Let Us Draw Fear and Solace from Certainty and Permit History to Surprise Us
by Krista Tippett, host
Photos by Leah Reddy/Trinity Wall Street
I’ll confess here (as I didn’t do in the public event that became this week’s show) that I’m already feeling overwhelmed by the 9/11 remembrance. Part of me hesitates to add to what will be a media deluge by Sunday. On the other hand, so much of that coverage is about reliving and revisiting; I’m longing to make some new kind of sense, to bring some new reflection to our common grappling.
We framed this public conversation at St. Paul’s Chapel on the edge of Ground Zero with a phrase I’ve used once or twice across the years: “remembering forward.” This is a play on my favorite line from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass: “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.”
And on Tuesday night, September 6th, remembering forward did take us to different places than I recall in my own September 11 deliberations up to now. We began by dwelling with the sense of vulnerability that was at the heart of that terrible day ten years ago — a catastrophic reminder of mortality and frailty even in our strongest fortresses. New Yorkers and Americans experienced a magnitude of “grief and dread” — Hendrik Hertzberg’s evocative words — that were disorientingly new.
I expected to be surprised, being in conversation with such an eclectic gathering of insightful thinkers — The New Yorker’s Hertzberg, writer and thinker Pankaj Mishra, and theologian Serene Jones — but I didn’t expect the word “hope” to resonate so loudly. It emerged as an intriguing, bittersweet theme.
For in pondering the strange and universal experience of vulnerability, we dwelt less on what was done to us and more about the work of living with the reality of that. We focused on the enduring, inward work of trauma that accompanied and followed that day ten years ago. As Serene Jones reminded us, when grief becomes mourning it encompasses a vision of wholeness.
On Tuesday night, we mourned not only for the tragedy but for the gift of those immediate post-9/11 days: the unprecedented solidarity that they called forth among strangers and fellow New Yorkers, between New York and the rest of America, between America and the rest of the world. And in this chapel, which is the symbol and practical heart of that ennobling moment of solidarity, we named questions, which themselves have power to create new realities in this coming decade. Did we really take in the extraordinary compassion the rest of the world extended to us in our moment of crisis? Is it too late to learn to extend that to each other and the world anew in more generous, more intentional ways?
My hope right now is rooted in a quiet, growing sense that, slowly, after many twists and turns, we might be settling into a more helpful realization of the limits of our understanding — and that this can open us to a new range of new possibilities and actions. We are more aware of our global interconnectedness this decade on. We are better equipped to understand that our dramatic moment of fear and grieving, of weakness in our strongest fortresses, is an experience many people across the world live with much of the time. We’ve realized that the Arab world we suddenly saw as full of enemies was also full of human beings who want the same dignity and democracy as us. The economic roller coaster of recent years has also reminded us of the perplexing reality that the only constant in life is change.
All these features of the decade since 9/11 have driven home its lesson of vulnerability. But they also drive home the lesson that there is both fear and solace to be drawn from the certainty that life and history will surprise us. Within that certainty, as Pankaj Mishra said so helpfully on Tuesday night, hope remains renewable. This was palpable at St. Paul’s Chapel that evening, making no sense at all and all the sense in the world.
Mennonites Unite Behind Largest Relief Sale
by Anne Breckbill, associate web developer
Hundreds attend the marquee event: the quilt auction. (photo: David Yoder)
The best — and perhaps quirkiest — aspects of being Mennonite were on display in northern Indiana last weekend. The Michiana MCC Relief Sale is an annual fundraising event for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a world-wide relief organization. The sale is part quilt auction, part junk auction, part garage sale, part bake sale, part county fair, part family reunion.
Although there are 30 MCC relief sales in the United States and 14 in Canada each year, Michiana (Indiana-Michigan area) hosts the largest, attracting between 20,000-25,000 people and raising upwards of $350,000 annually. It also happens to be in my old hometown of Goshen, Indiana.
Transportation around the fairgrounds for weary sale-goers. (photo: David Yoder)
So this past weekend I made my pilgrimage to the Elkhart County Fairgrounds with two non-Mennonite friends who have always wanted to experience this sale. They weren’t disappointed, and I was proud to call myself Mennonite.
An auction of new and used goods other than quilts. (photo: David Yoder)
The Mennonite denomination, like many others, has struggled with divisive issues over the years, and I haven’t always appreciated how these issues have been — or have not been — resolved. But this weekend we were at our best. Progressive Mennonites, Old Order Mennonites, Conservative Mennonites, and Amish worked hand-in-hand to raise money for a belief they all share in common — that it is our joyful duty to lend a helping hand to those in need.
