On Finding And Living Our Joyful Vocations: (An Alternative Commencement Address for the Women of the Class of 2024)

To the Class of 2024, especially the women who are graduating, I would like to say this:

You may have been told some diabolical lies that your degrees, and any future titles and promotions, and your vocational hopes, dreams, and ambitions are worthless--and that your true place as a 'Christian woman' is in the home.

You may have been told these things by the same kind of people who promote White Nationalism disguised as Christianity. The kind of people who promote hate against LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities, and immigrants, and people of other religions.

These people who say these things are not the Good Shepherd, but rather thieves, who come to steal and kill and destroy. The Good Shepherd, instead, has come "so that you may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10).

If anyone is going to speak to women today about their calling and vocation as Christian women who have graduated from an institution of higher education, let it be this:

God has created you and given you a good mind and many gifts and talents for service in this world. Yes, if you find your joyful calling and vocation in raising a family and becoming a homemaker and have the significant financial means it takes to do so--then do so.

However, it is also Biblical and faithful to find your joyful calling in many vocations, whether or not you raise a family as defined in the traditional sense of biological children and marriage. Even the Benedictine Sisters, at whose college such a nonsense commencement speech was recently and unfortunately given, have themselves, by definition, found their joyful vocation in not being married and not raising biological children in a 'traditional' home. Instead, they have lived out their joyful vocation in another long-held tradition of Christian history, that of women's monasticism. Women's monasticism, of course, freed women up until this last generation to pursue vocations in multiple fields, including higher education and medicine, that were otherwise closed off to them if they had opted for marriage and raising children.

However, as most of us now know, a woman can also faithfully pursue her joyful vocation both in raising a family and also becoming highly educated and successful in her career. As most of us have heard by now, the unfortunate commencement speaker's own mother is a respected medical physicist at Emory University with multiple scientific articles published in her field.

The Bible and Church history is full of wonderful examples of women who pursued their joyful vocations with or without marrying or raising a family, and working inside or outside the home. Even Paul references Lydia as a successful businesswoman who finances his work; and his colleagues Phoebe, Priscilla, Apphia, Chloe, and Nympha, who were ministers and leaders of early congregations.

We should never mistake flawed human patriarchal fantasy for authentic scholarship in Biblical Studies or Early Church History--and this is precisely one of the reasons we need more women in higher education and religious leadership especially. God has called us and created us to have life, and live it abundantly, not fearfully.

So, to you who are graduating and seeking the next steps on your journey, I say: find your joyful calling and vocation and pursue it. My joyful calling and vocation is as a pastor and a parent; as a community organizer and a writer; as a composer and an artist; as a peacemaker and a poet. Draw on the stories of women in Scripture and in Church History, who have always had to break down barriers and contend with the patriarchy in order to live out their joyful calling and vocation in service to God and others in the community. Pay no attention to any small man who would tell you God has not made you as fully human, fully beloved, fully equal, fully gifted, and fully called to serve as anyone else--except to remind other people who are being harmed by such speech that this is not what God has called us to be.

Congratulations, Class of 2024! May you go on to find and pursue your joyful callings and vocation!

The 'Good Old Days' and the Unpaid Labor of Women

Most of what we consider 'The Good Old Days' of the American Church relied heavily on the unpaid labor of women.

The American Church was able to get away with it for as long as it did because women had so few options for vocations and financial independence.

Even though most families with children now need at least two incomes to cover basic living expenses, churches frequently bemoan how families aren't as involved and parents don't volunteer as much as in the days when a single income could support a family with children.

The branches of the White American Church which frequently seem to be most 'thriving' in family participation are often those which shame women for working outside the home, and/ or for having interests and hobbies outside their families and church groups.

Meanwhile, 50 years after U.S. women won basic financial civil rights, even moderate mainline churches are often still reticent to pay women church professionals equally to their male counterparts--as pastors or otherwise. Many congregations still feel that a woman pastor is not a 'real' pastor and should not be hired for a full-time role unless a male candidate is not available.

Recent Ridiculousness, Right Here In River City...

