I reflected back on that empty offering plate I knew that I couldn't let it go up empty even though I had already given that month. It is important for people to "see" people giving. Working for a non-profit we always recognize our donors with a thank you and by posting their names in our program. But what about places like churches and salvation army kettles where your name isn't posted. Last weekend it became important to me not how much you give but that people can see that you give. You are making a statement of what is important to you.
So I've made my new years resolution early. When the collection plate or the salvation army kettle appears, even if I've already written a check and got my tax deductible donation recorded, I will put in something every time I can. It may be just a few pennies or a single dollar, but it will be something. I want to teach my daughter to extend her hand in a way that sets an example and encourages others to give no matter what the amount. Besides if everyone gave even just a little bit here and a little bit there it adds up. So that's my 2 cents to contribute.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Indian Summer
I just finished 2 1/2 hours of screaming, kicking, whining, banging and crying otherwise known as Jade's Social Studies homework. April told me it was my turn to experience the joy of Jade's homework since I didn't have to work tonight. Thank you April for the lovely gift. Jade has two tests to study for this weekend and a science project. I'm guessing since I'm home all weekend I'll get that joy as well. I found that my patience was wearing thin until I realized that I could outlast her. No matter what she said or did I wasn't going to let her win. Of course April handed me this gift and then proceeded to have her own issues with information that she needed from me for an article she was writing for work. Ahh such a peaceful weekend...
I got irritated with AT&T on Thursday when I got my bill. I had tried 2 months ago to cancel my land line phone service. The nice customer service person told me that I had been paying lots of things at an old price that I could get a much better deal now. She said that if I kept my basic line with no frills it would only cost me $3 a month more than my DSL. I got the bill, and yes it was only $3 more than my old DSL price. However the taxes and additional fees for each minute that was used when someone called me was the final straw. I called Friday and cancelled the line. Now I have to figure out who calls me that is important that only has my old telephone number. The plus side is that I won't be getting anymore of those telemarketing calls anymore. The downs side is that after I took the phone off the wall in our kitchen I was left with an ugly face plate in which my DSL connection is plugged into. April hated the look and demanded I put a phone back on the wall to cover the plate. I found an old black wall phone and put it on the wall. It seems odd to me to have a wall phone that doesn't work just for looks. I'm a real function first kind of person. April looked at it and then wanted a white phone to match the decor. I'm trying to come up with a slim white phone that doesn't work to hang on the wall to cover a silver phone plate outlet.
I called my folks on my cell phone this afternoon. Talked with my father for awhile. My mother has been encouraging him to go and rake the neighbors yard. The neighbor across the street is in his 70's and just had knee surgery. My father who rakes his yard daily now and often the neighbors on either side of him finally was convinced to go and help the neighbor. He bagged and raked all the leaves up. The neighbor was very grateful. My father is 78 and has become the neighbor who is now the yard police. If someone doesn't rake their leaves or the grass isn't cut in a timely manner he can't stand it. He will keep making comments until he will walk down the street with his lawn mower and mow their yard or rake their leaves. He is the guy who rakes the gutters in the street to make sure the water doesn't back up on its way to the storm drain. When I was growing up the neighborhood kids used to make fun of an older man who was just like that. Now I tell my mother that as long as the neighbors don't mind let him do it. If it makes him happy. I told her they can come visit me anytime and do my yard. Now that my father can no longer drive because of his Alzheimer's he prowls around the house constantly looking for things to do. Occasionally my mother will make up and excuse to go to Lowes or Menards just so he can prowl the hardware aisles. I keep trying to think of a way he could volunteer someplace. But his deafness and his disease means that he needs consistent supervision or he will get distracted and confused. He is as strong as an ox and is outside every day that the weather will allow. My grandmother, his mother, lived to be 97. My father and I talked about veterans day and his time in the national guard as tank driver. He regaled me with his shooting ability as a gunner. Then I asked him about his jobs after he left the Alabama national guard. I got him to laughing and talking. He sits quiet a lot of the time. I've made it a point to talk to him about things in his youth and early adulthood. Not about what happened yesterday. He was always a big sports fan but now he can't remember who the players are and what the standings are.