Church groups have been working all year: quilting, woodworking, baking, and canning to donate these goods to the sale. The weekend of the sale, groups and individuals are selling their items, staffing the quilt auction, cooking food, planning logistics, and cleaning the fairgrounds. Our differences are forgotten as we work toward a common goal.
Making kettle corn. (photo: David Yoder)
The sale runs Friday night through Saturday afternoon and features multiple auctions, a garage sale, children’s auction and activities, a 10K run, and lots of food: pies, sausage, cheese, pancakes, kettle corn, moon pies, elephant ears, apple dumplings, and new ethnic foods. For my parents, Friday night is the night to buy their year’s supply of sausage from Mishler’s Meats before they sell out. So, my friends and I went with them.
Walking through the crowds on Friday night with our bags of sausage and Nelson’s Golden Glow chicken was like being at a family reunion. In addition to Goshen being a small town, many Mennonites are related and/or know one another. Mennonites in the area go to the sale; Mennonites who have left the area come back for it. Running into relatives and friends I haven’t seen since my last relief sale in 2007 felt like “old home week” at the fairgrounds.
A church group sells donated cheese. (photo: David Yoder)
One highlight of the year is the Penny Power fundraiser in which each person is asked to save pennies as tokens of the privileges and abundance he/she has. During the month prior to the relief sale, participants put aside pennies each day based on a Penny Power calendar. The way the Penny Power project links giving and self-awareness is evident in some of these example days on the calendar:
- Many refugees are forced to leave home with only the shirt on their backs. Give one penny for each shirt or blouse in your closet.
- In some countries there is only one doctor for every 125,000 people. Give 4 pennies for each health care professional you see.
- Many people have only one ragged cloth for cover. Give two pennies for every quilt and blanket in your home.
- Much of the world exists without consistent electricity. Give two pennies for each light switch or lamp in your home.
- In Haiti, few people can read and write. Give one penny for every book in your home.
But, without question, the crown jewel of the weekend is the quilt auction. Hundreds of quilts are carefully and lovingly created throughout the year and are put up for auction to around 300 bidders. This year, the quilts alone raised $102,000 with one quilt selling for $5,000.
On Friday night, a woman studies one of the quilts that will be auctioned Saturday morning. (photo: David Yoder)
Perhaps most moving was the traveling quilt. The traveling quilt is a beautiful quilt that began traveling earlier this year. It has gone from one relief sale to another across North America, always going up for bids but never sold. Instead, everyone who bids on the quilt gives his/her bid as a donation to MCC. Bids started at $1,000 for a quilt you can’t take home with you and ended with $25 bids. And now it moves on to the next MCC Relief Sale to be held in Virginia this weekend.
Two volunteers “dress the bed” with the next quilt at the quilt auction. (photo: David Yoder)
Ultimately, the relief sale is not just about giving to help the poor. It is also about acknowledging our relative wealth and the resources we have. The sale helped me once again appreciate the values with which I was raised — be generous, care for others, work hard, give till it hurts, work for peace, be the hands and feet of your faith.
Photos by David Yoder
Starting to pack up for tonight’s event. Bob Wright, here we come!
Kitchen Table Thoughts on a Windy City Event
» download (mp3, 90:47)
Colleen Scheck, Producer
Me again, with another update on the many adventures of Krista Tippett this month. Last week, Krista traveled to Chicago for a live event at Fourth Presbyterian Church. Here, the tables were turned as Interfaith Youth Core’s Eboo Patel asked Krista questions about the program and about religious religion and ethics in our time. Our events coordinator and her daughter sat at their kitchen table in Minneapolis listening to the online stream provided by our station partner, WBEZ, and wrote the next day:
“Wow…My daughter and I were the listeners at the kitchen table Eboo described, and we loved every minute of it….This broadcast was good radio. Highlights: hearing a city’s sirens in the background during Adam’s intro, really feeling the audience’s attentiveness, Eboo mentioning Wilco, and quoting Tony Campolo, who is quoting Huck Finn about being right in the heart vs. right in the head, Krista’s senstive answer to the Fort Hood question, Krista’s explanation of verse plucking, spiritual technologies and the body, Eboo praising Speaking of Faith as creating a ‘community of discourse.’ Great interview, great Q&A….”
We’re pleased to bring you the audio of that event for your kitchen table (or podcast while you workout) listening. And, for those of you who prefer a Twitter recap, direct from our managing producer, who attended in person:
- Krista and Kate are in Chi-town for event—7PM, Monday, 4th Church, w/Eboo Patel. Come! Windy here. Oh yeah. The Windy City. KM
8:38 PM Nov 15th - @Lthemick V. Funny. Spell check is dangerous.
