Back home...

We traveled home to Maine today, leaving the lush spring green of Washington (dogwoods are in full bloom there) for the just budding branches in Maine.

Our return trip went without a hiccup--no leaky air conditioner "baptisms" or stalled trains to deal with. The sleek Acela is the only way to go, I think. We made the trip from DC to Boston in just a little more than 6 hours--

I'm too tired to write more--tomorrow is a regular work day for me, so I am heading to bed!

More later....

M2EP -- Day 3

Today was the final day of the Mobilization, and in many ways, I think it was the best. In the fourth Plenary Session this morning, the 6 panelists and Brian McLaren spoke about obstacles we will face as we get our church communities involved in this issue. Most memorable of the panelists were Brian McLaren and ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hansen.

Challenges (there are more, but these two stuck in my mind and made it to my notes!):
As congregations, we need to decide if we are "settled" churches or "missional" churches (My bias: I hope that we at St. Georges see ourselves as a missional church...)--how do we as a community define ourselves in relation to the poor? Poverty is a BIG issue--Bp. Hansen likened it to gnawing on an elephant--it's sure easier to chew a biscuit!

When we talk about poverty, some will see it as a political issue and inappropriate in church--it's important to remind these folks that much of Jesus' ministry focused on the poor and the outcast. What does it mean today to be a follower of Christ?

It's important to join with other churches as we work to address the issue of poverty--a quote I remember in this regard: "We need to lay down our [denominational] identities to be able to lift up the cross."

One of the points that was made again and again over the three days was the importance of identifying with the poor--putting names to faces--being present to their lives and experience. Vincent Harding, a veteran of the Civil Rights era, said that if one works for the poor you are a kind benefactor. When you identify with the poor, it's a life of dangerous living well worth living.

Tomorrow morning, we head home with lots of ideas...stay tuned. There's much more on my mind...

M2EP - Day 2

An amazing day! We slept in just a little this morning, since we decided to go directly to Capitol Hill rather than the Convention Center. We all said Morning Prayer together this morning before we left--the Lectionary readings from Daniel and John I seemed somehow appropriate. Our meeting with Sen. Susan Collins assistant went very well. This did not surprise us--Sen. Collins does a good job of listening to her constituents and looks out for what's best for Maine. After that meeting was done, we knew that we had free time until my meeting with Rep. Chellie Pingree at 3:30, so we made our way to the National Cathedral--not an easy task--Metro with 3 transfers followed by bus or taxi to get there. We chose the taxi. As always, the Cathedral was a treat for --we took a tour, led by a retired lawyer, who added all sorts on interesting historical information to his tour. This is one of our country's treasures....

We split up at Longwood Building to see our Representatives. While I kept my appointment with Rep. Pingree's assistant, Cindy and Tom paid a call on Rep. Mike Michaud. Again, we were well received. I particularly enjoyed my visit with Jennifer Taylor. The three of us met up again at a rally/reception that was help at the Raeburn Building--there was a full line of speakers, including the surprise appearance of the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. When the rally ended, the three of us decided to have a quiet dinner and come home early, rather than return to the Convention Center for another inspiring worship service (though that was tempting!). We found a little Thai restaurant on the same block of the Metro stop, had that quiet dinner and headed home.

As I reflected about the day, one of the things that made an impression is the spirit here in our nation's capital. There's a sense of hope that's almost palpable--even the taxi drivers seem optimistic.

Tomorrow we learn how to bring what we have learned back home with us, to make a difference in our own communities and beyond.

M2EP - Day 1

What an amazing day yesterday was! We got home too late and I was too tired to write last night, but I thought I would put some thoughts down this morning while yesterday was still fresh. Cindy, Tom and I were up and away early yesterday for check-in at the Washington Convention Center, a HUGE, brand new facility in DC. We gathered with 1100 other people in one of the ballrooms for the opening plenary session. We began with prayer and music, led by Rev. Zina Jacque, a dynamic African American woman who will be leading our worship throughout the Mobilization.

After worship, Jim Wallis, Rich Stearns (former CEO of Lenox, now CEO of World Vision) and Congresswoman Rosa Delauro spoke to us. The 1100 peopple in attendance are from a wide range of faith traditions--it was clear to us when we sang--many hands were in the air--while we may disagree on theology, we are united in our views on poverty. Jim spoke first--the faith community now has access in this new administration, but we need to push to get results--the budget under consideration has good potential to help the poor, but the faith community needs to get involved. "The budget is a moral document." Jesus' mission statement (from Isaiah) should be ours as a church.

Cindy Tom and I all thought that Rich Stearns was the most powerful speaker in this forst plenary session. His is a life transformed by an experience he had in Africa--he had much to say, but I will remember what he said about the faith community. Taken as a body, Christians give 2% to their churches. 98% of that doesn't go beyond the church. $.06 per Christian per day goes to the poor. If every Christian tithed, $168 billion could go to the poor. Poverty has ahuman face--God wants us to look at these faces and get to know their names. What would happen if the church turned its face to the world? What if each of us took the Gospel seriously?

