Squirrels and Preaching

Ahhhhhh, suburban life. Yes, this is a squirrel baffler. It's supposed to prevent squirrels from getting into the birdfeeder and eating that precious birdfood. But the squirrels here in West Hartford are too smart (must be the good schools) -- they manage to climb up the corner of the porch and jump onto the birdfeeder anyways. Ok, that's fine - a bit annoying, kinda funny, but fine, says I.

But not my dad. No sirreeebob. When he sees the squirrel on the birdfeeder, he jumps up, runs outside, and chases the squirrel at a fast clip while barking. Yes, barking, like a dog! And this from the rather bookish man who rarely moves quickly! When the squirrel inevitably comes back, Dad (or Mom, cuz she's party to this madness as well) goes for the water hose. Doesn't matter if we're in the middle of a game, or a great conversation, or dinner--squirrel-on-birdfeeder means emergency response! Luckily, my parents are good at laughing at themselves. It's a ridiculous sight!

In other news, I preached today. It went well, I'm glad I did it (and even enjoyed it), and glad it's over. I'm not done thinking about the tension between freedom and responsibility, between justice & tolerance though. My punch line was that we need to engage different opinions when we're in a community of love -- I gave the example of the lone republican in a UU congregation (and yes, he came up to me and thanked me at the end), but I didn't talk about what about the lone radical queer who doesn't support marriage equality. I realized on the way home that I don't actually do what I told others to do - I have seldom spoken up when I've disagreed with the apparent majority in my congregation, and that's what I was calling on folks to do. Yep, I got work to do to! Gosh, this faith thing is hard!

That's my post-sermon rant of the day. I'll spare you the self-criticism about how I'll improve the sermon-writing process next time, but I will give major props & gratitude to Leah for tons of amazing feedback & sermon fodder.

Two weeks left of CPE, three weeks 'til I'm back in the Bay!