Thinking is such a major part of my life. Reading, discerning, trying to reason things out. I often worry about the disease in my future and wonder if I will be able to cope with if it is in my dna. Sometimes I wonder if I knew that the disease was going to affect me and I only had so many years left of clarity would I do something different. It is that old riddle. If you knew the day you were going to die would you change the way you live your life. My first play I wrote was about a man who wished that he could just walk away from all his troubles. In the play he got his wish or so he thought. As soon as he was free he went racing back to set everything back to the way it was. In the end it was only an illusion that a stranger had given him to see that even though he said he wanted to walk away he really didn't.
Each fall I think back over the years. Fall is always my favorite season. I'm always carried back to my college days. Crisp fall weekends in my freshman year of college. Walking across the campus on cool Wisconsin nights and warm days. Indian summer had arrived. A movie I remember watching was about a machine that could record your brain waves and recreate experiences. As the person was dying they connected the machine and it recorded all of their life moments as they passed before them. I know that one of my moments will be that Indian Summer of 1975 walking across the campus and looking at the leaves. It's hard to believe that was almost 35 years ago. If I close my eyes I can almost touch it once again.
This afternoon as I sat on my patio looking at trees and talking with my father about his youth I was touched by my own. I believe that it is possible to travel through time if we could only shift our brain waves just a little bit and step through the hole that is created. I wouldn't mind living that first year of college again. That was the year I began my career in theatre, I met April, I moved out on my own, my only transportation was a motorcycle, and I played guitar in band, I would stay up all night drinking wine and discussing love, politics and religion. That was a good year. Thanks Dad for helping me remember.
I got irritated with AT&T on Thursday when I got my bill. I had tried 2 months ago to cancel my land line phone service. The nice customer service person told me that I had been paying lots of things at an old price that I could get a much better deal now. She said that if I kept my basic line with no frills it would only cost me $3 a month more than my DSL. I got the bill, and yes it was only $3 more than my old DSL price. However the taxes and additional fees for each minute that was used when someone called me was the final straw. I called Friday and cancelled the line. Now I have to figure out who calls me that is important that only has my old telephone number. The plus side is that I won't be getting anymore of those telemarketing calls anymore. The downs side is that after I took the phone off the wall in our kitchen I was left with an ugly face plate in which my DSL connection is plugged into. April hated the look and demanded I put a phone back on the wall to cover the plate. I found an old black wall phone and put it on the wall. It seems odd to me to have a wall phone that doesn't work just for looks. I'm a real function first kind of person. April looked at it and then wanted a white phone to match the decor. I'm trying to come up with a slim white phone that doesn't work to hang on the wall to cover a silver phone plate outlet.
I called my folks on my cell phone this afternoon. Talked with my father for awhile. My mother has been encouraging him to go and rake the neighbors yard. The neighbor across the street is in his 70's and just had knee surgery. My father who rakes his yard daily now and often the neighbors on either side of him finally was convinced to go and help the neighbor. He bagged and raked all the leaves up. The neighbor was very grateful. My father is 78 and has become the neighbor who is now the yard police. If someone doesn't rake their leaves or the grass isn't cut in a timely manner he can't stand it. He will keep making comments until he will walk down the street with his lawn mower and mow their yard or rake their leaves. He is the guy who rakes the gutters in the street to make sure the water doesn't back up on its way to the storm drain. When I was growing up the neighborhood kids used to make fun of an older man who was just like that. Now I tell my mother that as long as the neighbors don't mind let him do it. If it makes him happy. I told her they can come visit me anytime and do my yard. Now that my father can no longer drive because of his Alzheimer's he prowls around the house constantly looking for things to do. Occasionally my mother will make up and excuse to go to Lowes or Menards just so he can prowl the hardware aisles. I keep trying to think of a way he could volunteer someplace. But his deafness and his disease means that he needs consistent supervision or he will get distracted and confused. He is as strong as an ox and is outside every day that the weather will allow. My grandmother, his mother, lived to be 97. My father and I talked about veterans day and his time in the national guard as tank driver. He regaled me with his shooting ability as a gunner. Then I asked him about his jobs after he left the Alabama national guard. I got him to laughing and talking. He sits quiet a lot of the time. I've made it a point to talk to him about things in his youth and early adulthood. Not about what happened yesterday. He was always a big sports fan but now he can't remember who the players are and what the standings are.
