One of my students, a conservative Christian young adult, asked for a Letter of Recommendation to Colorado Christian University. This is the correspondance between us after I let her know the letter had been sent:

________________________________________________________
Your welcome...

And C, I checked out the CCU web site. It looks like a pretty nice
campus, and the president appears to be a well-rounded individual as well
as being a good Christian. Most important in my mind is that it appears
to be non-denominational and loosely connected with the
Congregationalists- at least that's my impression.

I don't think I ever told you, but I'm an ordained Christian minister. My
calling was for writing lyrics to music others wrote; I never felt drawn
to the pulpit. Among other things, I wrote the lyrics to the choral piece
performed by my church choir for the 100th anniversary of First
Congregational of Santa Ana. We moved and I have stopped attending for
several years, but I still feel a deep sense of joy when I drive by, or
when I just happen to hear an old hymn that I might have sung while there.

Anyhow, my biggest wish for you, as you go through the rigors of a good
liberal (albeit Christian) arts education, is that your understanding of
the grace given to us by Christ grows, and that his tolerance toward the
human condition become your guiding light. When you read Scripture,
remember the nuances of His message; He never spoke in terms of black and
white.

Last sermon you'll ever get from me. Best wishes, and good luck! Keep me
posted on how things work out for you.

WS


________________________________________________________
Winston,

I'm in complete shock. I had to read that email out loud to my boyfriend. And actually, we're both in shock. (its sad that I am in shock too). I've told him a lot about you and this is a fact we never would have guessed about you...which makes me sad because its usually the first thing people know about me!

Had I known this IMPORTANT fact about you, there could have been a lot more intellectual conversations going on! Especially because you are a liberal, and liberals tend to have a different view on religion, especially one that our President goes for! Wow....

You said you no longer attend that church. Why? You sound still intrigued by the whole religious aspect of it all, with the hymns and such...what happened? Why the change? Why are you an English teacher at Polaris instead of spreading the Word throughout the nations?

I'm in shock...but a good shock. With all those book reports and essays I did for you based off religious subjects, I'm surprised I didn't know this earlier!

I learn new things everyday!

C.

_____________________________________________________________
C,

My calling was simply not in the pulpit- we do what we are chosen to do.
For me, that is teaching. As you probably remember, my first academic
love is history- the social sciences- and English was my minor. This year
I'm teaching both: U.S.History, Government, and English IV. It's my
opportunity to get people- in this case, my students- thinking 'across the
board,' tying together the literature and the history to create an
awareness of how great our nation really is. I try to always keep my
religious beliefs out of my curriculum completely, but they are the core,
the foundation, and the guiding light of my teaching philosophy.

C, liberals do not have a different view of religion; for the most
part, however, liberals generally do not look at the scriptures of any
religion literally. Figuratively, scriptures represent the sum of our
moral knowledge over the centuries; they are the guideposts of humanity,
the best in human nature. Taken literally however, scriptures from any
religion are dangerous: literal interpretation is what has allowed Osama
and al Qaeda to promote their terror; it's what allowed the Crusades,
witch burnings, the burning of the Library of Alexandria, The Spanish
Diaspora, Japanese Shintoist imperialism, and the Holocaust itself, just
to name a few.

Most liberals do have a deep sense of faith and an ethos based upon the
goodness of Man. However, our view of Christianity is quite different than
that of President Bush. Jimmy Carter was not a very effective President
but he was then, and is now, a great model of Christianity, and his faith
is recognized world wide, even in Muslim nations. Personally, I don't
think Bush is a very good Christian. I find it difficult to believe a
man, as governor, can mercilessly sign hundreds of death warrants,
legislation to terminate life support after three days at the sole
discretion of a hospital; and, as President, deliberately lie in order to
take a nation to war, yet all the while declare himself to be part of The
Culture of Life because he is against abortion. I find it impossible to
reconcile his open disdain for the poor, the weak, and the downtrodden
with the Christian doctrines of charity, humility, and kindness for the
least among us. Or, to put it in the terms of The Beatitudes, he'll
receive no mercy, he's certainly not going to inherit the Earth, and he's
never going to be called a son of God.

And any man who claims that God talks to him- directly,
whispering-in-the-ear-type talking- scares the Hell out of me.

Didn't mean to get on a soapbox, but needless to say, you hit a hot
button.

Best wishes, and hope to see you at the end of the month.

WS

Has your ex-student heard, or, in our cases "read" you swear like a sailor? That may be partially why she was in such shock!

Winston, your letters are just lovely. I may have to go and read your story. In fact, I will do this tonight.

-Pegatha

Me? Swear? Who the "expletive deleted" ever told you that? Or have you been wandering off to PS...

Thanks for the kind words.

WS

Wow ! You do have a gift, Winston.

I am so glad that you are in the classroom sharing your knowledge and wisdom.
I wish Teen Pie had been one of your students.

A teacher. A writer. An ordained minister (!). A carpenter. A watch repairman.
You are incredible.


-P: you will love his story (despite the cursing in it).