The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has spoken, or at least a majority of five of the nine justices have spoken and in effect, have created law. The job of SCOTUS is to interpret law, to identify the constitutionality of law. On June 26, 2015 the high court declared that same-sex marriage was legal in the land. How should this law affect those persons who disagree with this interpretation?
Many people of differing faiths have always held that marriage is between one man and one woman. To a Bible-believing Christian just the idea of same-sex marriage is a creational oxymoron - it defies God's creational purpose. There is no such thing as same-sex marriage. What has happened is simply a sign of the times. Remember the Exodus story when the Israelites preferred their Golden Calf in place of the one God who set them free.
But Christians of the true faith need to continue in their love and respect for all of God's people regardless of how they choose to live, or what a secular court decides. We evangelical Christians need to understand that no matter how good or how bad America may seem to be at any one point in its history, we are Christians first. Christianity and American citizenship should not be conflated as an identity. To my way of thinking, churches which don their campuses with American flags on July the Fourth and other secular holidays misunderstand their vocation.
The first impulses of us who disagree with the SCOTUS decision make us want to lash out. But we Christians are called to be different from the culture while we live in the culture. Our identity is with God the Creator and Jesus His Son. We are called to be witnesses through God's Holy Spirit, to be salt and light.
We live in the "between times." The Death and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ marked the beginning of a restored heaven and earth. Full restoration has not come but we live and work in anticipation of that promised renewal. We Christians have work to do in faith through grace. Christian faith is not passive, Christian faith is the active living out of the Gospel message pointing to Jesus the Christ.
Do not be pessimistic even though more difficult times will come to the Church from the state and its disciples. Love all people, but be vigilant in proclaiming the Gospel. God is still in charge working out His own purposes.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
An Unfamiliar Drum in Old Charles Towne
It was a deadly evening in Old Charles Towne;
Nine souls of God brutally gunned down.
Satan’s hatred reared its ugly head,
While standing over its newly dead.
Satan took Him to this Holy City,
And stood Him on the highest steeple.
“Ignoring me would be a great pity;
Worship me and You will save these people.”
“I am the Good Shepherd;
I gave My life for My sheep.
I am the Good Shepherd,
They love Me and My love is complete.”
In a flash Old Charles Towne is mourning,
The thief in the night had come.
Families of lost souls now borne in
Rhythms of an unfamiliar drum.
“We forgive you for those you have taken.
We cry for the ones we have lost.
But Satan, be not mistaken,
The Good Shepherd has paid the cost.”
WENjr 2015-06-21
Friday, June 19, 2015
Charleston, South Carolina
Almost 48 hours have passed since the domestic terrorist attack at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.). Nine innocent people were murdered. We pray for the families of those who lost their lives this past Wednesday evening.
Before I go any further with this blog, I want to say how proud I am of Charleston, South Carolina and their handling of this tragedy. Foremost, I give thanks to God for the families of the those who died; families who displayed and who are still displaying their Christian love and forgiveness. How difficult this must be for them? Or, perhaps it is not that difficult for them because of their own love for Jesus. What a blessing those families are to the nation! This is Christian courage and Christian love, make no mistake.
It is gratifying also to witness the outpouring of love and compassion for the families of the 9 victims - an outpouring not only from Charleston people, but from around our nation.
Allow me to digress to a degree, but historically related.
Anyone who has ever visited Charleston would recognize what I am about to write. Charleston is a lovely town. The downtown area is ripe for visitors and it is always welcoming in the attitude of its people. And it is not simply a summertime place to visit either. Wintertime brings its own welcoming call.
For years the Mere Anglicanism conference is held near the end of the month of January. I do not know how many years it has been convened, but the conference has been a steady Christian witness conference for a long time. Yes, the conference has local founders and organizers, but it is an international event bringing in Anglican (and non-Anglican) scholars, bishops, clergy, and laypersons from all over the world.
