For a Season

Revgal Friday Five: It is Well with My Soul

2010-11-05T12:07:00.000-04:00

Revgalblogpal Friday Five: It Is Well With My Soul Edition

Kathrynzj has posted an interesting Friday Five:

We lead privileged lives.

True, some are more privileged than others but the fact that we are communicating right now via technological devices puts us in the privileged category.

There are many perks in my life for which I give thanks and then there are some that make everything right in the world during the moment I am enjoying them. I'm wondering what a few of those things - five to be specific - are for you.
______________________________________________________________________

It is easy to get into a whinetune about our lives during a recession. But after I worked as a missionary in Latin America during my 20’s, even my working class status was considered privileged. I owned a car—therefore I must be rich! But it was a beggar woman who really taught me how poor I was. It was her generosity that lifted me to understand what it meant to be a child of God who is blessed in ways that have nothing to do with the world’s standards. Muthah+

1. Last night I bought an Iphone. For me, who has carried an ancient BB for which I could no longer see the keypad, this acquisition is the height of luxury. I haven’t learned really how to use it but I DID text my first message to a friend last night. But it isn’t the phone itself that claims that it is well with my soul. It is more than this item really does ‘make my butt look big.’ (Nothing makes my butt look big—it just IS big—TRUTH!) And even though finances are tight, I have succumbed to keeping up not with the Joneses but with the young people that I am now ministering to in a local campus ministry.

2. Education. Presently I am a part of an international effort within my denomination and I am so profoundly grateful for an education that allows me to understand different cultures, and appreciates the vagaries of values placed upon different understandings of the Gospel. This allows me not to be afraid of differences. In a denomination and a locale in which fear-mongering has been developed into an art form, my education has allowed me to listen a bit more deeply to what is being said by those who are discussing issues “on high C.” This does not mean that I don’t get hooked by some of their comments, but the knowledge and being conversant with a broader world-view allows me to slow the conversation down and listen to the fear that is under outrageous accusations.

3. Love: That old hymn “Love Lifted Me” comes to mind. I could have written Faith or Christ or God or Grace here. But as I really get to it, somehow, somewhere, I was found by love. I didn’t ‘learn’ to love at home, I don’t think. I WAS loved, sort of, but I did not understand that because of the way that love was manifested at home. So, somewhere, somehow love FOUND me. I identified that love in my 20’s with Christ—the incarnated holy first manifested by Jesus. And I have been trying to manifest that love since. I think at one point I would have used the word ‘Truth’ to explain this privilege but now I know it to be something much more relational.

4. Social Media: When I was small, my grandmother lived in a small No. MO town that had a ‘telephone central’. All phone calls were on the same trunk line. My mother remembered the when the first telephones were installed. Now I have an Iphone, a laptop and yet feel woefully out of touch because I have just learned to text. And yet last night I sat and corresponded with friends in Scotland, Canada, Australia, the UK and Uganda. I have no idea of how the technology works. I just know that I can type things in a computer in my lap and the disembodied words from all over the world show up. And often they are words of love and encouragement, of faith and respect. I don’t need a visa; I don’t have to cross any time zones. I find it a privilege to live in an era so that I can do this.

5. A house all on one floor: For the past 8 years I had lived on the 2nd and 3rd floors of an ante-bellum horse barn. Before that I lived in split-level dwellings for 15 years in which stairs were ubiquitous. Interestingly enough the churches I served were mostly on one floor. But since June, J and I are living in a house with NO stairs—not even a step—except in the garage. My knees and my whole body consider this a blessing. God is GOOD, All the time!

Friday, October 29, 2010Revgalblogpal Friday Five: Comfort Media Edition

2010-10-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

Friday, October 29, 2010Revgalblogpal Friday Five: Comfort Media Edition

Katherine posted today's Friday Five: It is about movies that comfort, but I have gone beyond the movies....Muthah

I don't get to watch that much tv anymore, but I actually wrote today's Oprah show down on my calendar. Why? Because she is hosting a Sound of Music cast reunion!!! Those of you who know me may be surprised that I would care so much about such a stereotypically girly flick, but I love it (although admittedly fast forward through the Reverend Mother's rendition of Climb Every Mountain). I can watch this movie over and over and over again.

It seems no matter how many new movies, tv shows or books come down the pike I still have my ol' stand by favorites that I can watch/read over and over and when I do they actually bring me comfort - like an old sweatshirt or a favorite food.

Today's Friday Five is an opportunity for you to list five of your favorite 'go-to' movies/tv shows/books. You can use images, links, explanations or netflix.