Thinking is such a major part of my life. Reading, discerning, trying to reason things out. I often worry about the disease in my future and wonder if I will be able to cope with if it is in my dna. Sometimes I wonder if I knew that the disease was going to affect me and I only had so many years left of clarity would I do something different. It is that old riddle. If you knew the day you were going to die would you change the way you live your life. My first play I wrote was about a man who wished that he could just walk away from all his troubles. In the play he got his wish or so he thought. As soon as he was free he went racing back to set everything back to the way it was. In the end it was only an illusion that a stranger had given him to see that even though he said he wanted to walk away he really didn't.
Each fall I think back over the years. Fall is always my favorite season. I'm always carried back to my college days. Crisp fall weekends in my freshman year of college. Walking across the campus on cool Wisconsin nights and warm days. Indian summer had arrived. A movie I remember watching was about a machine that could record your brain waves and recreate experiences. As the person was dying they connected the machine and it recorded all of their life moments as they passed before them. I know that one of my moments will be that Indian Summer of 1975 walking across the campus and looking at the leaves. It's hard to believe that was almost 35 years ago. If I close my eyes I can almost touch it once again.
This afternoon as I sat on my patio looking at trees and talking with my father about his youth I was touched by my own. I believe that it is possible to travel through time if we could only shift our brain waves just a little bit and step through the hole that is created. I wouldn't mind living that first year of college again. That was the year I began my career in theatre, I met April, I moved out on my own, my only transportation was a motorcycle, and I played guitar in band, I would stay up all night drinking wine and discussing love, politics and religion. That was a good year. Thanks Dad for helping me remember.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Disappointment
I have been going over lots of details lately about mission statements. The theatre had a short discussion about ours at the last board meeting. The church board meeting had a change to its mission statement proposed as well. It seems like lots of groups are looking at their missions. One of the articles I read in Fast Company magazine was about creating a mission statement that wasn't just a bunch of big words without any concrete meaning. It used an example of a big goal. I've been cursed with a brain that continues to work on things like mission statements in the background while I work on other projects.
I saw a video yesterday from Peoria arts groups that really moved me and then a video that was linked on the theatre communications group site about stage lighting technicians at the Santa Fe Opera. Both videos really caught my attention as they spoke to what's going on with the arts all over the country.
April and I got into a discussion yesterday about the insanity of the political parties in this country. April would like to throw them all out and start over. Throw out the Democrats and the Republicans. I wonder what the mission statement for a new political party would be. I've pretty much stopped watching cable news shows, which is a major feat for me because I was a political junkie. I craved all the news I could get. Now the need to fill 24 hours a day with analysis of 2 sentences of something someone said that wouldn't have even been considered news 15 years ago really drives me crazy. I'm just afraid that the more political parties that come into power will become more of a fractured government like they have in Jerusalem. Three or four conservative parties and three or four liberal parties who all have to broker deals to get a majority to make a ruling coalition. The mission statement for those parties is to block everything that the opposition wants.
My other pet peeve today- I seem to be on a pet peeve rant today- is the latest stuff about Holiday Trees and Christmas Trees. When did Christians get so narrow minded that everything has to be called Christian. The latest nonsense is about the state tree. I say lets have Christmas Trees, and Menorah's, and Muslim Crescents and every kind of religious symbol all represented in our schools and our government buildings and in the celebration of every season. I'm willing to be that if everything were allowed the group that is complaining the loudest about the word holiday would complain about something else. Of course the atheists will be offended if any religious symbols are used. Fox News and CNN will send out crews to cover the controversy hoping that it will stir up people to watch their newscasts and then all the radio talk shows and TV commentators will go nuts and then the politicians will get involved, etc... My mission statement for the year is to block out all the noise and nonsense and pay attention to important things.... like NFL football... Maybe my attitude just comes from being a Chicago Cubs fan. We're used to disappointment. There's always next season.
