Taken aback

Yesterday, I was taken aback with the unexpected, or a series of unexpected events.

First, I went to a meeting at a church, but mistakenly went to the wrong church. I had relied on a facebook post for my information without looking closely; had I looked closely, I would have realized that this post was a year old.

I realize my mistake after speaking to the pastor briefly. I turn to leave when a man drives up. I wait for him to exit the car to see if this is another person who had made the same mistake as I have. It wasn’t. My eleven year old son, Rusty, turns to the man as he exits his car and says, “There isn’t a meeting here tonight.” He didn’t realize that this man did indeed have a meeting with the Pastor.

At this point, I need to comment about color. My son and I are Caucasian, the pastor was African American and the other man was Caucasian. I normally don’t comment about this unless it is relevant to the story, which in this case, it is.

The pastor looks at the Caucasian man and says, “See that white boy thinks that because you are white, you don’t belong to this church because it is a black church.” And he is laughing.

The Caucasian man says, “It’s Ok. I’m really black too. It is just that my skin is white.” He was laughing too. He thought this was funny.

My son and I were not laughing. See, I have never attended this church for Sunday morning worship, so I don’t know the racial makeup of the congregation. My son doesn’t either. Not only that, but we don’t really care. We were looking for my meeting.

I have to say that I was offended. I felt that the pastor had made a racist remark. According to the free dictionary, Racist is defined as “discriminatory especially on the basis of race or religion.” He wasn’t really discriminating against us, as much as assuming that my son was being discriminatory against him and/or his church. I really don’t think that he was.

Turn this story around. Let’s say for the sake of argument that a Caucasian pastor was approached by an African American woman with her African American son at a church that had a predominately Caucasian congregation. Then an African American male approaches. Let’s say the child turns to the African American and informs him that there is no meeting. Then the Caucasian pastor says, “See, that little black boy thinks that because you are black you don’t belong to this church because it is a white church.” I think that the parties involved would be offended; very much so. I think that things might even be escalated to the point of formal apologies being made.

So, in my offended state, I became angry. I didn’t respond verbally. I just walked away while giving a very potent stare to the offending parties. As I left, I was more annoyed about the exchange than I was about missing the meeting. I considered calling that pastor’s supervisor, the District Superintendent to relay my feelings.

As I drive, I play the potential conversation over in my head that I would have with her. I know that she would listen and then talk to me using words like forgiveness and reconciliation. Knowing her like I do, she might even tell me to grow up. And I know that she would be right.

I have a very good friend who is an African American pastor. He told me the story of a time when he ministered to an elderly white man. He said that the man told him that he had never had a “negro” to pray for him before. My friend said that if he chose, he could have been offended. Instead, he chose to understand that this man came from a certain generation in which that is the terminology that was used. He said he chose to be understanding and not let it bother him. He is a good example. I need to follow his example.

Amen

copyright 2011 by Kathy Robbins

Pets: Important Members of the Family

To donate $5.00 and receive
a copy of this picture drawn
by Rusty Haag, please click
on the shopping cart button
at the top right hand of this
page.

In celebration of my son's birthday week, and our joint project of raising money for the ASPCA, I will post articles about animals and different ministries that are helpful to them.

Today I want to introduce Rev. Cheryl Broome who is an ordained pastor serving as an Animal Chaplain in Austin, Texas. She serves in many other areas as well. I am honored that Cheryl has agreed to write this guest post for us today concerning the important place that animals hold in our families. Happy reading!

Animal friends are God's love in expression. From the tiniest atom of life to the largest known animal on earth, every living creature has a place in the world. Some animals help keep nature in balance, some provide sustenance for others, some help us learn more about ourselves, and others become treasured companions. When we take care of animals, we bless God and we bless the earth. I am a pet lover! When I was a little girl, I had a small white mouse. I shared this little mouse with a friend and we took turns caring for the daily needs of our little friend. It was awesome that we were able to shared the love, custody and care for our little mouse. Today I am very blessed to take care of some pets that live with my family. We have a dog-named Goldie who is sixteen years old. Goldie found us during a great storm in San Antonio, Texas and she was lost and wandering in the church parking lot. She is a golden retriever. Our newest dog is Skipper and he is a two-year-old dachshund. Skipper was adopted from the animal shelter in San Angelo, Texas. We also take care of other little animals in our yard like the squirrels and the birds, by making sure that there is plenty of water and food available.

What animal do you take care of and love? There are people who care and love birds, horses, snakes, lizards, dogs, cats, squirrels, the list can go on and on. Many people who love animals recognize the deep spiritual connection between God and all of God’s creation. The Bible teaches that our Creator gave us dominion over the earth and all its resources including every living thing. This is a serious undertaking and takes deep commitment and courage.

A long, long time ago there was a very interesting person who loved animals. He was called St. Francis of Assisi. You can find many stories about the life and ministry of St. Francis and how he loved and care for all animals. Some people think he had the ability to talk with animals; that he preached to the birds and once even tamed a wild wolf. He also wrote this wonderful Prayer of St. Francis: 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand ;to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life

Wouldn’t it be great if we would all take care of the earth and every living creature? We can by doing simple things every day. It all starts with love. When we love God’s creation, we show our love and care for every creature on earth.



 Austin Animal Chaplain began because of a great need for and desire to care for the spiritual needs of animals and their people through encouragement, education and support; especially during very trying and difficult times. If you have any further questions, please contact Reverend Cheryl A. Broome AustinAnimalChaplains@gmail.com or call 512.569.5701. http://www.wix.com/austinanimalchaplain/austinanimalchaplain?ref=nf

Supporting Rusty and the ASPCA

Rusty Haag is my youngest son. He turned eleven years old yesterday.

 His favorite TV channel is Animal Planet where ads are routinely run for the  ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). These sad ads have touched his heart and motivated him to help these animals depicted in the commercials.

He joined the ASPCA and frequently asks me for money to send to them. He wants to to be an animal rescuer.

To honor Rusty on his birthday, I had him to draw an animal picture. We are selling  prints of this picture for $5.00 each. To order one, please check the button at the top right-hand side of this screen. This will take you to the order information screen. All profits from the sale of this picture will be donated to the ASPCA. When I suggested this prospect to Rusty, he got really excited.

Of course, this is not his only birthday present. But this will hopefully be one for the memory books. I am raising this money to honor Rusty and to nurture his sense of social justice and altruism. I think that we don’t do enough to honor one another in life.

Click on the  "Buy Now" button to purchase a print of Rusty's drawing.You can frame it and have it displayed prominently in your home to let your guests know that you have supported Rusty and the ASPCA.This sale will continue for one month from today. The last day to buy a print is  October 20, 2011.

I want to add a quick shout-out and thank you to Ms. Moody, Art Teacher at Tom Green Elementary in Buda, Texas for her wonderul advice.

 Thank you for your support.




copyright 2011 by Kathy Robbins