Blogging about Hiroshima and Nagasaki

I have come across two interesting blogs about the use of nukes by Christians.

The first one is a review in a Christianity Today/Leadership blog about Rob Bell's new book. Here is what the bogger said:

“At the end of World War II, America dropped two nuclear bombs that killed tens of thousands of innocent people. And we didn’t have to. The Japanese were already defeated.”

Again, this view is not without basis, but the decision of President Truman to drop the bombs has been hotly debated for over 60 years. Bell and Golden make it sound like the verdict is in and the issue is settled. Even the attached endnote sheds no additional light on the complexity of the issue which, I thought, is what an endnote was for.

Here is a better take on the Christian Response to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It appeared in the Gaurdian in 2006. The author is a Quaker Chaplain.

No surprise then, that the incineration of Hiroshima raised no American Christian protest. It might, after all, have ended a terrible war, for hardly anyone then knew that Japan had already made moves to surrender. But Nagasaki three days later? This time there was no excuse. The relentless logic of war was enough reason to kill another hundred thousand.

Also, here is a sojourners magazine article from 1985 that deals with the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Making Peace Cranes

Not sure if it would be too complicated but it would be great to take the "poem" idea discussed at Tuesday's meeting and add a peace crane element to it. peace cranes have become an important symbol in the post Hiroshima world. look at the inspiring words below.  anyways, people could write their statement on origami paper... we could take it to copy machine and copy the poems together and then later in the service do a mass origami project together and fold the cranes together.

i can stop tomorrow and buy a bunch of origami paper....


Sadako's Story

The paper crane has become an international symbol of peace in recent years as a result of it's connection to the story of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki born in 1943. Sadako was two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. As she grew up, Sadako was a strong, courageous and athletic girl. In 1955, at age 11, while practicing for a big race, she became dizzy and fell to the ground. Sadako was diagnosed with Leukemia, "the atom bomb" disease.

Sadako's best friend told her of an old Japanese legend which said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes would be granted a wish. Sadako hoped that the gods would grant her a wish to get well so that she could run again. She started to work on the paper cranes and completed over 1000 before dying on October 25, 1955 at the age of twelve.

Bulletin Cover for Sunday August 3rd

I put together this front and backcover for this weeks bulletin.  inside we can have the order of service.  what do you think?

the main picture is a church that survived the abomb in hiroshima.  the virgin mary image was dug out of the ruins by a catholic church and used as a reminder and to rebuild their church.

the prayer is by a japanese leukemia victim/school girl who inspired the "peace crane" movement.

the bottom picture is from a peace crane booth in hiroshima.  

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 63 years ago this week

"U.S. airman Matthew McGunigle photographed the Hiroshima blast. After the war, he entered a monastery and took a vow of silence."
— From the narration of the film The Original Child Bomb.

All this information is found on the General Board of Discipleship Worship Page

Prayers and Worship Resources

Confession and Pardon
God, the keeper of the atoms and stars:
You made us collaborators in creation,
but we have pilfered the secrets of ordered existence
and justified their immoral use in the name of "security" and "peace."
We could say then that we didn't know the consequences.
Now we do know, but we are complacent and silent.
Lord, have mercy.
We have abused the glue of the universe.
We have made and stockpiled weapons of mass destruction
instead of saying "No" to their use for evil.
Fear and presumption have driven us
to be ready to annihilate untold lives and
make areas of the earth uninhabitable.
Christ, have mercy.
Open our eyes to see how small and fragile the planet is and
how the destruction of any human being diminishes all.
Heal the wounds opened with the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Mend the fabric of the human family.
Will in us never to repeat this evil.
Lord, have mercy.

The time of confession could be followed by "Goodness Is Stronger than Evil" (2219 TFWS), "God Weeps" (2048 TFWS), or "Forgive Us Lord"/"Perdon Senor" (2134 TFWS). The mood and tone can be set by a cantor or solo voice.

Lectionary for August 3rd Worship

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost -- August 3, 2008

For the complete text of these scriptures, please click here. For a more lengthy interpretation of these verses, please check out the General Board of Discipleship's weekly worship page.

Genesis 32:22-31: Jacob wrestles with a "man" at the Jabbok and is renamed Israel because he has "striven with God and with humans, and has prevailed."

Psalm 17:1-7, 15 (UMH 749): Consider as an alternative sung response Charles Wesley's great narrative hymn, "Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown" (United Methodist Hymnal, 386). Note the last two lines of stanza one: "With thee all night I mean to stay, and wrestle till the break of day." Note also the last two lines of stanza four: "To me, to all, thy mercies move; thy nature and thy name is Love." See "Psalms for Singing" for another alternative.

Romans 9:1-5: Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, declares his great concern and anguish for his people, the Israelites.

Matthew 14:13-21: Upon hearing of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus and the disciples withdraw to a quiet place, but the crowd follows; and more than 5000 people are fed.

Potential Music/ Video for August 3rd Worship Service

excerpt from Rob Bell's Sunday





Bullet in the Blue Sky by U2

Why and how we do themes

We at Lockerbie Central United Methodist have begun to build our worship services around a common theme each month. We feel that this provides a broader context to understanding scripture, our own faith journeys, and where we might be headed as a community.

Broadly, the monthly themes emerge out of a process of study and conversation. The themes are developed through scripture as it relates to the lectionary, conversation with each other, happenings at the church, and events in our world.


1. The Lectionary: A lectionary is a list of scriptural texts (called "lections") recommended for use in worship or study on a particular day. Using the lectionary (most churches use the Revised Common Lectionary) ties worship in a local congregation to the worship of millions of Christians around the world. Using the lectionary also ties local worship to that of the historic Church.

2. Conversation: Our daily lives and our life together is made up of countless conversations. These informal discussions between each other, at gatherings, or even the internal discussion taking place within our own head are the glue that holds community together (or the force that tears it apart). As we do church together, we hope the worship themes reflect and further develops these conversations.

3. Happenings at Our Church: Lockerbie Central has become very involved in the Indianapolis scene. We have our own coffee shop, we host art shows and concerts, bring films and filmmakers to towns and are part of citywide festivals. The worship themes should reflect these events in our community.


4. Events in the world: As a church, we are concerned about the very serious problems facing our city and our world. Poverty and homelessness, violence, the environment , the war are all huge problems that churches need to grapple with and struggle against. These are events we feel that should not be shied away from on Sunday morning.