I saw a video yesterday from Peoria arts groups that really moved me and then a video that was linked on the theatre communications group site about stage lighting technicians at the Santa Fe Opera. Both videos really caught my attention as they spoke to what's going on with the arts all over the country.
April and I got into a discussion yesterday about the insanity of the political parties in this country. April would like to throw them all out and start over. Throw out the Democrats and the Republicans. I wonder what the mission statement for a new political party would be. I've pretty much stopped watching cable news shows, which is a major feat for me because I was a political junkie. I craved all the news I could get. Now the need to fill 24 hours a day with analysis of 2 sentences of something someone said that wouldn't have even been considered news 15 years ago really drives me crazy. I'm just afraid that the more political parties that come into power will become more of a fractured government like they have in Jerusalem. Three or four conservative parties and three or four liberal parties who all have to broker deals to get a majority to make a ruling coalition. The mission statement for those parties is to block everything that the opposition wants.
My other pet peeve today- I seem to be on a pet peeve rant today- is the latest stuff about Holiday Trees and Christmas Trees. When did Christians get so narrow minded that everything has to be called Christian. The latest nonsense is about the state tree. I say lets have Christmas Trees, and Menorah's, and Muslim Crescents and every kind of religious symbol all represented in our schools and our government buildings and in the celebration of every season. I'm willing to be that if everything were allowed the group that is complaining the loudest about the word holiday would complain about something else. Of course the atheists will be offended if any religious symbols are used. Fox News and CNN will send out crews to cover the controversy hoping that it will stir up people to watch their newscasts and then all the radio talk shows and TV commentators will go nuts and then the politicians will get involved, etc... My mission statement for the year is to block out all the noise and nonsense and pay attention to important things.... like NFL football... Maybe my attitude just comes from being a Chicago Cubs fan. We're used to disappointment. There's always next season.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Question
I saw parts of several films on television this weekend. It could be just me but, has our culture moved to a place where mankind can no longer solve the problems we face. Almost every movie had some kind of supernatural force, super hero with incredible powers or a destiny that was written from God. Only those things can save the world. Have we really reached that point?
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The modern plague
I caught the last part of a movie on TV this morning. It was the movie I am Legend with Will Smith. This was a movie I saw at Cinemark a couple of years ago. The images in it are powerful. I sat thinking about this film after I turned off the television and I began to wonder about the stories that become part of us.
With so much craziness in the world I can't help but ask the question about what types of stories we are incorporating into our lives. The film and video gaming world are full of stories about death and destruction. We look for superheros to come and save us from ourselves. Everywhere you turn there is some television program with horrific violence as part of the norm. The television news shows are full of people who abduct children and indiscriminate violence by young teenagers against other teenagers, drug cartels killing on a daily basis in Mexico, suicide bombers, war being waged in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The news programs are full of families all wanting to get their 15 minutes of fame television time on the Today Show, Good Morning America or Larry King. The news channels have become news commentary channels with people of various backgrounds all telling us how the liberals or conservatives are all destroying our country. The newspapers now don't even bother trying to be balanced with their editorials and often the news sources they use to tell stories. Politicians and business people don't want anything done that might take away the profits from business. Even if their business is slowly killing the people or the environment of our planet.
As I watch all this I can't help but think about the stories that we are filling our hearts and souls with. Every television program we watch, every movie, every book, every play or piece of music that we take in becomes part of us in some way. I have been moved to action by reading stories in books which have inspired me to become a better person. I have watched films and plays of stories that make me stop and think about what I'm doing with my life and recognize the presence of God in other human beings.
