I will not be able to do justice to our trip, but I will make a few notes here, since so many people have asked me to.

We left Angwin at 6:00 pm on Saturday, January 17 and we just got back to Angwin a little while ago (shortly before Midnight on Wednesday, January 21). The entire trip was even better than I had imagined it would be. The Lord provided, though several of his angels, unexpected access to several special opportunities, and in the end we also got tickets to standing room areas pretty close to the podium, so that really helped.

We got to DC Sunday afternoon (after some adventures caused by naive Californians trying to drive out of Manhattan down the New Jersey Turnpike in snow) just as the concert was starting. We decided not to give up on it, and May (my wife) and Josh (my son) dropped Sasha and Chloé (my daughters) and me off as close as she could drive the car (about K street) and we walked down to near the Lincoln Memorial. By the time we got there they were no longer letting anyone in, and it was half way over, but we were able to hear very clearly the remaining singers and speakers. It was exciting to hear Usher, Stevie Wonder, and Bono and Beyoncé (among others) but the highlight for me was Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen singing "This Land is Your Land" which literally took my breath way, and was the first of several episodes of the shedding of tears.

Monday morning we drove down to St Elizabeth's, the oldest federal psychiatric hospital in the country. The Obama Inauguration page had a link to volunteer opportunities to participate in on MLK Day, and this one jumped out at me (my Abnormal Psychology class watched the classic documentary "The Asylum" about St E's while I was away). It turned out the group organizing the even was a support group for gay and lesbian young people, and the Gay and Lesbian Band of America, which marched in the Inauguration Parade the next day, was there too. We spent the morning visiting and playing games with the patients, and watching the band march and play.

Monday night Sasha and Chloé went to a special Bi-Partisan Dinner held in honor of John McCain. McCain, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama all spoke there, and "The Girls" (as we call them) got to see them all up close, and had pictures taken with some of them.

Tuesday morning we got up at 5:15 in the morning and took the Metro train down to the Capital. Our angels got us tickets in three different locations, so we had to split up - but we were all much (much) closer than we would have been otherwise. Josh and I entered at the Blue Gate, which put us standing on the right side of the capital (as we were facing it). We could not easily see the podium, but I was staring right at the conductor of the Marine Band, and we were right in front of huge big screen TV. It was COLD (I can not believe people live like that on a regular basis) but we were dressed pretty well for it. The lines were very long and the crowd was packed very tight, but, unbelievably, everyone was in a good and joyful mood throughout. Everybody helped each other out, nobody could stop smiling. I have not seen the ceremony yet on TV (I recorded it on my TiVo to watch later) so I don't know how it played at home, but the most moving moment was when Obama took the oath of office (more crying by most around me). Another very moving moment was when they put Teddy Kennedy on the Big Screen - everyone around me broke into a loud cheer. The funniest moment was probably when they put Joe Lieberman's picture on the Big Screen - everyone let out a long, deep and enthusiastic boo. It was also deeply moving when they showed John Lewis.

We had several opportunities to join the crowd in rousing, primitive cheering of O-Ba-Ma! O-Ba-Ma! Almost everyone around me had participated actively in the campaign in some way or another, and it really felt like a family out there.

I thought Obama's speech was stunning. What was striking about it from the crowd was how quiet everybody got. It was unbelievable how so many people could listen so carefully and do actively and so quietly. I would say the feeling during the speech itself was less emotional and more deeply thoughtful.

I will be interested to see what the reaction has been to Warren's prayer. After all was said and done it seemed to be pretty much of a non-event. He did not say anything (from what I can tell, I have not had a chance to read it yet) that was offensive, and it seemed to go OK.

After it was over Josh and I walked around the other end of the Capital (we were going to meet the rest of our family at Union Station). We were surprised to see when we got to the other end that now former President and Laura Bush and now current President Obama were standing out there - waiving to a group of people in front of them. After a few minutes the Bush's got into a helicopter and flew away - so Josh and I stumbled upon Bush's farewell to Washington. I tried really hard to stay positive during the weekend. Being President is not an easy job, and not everything Bush did was horrible. But I could not help but silently mouth "good riddance" as his helicopter flew away.

Walking around the Capital after the speech was a chance to share in the joy and hope of the day with so many different people from so many different places. One of the unexpected highlights was when they put the marvelous crowd shots on the big screen, and the crowd recognized itself, and collectively sucked in its breath and said, almost as one "that's us!". It was kind of like those pictures of the earth they took from space and showed on TV when I was a kid. From the moment we arrived in New York City (where all 5 of the cars rented to the people in line ahead of me were to people driving to DC for the Inauguration) to the flight home to San Francisco (when people saw the hat I had bought that says "Barack Obama, 44th President, January 20, 2009 and shared their feelings about the event) there was such a wave of good feeling and common purpose and hope and identity. Obviously there will be plenty of time for division and disagreement and mistakes - but all weekend we were proud not just to be Americans, but to be part of a circle of common humanity that seemed to be expanding.

I am glad we went.
____
Aubyn Fulton is Professor of Psychology at Pacific Union College.

I know that with President Obama in place, we're all avoiding simple sectarianism and parochialism, but it should be noted that two Adventists participated formally in the Inaugural events.

Barry Black prayed for the Congressional dinner which immediately followed the Inauguration. It was shown live on TV.

Wintley Phipps sang "Amazing Grace" for the interfaith prayer service which President Obama attended at the National Cathedral.

Did you watch it? Were you there? What did you think of it all?

