WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

In a case of someone buying the wrong mailing list and contacting me, last Friday, I received an ad piece from “Quintess – The Leading Residences of the World.” This is a Time Share with a difference - a big difference from any I have ever seen before. When I was in seminary, Vicki and the boys and I went to hear a sales pitch in French Lick, Indiana. It was a standard package; two weeks in beautiful downtown French Lick in a hotel yet to be built with a bowling alley in it.

This company has properties in such places as London, Florence, Paris, Jackson Hole, Napa Valley, Los Cabos, and Maui. It claims that its properties are worth more than $4 million each. Further, the company provides 5-star service at each property.

Vicki and I popped the DVD that had been sent in and marveled. The screen was filled with images of white sandy beaches, massive and luxurious buildings, top flight chefs, expensive wine, and luxurious beds. In addition, this company has made arrangements with other companies near its properties so that the guests, for instance, could be given the keys to a top-end sports car to take a spin.

The DVD, of course, does not give any cost for such opulence. So, I went to the website. There were several “packages” available. The cheapest one required a $240,000 membership deposit - that is upfront, though it is refundable in the first year if you don't like it - with an annual fee of $18,750 - that is every year - to have 20 nights available at these fabulous places. For the top package, somebody would have to pay a membership fee of $850,000 and $66,500 per year. This would permit 75 nights in these great places.

Throughout each scene, the calm, persuasive voice talked about what a great value this is. It was a, "How can you put a price on such an opportunity to have pampered fun with your family and friends."

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?! Besides the fact that I am way too frugal, or cheap, to pay this much if I had the money, I could not even pay the annual fee for the “cheap” package. I guess some people have ponied up the money; Quintess says they have a 6:1 member to property ratio, which would translate to around 200 members. But, why would these people expend this much in such a conspicuous consumption?

As I gathered the facts about this company and their offering, I wondered whether these people who are the privileged members of Quintess donate as much money to charitable groups that provide medicine to children in Africa to stop diarrhea or measles or provide food to the hungry or education to Afghan children as they do to enjoy the finest service at top shelf resorts.

I have to wonder, “What were they thinking?”

So, Kiss Me, Kate

Vicki and I spent last night at the Swanson Center, Piedmont's new Mass Com and Theater Building for the Opening Night of the Cole Porter musical, Kiss Me, Kate.

Porter used the "play within a play" device to tell the story of the triumph of true love. The storyline is simple. A theatrical group is performing a version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew in 1940's Baltimore. The male and female leads used to be married to each other. Now, each has found a new love. But, as is typical with a Porter production, while they go through rather comical mishaps and misunderstandings, they will eventually "find" each other again.

Many well known Porter standards are in the production, like, "Another Opening, Another Show," "So In Love," "Too Darn Hot," and "Wundebar."

Once again, this was an enjoyable evening, made more so by our contacts with the players in other settings.

Tragedy at Northern Illinois University

In a scene that has become all too familiar, a gunman entered a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University and opened fire. The last reports I saw indicated that 6 people, including the shooter, had died. This follows a number of other shootings - February 8 in Louisiana and February 11 in Memphis - that were mentioned in the national media and somehow seem to have vanished from the national consciousness.

I wish I understood why such violence has become so commonplace. I wish I knew why such things take place in America more than in other countries. I wish I knew how we, as a people, could guarantee such a tragedy would never happen again, but I fear that it will. I wish I understood how such tragedies can fade so quickly from our awareness. What does any of this say about us as a people?

Join with me, please, in offering prayers for the families of these who have died.

UPDATE - This morning's news reports said one more of the shooting victims died. Info about the shooter - a 27 year old graduate of NIU with no history of behavior that would indicate something like this - is coming out. Accounts of students inside the lecture hall indicate that the shooter reloaded.

With so many readily accessible public places in the US - malls, parks, schools, concert halls, theaters - that have no or little security, what are reasonable choices for gun control, plans for communication to alert people to such situations, and security that we, as a people, should consider?

ATTENTION Coffee Lovers

I started drinking coffee when I was in college. At that time, I was a Chemical Engineering student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and was a co-op at the Champion Paper Company in Canton, North Carolina. In the lab where I worked, there were at least three coffee pots going at all times. In order to drink anything else, I had to walk through the plant - and anyone who has ever had to walk through a paper plant knows all that means - to find a soft drink machine or to get to the cafeteria.

I left the engineering program, but I never abandoned drinking coffee. Coffee was my companion through all the rest of my educational path - every degree - and at every job I have had since. Many people at churches I have served believe that my right hand is curved in a perpetual "cup holding" curve.

I give my bona fides because I want to alert anyone who loves really good coffee and wants to make a positive difference to something extraordinary. Last Summer, through the Sweetwater Coffee House in Sautee, Georgia, I discovered the Thanksgiving Coffee Company. This company was one of the first fair-trade companies operating in the United States. That means the company has pledged to pay a fair price to the farmers who actually grow the coffee.

Through Thanksgiving Coffee, I discovered Mirembe Kawomera coffee. This coffee is grown in Uganda by a co-operative of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim farmers. Thanksgiving Coffee has pledged to buy the entire crop produced. In addition to paying fair-trade prices ($1.61 per pound which is MANY times more than a farmer would get from the grocery store coffee brands), Thanksgiving Coffee gives back $1 to the co-operative for every pound of coffee it sells.

Let me encourage you to look at the web-site, http://www.mirembekawomera.com/, to get the full story. AND, let me encourage you to present information about this coffee to your community of faith, within your neighborhood, and with all of your friends who love coffee. THEN, ORDER COFFEE.

