And the O.J. Goes To …

June 12th, 2009
photo by Patrick Geltinger

photo by Patrick Geltinger

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to hand out our second official O.J. Award — given to someone (or someones) doing special things in Jesus’ name with precious little attention or fanfare (for a more detailed explanation of the award — and why it’s apparently named after a breakfast beverage — click here).

 

It’s a purely arbitrary honor, of course, because you and I know that thousands of churches and countless Christians deserve an O.J. of their very own. But we can only honor these deserving folks one at a time. And this week’s virtual glass of sunshiney goodness goes to …

Wesley United Methodist Church in Fresno, Calif. According to a story I ran across on the United Methodist Web site, Wesley has been practicing what congregants call “radical hospitality” to a Fresno’s El Dorado Park neighborhood — a poor, crime-ridden area called “Sin City” by the locals. 

The church’s ministry, though, is far from radical. Wesley simply opens its doors to El Dorado’s children (parents are welcome to come, too) every Thursday night, where church members and the kids share a family-style dinner together, full of food and laughter and meaningful talk.

“Oftentimes in their homes, their parents aren’t having those kinds of conversations with them,” church volunteer Meme Biek told Barry Simmons, who authored a story on Wesley’s community dinners. “Here, they’re learning how to visit, they’re getting along and the adults are interested in them, which builds that confidence.”

Simmons says that, several years ago, Wesley congregants — most of whom are apparently middle-class — considered moving their church to a more prosperous, more stable section of town. Many churches do just that, you know: A sad truth about American Christianity is that the nation’s poorest neighborhoods — urban regions that would seem to need a guiding light the most — are often woefully underserved when it comes to places of worship. But Wesley opted to stick it out.

Now, some members say they’re seeing changes in El Dorado Park: Vandalism is down. Courtesy is up. Kids are getting some quality mentorship from church volunteers. And all that seems pretty deserving of an O.J. Award.

Do you know of anyone who you think deserves an O.J.? If so, let me know, either by commenting down below or by sending an e-mail to pabodyparts@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Megachurches Loaded With the Young and Passive

June 11th, 2009

A new survey out of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research — an organization that keeps a steady eye on the modern-day megachurch — finds that these huge places of worship are filled with younger worshippers than many thought. On the down side, megachurch attendees tend to — well, attend. And that’s about it.

While many folks believe that megachurches (defined by Hartford as Protestant churches that draw more than 2,000 peoplechurch any given weekend) are a Baby Boomer thing, Hartford’s study found that 44 percent of megachurch attendees are between the ages of 25 and 44 — significantly younger than the churchgoing population as a whole. They tend to be more educated and wealthier, too.

But apparently some of these young, educated, affluent attendees are playing with their Blackberries when the collection plate comes by: 12 percent of megachurch congregants admit they never donate anything to the church, and another 20 percent say they give a bit “when they can.” All told, about 47 percent give less than 5 percent of their income to the church — a full 10 percentage points below churchgoers as a whole. More troubling: 45 percent say they never volunteer.

There She Goes, Miss California

June 11th, 2009

In the latest — and maybe last — development in the story that just won’t quit, embattled beauty queen Carrie Prejean has officially been stripped of her Miss California USA title. And no, I don’t think she gets to keep the tiara.

Here’s a quick recap, to remind readers why we’re talking about a beauty contestant on a (highly respectable) religion blog:

Prejean was California’s representative in the Miss USA Pageant April 19. She seemed like a lip-glossed lock to win the title until gossip celebrity Perez Hilton asked her what she thought of gay marriage. Prejean admitted she wasn’t keen on the concept, citing her upbringing.

Never mind that Prejean’s views are in line with those of the majority of America: Her statement sent Hilton and many others into a full-scale tizzy (Hilton called her something rather unprintable the next day on his blog), and soon Miss California officials were suggesting Prejean should be stripped of her title. Meanwhile, a good chunk of the evangelical community embraced Prejean as the prettiest standard-bearer the Culture Wars have ever had, even allowing her up on stage for the Dove Awards. 

Then came the photos — racy ones that showed a few too many of Prejean’s private assets — and the evangelical community loosened its embrace a bit. But Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants (what, did he buy them on eBay?), allowed Prejean to keep her title. Shanna Moakler, Miss California’s pageant director (and a former Miss USA herself), resigned in protest.

