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A Few Words from Pastor Bryan
The 4th of July, 2025
It’s the 4th of July, 2025, and I’m feeling it. The 4th of July—Independence Day-- and what that means for us as a nation. The 4th of July, 2025, and the unique significance of what is going to happen today as President Trump signs his Bill (I refuse to call it beautiful) into law. And this particular July is obviously emotionally loaded for me and for many of you I know because it is my last month with you as your pastor. This Sunday will be our last Communion Sunday together. And for me in all likelihood this is the last month I will ever serve a congregation as a pastor. So yes. Lots of thoughts and feelings today.
My relationship with the United States of America, the “land of my birth,” (though just barely—I was born in Hawaii in 1958), has been complicated. Like most of us, I grew up being taught that we were “the good guys” in the world, and that we stood for “liberty and justice for all” and that we were the best nation on the earth and the best people on the earth. I grew up being told that we had the best lifestyle in the world and that we were the envy of the world. I grew up in N.J. and my dad lived in New York City and I used to see the Statue of Liberty all the time as I traveled back and forth. It’s an amazing landmark. I always loved what it represented and what it meant to my dad’s parents who spoke better Italian than English. "Give me your huddling masses yearning to be free..."
But then I learned about our history. I loved the spirit of independence and the refusal to be ruled by a king. Principles like taxation without representation. But I also learned how our European ancestors stole the land from the Indigenous peoples of this continent. I learned about the slave trade travesty and how we built our incredible wealth on the backs of people of color who were stolen from Africa and treated as less than human. I learned that when our founding documents were penned, women could not vote. And then there was the Civil War and the stubborn legacy of racism and white superiority that still haunts our soul as a nation because we have never truly dealt with it.
And then in my childhood there was Viet Nam and Nixon and Watergate. And the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcom X. In other words, I learned early on that my country often failed to live up to its own best ideals, and that our government was capable of profound deception and corruption, cruel and oppressive violence, devastating greed, predatory expansionism, and the gross misuse of power. I’m not going to say much more about any of this except to say this is why my feelings toward our nation have always been complicated. I love who we are and what we stand for at our best. Our founding ideals are amazing. And yet we have always been less than we have claimed to be. Early on, even before I had my spiritual awakening, I developed deep disdain for our collective hypocrisy and selfishness, and I grew suspicious of politics, politicians, and the moneyed interests and agendas operating behind the scenes.
As I matured, and as I began my conscious spiritual journey at age 17, I also began to dive deeply into the mystery of the human condition. I realized that we all—individuals and nations-- fall short of our own best ideals and that we are all mixed bags of beauty—of infinitely wonderful potential which most of us fail to live into with as much consistency or real commitment as we'd like—and brokenness—all the ways we let ourselves and each other down. And life over the years has humbled me—I mean I’m certainly no exception when it comes to this complexity. I’ve failed miserably at times to be as truthful and integrous and loving as I long to be. And so I’ve learned do my best to affirm what’s good and beautiful about us all as individuals and as a nation—and to try to embody and bring as much goodness to this world as possible—while also being honest about my own failures and shortcomings. This is also why I’ve fallen more deeply in love all the time with the God of Grace. “There but by the Grace of God go any of us.” And of course living deeply into all of this also involves the complexity of acknowledging how we all participate and even benefit from the “dark side” of things. For me, as a relatively affluent, educated, white, heterosexual male it is a never-ending challenge to recognize, deal with, release, and when possible leverage my own privileged position with as much integrity as possible and a commitment to the well-being of all.
But then there is today. And this bill that is being signed as I send this letter out to you. And this president, senate, and congress. And all of those who enthusiastically support what’s going on. I’m feeling our “failure” as a nation very strongly today. So I’m just going to be blunt. As a person who is committed to the path of Jesus—which quite simply means the Way of Love, Justice, Kindness, and a deep commitment to the well-being of all people and the earth itself—I am heartbroken. I am bewildered.
And I am stubbornly hopeful.
Heartbroken because of the harm this bill will do. I’m not going to get specific. But this bill is going to cause circumstances by which people will die. That's being nice. It's going to kill people. That is not hyperbole. And as J.D. Vance has already publicly admitted, beyond transferring more wealth from the lower and middle class to the richest persons among us (a blatantly anti-biblical thing to do), this bill is really about empowering ICE to intimidate and incarcerate and detain and deport immigrants as quickly and devastatingly and cruelly as possible. Deliberate cruelty IS the policy. I am grateful that the Catholic Bishops are organizing and going all out to call this policy out for what it is—sinful—and to denounce it completely. Good for them. We need to be doing the same. No matter what the cadre of Christian Nationalists in the administration try to claim, there is simply no legitimate way to align the policies of this bill with biblical teachings.
I’m bewildered simply that so many of our fellow citizens are not only okay with what’s happening, but almost gleeful about it. I'm bewildered that so many seem to delight in practicing cruelty (i.e. "Alligator Alcatraz" and all it represents). I’m bewildered that so many people are willing to watch democracy erode if not crumble altogether on our watch. I don’t get it. I keep trying. If any of you feel this bill represents something good and necessary and are willing to explain it to me—especially on the basis of your faith—PLEASE be in touch and share your thoughts with me. I really mean that. Because I simply don’t understand how this can be a good thing for us as a nation and for any of us as human beings. If all you care about is your own personal privilege and personal economic enrichment, no matter what the cost to those most vulnerable, then I’ll respect your honesty, even as I passionately work against your agenda.
But I’m also stubbornly hopeful. Why? Because God IS. Because there are more good-hearted people than selfish and cruel people here in this wonderful land and throughout the planet. And while the forces of selfishness have galvanized and taken some ground, their days are numbered. Because the Truth about us—who we all are as children of God—is that at our core we are kind and compassionate and NOT cruel. Yes, many of us have forgotten that and are lost and alienated from who we truly are. But God will find us ALL in the Great Mystery (as in maybe beyond this life in need be) and walk us all Home eventually. Count on it. And as Scripture reminds us, God will not be mocked. Those who are embracing the way of selfishness and greed and corruption will eventually have to face the consequences. But beyond that, even though today is a hard day, the “Rising” is happening my friends. People of Love and Light and Goodness and Grace are waking up as never before, finding each other, working together, and LOVE will BE the final Word. That's how this Story ends.
Sorry this got a bit lengthy, but I needed to say these things on this particular 4th of July, both for my own personal process, and more importantly as your pastor. I know not many of you read these weekly articles, but I so much appreciate that some of you do. As Jesus reminded us at the end of John 16, “In the world you will have troubles. But take courage and don’t lose heart, because I have overcome the world.” And Jesus—the Christ—will show us how to overcome what’s going on now.
This Sunday is our last Communion Sunday together. I hope you’ll be there, but I know it's a holiday weekend. Among other things, I’m going to share some new insights about Communion in light of where we are at this point in history that just came to me this week.
I close with something a friend told me this morning. She said, “You know what I’m going to do? I’m taking my daughter out for dinner, and we’re going to find a Mexican restaurant with as many immigrants working there as we can find, and we’re going to give them a HUGE tip.”
The best response to deliberate cruelty is deliberate, strategic, extravagant kindness, generosity, and love. LOVE IS the overcoming. Let's keep it flowing my friends. And I hope there’s some good music and dancing at that Mexican restaurant!
See you Sunday I hope,
Bryan
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