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Live (Sort Of) From Wild Goose
Two writers - an environmentalist and a church historian - meet up to talk about Protestants, politics, and what the hell happened
Hi Cottagers!
I’m at the Wild Goose Festival this week — and it is hot, hot, hot in terms of weather and great conversations. On Friday, the Goose put me and Bill McKibben on stage to talk about spiritual memoir — and why personal stories matter to better understand the issues of politics, climate change, and the decline of American Christianity. The focus was on my book, Freeing Jesus, and his memoir, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened. The conversation was hosted by Josh Scott, pastor of GracePointe Church in Nashville.
So, I turned on my phone and recorded it. Listen in to this “bootleg” tape of two writers who love each other’s work and have learned from one another to see the world more clearly and with hope.
The recording is not at all professional and is pretty rough in places. But it is so worth sharing. There are a bunch of good folks from The Cottage here at Wild Goose — and we’re sorry you all aren’t with us. Here’s a little taste of the Goose from us to you. Turn your volume up (the audio is uneven) and feel your heart strangely warmed (that’s a Methodist joke in honor of Bill!).
INSPIRATION
Horseback on Sunday morning,
harvest over, we taste persimmon
and wild grape, sharp sweet
of summer’s end. In time’s maze
over fall fields, we name names
that went west from here, names
that rest on graves. We open
a persimmon seed to find the tree
that stands in promise,
pale, in the seed’s marrow.
Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear,
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here.
— Wendell Berry, “The Wild Geese”
I'm curious about what went so suddenly sour with American patriotism, American faith and American prosperity — the flag, the cross and the station wagon. I'm curious if any of that trinity can, or should, be reclaimed in the fight for a fairer future.
— Bill McKibben
My story can never be your story. But my story might inform yours, or be like yours, or maybe even add depth or another dimension to yours. If nothing else, sharing our stories might lead to greater understanding, tolerance, appreciation, and perhaps even celebration of our differences.
― Diana Butler Bass
I just finished The Flag, The Cross and the Station wagon. Great book says this gray haired Granny!
Thanks for sharing this.
In my NH town, neither the Episcopal Church nor the ELCA congregation could afford to maintain their respective buildings. So the Episcopalians sold their building to the Boys and Girls Club and moved in with the Lutherans, maintaining separate services and clergy.
The waters were a little choppy at first, but we now have a single service using both liturgies and share a single pastor/priest. We are happy to report that finding a place to park and a pew to sit in is becoming more problematic. The Spirit sure does work in unexpected ways!