Sick kid

A lot of folks who read this blog will know that our son, Ross, was sick last week. Ross was so sick that he was hospitalized and they held onto him for three days while administering IV antibiotics and fluids. We were really grateful to have the medical care that we did.

This experience caused me to think about our insurance. We have pretty good insurance through the denomination and, even thought it won't cover everything, it will cover just about all of the expense of Ross' stay in the hospital. We are so very, very fortunate. But what about people who don't have insurance?

I don't know how a child who would be ill like Ross was could be treated outside the hospital. Unfortunately, if a family doesn't have insurance, inpatient treatment is either impossible or puts the family in the position of looking at bankruptcy. The Children's Defense Fund estimates that there are eight million uninsured children in the US and I can only wonder what happens to those kids when they get sick. I can only guess how their parents feel.

This is an issue that has to be addressed by the American public. I believe the Christian stance on this issue is clear. Jesus charged us to care for the poor and marginalized, which to me would be those without insurance. Regardless of one's religious orientation, it's morally right to provide care for those who cannot afford it. I guess that ultimately there would be a cost to provide this care, but I have no idea how great. The point is that medical care can be provided and we need to look at the means by which to do so. Are you willing to step up and be a part of the solution?

Ross is better. He has returned to school and played outside in the snow this weekend. His recovery was possible because we had access to medical care. This needs to be a reality for all children.

Working for God

I have been doing church work for a few years. Actually, more years than I like to admit, and I have discovered something interesting. A lot of the things I do disrupt my plans and disturb my relaxation. What jumps to my mind is home communions.

In the Presbyterian Church the pastor has to do communions with another person so not only do I have to arrange my schedule, I have to find someone who is able and willing to do communions with me. I also have to contact those homebound folks to find out if they are free and would like me to stop by with communion. I think you have the picture: a lot of scheduling and arranging and bother. I am thinking, even as I approach the door of that homebound member how short I can make the visit without being rude.

Now here is what I have found out.

I sit down and chit chat a little and we have communion and chat a little more and I'll be darned if I don't find myself enjoying what I'm doing. My spirits are lifted and I know the people we visit appreciate it. I end up walking away from that home feeling good. So it is doing God's work.

This is a small example, but I think it applies to just about everything that we are called to do for God. Before we do it the task seems enormous and a big old pain. It seems like something we don't really want to do and thankless on top of that. Just like Moses or Jeremiah I can think of reasons why I shouldn't be the one doing the work. But then I do it.

If you're like me there's some joy to be found in doing the work. Somehow God twists things around and we end up having a good time. Sure it takes time and effort, but the results are what counts. With the home communions it is wonderful to see people's faces light up and understand how much they appreciate the visit and well wishes of the church.

Any time we do God's work it has the added benefit of helping someone. Even if it's something as simple as overcoming our shyness to welcome someone to church it has benefit to us. God twists things and in our work to help others we help ourselves. Working for God makes us feel good because we know we're doing what God would have us do. We are part of the divine plan and that feels good.

Nicaragua and Equal Exchange

I haven't blogged for quite a bit 'cause I've been out of the country. I was selected by the Presbyterian Hunger Program to be part of the delegation to Nicaragua. While the group of us were there we learned about fair trade practices, especially as they apply to coffee.

I need to figure out how to post pictures on this blog, but I think that if you are interested in looking at some pictures I think this link will take you there The pictures give you a little idea about what the land and people are like. While there we spent a few days living in the homes of some co-op farmers.

Nicaragua and Haiti are the two poorest countries in the region and about 80% of the people in Nicaragua live on less than $2 a day. The homes in which we stayed lacked electricity and running water. They were removed from adequate health care and stores. I was told that these conditions are pretty much the norm for the people of Nicaragua, especially farmers.

In the midst of this bone crushing poverty the church and organizations promoting fair trade try to make a difference. The Presbyterian Church is working with coffee farmers to diversify, adding citrus crops to augment the coffee. Fair trade organizations attempt to pay farmers above the market price for their coffee and contract that a portion of the overage goes to social improvement. The farmers I spoke to who are involved in fair trade co-ops said that it made a lot of difference in their standard of living and the future of their family.

Most everyone I know drinks coffee or tea. The next time you buy please look for an indication that your purchase comes from Equal Exchange or another fair trade organization. I will tell you right now that you pay a little more for fairly traded items. I will also tell you that the small cost to you has an enormous impact on the producers.

not evil

Sorry I haven't posted for a bit. Of course, the holidays got in the way and I had a major computer futz two weeks ago. I lost an amount of data and some of that was the password to this blog. I had a post in mind until I read this article.

I just finished an article in Christianity Today and here's the link Of course, Alan Hirsch is mentioned right at the top so I was drawn to that. The article talks about church movements through the years and what struck me was that the author doesn't call the church evil or sinful, but rather refers to it as "good intentions in a coma". Just yesterday I was referring to the church as an oceanliner-difficult to maneuver and set on its course.

In this case, the rallying cry is the "organic church" and I am a supporter of that concept. This is a vision that sees the church as a smaller and more relational body that is poised to react more to smaller, local needs and issues. The organic idea speaks to larger and global issues by bonding the smaller churches together for some time to deal with that issue. After the action then the constellation is formally disbanded, but links remain to be utilized as needs be.

I don't mean to church bash on this blog. The church is a really good thing and worthy of resurrection, but I do think that the image of the church in a coma is pretty applicable. It's time for mainline denominations to wake up and throw off the chains of somnambulism that the years of Christendom have only reinforced. I like the organic vision, but there are others. The point being that church as we know it has to change. The article goes on to say that there are prophets in our midst and it would behoove us to listen to those voices.

OK, I know I've blogged on this before so I'll leave it alone. Just wanted to share the article and my thoughts.