Caring For Our Veterans

A close friend returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam with what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For several years he bounced from job to job and relationship to relationship. Then a concerned church official and an astute physician at a Veterans Hospital discerned some of the root causes of his behavioral patterns. He received the help he needed and now serves as a chaplain, spending much of his day assisting other veterans. No one chooses to have PTSD or other emotional or mental disorders. They are not weak or weird. They, like all of us, have areas of brokenness. We all need help moving toward wholeness.

A recent report by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) estimates that one-third of the homeless people in the United States are veterans. On any given night approximately 107,000 veterans sleep on city streets. According to the VA, many of them suffer from the effects of PTSD. News agencies recently reported that an average of eighteen veterans commit suicide daily. Yet, judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth District noted that 70% of our VA health facilities lack systems to track potentially suicidal veterans.

Why am I stating this here? First, my heart breaks for these wounded veterans, who received their injuries after answering a call to serve in our military forces to help to preserve our liberties. When our veterans return with physical, emotional, or mental injuries, they deserve the best care we can reasonably provide. Second, I want to challenge all of us to do some research on this topic and then contact our elected officials to plead with them to help the VA and other agencies respond to this need. Christians believe that we can measure the health of a society by its care for "the least of these." It saddens me to know that "the least of these" includes so many veterans. It also makes it urgent for concerned citizens to say something to those in a position to improve our responses. Third, it feels good to know that in at least a small way we are responding with our hunger ministries. None of us knows how many veterans are among those to whom we recently distributed 10,000 pounds of food or how many veterans we assist monthly through the SEM and Batavia food pantries. Statistics suggest the number is not small. We lack the ability to provide the psychological support they need, but what we do can and probably does make a difference.

No one can do everything, but I feel blessed to participate with a congregation that increasingly responds to Jesus' call to feed the hungry. Every step we take toward the kind of community Jesus envisioned gives us all reason to hope. Let's live out our baptism by being concerned, informed, and be involved.

Grace and Peace,

LP

Changes in 29 Years

August 22 marks the twenty-ninth anniversary of my ordination into what we Presbyterians now call ministry as a teaching elder. A lot has changed and I have changed a lot during those years. As I reflected on the blessings of congregational ministry, these changes came to my mind first.

1. When I entered ministry, congregants expected me to spend 25-50% of my time visiting - not only visiting the hospitalized and shut-in but also calling on active members. I regularly showed up unexpectedly on a parishioner's doorstep and was welcomed in for a chat. If I showed up unexpectedly on the doorstep now, most of you would ask, "Is something wrong?" The lack of desire for unscheduled visits frees time for other ministries, but it also means making the most of any conversation, especially with those I see only on Saturday or Sunday.

2. My first congregations expected a thirty minute sermon and a 60-70 minute worship service. We've added a few items to the liturgy since then, but we expect the services to end sooner. We're also less tolerant of lengthy orations. Shorter sermons require greater skill because preachers must introduce and develop the message quickly with little help from nuances. Yet, we still expect sermons to inform, form, educate, inspire, and entertain. That asks a great deal from 15-17 minutes; but I enjoy that challenge as much as ever.

3. Twenty-nine years ago, a larger percentage of us stayed at church for 2-3 hours on Sunday. A significant number of adults joined children and youth for an hour of education before or after worship. That percentage has fallen significantly as simultaneous education and worship hours became popular and we added various activities to our weekends. When worship provides our primary exposure to scripture and theology, it makes it harder to achieve biblical and theological literacy. I wrestle regularly with how to function more faithfully as a teaching elder.

Not all change is wonderful, but change is a wonderful part of life. Change has forced me to grow, challenged me to set priorities, allowed me to develop strengths, and kept the task fresh and invigorating. I feel blessed to have served in the representative ministry of Jesus Christ for nearly three decades and I give thanks for the ministries we share. May we discover new and renewed blessings daily as God moves in us to transform (i.e. change) us from all we now are to all we can become.

Grace and Peace,

LP

The First Amendment, The Second Amendment, and Common Sense

I grew up with firearms in the home. My father enjoyed hunting small game. When I was twelve years old he gave me my first shotgun. For more than three decades we hunted together during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. In his home and mine, the firearms and munitions were kept in separate and secure locations. Before I even touched my shotgun, my father taught me about firearm safety. Any responsible father would do that. Unfortunately not all fathers are responsible. Sometimes they need encouragement.

I have said that to preface my incredulity that the governor of Florida has signed a law that bars Florida physicians from asking their patients whether they own a firearm. Some pediatricians regularly ask parents such things as, "Do you have a swimming pool?" "Do you have alcoholic beverages in your home?" and "Do you own a firearm?" When a parent responds affirmatively, the physician offers advice on how to protect children from potential harm. According to a recent article in the New York Times, the National Rifle Association considered such questions harassment and lobbied for a law to protect people's second amendment rights. In response, the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups have filed a suit asserting that the law violates their members' first amendment rights. I cannot fathom the expenditure of so much time, energy, and money on this issue - especially given the myriad challenges law-makers and their constituents face.

When a pediatrician asks whether there are firearms in the home, instead of feeling harassed, a parent, NRA member or otherwise, could say, "Thank you for your concern about my child's safety. We keep our firearms in a locked cabinet and take other measures to protect our children." Parents who do not understand why the physician asked the question can ask and then work together for the well-being of the child. Physicians, pastors, and other professionals often ask personal questions in the normal practice of their profession. It's common sense. During my annual physical my doctor always asks how much alcohol I consume weekly. He doesn't favor reinstating the eighteenth amendment and isn't exercising his first amendment rights. He's assessing how my lifestyle affects my health. It's common sense.

We live in the freest country in the world and I consider myself a patriotic supporter of our liberties. Freedom comes with a cost; but paranoia about losing a freedom benefits no one. Greater practice of common sense would go a long way in promoting and protecting the common good.

Grace and Peace,

LP

Feeding the Hungry - Presbytery Mission Spotlight on MWPC

Severe drought and food shortages in Africa, especially Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti, have put more than ten million people at risk. For several weeks news stories and photographs from the region have touched my heart deeply. The presence and malice of Islamist militants complicates everything. Tribal conflicts and institution corruption increase the cost and the difficulty of helping those experiencing the greatest need. Yet, my faith will not let me abandon hope that some aid will reach people facing greater hunger than I can imagine. Nancy and I respond to such crises through our denominational agencies. Nothing in Africa is risk free, but we trust our traditions to respond as faithfully as possible. Our contributions are meager in comparison with the need, but we want to do something. I encourage all of us to respond as we deem best and to pray for the hungry and homeless in Africa, for the people there making it harder to help, and for those trying to offer aid.

Here at home, hope comes more readily. Each month our presbytery issues an electronic Presbytery Mission Spotlight that celebrates ways our congregations reach out in Jesus' name to those in need. This month that resource lifts up MWPC and some of the ways we are making feeding the hungry our signature outreach ministry. Rather than comment future on this item, we are including a link to it and encouraging us all to read it for ourselves(http://www.mwpc-cincinnati-presbyterian-church.org/images/pdfs/MissionSpotlight2011.08.pdf). We are not eliminating all hunger in Southeast Ohio. Nor are we dealing yet with root causes of hunger. But we are responding in Jesus' name and our responses are enlivening our faith and congregational life. Jesus promised it would work that way and I am inspired and humbled by the ways his words are ringing true in our midst. Read and celebrate, friends. Then let's keep committing ourselves to feeding the hungry and see where else God in Christ will lead us.

Grace and Peace,

LP