THURS DAY
MAILING
June 23, 2016
In this edition. . . .
Joys and Pastoral Concerns
Announcements
Words from Wilson
Wilson Gunn, General Presbyter
The ARMOR OF LIGHT
(Documentary film)
June 26 – Trinity Presbyterian Church, Herndon
Open Space Topics – June 28th Presbytery Meeting
Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North
Rateb Rabie, noted Advocate for Palestinians
New Voices from Israel Palestine
June 29 – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
A Night of Choral Music featuring “The Artist” Choir
July 1 – Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church
Important Message about the SOURCE
June, 2016 – Source Board
Scholarship Application – PYWA
Presbyterian Youth Workers Association
(to be used for youth triennium)
Joys:
Congratulations to the Rev. Shawn V. MacDonald and Randall Ehrbar! Julian Grace MacDonald Ehrbar
arrived on Saturday June 11 at 3:31 PM. Named for Julian of Norwich. All are well!
Pastoral concerns:
Prayers for the Rev. Ruth Everhart for the death of her father, Nicholas John Huizenga, of Grand Rapids,
MI. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family on June 19, 2016. He was 90 years old.
June 23 2016
I have slightly revised two previous Thursday Mails to again call attention to the dire
need for gun responsibility in this nation. Evidently this sermon needs to be preached
continuously…. Sort of like a filibuster.
Unmasking Idolatries
From A Brief Statement of Faith:
“In a broken and fearful world
The Spirit gives us courage
To pray without ceasing,
To witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
To unmask idolatries in Church and culture,
To hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
And to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.”
Forty-nine dead and fifty-three injured in Orlando. Fourteen dead, twenty-one injured by a terrorist couple
bearing assault rifles gained through a straw purchaser. Thirty children dead in Sandy Hook. On and on and
on it goes. The US Senate at last considers regulations to qualify gun ownership for terror watch-listed persons
on the backside of a courageous filibuster by Senator Chris Murphy supported by other Senators. There are
more guns than people in the United States. Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. has encouraged
every student to carry a firearm on campus. Somehow this is Christian?!? What would Jesus do? (Surely not
that!)
We Presbyterians are Christians of another cut of cloth. You can see the stance endorsed by the 219th General
Assembly (2010) at this link.
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/acswp/pdf/gun-violence-policy.pdf
The Deuteronomist, (Deut. 5:8-10) in recounting the Ten Commandments, refers to the judgment for those
who would worship idols extending to the third and fourth generations. But the faithful will enjoy God’s
pleasure to the thousandth generation. Martin Luther once noted that there is really only one commandment
and the other nine are just clarifications of the first. Sin is any action that professes in practice an ultimate
allegiance to something other than the One, True, and Triune God known to us in Jesus Christ. If only our
idolatrous practices revolved around some simple statue which had no deeper grip on our souls. Stubborn
sinfulness is born of idolatry. Pervasive sinfulness embedded in a culture is systemic and will take generations
to exorcise. Our president has pointed to this systemic idolatry when he expresses his frustration with this
pervasive sinfulness parading as “faithfulness” to some amendment or some perversion of Christianity.
I was taught to respect firearms as I grew up in gun culture Arkansas. As often as not my childhood friends and
I would tool around the yard and shoot at targets and cans (and even snakes, though I never hit one.) I aced
the safety test for the BSA Marksmanship Merit Badge but failed the target test. Guess I’ll never get any
traction as a presidential candidate with that confession. Respect and safety are essential to gun ownership.
What we have now, however, is an absolute reverence for guns, well beyond the appropriate respect. For
some, unrestricted gun ownership has become the core religious principle from which all other principles are
derived. Former NRA Executive Warren Cassidy once said, “You would get a far better understanding of the
NRA if you approached us as if you were approaching one of the great religions of the world.” (Davidson, p.
