Report and commentary on Easter sermon explaining the Cross as given by Archbishop Rowan Williams
By Peter Menkin




It is not so usual for someone in California, San Francisco’s Bay Area, New York City, Dallas, or almost any place in the United States to get in trouble for wearing the religious symbol of Christians, the Cross. The central symbol of Easter and the Christian religion, most people in the West know that Christ died on a cross. Most members of the public know that the cross is a terrible way to die, and most know that Christ died a horrible, miserable, painful, ignomious death on the cross. The cross is non-threatening, in its ironic way. Yet in England, wearing the cross is a threat--in its ironic way. It is the symbol of Easter, the cross.

Episcopalians in San Francisco’s Bay Area celebrate Easter, and all after the 40 days of Lent turn to their Church on Easter Sunday and find the cross displayed. What is this cross we have been asking at Easter; Christians must live with it and live it. They do so right here in their lives. They are to do this every day. This is the significant part of who they are in their lives and in the life of society. (Remember, and this writer will repeat the fact, Easter is a Sunday and a season in the Christian faith.)

In this report and commentary on the Easter sermon of Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, he tells us about the cross and Easter.

The cross is a universal symbol of martyrdom, the cross represents a way of life, and a faith, a major world religion. There is something unfair, wrong, a matter of
persecution, lies and life gone wrong in the story of Easter’s crucifixion of Christ. His trial was a mockery of justice, his trial was a series of false witnesses making accusations that led to His death on a cross. Misery!!

Where we learn of this Easter and its victory is in Church. We find Jesus Christ, the man of sorrows. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan William’s, who is spiritual leader for 77 million Anglicans worldwide in his Easter sermon talks about the cross in a Christian life. Have not all of us sorrows of some kind? Even the Archbishop of Canterbury with all the trouble in the Anglican Communion.

In England the cross is an unfavorable symbol, it is so because it represents a religion that has become controversial. As the newspaper “Telegraph” in Great Britain reports:

…[T]he case of Christian nurse Shirley Chaplin made headlines after she refused to remove a necklace bearing a crucifix, saying it would "violate her faith".
She is claiming discrimination against the Royal Devon and Exeter National Health Service Trust Hospital at an employment tribunal.

Rather than the symbol of mercy, succor, and aid, the same Christian symbol worn by Florence Nightingale, the cross is persona non grata. Hear what the Archbishop said at Canterbury Cathedral regarding the way of the cross Christians are asked to live and travel.

…[T]o explain both why you would be right to be afraid of the word of the
cross and why you need to hear the Risen Jesus saying, 'Don't be
afraid!' The human condition is more serious and more terribly damaged
than anyone wants to hear; but the resource of God's self-emptying love
is greater than we have words to express. We are to be judged by our
relation with the crucified; yet once we have accepted what that means,
we are also released and absolved. If that is indeed the promise of
the cross, it's well worth being obstinate about the freedom to show it
to the world - so long as we ourselves are ready to show it in lives
that look for Christ in the outcast, that examine their own failures in
truthfulness and that constantly seek to share forgiveness and hope.

In his Easter sermon, Archbishop Rowan Williams diminishes those who in their petty way as bureaucrats tell their employees that it is illegal to wear the cross; yet Christians find that as religious symbol the cross and the Christian life it symbolizes is a way of hope. Critical of the limitations of society in England, and the way of the world in general, the Archbishop’s words speak to a world of despair and trouble, of human suffering, and need for faith. This is a good message for Easter, for the spirit of Easter (He is risen!! He is risen indeed!!) is reflected in Rowan William’s message:

For Christians, making the cross invisible is dangerously close to making both ultimate tragedy and undefeated love invisible. If we fear what these petty bureaucratic assaults mean, it should not be because we fear for ourselves or our faith or our God, who is amply able to look after himself. It should be because we fear for a society that cannot cope with the realities of unspeakable human tragedy and cannot cope either with the hope of ultimate healing and reconciliation; a society that shrinks into its comfort zones when challenged.

Easter is a day in the life of the Christian, it is the most important holiday of the year, and it is a season in the Church year and in the year of the Christian. For the Benedictine, and for many Christians, Easter is a day, an idea, a way of life and hope that is yearned for and looked forward to throughout the year. Easter is a highpoint of Christian faith and religion.