If you play the Friday Five at your blog and would like visitors, be sure to share a link in the comments. For a complete how-to on how to post your link, click here.

Thank you for playing

I didn’t catch Oprah and I am not a DVD fan. We have one but I don’t know how to make it work. So I don’t watch movies over and over unless they are being shown on the TV channels. It takes me a long time to read novels because I am a bit dyslexic so I don’t reread novels too often either. But there are a few movies that I rewatch and a few books I reread that just feel comfortable.

1. For some reason, I enjoy True Lies. I am not a Schwartzeneger fan, but I do enjoy Jamie Lee Curtis and the whole incredible story is just catches me and I laugh at the same jokes over and over. The scene with the Harrier Jet just cracks me up!

2. Any Harry Potter film I will watch again. I have seen them all. I love to go back and see Harry when he was a little kid and then think of him as a grow person as he is now. But I just have always loved the British school scene of Hogwarts.

3. A couple of British mysteries I read over and over: Dorothy Parker’s Gaudy Night and Josephine Tey’s Daughter of Time. And now I turn to Laurie R. King’s Folly which I think is the best mystery of the 21st century that I have read. Laurie’s husband attended my church in CA back in the ‘90’s. And I feel privileged to have met her. But that novel touches me in a way that few have. Deeply feminist, deeply attentive to the creative work of women, deeply imbedded in the family systems that often create us.

4. I think that comfort has taken a different turn since I have retired. I find great comfort in writing and thinking about where my life has been and where it is going now. Perhaps it is because I am no longer preaching and this “voice” of mine will out, no matter what, but I am finding comfort in writing about church, faith, lgbtq presence in the Church and where I think that we are headed or where I would like to go. It isn’t memoires, per se. But it is the same kind of energy that I would find in bringing the Gospel to life in the parish. Cf. www.stoneofwitness.blogspot.com

5. I have found comfort in cooking in times past. But for some reason I don’t find it as much now that we have moved. I think part of the reason is that I don’t have Wegmans, the supermarket that I loved in NY. My local markets here in FTW are not as foodie-friendly as Wegmans was. The supermarkets here in FTW are so far away that it makes it hard to get excited about coming home from the store and fixing something special. Also, I find that food does not store well here. We can’t buy a gallon of milk and have it last. It sours much faster than it did in NY. Also during the summer, it was hard to bring home delicate items such as chicken livers, or freshly baked bread without it ruining before it could be fixed. My menus have gotten rather prosaic here. Sigh. I guess I will have to find something else that gives comfort.

Bullies

2010-10-17T14:56:00.000-04:00

I have been going to a number of conferences lately. Some have to do with LGBT issues and some have to do with the Emerging Church. All of it has to do with CHANGE. And change is what I try to facilitate as a pastor/priest—the change that comes as a result of being loved by a God who calls us to be better each moment.

While I was still functioning as the pastor of a parish, someone accused me of being a “gay activist”. I was startled by that. I felt that I had been fairly low-key about being lesbian in a congregation. I didn’t demand that the church fly the rainbow banner. I didn’t call for registry with the ‘affirming’ parishes. While a parish priest or a pastor, one cannot, in my mind, be a one-issue person. The demands of serving a parish require what used to be called a “Renaissance Man” or a person who could address a multiplicity of issues. But LGBT issues have been in the view of the Church of late and what I included in sermons was appropriate, I thought, to address the zeitgeist.

But the events of the past couple of months, with the coming to light of numerous deaths by suicide by young gay teens calls for something more than a passing comment in a sermon, or prayers “for those who are alone.” It requires speaking out like the Ft. Worth Councilman Joel Burns and Bishop Gene Robinson have done to preserve our young people who find that they are different.

LGBTQ teens are 4 times more likely to commit suicide than their straight peers. Mostly this is due to just not being able to ‘fit in’. The demand for the young to be acceptable to their peers and/ or their families is often so overwhelming that young people do not know what to do if they find that they are attracted to those of the same sex. Add to that the bullying that is so prevalent in our society (not just in our schools) and the demand by schools and parents that the “gay agenda” be kept from our young, means that LGBTQ kids never get to see good and wholesome LGBT folk to emulate.

Kids know that it isn’t just getting through school. Being gay or lesbian is a life-long recognition that you will always be a minority, that you will never ‘fit in’ and that is crushing to adolescents whose only goal at that point in life is to be just like one’s peers. I have not checked the statistics but I would imagine that the level of depression among LGBT kids is much higher than the average population. I know that my own bouts of depression were often rooted in my identity and my inability to embrace my own sexuality. They began in 7th grade and did not stop until I came out.

