MORGAN'S MOMENT...
Thunder in the sky?
     No…
     military transport planes
     headed for McChord Air Force Base.
They load and unload from Fort Lewis
     home of the Stryker Brigade
     known for intense Iraq involvement.
We did Thanksgiving at our cabin
      where skies were unusually quiet
      making us wonder about the troops.
This brigade takes regular casualties
      hardly reported in most papers
      except the local Tribune
      which covers every memorial event.
They are applauded for fighting terrorists
      in far away countries
      so we won’t have to fight them here.
Really?
If most of the “insurgent terrorists”
       come from Saudi Arabia or Libya
       what are we doing in Iraq?
I’m thankful at Thanksgiving for quiet skies
       but I would be thankful for noise
       if planes were bringing troops home.
The war is against fanaticism
       and fanaticism has no race or religion
       and is found within every nation.
It is more likely than not
       that shock and awe
       breeds fanatics faster than it kills them.
— Art Morgan 

BOOK CORNER
Bob Woodruff was to replace Peter Jennings as ABC news anchor until a roadside bomb ended that possibility and nearly his life. He and his wife Lee have written a gripping story of what happened on the long road to recovery. It offers an inside look at what so many wounded troops go through. “In An Instant…A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing,” by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
A novel, “Sea Story,” by Sam Llewellyn about a sailing race will keep you turning pages from beginning to end. I read it during Thanksgiving week.
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MOMENT MINISTRIES
November 29, 2007
home address:  25921 SW Airport Ave.
Corvallis, OR 97333   541-753-3942
email at a-morgan@peak.org
 ‘tis the season!
I’m still somewhat connected to the season business…
which means that I have some traditions to keep alive if I am able.

First on my agenda is an annual pre-Christmas Sunday brunch…
We’ve done it for 30 years now. It’s a fine Sunday morning event (one of only two that we do on Sunday all year). We gather at a home (this year with Joe and Barbara) for a champagne brunch followed by Christmas music and possibly an inspirational thought from me. It always seems a long way from Christmas, but it’s a jump-start that we hope gets us into focus and perspective, because Christmas comes and goes before you know it.

Second on my agenda is Christmas Eve…
a totally simple non-church event that we celebrate at the Old World Deli and Pub in downtown Corvallis. I have to get insurance paid (we light candles!) and publicity out (but not too much because our regular crowd is pretty big).
These events take some time and effort, not just by me but by Paul as well. You should see all the pages of music he puts in order for each of our events. We’ve done this together for over 38 years counting our 8 and ½  years together in the church.

That’s not all there is to this season…
Everyone we know has an agenda for the season. My list is puny compared to that of most active clergy. Just thought I should remind us all that ‘tis the season, ready or not!

 
Pre-christmas Sunday brunch (potluck)

Sunday December 2                   10 am !!

with Barbara Ross and Joe Omelchuck
460 sw Jefferson in downtown corvallis
( parking north across the street )

 
                                                                                     (back page)

‘tis the season!
          I always wonder how our town is going to do Christmas in a way that pleases everyone. I think it tries not to offend too many. The fact is that our town Christmas trees are in the city park and in front of the Court House. They look pretty, especially at night, unless you are offended by the traditional Christian aspects of the season.
          There is always a fundamentalist atheist or two that takes offense. Most atheists I know are not all that troubled by Christians. In fact most seem to enjoy Christmas anyway. One I know even sings in a choir because he likes the music even though he believes the words are poetic fancy. He especially likes Christmas and Easter. I suspect he puts up a tree. Fundamentalists who try to impose themselves on us, whether religious or not religious, are a bit of a pain.
          The city decorators have to stretch a bit to find some seasonal symbols that work for everybody. The snow flake seems totally respectable and neutral. We have a downtown full of snowflakes hanging from every lamp post. The carols that pour out from hidden places in stores don’t have too many Christmas carols. Listen to them and you’ll hear lots of Frosty the Snow Man kind of songs.
          Walking through a store ─ I think it might have been Fred Meyers ─ a sign caught my attention: ‘Tis the season to save… I forget what they were offering at a special saving. In fact, they weren’t interested in my saving but my spending. But what really stopped me was the idea that this line was so far removed from its original usage. ‘Tis the season…but what season?
          For centuries this particular time of year has been observed in the Christian world as the season for celebrating Christ. It is the season of the Christ coming. I know, I know…Christians stole the season from pagans and from winter solstice celebrations and so on. Now it seems like we’re trying to have the joy of the season without the reason for the season.
          Those of you who are not enthralled with trappings of Christian faith and practice may be beginning to think I’m trying to push something on you. And those who are fully embedded in a faith a practice with which you are happy are cheering me on. You can’t trust me to take the right side.
          This season offers something that both Christians and non-Christians can find good in. Perhaps you read about A. J. Jacobs, an editor for Esquire, who calls himself an agnostic. (It has been a good year for agnostics and atheists to be published). He decided to spend a year attempting to live by Bible teachings. He let his hair and beard grow and wore a white gown. (An article about his experience can be found in The Christian Century of October 16, 2007). He began by thinking that living biblically would prove how silly it is. While he remained an agnostic he began to find value in praying, for instance, and in following the behavioral guidelines that appear in the Bible. He found himself becoming a better person. He didn’t have to believe in order to benefit from it.
          I came on something of the same idea while reading the Einstein biography. He said that he found value in study of Jesus, although he did not believe the claims made about him in the Bible. I suspect that many atheists grew up in Christian homes or attended churches in early parts of their lives, or were exposed to friends and relatives who made some attempt to live a “Christian” life-style. And I suspect that some influence continued in their lives even though they came to reject belief in Jesus as a divine figure.
          Which leads us ─ at least it leads me ─ to the thought that it shouldn’t hurt anyone to open up a bit at Christmas time to the possibility that there is something worth receiving from this season. Who would not be a better person by following the way of Jesus and the spirit of the season? I would suggest that the same could be said about the special seasons of other religions.
          As I write I can’t help but sing the song “Deck the halls with bows of holly, fa la la (etc)…’Tis the season to be jolly…” It’s a favorite Christmas song, but is totally secular as far as I can tell. Except that it refers to the season which is the reason for being jolly. Maybe it’s the solstice. Maybe it’s the family traditions. Maybe it’s a break in the middle of winter. For those who are in the dark and cold physically or emotionally due to life circumstances there is still the candle flicker of hope that the season brings.
          There’s plenty to “Bah humbug!” about in the way the season is handled in our society. Faith and hypocrisy are close friends.  But for those of good will it’s a season you won’t want to miss. And the theology of the season’s message is right. What is highest and most holy is present and lowly. So get in on the Christmas parade. It will soon pass, but there’s good in it. ‘Tis the season!
─ Art Morgan, November 28, 2007