That should’ve put the whole story to rest … except that now we hear that Prejean allegedly wastn’ doing her Miss California-ly duties. Word is she was just resting on her rhinestone laurels and wasn’t making the public appearances required of her, so pageant directors fired her — this time with Trump’s blessing.

“I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California USA Organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so,” Trump told Access Hollywood. “Unfortunately it just doesn’t look like it is going to happen and I offered Keith (Lewis, executive director of the Miss California pageant) my full support in making this decision.” 

But hold those sashes for a minute: Prejean, who was informed of the decision not by pageant officials, but by Access Hollywood, says the whole thing is political. She’s been making loads of appearances as Miss California, she says, and claims she’s being axed because she wouldn’t pose for Playboy or appear on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here

“They don’t like me,” she tells TMZ, a gossip blog. “From day one they wanted me out, and they got what they wanted.” 

Whoever thought that we’d still be talking about the loser of a beauty pageant nearly two months after the fact? And I doubt we’ve seen the end of this story yet.

A Tiller Postscript

June 10th, 2009

Apparently, the abortion clinic in which George Tiller worked will not reopen, according to the Kansas City Star.

“We are proud of the service and courage shown by our husband and father and know that women’s health care needs have been met because of his dedication and service,” Tiller’s family said in a statement released by the family’s lawyers. “That is a legacy that will never die. The family will honor Dr. Tiller’s memory through private charitable activities.”

God Talk: Obama Tops Bush

June 10th, 2009

Americans like our leaders to have faith. According to a recent Gallup poll, more than half of us would refuse to vote for an atheist for president, even if he (or she) was otherwise qualified.

The verse George W. Bush selected for his 2005 inauguration was from Isaiah 40: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

The verse George W. Bush selected for his 2005 inauguration was from Isaiah 40: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

So why is it news when a president talks about God?

George W. Bush’s presidency was, in many ways, defined — particularly by his detractors — by his Christian faith. He was scoffed at when he said that Jesus Christ was the philosopher he admired most. Oliver Stone lampooned Bush’s beliefs in his satire “W.” Run a Google search that pairs “Bush” with “Christ,” and you’ll run into sites like this that derisively rattle off dozens of pro-Christian quotes from our 42nd president.

But when it comes to talking about religion, Bush has nothing so far on his presidential successor, Barack Obama.

According to a fascinating Politico story (through a connection to The Pew Forum), Obama’s discussed his faith and mentioned Jesus far more often than Bush did in the early days of his presidency, ranging from a reference to the Sermon on the Mount at Georgetown University to a brief personal testimony at the University of Notre Dame.

“Obama’s invocation of the Christian Messiah is more overt than Americans heard in the public rhetoric of Bush in his time in the White House — even though Bush’s victories were powered in part by evangelical voters,” Politico’s Eamon Javers writes. He also quotes Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council (and no fan of Obama) saying, “I don’t recall a single example of Bush as president ever saying, ‘Jesus’ or ‘Christ.’”

Some of this, perhaps, can be attributed to circumstance: At Notre Dame, Obama was addressing the issue of abortion: Reminding his audience that he was a Christian and pro-choice might be simply chalked up to good strategy. On his recent swing through the Middle East, Obama tackled tensions between Muslims, Jews and Christians, so he had strong reason to offer pertinent, conciliatory “God talk” there, too. 

Still, it is interesting. While most evangelicals didn’t vote for him last time around and probably won’t in 2012 (barring some hefty reversals in his positions on some important issues), he’s making some subtle inroads into the evangelical community, I think. We’ll see where it all goes.

Wanna Bet?

June 9th, 2009

I’ve been blogging from Orlando, Fla., for the last several days, watching the city go ever-so-slightly nuts over its  professional basketball team, the Orlando Magic — currently battling the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA championship. It’s fun to see that this giddy insanity extends to the city’s Catholic diocese, as well. 

According to the Associated Press, Orlando Bishop Thomas Wenski bet L.A. Cardinal Roger Mahony that Orlando’s boys in blue will win the championship, and he put his money where his mitre is by  ponying up three lime pies, a few pounds of shrimp and a bottle of fresh air — a dig at L.A.’s notoriously smoggy atmosphere. (No word as to whether Wenski is including some of its humidity in the bottle.)basketball Mahony is countering with a few bottles of California wine.

With L.A. up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, it looks like Wenski — or someone — may need to start baking. But Orlando forced overtime in the second game and is playing at home tonight in the third. And, as Wenski and Mahony both know, miracles can happen, right?