So much of what I see today seems to be stories about how we kill each other. How we have to fight against everyone else to make sure that they don't take a single crumb from our table. We are creating stories that are destroying ourselves from the inside out. I know that you can play a violent video game and then not go out into the street to shoot someone. But if you incorporate that violence into your core then you become immune to stopping the violence that is around you. If you watch television shows or listen to radio programs that tear down your political opponents every day then you stop being willing to listen to people with other points of view. In the latest play on Broadway two couples get together to talk about their children fighting. It soon is revealed that one of the parents believes that you have to fight for everything in life. If you don't fight others they will walk all over you and you will have nothing. Our culture considers it a failure if someone else wins and you don't.
It is painful to stand idly by and watch us destroy ourselves. In I am Legend what was supposed to be a miracle drug to cure cancer turned into a plague that destroyed mankind. I sometimes wonder if our 24 hour news cycles, and violent video games, and films glorifying violence and destruction, and political commentary, and YouTube, and aren't doing the same thing to us. We will fight to the death, anyone who tries to take away, the right we have to destroy ourselves.
I'm just grateful I'm working on a comedy at the moment about a couple adopting a baby or I would go insane..
With so much craziness in the world I can't help but ask the question about what types of stories we are incorporating into our lives. The film and video gaming world are full of stories about death and destruction. We look for superheros to come and save us from ourselves. Everywhere you turn there is some television program with horrific violence as part of the norm. The television news shows are full of people who abduct children and indiscriminate violence by young teenagers against other teenagers, drug cartels killing on a daily basis in Mexico, suicide bombers, war being waged in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The news programs are full of families all wanting to get their 15 minutes of fame television time on the Today Show, Good Morning America or Larry King. The news channels have become news commentary channels with people of various backgrounds all telling us how the liberals or conservatives are all destroying our country. The newspapers now don't even bother trying to be balanced with their editorials and often the news sources they use to tell stories. Politicians and business people don't want anything done that might take away the profits from business. Even if their business is slowly killing the people or the environment of our planet.
As I watch all this I can't help but think about the stories that we are filling our hearts and souls with. Every television program we watch, every movie, every book, every play or piece of music that we take in becomes part of us in some way. I have been moved to action by reading stories in books which have inspired me to become a better person. I have watched films and plays of stories that make me stop and think about what I'm doing with my life and recognize the presence of God in other human beings.
So much of what I see today seems to be stories about how we kill each other. How we have to fight against everyone else to make sure that they don't take a single crumb from our table. We are creating stories that are destroying ourselves from the inside out. I know that you can play a violent video game and then not go out into the street to shoot someone. But if you incorporate that violence into your core then you become immune to stopping the violence that is around you. If you watch television shows or listen to radio programs that tear down your political opponents every day then you stop being willing to listen to people with other points of view. In the latest play on Broadway two couples get together to talk about their children fighting. It soon is revealed that one of the parents believes that you have to fight for everything in life. If you don't fight others they will walk all over you and you will have nothing. Our culture considers it a failure if someone else wins and you don't.
It is painful to stand idly by and watch us destroy ourselves. In I am Legend what was supposed to be a miracle drug to cure cancer turned into a plague that destroyed mankind. I sometimes wonder if our 24 hour news cycles, and violent video games, and films glorifying violence and destruction, and political commentary, and YouTube, and aren't doing the same thing to us. We will fight to the death, anyone who tries to take away, the right we have to destroy ourselves.
I'm just grateful I'm working on a comedy at the moment about a couple adopting a baby or I would go insane..
Sunday, September 27, 2009
An emotional experience
I haven't written in a while because of the heavy workload I've had this past month and the fact that I try not to write when I don't have anything to say. Sometimes I get worked up about something but I always remember the advice of Anne Lamont that said never write an email after 10pm. Most of the time I don't get in from work until after 10 pm and I've taken that advice to heart.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on the script for the Ghost Tour and struggling with casting shows and trying to work through some of the arts marketing books I've been reading. Last night I went to the wedding of a young man I watched grow up in the theatre. The setting was a beautiful lakeside spot with a green vine arbor and over 200 people who all attended to celebrate the beginning of two people who were coming together to face the future. April couldn't make it and I went by myself. I didn't know most of the people there and was fortunate to find a friend from the theatre who also didn't know a lot of people there, and we looked on as this young man that we had watched grow up, began a new life journey. I left feeling a lot of emotions. A sense of joy at the marriage of this young man, a sense that my presence there was important to him and his family, and a sense of friendship with the person I enjoyed the event with.
