This Sunday at Binkley
August 26, 2018
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Early Worship
9:45 am, Lounge
Worship
11:00 am, Sanctuary
Marcus McFaul preaching
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When Hearts are Troubled: A Service of Lament
7:00 pm, Sanctuary
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Sam was never silent. We know that the statue spoke of a time when racial violence and intense bigotry led to tearing the fabric of the nation and her multiple expressions of community. Words spoken at the dedications of such monuments across the country were filled with both blatant vile and racial animus, as well as subtle tones that echoed the strains of a "religion of the lost cause," as historian Charles Reagan Wilson termed it.
In his important book
Baptized in Blood: The Religion of the Lost Cause, 1865-1920
, Wilson describes religion of the Lost Cause as an expression of southern civil religion that married conservative fundamentalist faith, cultural biases, heated and hateful rhetoric, rituals of violent dehumanization (cross burnings) and, death by lynchings. White supremicist attitudes pervaded every aspect of life---societal, economical, political and theological. Now, I know that you already know all that but what I find interesting about Wilson's treatment of the religion of the Lost Cause is that he says pointedly that Lost Cause religion is a cult of the dead. The erection of confederate monuments appeals to the un-reconstructed way of ordering societal norms. Keeping the confederate soldier statues around courthouse squares or university spaces spoke a message: We may have lost the war but we will not lose our place of cultural and racial privilege. Some of what we are experiencing as a country right now stems from the same acidic attitudes.
I am not a native North Carolinian (as you know) but as an American, a follower of Jesus, and a minister of a local congregation in Chapel Hill, I shed no tears over the toppling of a misnamed statue. Statues tell incomplete stories and reflect more of the builder's version of history than is truthful. People will speak (already have) around issues of means and methods regarding the monument's loud crash but, at least for me, the reasons behind its presence in the first place cannot be obscured. People of good judgment will debate (already have!) the slow, glacial speed of leadership from University officials, particularly after last summer's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia (many universities did in fact remove confederate statues last Aug).
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In
Baptized in Blood
Wilson tells the story of Rev. John William Jones,a Baptist evangelist from Virginia. A crusader, Jones fought against "Yankee" history textbooks in Charlotte, and later was a chaplain at UNC Chapel Hill. He once gave the following prayer at a university event:
"L
ord we acknowledge Thee as the all-wise author of every good and perfect gift. We recognize Thy presence and wisdom in the healing shower. We acknowledge Thou had a divine plan when Thou made the rattlesnake, as well as the song-bird, and this was without the help of Charles Darwin.
But we believe Thou will admit the grave mistake in giving the decision to the wrong side in eighteen hundred and sixty-five.
"
Unrepentant adherents of the Lost Cause remain with us wishing to hold an even tighter grip on a way of life that did not believe in the dignity of human beings. As I write this column our town is preparing for protests on Saturday morning. We all pray for safe and peaceful gatherings all around town tomorrow, particularly in the university area.
Campuses and their buildings, plaques, and memorials all tell stories, all too often unfinished ones. When first I arrived into Chapel Hill for a visit in the fall of 2014, Matthew Ripley-Moffitt took me on a campus tour; we noted the statue and then kept going, arriving at last to Gerrard Hall, site of the first services of our church. Inscribed on that building's stone the words of Micah 6: Do justice, Love Kindness, and Walk Humbly with God.
Sometimes the stones cry out and cannot wait any longer to be heard. Speak, stones, speak.
I hope to see you this Sunday.
With much affection for you,
Marcus
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When Hearts are Troubled:
A Service of Lament
Sunday, August 26, 7:00 pm, Sanctuary
“To everything there is a season…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4
This season in our life together feels weighed down with sadness and pain, for we have experienced brokenness and the compounding of grief over the past year—individually, in our relationships as a community, in our national life, in our world. Among the many traditions of prayer, (e.g., praise, intercession, confession) prayers of lament represent “that unsettling Biblical tradition that includes expressions of complaint, grief, anger, despair, and protest to God" (Billman & Migliore,
Rachel's Cry:Prayer of Lament and Rebirth of Hope
). Lament offers us an ancient resource for being together in this time of weeping and mourning.
Members of the congregation, including Meredith Bratcher, Roal Carlson, Karen Coletti, Terry Huneycutt-Horn, Carol Ripley-Moffitt, and Sheryl Scrimsher have created a space for us to lament as a community this Sunday evening at 7 pm. The service will include psalms of lament, quiet meditation, songs of mourning and hope, and nourishment at Christ’s table. Recognizing that the fabric of our lives as persons and as a community has been torn, we will have pieces of cloth to rend during our time of prayer, and you may also bring a garment or piece of cloth for this ritual of grief. Childcare will be provided.
