communication

You’ve probably noticed the hyperbolic rhetoric this weekend in the wake of the radical Islamist inspired terrorism attack in San Bernardino, where Donald Trump called for closing our border to all Muslims (including Muslim-American Citizens) and the president of Liberty University called on all 113,000 of its students to arm themselves against “those Muslims” and to be prepared to “teach them a lesson” in case of a feared attack. This, of course, blames the vast majority of peaceful Muslims for the acts of a small few, and empowers and legitimizes all sorts of hate speech and acts towards peaceful, innocent people.

In response to all of this, a Facebook friend suggested:

I cannot fix Trump. But I can write a note of support to local mosques. So can you.

This was a great idea, so I drafted a letter and posted it on Facebook, seeking suggestions for improvement. In the end, I made a few minor changes and mailed this to three area Islamic Societies and a mosque that had experienced a specific threatening act on Saturday. I had planned to just leave it there, but some are asking to see the final text to share. So, here it is. Please feel free to adapt and use in your context as you see fit.

Peace to you as well this Advent season.

Chad

PDF: IslamicNeighborltr2015
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Dear brothers and sisters:

As-salamu alaykum.

These days appear to be trying times for followers of Islam in our country. As the Pastor and spiritual leader of The Kirk, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and your neighbor in the Kansas City community, I extend to you a greeting of peace and love.

This is a particularly holy season for those who claim the name Christian. We await the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, whom we call the Prince of Peace. We believe that Christians are called at all times to imitate Jesus’ welcome and compassion, to love all people as God has loved us in Jesus Christ, to be peacemakers.

In this spirit, I am writing to extend my support and encouragement to your community and to all the families who find nurture there. My heart breaks at the hate speech and vile behavior toward Muslims recently expressed by some politicians and Christian leaders in our country. It is my prayer that this reprehensible behavior has not adversely impacted your community, and that you can continue to practice your faith and live your everyday lives in freedom, peace, and mutual harmony.

If we can extend to you something beyond this word of encouragement and support, please do not hesitate to ask. In particular, I would hope to explore whether there is some opportunity for our communities to come together over a shared meal or social activity, so we might come to know one another better.

Peace to you this Advent season.

In Christ,

Rev. Chad Andrew Herring
Pastor
The Kirk of Kansas City

I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re getting tired of hearing my voice.

Its been a week of firsts: first logo launch, first public radio appearance, first experience being interviewed for a podcast. I didn’t expect all that to happen around the same time, but it did. I wrote earlier this week about the logo launch, which was revealed to our community during a hospitality forum. That blog entry talked about some of my own attempts to theologically unpack and reclaim the notions of “Growth” and “Marketing” which are behind our Growth and Marketing Team, the people who hosted that forum and created that logo. It also explained some of the theological significance behind the logo itself.

Then on Tuesday I was a guest on Up to Date on KCUR, our local NPR affiliate. Last month the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life released results of its most recent survey on american religious affiliation, and I joined Atlantic managing editor Emma Green and host Steve Kraske of the Kansas City Star to discuss the results of the survey and how it relates to my ministry as Pastor of The Kirk.

I spoke a lot about the decline in people who call themselves Christian, the rise of the unaffiliated “nones,” reasons for the changes and ways in which churches should be adapting, including some hopes I have for how we’re doing that at our church.

You can find that podcast on itunes here, or you can go to their webpage about the show and listen directly there (sorry, I can’t figure out how to embed their audio here on Kairosblog).

Might not be able to embed the interview, but I can embed the pic

Then I went back to the office and settled in to talk to Rocky Supinger, associate pastor at Claremont Presbyterian Church in Claremont, California. Rocky started a podcast several weeks ago over on his yorocko.com blog, chats with people doing exciting things in ministry. For some reason, he decided he wanted to talk to me too. It turns out that Presbyterians Today, a monthly magazine that has experienced a renaissance of sorts, has asked Rocky to join with them in their Reimagining the Church series. So my conversation for Rocky’s Podcast ended up being the inaugural podcast for Presbyterians Today too. So fun.

You can see that entry on their webpage, or over at the yorocko podcast page.

Or you can listen here:

All in all, its time for me to be quiet for a while. But its been a fun and full week.

An Advent Letter to Kansas City Muslims

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