 To briefly recap some recent ridiculousness, right here in River City, from the usual suspects:

1. 'We cannot possibly start any new projects to improve the city until the potholes are fixed, every last pothole, and there are no new potholes, forever. Only Mason City has potholes, and they keep having new potholes every year, and it is surely because we have bad leaders. All money for projects, even grant money, must be some taxpayer's money somewhere, and it would be better spent on fixing potholes, even if it's not legal to re-appropriate it for fixing potholes. Also: nobody ever does anything new or interesting around here. Our city leaders should definitely start some new projects or something interesting. I don't know why they don't try that. Just don't use any taxpayer or grant money to do it though.'

2. 'There are not enough high school marching bands in the Band Festival anymore. Surely this is because high schoolers Just Do Not Care, and not because the fifty school districts within driving distance fifty years ago have consolidated down to a fraction of that since the farm crisis. There are definitely more towns with high school bands in Minnesota. This definitely has nothing to do with the massive public education cuts made by the Iowa State legislature. It is definitely the fault of the local 'woke' school board. Also the local high school marching band can't possibly sound as good as it used to when it was under the Old Mascot.'

3. 'The local school board is full of 'Social Justice Warriors' who clearly hate teachers and that is why there's not an agreement on the teacher contract. The book banning White Nationalist school board candidates who liked the Old Mascot and attacked trans students and hate immigrant students would definitely have given the teachers a better contract.'

4. 'There were never, ever, ever any Immigrant people who did not speak English in this town before. They all just showed up yesterday. My grandparents and great grandparents spoke perfect English and never had to learn a new language when they got here five generations ago from [insert country]. The teachers back then never had to deal with immigrant children like they do now. No, don't show me any of your 'woke' historical photos or news clippings or the local cemetery or church records. Can't see how any of that would be relevant to this discussion.'

5. 'There aren't enough floats in the Band Festival. There need to be more floats. Why aren't there more floats? Also the parade is over two hours long. That's too much....'

(For the record, the Band Festival was one of the best in recent memory, and we had perfect weather for it Saturday. The bands were all amazing, especially our local band, and each high school band had an impressive number of kids participating given the size of their school districts. And there were at least 20 different languages being spoken in our local school district a century ago, many of them European and Eastern European, but also from around the world, due to our local industries).

Jesus Never Created A Country Club...

Jesus never created a single country club.

Not one.

If we want to follow Jesus in our churches,

we cannot insist on exclusivity.

We cannot look down our noses

at newcomers, like bouncers,

and decide 'they' don't fit in

We cannot snark about them

over coffee hour

and then lament

about our declining numbers

We cannot seek to uphold the

White, affluent aesthetic--

the sand upon which

so many congregations

have built their houses

over the past century.

We cannot be divorced from

the neighborhoods surrounding us--

if the people around us

are not like us

and our relationship with them

is mostly, 'get off our lawn,'

then we have failed

to be the servant leaders

Jesus asked us to be.

Is It Really A Pastor Shortage?

I'm not always so sure that we have

'a pastor shortage.'

I am more sure that we have a shortage of

full-time calls that can support a pastor with a family.

I am more sure that we have a shortage of people

who can afford 7 years of full-time higher education

and the loans and living expenses included.

I am more sure that we have a shortage of

congregations that want a woman pastor,

or an LGBTQIA+ pastor,

or a non-White pastor,

or a pastor with a disability,

or a pastor with an accent.

I am more sure that we have a shortage of

congregations that didn't destroy their pastors

through toxic conflict during the pandemic

or before.

I am more sure that we have a shortage of

congregations that want to be actively engaged

in serving the oppressed in their communities, and instead

prefer to function more like private membership clubs.

I am more sure that we have a shortage of

congregations that want to open their doors

and welcome in people who do not look or act like them,

and instead prefer to wish that time would turn back

to the 1950s

when women's volunteer labor was plentiful;

where families could sustain themselves on one income;

where the Baby Boom packed every pew, Sunday School, and nursery...

We live in different times now

and I would never want to go back.