Go forward with your faith, Christian, is the message offered in the Archbishop’s Easter sermon:

I don't imagine for a moment that much, if any, of this is going on in the mind of some hyper-conscientious administrative officer rebuking an employee for wearing a cross to work or even saying a prayer with a colleague. But perhaps we should take the opportunity of saying, 'This is what the cross actually means. If you want it to be invisible because it's too upsetting to people's security, I can well understand that; but let's have it out in the open. Is the God we see in the cross, the God who lives through and beyond terrible dereliction and death and still promises mercy, renewal, life - is that God too much of a menace to be mentioned or shown in the public life and the human interactions of society?'

This is not a petty consideration to be shaken by the cross. Rowan Williams suggests Christians do more than wear a cross. He says be shaken by the cross: “Christians may secretly be happier treating the cross just as a 'religious symbol' than letting ourselves be shaken and unmade and remade by it.”

There is much to think about in this Easter sermon. Let this writer in this report and commentary on the Archbishop’s sermon offer this quotation by Rowan Williams. It
is a good thought for the season of Easter.

…[W]e must learn to trust that love and justice are not defeated by our failure; that God has provided from his own strength and resourcefulness a way to freedom, once we have become able to recognize in the face of the suffering Jesus his own divine promise of mercy and life. The resurrection is the manifesting to the world of the triumph of a love that uses no coercion or manipulation but is simply itself – an indestructible love. The challenge of Easter is to believe that God is not defeated by the most extreme rejection imaginable.

Anglicans are an Easter people, as are all Christians an Easter people.

Images: (1) Christ on Cross at sunrise, by Henry Worthy, Obl Cam OSB, London; (2) Woman in morning before Holy Island, by Henry Worthy, Obl Cam OSB, London; Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, courtesy Archbishop's website.

Commentary and report on election of Lesbian Bishop in Episcopal Church USA

by Peter Menkin

Los Angeles, California Episcopalians have elected a Lesbian as Bishop Suffragen who may be installed after approval by the larger Episcopal Church, USA. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the 77 million member Anglican Communion has expressed dismay over the election, and in understated words says he and Anglicans in general are waiting to see if The Rev. Mary Glasspool, who was elected a suffragan (assistant) bishop by the Diocese of Los Angeles on Saturday (Dec. 5)--and who, Glasspool, 55, has been with her partner since 1988, according to a biography she provided to the diocese, will be officially installed.


That probable eventuality will further the rift in the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which Episcopalians are a part, and mark the further separation and departure of the American wing of that Communion in its serious move away from what is called both Biblical authority, and mutual covenant by agreement between the Churches of the Communion. Many surmise, an internal result of the “liberalization” of American Anglicanism by the Episcopal Church, USA, will continue the mainstream Church’s loss of members.

Various religious and secular news services have noted the decline and controversy over the last few years, and recently Religion News Service ran a copyrighted article outlining the decline in denomination numbers as it presently stands and continues by trend. They do not link a cause and effect between the acceptance and election of Gay and Lesbian clergy to the office of Bishop in this particular article cited. But this decline is considered in common usage a strong consideration for the declining numbers of Episcopalians.

Religion News Service says:

Domestic membership in the Episcopal Church dropped by 3 percent in 2008, continuing a decline in which the denomination has lost almost 200,000 American members since 2004, according to Episcopal researchers.

The Episcopal Church now counts slightly more than 2 million members in about 7,000 U.S. parishes. Church leaders say they are pleased, however, that the denomination is growing in its non-domestic dioceses, particularly in Haiti and Latin America, where the church counted about 168,000 members in 470 parishes last year.
Still, the church is "swimming against some difficult cultural tides," Matilda Kistler, who heads a state-of-the-church committee in the denomination's House of Deputies, said in a statement.

"We find ourselves facing a society that is gravitating toward secularism," Kistler said. "We also believe that the church-going segment of the public is aging significantly, though the committee will be seeking more definitive data to ascertain if that is so."

Kistler acknowledged that "internal conflicts within the Episcopal Church have also distracted from the message of hope our clergy and lay leaders seek to share."

The Diocese of California (San Francisco Bay Area) led by The Rt. Reverend Marc Andrus supports the inclusion of Gay and Lesbian clergy in the Church and in the same line vocally supports with strong opinion and deeds election of Gay and Lesbian Bishop candidates. Bishop Marc Andrus is not a homosexual.


