From the Rector…
Spoiler alert: The following article contains information about the Sphere show in Las Vegas.
Greetings from Las Vegas where Steve and I are renewing our wedding vows for our thirtieth anniversary with Elvis. (Yes, I got married at 15 – I am from Alabama after all. Haha – Not really!)
We’ve never been to Vegas before and have really enjoyed the experience. The food has been amazing, the people watching over the top, and we even tripled our investment of five dollars in the penny ante slot machine! One of the coolest things we’ve done so far, is going to the Sphere.
The Sphere is definitely a must-see. The technology is amazing. There aren’t any concerts this week as The Grateful Dead are on a break so we went to see the standard show. It was an incredible journey through sensational overload. The chairs vibrated. The sound was not simply surround sound, it enveloped you. The visuals were out of this world—literally.
Most of the movie was a beautiful journey across planet earth—the premise of the movie firmly grounded in an environmental concern. At one point I began to even feel some theological vibes and was truly appreciating this bold and beautiful statement regarding our planetary responsibilities. And then, instead of caring for our planet or highlighting our power to heal, the story took an unexpected twist into furthering our imperial concerns by taking over the universe and creating mini-earths throughout the galaxies. Go forth and conquer seemed to be the true premise of the film. Not—learn and grow and renew what we might have.
The cinematography and technology I experienced at the Sphere far exceeded all expectations. I would highly recommend going to see it and would go again myself. But the ramifications of an empirical message that promotes tossing out the old and conquering something new is a bad message. It is bad for our planet, it is bad for the human race. It is bad for our relationships with creation, with each other, and with God.
Everything God created is good—including humanity. What is more is that in being created in the imageo dei—the image of God—we are also given the responsibility of stewardship. We are to be caretakers of this fragile earth. Servants to God and God’s creation. We are entrusted with the love to hold up this earth not as a burden or a boon but in order that God’s purposes might be served. And the only purpose of God is love.
That’s what Steve and I are doing this week in Vegas. We are celebrating a love that we have shared with God and through God by loving one another for more than thirty years. The sacrament of marriage has been a blessing—even in our times of struggle and hardship. It hasn’t always been easy, nor should it. The challenges we have faced and the obstacles we have overcome have only served to strengthen our bond with one another and our trust in God.
I pray that in these times of hardship, plagued by environmental, economic, and political concerns, we might be heartened to place our trust and hope in God’s love for us and our love for God and one another and not in the temptation to conquer and control.
Light and Life,
Candice+