Category Archives: Minnesota

Minnesota Progressive Catholics

Catholic Coalition for Church Reform

Australian born Michael Bayly is a leading spokesman for the local (Minnesota) gay Christian community. He serves as the executive coordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM), the editor of The Progressive Catholic Voice, and co-chair of the Minnesota-based Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR). Earlier this year when an international group of progressive Catholic bloggers decided to collaborate on a new blog called Open Tabernacle, a pair of Minnesotans, Michael and I, were invited to participate.

From the CCCR website:

We are the Church. In our understanding of Church, all the baptized are one big community of smaller communities, we are all equal, we all participate in different ministries (lay, clergy, bishop), we communicate with one another, and we share a vision and a self-critique. The five words we have been using to summarize this model of Church are community, equality, participation, dialogue, and prophecy. It is a model arising out of Vatican II and seems to us most in line with the Gospel message. It has been promulgated by the Asian bishops and it also fits well with the positive values of our U.S. culture.

Dignity Twin Cities

Formed in 1969, the same year that the gay rights movement was born in the Stonewall riots of Greenwich Village, Dignity USA continues as the leading LGBT advocacy group within American Roman Catholicism. Here is their vision statement:

DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.

A local chapter, Dignity Twin Cities, was formed in 1974. Initially accepted by the local Catholic hierarchy, the organization was eventually booted out of Catholic property and now holds its liturgies and meetings at Prospect Park United Methodist Church. The Rainbow Sash movement is associated with Dignity. The current president of Dignity Twin Cities is Brian McNeill.

Womenpriests

The Roman Catholic Womenpriest movement is small but energized, and I have blogged previously about the women who challenge the patriarchal Catholic hierarchy at the cost of excommunication (here and here).

Roman Catholic Womenpriests reject the penalty of excommunication issued by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith on May 29, 2008 stating that the women priests and the bishops who ordain them would be excommunicated latae sententiae.” Roman Catholic Womenpriests are loyal members of the church who stand in the prophetic tradition of holy obedience to the Spirit’s call to change an unjust law that discriminates against women. Our movement is receiving enthusiastic responses on the local, national and international level. We will continue to serve our beloved church in a renewed priestly ministry that welcomes all to celebrate the sacraments in inclusive, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered communities wherever we are called.

Bishop Regina Nicolosi of Red Wing, Minnesota is a leader of the national Womenpriest movement.

Regina Nicolosi, MA, was born in a small town on the Rhine River. She was a teacher in Germany. 1969 she came to the USA to marry the love of her life, Charles, a radiologist and deacon. Together they raised four children, one of them from Colombia and one from Korea. Regina participated fully in Charles’ preparation to the diaconate. She earned her Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies. Regina has worked as a housing manager for seniors, as a chaplain in a correctional facility for boys, in a drug and alcohol recovery unit and in a nursing home. She is retired now. She helps prepare women for ordination and celebrates Eucharist with Dignity and other small faith-communities.

On Thursday, June 24th, I met Michael, Brian, Bishop Regina and other leaders of the progressive Catholic movement in Minnesota at a gay pride mass held in south Minneapolis. Following the liturgy, I was honored to be the guest speaker at this gathering of committed, Catholic, Christians. Michael’s personal blog reports on the events of the evening in his post entitled LGBT Catholics Celebrate Being “Wonderfully Made”. Click on the link to Michael’s blog for many pictures and Michael’s excellent reporting of this event.

From left to right: Art Stroebl (event coordinator), Obie Holmen, Brian McNeill, Michael Bayly.

St Olaf grad elected bishop

Bill Gafkjen, my first cousin and eldest of six sons of my mom’s sister Joanie, was recruited to pitch for St Olaf by coach Jim Dimick out of Colombia Heights High School in the mid ‘70s. After one year, Bill met with the coach to tell him he had decided to quit playing baseball to concentrate on studies. “We both cried,” Bill said. Bill also said his Gafkjen kin were greatly disappointed based upon their tradition of town team ball on the western prairies of Minnesota in the Willmar area.

