What A Ten-Year-Old's Devotion To His Favorite Band Can Teach Us About Worship

Martin, age ten, surrounded by members of the "OK Go" Band

Something very special happened last week to Martin Vlasits of Austin, Texas, ten-year-old grandson of our good friends Guy and Margie Vlasits. His parents Jen and Stacy took him to hear his favorite music group, the Los Angelos-based "OK Go" band, known for eye-catching videos lots of children like and for the benefit concerts they do for causes like homelessness, disaster relief and human rights.

Not only did Martin get a front row seat, but got the special attention of the drummer, Dan Konopka, who gave him his drumsticks, autographed with the names of the members of the band.

Needless to say, Martin was ecstatic.

One of the meanings of the word "ecstasy" is "a mental transport or rapture from the contemplation of divine things", from the Greek "ek" (from) and "stasis" (place). In worship (attributing supreme "worth" or "worthiness" to) we are moved from one level, or place, to a higher one, and are transformed into more God-likeness in the process.

What can Martin's experience teach us about how we grownups can do this?

Several words come to mind:

1. Anticipation/Preparation. To say that Martin looked forward to this encounter would be a serious understatement. He was beyond eager to experience something impactful and moving, as illustrated by this Lego creation he came up with prior to the concert, which says "I can hardly wait" loudly and clearly.

2. Creativity/Engagement. Martin wasn't just a passive spectator at the concert, but an active participant. He came with a special offering of an art project he had made that matched the color of each band member's outfit in one of his favorite videos. He applauded and cheered the object of his devotion with abandonment and a complete lack of self-consciousness, introduced himself to his heroes afterwards and then had his picture taken with them.

What would happen if we adults took part in worship with the same kind of child-like attention and receptivity Martin experienced with his favorite band? What kind of art, music, poetry or other expressions would it evoke? What changes of behavior, what deeds of service, would result from our loving God with our whole being--and urgently praying for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?

Surely any appointments we keep with the Almighty--with the Creator, Lord and Redeemer of all the earth--should never be a dull or boring experience. Genuine love and adoration always result in ek-stasis, a joyful change of place and perspective

As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God. 

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?

Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV)

Photos by Stacy Vlasits.

After 43 Years, Honoring A Local Country Doctor

Dr. Linford Gehman (photo by Paul Beiler)

The sold out crowd attending the annual Highland Retreat Camp Banquet at Eastern Mennonite School last night gave a standing ovation in honor of Dr. Linford Gehman's 43 years of service at the Green Valley Clinic located near Bergton.

Dr. Gehman and his good wife Becky, long time nurse at the Clinic, have led a staff of RN's and Physician Assistants over the years who have been revered by this rural mountain community and by everyone at neighboring Highland Retreat just across the road.

This coming January the Clinic, founded in 1949 by Gehman's predecessor Dr. Charles Hertzler, another selfless provider of health care for the area, will close its doors and merge with the E. A. Hawse Health Center in Baker, West Virginia. Sometime after that the Gehmans may actually retire.

There were plenty of tears last night as Dr. Gehman and others reflected on the impact the Hertzlers, Gehmans and their staff have made on countless lives over the past half century. Both Hertzler and Gehman were known for personally putting in long hours, taking numerous calls at the doctor's residence next door to the Clinic, and making late night house calls if necessary, sometimes regardless of people's ability to pay.

photo by Jon Styer, EMU Crossroads magazine

 (Dr. Gehman, Elaine See-Dellinger, RN, Hanna Reinford, PA, and Sam Showalter, MD)

"We've had a wonderful symbiotic relationship with the Clinic during all these years," said Pastor Lee Martin, former Camp administrator and and board member, "but the camp program has always benefited the most, and it's hard to think of no longer having the Clinic and the Gehmans as our neighbors."

May God continue to bless good and faithful servants like these.

We Can Afford Humane Mental Health Treatment For Local Inmates

Should suicidally depressed persons be put in restraint chairs?

I've just submitted the following to the DNR as an edited version of an earlier blog. Please read the last paragraph.

Here's question for local legislators: Why should the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail have the lowest budget for mental health services of any facility in the area?

According to information obtained from the RHRJ, suicidally depressed inmates were confined to restraint chairs a total of 22 times during the first six months of this year. The minimum amount of time spent in such restraint, with belts and cuffs immobilizing the inmate's legs, arms, and torso, was two hours, with 28 hours being the longest.

During the same period, the jail’s segregated padded cell was used 14 times for inmates at risk for suicide. RHRJ's "rubber room", the only one of its kind used by any area jail I know of, has no bed or other furnishings, and no mattress, blanket, reading material or eating utensils. A grate in the floor serves as a commode, and the inmate has only a suicide-proof smock for warmth. He or she has no human contact except for regular suicide checks, and is offered no counseling whatever.

