So Far...

...I'm 1-for-1 with making it to church in 2008. Not bad, considerng I woke up at 10:15, services are at 11, and it takes right around 15 minutes to drive there.

Not much to say about that, though I have to observe again that we Germans love the Epiphany. The church was even more packed than it was at Christmas - even at the early service. I'm pretty sure I've never seen it that full before, except at Easter. There wer a lot of new faces, too, including a couple of African American families. That makes me happy. I always wanted to belong to a diverse and integrated congregation, like the one my friend Amy belongs to in Pittsburgh. That little congregation looks and feels nothing like a typical Presbyterian congregation, which in my opinion is a good thing (sorry to my Presbyterian brothers and sisters - I would say the samething about most mainline denominations).

Anyhow, what I wanted to talk about today was Respect Life Month (which is this month, for those who aren't aware). Now, I think this is a good idea in theory, but in practice, it sucks.

When I worked at St. Al's CCC, I always had parents encouraging me to take the teens to the Respect Life Rosary walk at the Catholic Life Center (the diocesan offices here in BR). I politely declined to make it a youth group event, but suggested that they go as a family if they felt that strongly about it. Why did I suggest that?

We'll first of all, I really don't like group rosaries. I have less of a problem with the rosary than I once did (maybe I'll write about that later), but to me, it always has been and should remain a private devotion.

But more importantly, it wasn't really praying for an increase in respect for all life as the gift from God that it is. Instead, it was a prayer to end legalized abortion only. They have one of those displays set up with the little white crosses, each one of which represents a certain number of aborted fetuses.

My question is, where are the crosses for the people who died because they couldn't afford adequate medical care? Where are the crosses of the women who have been killed by abusive partners? Where are the crosses for people who have been issued the death penalty? Where are the crosses for the people who have been killed by genocidal regimes? Where are the crosses for the women who died getting illegal, backroom abortions, for that matter? What about the people in third world countries who are working in sweatshops for wages that could not be considered "living wages" on anybody's scale? Or the people in this country trying to support families on minimum wage?

See, that was always my big issue with the Respect Life movement in the Catholic Church, I'm glad they are anti-abortion (I am too, though I think that it might mean something different to me. I am in favor of the existance of legal abortions. I just think we should spend more money and effort on sex education - and not abstinance only. Fewer unplanned preganancies will mean fewer abortions). But what about all the other Respect Life issues? People claim that they are important too, but they barely even get paid lip service. It frustrates me to no end.

OK. That's enough of a rant for today. I need to go clean my car out before tomorrow's adventures.