44) Indeed legislation has preferred this religion to all others. (See Jim Atwood’s America and Its Guns: A
Theological Exposé for a list!) Our nation has so established this reverence into its legal statutes regarding
guns that it amounts to the very government established religion the First Amendment prohibits. You may
balk at such an extreme view imagining it is the unfounded opinion of a flamboyant preacher, but before you
assert such I hope you will look for yourself. Are you aware that Public Health studies about firearm violence
are prohibited? Are you aware that a physician cannot ask if there are guns in the home even if diagnosing
mental illness, depression or potential domestic violence? Are you aware that gun manufacturers are not
liable if their product blows up in your face? The list goes on. You may be as astounded as I was and come to
the same opinion. If you have any doubt about this reverence I point you toward Ted Nugent’s little essay
beatifying Wayne LaPierre in the Time magazine edition featuring the 100 most influential people.
(http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/wayne-lapierre/) Google Wayne LaPierre and listen to
his speeches which profess apocalyptic doom if the nation does not follow his messianic lead. This can only be
characterized as religious language. Is this your Lord and Savior? This idolatry must be exposed, named,
condemned and challenged by every disciple of the Risen Christ, not to mention every Jew and every Muslim
and perhaps a few religious traditions with which I am less familiar. Clearly Jerry Falwell, Jr. has chosen to
serve two masters (which according to Jesus cannot be done).
For the first two hundred years of our nation’s existence the Second Amendment referred to the state militia’s
right to bear arms. Only recently has it been twisted to provide for the unrestrained access to any sort of
firearms by a private citizen without any impediment. Only recently has this Constitutional Amendment been
used to trump all other Constitutional Amendments. Thus we are awash in a culture of violence, the offspring
of this state establish idolatry. Very few elected officials have the courage to deny this religion it’s operative
establishment because the NRA wields such political power that to act to disestablish this religion is to
guarantee a loss in the next election. There is a lot of money flowing between the NRA, congressmen, and gun
manufacturing which make the idolatry even more resistant to exposure. When we are met by disciples of
Wayne LaPierre, (and there are many in congress and across state legislatures) we are called to expose this
idolatry as the non-Christian religion it is, else we are complicit in this violence. How many more will die
tomorrow? (on average: 91)
Research (discarded by the NRA) has demonstrated that sane gun restrictions SAVE LIVES. (See
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/three-common-sense-gun-policies-that-would-savelives/2015/10/15/3fd8cb80-735f-11e5-9cbb-790369643cf9_story.html) On the other hand this well-funded,
legislation-endorsed idolatry exacts human sacrifice. Let’s lose the reverence and return to respect,
responsibility and legislated gun safety.
Davidson, Osha. Under Fire: The NRA and the Battle for Gun Control. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.
Respectfully,
G. Wilson Gunn
THE ARMOR OF LIGHT Coming to Trinity Presbyterian Church, Herndon, VA
On Sunday evening, June 26th at 7:30, Trinity Presbyterian Church will be showing the film
THE ARMOR OF LIGHT. This documentary follows an Evangelical minister and the mother of a
teenage shooting victim who ask, is it possible to be both pro-gun and pro-life?
Director Abigail E. Disney (grand-niece of Walt Disney) follows the journey of Evangelical
minister Rob Schenck in trying to find the moral strength to preach about the growing toll of gun
violence in America. The Rev. Dr. Schenck is an ordained Evangelical minister and president of
Faith and Action in the Nation's Capital, located in Washington. THE ARMOR OF LIGHT tracks
Rev. Schenck, an antiabortion activist and fixture on the political far right, who breaks with
orthodoxy by questioning whether being pro-gun is consistent with being pro-life.
Rev. Schenck is shocked and perplexed by the reactions of his longtime friends and colleagues
who warn him away from this complex, politically explosive issue. Along the way, Rev. Schenck
meets Lucy McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis, an unarmed teenager who was murdered in
Florida and whose story has cast a spotlight on “Stand Your Ground” laws. Also an Evangelical
Christian, McBath’s personal testimony compels Rev. Schenck to reach out to pastors around the
country to discuss the moral and ethical response to gun violence. Lucy is on a difficult journey
of her own, trying to make sense of her devastating loss while using her grief to effect some kind
of viable and effective political action—where so many before her have failed.
