Namaste. Shalom. Salaam. Merry Meet. And welcome brothers and sisters. Ladies and Gentlemen, people of all faiths, welcome to the inaugural edition of the Progressive Faith Bloggers Conference.
When I first reached out to Rachel six months ago to find out if this idea of mine would work or if I were simply deranged, I found a workmate that has time and again proven resourceful, wise, and wonderful in every way. I dont know what this would have been like without her efforts, but it certainly would have been much harder for me to put together. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
The two of us began contacting people in a rather naïve fashion searching blogs for email links and sending blunt invitations. To our surprise and great pleasure,it seemed that everyone we contacted wanted to be involved. That you are all here today is a testament to the ability of such men and women as Mik Moore, David Buckley, Kety Esquivel, and many others to live the embodiment of their faith. They had the faith and the drive to breathe life into this idea and they brought the organizational skills and resources with them that, as my wife will vigorously agree, I sorely lack.
So we are here today, poised on the edge of history. About a hundred and forty years ago, groups much like this one met to create a national society for the abolition of slavery. Informed and motivated largely by their faith in God and their sense of social injustice, they joined forces to right one of the greatest wrongs ever perpetrated on this continent. They didnt have blogs back then, so they started newspapers, they wrote pamphlets and novels and plays, they barnstormed the north and mid-west speaking wherever they could find a crowd. Sometimes they were ridden out of town on arail for their efforts. Their printing presses were destroyed and thrown in the river. Some of them lost their lives.
I dont believe that the issues facing our society today match up to that of slavery. I wont demean that horrible crime nor slight the efforts of the abolitionists by using a direct comparison. Yet there are similarities. We are here because, for far too long, the public voice of faith in America has been too narrow, too harsh, too exclusive.
Like many of you, I have grown tired of hearing my faith attached to issues that I find to be tangential, positions that I find untenable, and to a vitriolic glee that I find unholy. I find myself unable to remain on the sidelines, quietly working to lead by example alone. When I began looking for someone to speak for me publicly, I found myself again and again looking into the mirror. As imperfect a tool as I saw looking back at me, it was the only tool I had at my disposal.
I wont pretend to speak for the entire group about why you are here or why you write or what you hope to accomplish. But that is why I am here. I am here because there is work to be done and I am capable of doing it. I am here because one day the two children growing inside my wife will look to their father and decide for themselves whether or not he is the kind of man they want to emulate, whether he has spoken empty words or whether he has been a living example of what he preaches. Im here because I must be here.
Im also here because I need you. Man was not made to live alone, and it is through our friends and family, our community that we see our true selves. We can feel empathy, but until we reach out to another, it is a useless emotion. So we come here, not to reduce our faith to a lowest common denominator, but to celebrate our diversity and to learn to understand so that our love for each other may abound and grow.
But we also come here so that we can move forward. I said long ago that it would be a victory to pull off such a conference but I understand now that it is only a small victory. There is much work to do in a world that is literally starving to death for want of spiritual sustenance. Its here in the broken homes and the empty eyes of the street youth of America as much as it is in the hungry stare of famine-stricken Africa or wore-torn Asia.
So our purpose here is complete, in one sense, just by being here tonight. And I will not charge you to set aside the fellowship and spiritual nourishment offered in order to chart the future. I willsimply ask that at some time this weekend, you consider what is needed from this group. If it is only a day or two of fellowship, then I would say it is too much time and money and effort to do again and again. But if we have a larger purpose, if we have a larger communion, if we have an unfilled need, then we have a calling to answer. No voice is too small to be heard and no need is too great to address.
For all things, there is truly a time. Tonight is our time to worship, to join in fellowship, and to forge the bonds of affection that will allow us to do the work we begin tomorrow. So I say to you, in way of closing:
Namaste. Shalom. Salaam. Merry Meet. And welcome brothers and sisters. Ladies and Gentlemen, people of all faiths, welcome to YOUR Progressive Faith Bloggers Conference.