Even though he only spent one year on the team, Bill considers coach Dimick to have been his mentor, and he asked me to extend his personal condolences to the coach following the recent death of his beloved wife, Nan. Coach Dimick and I both belong to Bethel Lutheran Church of Northfield. Yesterday I did so, along with a big hug, as I reported to coach that one of his boys had just been elected to become Bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA.

Bill was baptized in our family’s home congregation, Gethsemane Lutheran of Upsala, the same church where our mothers grew up, the same church where Grandma Hilma and all her siblings were baptized and confirmed, and the same church where our great-grandparents were immigrant pioneers and amongst the earliest members of the old Sandvikens Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. Bill’s first name and my middle name are based in part in remembrance of great-grandfather Wilhelm who became surrogate father to his six granddaughters, Hilma’s six girls, when Hilma’s husband Olaf was killed in a car-train collision in 1936.

Bill’s mom died of breast cancer over 35 years ago, and my mom died of ALS about 6 years ago. The other four sisters are alive and well, together with Bill’s dad, Guffy, and five brothers, and over a dozen first cousins (we lost cousin Rick to a car accident). I speak for the whole family in expressing our pride and extending our prayers and well-wishes for cousin Billy as he answers the call to be the pastor to the pastors of the 220 congregations and 71,000 members of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA.

The ELCA news release is reprinted below in its entirety:

William Gafkjen Elected Bishop of ELCA Indiana-Kentucky Synod

     COVINGTON, Ky. (ELCA) — The Rev. William O. “Bill” Gafkjen (GUFF-ee-ehn) was elected June 5 to a six-year term as bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly in Covington, Ky.
     Gafkjen, 52, assistant to the bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, was elected on the fifth ballot for bishop with 301 votes to 168 votes for the Rev. Steven L. Schwier, Christ the King Lutheran Church, South Bend, Ind. The Rev. Michael R. Brown, Risen Lord Lutheran Church, Bargersville, Ind., was also a nominee on the fourth ballot for bishop. There were 56 names on the first or nominating ballot. Gafkjen led on all ballots.
     The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, presided at the election.
     Gafkjen will succeed the Rev. James R. Stuck, the synod’s bishop for 12 years, who announced he will retire when his term ends Aug. 31. The synod has made tentative plans for the bishop-elect’s installation to be held at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Indianapolis, on Sept. 11, Gafkjen said.
     In an interview with the ELCA News Service, Gafkjen said his election brought to him “a sense of humility that’s inspired with the sort of trust that comes with this call.”
     Along with a commitment to the synod, his new call “is an invitation to walk alongside people in a difficult time to try to figure out what it means to be the church in mission. It’s an opportunity to work with some great people and to build on the foundation that Bishop Stuck built in this synod,” Gafkjen said.
     Among the priorities he sees for the synod, Gafkjen said the synod needs to assist members to have public conversations together in a way that honors differences. He also named priorities such as staying focused on mission in the midst of financial challenges and stewardship concerns, and building connections and communication across the synod.
     Gafkjen has served with Stuck since 2002. “He is a man with a deep pastoral heart who is centered in prayer. He has a deep commitment to sharing the good news,” the bishop-elect said.
     Born in Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada, Gafkjen earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. He earned a master of divinity from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and a doctorate from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. St. Olaf College is one of 27 ELCA colleges and universities; Luther Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
     Following his ordination in 1985, Gafkjen served as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Mora, Minn.; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Niles, Mich.; Lutheran Campus Ministries at Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa.; Evangelical Lutheran Church, Duncanville, Pa.; and Christ the King Lutheran Church, South Bend, Ind.
     Gafkjen and his wife Janet are the parents of two children, Nathan and Kira. They reside in Fishers, Ind.
     The Indiana-Kentucky Synod is 71,097 baptized members in 220 congregations in Indiana and Kentucky. The synod office is in Indianapolis.