Covenant Congregational Church, which I serve as pastor, ordered coffee from Thanksgiving Coffee last Fall. I cannot say enough good things about the service we got and about the quality of the coffee. It is wonderful to know that we are making a difference in this part of the world just by drinking good coffee.

COFFEE LOVERS ARISE!!

A New Jesus?

Last July, the Washington Post sent a reporter, Kevin Sullivan, to Siberia to research a story on a man who asserts that he is the new coming of Jesus to the earth. Yesterday, in the Post's On Faith section, the paper presented a Q&A with this man who is called "Vissarion," which means "he who gives new life," by his followers.

Sergei Torop, a middle-aged former Siberian traffic cop, lives in a remote village some 2000 miles from Moscow with a few hundred of his followers and with around 5000 more of his followers in neighboring villages. Torop said that when he was 29 he had a spiritual awakening and realized his divine nature. To quote from the July 2007 story, "He said he then understood that God had sent him to Earth because hatred and war and environmental degradation had become rampant." Torop said, "This is the first time I have been needed in 2,000 years. This is a critical point. Only when mankind becomes one family on Earth will the doors to the universe become open to them."

The Q&A session published on Wednesday was fascinating for me. Let me share one exchange.
"Q: Would you consider that you were a revolutionary the first time around? Do you think you are now? A: I’ve never thought about it this way. What I am to pass to people is opposite to the life that they are living now. People’s existence today is based on animal principles. They live with each other not because they love each other and want to support each other, but because it is easier to survive in the “pack”. At the same time each “pack” tries to live in accordance with its own interest and doesn’t take other “packs” into their account. But a human is more complicated than an animal, and the ways of achieving his interests are much more perverted. No one on earth does as much harm as a man. It should not be like this."

Many religions believe that there will be a spiritual leader who will come to the earth in times of great crisis. Obviously, I do not think that Vissarion is the new appearance of Jesus on earth, but many thousands of Russians, many of them highly educated people, do.

That made me wonder. If Jesus were to return to earth before the End of the World as we know it, what do you think he would want to teach the people of the earth? What his message be? Would it be a re-statement of what the gospels say or would there be new teachings pointed to particular contemporary issues?

Let me invite you to post your thoughts about this. I will share your insights, anonymously of course, in an upcoming post.

The Flushing Remonstrance of 1657

I hope you were like me and said to yourself, "The Flushing what ... ?" I did not know what it was either until I read the new issue of Report from the Capital, which is the newsletter from the Baptist Joint Committee that comes to my desk at the college. It contains an article about this document.

Let me give you some background. In 1657, the governor of New Netherland (New York), Peter Stuyvesant issued an order barring the community from assisting a group of Quakers that had moved into the area. The citizens opposed this order because it violated both long standing Dutch law and principles of religious tolerance.

So, on December 27, 1657 a group of 31 townspeople, including the town clerk, sent a petition to the governor protesting the order. Within the text, they said, "Wee desire therefore in this case not to judge least we be judged, neither to condemn least we be condemned, but rather let every man stand or fall to his own Master. Wee are bounde by the law to do good unto all men, especially to those of the household of faith." and " The law of love, peace and liberty in the states extending to Jews, Turks and Egyptians, as they are considered sons of Adam, which is the glory of the outward state of Holland, soe love, peace and liberty, extending to all in Christ Jesus, condemns hatred, war and bondage." and " Therefore if any of these said persons come in love unto us, we cannot in conscience lay violent hands upon them, but give them free egresse and regresse unto our Town, and houses, as God shall persuade our consciences, for we are bounde by the law of God and man to doe good unto all men and evil to noe man."

Now, Stuyvesant did not much like this. He arrested the town officials who signed the document, abolished the town government and replaced it with his own appointees, banished the clerk from the colony, forced the other signers to recant, and called for a day of prayer for the colony to repent of the sin of religious toleration.

The document now stands as a major point on the path toward religious freedom in America. As Kenneth Jackson, a professor of history at Columbria University wrote in a New York Times editorial, there are four major reasons why this 1657 protest was remarkable: 1) it articulated a fundamental right that is now held as a basic American right; 2) the authors backed up their feelings with action; 3) none of the signers was a Quaker, so they stood up for the rights of others, notably a persecuted minority; 4) the language was as striking as the sentiments they expressed.

It is important that the 350th anniversary of this document championing religious toleration took place last month. It is even more important that our nation reaffirm this position now.

Shameless Plug - Again

Just in case you missed this before, I want to highlight it. On the link I have identified (look to the left), The Chittum Files, you will find some important information about a charitable opportunity.

Adam and Jill, our son and daughter-in-law, will be part of an American Cancer Society Relay For Life in the Kansas City area as part of a team from the Blue Valley High School. For those who would pledge to their endeavor, Jill will offer chances on a hand-knit scarf. This is a sketch of the offer; Jill has all the details on her blog.

As anyone knows who knows us, the American Cancer Society is near and dear to our hearts. Roughly 11 months ago, when Vicki began this painful journey dealing with treatments for breast cancer, we consulted many sources for information and support. The American Cancer Society is one of the best. We have participated in a Relay for Life in Habersham County and helped organize a fund-raiser at Christmas for the ACS. Jill and Adam are dedicating their participation in the Relay to Vicki.

So, this is a shameless plug to anyone who reads this blog and does not look at The Chittum Files to CLICK NOW on the link and consider contributing to the ACS and get a chance for a swell, personally hand-knitted scarf - look for the January 25th posting.