In addition to the restrained but oppositional statement of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the election of the Lesbian Mary Glasspool in Los Angeles, an Anglican organization has recently criticized and been seriously concerned, even alarmed, by this recent development that may cause impaired Communion or other negative relations within the Anglican Communion with the Episcopal Church USA. The Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop The Rt. Reverend Katherine Jefferts Schori has indicated she favors and will help to bring the Lesbian clergy woman to final installation, in the name of God and Church. This is an unusual and historic act of change and some think diminished faith as Christian Church by the Americans, though the American wing of the Anglican Communion believes they are in the forefront of “ordained” good in their support of an election of homosexuals who are sexually active, and even in what they find as favored and “blessed” active homosexual permanent relationships. Both New and Old Testament Biblical readings have been discounted by the American Church. One argument in favor of The Reverend Mary Glasspool is she has served well in every capacity, and except for her Lesbianism, and active sexual relations as a homosexual, is fully qualified to be a Suffragen Bishop. The question becomes, does her Lesbian sexual practice bar her from being a Bishop.

Many Episcopalians in San Francisco’s Bay Area, and good people, think her sexual proclivities are not a bar, and it is an act of social justice to elect her a Bishop in the Episcopal Church.

As Religion News Service reports in its instance of early Anglican Church reaction to the election:

An international Anglican commission on Tuesday (Dec. 8) urged Episcopalians to exercise "gracious restraint" by not confirming the election of a lesbian as a bishop in Los Angeles.

…In the coming months, more than 100 bishops and standing committees from Episcopal dioceses across the country will vote on whether to give "consents," or confirmation, to Glasspool's election. If she receives confirmation, Glasspool will become the second openly gay bishop elected by the Episcopal Church.

On Tuesday, a 21-member international Anglican committee recently established to promote unity in the communion said they discussed Glasspool's election during their meeting in England Dec. 1-8 and "expressed the fervent hope that `gracious restraint' would be exercised by the Episcopal Church in this instance." The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order includes one American, the Rev. Katherine Grieb of Virginia Theological Seminary.

Neither Williams nor the commission has the power to stop Glasspool's confirmation, however.

The election of the first openly gay bishop, New Hampshire's V. Gene Robinson, in 2003 has caused widespread dissent in the Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church as its U.S. branch. To quell the uproar, Anglican bishops, including the spiritual leader of the communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, have asked for a "period of gracious restraint" on consecrating any more gay bishops.

Daniel Burke of Religion News Service has been active in following this story and George Conger of Religious Intelligence, a London based website owned by The Church of England Newspaper has been following this story and the larger stories connected with the controversial issue.

It is interesting to note that The Reverend Mary Glasspool is strongly committed to fulfilling the role of Bishop and being consecrated and installed as same. Daniel Burke writes in another of his copyrighted reports for Religion News Service of her stand in the matter, and reports on her words regarding her desires to fulfill the pride and historic role for a homosexual to be made a Bishop in the Episcopal Church, USA:

Since becoming the first lesbian to be elected a bishop in the Episcopal Church on Saturday (Dec. 5), the Rev. Mary Glasspool has been hailed as a gay rights pioneer and maligned as the straw that will finally break the back of the Anglican Communion.

Glasspool "wavered two or three times" before agreeing to be nominated as an assistant bishop in Los Angeles, she said in an interview Wednesday. But friends and spiritual counselors reminded her to follow her own preaching.

"Look, you believe in the Holy spirit," she said they told her.
"You've always said the Holy Spirit is in charge. Your job is to follow where it leads."

…The spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, has all but told Episcopalians not to vote to confirm Glasspool's election. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the communion, but could lose its place over Glasspool, Williams warned.

"He clearly was saying something like that," Glasspool said. "And again, I've done what I could do to allow myself to be available to God's call, and the people of Los Angeles have spoken and voiced their trust in me and my potential leadership."
Before Glasspool can be consecrated a bishop, a majority of the more than 100 Episcopal bishops and dioceses must confirm her election within the next several months. Robinson predicted Thursday that process will be "a little more difficult" than when he was confirmed by delegates to the church's triennial General Convention in Minneapolis.