A look back at Holy Week

As a blog that wrestles with denominational politics, it was pretty quiet here last week, and that’s a good thing. I’m sure the temperature will rise again on ELCA, Lutheran CORE, NALC, and LCMC controversies, but Holy Week was an appropriately peaceful interlude. The one item to note from last week was the positive news from the ELCA that 2010 has seen forty-one new mission “starts” according to an ELCA press release.

These new starts represent what America is becoming, as 23 (of the 41 new starts) are among immigrant populations … Of the 41 new starts 12 are “worshiping communities” authorized by the ELCA’s 65 synods. These are communities with ministry potential.

Several of these are residuals of ELCA congregations that voted to leave but with a remnant of ELCA supporters pursuing an ELCA mission start. Lilly, one of the frequent commenters on this blog, reports on such a group in her Wisconsin community.

Before moving on to the inevitable skirmishes, allow me one look back at Holy Week at my
ELCA congregation (Bethel) and the rest of the Northfield ELCA community. Thursday morning, the normal “Blue Monday” gathering of six or eight ELCA clergy was rescheduled as a “power lunch” to coordinate weekend events. The Maunday Thursday service at Bethel was a dramatic skit themed around Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” masterpiece. While the thirteen actors portraying Jesus and the disciples held their Da Vinci pose, each in turn stepped to a microphone and offered a monologue. I portrayed Andrew. The skit ended with Jesus sharing the bread and wine with his disciples who then stepped in front of the table and shared the meal with the congregation. Good Friday evening at Bethel featured a Stations of the Cross presentation. Saturday, most of the local ELCA clergy gathered for a traditional Easter Vigil in Boe Chapel on the campus of St. Olaf. Bethel’s new associate pastor–Charlie Ruud (a St Olaf graduate)–was honored to preside over the eucharistic liturgy. Dramatic readings were accompanied by the pipe organ riffs of St Olaf music professor John Ferguson and rising incense followed by candle lighting and bell ringing. A combined choir concluded with Handel’s Hallelujah chorus. The Hallelujah chorus also highlighted each of the three Easter Sunday services at Bethel.

After a week of familiar Lutheran liturgies, I borrow a Youtube video from Lutheran Pastor and blogger John Petty which is a delightful sampling of Eastern Orthodox Easter music, Christos Anesti, Christ is risen.

A thin slice of the ELCA

Yesterday, I attended the Cannon River Conference Assembly at St. Olaf College in Northfield. The Cannon River Conference is one of the five conferences of the SE Mn synod of the ELCA, and the others also convened yesterday in annual assemblies in various locations around the synod. Within the political polity of the ELCA, conferences serve as a stepping stone between congregations and synod assemblies and ultimately the biennial church wide assembly. In the SE Mn synod, the clergy and lay voting members to the 2011 churchwide assembly were nominated yesterday at the conference assemblies. These nominations will then be affirmed by the annual synod assembly in a couple of months (additional nominations from the floor are possible but rare).

So, our conference is merely one of over 300 conferences of the ELCA, and we are therefore just a small microcosm of the national ELCA. Thus, what happened at the Cannon River Conference was merely a thin slice of the whole, but interesting, nevertheless.

Of all the candidates for church wide voting members, both lay and clergy, not a single one expected the 2009 pro-LGBT decisions to be revisited in 2011. Not a single candidate expressed a desire for an agenda of reconsideration; instead, the clear preference was to move forward and to heal. Interestingly, of the four candidates for male, lay, voting member, the two who expressed a willingness to listen to both sides if the partnered gay clergy ministry policies reemerged as an issue in 2011 received fewer votes than the other two candidates who expressed unwavering support for the revised policies. In this conference at least, the overwhelming sentiment was that the 2009 church wide assembly did a good thing regarding partnered gay clergy, and it is time to move on.

Bishop Huck Usgaard was himself the synodical representative, and he offered several interesting tidbits of information.

