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Home / Posts by Ken Henry

How Do We Test For The Gender of the Heart?

July 26, 2018 by Ken Henry

             “The only dependable test for gender is the truth of a person’s life, the lives we live each day.  Surely the best judge of a person’s gender is not a degrading, questionable, examination. The best judge of a person’s gender is what lies within his or her heart. How do we test for the gender of the heart. . . ?”                                                                  Quote by Jennifer Finney Boylan in Becoming Nicole                                                                         

               This morning, before heading off to Westminster Pres., I finished reading Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt. A few months ago, this book was recommended to me as an educational resource to understand the growing interest and issues related to transgender people.  Becoming Nicole provides a clinical, sociological and psychological perspective on what it means to be a transgender man or woman growing up in America. And yet, Nutt’s book is so much more than these words imply.

In essence, this is a book about family. It’s about the people who are touched and transformed by a son or daughter’s personal struggle to come to terms with his/her/their identity.

It’s a book about a father who, in the beginning, resisted and reacted poorly to his son’s realization that he could no longer continue to live in the body from his birth. It’s a story about how, despite his own personal struggles, this same father never stopped loving his child.  Indeed, Nicole’s father now travels across the country speaking out on Nicole’s behalf. He has become his daughter’s strongest advocate and admirer. He is, and always will be, Nicole’s dad.

It’s about a mother who fought for her child’s right to be herself in the public schools.  Over the years, while others thought she was somehow mistaken or used poor parenting judgment, Nicole’s mother was convinced that, from an early age, Nicole was unique and deserving of dignity and respect.  To me, her commitment to her daughter demonstrates, once again, that a mother’s unconditional love is stronger than another person’s lack of understanding.

It’s also a story about Nicole’s twin brother, Jonas. It’s about a brother’s steadfast love and support through good times and bad. “I never had a brother,” Jonas once said to Nicole, “You were always a sister to me.”

This book is as informative as it is simply beautiful. In some chapters, the reader will find him/her/themself immersed in pronouns, medical realities, and transgender politics. But in other chapters, a tear will come to the reader’s eye.

As Nicole once said, “Stories move the walls that need to be moved.” I wholeheartedly agree. If this issue has become a “wall” in your family or you want to know more about families facing this particular situation, put Becoming Nicole on your summer reading list.  My prayer for all of us is that such earthy and personal stories will “move the walls that need to be moved” whether they exist in a cultural context or in our hearts.

Blessings, Ken

FYI, Westminster Presbyterian Church will be hosting a pastoral care conference  for pastors, chaplains, and spiritual caregivers, October 21-23. The conference will focus on how churches and pastors care for transgender persons and their families.

https://innovation.sfts.edu/transgender-care/

Filed Under: Advocacy & Organizing, Christian Formation, Community Board, Families & Children, J2A, LGBTQ+, Mission and Outreach, Notes from Ken, Pastor's Blog, Peace, Justice & Inclusion, Prayers For Our Community, YAC, Youth Education

March For Our Lives Coming To Westminster

July 25, 2018 by Ken Henry

Last Friday, I was contacted by Rev. Gay Lee Einstein  (Presbyterian Pastor) to see if Westminster Presbyterian Church would be willing to host the high school students from Parkland, Florida as they tour the country registering young people to vote and sharing their first-hand experiences of gun violence.  Yes, this is the same group of students who spoke at the rally in Washington DC on March 24th of this year. And so, I am happy to announce that the Session of Westminster Presbyterian Church has approved the usage of our Fellowship Hall for this event.

On Friday, August 3rd from 6:00-7:30, The March For Our Lives: Road to Change tour will be having a rally at Westminster Presbyterian Church. This event is open to the public and I’m sure there will be a flurry of media exposure.  What an exciting opportunity for us and Charlottesville.  Please check out the link below for more details.

Let us continue to believe and pray that gun violence is not an unsolvable issue.             Ken

 

https://marchforourlives.com/

 

Filed Under: Advocacy & Organizing, Christian Formation, Ending Violence, Facilities, Families & Children, J2A, Mission and Outreach, Notes from Ken, Pastor's Blog, Peace, Justice & Inclusion, Prayers For Our Community, YAC, YAC+, Youth Education, Youth News

“Sleepers, Wake!”

November 29, 2016 by Ken Henry

No one has ever described me as a “morning person”—just ask Heather.  For being a high energy kind of guy, it may come as a surprise to you to learn that I start my mornings slow: wiping the sleep from my eyes, putting on an old sweatshirt, wondering where I put my glasses the night before, and starting the kettle for my morning cup of coffee.  My mornings also include stretching out and glancing at my NPR news app.  At the break of dawn, it takes me awhile to find my bearings.  A few years back, Heather and I attended a conference in Maine where we were invited every morning to begin our day by sitting in silence for 15-20 minutes.  Leaders lit a candle, read to us a brief prayer or poem and then, with the sound of a bell, we sat quietly, breathing in and out and placing our day in God’s hands.