During this period 12 inmates were assigned to a regular segregated cell while on suicide watch. Here an inmate is allowed a blanket and a few personal items, similar to the procedure followed by most jails for suicidal inmates.

Incarceration itself, especially in crowded cells with some inmates sleeping on the floor, is extremely stressful, and it’s hard to imagine the trauma the above forms of confinement create for clinically depressed, paranoid and/or suicidal inmates. Hence the efforts of some of us to work with Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson at our local jail, along  with Mr. Lacy Whitmore of the Community Services Board, to seek ways of improving mental health services for local inmates.

This effort includes appealing to members of the City Council and Board of Supervisors for more funds for mental health services as well as offering volunteer local mental health professionals and supervised interns to help as needed. These carefully vetted individuals could work with the CSB and jail personnel to provide therapeutic support for inmates in a time of crisis.

I know it must be challenging for the sheriff and his overworked staff to provide for the needs of some 400 inmates. They have to deal with situations the best way they can with their limited budgets and resources.

But why should our relatively well-to-do community, blessed with a near surplus of mental health professionals, be limited to an annual budget of under $18,000 to provide psychological treatment and care for local inmates? This expenditure, through a contract RHRJ has with our local CSB, is by far the most meager per inmate of any facility in the region, and covers only about an hour of mental health screening and three hours of medication management per week, the latter provided by a trained nurse practitioner.

By comparison, the new Rappahannock-Warren-Shenandoah Regional Jail, with a capacity of 375 when filled, employs a full time mental health worker, and the Winchester Regional Jail, with 600 inmates, has two full time counselors.

The Arlington County Jail, currently housing just over 500, employs five full time professional counselors and a full time psychologist, partly funded with grant money. By last report, Arlington County, with this comprehensive approach, is actually seeing its jail population decline.

Our area boasts of having the lowest tax rate of any in Virginia except for tourist rich Williamsburg, but we are far, far from being the poorest locality in the Commonwealth.

Not only can we afford to offer more decent mental health services here, but given the wealth of human and other resources in our community, we could develop an enviable criminal justice system that could become a model for Virginia and the nation. We could invest more in education, prevention, treatment, diversion and restorative justice programs that help keep people out of the correctional system and less in building ever more expensive jail facilities.

Halloween: A Wierd And Pointless Celebration?

source

Since no one gets the day off, how can we call Halloween a holiday? And since it doesn't commemorate some inspiring historic or religious event, how has it become one of the most popular celebrations of the year, right next to Christmas?

Follow the money.

When our children were young, their costumes, and those of most of their friends, were usually improvised and homemade.  Now, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans (the US ones) spend over $7 billion each year on commercially marketed Halloween treats, decorations and outfits, including $350 million spent on costumes for pets. Over one-fourth of all of our annual candy purchases are in connection with this event.

According to the history.com website, in the eighth century Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a day to honor the church's saints and martyrs. All Saints’ Day, as it was called, was meant to replace some of the pagan practices associated with the observance of the festival of Samhain (sow-in), observed on the eve of the Celtic New Year, which was October 31. This non-Christian observance marked both the end of the summer and the end of the calendar year, and signaled the start of a cold and harsh winter, a season often associated with death. On this night before November 1 the ghosts of the dead supposedly returned to roam the earth, often doing damage to crops and causing trouble in general.

In spite of the Pope's efforts at Christianizing this observance, our celebration today remains a lot more like the ancient Samhain than a time to remember our deceased ancestors on the eve of All Saints Day, or All-hallow-tide. "Hallow-e'en" (Holy evening) may as well be called Hollow-e'en as far as it having any Christian significance.

Perhaps some Halloween customs that have evolved over time are harmless enough, like that of children (and barely grown-ups) dressing up in masks and costumes and stalking the neighborhood for huge quantities of sweets. As such it may mostly have become a dental health hazard, but the whole thing does seem a bit weird and pointless, if you think about it.

But having said all that, here at Hamlet Drive we're likely to again keep our porch light on for our grandchildren and for the kids next door to stop by for some sweets.

Is that OK?

Could I Get A Patent On This?

source

Ever notice how dramatically our speech changes when the doorbell rings in the middle of a heated argument? Almost by magic we switch from being rude and loud to speaking respectfully and reasonably--a dramatic transformation.

So I've come up with an idea for a simple invention, an indoor doorbell, one that either combatant in a quarrel could activate at any time.