It's time to realize where we are now,

where we are going,

and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Remarks to MCCSD School Board Regarding Teacher Contract Negotiations

Here's a copy of my notes from my public comments at tonight's Mason City Community School Board Meeting, on the occasion of a very difficult and stressful teacher contract negotiation:

Good evening,

I have four children in Mason City schools, and this next year I will have one each at Hoover, Lincoln, John Adams, and Mason City High School. I also serve on three schools' PTOs (Parent-Teacher Organizations), I am a parent liaison to the John Adams Leadership Team, I serve on the School Improvement Advisory Committee, and I am a substitute paraeducator at Pinecrest Center when I have the time.

I understand that I am in a room surrounded by people, both school board members and administrators and teachers, who care very deeply about my kids, and for this, I am profoundly grateful. We have been through an awful lot together, right in this room, especially over the past few years.

I understand that a lot of this situation is the State of Iowa putting us in a truly untenable position. Obviously, with the notable exception of our own Rep. Sharon Steckman, most of Iowa's state legislators are not teachers. I look forward to a year where we don't have to dread January and the complete bloodletting of public education that the Iowa State Legislature has in store for us.

This situation is enormously painful. I don't believe there is anyone involved in this process who has malevolent intent. However, we do live in fearful and uncertain times.

I do know what it is like to have to work two, three, or even four extra jobs to make ends meet while practicing a vocation that I love--and I know there are teachers in the room and in our district who already have to do the same.

I know what it means to have to worry about the sustainability of practicing the vocation I love.

If there is any possible creative way we can ease the financial burden, not only on our teachers, but also on our district, then I hope that we will do that. We have to find a solution that is workable, because we have excellent teachers, and I do not want to lose a single one. I also want us to be able to recruit as many as we need for many more years to come.

I know that it is a terribly difficult time to be a school board, to be a school teacher, or even to be a school administrator. Let's do whatever we can to lessen the burdens we are experiencing right now. Maybe this means that we look to what other districts are trying--maybe we need to consider ideas like changing the school calendar, writing more grants for after-school clubs, or other community-based grants for supplies and other things we need. I am very willing to help however I can. I also think we need to look at ways we can increase our enrollment, and the WelcomeCorps is a good opportunity to do that in significant numbers over the next few years, which would add revenue to the district. Again, I would love to help however we can.

Thank you very much for your time.

We Are So Hell-Bent

We are so hell-bent

On crucifying the innocent,

Generation after generation.

Remember When Jesus Said... (A Woman's Worth)

Remember when Jesus said,

A woman's worth

was in how many babies

her uterus could pump out?

And she better belong to a man

because she's worthless

without one?

Yeah, me neither.

Preachers Can't Help It...

As the old saying goes: 'Preachers frequently can't help but tell on themselves.' Another way of saying this is, 'preachers often preach what they themselves need to hear.'

If your preacher is railing on and on about pornography, they are probably wrestling with a porn addiction.

If your preacher is railing on and on about condemning homosexuality, they are probably wrestling with coming out of the closet.

If your preacher is railing on and on about adultery, they are likely either in an affair or about to be.

If your preacher is railing on and on about women's submission in the home and marriage, check to see if his wife is alright.

If your preacher is railing on and on about how young girls dress so 'provocatively' these days--don't leave him unsupervised around the youth group members.

The more condemnatory the preaching, the more likely they are wrestling their own personal demons out in the pulpit.

The 20th Anniversary of the Abu Ghraib Scandal

 The 20th anniversary of the Abu Ghraib scandal passed rather quietly in recent weeks, most likely due to the world's focus on Gaza, and all the campus protests in the United States and around the world.

Twenty years ago, I had been living in Baghdad, along with the rest of our Christian Peacemaker Team, and we had spent the year carefully documenting dozens of testimonies from the survivors of U.S. human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere throughout the country.

We prepared a report with our data showing the patterns of misconduct, and sent it to every member of Congress, every U.S. and international news outlet, and of course, the White House and military officials.

The response was...underwhelming, at least at first. Rep. Dennis Kucinich responded, and I think we heard a bit of interest from the CBC, BBC, and maybe NPR. For the most part, though, we were pretty sure our report had gone directly into most folks' wastebaskets.