I came home and tired to finish the arts marketing book I was reading. I've been struggling with how to make the theatre a place that is successful and has value to the people who perform on stage and the people who sit in the audience I find similar questions in relation to the church service I attended this morning.
I'm on the vestry (the board of directors) of Grace Episcopal Church and this morning I really didn't want to go to church. It's been a long week. The thought of just kicking back this morning was really appealing. I had to work this afternoon with the tech rehearsal for the Secret Life of Girls which opens Thursday. I really craved some time to do nothing. To have no responsibilities. Then the responsible voice in my head said "you are on the vestry. If you don't make the effort why should anyone else." April didn't quite have the same nagging thought that I did so she did take the morning off. However I made Jade go with me since Sunday School started last week and I felt it was important that Jade go because she was my daughter.
We arrived at church this morning for a breakfast put on by the men of the church to celebrate the start of Sunday School. I looked around and there were only a handful of children. Jade whined as I made her go with me this morning, that she was going to be the only kid in her Sunday School class. As we sat there eating breakfast she looked around and said "I told you dad I was going to be the only one." Fortunately for me, a new family came to church this morning with a young boy who went to class with Jade so she wasn't the only one.
I sat there during the service and looked around and saw quite a few empty pews. It really got me to thinking about some of the challenges facing the organizations and churches today.
People are so busy today that they are more likely to look for reasons to not go to something than to find a reason to go. I had a lot of reasons why I could have skipped he wedding last night but in the end I was really glad I went. Why are some churches thriving and others slowly withering. Why are some arts organizations flourishing and others on the verge of collapse. One of the arts books I've read recently says that the only way to success is to boldly set out a course that makes people get excited about your programming. You have to do something that excites people and do it at a high level of quality. It has to engage people and they feel that there presence at the events is something that leaves them feeling invigorated when they leave and glad that they came.
As I sat in church this morning I knew that the teacher who prepared the class for my daughter Jade did so not knowing if she would have none or several children. The choir prepared a beautiful anthem to be sung during the offertory. The deacon did a rousing sermon that challenged me to think. The priest did a good job of creating a service that offered points of reflection and points of action for each person attending. The readers read the scripture well. The teachers who taught the Adult Sunday school classes prepared and did a good job with the material they presented.
But I couldn't help thinking... does it make a difference if I'm here or not? Am I excited and looking forward to returning next week. Or do I do this out of a sense of responsibility? Episcopalians have a tendency to be very intellectual in their worship. The music is pretty to listen to. The readings and sermons are thought provoking.
But what is my part in this process. Is it to sit passively and reflect as an individual and then go my merry way. Except for the exchanging the peace this morning I could have left with really no interaction with others in the church service. I find myself a passive observer to the service. With so many things going on in life, things have to make me passionate about them to keep me interested and involved.
It is this sense of sharing an emotional experience with those around me that makes seeing a great play an experience that I find riveting. There is a sense of something truly exciting happening in live theatre that we experience right along with the characters of a play. When they are devastated we are devastated. When they are vindicated we feel vindication. When they reach out from a state of vulnerability we are right there with them. When I stand at the wedding of a friend I feel their happiness and I feel their joy. I feel a friendship with others who are witnessing with me this special moment.
In some ways I think those churches that seem to succeed today understand this need to have an emotional experience. As I walked out of church this morning I reflected on my emotional experience this morning... To be honest the emotion I most felt was feeling bad for the people who put in so much effort for such a small turnout. If the church doesn't start finding ways to create an emotional experience within the people who attend I'm afraid that it will slowly wither and become a place of only older members who attend out of a sense of responsibility.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on the script for the Ghost Tour and struggling with casting shows and trying to work through some of the arts marketing books I've been reading. Last night I went to the wedding of a young man I watched grow up in the theatre. The setting was a beautiful lakeside spot with a green vine arbor and over 200 people who all attended to celebrate the beginning of two people who were coming together to face the future. April couldn't make it and I went by myself. I didn't know most of the people there and was fortunate to find a friend from the theatre who also didn't know a lot of people there, and we looked on as this young man that we had watched grow up, began a new life journey. I left feeling a lot of emotions. A sense of joy at the marriage of this young man, a sense that my presence there was important to him and his family, and a sense of friendship with the person I enjoyed the event with.