THE ARMOR OF LIGHT follows these allies through their trials of conscience, heartbreak and
rejection, as they bravely attempt to make others consider America’s gun culture through a moral
lens. The film is also a courageous look at our fractured political culture and an assertion that it
is, indeed, possible for people to come together across deep party lines to find common ground.
Following the showing, there will be a period of discussion moderated by pastor Stephen SmithCobbs. Trinity is located at 651 Dranesville, Rd., Herndon, VA 20170; 703 437-5500.
TRACES OF THE TRADE: A STORY FROM THE DEEP
NORTH
A film by Katrina Browne with Co-Directors Alla Kovgan & Jude Ray, and Co-Producers
Juanita Brown & Elizabeth Delude-Dix
Katrina Browne discovers that her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S.
history. In this documentary, nine fellow descendants journey with Browne to retrace the steps of the
Triangle Trade: from their old hometown in Rhode Island to slave forts in Ghana to sugar plantation
ruins in Cuba. Step by step they uncover the vast extent of Northern complicity in slavery while also
stumbling and stretching their way to greater awareness on race and racism. The issues they are
confronted with dramatize questions that apply to the nation as a whole: How do we truly come to terms
with the history of slavery and all the ills that remain in its wake? How does Northern complicity change
the equation? What would repair—spiritual and material—really look like and what would it take?
Traces of the Trade had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008 and then aired on PBS’s
premiere showcase of independent film, P.O.V., reaching over 1.5 million viewers. It has received
numerous awards, extensive press coverage and critical acclaim, and was nominated for a 2009 Emmy®
for Research. The film contributed to both the Episcopal Church and the Unitarian Universalist
Association apologizing for their historic complicity in slavery and initiating repair processes. Traces is
used for education and heartfelt dialogue throughout the U.S. and overseas at conferences, schools,
universities, historic sites, museums, dialogue groups and in many religious congregations.
Come view an abridged (56 mins) version of the film and join in conversation with each other and with
the filmmaker, Katrina Browne, a local Washingtonian. Come think with your colleagues about how our
parishes can be sites for growing racial awareness and healing.
w w w . t r a c e s o f t h e t r a d e . o r g
Rateb Rabie, Noted Advocate for Palestinians, to Speak During "Open Space" at
June 28 Presbytery Meeting (4 pm in the Choir Room)
Rateb Y. Rabie, KCHS, is the president and CEO of
the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation
(HCEF), an important ecumenical advocacy
organization for the Palestinians whose national
headquarters are in Bethesda, Maryland. "Sir
Rateb," as he's called in the Knights of Columbus,
has seen first-hand the plight of the Palestinian
Christians for more than a generation. That is
why, 18 years ago, he founded HCEF--a nonprofit
organization dedicated to the protection,
support, and strengthening of the tens of thousands of Palestinian Christians. Through his
advocacy efforts, Sir Rateb continues educating those around the world about the
achievements made by Palestinians at home and in the worldwide diaspora. As a prominent
Arab-American leader within our community, he will be our guest speaker at the Open Space
event at 4 p.m. on June 28, to share his views on several topics, including the current conditions
of the Palestinian Christians, and what HCEF is doing to alleviate the suffering and defend the
rights of the Palestinian refugees. Sir Rateb also currently serves as Chair of the U.S. MuslimChristian Coalition, a broad-based effort which seeks to protect Christians throughout the
Middle East while combating rampant Islamophobia and negative stereotypes. With more than
20 programs and initiatives, HCEF has empowered those in Palestine and in the diaspora to
invest and build the State of Palestine in order to “replace despair with hope, fear with human
security and humiliation with dignity.”
The program, which precedes our supper hour, is sponsored by the Israel-Palestine Mission
Network of the National Capital Presbytery. For more information, call IPMN-NCP chair Paul
Verduin at 301-518-5551.
New Voices from Israel and Palestine
Come meet young Israelis and Palestinians
now in DC with New Story Leadership!