Charleston, I learned only this week, is called the Holy City because there are more than 400 places of worship there.
There is a Huguenot Church in Charleston, one of the first, if not the very first, French Huguenot Church founded on Colonial America's shores. The church is not a "tourist trap," it is a living, vibrant Christian community.
The African Methodist Episcopal church has a large presence in South Carolina. The next time you drive, say from Wilmington, North Carolina to Charleston, South Carolina on U.S. Hwy 17, check out the high number of A.M.E. churches established along that highway.
Charleston's history, however, is tainted for its participation in slavery and the slave trade. A slave named Denmark Vesey (I don't know if the name is pronounced "vessey" or "veezey") was one of the founders of Emanuel A.M.E. Church prior to 1820. Vesey was owned by slave trader and ship owner John Vesey who allowed Denmark to work. Denmark Vesey was an excellent business man and eventually bought his freedom and lived in a nice home on Bull Street. But he quietly began to develop over the years a plan to free Charleston's slaves. After attacking their owners, the plan called for slaves to leave by ship and head for Haiti. The conspiracy was discovered and Vesey and many other black men were hanged.
During those early days of the American colonies and the beginning of the new United States, Charleston was a commercial rival to New York City. Charleston harbor provided for much international shipping trade and commerce. Young British entrepreneurs trying to make their money on Barbados relocated to Charleston to make their fortunes when land on Barbados became scarce. Barbados was a slave trading center as well as a center of other commerce. Those young British entrepreneurs were known in Charleston as Barbadians.
Charleston has come a long way in how it understands itself and how each of its citizens regard one another. Most of that progress has come, mostly likely, in the most recent 45 to 50 years. But progress it is.
I am proud of Charleston, South Carolina, and I am humbled by their gracious spirit, particularly now as they mourn.
Before I go any further with this blog, I want to say how proud I am of Charleston, South Carolina and their handling of this tragedy. Foremost, I give thanks to God for the families of the those who died; families who displayed and who are still displaying their Christian love and forgiveness. How difficult this must be for them? Or, perhaps it is not that difficult for them because of their own love for Jesus. What a blessing those families are to the nation! This is Christian courage and Christian love, make no mistake.
It is gratifying also to witness the outpouring of love and compassion for the families of the 9 victims - an outpouring not only from Charleston people, but from around our nation.
Allow me to digress to a degree, but historically related.
Anyone who has ever visited Charleston would recognize what I am about to write. Charleston is a lovely town. The downtown area is ripe for visitors and it is always welcoming in the attitude of its people. And it is not simply a summertime place to visit either. Wintertime brings its own welcoming call.
For years the Mere Anglicanism conference is held near the end of the month of January. I do not know how many years it has been convened, but the conference has been a steady Christian witness conference for a long time. Yes, the conference has local founders and organizers, but it is an international event bringing in Anglican (and non-Anglican) scholars, bishops, clergy, and laypersons from all over the world.
Charleston, I learned only this week, is called the Holy City because there are more than 400 places of worship there.
There is a Huguenot Church in Charleston, one of the first, if not the very first, French Huguenot Church founded on Colonial America's shores. The church is not a "tourist trap," it is a living, vibrant Christian community.
The African Methodist Episcopal church has a large presence in South Carolina. The next time you drive, say from Wilmington, North Carolina to Charleston, South Carolina on U.S. Hwy 17, check out the high number of A.M.E. churches established along that highway.
Charleston's history, however, is tainted for its participation in slavery and the slave trade. A slave named Denmark Vesey (I don't know if the name is pronounced "vessey" or "veezey") was one of the founders of Emanuel A.M.E. Church prior to 1820. Vesey was owned by slave trader and ship owner John Vesey who allowed Denmark to work. Denmark Vesey was an excellent business man and eventually bought his freedom and lived in a nice home on Bull Street. But he quietly began to develop over the years a plan to free Charleston's slaves. After attacking their owners, the plan called for slaves to leave by ship and head for Haiti. The conspiracy was discovered and Vesey and many other black men were hanged.