Part of the statement by The Reverend Mary Glasspool prior to her election indicates her strong argument that sexuality is tied to and part of her faith journey, that homosexuality as part of her coming of age worked well and is justified as part of God’s gift to her, and a strength in her candidacy for Bishop and life in ministry as ordained Clergy in the Episcopal Church, USA. The beginning of her statement that asks, “Provide a description of your walk with God in Christ that brought you to this moment of discerning a call to the episcopate in our diocese…” reads:

And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14b, RSV)

I was born in February 1954, on a rainy Tuesday (Tuesday’s child is full of grace) in Staten Island Hospital, New York, where my father was Rector of St. Simon’s Episcopal Church and Vicar of All Saints’. Both my parents grew up in the Episcopal Church, and each modeled a profound faith in God that was given to me as gift while I grew up. We moved to Goshen, N.Y., in April of 1954 where my father was Rector of St. James’ Church for the next 35 years until his death in 1989. As with most children, I suspect, God was more transcendent than immanent, more other than palpable in community to me.

It was during my college years (1972-1976) that I began to discern a vocation to ordained ministry and concomitantly to discover my sexuality. Both these areas were sources of intense struggle for me, as I wrestled with such questions as; Did God hate me (since I was a homosexual)? or Did God love me? Did I hate (or love) myself? Was it really possible, not to mention appropriate, for women to be priests? My father’s answer to this last question was a resounding NO, and true to his own colors he never publicly supported women’s ordination, although I became something of an exception to the rule.

God was still transcendent and other to me as I entered Episcopal Divinity School in the Fall of 1976, just as the General Convention in Minneapolis was wrestling to recognize the reality of women called to be priests, the new Prayer Book, and what to do with the Philadelphia 11 and the Washington 5 as we termed them at EDS. My role models at that time represented two different ways of doing things in response to God’s call: Carter Heyward and Carol Anderson. Carter, for me, represented the courage to break through barriers – not without cost – in order to become fully the person God is calling you to become. Carol represented the sacrificial love of the Church that manifested itself in restraint, and also came at great cost. Both of these courageous women have continued to model for me the integrity of responding to God’s call with your whole person, being exactly who you are.

It is clear from this part of her statement that she believes her homosexuality and appearance, nay now election as a Bishop in Los Angeles, is part of God’s plan. The question is, other than what at this stage the stance appears to be with the 2 million members of the Episcopal Church USA, will the rest of the Anglican Communion, which in total numbers about 77 million, agree.

Notes about theology
as a failed poem,
a poetic statement
by Peter Menkin

For some time my interest to write a poem telling what theology is about has failed. What is presented below is one of my attempts, posted to a poet's workshop and the following brief discussion of its failure. The content of the poem remains an explanation of an important aspect of theology, and gives a reason to study the subject for as the "poem" points out, theology helps us in our relationship with God.


Theology as a means of refining
faith is the ticket
Rowan William's offers.

So this offering, a response,
to the Trinitarian reflections on
"The Grammar of God."

Heady stuff, meant for the heart and life,
phenomenon of human history.
Of faith,
Jesus brings us to an encompassing knowledge
of new, refreshed, evergiving love in a life
emulated by Christians- the event of Jesus
a man named Panikkar says.

These concepts, written
to give fertile ground to inner life
calls us to consider belief in Church,
that institution of mythical cosmology.
Words that sounds celestial,
large, god reaching.

The theologian has the task
to help us know this God.

There is too the attitude
of confidence,
that hopeful enterprise
of the "general human future"
-Are these too lofty for one,

so grand to soar and enjoy some understandings
in dialogue with large thinkers.
The "Christic" vision.

See how many times
quote marks appear.
Copying from the book, "On Christian Theology",
this commentary praises
the recognition of Trinity in history,
defining relationships
"to catch a glimpse."



Audio of poem by poet is here:





Peter,

I read this more like a sermon. The preaching overpowers the poetics and
steers the reader rather than stimulates.

It's a narrow track with few turnings...I'm completely straight-jacketed by
it.
I see god is not capitalised in S3L4 and I don't know if it should be,
but a hyphen may be useful, following.

Cheers
terry

Terry:

Thanks for taking the time to read this poem, which is an attempt to note
some ideas about God with the big G, and even a mention of god with the little
g. A little here, a little there is what I try with that one. Sometimes I do
better than others, and in this effort did try for a poem. That it seems more a
sermon I hope has to do with some theological integrity, or the subject itself,
more than the lack of flexibility. For it uses as its format statements by a
theologian who has distinct ideas, which I agree with and believe help us
understand God and religion. That's why I am reading the book, "On Christian
Theology: Challenges in contemporary theology." I find the book a challenge, as
the writer, Rowan Williams, writes an erudite book and I must lift myself with
the writing to come along with it as a reader.