Wednesday, June 29, 2016, 7:00-9:00 PM
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill
301 A Street SE, Washington DC 20003
(Near the Capitol South Metro; on-street parking)
(Photo: NSL’s 2015 Team)
Tired of hearing the “same old story” from leaders in the Middle East? In despair that
there will ever be progress towards justice and peace?
Come be inspired by an extraordinary team of gutsy young people (ages 21-31), who
have pushed past physical, societal, and psychological barriers to live, work, and learn
together this summer.
For the 7th year, New Story Leadership, a DC-based non-profit, is giving young Israelis
and Palestinians a “safe space” in which to:
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Live together with host families
Work together in Congress and with NGO’s engaged in the Middle East
Learn how U.S. leaders from Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr. shaped
powerful narratives for their times and thus changed history
Develop skills in non-violent communication
Share their personal stories and visions with each other
Shape “Projects for Change” to implement back home
Speak their truth about the conflict to American audiences
Some members of the 2016 team already work in broadcast journalism, education,
and health care. Others are finishing degrees in law, finance, sociology, and
psychology. All have hands-on experience in working with those in need.
On June 29, four members of the team will share their stories and aspirations.
The entire team will also be introduced. Come meet them during a post-talk
reception with light refreshments.
This event is free and open to all.
Sponsored by St. Mark’s Mid-East Working Group.
For profiles of NSL’s 2016 Team, see http://www.newstoryleadership.org
For details on parking, see http://www.stmarks.net/resources/directions
Arlington Presbyterian Church
Community Give-Away
& Shred Day
Saturday, July 16, 2016
3507 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA 22204
Shred Event: 9:30 – 11
Community Give Away: 11 – 2
Arlington Presbyterian Church is moving to make way for the development of affordable
housing. We’ve been in our building for 86 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff
during our time here. We can’t take it all with us, so invite you to come by and see if
there is anything you can use or re-purpose. All items are FREE and must be removed
that day. We will have filing cabinets, books, furniture, kitchen items, chairs, etc.
We are partnering with Shred Instead and invite you come bring your documents to
shred. Free of charge.
Join us for worship at our new location, 716 S. Glebe on Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
The SOURCE Board has been reimagining what it means to
faithfully resource congregations
in the 21st century. As our world
moves from fewer physical
resources to more online and inperson resourcing, the Board has
been discerning how best to focus their energy on new and imaginative ways to
resource churches. As a reflection of this discernment process, and with a desire
to be good stewards of current resources, SOURCE will be closing the physical
Resource Center, containing hundreds of books, curricula, and video resources,
located in the Presbytery offices at 11300 Rockville Pike Suite 1009 Rockville, MD.
SOURCE invites YOU to stop by the Resource Center between the hours of 9:00
a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Monday thru Friday beginning June 13th to take any resources
that might enhance your personal collection or your church's ministry. First come,
first served!” If there is a need, the SOURCE will make this opportunity available
on a Saturday! Email [email protected] . If there are more than 10
request a Saturday date and time will be scheduled.
SOURCE BOARD
Dan Thomas, President
LaKesha Bradshaw Easter
Mark Greiner
Emma Horn
Jen James
Jan Moody
Billie Sutter
LaJuan Quander, Director
Contact LaJuan Quander, [email protected] for more information.
Scholarship Application
Presbyterian Youth Workers Association
National Capital Presbytery
PARTICIPANT INFORMATION Participant Name: Address: Phone: Parent or Guardian Name: Phone: Home Congregation: Church Contact Name: Phone: E-­‐mail: E-­‐mail: Email: EVENT INFORMATION Event Name: Event Description: Event Cost: What does this cost cover? SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION ☐ Request Full Scholarship: $ ☐ Request Partial Scholarship: $ Do you have other sources of financial support? (If so, please list) 1 Please tell us why you want to attend this event. Signature ____________________________________________ Please return this completed form to: Mary Ellen Moss Providence Presbyterian Church 9019 Little River Turnpike Fairfax, VA 22031 OR [email protected] 2