December 2008
Vol. 4, No. 12

GENERAL COMMENTS
This edition is a mixed bag. While the cover article, A New Humanity, by Jan Paulsen is theologically generous, informative and thoughtful, there are occasionally disconcerting lapses into devotional speak and misleading reporting.

COMMENTS
1 Million Join Church in Year
Ansel Oliver reports that “for the fifth consecutive year, more than 1 million people have joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide.” If you just read the headline, you might have missed the following:

“This year’s report reflects a membership audit of the church’s South American region, which resulted in a more than 300,000-member decline. . . Between 2003 and 2005 the church in Southern Asia-Pacific lost 400,000 members from membership audits.”

Annual Council Votes 
Administrative Changes
Is the Pacific Press headed for Chapter 11? “Robert Smith, Review & Herald Publishing Association President, noted that the General Conference has studied the North American publishing system previously. He urged that the new commission not “study us to death and make the cure worse than the disease.”

“Smith asserted that RHPA made a profit of $100,000 in the year ending September 30. He said that if the General Conference ‘would give us all the work that is justifiably ours,’ the press’s business would be stable.

“Pacific Press president Dale Galusha told Adventist Review: ‘We welcome opportunities such as this to explore better ways to even more effectively strengthen the church, promote its mission and deliver faith-strengthening and spiritually inspiring books and materials to our church members.’”

New Administrators Elected
G. Alexander Bryant was voted as executive secretary for the Adventist Church’s North American region. The position is also an associate 
secretary for the world church. Bryant, 51, currently serves as president of the church’s Central States Conference, “a historically African-American administrative church region” in the Midwestern United States.” Is this newspeak for “Black Conference?

Addictions and At-risk Behaviors
Allan R. Handysides and Peter N. Landless tell it like it is. “Meaningful relationships and good friends are beneficial to our health. Positive friendship connections promote positive mental health, a sense of belonging, self-respect, and the strengthening of purpose. This can occur at any age. It is vital to foster resilience in our youth; investment in our friendships can improve health and brighten disposition for the long haul.”

Did You Know?
Founded in 1899, Christian Record Services (CRS) is a ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that provides free Christian publications and programs for approximately 100.000 people with visual impairments.

It’s All About Jesus
Maybe it isn’t. Fred Kinsey’s words indirectly suggest a little competition. “The Voice of Prophecy will not compete with any other Adventist ministry. I will not be a part of any comparison that suggests we are doing a better job than anyone else. . .In my view, the Lord is not honored by competition between or within His agencies.”

Adventist World On Line
This is a great site, user friendly, and with real graphic appeal. However, North American viewers will not get their entire magazine on line. The following articles and information in this issue do not appear: Give and Take, It’s All About Jesus, The Blessing of Giving, Information about Native America Evangelism Ministries, NAD News, and Defining Liberty.

Defining Liberty
Lincoln E. Steed’s report is balanced and thoughtful. Unfortunately, it contains the whiff of that old anti-Catholic fear mongering.

“Not many months ago Protestant America lauded the ‘state’ visit of Pope Benedict. . .However, students of Bible prophecy and church history have to take note of the significance of the visit. The modern Papacy is a power player. Protestant America seems enamored with the old ‘mother church.’ There is no longer any gulf to reach across.”

The Guiding Light
Ron Laing supplies readers with a brief personal and biographical look at Harry Anderson, SDA’s most famous and beloved painter.

Unique and Unrivaled
The Question: Does the Bible recognize the existence of other gods?
Angel Manuel Rodriguez’ answer to that question is truly “unique and unrivaled”. He sets out to define the word, “monotheism”. But because of his belief in the inerrancy of the literal words of the Bible, he attempts to explain away the Old Testament writers’ references to many gods. He even confuses a literary allusion in the New Testament to mean a reference to an actual god!

“The New Testament acknowledges the existence of at least another ‘god:’ ‘The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4, NIV).’”

Rodriguez concludes his answer to the question, “What is monotheism”, with these words: “This biblical understanding of God and the nature of the “gods” may not fully fit a traditional and narrow definition of monotheism, but it is monotheistic in that it does not recognize the existence of any other being that is in any way similar to the Lord God or that participates of His distinctive nature.”

Some Notable Quotes in this Issue
“Several leaders also mentioned the success of church planting in developing church growth. Krause pointed to a Fuller Theological Seminary study that said three people are needed to bring someone to Christ in a church that is one to three years old. That figure jumps to seven people in churches that are four to seven years old. Eighty-five people are needed in churches 10 years and older.” Ansel Oliver

“Here lies a miser, who lived for himself,
And cared for nothing but gathering pelf.
Now where he is or how he fares,
Nobody knows and nobody cares.”

“Sacred to the memory of Charles George Gordon, who at all times and everywhere gave his strength to the weak, his substance to the poor, his sympathy to the suffering, and his heart to God.”
Tombstones in the United Kingdom courtesy of Lilya Wagner

“We have in so many countries around the world a considerable number of “ethnic” or national churches. They are churches to which people, immigrants or refugees, can come and taste and feel a bit of their own home culture, speak their own language, sing their own songs, and nurture much-needed social links. That is the reality we live with in which people are on the move, and many of them are our brothers and sisters. That is how we must accept those who have come into our areas—into our space. “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household (Eph. 2:19, NIV).” Jan Paulsen, A New Humanity

“Forgiveness” does not trivialize sin; it heals the damage and hurt caused by it. That is as true for the relationship between God and humanity as it is for the relationships between people.” Jan Paulsen, A New Humanity