In 2009, the synod received 96% of budgeted revenues based upon congregational pledges. Over half of the congregations achieved their pledged amounts and half of those actually exceeded their pledges. The synod itself achieved its pledge of over $1 million to the churchwide ministries.

But, 2010 is likely to be more challenging, and the synod’s budget will be reduced. One item receiving serious consideration is the practice of full time campus ministers. Bishop Huck suggested the synod is looking at a “town-gown” system whereby campus ministers would only be part time while also serving part time in local parish ministries.

Are American evangelicals complicit in the Uganda anti-gay movement?

Much attention has been focused on the Ugandan parliamentary bill mandating Draconian treatment of gays, up to execution, that has been shelved for the moment. Undoubtedly, the international outcry has been effective. The relationship between several American evangelical groups and the Ugandan anti-gay movement has also come to light, raising serious questions about the influence and extremism of these American gay bashers in the name of their evangelical Christianity.

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback mega-church in the US and the author of the popular The Purpose Driven Life, is perhaps the most visible of the evangelicals who had cavorted with the Ugandan leadership prior to the drafting of the hate-filled legislation. Religion Dispatches blog has reported extensively on Warren and Uganda:

Yet last year, according to a press release from Warren’s public relations firm, he launched a “purpose-driven living” campaign in Uganda, organized by a former member of Parliament. While there — his fourth trip to the country — he met with the First Lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni. Warren’s statement today that he’s never met the president of Uganda or any members of parliament, then, seems hair-splitting. The press release, after all, did say, “This is the second East African country to invite Dr. Warren to bring the well- known Purpose Driven Life and Church leadership training to churches, businesses and government on a national scale.” At the time, Warren said, “my challenge to business and government leaders is to use their influence for the glory of God and partner with local churches in solving community problems.”

There is no evidence that Warren directly promoted the idea of the anti-gay legislation; yet, it is clear that his original foray into Uganda to instill his “Purpose Driven” plan was at the request of homophobe Anglican Archbishop, the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi. According to a news release at the time appearing on Christian Post, it was Orombi who

recalled initially wanting to invite Warren to Uganda after seeing the Purpose Driven Living program implemented in Rwanda.

Uganda is the second east African country to invite Warren to bring the Purpose Driven Life and Church leadership training program to the country on a national scale. The first east African country to adopt the program nationwide was Rwanda in 2005.

It turns out that Orombi and first lady Janet Museveni, two of Warren’s principal contacts, have been among the most influential gay bashers in Uganda.

After a month of waffling and suggesting it wasn’t his business to influence foreign nations internal policies, Warren finally bowed to pressure and issued a statement condemning the legislation, but his statement was also laden with self-serving denials:

There’s no doubt he has a strong relationship with government, business, and religious leaders in Uganda, according to his own statements. So it would seem logical for people at least to think he would have some sway to denounce the proposed law as a brutal violation of human rights and of Christian values. Instead of addressing the reasons why he waited to speak, though, Warren instead seeks to dispel “untruths” about his relationships with leaders there, and alleged misinterpretations of some of his statements. But that doesn’t tell us much about his relationships there, just which leaders and statements from which he’s now trying to distance himself. It would be more revealing to understand just what “purpose-driven living” is, how he has imparted that teaching to Ugandan leaders, and how they make use of it.

Exodus International is a well-known organization that promotes reparative therapy. Reparative therapy is a discredited theory and practice of transforming gays to straight. In August, 2009, the American Psychological Association issued a hard hitting condemnation of reparative therapy and its adherents.

The American Psychological Association concluded Wednesday that there is little evidence that efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation from gay or lesbian to heterosexual are effective. The report looks at 87 studies conducted between 1960 and 2007. In addition, the 138-page report — covering 87 peer-reviewed studies — said that such efforts may cause harm.

Of course, Exodus won’t allow the facts to inform their opinions, and they continue to inflict their “cure” on troubled gays who already doubt their human worth.

