How to get student loans at 2%

This was first published at CNN Money.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Question 1. How are people able to get their student loans down to 2%? Two of my children have student loans and we'd be very interested to know this. Thank you very much. -- Diane, North Dakota

We got a LOT of e-mail from folks wondering the same thing. If your children have older variable rate Stafford or PLUS loans that were issued before July 1st 2006 and they haven't been consolidated, you may be able to consolidate them now so you can take advantage of that 2% interest rate. That's a historic low.

But, if you have loans that were originated after that date, your interest rate will be the weighted average of all your loans combined (generally that will be 6 to 8.5%). For more information, call your lender.

Jesus, Justice, and Jazz

Starting today, Wednesday, July 22, over 40,000 Youth and Adults will begin their journey of Jesus, Justice, and Jazz at the 2009 ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. The Florida-Bahamas Synod is excited that over 500 youth and adults from 40 congregations in our synod are among the participants at the event. Among these representatives of our synod are many pastors and leaders in our synod including our Youth and Young Adult Specialist Amy Santoriello, Assistant to the bishop Pr. Rita Gardner Tweed, and Bishop Edward R. Benoway. Please keep all of these leaders, the youth, and all of the hundreds of volunteer adults from our congregations in your individual and corporate prayers this week and in the context of your weekend worship.

Why are there so many people who are threatened by the thoughts of women, homosexuals, and other not white heterosexual males?

This past Sunday, a friend of mine and I went to see Doug Pagitt and his presentation of “A Christianity Worth Believing – Spreading a Hope-filled, Open-armed, Alive & Well Faith for the Left-out, Left-behind and Let-down.” Pagitt is an author in the emerging church movement, and he is the head pastor of Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis MN.

I had a couple of reasons why I wanted to hear Doug speak. The first reason came from the fact that I had not been part of the emerging church movement, and I wanted to see it first hand. The second reason simply came from the fact that I liked the sub title of his book – “Spreading a Hope-filled, Open-armed, Alive & Well Faith for the Left-out, Left-behind and Let-down.” (I tend to like just about anything that bumps head with the theology of the rapture and the entire left-behind concept.)

While I did not agree with everything that Doug said, overall, I did enjoy what he said. I really like the fact that he pointed out what St. Augustine wrote about and said during the 5^th century was a good explanation for the 5^th century church. But we do not live in the 5^th century, and what St. Augustine said and wrote is not part of our cannon. Therefore, the teachings of St. Augustine should be treated as 5^th century teachings, and not as the 67^th book of the Bible.

All of this came back to me because I just read an article that Former President Jimmy Carter wrote concerning. The title of this article is Losing my religion for equality. I have copied part of the article here

[The view of women being inferior to men is] at its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

[This] discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in the West. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us.

The carefully selected verses found in the Holy Scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.

I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same Scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn't until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted Holy Scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.

The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets.

I believe President Carter’s article and Doug Pagitt’s presentation have struck me the way they have comes from the fact that I have heard so many times over the past several months (this statement mainly comes from white heterosexual males), “I trust God’s wisdom over man’s wisdom.” My question is “Why do people (Christians) worship the Bible, and not Jesus?” Why are so many people hell bent on trying to create a 1^st or 5^th century environment in the 21^st century? And why are there so many people who are threatened by the thoughts of women, the thoughts of homosexuals, the thoughts of people who are not white heterosexual males?

Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

The more that I learn about the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the more I like.

Here is a link to her opening statement for their 2009 General Convention: http://www.americananglican.org/presiding-bishop-s-opening-address/.

I love this part of her address.

The great Western heresy - that we can be saved as individuals, that any of use alone can be in right relationship with God. It's caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus. That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy, at the center of existence.

Sex and the (Vatican) City

First thing first, Jessica Coblentz, a graduate of Santa Clara University, works in Catholic young adult ministry. She will begin graduate studies at Harvard Divinity School this fall. This post originally appeared on her personal blog, http://www.jessicacoblentz.blogspot.com./ This post can also be viewed on the Emerging Women blog at http://www.emergingwomen.us/2009/07/16/sex-and-the-vatican-city/.

With the Episcopal bishops backing the blessings of same-sex unions, lifting the ban on ordaining gay bishops, and its fallout (N.T. Write calling this a slow-moving train crash and the formation of the U.S. Anglican Church launches that will ban female and gay bishops), I have been thinking about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. I believe that we are going to have the same type of fallout when we approve (I think we are going to approve) the proposed social statement on human sexuality, Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, and the Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies.