And then a soldier leaked the photos, and the phones began ringing nonstop. Apparently, our report hadn't been thrown out; it was just shelved until something came along to make people take notice.

We were all giving nonstop interviews for a week--some of mine were with CNN, BBC, and ABC, but the rest are now a blur.

And then, because of the enormous anger of the people at everything that had been done to them, at how horribly and humiliatingly abused the prisoners had been at the hands of the U.S. troops-- it was time to evacuate.

I thought I might get to go back in a few weeks once things settled down, but for me, that was the last I ever saw of Baghdad, and all of my friends that I'd made there.

Over the years, of course, with the hope of social media, I've been fortunate to hear from a handful of Iraqi friends who have survived, or who have even gotten out and moved elsewhere.

Barely a day goes by that I do not think of Baghdad; just like barely a day goes by when I do not think of Israel and Palestine, and all the dear people I have known in each place as well.

Not 'Nondenominational,' but Post-Denominational

I would honestly rather see us move into a post-denominational era where we associate with one another around shared values; no property trust clauses; no big blowouts for the sake of trying to hold a denomination together.

I'm ready to be ecumenical with and serve any congregation who strives for the inclusion and equity and genuine welcome of all people; and to let congregations who don't want to be inclusive go form other associations.

I think the idea that we're trying to hold together people who want to be inclusive together with people who don't want to be inclusive, largely for reasons related to property and assets, because we started as a White European movement several centuries ago, is really frustrating, wildly impractical, and probably contrary to what Jesus ever intended. 

Now, to be clear: I do not mean that our denominations should seek to become 'Non-denominational,' that is, to not have a judicatory system of accountability and credentialing of ministers. We do need this. However, wherever we can build cooperation and share resources among the denominations, it is essential that we do this.

Some may ask, how can we partner with people with whom we disagree theologically? A Presbyterian may not agree theologically with a Methodist or a Mennonite, for example. To this, I respond:

There's a lot more room for respectful theological dialogue about polity and eschatology (and all the things we cannot know or see) if we begin with the starting point that all people are created equally and are equally beloved by God and called to serve. Within each denomination, there are groups who don't recognize women's equality, racial equality, and/ or LGBTQIA+ equality-- including elements within the PCUSA. Meanwhile, I've enjoyed the theological diversity on matters we cannot see or know among the people within ecumenical circles who can recognize the full humanity and inclusion of all human beings.

For example, I currently serve a welcoming UMC congregation; I hang out with Episcopalian friends at their church; I take my kids to Orthodox Easter services; my seminary president was a progressive American Baptist (and I went to a progressive UCC/ ABC congregation in Hyde Park regularly); and Christan Peacemaker Teams was largely Anabaptist... and then there's the progressive Catholics... the real essential in theology is what Jesus taught us: to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Never Give Up

 "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever give up."

(Winston Churchill)

Sometimes I get discouraged

at the things I haven't accomplished yet;

at the to-do list that hardly seems to budge;

at all the writing projects yet to be published;

the music compositions yet to be polished;

the artwork I can't quite find time

to get back to the studio to finish;

the state of my house on any given day;

the never-ending dishes and laundry;

the clothes in need of mending;

the car repairs beyond my budget;

the stack of bills needing to be paid;

the long search for a full-time call

that will allow me to use my gifts,

feed my family, and also

to spend time with them;

the dreams and aspirations

on the back burner

for now.

It would be easy to look at my life and say,

'I am not a success.'

And yet,

Everything I've accomplished,

especially these last eight years:

Everything I've written,

Every community project I've done,

Every bit of progress I have made,

I did without an office of my own;

I did without even a laptop to myself;

I did without a secretary;

I did as a solo parent of 4;

I did living in or near poverty;

I did juggling multiple jobs;

I did living in low-income housing;

I did working overnights on call;

I did during a damn pandemic.

Given all that,

On the whole,

All things considered,

Things could be better;

But,

Perhaps I'm not

doing all that badly.

I know I'm doing

the best I can for now,

and yet

I look forward

to the day

when I am not held back

by so many obstacles

that shouldn't need

to be there at all.