As an organization, Exodus was not directly involved in the rise of official Ugandan homophobia, but one of their board members was an early anti-gay spokesman in that country. At a March, 2009 anti-gay conference in Kampala, Exodus Board member Don Schmierer was one of three presenters (Nazi revisionist Scott Lively was another).

Family Life Network has organized a training seminar to equip Ugandans with information and skills to fight what it calls spiraling promotion of homosexuality in the country.

[T]he seminar from March 5th to 7th will provide insight on the causes and treatment of homosexuality; provide practical tips on how to prevent homosexuality behavior in youth; expose the homosexual agenda … is intended for parents, guardians, teachers, government officials, policy makers, members of parliament, religious leaders, counselors and activists who need in-depth knowledge on the subject of homosexuality.

A blog called Box Turtle Bulletin has been on top of the Exodus-Uganda connection, with dozens of blog posts listed chronologically here. A few pertinent items include the announcement of the anti-gay seminar on the floor of the Ugandan legislature, Exodus’ initial “applauding” of Schmierer’s participation, the Ugandan parliamentary foray into the anti-gay movement six weeks after the seminar, and finally the Nov 16th Exodus lukewarm rejection of the legislation only after the international outcry.

Written as it is by an organization which does not affirm the dignity and worth of LGBT people to live their lives responsibly in freedom and self-determination, there is certainly much in this letter that merits criticism. Furthermore, the letter makes no recommendations except to “consider the influence this law will have” on the work of those who believe that the only valid option for LGBT people is to self-deny their own existence. The “influence” this law will have on LGBT people themselves, well that’s apparently inconsequential and not worthy of discussion.

One final note regarding Exodus that will be of interest to regular followers of this blog. Exodus International has a mutually supportive relationship with Lutheran CORE, the dissident ELCA group that resisted the pro-LGBT actions of the 2009 ELCA churchwide assembly and which continues as an ELCA irritant and schismatic movement. At the ELCA church wide assembly, Lutheran CORE maintained a visible presence and a headquarters / hospitality room. On Thursday evening of the assembly, they promoted a presentation by a representative of Outpost, an affiliate of Exodus International. From the CORE newsletter of August 17th:

Thursday night will feature a presentation by Nate Oyloe, Youth and College Age Director for Outpost Ministries. “Outpost was formed to meet the needs of men and women who have made a decision to break away from the gay life,” its website
explains. Outpost is an affiliate ministry of Exodus International.

Oyloe, in turn, subsequently reported on his presentation in a post on the Exodus website:

Within the denomination is a group called The CORE – Coalition for Reform – that is committed to the upholding of God’s Word and the biblical understanding that homosexual behavior is sinful all the time, every time. The week before the convention Outpost was asked by The CORE to have a presence there. Outpost staff talked with delegates and shared their stories of transformation with individuals throughout the week. I was asked to speak to their group and share my personal testimony the night before the second vote passed.

I also have private correspondence from an ELCA member in Florida whose pastor seeks to lead the congregation into CORE. The pastor invited a CORE spokesperson, a Rebecca Heber, whose presentation to the congregation boasted of the CORE relationship with Exodus.

If we are known by the company we keep, then Lutheran CORE has some “splanin” to do about its affiliation with Exodus, its debunked reparative therapy theories, and its connection to the horrific anti-gay movement in Uganda.

The International Transformation Network is the third evangelical organization that merits scrutiny for its Ugandan influence. From their website:

The International Transformation Network (ITN) is a strategic alliance of Christians from the marketplace and the pulpit who are building prototypes for city and nation transformation that bring the presence and the power of God to meet the felt needs and the systemic challenges of our communities and countries.

As a result of a clear focus on five pivotal paradigms for transformation and the principles of prayer evangelism, real transformation is taking place in cities and nations around the world – in businesses, on campuses, in the halls of government, and within congregations.

Another web page lauds the program’s “prayer evangelism and marketplace redemption strategies to reach cities and transform nations for Christ.” ITN promotes a full-blown and unapologetic prosperity theology, but with a governmental, theocratic twist–a three way partnership between government, business, and Christianity.

