Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Continuing Need for New Perspective

This is a response I made on a blog (Gruntled Center) by Dr. William "Beau" Weston, who is advocating the elimination of Committees on Representation from the Presbyterian Church (USA) structure. I'm lousy at the technical aspects of linking, so it's not linked here. The first paragraph speaks to a response from a current member of the General Assembly Committee on Representation (GACOR), who speaks of coming at the work of representation and diversity through his position of white privilege.

I have recently rotated off the GACOR. I, too, come at this from a position of white privilege; although, I also have a position which puts me in a bit of a minority - clergywoman.

There is still much work to be done before Committees on Representation become “irrelevant”. I also am a member of New Covenant presbytery, and will admit that I dropped the ball on some of the representational work which needs to be done here. This is being rectified. For example, there are committees in our presbytery structure that are made up of moderators of other committees in the presbytery. As we’ve begun to work with the nominating committee, one of the things we’ve noticed is that these “over-committees” can all too easily become mainly white males. It can be difficult for even conscientious nominating committees to be completely aware of how certain choices affect other aspects of the leadership of the presbytery.

One of the unique features of Committees on Representation is that they are required to be composed such that the majority of its members are members of racial/ethnic minority groups. For those of us who have lived our entire lives from a position of privilege due to race (whether we have been aware of such privilege or not), this compositional flip-flop allows us to experience, at least somewhat, what it means to be in the minority. I believe this to be healthy for both the individuals involved and the PCUSA as a whole.

I wonder what the PCUSA would be like if, for one four-year term, the GA Nominating Committee were required to fill all positions so that every General Assembly-level committee had a majority of members who are members of racial/ethnic minorities, were under the age of 45, and had at least one-third of its members who had a condition which meets the criteria of the Americans with Disabilities Act. That would not preclude having members on each committee who could express the heritage and history of that committee‘s work, but might allow the work of the PCUSA to move forward in new, unexpected, and Spirit-driven ways.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Too Much Sky

The other day my son and I were in the car headed to one of the local restaurants. As we came to one "familiar" intersection, I looked up and out and thought back to when I first moved to town. At that particular intersection, when you looked toward the sky, all you could see were the tops of the trees.

After Rita, there was a bit more sky to be seen at that intersection, but still there were a fair number of trees in that view.

Now, the intersection looks as though some maniacal lumberjack of Paul Bunyan proportions stomped through town, slicing out the tops of trees with his well-honed axe. The end result is ...

WAY TOO MUCH SKY!!

And little pitiful stubby treetops in view.

Don't get me wrong. Generally, I like sky. But it was Oh! so pleasant to have those beautiful green, leafy limbs, the trees' crowing glory, to help block the sun's rays early in the morning and at dusk.

Now, when I look at where the treetops used to be, I feel sad and shriveled inside. It will be another generation before the skyline begins to look "normal" again, assuming another beastie doesn't come plowing through the streets and yards of town again in the meantime.

*sigh* I think I've been feeling the combined effects of Her Horribleness and His Horribleness this week. Sad, then angry, then fuzzy, then rinse and repeat. Sometimes it's just overwhelming. Sometimes it seems like the best thing to do is just crawl back into bed and pull the pillows over my head. But sometimes, you just have to plod along, and remember to take care of yourself.

I'm beginning to think I need to take a couple of days off and just get away from town.

Hmmmmmmmmm...you know, I'm beginning to think it's about time for a trip to Austin. I've some friends there I haven't seen in quite a while. Yes, hills would be nice about now.

Now all I've got to do is figure out when!

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Morning Reflection

I've been enjoying the pleasant morning air today. The sliding glass door is open so the Penster can wander in and out as she pleases. It's cool enough to keep the skeeters from buzzing around and finding their way into the house. I'll close the door when the first insectoid flies in.

It's a beautiful blue, sun-shiny day. But there's a problem.

There's just too much sky. I look out my backdoor and the scene that used to be framed by the bright green shapes of large oaks and pines and whatever other kinds of trees grow around here, is now framed by what seem like skeletal remains. It's sad.

I drive down the streets and, especially early in the morning or toward dusk, the trees which used to help filter the rising or setting sun are gone, and the brightness hurts the eye. It's sad.

While the number of chainsaws doing their buzzing is nowhere near the number making their racket after Rita, the sound of their cutting puts my teeth on edge and causes me to cringe a little.

Still, it is a very pleasant morning. The fresh air is healing. The pain's still there, but I can remember that healing happens. It happened after Rita. It will happen after Ike. It's a process which takes time. But it happens. *sigh*