Congresswoman Delauro echoed Rich's theme--with some statistics: 7.6% unemployment...37 million Americans now fall below the poverty line. 32 million are on food stamps. We need to repair the nation's safety net...
While the President was unable to be at our meeting, he sent members of his staff as part of a panel to speak to us. They spoke about the budget under consideration--efforts to streamline, importance of going green -- "The best anti-poverty program is a job" The recovery effort needs the help of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships.

In the afternoon, we heard from Jeffery Sachs (via video) of the Earth Institute, David Lane of ONE.org, and Angela Glover Blackwell of Policy Link, who all spoke about the MDGs, progress that's been made--and the treat posed by the global recession.

The last session of the day focused on Capitol Hill day and advocacy training. After the training we had (with good handouts) I am feeling much more confident about the congressional visits we will be making today. The three of us are the only representatives from Maine--we have a visit with Sen Collins this morning (Sen. Snow was unable to visit with us or provide a staff member to speak with us. Cindy and Tom will be visiting with Rep. Mike Michaud this afternoon and I have a meeting with Chellie Pingree scheduled.

Our day ended with a powerful worship service--live music from Martin Smith of "Delirious" and an amazing sermon (I would call it a "preaching experience") by Rev. Fred Haynes. 25 minutes of powerful preaching--he hardly took time to breathe. This Episcopalian has never heard a sermon quite like this one.... I'm glad we stayed in town for this...

Full disclosure: We got home to Virginia later than usual because I got us on the wrong Metro train. Tom keeps reminding me of this....sigh...

This morning, we are being a little lazy--we'll say Morning Prayer together (just the 3 of us, rather than 1100) and head to Capitol Hill. After our morning meeting, we plan to head to the National Cathedral and the Vietnam Memorial--a bit of sightseeing. Tomorrow will be spent in workshops and post-Mobilization training...

We traversed 11 states, but not DC -- yet...

Summary of the day: A baptism with water...two angels......speaking in tongues? and a baptism of fire. After a 5 a.m wake up call, Pete dropped Deacon Tom Duplessie and me off at Wells, where we met Deacon Cindy Beaulieu on the DownEaster--she had reserved one of the sets of seats facing each other for the trinity of deacons...All was well, until the air conditioning unit over us began sweating...suddenly we were wishing our umbrellas weren't packed! We managed to dodge the steady stream of droplets the rest way to Boston. Once in Boston, we transferred to the Orange line--two wonderful transit workers--who would have made a great comedy duo--helped us figure out where to go next and kept us in stitches. Once at Back Bay station, we grabbed a bite at the local Dunkin' Donuts--that's where we experienced the speaking in tongues--not English...not Spanish...we heard but didn't understand... Then, we boarded the Amtrak Regional that would bear us to DC--we thought! All was well--it was a beautiful day--on the beaches of the coast of Connecticut, we saw swimmers and beach goers...fresh spring green leaves on the trees...blossoming fruit trees--sparkling blue water and azure sky studded with puffy clouds-- it was beautiful!

And then, just south of New Rochelle, the train stopped. There was a power failure. We sat. And sat. And sat. Finally after about 1 1/2 hours, Amtrak sent a diesel locomotive to tow us to New York. Air conditioning-free, we made slow progress to that city--that was our baptism of fire. It was hot! As we approached Washington, 3 hours late, my brother Jim picked us up at New Carrollton station and drove us to his house, where we are staying.

It was a long day, but even with the interesting happenings, the three travelers are glad to be here. On our trip down, as we passed through the largest cities in the Northeast, we noticed, in contrast to the natural beauty, the ugly evidence of poverty -- graffiti, houses in decay, trash by the rails... We hope the three days we spend here at the M2EP will help us find ways of replacing the ugliness of poverty with hope in our own communities.

We'll add DC to our 11 states tomorrow...for now, bed is looking very good!

Getting ready to leave for the M2EP

I meet up with fellow deacons Cindy Beaulieu (Aroostook Cluster) and Tom Duplessie (All Saints, Skowhegan) on the Downeaster early on SUnday morning. We'll arrive in Washington on Sunday night. The Mobilization begins on Monday. Sojourners has sent along some pre-Mobilization reading for us. I have found the 5 day devotional "Justice as an Act of Worship" helpful as I prepare for this venture. The article entitled "Toward a Spirituality of Justice" is a keeper...

The weather in Washington next week looks like it will be spring-like--even verging on summer--sunny with highs in the 70s and 80s... So I am going to break into my summer clothes earlier than usual. I hope this makes my suitcase lighter!