According to the Uganda State House website, in March, 2007 the Ugandan President and First Lady, Janet Museveni, (the same mentioned above as contact for Rick Warren) hosted a state dinner for the representatives of ITN. A year later , in March 2008, the website reports the Museveni’s hosted ITN CEO Ed Silvoso, and Silvoso’s own website trumpets ITN’s relationship with “Mama Janet” and her role as a friendly First Lady in Uganda, “a nation completely ripe for transformation”.

These theocratic ideals, tinged with a prosperity gospel, are scary enough, but what about the the relationship of ITN and the anti-gay movement of Uganda? The 18th ITN international conference of October, 2008 held in Argentina is revealing. The speakers included exorcist Cindy Jacobs who offered a chilling, rabble-rousing, rant about “pornography’”, “homosexuals”, “bisexuals”, and “perversion” to a spell-bound, swaying audience. Another speaker, a representative of ITN/Uganda praised “Mama Janet” for being “God’s key” to open not just Uganda but the whole African continent. It also turns out that the daughter of “Mama Janet” is a pastor of a Ugandan church affiliated with the ITN, and it was one of her parishioners, a member of Parliament, who drafted the infamous anti-gay legislation.

And then we come full circle back to the ELCA, back to Minnesota, back to Northfield, for it seems there are two Minnesota Lutheran congregations that have bought into the ITN prosperity gospel with its homophobic overtones.

The first of these is Christ Lutheran Church of Otsego in the Elk River, Minnesota vicinity. According to their website, they have a special congregational meeting called for January 31 to consider a resolution to secede from the ELCA. The same web page has several links to anti-gay sermons of Pastor David Glesne of Redeemer Lutheran in Fridley, a Lutheran CORE and WordAlone Network congregation that has withdrawn from the ELCA.

The second ITN Lutheran congregation is right here in Northfield; it is Rejoice Lutheran, and they claim inspiration from the Elk River example.

Rejoice! sees itself as a city leader in this prayer evangelism movement. We believe, through the power of community prayer, God is raising-up Christians in the city to bring others to the faith! Pastor Dan Clites says he is a pulpit minister, but our congregation is the marketplace ministers! Together, we are blurring the lines between the sacred and the secular!

Local speculation is that Rejoice will depart the ELCA, but a question remains about the significant mission financial support they previously received from the ELCA. Will they keep it or give it back? One wonders if Rejoice members know about the connection between ITN, their prosperity gospel mentor, and the anti-gay movement of Uganda; if so, are they ok with it?

Episcopal pastor, Elizabeth Keaton, has a lengthy post about ITN and their theocratic movement in her home city of Newark, and her post contains a video expose of ITN and their connections to the Uganda anti-gay movement. Watch it!

Rest in Peace, Char Taylor

For those who noticed the lack of posts on this blog for the last week, I have been out of state for the funeral of my sister-in-law, Char Taylor. Char passed after five difficult months following complications of surgery. Finally at home in Green Valley, Arizona under the care of hospice, she passed quietly with her husband and three adult children with her.

A dozen of us from Minnesota and two more from Iowa (Char’s siblings, their spouses, and Char’s nieces and nephews) gathered in the Tucson area for a long weekend in a bittersweet family reunion centered around Char’s funeral. Author Elaine Pagels wrote the following in her book Beyond Belief, which seems apropos:

—the soaring harmonies of the choir singing with the congregation; and the priest, a woman in bright gold and white vestments, proclaiming the prayers in a clear, resonant voice. As I stood watching, a thought came to me: Here is a family that knows how to face death.

Here was a place to weep … here was a community that had gathered to sing, to celebrate, to acknowledge common needs, and to deal with what we cannot control or imagine. Yet the celebration in progress spoke of hope; perhaps that is what made the presence of death bearable.

Rest in peace, Char. We will miss you.

Veteran’s Day: Thinking of Viet Nam teammates on Romeo 18

On this Veteran’s Day, I’m thinking of my Viet Nam buddies from 1969-70.

