Kicking St. Thomas out of the MIAC--the wrong decision

Yesterday the MIAC (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) announced in a statement that St. Thomas is being “involuntarily removed” from membership in the conference.  The MIAC web site shared a link to the statement.  It was only ninety-four words. The statement included a link to a one-page sheet of supplemental information. 

I wrote about the issue of kicking St. Thomas out of the MIAC in a blog on April 8^th.  In that blog I shared my own experience of losing to St. Thomas as a Carleton football player.  I acknowledged the excellence of the athletic program of St. Thomas and shared that it is important for athletes to believe they have a chance to win when they enter athletic competition.   I concluded by saying that if schools felt that St. Thomas had become too good in athletics that these schools should form their own conference.

I am against this decision by the MIAC Presidents because I believe that excellence should be rewarded and not punished.    

I'm surprised by the secrecy that surrounded this decision.  In the Star Tribune’s reporting on the story, it was acknowledged that the process among the Presidents of the MIAC to kick St. Thomas out of the conference was shrouded in secrecy.  It was even reported that a formal vote was not taken, but consensus among the Presidents existed. To be so secret about an important decision that impacts thousands of people’s lives is very unfortunate. Why not take a vote, make it public, share notes from the meetings, and then have a Press Conference?

As an alum of Carleton, I’d like Steven G. Poskanzer, President of Carleton, to write a detailed description of why he was in favor of this move.  Even better would be if the Presidents of the MIAC or representatives from the conference would hold a news conference about the decision.

The MIAC will be a diminished conference by kicking St. Thomas out of the conference.  The message to athletic directors and coaches from this decision is that it is okay to be good—but be careful about being great.  Because greatness has been punished.

Carleton has an outstanding academic reputation.  All of the metrics that measure academic excellence affirm this.  Carleton is a nation-wide school, but it also competes against other MIAC schools for students.  A significant number of students at Carleton come from Minnesota and choose not to attend other MIAC schools.  No one is mentioning that Carleton should leave the MIAC because of academic excellence.

Perhaps “good but not great” should be the new tagline for the MIAC.

It’s interesting that no one has ever suggested that schools should leave the conference because they endure extended seasons of losing.  Carleton has only won four games in the MIAC in the last five seasons.  I’ve heard no one say that Carleton should leave the MIAC.  (And I expect that the Tom Journell, the outstanding new football coach at Carleton will eventually lead the team to be a consistent finisher in the top half of the conference.) 

I guess in the MIAC it's okay to be bad, but it's not okay to be great.

I can’t help but think that jealousy towards the St. Thomas football program was the tipping point in the decision. 

St. Thomas never should defeat schools by the score of 97-0 as they did against St. Olaf in 2017.  I have witnessed some football games between Carleton and St. Thomas when St. Thomas ran a trick play when they were ahead by a large margin. These behaviors fueled the belief that St. Thomas enjoyed “rubbing it in” when they won.  Yesterday I talked to a local high school football coach about the decision about the MIAC.  He agreed that it was the arrogance of the St. Thomas football program that contributed to this decision.

The same criticism was made against John Gagliardi when he coached football at St. John’s. But Gagliardi retired; Glen Caruso, the coach of St. Thomas, will eventually retire or move on.  These trends don’t last.

I also remember that ten years ago Carleton almost won the MIAC in football.  Trends don’t last. 

Kicking St. Thomas out of the MIAC is the wrong decision.  Sharing only a ninety-four word statement along with a one-page sheet of information about the decision is also wrong.  The decision seems petty and done by a group of people who don’t want to be questioned by it.

Celebrating Mother's Day--Painful yet Important

When I was younger, I was opposed to holidays where the culture wanted us to celebrate people in our family.  Days like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or even Valentine’s Day.  I’ve never been one that resonates too much with sentiment, and my cynical side would cry out on these days that every day should be a celebration of mothers or fathers or even love.

My cynicism has lessened as I’ve grown older.  As a pastor I’ve led many culturally-encouraged celebrations of mothers and fathers and even love.  I enjoy them.  Yesterday at Chain of Lakes the men of the church organized a beautiful brunch.  During worship I preached about caring with heart for our mothers.  The sermon link is here: https://vimeo.com/335734291  I’ve learned over time that even though we shouldn’t need a celebration like Mother’s Day to celebrate mothers, they are still important.    

Underneath these celebrations is a pain that is important to acknowledge.  I won’t forget the grip of a woman who enveloped me with a hug while crying that on that particular Mother’s Day her children didn’t want to see her; or the cry of a woman who told me her body wouldn’t allow her to have children and on this day she had to be reminded of that reality.  It’s not an easy day.

Mother’s Day has always been more than making or going out for a meal in honor of the woman of the house, sending a card, or making a phone call.  When Anna Jarvis started the holiday on May 10, 1908, by sending 500 white carnations to Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in honor of her late mother Ann, she never could have envisioned what would develop.  Only six years later Woodrow Wilson signed a declaration making the second Sunday in May a national holiday.  The movement to start a day honoring mothers had started shortly after the Civil War.  A more complete history of the holiday can be found at the following two links: http://time.com/4771354/mothers-day-history-origins/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_(United_States)

The irony of Mother’s Day is that Anna Jarvis became disillusioned by the growing commercialization of the day and even wanted to have Mother’s Day stopped. 

