Ex-pat, clergy and curmudgeon
The instruction says to tell something of myself. Where to start - what's significant?
I live in upstate New York now, after living most of the last thirty-five years in Ohio and then Iowa. New York is a breath of fresh air - and people don't look at me like a traitor when I say I've never changed my citizenship from Britain to the U.S. I'm not sure that's a good thing. I liked trying to read the questions that floated through people's eyes when they heard that I see no advantage to becoming a U.S. citizen. It seems to confuse people no end that I wouldn't want to be a member of this elite group of God's chosen.
I am clergy now, after being a rabid, greedy, unscrupulous, money-grubbing businessperson for thirty years - not that I have any self-judgment about my previous incarnation. It's actually more comfortable for me to admit that I am recovering from being a drug addict, binge-drinker and womanizer than owning up to be a rampant capitalist. But, it's all part and parcel of what makes me who I am now. I am a low paid minister serving a poor and very diverse community; living pay period to pay period; breathing the same air and drinking the same water as many of the other folks that culture would make "the least of these my sisters and brothers". Life is so very good.
I am a curmudgeon now, after just being crazy for the first 50 years of my life. I get to say audacious things because I am an eccentric old clergyperson - things with very sharp points that make people think about their privilege and innate social power to change what "is" into what "ought to be". I should probably be more recognizable - wear a clergy collar and flowing robes - but I'm a curmedgeon about that, too. I like being mistaken for a homeless person at the local shelter, or an AIDS patient at the clinic, or being treated like another "ne'er do well" when I walk into government or social service agencies.
And I love issuing the invitation to the communion table to which all are welcome - and saying, "And all means ALL." Life is blessed - praise God.
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| Conversation Title | Latest Post | Latest Reply |
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| The Economy of God - SC | Jul 9, 2008 | No Replies |
| ace's welcome andrewlittle! | No Posting | Jul 8, 2008 |
| Free enterprize medical care | Jul 8, 2008 | No Replies |
andrewlittle
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