The Waves of Church Growth...and Decline

 The driving force behind the First Wave of U.S. 'mainline' church growth was White European immigration, which peaked in the early 20th century. Many of these congregations were organized to minister in the languages of newly-arrived immigrants in their recently-established neighborhoods and small towns, especially 1850s-1920s. Then came restrictive immigration policies, the Great Depression, and WW2.

After WW2, the Second Wave of mainline church growth was directly attributable to the postwar Baby Boom, and White Flight to the suburbs. The economic prosperity and growth of these congregations was further fostered in the White church by the New Deal and the G.I. Bill.

As the original immigrant generations lost their languages of origin and other cultural connections; intermarried, became more mobile, and our country underwent significant socioeconomic shifts impacting employment, higher education affordability, home life, women's work and roles in society, and other upheavals, church life was impacted too.

The White churches who have grown most in the last generation (post-Baby Boom) have often done so as new church starts in high-affluence, new suburban residential developments. However, that wave is starting to subside as well. Economic status and ideology/ politics may be or have been popular starting grounds for new congregations, but they may not have any longer lasting power than residential proximity, race, ethnicity, and/ or language of origin.

(Of course, while all congregations say their primary purpose is to preach the Gospel and to bring people to Christ, and these days, that 'Everyone is Welcome,' there is almost always some other socioeconomic or demographic target group or intended audience/ sub-community identity whose bonds are strengthened as part of the mission of the congregation)

Where we are seeing growth in the mainline denominations are where we have seen growth in centuries before--in Racial/ Ethnic and New Immigrant communities. Meanwhile, our predominately White mainline denominations and their institutions were founded on socioeconomic realities that no longer exist, and they must necessarily change. Most likely, they will need to let go of divisions left over from European Reformation conflicts of centuries past and start sharing resources along with other cooperative efforts, more so now than ever.

Confession

 Confession

Lord Jesus Christ,

we confess

how often we have done

the very opposite

of your teachings

in your name.

We confess

how often we have

burned Women

as witches

for their understanding

of the healing power

of natural medicines

We confess

how often we have

executed Reformers

because we loved

institutional power

more than we loved You.

We confess

how often we have

tortured Scientists

because they sought

to explore the mysteries

of your Universe.

We confess

how often we have

oppressed the Victims

and set the Oppressors free

because we did not want

to face uncomfortable Truths

about our systems of power.

We confess

how often we have

taken your Beautiful Creation

and broken it,

over and over again,

believing we

can bend it to our will

and our glory

and our profit

Forgive us, Lord,

We can't possibly know

what we are doing.

Turn us back to You

and You alone.

Then may

Your Beautiful Creation

yet be healed

reconciled

and made Whole.

There Is No Justice In War, There Is Only Death

 Yes,

October 7 was

Israel's 9/11.

And what Netanyahu

and the IDF did

to the children of Gaza

is what we did

to the children of Iraq

and Afghanistan.

And yes,

the pro-war movement

outweighed the anti-war movement

just as much then

as it does now

That doesn't mean the war

was right or just

then or now

After all,

There is no justice in war.

There is only death.

It's Entirely Possible to Protest Without Scapegoating...

 It's entirely possible

to protest the actions

of a nation's leaders

or armed forces

without scapegoating

all members

of that nation,

or its main religion,

race, or ethnicity.

There is no need

to blame all Israelis

or all Jewish people

for the actions

of Netanyahu, Likud,

the Settlers, or the IDF.

To do so is Antisemitism.

Just like there is no need

to blame all Palestinians,

all Arabs, or all Muslims

for the actions of

Hamas or Hezbollah.

To do so is Islamophobia.

Hold the perpetrators accountable

for their violence,

and leave the civilians alone.

There has already been enough

collective punishment

and too many cycles of revenge.

And pay attention

to the brave Jewish people

and Israeli citizens

risking their own safety

to protest in the streets

to bring food to the starving

to free the captives

to be the peacemakers

And pay attention

to the brave Palestinians

and Muslims and Christians

doing the same work

to build peace

and bring healing

and to end this miserable war.

Le Anne Clausen de Montes, 2024