But it is the culture of bulling that most disturbs me. Trash talk is considered de rigure these days. Sit coms are full of it. Even when there are gay-friendly shows, the humor is still about being different, being on the fringe. We use bullying in sports so that we can win. We use bullying just to get the basic needs from institutions in order to get what we want or need. The police bully the ‘bad guys’. Our political candidates resort to smear campaigns and bullying rhetoric. We resort to lawyers who bully to maintain our rights from other bully lawyers and we bully nations as a normal foreign policy.

An adult gay couple of my friends had to move just this week because their neighbors threatened them and the police would not do anything even when there were witnesses to the harassment. I am leery about putting a rainbow ribbon on my car here in TX or fly a rainbow flag or wear rainbow earrings in this environment where macho still reigns.

The problem with bullying is that the only way that bullies will stop is to ‘bully back’. “Might makes right” is learned early on the school ground and is carried on throughout our lives. Personally I am not easily bullied, whether due to size or sharp tongue, I am not always clear. But I do not like when I must “bully back” just to be heard, or just to get what is just or safe. I do not like what I must become to live peacefully in this world.

Christ was not a bully. Even in the anger he displayed in the cleansing of the Temple, Jesus was not a bully. He called people to hear a radical message in which manipulation and force were greeted with humility and generosity—difficult tools in this post-modern age.

Yes, I am an activist in my retirement. I am an activist that says that LGBTQ kids do not have to abort their lives in their teens because there are those who interpret some scriptural passages wrongly and heap it on youngsters grappling with their own image. As a person of faith I must be willing stand against those whose religion says that they can demonize people who are different because they manipulate some 7 passages of Scripture to ostracize those who march to a different drummer.

I live now on the ‘Buckle of the Biblebelt’ and I must be willing to say to the bullies of the religious right that the time has come to say NO to religious exclusivism for the sake of the Gospel.

Friday Five: Connecting

2010-10-16T15:59:00.000-04:00

I have somehow lost a day. I have had a mean cold for 2 weeks now. I have done the antibiotics, the stay in bed, the sleep the clock around and still I have no voice. I feel really disconnected and this Friday Five seems to highlight this. In addition I am often stopped dead by the questions that my friends on Revgals (usually Boomers) ask. Some of these question are asked in ways that someone of my generation (Silent? Never! War Babies, always!) would ask them.

So here are some questions to ponder for this Friday Five about connecting with:

1. Self: Who was your hero/heroine when you were about ten years old?

Let’s see, I think my heros at that time were cowboys: Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry. I had only lived in TX for about 6 years at that time and cowboys and Indians was the game we played endlessly. It may have nurtured the Crusader Rabbit syndrome I have.

2. Family: Who are you most like? Who is most like you?

Visually I think I look like my dad. My brother says I look like my paternal grandfather. He knew him; I did not. I have a temper like Dad had to my great shame and burden but in some ways I am like my mom. The nose which so many of us in the family have was my maternal grandmother’s. A noble Crowder nose. But my concern for others I think comes from Mom. But in many other ways, I am not like anyone else in the family. I have always felt that I was the black sheep or the odd duck. But that may have just been from being lesbian. There doesn’t seem to be anyone in the family who is like me either.

3. Friends: How do you stay in touch?

Email! and telephone: I don’t text yet. When I get a new phone (which will be fairly soon) I will get texting capabilities but that will be AFTER I have had the second cataract surgery next month. I just can’t see the keyboard of my Blackberry. The problem about getting older is that Social Media leaves those of us who were not teethed on the computer in the dust. I find it increasingly more difficult to keep up with technology. I miss much of what the young people are saying and doing simply because I do not understand the jargon of the technoworld. I want to shout, “slow down, you’re going to fast” but it doesn’t seem to do any good. When I ask the young people at the Verizon shop, they smile at me like I am some doddering old biddy; they can’t explain to me how things work because they speak a totally different language.

4. Neighborhood, community: What are ways you like to be involved?

We have just moved to my hometown in June but are still trying to figure out how to get home at times. We have registered to vote but we still don’t know our polling place. We have met our neighbors on either side and across the street. Many on our street are Spanish-speaking only which is a problem for J as she has no Spanish. But at least I can wave hi and comment on ‘la clima’. We are taking our time getting into neighborhood things. I have made contact with my high school reunion group and will assist with our 50th reunion coming up in 2012. Maybe the world will end before that????