During those early days of the American colonies and the beginning of the new United States, Charleston was a commercial rival to New York City. Charleston harbor provided for much international shipping trade and commerce. Young British entrepreneurs trying to make their money on Barbados relocated to Charleston to make their fortunes when land on Barbados became scarce. Barbados was a slave trading center as well as a center of other commerce. Those young British entrepreneurs were known in Charleston as Barbadians.
Charleston has come a long way in how it understands itself and how each of its citizens regard one another. Most of that progress has come, mostly likely, in the most recent 45 to 50 years. But progress it is.
I am proud of Charleston, South Carolina, and I am humbled by their gracious spirit, particularly now as they mourn.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
USMC Musician Enlistment Option
The United States Marine Corps has a new enlistment option for musicians. Otherwise, not much has changed in the past 50+ years. SEMPER FI.
I served in the following 3 USMC Bands:
Scroll down the link and click the video.
USMC Bands
I served in the following 3 USMC Bands:
- 2nd Marine Air Wing Band, Cherry Point, North Carolina (Oct., 1962 to November, 1963)
- 3rd Marine Division Band, Okinawa (December 24, 1963 to January, 1965)
- Marine Corps Schools Band, Quantico, Virginia (February, 1965 to September, 1966)
Scroll down the link and click the video.
USMC Bands
Thursday, May 28, 2015
The Rev. Frank Toia
In my old age I find myself thinking about the days of my youth. After about 18 months after joining the United States Marine Corps, I was transferred to the Third Marine Division on Okinawa. I arrived on Christmas Eve Day, 1963.
Within a matter of days after settling in at my quarters, I attended a chapel service on a Sunday morning at Camp Hague. The minister was a young (just a few years older than I) presiding. It was an Episcopal Church service of Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer. After the service I met the young clergyman thinking that he was a U.S. Navy Chaplain. He was not.
Frank Toia was an Episcopal missionary and was the curate at All Souls Episcopal Church near Naha, Okinawa in a township called Machinato. The English-speaking church had a membership of mostly U.S. military personnel and their families. I wasted no time getting involved in the church family, not only on Sunday mornings but during the week, if I could.
Father Toia and the senior minister at All Souls, Father Paul Savanack, began to take me (and others) under their wings and prepared many of us for Confirmation. The bishop of Honolulu, Harry Kennedy, confirmed me and others only a few months later on March 31, 1964.
Fr. Toia and his family lived in a local Okinawa community. As time passed he continued his missionary work. I attempted to track him over the decades but apparently he was accepting calls for missionary duty around the globe. The last I heard, which was only a month or so ago, was that Frank Toia had been a missionary in Guatemala. That was good. It sounded like him and his work.
The news I learned last week from internet blog posts was that Fr. Toia is sick with recurrent pneumonia and is using his home as a hospice as he awaits his calling home.
I am grateful for - and I remember vividly - Frank Toia and his young family from all those years ago. A faithful follower of Christ, he knew no stranger. It appears that his entire ministry over the years served people around parts of the world.
I pray that his earthly life passes peacefully and without pain. I know that his entry into eternity will be a glorious passage.
This is one of the Internet links where I learned of Frank Toia recently.
NYT article about Frank Toia and friends
Within a matter of days after settling in at my quarters, I attended a chapel service on a Sunday morning at Camp Hague. The minister was a young (just a few years older than I) presiding. It was an Episcopal Church service of Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer. After the service I met the young clergyman thinking that he was a U.S. Navy Chaplain. He was not.
Frank Toia was an Episcopal missionary and was the curate at All Souls Episcopal Church near Naha, Okinawa in a township called Machinato. The English-speaking church had a membership of mostly U.S. military personnel and their families. I wasted no time getting involved in the church family, not only on Sunday mornings but during the week, if I could.