Here's a sentence, which I did not touch on in this restricted expression
that was inspired
by his points on the Trinity and the church. Maybe
something along these thoughts added would have helped: "It will effectively be
claiming that what is vital to Christian discourse about the resurrection can be
stated exclusively in terms of what happens to the minds and hearts of believers

when proclamation is made that the victim of the crucifixion is the one through
whom God continues to act and speak." I can understand that, but it is better to
take ones time with it-so I think.


What I want to express is my agreement with a statement about
the..."different phenomena and different perspectives of Christian history..."
Kind of my effort as a book review. They are faith, belief, and confidence. I
guess I better take some time and reread the poem in light of your comments on
it being too restrictive, hopefully not so esoteric for most readers as what I

have quoted. That won't do.

Thanks for reading what is probably a more rarified (complimentary way
of putting it, if it is that) exercise of mine to make a poem. I appreciate your
taking the time to comment, and I am glad to have your thoughts.

Peter

Two new Reviews: one a Rowan William’s book…

http://www.amazon.com/Wound-Knowledge-Christian-Spirituality-Testament/dp/1561010472/sr=1-1/qid=1167863759/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-3200954-0540042?ie=UTF8&s=books

Where does this book begin? I find so many entry points, for the writer, Archbishop Rowan Williams, allows the reader to join in at many places. I will start from the beginning, the usual way of writing a book review. For me, there are many lessons as in the way to live more seriously in Christ. To live more seriously in the church and into "...the historical corporateness of its tradition..." with commitment. He the head of the Anglican Church, its worldwide communion, and the Church of England again provides a service in illuminating God-in-Christ. I do not mean to reduce this thoughtful and brilliant book to a series of sound bites. For it is a readable yet scholarly book, well thought out, and filled with the "Wound of Knowledge" as the title suggests.



http://www.amazon.com/Home-Christmas-Stories-Young-Old/dp/1570755582/sr=1-1/qid=1167863835/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-3200954-0540042?ie=UTF8&s=books

This Christmas season I spent time reading this excellent collection of readable, intriguing Christmas stories. All tell of the promise of the season: Goodness, giving, even each a story of a miracle of a kind. The collection subtitled, "Stories for Young and Old" is an apt description of the 332 page paperback compiled by Miriam LeBlanc, illustrated by David G. Klein and published by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York. This book has the seal of approval of this reader, and here I quote from the note at the book's beginning written by Emmy Arnold. I think this is the right seal of approval in our contemporary America: "Even though Christmas is exploited for profit, even though its meaning is often corrupted, it is still the time of year that we feel the impulse to think of others. It is still the season of anticipation and joy. The brightness and fragrance of a Christmas tree under which gifts are laid--here is light and warmth; here is life and love."

Book reviews: theology, devotion, daily readings...

These three books I've reviewed for Amazon.com are devotional. The first is Rowan William's "On Christian Theology," worth the time. The second is a book from Morehouse Publishing that is a book of readings for Advent and Christmas. The third review is a lovely book of daily readings for Episcopalians. All three books are moving books.

Here is an entry to the reviews on Amazon.com, with their respective link, and all three were reviewed by me, Peter Menkin.


A review by Peter Menkin:
On Christian Theology (Challenges in Contemporary Theology) (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0631214402/qid=1139964926/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-4273977-0593735?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Take on this "On Christian Theology" if you choose to learn more of religious things, like matters of the heart and unities in God. The writer, Rowan Williams, says, "Theology needs to make connections, to search out and display unities..." This book by the Archbishop of Canterbury does that, even for this lay man who spent time pondering over ideas and directions in a manner that required study as well as reading. There are large subjects addressed, like "The Judgement of the World," where he addresses many like ideas: "The diffuse discontent that consumer pluralism can engender (although it largely contains and even utilizes it) yields itself readily to any program that dresses itself persuasively enough in moral rhetoric..." There's a taste of the theologian's writing.

A review by Peter Menkin:

Come, Lord Jesus!: Daily Readings for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0819219649/ref=cm_aya_asin.title/102-4273977-0593735?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

The writings and excerpts from the Bible seep into the reader after a time, inviting meditation and offering an education for Advent and Christmas. Certainly, an Advent and Holiday time reading, the works are not authored as a standard series of Advent readings, but they are traditional: "It is our hope that this book will encourage profound exploration and contemmplation, but it is not, perhaps, a conventional Advent book of readings and prayers, for that the reader will have to look elsewhere."