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Thai Service Project
Labor Day Sunday, September 2
9:30-10:30 am in the Lounge
Binkleyites of all ages are invited to “knock down mosquitoes” for Grace Church, Maesai, Thailand. Intrigued, curious? Well, come and find out! We are raising money for Grace Church, related to us through American Baptist missionaries, Scott and Tan Coats. Grace provides a home for 45 stateless youth, including
Adul, pictured here. Adul was one of the boys on the soccer team trapped in the cave.
These youth would not be able to attend school safely without this support (it’s a longer story!). We want to help! They have school supplies, but they need
new bedding ($15 each) and mosquito nets ($5 each)
. Together, through our donations, we can make a difference.
It will be an exciting morning, as we will have the opportunity to talk with Adul directly via technology!
Breakfast snacks, juice, coffee provided
. Children and Youth are particularly welcomed!
Please see Stephanie Ford with your questions and offers of volunteer energy!
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August Challenge:
Stop the Junkmail!
This month, the Earth Ministries team challenges you to reduce the amount of junk mail coming to your postal mailbox. More than half of all the mail sent in the US is advertising--most of which is thrown away without even being opened.
Did you know you can opt out of receiving junk mail? Go to
https://dmachoice.thedma.org/
to register (it costs $2 for 10 years of service). At that site, you can also opt out of email offers, credit card pre-approval offers, and unwanted catalogs.
Opting out of these advertisements will go a long way to reduce the amount of trees being cut down for paper and to reduce pollution caused by mail trucks. Check out page 5 of the
August Newsletter
for more details.
The Earth Ministries Team invites you to join us at our next meeting on Thursday, August 23 at 1:30 in the Binkley Church Library.
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Richard Rohr’s
Immortal Diamond
Discussion Group
The discussion group that just completed Richard Rohr’s
Falling Upward: Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
will read Rohr’s next major book,
Immortal Diamond: the Search for the True
Self starting in September. Would you like to join us?
If you have read Falling Upward (or want to read it over the summer), you are ready for the group. In addition to weekly discussions at the church, we’re going to take an online course associated with the book for additional multi-media materials, including talks by Fr. Richard, and a moderated discussion for participants. Registration for the course is now open and participants should sign up at
cac.org
(follow links to Online Education, Immortal Diamond).
Any questions and/or interested? Contact Cate Alexander, 919-903-9563.
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Back to School Supplies Needed
A box for school supplies will be located in the narthex this Sunday. Donations will be received by area foster children. Supplies needed are:
- BACKPACKS
- #2 PENCILS
- COLORED PENCILS
- MARKERS
- CRAYONS (24 PACK)
- SPIRAL NOTEBOOKS (WIDE-RULED)
- MARBLE COMPOSITON BOOKS
- NOTEBOOK PAPER (WIDE-RULED)
- GLUE STICKS
- HIGHLIGHTERS
- 1 INCH 3 RING NOTEBOOKS
- 3 PRONGED PLASTIC FOLDERS
- COPY PAPER (8 ½ X 11)
- FLASH DRIVES
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Click the links below for more information on each event.
Featuring Katherine Whalen's JazzSquad
Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 pm, ArtsCenter in Carrboro
The statistics are alarming: Nearly one in three adolescents ages 13 to 18 now meets the criteria for an anxiety disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 32 percent of teens report persistent feelings of sadness or helplessness. To help to give teenagers skills to navigate their mental health journeys and to offer adults tools for helping, two Triangle advocacy groups are sponsoring #TeenAnxiety: A Youth Mental Health Summit at Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill
on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Click
here
for more info and to register.
Calling All Binkley Golfers, Support Prison Ministry
The Yates Baptist Association is having their annual golf tournament—Superball-Shotgun Start format—on Saturday, Sept. 15at the Umstead Pines Golf Course in Durham. Individuals and teams of men, women, or youth are welcome! Cost is $65 which includes golf and lunch. Proceeds support the ministries of Yates Baptist Association, including Alamance-Orange Prison Ministry. Email Kristen Young at
[email protected]
for a registration form, Michael Bond at
[email protected]
for sponsorship opportunities,and if you'd like to volunteer, please contact Teresa Dotson at
[email protected]
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Many of the 3,500 children in our community who rely on the school lunch program may not have access to regular meals during the 11 weeks that school is not in session.
Volunteering is as easy as picking up a box of lunches at a school cafeteria, distributing them at a local community center or housing community and returning a tally sheet to the cafeteria. Shifts last from 11:25 – 1:15, so you can volunteer at lunch. And you can choose how often you wish to participate.
Link your grocery store loyalty cards to BPS.
Here's how.
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Church Office Hours
Mon.-Thurs.
8:30 am - 4 pm
Friday
8:30 am - 3 pm
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Publication Deadlines
Submissions for the September Newsletter are due by:
August 20
Submissions for the weekly bulletin and Friday Update are due by:
Wednesday Noon
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The Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church
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