Here in Charlottesville, Heather and I have begun this spiritual practice. It doesn’t take a class or a special curriculum.  Trust me.  Starting off your day grounded and calm in mind and spirit changes the way you interact with others and how others interact with you.

After my silent meditation and a second cup of coffee, I start to feel ready—in soul, mind, and body.  I’m ready to face the coming day.  And when I pull into Westminster Presbyterian Church and I get out of my car, I say one more prayer:  “O Lord, let me rise to the challenges of this day.”  My day begins.

                Many of us have our morning rituals and routines.  We have our own unique way of summoning up the right attitude so we can be more fully engaged in our everyday relationships.  Indeed, we all need some time to wake up.   One of our Advent hymns (#17) begins this way: “Sleepers awake!” A voice astounds us . . . .”  For me,  Johann Sebastian Bach’s classic tune calls us to wakefulness.  Like many of our Advent hymns, we sing of the joyous news of preparing for Christ’s coming.  “Awake, Jerusalem, arise!” this hymn calls and beckons.  In essence, the hymn cries out, “Wake Up!  Wipe the sleep from your eyes! Put on an old sweatshirt! Stretch out! Meditate in the light of Christ. Get ready!”

“For unto us a child is born, a son is given and authority will rest upon his shoulders; and he will be named, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9:6)

So, sleepers, wake! For Advent is here!

Rev. Ken

 

 

Filed Under: Advent, Notes from Ken, Pastor's Blog, Seasons, Worship and Music

Presidential Election Reflections: Be Still and Know That I Am God.

November 10, 2016 by Ken Henry

This morning, November 9th, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. only to learn that the person I never imagined winning the presidential election had won. After that, it was a long day.  Throughout my busy morning and afternoon, I met with people who felt the same way I did.  Some cried.  Many were experiencing anxiety over an unknown future. Others felt empty inside.  I prayed with folks and hugged others.  At Westminster-Canterbury, we read Psalm 23 and shared communion together.  Our girls in California and Oregon texted Heather and me, hoping their parents would soothe their fears and take the sting out of the election.  We were not sure what to say.  We simply texted back to say how much we loved them.  My mother called to tell me the last time she felt like this, President Kennedy had been shot. It has been a long, strange day and I’m sure there will be many more days like this to come. But two personal reflections have helped me end this day unlike I started it.

Years ago, after the earthquake in Santa Cruz, CA in 1989, after the US invaded Iraq, after an arsonist burned one of my churches­– after all these experiences– I turned to Psalm 46 for perspective and strength:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

10“Be still, and know that I am God!

               Psalm 46 reminds me that other people in the past have endured similar days of despair and change.  The Old Testament prophets certainly warned the Hebrew people about this kind of thing happening, and the people refused to listen. With the results of this election, perhaps this will be an era of more prophetic preaching and teaching.  Indeed, the ground may shift beneath our feet, the roaring waters may shake our confidence, and there may be no healing salve to take away the raw pain we feel, but the psalmist’s words echo in the chambers of our hearts: “Be Still.”   Psalm 46 reminds us that we believe in a wisdom that confounds the world’s wisdom.  God whispers in times like these, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

The second reflection I’ve had today, is my own complicity in not reaching out to those who hold such different views from my own.  I confess I have not been patient enough or mindful enough to really understand a point of view so foreign to my own. It’s difficult to see how a person reaches such a different conclusion on the direction of this country, but then, that person and I stand on the same soil and travel the same crowded highways.   And so, I am praying for patience and calm as the days unfold. O God, though I may disagree with those around me, help me to listen more carefully before jumping to conclusions or letting anger cloud my thinking. And when I find myself disagreeing with another person, help me to be still.

Filed Under: Notes from Ken, Pastor's Blog, Peace, Justice & Inclusion, Uncategorized

Want to See What I’m Preaching About?

September 28, 2016 by Ken Henry

Want to know what I’m preaching about in October? Want to read the scripture passages before coming on a Sunday morning? Here are the texts and sermon titles for four Sundays. Thought I would tackle some challenging moments in the Bible that go along with the Stewardship theme, Set the World on Fire. 

Peace, Ken

October 16: Matthew 3:1-12; Genesis 15:1-12. 17-18;
Sermon: Lighting the Beacons (See YouTube Clip: Lighting of the Beacons from Lord of the Rings)

October 23:Exodus 3:1-15; 2 Timothy 1:1-14;
Sermon: Rekindling the Gift Within

October 30: John 15:1-8; 1 Kings 18:20-39;
Sermon: The Burn Pile:

November 6 (Dedication Sunday) Psalm 29: Acts 2:1-21:
Sermon: Pentecost in November

Filed Under: Notes from Ken, Pastor's Blog, Sermons

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Congregational Annual Meeting on January 31, 2021

January 20, 2021 By Westminster Presbyterian Church

On Sunday, January 31, 2021 from 10:45-11:30 a.m., WPC will be hosting a Zoom Congregational Annual Meeting. At this meeting, we will act with “decency and order” to conduct three pieces of business: Nominating and electing two members to the Board of Trustees. Reviewing the church budget. Voting on the Terms of Call for our […]

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