Then I read Jessica's blog. She blogged about the lack of honest talk and the complexities of sexual decision-making in the Roman Catholic church. While she does imply that this issue is not unique to the Roman Catholic Church, I am wondering if the church can really have a frank and honest talk about sex. For some reason, the church can take this wonderful gift that God has given us, our sexuality, and turn it into a subject that people would rather avoid by drink gasoline than engaging it.

Here is Jessica's blog:

By Jessica Coblentz
I have a problem. I’m addicted to Sex— Sex and the City, that is.

A friend lent me a couple seasons on DVD recently. I had needed an episode for a program I facilitated at the women’s college where I work in campus ministry. The students and I gathered for popcorn, Oreos, and an episode of Sex and the City, followed by a thoughtful discussion about sex, dating and spirituality. Ideally, the show provides a point of reference for the discussion beyond one’s own sexual and dating experiences (or, sexless and dateless experiences).

The weekend following my program was chilly and wet. Cooped up in my apartment, I found myself utterly pathetic in any attempt to resist the sassy DVDs stacked on my desk. I would watch a couple episodes, eject the disk, and return to some writing, my “to do” list, or a phone call to a friend—only to cave in, again, to “just one more episode!”

What is it about this series that I love so much?! Why do I find it so utterly irresistible? Surely, I love the clothes, the shoes, and the posh New York restaurants. Ultimately, though, it’s the hip sitcom’s candid, witty talk about sex that keeps me glued to the screen. It’s so absolutely refreshing. Even when I disagree with the assertions they make about sex, I love the honest, bold, and fearless way they talk about the sexual decisions they make. They are confident in their sexualities. Not driven to silence or timidity by guilt or shame like so many of us.

In the discussion that followed the episode I watched with my students, I had asked them to characterize the conversations they’d had about sexuality in their religious communities. Most of them were Catholic like me, and all of them responded with, “NO. No, no, no, no, no, no! All we’ve heard is NO.” If they heard about sex in the church setting, it came across as “no,” and “Don’t do it, period. None of it.” There was no honest talk about the complexities of sexual decision-making. No hospitality that allowed them to feel they could ask genuine questions about the reality of sex in their relationships.

This got me thinking…what would a Catholic-type Sex and the City look like? Sex and the Vatican City, perhaps? Honestly, my first response was, “Well, it might look exactly the same as the regular Sex and the City!” Like most folks, we Catholics have pious speech about sex that we often fail to live up to. However, as I thought about it more it occurred to me that if there was a “Catholic” version of Sex and the City that embraced a conversation style akin to the show, yet ultimately continued to espouse the same “Catholic” positions on sexual ethics (anti-abortion, pro-NFP and anti-artificial birth control, no extra-heterosexual-marital sex, etc.), I might still love it. And my students might have a very different experience of Catholic sexual teaching.

I can see it now: The four ladies chatting over brunch. Charlotte is cheering about how happy she is that her natural family planning is not working and she’s pregnant again with her fifth child. Samantha is complaining about her latest boyfriend who just can’t understand why she won’t marry him: he’s been divorced and she is standing by the Church’s position that he cannot remarry. Miranda is still struggling to balance her work as a mother and as a lawyer—only now its in the context of Pope John Paul II’s teachings on “the genius of women” and women’s unquestioned responsibility to family life. Carrie writes a witty sex column for the National Catholic Reporter.

I can envision it now! And I would still like this “Catholic” version in many ways—even if I continued to wrestle with some of the ethical positions it endorsed. Perhaps this type of show will never happen for the Catholic Church, but I still hope that some version of this honest, hospitable conversation about sexuality will.

The Columbus Dispatch's Theater Review - Children's Theatre presentation of 'Rent' not a kiddie show

Here is a review of Columbus Children's Theatre's production of RENT. The last paragraph of the review states, "It would be a shame if this production of Rent were ignored as a "kiddie show." The quality of the acting and singing here make it clear that these "pre-professionals" have enough talent to go all the way."

Another reviewer, Samantha of Columbus OH, said,

I went to see this show opening night and was BLOWN AWAY. The cast is incredible and their vocals were astoundingly fresh and in prefect harmony throughout the performance.

Debbie of Dublin OH said,

It was great! I really recommend that everyone take time out to see this amazing group of performers . Their talent truly shines on this "stage" and CCT is lucky to have them.

I too recommend everyone to go and see this wonderful production.

Bubble Spinner

This is one of the most addictive games that I have played.

Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson's Pastoral Letter to Rostered Leaders

I thought I would copy and past Bishop Hanson's letter on my blog. You can see this letter at http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Office-of-the-Presiding-Bishop/Messages-and-Statements/090701.aspx.

June 30, 2009

Dear colleagues in ministry,

As we approach the churchwide assembly, I am thankful for the thoughtful and respectful discussion at synod assemblies of the proposed social statement on human sexuality and the ministry policy recommendations. I am mindful, however, that we remain a church body that is not of one mind about these decisions, and that these continuing differences have raised concerns among some about whether we are headed toward a church-dividing decision.

I am writing to express my shared, heartfelt commitment to the church’s unity, and, even more, my deep confidence that this unity will not be lost. For this reason please join me in reflecting on the unity of Christ’s church that is the foundation both for our life together in the ELCA and our relationships with other Christians throughout the world.

The unity of Christ’s church is God’s daily work through the Holy Spirit calling, gathering, enlightening and sanctifying us with the gospel. Sometimes, when I hear concerns about division in the ELCA, I worry that they express a fear that unity depends on the actions of church leaders or assemblies. Our unity, however, comes to us because God gives it freely and undeservedly in Jesus Christ. Although everyone in leadership shares responsibility for stewarding our unity in Christ, it will not be won or lost at the churchwide assembly in a plenary session vote. Rather, it will be received as a gracious gift from God when the assembly is gathered each noon by the Word and Sacrament through which God gives us unity, making us one in Jesus Christ.

We hold in common this confession that God makes us one in Jesus Christ, but it is not making this confession that makes us one. Rather, because God unites us to Jesus Christ in Baptism we are also united to each other in one body that transcends any other difference. Paul states this clearly. “For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).

A marvelous insight into this unity was made recently during a Bible study as members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Executive Committee took turns reading Paul’s familiar words about the body of Christ in their own languages. The differences were fascinating. Several read, “all the members of the body, though many, are one body” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Others read, “all the members of the body, being many, are one body.” Our Bible study leader suggested that “though many” implies that our “many-ness” (that is, our diversity or differences) is a problem that compromises the unity of the body of Christ. But, “being many” within the Body of Christ implies that diversity is unity’s strength, not its weakness. The witness of Scripture is that both unity and diversity are God’s gifts. There is one Spirit, one Baptism, one faith, one Lord of us all, but a variety of gifts and callings are given for the sake of the gospel and the common good.

God’s gift of unity in Christ informs our life and witness together in the community of Christ’s church. Rather than approach the assembly apprehensively, I invite you to see it as an opportunity for faith-filled witness to the larger human family that struggles with division and yearns for healing and wholeness that is real and true. We live in a polarized culture that equates unity with uniformity and sees differences as a reason for division. This moment, and our witness as a church body in the midst of it, deserves something better from us. We have the opportunity to offer the witness of our unity in Christ─diverse, filled with different-ness and differences, broken in sin, and yet united and whole in Christ. This moment deserves the witness of a community that finds and trusts its unity in Christ alone, engages one another with respect, and seeks a communal discernment of the Spirit’s leading.

In recent weeks I have been re-reading Bonhoeffer’s Life Together where he writes, “God already has laid the only foundation of our community, because God has united us in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ long before we entered into common life with them.” He says that other Christians who may be different and yet live by God’s call, forgiveness, and promise are a gift and a reason to give thanks. He continues with this remarkable insight about all of us and the unifying power of Christ’s forgiveness:

Even when sin and misunderstanding burden the common life, is not the one who sins still a person with whom I too stand under the Word of Christ? Will not another Christian’s sin be an occasion for me ever anew to give thanks that both of us may live in the forgiving love of God in Jesus Christ? Therefore, will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me because it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ? (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 5, pp. 36-37.)

Some may question why I am writing and wonder if this letter is advocating for a particular position on the questions before the churchwide assembly. It is not. Rather, it is an honest expression of my conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s mission for the life of the world, and the members of this church deserve this witness from us: In Christ we are members of one body serving God’s mission for the life of the world.

As we approach the Assembly, I invite you to join me in confident hope, grounded in Christ, where we meet one another not in our agreements or disagreements, but at the foot of the cross. We meet as we hear the Word, confess our faith, receive Christ’s presence in bread and wine, sing our praises to God, make our offerings, and then go in peace, to share the Good News, remember the poor and serve the Lord.

God is faithful. Christ is with us. By the power of the Spirit we are one in him. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:31)

In God’s grace,

Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America