I came home and tired to finish the arts marketing book I was reading. I've been struggling with how to make the theatre a place that is successful and has value to the people who perform on stage and the people who sit in the audience I find similar questions in relation to the church service I attended this morning.
I'm on the vestry (the board of directors) of Grace Episcopal Church and this morning I really didn't want to go to church. It's been a long week. The thought of just kicking back this morning was really appealing. I had to work this afternoon with the tech rehearsal for the Secret Life of Girls which opens Thursday. I really craved some time to do nothing. To have no responsibilities. Then the responsible voice in my head said "you are on the vestry. If you don't make the effort why should anyone else." April didn't quite have the same nagging thought that I did so she did take the morning off. However I made Jade go with me since Sunday School started last week and I felt it was important that Jade go because she was my daughter.
We arrived at church this morning for a breakfast put on by the men of the church to celebrate the start of Sunday School. I looked around and there were only a handful of children. Jade whined as I made her go with me this morning, that she was going to be the only kid in her Sunday School class. As we sat there eating breakfast she looked around and said "I told you dad I was going to be the only one." Fortunately for me, a new family came to church this morning with a young boy who went to class with Jade so she wasn't the only one.
I sat there during the service and looked around and saw quite a few empty pews. It really got me to thinking about some of the challenges facing the organizations and churches today.
People are so busy today that they are more likely to look for reasons to not go to something than to find a reason to go. I had a lot of reasons why I could have skipped he wedding last night but in the end I was really glad I went. Why are some churches thriving and others slowly withering. Why are some arts organizations flourishing and others on the verge of collapse. One of the arts books I've read recently says that the only way to success is to boldly set out a course that makes people get excited about your programming. You have to do something that excites people and do it at a high level of quality. It has to engage people and they feel that there presence at the events is something that leaves them feeling invigorated when they leave and glad that they came.
As I sat in church this morning I knew that the teacher who prepared the class for my daughter Jade did so not knowing if she would have none or several children. The choir prepared a beautiful anthem to be sung during the offertory. The deacon did a rousing sermon that challenged me to think. The priest did a good job of creating a service that offered points of reflection and points of action for each person attending. The readers read the scripture well. The teachers who taught the Adult Sunday school classes prepared and did a good job with the material they presented.
But I couldn't help thinking... does it make a difference if I'm here or not? Am I excited and looking forward to returning next week. Or do I do this out of a sense of responsibility? Episcopalians have a tendency to be very intellectual in their worship. The music is pretty to listen to. The readings and sermons are thought provoking.
But what is my part in this process. Is it to sit passively and reflect as an individual and then go my merry way. Except for the exchanging the peace this morning I could have left with really no interaction with others in the church service. I find myself a passive observer to the service. With so many things going on in life, things have to make me passionate about them to keep me interested and involved.
It is this sense of sharing an emotional experience with those around me that makes seeing a great play an experience that I find riveting. There is a sense of something truly exciting happening in live theatre that we experience right along with the characters of a play. When they are devastated we are devastated. When they are vindicated we feel vindication. When they reach out from a state of vulnerability we are right there with them. When I stand at the wedding of a friend I feel their happiness and I feel their joy. I feel a friendship with others who are witnessing with me this special moment.
In some ways I think those churches that seem to succeed today understand this need to have an emotional experience. As I walked out of church this morning I reflected on my emotional experience this morning... To be honest the emotion I most felt was feeling bad for the people who put in so much effort for such a small turnout. If the church doesn't start finding ways to create an emotional experience within the people who attend I'm afraid that it will slowly wither and become a place of only older members who attend out of a sense of responsibility.
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