5. Job/church: Do you see a need that will help in developing connections?

The bishop asked us to visit the parishes in the diocese. We have been doing that but we want to settle down in one parish or another. J and I usually go to different churches—we find it works out better that way but it doesn’t witness to what we want to say in our relationship. I haven’t really settled down. I can’t figure out where I want to go—where the worship is good so that I can worship OR where I can be a part of a community that I find fulfilling and can assist. They don’t seem to be the same here. But until the Diocese gets it property back from the schismatic group, we both have to be ready to step into parishes if needed. Most of the retired clergy have churches at present.

Bonus: A link or anything else about connecting.

Being a blogger is a connection to a much wider community than I would have thought. Last week I attended the national gathering of Believe Out Loud. I met so many people who knew me from my blogs even though I have not been writing as much lately. Going on B3 was helpful and have made a few connections. I am so aware that the Gospel is preached in so many more ways than standing in a pulpit. I preach so much more effectively from my laptop than I do to 60 people on Sunday mornings. And I am finding that the connections I make with others are important to my sense of well-being. The isolation of the pastorate seems to wither in the face of them.

The Church of the Past-The Church of the Future

2010-09-17T11:49:00.000-04:00

I am going to a small (2hr) workshop on the Emerging Church today. I have been reading about the emerging church or the future church for some time now, but have heard very little about how to introduce emerging church principles into already functioning churches. I have heard about churches being started under emerging church principles of hospitality, post-christian era theology, etc. But I have not heard how to help a church or a parish to embrace emerging theologies into present Christendom. If anyone would like to post about what is happening in their churches regards to address, I would love you to comment.

Photo: Libby Hedrick

Friday Five: Insomnia

2010-09-10T12:54:00.000-04:00

Mompriest is having difficulty sleeping. They are “beast sitting” with extra dogs and cats in the house who feel that the bed is theirs. Bleary-eyed she has posted the following Friday Five:

"A number of my facebook friends seem to have similar challenges sleeping....
So, on that note our Friday Five today will focus on sleep, or the lack there of."

1. Are you prone to sleep challenges? Insomnia, snoring, allergies? Other sleep challenges?

I snore. Even the cat won’t sleep with me. But he sleeps with J. who snores louder and flops around more than I do. Go figure.

Every week or so, I have difficulty going to sleep, or wake in the middle of the night but I have meds for that. I have a hard time GOING to bed. J. is a serious night owl and is most active between 2 and 4 am. My best time is from 9am to about 2pm. If I stay up to have some community, I am not good the next day.

2. When you can't sleep what do you do? Toss and turn? Get up and read? Play computer games?

I read. This is where my Kindle comes in handy. It is not too heavy and it will turn itself off when I go to sleep with it in my hand. I also can have more than one book on hand. If I am too wound up, I read some professional reading: theology, biblical history or something that is fairly dry that will put me to sleep. If I have a gripping mystery, I may stay awake all night.

3. When you do sleep do you remember your dreams? Or just snipets of them?

I seldom remember dreams, just the feelings produced by them. Those feelings often stay with me for a good while after I have awakened. I have tried to write my dreams down, especially when I was in therapy. It never worked. I am just hoping that the confused look I have on my face before coffee is due to my confusing dreams and not Altzheimer’s.

4. Can you share a funny or confusing dream you've had? Or a dream you have over and over?

There is one that I think I have had since I was a child—it is like I am walking on a large vat of milky way nougat that is being stirred in a huge copper vat. (OK, Process Counselor, what can you do with that????)

5. When you don't sleep how do you get through the day? Lots of coffee? or a nap later in the day?

I don’t drink a lot of coffee. But protein seems to help—an egg in a milkshake or something like that helps. A nap often helps. Of course I take my “nice” pills.

I remember when..

2010-08-25T17:22:00.000-04:00

There is one thing about being retired: there is a great tendency to reminisce. It is one of the more discouraging aspects of getting older. I have never really been a “give me the good ole days” person. I have always the bear who wanted to get to the other side of the mountain so I could “see what I could see.” With that said, there are some things that I long for from my past:

• I miss a time when people who “talked to themselves walking down the street or driving their cars” were understood to be “a bit tetched” as they say here in TX and not having a conversation on their cell phones.

• I miss when “taking Sabbath time” on Sundays was a given, not just something you fit in between the football game or the kid’s soccer practice, when Sunday dinner was de rigure.

• J. misses the Orange Julius stand. For me, it was snow cones in the summer.

• I especially miss the freedom that children used to have to play in their yards, pick-up games of football or ‘catch’ played in the street and the call of parents at supper-time to come home to a family meal.

