intersections

A Guide to the Health Care Reform Debate

Below is the context of an email that went out to over 1,200 clergy today, from the PICO National Network, signed by me and my friend, Rev. Rayfield Burns. I encourage you to download both the clergy guide and the congregational handout.

With Congress moving full speed ahead on one of the most crucial civil rights and social justice issues of our time - making health care affordable and accessible - it is important that people of faith take the time to understand how health reform will impact the quality, stability, and affordability of health care for all Americans.
PICO and Sojourners have teamed up to produce "A Guide to the Health Care Reform Debate," an 8-page booklet aimed at helping clergy and lay leaders participate in the health care debate in a constructive way, based on their values.  View the guide here.
We've also produced a 2-page congregational handout that can be shared with members of your faith community. Click here to view the 2-page handout.
Please note that these guides have been produced for Christian faith communities.  To find additional resources for other faith traditions, visit www.coverallfamilies.org
 Both pieces begin by examining the biblical basis for the need for quality health care.  They then look at the current health care reality for many of our nation's families, as well as the different proposals being considered in D.C.  Finally, they lay out some principles for a values-based, commonsense approach to reform, as well as ideas for how people of faith can influence the debate.
Many pastors and faith leaders have endorsed the guide.  Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS, calls the guides "a helpful starting point in coming to understand the issues in the current debate."
Dr. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed in Orlando, FL, says, "I found this guide to the health-care discussion very helpful. It not only reminded me of our biblical mandate to be involved, but it informed me of some of the important points and principles to keep in mind as I communicate with my congregation."
View the 8-page guide for clergy, or the 2-page congregational handout.
Together, people of faith can have a tremendous impact on the decisions of our elected leaders in D.C. and be a decisive factor in moving our country towards ensuring quality, stable, affordable health care for all Americans.

Sincerely,
Rev. Rayfield Burns
Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church
Kansas City, MO

Rev. Ryan J. Bell
Hollywood Adventist Church
Hollywood, CA

apocalypse: the revealing of GOD

Join us this Summer for a journey into popular culture as we search for glimpses of God's kingdom. Click here for more info. Download poster here.

Beyond Evandalism DVDs available now

We had some delays in producing the DVDs from Beyond Evandalism with Peter Rollins, but they are now shipping. As proof of that see photos here and below.

Here’s how to order:

This set of 5 DVDs costs $45 + $5 shipping.
Please make checks out to: “Hollywood SDA Church” and mail to:

Hollywood Adventist Church
1711 N Van Ness Ave
Hollywood, CA  90028

The set includes 3 DVDs of Peter Rollins’ main sessions, plus 2 DVDs containing the 4 responses.

Please help us spread the word!

Video: Holy Saturday worship

The video includes excerpts of our Holy Saturday worship service which I have written about here and here.

All of our Holy Week resources, including sermons and the program and liturgy we used for Friday, Sabbath and Sunday, are compiled at the Hollywood Adventist Church website.
Easter 2009: Holy Saturday on Vimeo.

A Prayer for Holy Saturday

This is the prayer I wrote to close our Holy Saturday worship service today.
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Loving God.
We have such fond memories of you.
The way you used to comfort us when we were sad.
The way you gave us such confidence in the face of uncertainty.
We miss you!

We had hoped that you were the one
    to fulfill our dreams and give us the desires of our hearts.
We are deeply disappointed and broken this morning by the realization that
    our hopes were misplaced.
We have dreamed for the wrong things.
We have prayed the wrong prayers.

Where shall we go from here?
We are lonely and in pieces.
If you can hear us…
If you can hear us now...

We’re not even sure what to ask for.
Amen.

Holy Saturday and the Death of God

"Cross"-posted at the Spectrum Blog

In Hollywood, our Lenten journey is nearly over. Today is Holy Saturday. For Adventists, every Saturday is Holy because we remember those words in the very beginning of the story, "So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation" (Gen 2:3). Each Sabbath is a wonderful pause in the creative work of God. Indeed, the pause itself is creative, like a musical rest or dramatic pause in theater. The absence of speech or activity is, itself, creative and moving.

But this Sabbath is different. As Eric Severson has said, "The gaping silence between Good Friday and Easter Sunday cannot be explained as a welcome pause or an artistic hiatus.... Holy Saturday is blunt and bleak and uncomfortable."

Holy Week Readings and Prayers | Monday

This week I'll be tweeting and emailing the texts for Holy Week and acompanying prayers. If you'd like to follow along with our congregation, please follow @adventhollywood on Twitter or subscribe to our church's email list. (NOTE: if you subscribe to our email, check your junk mail. This has been a problem in the past).

Here's today's readings...

"The Perfect Day" - a Cinema Divina production

The Perfect Day from Cinema Divina on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Now on YouTube as well, here! Spread the word!

The Perfect Day is a result of a 48-hour filmathon by the crew of Cinema Divina. The entire film was written, shot, edited, and had music scored for it within the 48 hour period.

The film, a comedy, follows one month in the life of Dennis, our hapless hero, as he attempts to live just one day perfectly.

For more information about cast and crew or to support Cinema Divina, please visit our website at www.cinema-divina.com

Stained Glass: Hollywood Blvd. (Episode 1)

I just realized that the first episode of the four-part documentary that the North America Division is doing about the Hollywood Adventist Church is now online at the Vervent website.

I'd love for you to have a look at it and tell me what you think. This was written and directed by one of our members, Melody George. (As an aside, you will be hearing a LOT more about Melody in the coming months...just sayin').

There are three churches that are a part of this project and each church will have four episodes. Stay tuned for the rest of these in the very near future.

Now, have a look at Episode one...click here and look under Featured Resources for "Stained Glass: Hollywood Blvd - Episode 1."

48-hour Film-A-Thon

This weekend my congregation is doing something incredible. It's called a 48-hour film-a-thon. Perhaps some of you have heard of this type of thing before, but it was totally new to me. The idea is simple: write, cast, shoot and produce a short film in the space of 48 hours.

We will begin on Saturday night, around 7:30 pm, with the writing process. By 7:30 pm on Monday, we will have a short film in the can. At least that's the plan, and given the creative and talented friends I have in the church, I believe that it is possible. My main role will be some kind of second or third assistant producer (I think) which basically means I do what I'm told (running errands, moving stuff around, helping people with whatever needs help). I'll all be a part of the writing team. I'm pretty excited about this.

Cinema Divina
We're not just doing this film-a-thon because it sounds like a fun project or even just for the end product. Like a walk-a-thon or a bike-a-thon, it is a fundraiser. So, participants are getting sponsors (either a per hour sponsorship or a flat donation). All the proceeds are going to a new production company called Cinema Divina that our congregation is in the process of starting. These funds that are raised this weekend will go toward our first short film that is slated to be made this summer.

So, I could really use your support. Please help me support these uber-talented  filmmakers in our congregation and the other Christian filmmakers in our community by making a pledge toward our film-a-thon.

If you want to pledge, please email me - rjbell  (AT)  hollywoodsda  (DOT) com.