Father Toia and the senior minister at All Souls, Father Paul Savanack, began to take me (and others) under their wings and prepared many of us for Confirmation. The bishop of Honolulu, Harry Kennedy, confirmed me and others only a few months later on March 31, 1964.
Fr. Toia and his family lived in a local Okinawa community. As time passed he continued his missionary work. I attempted to track him over the decades but apparently he was accepting calls for missionary duty around the globe. The last I heard, which was only a month or so ago, was that Frank Toia had been a missionary in Guatemala. That was good. It sounded like him and his work.
The news I learned last week from internet blog posts was that Fr. Toia is sick with recurrent pneumonia and is using his home as a hospice as he awaits his calling home.
I am grateful for - and I remember vividly - Frank Toia and his young family from all those years ago. A faithful follower of Christ, he knew no stranger. It appears that his entire ministry over the years served people around parts of the world.
I pray that his earthly life passes peacefully and without pain. I know that his entry into eternity will be a glorious passage.
This is one of the Internet links where I learned of Frank Toia recently.
NYT article about Frank Toia and friends
Monday, May 25, 2015
America's Memorial Day
Sometimes Americans confuse Memorial Day with Veterans' Day. But that's OK.
On both holidays those who died serving their country are remembered and honored. Although the phrase is becoming or has become cliché, we should understand why "freedom is not free." In the end it takes an individual working in concert with other patriots to defend us from harm.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were no wars to fight? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had no need for a national defense of any sort? Yes, it would be wonderful, but the world does not operate that way.
Not all those who have died protecting their fellow citizens were military. Many who have died for our freedom never intended to get themselves involved in a situation which denied them life and breath. But that's the way the world operates sometimes. It seems unfair for any person who might wander into harm's way and lose their life to protect the rest of us.
All of us should take time to reflect on how life works and what might even be required of us. None of us elected to be born - we did not create ourselves. Nonetheless we are the living. Perhaps we should renew our minds and ask questions about how to live in the reality we find ourselves. And then uncover what life means - life's purpose and our daily response.
Today, Memorial Day 2015, we remember and give thanks for those who gave their lives for us and for our freedom. And as we renew our minds and mine through our thoughts, and repossess our understanding of the gift of life, let us reconcile ourselves with our Creator who is the alpha and omega of our existence.
On both holidays those who died serving their country are remembered and honored. Although the phrase is becoming or has become cliché, we should understand why "freedom is not free." In the end it takes an individual working in concert with other patriots to defend us from harm.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were no wars to fight? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had no need for a national defense of any sort? Yes, it would be wonderful, but the world does not operate that way.
Not all those who have died protecting their fellow citizens were military. Many who have died for our freedom never intended to get themselves involved in a situation which denied them life and breath. But that's the way the world operates sometimes. It seems unfair for any person who might wander into harm's way and lose their life to protect the rest of us.
All of us should take time to reflect on how life works and what might even be required of us. None of us elected to be born - we did not create ourselves. Nonetheless we are the living. Perhaps we should renew our minds and ask questions about how to live in the reality we find ourselves. And then uncover what life means - life's purpose and our daily response.
Today, Memorial Day 2015, we remember and give thanks for those who gave their lives for us and for our freedom. And as we renew our minds and mine through our thoughts, and repossess our understanding of the gift of life, let us reconcile ourselves with our Creator who is the alpha and omega of our existence.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
African American Entrepreneurs in Alabama 1802-2014
African American Entrepreneurs in Alabama
In 2014 I compiled and published a booklet about African
American entrepreneurs in Alabama. The book is a timeline of significant events and
persons who created businesses and organizations despite their
social and political circumstances. Perseverance loomed large with these creators of wealth and mind-changing ideas.
The book could be used by students when researching papers. The timeline begins in 1802 and identifies leaders up to current
day. It is an excellent starter-kit for reference and resource development.
ALABAMA TIMELINES: AFRICAN AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURS can be
purchased through many online book retailers. See the links below.
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