9:06 PM Nov 15th in reply to Lthemick - Krista w/Eboo, speaking with staff at Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago. Tonight’s event is at 7 at 4th Church. Come! http://yfrog.com/edt53j
10:47 AM Nov 16th - 4th Presbyterian Church, Chicago. http://yfrog.com/4jt5rj
4:16 PM Nov 16th - We’re told to plan on a potential crowd of 800 tonight in downtown Chicago. Can’t be here? Join us online. 7 PM CST: http:/bit.ly/2kUOAY
4:43 PM Nov 16th - OK, try that link again. Trent has the B Team on location tonight, poor guy. 7PM Chicago time. Krista & Eboo. http://bit.ly/2kUOAY
4:48 PM Nov 16th - @katemoos (my lovely boss) is still gettin’ the hang of this Internet thing-a-mabob. Here’s the link to the live audio: http://bit.ly/33oiUy
5:23 PM Nov 16th - BTW, Krista’s live conversation in Chicago with Eboo Patel starts at 7 pm Central tonight: http://bit.ly/33oiUy
5:28 PM Nov 16th - John Buchanan welcomes the assembled to 4th Church. http://yfrog.com/7hi6pj
6:04 PM Nov 16th - For those listening to live stream, send in your questions and I’ll be glad to include some!
6:08 PM Nov 16th - The church is packed. 700? Maybe 800! http://yfrog.com/bel85j
6:11 PM Nov 16th - Krista says when she left home for school, there was no space for religion in her new context. She became involved in geopolitics. Berlin.
6:12 PM Nov 16th - Breaking: Eboo & Krista were both born on the day the Berlin Wall fell. November 9. Wow.
6:14 PM Nov 16th - KT: If I was going to be religious again I was going to have to be able to bring my mind to it. http://yfrog.com/5al2uej
6:17 PM Nov 16th - KT cites Bonhoeffer: “Religionless Christianity.” The church had become so corrupted. People are rediscovering virtue and taking it back.
6:19 PM Nov 16th - Eboo: who made a difference in the 20th century? People of faith. Gandhi. Dorothy Day. Martin Luther King.
6:20 PM Nov 16th - I felt public radio was smart about everything else but religion was a black hole.—KT
6:23 PM Nov 16th - Because it was so important and because journalism had gotten religion so wrong we had to work that much harder to get it right.-KT
6:25 PM Nov 16th - Eboo: Talk about speaking of faith as an act if theology.
6:25 PM Nov 16th - KT: No one can be a Niebuhr in our age. Speaking of Faith goes beyond religion. It may be scientists. Police. How do we hold the sacred.
6:28 PM Nov 16th - Eboo cites Wilco: Theologians, they don’t know nothing ‘bout my soul.
6:29 PM Nov 16th - Eboo: if there is a countercultural media figure it is you. SoF does’t do news stories.
6:34 PM Nov 16th - Webers to let the initial outrage of the news work itself out. Then we circle back.
6:36 PM Nov 16th - KT: we covered the issue of torture. But we had to find out how to get at it. Not the question, does it work? We found the voice.
6:38 PM Nov 16th - KT: when monks in Burma marched, we found Ingrid Jordt. And ineeded to know what that meant. 6:39 PM Nov 16th
- Sorry for the slow down. Listener questions up next.
6:54 PM Nov 16th - Eboo asked about Fort Hood. Krista says we can only approach that event with deep perspective. Be appalled at violence and grieve.
6:58 PM Nov 16th - Eboo what is the sow doing for your grandpa’s mind?
7:00 PM Nov 16th - Eboo: science And religion? Krista I have a book out in March, Einsteins God…
7:04 PM Nov 16th - From theback of the church. http://yfrog.com/j7ac3ej
7:08 PM Nov 16th - Does amateur theology water it down? KT says it can. But many great thinkers may be unaffiliated with tradition.
7:10 PM Nov 16th - There is spiritual but not religious but for many it is fluid.
7:12 PM Nov 16th - Why do we need a God? We turn to at only certain times? KT: this is true.But. We also rarely choose to stand in the presence of frailty.
7:14 PM Nov 16th - KT: I look at it both ways. I’mfascinated by the vastly different vocabularies.
7:15 PM Nov 16th - How do we not demonize the other in our own tradition?
7:15 PM Nov 16th - KT: That’s hard. It’s harder to be compassionTe to your cousin who disagrees about abortion or gay marriage.
