Josie Marie Milner

This picture captures all of my joy. Yes. This is my 6 year old, in the North Carolina Senate chamber, doing her thing, beeming her light all over the place.




Below is a letter that I wrote to my wife's uncle, and it captures some of my current feelings as a chaplain in the Senate.


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Doesnt that Chaplain Milner have a nice ring? I love it. I like Chaplain so much more than "preacher" or perhaps even "pastor." Chaplain is akin to pilgrim. I am a pilgrim. Its often most helpful to be "silent" or "still" and "present" with a Senator. I try to fix my eyes.  It is not about "getting to a destination," but rather, "trusting the Lord in all things."

It is liberating to me, Uncle John because I have always been turned off from the part of the church that wants to strangle ones way into heaven. Its hard for me. While I believe with all my life in Jesus Christ, for sure, I try to remember what he says about "meekness" and "gentleness" and "love."



Without Love, we are a banging gong. So, it is an honor to serve our political system from a non-political, if you will, standpoint. You would love some of these Senators. One lady, Ellie, has served Chapel Hill as their Senator for 20 some odd years and was a mayor before that. She drives to work in her Ford Station wagon, with funny bumper stickers all over and flyers littered throughout the back seat. Her aging hands clasp her pen as she walkes around the Senate Chamber in search of signatures for her latest bill. The blue sheet lined with signatures reveals her dedication to helping with issues of Justice, and issues such as city revitilization. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced to watch a Bill be made a Law. Its poetic, and I dont even know why I think so. It seems to me that a Bill, is basically a concept, or, a solution to a problem that has come up in someones life. One of my new buddies, Ches, just got a bill passed which will allow his fraternity to make license plates with their insignia on them. It makes sense. While it is not as important as other things, it is simply one slice of reality changing and made more whole.



And this Bill becomes a tangible flag whereby one can re-direct the course of a whole family, or a neighborhood, or a city. This is why we have some bad laws, like the laws that used to forsake women to vote for instance, or, even more insideous laws. But this is why, by and large, we have the greatest country in this world. I am not speaking arrogantly, I am speaking honestly, and being part of this process, as I pray for these Senators, has given me a deeper love for our State and our political "representative democracy." And, its made me want to fight for justice the more. You would not believe the "wolves" and lions that come around that building wanting to lobby and twist and turn and fight. It can be "frustrating." But even that, in all its problems, is driven by a person that is trying to represent another group of people in the way they see best fit.







I could go on all day.