The commercialization certainly continues.  According to the National Retail Federation 25 billion was expected to be spent on Mother’s Day in 2019 with 84 percent of U.S. adults participating in some sort of way.

I have a feeling that Anna Jarvis would not approve.

I wish that women were honored more much more consistently than they are.  I wish that women didn’t have to experience discrimination for becoming a mother.  In research for my sermon at Chain of Lakes I discovered that pregnancy discrimination still exists.  According to an article in the New York Times pregnancy discrimination lawsuits filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are at an all-tine high.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/15/business/pregnancy-discrimination.html   

In fact, when I was carried by my own mother, she and my dad didn’t tell people at first out of fear that she would be forced to quit her elementary teaching job in Paullina, Iowa.  In talking to her last night, she shared that because she taught Kindergarten she could stay on the job, but if she had been teaching 2^nd grade she would have had to stop teaching.   I guess Kindergartners in Paullina Iowa in the 1960’s wouldn’t figure out how someone became pregnant, but second graders could. 

Celebrating Mother’s Day is important.  When I saw the gifts that our daughter, Hannah, gave to Amy, my heart was touched.  I think Anna Jarvis would have approved.  When I saw the appreciation in the faces of the women at Chain of Lakes for the beautiful brunch that the men provided, I was glad for the Day.  And when I cried out in my pastoral prayer to God that every church in Anoka County give women the opportunity to have a Rev in front of their name and the opportunity to stand behind the Communion Table, I was thankful that Mother’s Day led to the prayer.

Like all our holidays Mother’s Day is not perfect.  But its redeeming qualities make it important to celebrate.

Helping those living with mental illness

As part of Mental Health Awareness month, the focus of worship yesterday at Chain of Lakes was caring for someone living with mental illness.  It was a marvelous day of high attendance, plenty of energy, and a deep desire among the people present to help those who live with mental illness.  After worship John Stadler, a representative from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), shared his story and spoke about how people can help those who live with mental illness.

My interest in mental illness began when I attended seminary.  I had two encounters with someone who lived with a mental illness.  Both of these encounters made me realize that I had a lot to learn when it came to helping people who livewith mental illness.  Ever since I have encouraged the faith communities that I have led to focus on helping people who live with mental illness.  When I served at Community Presbyterian Church in Plainview, the church was able to provide on-site counseling services—the only counseling services offered within a thirty-mile radius. We offered support groups to help people who were struggling with particular mental health concerns.

The multiple tasks of developing a church from scratch has prevented me from doing more to help people living with mental illness. However now that Chain of Lakes is less than a year from breaking ground on a new building, I can devote some more time to this essential issue.

The statistics are sobering.  According to statistics provided by NAMI, 

·       1 in 5 people live with a mental illness

·       6 out of 10 youth who live with a mental illness are not receiving treatment

·       4 out of 10 adults living with a serious illness not treated

Resisting the stigmas surrounding mental illness are essential.

These stigmas often come from a lack of understanding from those of us who don’t live with mental illness.  People who live with mental illness are often blamed for their condition.  When a person goes through a psychotic episode it’s described as “going through a phase.”  A perception exists that if a person living with mental illness will just try harder the person can snap out of it.  A cure exists and the cure depends on the strength of the person living with mental illness.  Just try harder!!

Anyone living with mental illness knows that if they could be cured then they would be cured.  They know they came into the world with the brain that doesn’t always function well.   The psychotic episodes are more than a phase.  People living with mental illness would snap out of it if they could. 

People who live with other physical illnesses are not treated with stigma.   

In December 2015 I had the aortic valve in my heart replaced.  I was born with an aortic valve that didn’t work.  I didn’t know about this condition until November 2015.  I had a mechanical valve put into my heart.  A person would never know that this happened unless they sat close to me and heard the clicking of my heart.  I’m living with a physical condition.

When I had surgery and recovered, the people of Chain of Lakes were marvelous in their support. People visited me in the hospital, my family received more food than we could eat, I received cards, I was given as much time as I needed (at full pay) to recover until I came back to work.

This is the type of support that a person living with a mental illness needs when the person goes through a difficult time.

If all of us can see mental illness as a physical illness, a brain chemistry issue, and communicate that message then we will be more successful in pushing back on stigma.  Asking a person living with a mental illness to “snap out” of it would have been like asking me to “snap out” of having an aortic valve that didn’t work.  It’s impossible.

I want to encourage all faith communities to consider offering counseling services in their building.  Almost every church has space that is not used during the week.  Most leaders of congregations know of counselors in their community.  Many counselors would offer more services if they had a place to practice.  The counselors can handle their own billing.  It doesn’t seem that it would be that difficult for a church to offer counseling services. 

According to the research provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program, Anoka County has one counselor for every 690 people.  This ratio is in the bottom fifty percent among counties in the State of Minnesota.  If every church in Anoka County would provide counseling services in their building this ration would decrease. The population would be healthier.

Let’s get to work!

Would you take a moment to subscribe to this blog?  Put your email in the box on the right hand side of this blog.  You'll be asked a few questions to ensure you are really a human being.  You'll then receive an email whenever a blog is posted