7:17 PM Nov 16th - People make breakthroughs when they humanize their interaction.
7:18 PM Nov 16th - Oh boy. That was unexpected.
7:21 PM Nov 16th - Does this work lead you to hope or despair?
7:28 PM Nov 16th - Kt: we are bombarded by images and violence. I want to shine a light on widom, voices that are nourishing. Ian looking for hope.
7:29 PM Nov 16th - But it requires you to look.
7:30 PM Nov 16th - Even with our resouces I have no idea that something is happening that might bring hope.
7:31 PM Nov 16th - Eboo: you have created a club of “lookers for hope,” Thanyou!
7:32 PM Nov 16th - Debrief. Yay! Thanks!
7:53 PM Nov 16th - @evaottesmith We’d love to come. Someday!
10:26 PM Nov 16th in reply to evaottesmith - @HeyToepfer Not sure yet. Chicago Public Radio was recording. I’ll (@trentgilliss) get the details + let everyonee when it’s ready.
5:48 AM Nov 17th in reply to HeyToepfer - @akdennis Our managing producer was live-tweeting from Chicago in which Eboo Patel was interviewing Krista: http://bit.ly/33oiUy. Sorry.
9:51 AM Nov 17th - Leaving Chicago. Krista reading Agatha Christie. Thank you every body!! http://yfrog.com/0zhf8wj
3:05 PM Nov 17th
“Pointing the Way Forward”?
Trent Gilliss, Online Editor
» download (mp3, 1:04)
You may have seen the image above a number of times during the past month as we asked you to participate in the live event we coordinated last week. When we dug up this photo for our promotional collateral, we were pleased to find an intimate image of the relatively unknown Joshua DuBois with President Obama when he was still a candidate.
But we knew relatively little about the context of the photo. So, during the interview, Krista asked DuBois to tell us about this picture and this moment. What resulted was a light-hearted story during a conversation about politics and religion — a very human exchange when a photo elevates a rather ordinary moment.
Live Video: Religious Life in the Obama Era
Trent Gilliss, Online Editor
Update: The streaming embed box has been replaced with the recorded versions of the interview, broken into two parts.
This is the place where we are streaming real-time video of Krista and Joshua DuBois’ conversation on Wednesday, May 20th. We’ll begin streaming at 6:45 pm CST with pre-show music through the instrumentation of guitar, oud, and violin. The conversation begins at 7:00.
Their conversation will focus on the changing face of religion in public life in the era of the Obama administration and the perspective DuBois brings through his new role as head of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
A Q+A session, moderated by Larry Jacobs of the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute, will follow the conversation. The evening will begin with pre-show music of Robert Bell and David Stenshoel, providing some European/American influenced jazz through the instrumentation of guitar, oud, and violin.
Help us cover this event. Whether you live in the Twin Cities metro area or on another continent, you can participate by:
- Watching and Commenting. Submit your questions here, and we’ll ask them during the Q+A session.
- Twittering the Conversation. Respond to Krista or Dubois’ points with a tweet — or ask a question. We’ll feature your tweets on our Web site. The hashtag is #sofevent.
- Participating in a Salon. We’re selecting eight people to be part of a roundtable discussion with Krista and DuBois the next morning. If you live in the metro area, let us know if you’re interested. If you live elsewhere, we’ll inform you on how you can take part in the discussion through our live video feed.
Sign up and share your ideas with us!
ABOUT THE GUEST
Joshua DuBois heads the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The former associate pastor, advisor to President Obama, and Obama’s campaign Director of Religious Affairs, DuBois is charged with bringing people together around common goals regardless of political affiliation. DuBois received his undergraduate degree in political science from Boston University in 2003 and a master’s in public affairs from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. He suspended his pursuit of a J.D. at the Georgetown University Law Center to join Obama’s campaign.
ABOUT THE EVENT
Religious Life in the Obama Era: A Conversation with Joshua DuBois is Wednesday, May 20th at the historic Fitzgerald Theater at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $18 for MPR members. All seats are reserved seating. For tickets, please call the box office at 651-290-1221. This event is being recorded for national broadcast. Broadcast date, May 28, 2009.
The President’s Community-Building Initiative, and Your Role in It
Trent Gilliss, Online Editor
This video from The Washington Post features Joshua DuBois talking about the four strategic areas that President Obama’s Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is focusing on: connecting community organizations as part of the president’s economic recovery plan, encouraging fathers to be active parents, reducing unintended pregnancies, and interfaith dialogue. Large objectives, to be sure.
