United Church of Two Harbors

I love a good summer blockbuster. I go to the movies to escape and enjoy a rollicking good time. I had just such plans when my kids and I went to see Spiderman 3 this past week, but I got a bit more than that.

The formula for your basic comic book flick is what is often called the Myth of Redemptive Violence. It works like this:

1) The world is at peace.
2) An evil arises that upsets the balance of this peaceful world.
3) A hero arises to confront the evil and vanquishes it and the world returns to its normal peaceful state.

This should sound familiar. It's the plot of many of our cultural stories, from Popeye to Superman, and it's widely espoused by politicians. It's also markedly UnChristian. In the Christian worldview:

1) The world is not at peace, but needs to be redeemed.
2) Evil is not external, but is part of us all.
3) Violence will not vanquish the evil for violence is the problem, not the solution.

I was amazed that all of the above themes are present in Spiderman 3. I don't want to spoil the film for any who haven't seen it, but Peter Parker's struggle is with himself as much as any external foe and the key to bringing peace is not violence, but forgiveness.

We recognized our 2007 graduates today.

Miranda McDannold (pictured left) - Two Harbors High School
Krag Anderson - Frenchtown High School (Montana)
Sarah Baldes - Gustavus Adolphus College - Philosophy
Maren Anderson - Gustavus Adolphus College
Molly Ray - University of Wisconsin Superior - Double Health Major
Christina Rossetter (pictured right) - Hameline University - International Management

I was messing around with FlashEarth and found I could zoom in fairly well on our community of Two Harbors. Enough to make out individual buildings at least. Here's a picture of our little part of the world from a satellite. If you go to the site you can get an eagle's eye view of other places in the world. Our church is marked in red in the center of the photo.

Here is a panoramic picture of Two Harbors in 1917. Click on the photo above to enlarge it so you can see more detail.

I believe in the transformative power of Church Camp. It's a great chance to lie big.

Let me explain.

As I was growing up there was a great camp that I'd go to every year and I got well known there. My younger brother, when he started, didn't just want to be known as my little brother, so we cooked up an alias for him. We gave him the last name of "Fisher" and he became just another person from my church. We look sufficiently different so that no one would suspect differently. For that week we were not brothers, but just friends.

And, the fact of the matter was, my brother and I needed to learn how to be friends. We were not always the most loving of siblings. So, it was kind of an experiment for us as well. There were no expectations that we should treat each other any certain way. Interestingly enough, the big lie gave Dan enough room to be himself and I started to appreciate him in a different way. My brother and I now, as adults, are fast friends, and part of it had to do with that week at camp.

And, while it's not usually so dramatic, I've seen kids try out new personalities and try new things at camp all the time. Because they are out of their normal context they get a chance to literally become new creations. And they lie big. "I'm not afraid of heights." "I'm a good artist." "I like to sing." "I like broccoli." "I can be friends with my brother." "I'm good at sports." The fun thing is how many of these "lies" turn out to be true. Camp gives them permission to transgress their own self-imposed boundaries in good and healthy ways. It's a tabula rosa on which new personalities can be written.

So, my hope for all of those who are going to camp this summer, youth and adults, is that you'll live out the the things you would hope were true about you, even if you suspect they aren't. Be open to the truth God is calling you to and live boldly in Christ.

See you at camp!

[ The picture is of the Oak Grove Presbyterian Church Youth Group at Presbyterian Clearwater Forest. ]