The mission of our outfit (K company, Ranger, 75th Infantry) was Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP: pronounced lurp). We worked in four man teams that were flown by helicopter into remote areas and dropped off in the jungle for reconnaissance. After four or five days, the choppers would return to pick us up. Because subterfuge was our primary defense, we would be retrieved by the birds ASAP in the event we were exposed. We played hide and seek well.

For 5-6 months, I worked with the same three teammates—Mark Estopare, Billy Powers, and Gary Heald—operating as R-18 (Ranger 18 or Romeo 18 according to the phonetic alphabet). We were stationed in the central Highlands of Viet Nam, in conjunction with the 4th Infantry Division, and lived in base camps near An Khe, Pleiku, and Ban Me Thuot when we weren’t in the field.

Mark was barely 18 and from St. Louis. I haven’t seen him since Viet Nam, but we have spoken by phone a couple of times. I understand he has had a hard time of it with PTSD.

Billy wasn’t much older and spoke with a Texas twang. I saw Billy in Kansas City at a Ranger reunion about three years ago, and the drawl was still there as well as his buoyant humor. He suffered a back injury from a work accident a few years earlier and was receiving worker’s comp. Still in Texas with grown kids.

Gary was the oldest at 23 (I was 21). Gary flew to Minnesota to be one of the groomsmen in my wedding in 1971, I had dinner with him in Los Angeles in 1987, and he was at the same Ranger reunion in KC three years ago. We stay in touch via email. Gary grew up in Oklahoma but settled in California. Remarried with adult kids.

We have animal stories: a rat perched on my shoulder as I pulled midnight guard duty; a tiger silhouetted against the moon as he sauntered along the edge of our night location; and monkeys passing by in the treetops, sounding like the whole God damned North Viet Namese army crashing down on us as we hunkered to the ground, butt muscles tight, and lungs unbreathing. We have drinking stories, and drugs, too. Filipino bands singing rock and roll; movie stars and football players snapping photos of us and we of them; the Beatles partying late on the Panasonic bought at the PX; poker players with military script; and personal AO’s. We have stories of searing sun and monsoon rains. Ponchos. Poncho liners. Prick 25s. Rucksacks. C4. Fragmentary grenades. Smoke grenades. White phosphorous grenades. Later, Bronze stars with V devices. We have flying stories of door gunners and cobra gunships and hot LZs. We have mountain stories, river stories, hooches under triple-canopy jungle stories, and stories of elephant grass much taller than our head. In our stories, there are many faces with names long forgotten. We have shooting stories that come to us in the pale light between wake and sleep, and non-shooting stories, too, of young men from the north passing unknowing in front of our claymores and M16 muzzles, smokin’ and ajokin’ down the mountain, alive still and so were we. We became fathers and grandfathers with stories; I think they did, too.

UPDATE: SINCE PENNING THIS POST, I HAVE CREATED A SEPARATE WEBSITE ENTITLED “LRRPS OF VIETNAM”, AND I HAVE ALSO PUBLISHED FIVE SHORT STORIES BASED ON MY NAM EXPERIENCE. THE SHORT STORIES, ENTITLED PROWL ARE AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK FOR $6.99 OR PAPERBACK FOR $9.95.

Mixed marriage nixed

The wire services and blogosphere are full of the story of the Louisiana Justice of the Peace who refused to marry an interracial couple. Here is a portion of the AP story.

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.

Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

With this 2009 news story, allow me to repost an earlier entry about Loving v. Virginia.

In 1958, Richard and Mildred Loving were arrested in Virginia and charged with violating that state’s anti-miscegenation laws prohibiting inter-racial marriages. With the assistance of the ACLU, the couple fought all the way to the US Supreme Court which overruled their conviction in June of 1967, 42 years ago.

According to blogger Nick Covington, the trial court that found them guilty cited religious “truths”:

“Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.”