If you haven’t heard by now due to my barrage of communications, Krista will be interviewing DuBois next week. It’s a live event — online and on the stage. We’re doing all we can to make sure you can take an active role in listening to and asking questions of this national leader. Sign up and we’ll send you all the details and reminders about how to watch the free, live video stream on our Web site (or embed it on your own), ask questions while the interview is happening, and even participate in the SOF Salon the following day.
Krista Speaks, Kate Tweets (from Cleveland)
Trent Gilliss, Online Editor
Our host and managing producer are on the road again — this time at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland for a partnered event with WKSU. And, with her fully-charged iPhone in hand, Kate picked up where she left off in Miami and established herself as the live event Twitter aficionado for SOF (follow us @SOFtweets). Here’s the transcript from last night’s Twitterstream:
KM: On the ground Cleveland. How can how we converse with each other & listen affect outcomes in our hurting cities?
9:02 PM Apr 28thGray day in Cleveland. http://twitpic.com/47lyd Tonight at Trinity Cathedral here Krista will talk about what faith brings to the struggle.
about 16 hours agoKMoos for SoFTweets. Krista presents tonight at Cleveland Trinity Cathedral. Thanks to Very Reverend Tracey Lind. Live tweets at 7:30 EDT.
about 8 hours agoKM here @Trinity. Standing by. http://twitpic.com/48q3i
about 6 hours agoKrista about to begin. Standby.
about 6 hours agoJon Kabat Zinn cautioned against technology. KT sez “I’m wearing a lot of it tonight.” (laughter)
about 6 hours agoKT:Early days of show, could it be true public radio listeners like the rest of the world cared about religion?
about 6 hours agoKrista quoted Peter Berger: Religion is a private matter that shld be kept between consenting adults.
about 6 hours agoTracey, the Dean, brings Krista to the assembled. http://twitpic.com/48rg6
about 6 hours agoThat last was a nonconsecutive tweet. Just checking to see if y’all are paying attention.
about 6 hours agoA car alarm right outside that had been blaring for the first fiveminutes is silenced. KT sighs gratefully and thanks the silence. Laughs.
about 6 hours agoSchizoid tweets: I am retweetimg me tweeting as SoF. Krista sez ask yrself a big question & answer it thru the story of your life.
about 6 hours agoTweeps if you have any questions for Krista send them now and I’ll see if there is room to fit them in.
about 6 hours ago@brainwise Thanks! You are paying attention! Gold star!
about 6 hours agoThere at least 400 people here. I’ll get a shot for you in a moment. Beeeoooteefull space. Built when Cleveland had streets of gold.
about 6 hours agoHard to capture a decent angle. http://twitpic.com/48tl2
about 6 hours agoImportance of being in relationship to engage our pain and our fear so that we can make something happen. Rough paraphrase of David Hilfiker
about 6 hours agoRobi Damelin Palestinian whose brother was shot by a sniper is quoted saying “There is a difference between being honest and being right.”
about 5 hours agoSearching for solutions we can’t yet see. Now KT taking questions.
about 5 hours agoKrista of course immediately mentions Battlestar Gallactica first chance she gets.
about 5 hours agoFavorite guests? List includes Thick Nhat Hanh, Wangari Maathai, and Jean Vanier.
about 5 hours agoQuestion about social networks gets mention of our “briliant” online editor Trent Gilliss who is from North Dakota! Bwah!
about 5 hours ago@MarcoAnders So glad you enjoyed it!
about 5 hours agoWhat questions should we ask now in econ crisis? KT sez: Who will we be to each other now?
about 5 hours agoSoF does immense amount of research to locate the right voice.
about 5 hours agoIf someone is going to be inflammatory there are a lot of shows they can be on. (Big laughter.)
about 5 hours ago@lance_agena I haven’t caved yet but it’s only a matter of time.
about 5 hours agoIs your work Tikkun Olan? KT: I’m a journalist. We’re not holding an agenda. But the show has a large impact.
about 5 hours agoWe forgive our children 400 times a day, brain science tells us it’s something our brains evolved to do. Praphraseof Mike McCullough.
about 5 hours agoBig applause let the balloons go bring out the clowns and the elephants and thanks to everyone that’s our show from Cleveland. Good night!
about 5 hours agoAutographing books. http://twitpic.com/48x8j
about 5 hours ago
Krista’s next event is a barn burner — a live conversation with Joshua DuBois, Obama’s head of faith-based initiatives, from the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown Saint Paul. We’ll be streaming live video and asking you to watch and comment and tweet about it. Tell us if you’d like to participate and we’ll send you reminders and details as the time nears. If you’d like to just watch, that’s groovy too!
