Sunday in Ocean Park

The Temple at Ocean Park, a small community by the sea in southern Maine, is in its 125th season. Today, Peter Gomes, Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard University, was the guest preacher. He greeted the congregation with, "It's Easter Sunday again in Ocean Park," recognizing that his annual guest appearances fill the Temple as if it were Easter. The Temple, a modest little church outside and a soaring place of worship inside seating up to a thousand people, had standing room only.
The Temple Bulletin says, "The purpose of the Ocean Park Association is to affirm the traditions and spiritual heritage of which we are heirs, through a summer assembly program where Christian worship, principles and ideals are at the focus; where diversity is celebrated and the dignity of all is embraced and respected; where the natural beauty of our seaside resort is conserved and enhanced; and where programs centered on religion, education, recreation and culture provide opportunities for individual growth and family enrichment."
In The Heart of Christianity, Rediscovering a Life of Faith, Marcus J. Borg writes, "In my judgement, the single most important practice is to be part of a congregation that nourishes you even as it stretches you." Peter Gomes' reading this morning, from Ephesians, says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We were nourished by his message.

Christian Worship in Harvard Yard

The spire of Harvard’s Memorial Church rises above Harvard Yard in a photo I took yesterday afternoon.

“In grateful memory of the Harvard men who died in the World War we have built this Church.” —inscription over the South entrance to the Memorial Room.

From the Memorial Church’s website:

“The Memorial Church is the church for Harvard University, dedicated on Armistice Day 1932 in memory of those who died in World War I, a gift of the alumni to the University. Memorials have been added to remember those who have died in the wars since.

“This Church has long been regarded as the symbolic center of Harvard's spiritual life, and stands opposite Widener Library as a visible reminder of the historical and spiritual heritage that has sustained Harvard for nearly four centuries. The first separate building for worship at Harvard University was Holden Chapel, built in 1744. The college soon outgrew the building, which was replaced by a chapel inside Harvard Hall in 1766, then a chapel in University Hall in 1814, and finally by Appleton Chapel, a building dedicated solely to worship sited where The Memorial Church now stands.”

Samuel P. Huntington, Harvard professor and eminent political scientist, wrote in Who Are We? “Americans have been extremely religious and overwhelmingly Christian throughout their history.” “At the start of the twenty-first century, Americans were no less committed and and quite possibly more committed to their Christian identity than at any time in their history.”

Support of Christian worship to help keep America strong is one of the aims of America 2020. As a member of the Memorial Church congregation, I feel that Harvard's role in our nation's history and its potential contributions to its future are buttressed by its foundation in Christian faith.

Lizard Leaning into the Future

This is a photo I took a few years ago in Bermuda. He looks as though he has caught the spirit of America 2020.

Overreaching by the Times

The Federalist Society is a leader of resistance to overreaching by the courts. The New York Times has substantially overreached in its characterization of the Federalist Society. Here is the Society's response.

"Hands off my Home!"

The Institute for Justice (IJ), a public interest law firm, is helping restore the constitutional limits on government power, one of the aims of America 2020. A current example is the misuse of eminent domain to take private property from its present owners for other private use. IJ’s president, Chip Mellor, tells the story in “Hands off my Home.”

Leaning into the Future

I am the optimist on the left leaning into the future. A few years ago. With me are my father and brother.

The next fifteen years will tell the story. America is divided today in too many ways. Some of us think our country should assert its own priorities, while others want us to defer to other nations. Some are actively religious and others are not. We differ sharply on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research. How to handle the war on terrorism divides us when we need to be united.

Keeping America strong is just as critical today as when we fought and won two world wars and the Cold War. Western society is again under attack, this time from radical Islam. National strength is far more than military, though. America 2020 aims to identify some of the strengths we need and how to build them. An optimist approaches a seemingly insurmountable task by taking it in parts. This blog proposes six ways to help make sure America remains strong in 2020. They are:

1. Stretch the frontiers of science.
2. Support Christian worship.
3. Maintain military strength.
4. Restore the Constitutional limits on government.
5. Resist overreaching by the courts.
6. Protect the right to work.

These aren’t the only ways, clearly. Christian worship, for example, clearly isn’t the only kind of worship. Education isn’t mentioned. And so on. These are ways that in my view at present are promising and interesting to explore. I hope to contribute to their development.