A Review by Peter Menkin:

Celebrating the Seasons: Daily Spiritual Readings for the Christian Year (Hardcover)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0819218472/ref=cm_aya_asin.title/102-4273977-0593735?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

There is a holiness about this book of readings, "Celebrating the Seasons: Daily Spiritual Readings for the Christian Year." I bought my copy at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in 2000. Here are some of my writings about that event, and I call it an event since the book has meaning to me: "January 11, 2000. I visited Grace Cathedral Gift Shop and bought this since the 12 days of Christmas are over. I was going to get a new pew copy of The Book of Common Prayer. I ducked into the Cathedral--while waiting for a friend--this turned out well...God loves a sinner and seeks the lost sheep and the lamb." You can see I was in a spiritual state of mind, and discovered that the readings enhance my sense of the liturgical year. So the compiler and editors intended. The publisher is Canturbury Press in England that the compiler is an Anglican priest working in the Diocese of London named Robert Atwell. He has a Benedictine bent, and that tells you something of the nature of these selections.

Epiphany means many things, as I discover it means Easter and resurrection...

Epiphany Brings News
By Peter Menkin


The Winter is young,
Trees bare against a grey sky.
Rain here.

Epiphany brings news
To me of the resurrection’s
Gifts.

Through this gift,
New creation,
In the cross—resurrection.

This Rowan Williams
Tells us these things;
Wait on the Christ—open heart.

This theologian I am reading
Says,
Shed enmity towards failures,


Enmity between people,
Shed this.
Then comes friendship with God.

Not matters of the mind,
Of the head,
But of the heart.

I think of Easter,
“the living of the believing life.”

Our trust is in Easter.















This poem was just written, and is the result of my coming towards the end of Rowan William's book, "On Christian Theology." I visited a monastery today, and it is also part of my thinking about ways of the heart, that were explained during the talk by one of the monks; it isn't the head that does these things of contemplation that we practice. It is the heart we engage with others, in love, and that love that is Christ who offers us in the Trinity the gifts of an interior life with God. Big stuff. I thought my epiphany, as expressed in the poem important. I suspect it isn't a stranger or strange expression about the Easter experience--our yearning towards Easter in Winter and perhaps during other seasons as well.

Rowan Williams writes about our living with "failure" and other matters common to us all, and he writes about the selfhood each of us has. In fact, he says a great deal about the interior life, about which I did not understand half. This quote about a kind of liberty in the knowledge of and experience of Christ and the cross is a good one. "...the assumption that there is essence whose liberty is infringed by the insulting limits of time and language and other realities, by death and the body and all that is not consciously chosen by this immaterial ego." He talks about the gift, that it is. He talks about living a shared future with others. I hope I have done him some justice here.

Engaged in the life of another, a woman without a home who lived in the backyard...

When I think back some years ago to 2000, I recall the woman who had no home and lived in the backyard of the house where I stayed. Technically, she was homeless. Yet she had a job, owned a car, and went to a university (she told me she could shower there between classes). I don't want to ruin the poem, which is spiritual in the sense that Rowan Williams writes about creation and other human beings' lives:

"...by opening to all a share in the fellowship of Christ's body...the human God had established, as abiding tokens of his presence, material acts and objects, bread, wine and water, and so declared all material existence to be potentially charged with the life of God." I read that recently in his book, "On Christian Theology: Challenges in contemporary theology." I make my way through this very interesting and thought provoking book on living the Christian life and living a life in communion as a member of the Episcopal Church. I do believe this so, by the way, of other communions. That is my ecumenical hope.

So you see, if you like me believe that we share others lives and have some responsibility towards them, you too may find this poem about the woman without a home both important and interesting. It is a story about love, too.


Crooning lamentations, the evicted lover
Peter Menkin -- Sep 23, 2000

The necessities of terrible
men drove her away, to sleep
outside and travel in her car.
Part of the society homeless
who band into groups including
lovers evicted, unknown failures,

this one sleeps in the backyard
under plum trees and raccoon
rooftop trails in a tent,
in a greenhouse among redwood
trees, and showers at the university
in the city-- liking soap,

blaming blue collar up
bringingand newly rich with sexual demands
boyfriend, for injuries apparent:
jilted her to devices post modern,
love lost knows, missing what

holds but does not, she cut her
hair short, rides a bicycle
to work and eats out of doors.
She exercises friendship and
suspicion, waiting on open

life without a home, crooning
lamentation with frail bravery.
What injury to the feminine soul,
elicits a protestation of pain
among all encountered by dearness.