All About Trey

A Four Fold Franciscan Blessing

Back in October, I went to the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner. It was my first real HRC event, and it was fun, inspirational, and very moving. While I was looking forward to seeing and hearing from the other people nominated for awards, I wanted to see Bishop Gene Robinson from New Hampshire. He was being honored with an award that night and it was great to hear him speak. He gave a very low key, but moving speech. Hearing about having to wear a bullet vest under his vestments at his ordination due to death threats was just a bit surreal. God loves us all, I'm not sure the people who sent the death threats remember that. At the dinner, I went up to chat with him and he was just as warm and friendly in person and he invited me to join the service he would be presiding over at the Church of the Epiphany in downtown DC on Sunday. I attended the service and it was very nice. But what I remember most was the dismissal blessing that day. Here it is:

"May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. Amen.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen."

After the election, the gay marriage ammendments, the blue state vs. red state rhetoric, it's all kind of overpowering and hard to deal with. And yet this simple blessing really puts it into perspective. There are the values that I want to make a part of my everyday life. They will make me a better person regardless of what color I am, what my political beliefs are, what nationality I am, or what my sexual orientation is. If everyone holds all of these values dear, and tries to live by them, then the world will be a much better place.

*******Two posts in one day, and one religious in nature. Don't expect alot of that.********

posted by Trey @ 7:07 PM