tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post4487020557308418342..comments2022-05-05T15:58:09.021-04:00Comments on Twenty-first Century Liturgy: FlagsDon Stakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07572472988507238331noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-66102051418258022272010-08-12T16:39:47.981-04:002010-08-12T16:39:47.981-04:00Exactly. Remembering that I grew up with "bet...Exactly. Remembering that I grew up with "better red than dead" argument of the '60s too...<br />It's not something to be confronted unless the occasion arises.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-33477149328049985922010-08-12T15:34:51.388-04:002010-08-12T15:34:51.388-04:00Thanks for your comment, JB. I also have allegian...Thanks for your comment, JB. I also have allegiances to my country and to my God at the same time, but I recognize that they are different intensity, and where they conflict, my allegiance to God outranks the one to country. If I see them as evenly balanced, then country becomes a competitive god (small "g") aspiring to be the God (large "G"). I think it's best to be Don Stakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07572472988507238331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-23160488489968716902010-08-12T11:09:31.054-04:002010-08-12T11:09:31.054-04:00There really is no Christian agenda other than ant...There really is no Christian agenda other than anti-government sentiment, no matter whether we say we're children of God by Baptism, not Americans. Isn't "In God We Trust" on our currency even?<br />Removing flags is a way of stirring things up rather than (middle-of-the- road) tolerance and discussion between two (seemingly) at- odds camps.<br />I can indeed have allegiances toAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-55023626026971610272010-08-10T19:52:34.478-04:002010-08-10T19:52:34.478-04:00Thank you, Don, for sharing your story, and for yo...Thank you, Don, for sharing your story, and for your stand against war. After Sept. 11, as a guest preacher, I regularly invited congregations to remember we are citizens of the Kingdom of God first, and of the United States second, so we dare not pray only for "our own (people, nation- you name it)." For that reason- that we are citizens of the KOG first- I don't believe we ought Donna Eliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11097772980561453440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-31031069267649471052010-08-09T14:42:55.960-04:002010-08-09T14:42:55.960-04:00I have made my comment in chapter 1 of my book, &#...I have made my comment in chapter 1 of my book, 'The Great AMEN of the Great I-AM'. Although I understand the need to keep separated the Church from the Nation, once that need is met then I believe it is a part of what freedom is for the Church to declare its commitment to the authority of the State in her life among the nations. The beauty of freedom is that it overcomes the deep splits Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-83297524681532886622010-08-09T14:39:10.411-04:002010-08-09T14:39:10.411-04:00I never knew those stories, I was a kid when the w...I never knew those stories, I was a kid when the whole war thing was going on. I agree, though, the flag has no place in church. We are supposed to be bigger than any one country. It also seems to me that if we want separation of church and state to work for us (that is for the state to not tell us how to worship) we should strive to maintain that separation by not using the church to promote Jennwhitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058690307851087073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-62644285453163629562010-08-09T09:26:16.135-04:002010-08-09T09:26:16.135-04:00Three more thoughts:
1) Maybe we should add to t...Three more thoughts:<br /><br />1) Maybe we should add to the list of interim pastors' list of tasks to include the removal of flags from the sanctuary. An installed pastor's removal of the flags might lead to their being removed. :-)<br /><br />2) My wife's college chapel had a creative alternative-- sometimes it is easier to add things than remove them. They have the UN flag Bruce Gillettehttp://www.limestonepresbyterian.org/pastors.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-71292535433951979762010-08-09T09:05:35.810-04:002010-08-09T09:05:35.810-04:00No Other Gods: Why national flags don't belon...No Other Gods: Why national flags don't belong in church.<br />By Celeste Kennel-Shank<br /> <br /> When I first heard the announcement to rise for “the presentation of the colors,” I didn’t understand what that was. We were getting ready to begin a worship service for Christian journalists attending the annual meeting of the Associated Church Press, and we were anticipating the arrival of Bruce Gillettehttp://www.limestonepresbyterian.org/pastors.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7288277791026557226.post-79054198447567936922010-08-09T09:02:00.632-04:002010-08-09T09:02:00.632-04:00Dear Don,
Thank you for another fine post. Here ...Dear Don,<br /><br />Thank you for another fine post. Here is one from the Sojourners blog.<br /><br />Blessings on you, your family and your ministry.<br /><br />Grace and Peace,<br />Bruce <br /><br /><br />Flag vs. Font: Pledging Our Allegiance<br /><br />by Debra Dean Murphy 07-07-2010 <br /><br />“You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.” (The Book ofBruce Gillettehttp://www.limestonepresbyterian.org/pastors.htmnoreply@blogger.com