This would serve as a signal that at least someone is sane enough to recognize the need for a "time out" in order for everyone to calm down and cool off before a conflict escalates out of control. The person who rang for the time out would then be responsible to initiate a time back in an hour or so when the temporary insanity is over.

The indoor doorbell, in short, would call for the change of tone we experience every day when we open our door to a guest--a neighbor, perhaps, or a valued friend, or even a sales person. It works every time.

When I was growing up we had a motto in our house like the one below. Since many of us profess to believe that God is already with us, without a formal knock on our door, shouldn't that make a difference?

God is 

the HEAD of this

house

the unseen GUEST at every

meal

the silent LISTENER to every

conversation

I often hear people say, "But I just can't help myself when I get mad. Things just come out of my mouth I can't control."

I'm not ready to buy that. Just witness the instant change that happens every day when our phone or doorbell rings.

Kind of like Jesus walking right into our living room.

Guest Post: The Anabaptist Comma

Christ enthroned, 12th century mosaic

I post the following with the kind permission of the Peace Mennonite Fellowship of Claremont, California, a house church congregation:

The Apostles’ Creed says, “I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate . . . . ”

Notice how the creed goes straight from Jesus’ birth to his suffering? In between there’s only a comma, but as David Augsburger pointed out at our recent Mennonite Church BC LEAD session, “It’s only a comma, but Oooooooooooooooooooh what a comma,” as Walter Brueggemann has said.

In light of this, David’s home church, Peace Mennonite Fellowship in Claremont, California, has adapted the Apostles’ Creed to include Jesus’ life and ministry.  Thank you, David, for sharing your liturgy with us.

The Apostles Creed with the Anabaptist Comma*

 Disciples:            I believe in God ,
                                The Father almighty,
                                Creator of heaven and earth.
                                I believe in Jesus Christ,
                                God’s only Son,

                                our Lord, who was
                                Conceived by the Holy Spirit,
                                Born of the Virgin Mary,

One disciple:                        [Welcomed by shepherds,
                                                Greeted by Magi,
                                                Pursued by Herod,
                                                Sheltered  in Egypt,
                                                Taught by Joseph,
                                                Baptized by John,
                                                Tempted by Satan,
                                                Followed by disciples,
                                                Heard by multitudes,
                                                Understood by simple,
                                                Despised by clergy,
                                                Praised by lepers,
                                                Hosted by outcasts,
                                                Seen by the blind,
                                                Touched by the ill,
                                                Obeyed by psychotics,
                                                Rejected by siblings,
                                                Rebuked by Martha,
                                                Embraced by Mary,
                                                Anointed by a prostitute,
                                                Cheered by crowds,
                                                Loved by John,
                                                Hated by the Powers,
                                                Abandoned by all,
                                                Grieved in Gethsemane
                                                Betrayed by disciple,
                                                Denied by Peter,
                                                Arrested by Herod,]

Disciples:            Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
                                Was crucified, died, and was buried;
                                On the third day he rose again;
                                He ascended into heaven,

                                He is seated on the right hand of the Father

                                He will come again to judge the living and 

                                       the dead.

                                I believe in the Holy Spirit,
                                The holy catholic church,
                                The communion of saints,
                                The forgiveness of sins,
                                The resurrection of the body,
                                And the life everlasting.

*The Anabaptist Comma, written by long time mentor and friend David Augsburger, includes the essential recognition that we are saved by Jesus’ life as well as by his death. This creed is a part of the liturgy of Peace Mennonite Fellowship.

"Soon Enough" A Reflection On The End of Life

Skyline Drive photo

Here are the lyrics to one of our singer-songwriter son's most recent songs, one that especially touches me at a stage of life in which more and more of our loved ones, like beautiful and beloved leaves, fall to earth.

SOON ENOUGH
Brad Yoder

1. A leaf has turned from green to gold and red,
Hanging halfway between alive and dead,
She saved her brightest colors for the end,
She'll join the rest soon enough...       

2. I know that you're afraid of what's to come,
I know, because you're not the only one
But today might be as perfect as we'll get,
If not quite yet, then...            

Chorus 
soon enough, the sun will set,
the night will fall, we'll take our rest,
we haven't read the ending yet, but soon enough.

3. Pressed between the pages of a book,
Is a love I tried to save, that never took,
Wax paper to preserve my best intent,
That's how it went, but...        

Chorus 
soon enough, the sun will set,
the night will fall, we'll take our rest,
we haven't read the ending yet, but soon enough.
soon enough, the light will dim,
until the sun comes round again,
and every song becomes a hymn, soon enough. 

- All rights reserved

Learn more about Brad's music on his web page.