My wife and I are white folks of Scandinavian ancestry, but this fall we expect to become grandparents of a “beautiful brown baby”, in the words of my now deceased mother. When mom was dying of ALS, she expressed few regrets, but she confided to Guni, my black son-in-law-to-be, that she was sorry that she wouldn’t get to meet her great-grandkids, the “beautiful brown babies” to be born of his marriage to our daughter Greta.

Greta and Guni

So, when the child is born sometime around Oct 1, one of the prayers I will offer will be thanks for mom’s compassionate heart. I will also remember the words of our friend, Sandra from Barbados, who said life is good “when you’re all mixed up” referring to her own pot pourri ethnicity of English, African, and East Indian.

UPDATE: Awashima Marlee (Mom’s name) Andzenge was born on October 4. Click here for more info and a photo with Grandpa.

While vestiges of racism remain, America has clearly traveled far down the road of racial justice in the 42 years since the arrest of the Lovings. But interest in the Loving’s story is rekindled as precedent for the analogous struggle for gay marriage. Although she has since passed away, Mildred Loving herself stirred the debate with her own statement two years ago on the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in her own case (quoted in Mountain Sage blog):

My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right. The majority believed that what the judge said, that it was God’s plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love. But I have lived long enough now to see big changes. The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry.

Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the ‘wrong kind of person’ for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.

I’m not sure about imbedding video in this blog, so I will simply refer you to another blog, Down with Tyranny, to listen to Nanci Griffith’s title song from her album to be released on June 9, The Loving Kind.

Pastor Charlie Ruud installed

Sunday the 11th was a very big day at Bethel Lutheran Church in Northfield. Nearly 900 persons swelled the Sanctuary for three services to celebrate the installation of Associate Pastor Charlie Ruud and the confirmation of nearly two dozen tenth graders.

Amidst unfurled banners waving high above the assembly, Pastor Charlie processed into the Sanctuary with Senior Pastor Tim McDermott; Bishop Harold Usgaard; Cantors Mike Ahrens and Marci Groenewold; and Acolytes Annika Schwietz, Davy Urke, Annalee Olson-Sola, and Kasey Schuster. Bishop Usgaard offered greetings from the other 180+ congregations of the Southeast Minnesota Synod of the ELCA. With Bishop Usgaard at the pulpit and the congregants standing, Choir Director Dan Kallman accompanied combined adult and youth choirs on bongo drums for repeated stanzas of the gospel verse, “Praise the Lord”. Later, Dan led the adult choir in a stirring anthem, “Come Dwell in Solomon’s Walls”.

A key portion of the Bishop’s sermon was directed at Pastor Charlie. I paraphrase: “You undoubtedly have a lengthy job description as part of your letter of call, and we will shortly address key duties as part of the installation liturgy. But let me simplify,” the Bishop said. “Share Jesus. That is what you are called to do. Share Jesus.”

Pastor Charlie, wife Becky, and baby Lucy are now at home in Northfield. Charlie recently graduated from Luther Seminary in St Paul, and he has retired from his professional baseball career as a record setting pitcher for the St Paul Saints. Becky has returned to St Olaf, where she was an all-American track star, to serve as an assistant track coach.

After a welcoming pot luck lunch, the third service of the day celebrated the confirmation of 23 Bethel tenth graders.

(photo courtesy of Dean Neuburger)

Meet our new granddaughter: Awashima Marlee Andzenge

Please allow a post of personal privilege.

My wife and I have our first grandchild, a girl born October 4, 2009, to our daughter and her husband, Greta and Senenge (Guni) Andzenge. Awashima was born at 4:21 am Sunday morning, and the video and photo were taken about 20 minutes later.

“Awashima” is Nigerian for “we have faith in each other,” and Marlee was my Mom’s name. Mom died about five years ago from ALS. When Greta and Guni were engaged, Mom told them that she had few regrets about her terminal illness but one regret would be that she would not see their “beautiful brown babies.” I’m sure Mom is smiling down today on her namesake.