• I miss a time when you could pull your car into the mechanic’s shop and you could both put your head under the hood and listen to that strange sound that made you bring it in and the mechanic would say, “let me put that up on the rack and see what the problem is” without having to schedule an appointment. Same thing about doctor’s and vet’s appointments.

• I miss the time when you could depend upon having at least one wonderfully creative gay guy as your hair dresser who would help us helpless dykes figure out what was attractive. Now they are technocrats, lawyers or financial consultants. ( I know, I know—stereotyping is a bad thing, but I’m just sayin’)

Friday Five:De/Re/CLutter?

2010-08-20T12:55:00.000-04:00

Jan has left an amazing, timely Friday Five:

Since posting about decluttering, I am still muttering about the need for it in my house. How about you?

1. What things do you like to hang on to?

As the daughter of a saver—my parents were just newly married during the last Great Depression, I save almost everything of any value. J is also the child of savers and would recycle TP if she could figure out how. Even when things are not of value, I am loath to throw it away. I am also not a good organizer so I seldom know where things are. So I am likely to buy another do-jinger to replace the one I can’t find. A luta continua…

2. What is hard to let go of?
EVERYTHING

3. What is easy to give away?

Clothing that I can no longer wear. But I do pass them on to J first because she can often wear my hand-me-downs and then SHE can’t give them away.

4. Is there any kind of stumbling block connected with cleaning out?

I have often laughed off the comments about my desk. I always knew where things were: They were on my desk and all I had to do was dig long enough and I would find it. Files often defied me. Once something was filed, I could never remember where or under what topic it was filed.

As I have said, organization is the most difficult. My brain just cannot seem to figure out where things can go. In this most recent move, I have finally hired some women to come in and help me unpack. They have so far gotten the Living Room and the Kitchen in some sort of order. (One of them has a new apartment and does not have things to go into them. I have been giving her things that she needs if we have too much or too many.)

5. What do you like to collect, hoard, or admire?

I am not much of a collector except for books. J. collects "little things." (paper weights, little figurines, etc. Now that I have a Kindle, that is beginning to help with accumulation of novels and mysteries. Before we moved, we gave away tons of books to the libraries in our area, but we still moved 40 boxes of books. We haven’t even begun to unpack those yet. (Next week’s chore) What do you with all that fine China that was left to you by great grandmothers but you NEVER use?

Bonus: Tell us about recycling or whatever you can think of that goes along with this muttering about cluttering

Recycling is the best way to go for us hoarders/collectors/conservators. By giving books to the library, I knew that they were going to be valued as I had valued them. By giving my kitchen extras to the new apartment owner, I knew that they would be used. By giving my clothes to a “nearly new shop” I know that someone who needs them will get them.

I HATE fill landfills! And I am having a hard time with the new recycling rules in my town. I grumble and fuss about having to wash out cans and plastic containers. I fret over the over-packaging of all products. And I REALLY don’t know what to do with all the wires and extensions cords that I have accumulated to things that I don’t know what they go to. AND WHAT DO WE DO WITH ALL THAT OLD COMPUTER STUFF THAT WE HAVE IN THOSE BOXES IN THE GARAGE???? Even the recycle guys won't take them.

Memories, memories Friday Five

2010-08-06T11:49:00.001-04:00

Sally from Revgals gave us a memorial Friday five:

This year Tim and I have planted and nurtured a vegetable garden, and I have just spent the morning preparing vegetables and soups for the freezer, our veggie garden is producing like crazy and it is hard to keep up with, that said it'll be worth it for a little taste of summer in the middle of winter :-). That got me thinking of the things I treasure, memories are often more valuable than possessions. How about you, can you share:

1. A treasured memory from childhood?

In 1949 I was 4 and we moved from Illinois to TX. My father had asked for a transfer because the northern winters were getting too difficult for his lungs and the doctor had told him to move to the southwest, I don’t remember the move per se, but I remember the train trip that brought my mother and I here. My father and 16 year old brother had preceded us. My father, who had wanted to be an artist and not a draftsman, had made me a coloring book of the event. I have since lost that coloring book, but I can still remember the pictures.

2. A teenage memory?

When I was a junior in HS, I made the state band. It was a great experience for me. The sense of personal worth that came from that experience undid much of the put down I heard at home. It was also from that HS band experience that I got a scholarship to university. And that introduced me to a whole different world.

3. A young adult memory?

I came to know Christ at 25 and not long afterward entered the convent. The two are not necessarily connected, but I am clear that it was the call of Christ to know him intimately that was the reason I entered religious life. I am very thankful for both of these events in my young adulthood because I learned to pray—various methods and they have all served me well though my ministry and my life.

4. A memory from this summer?

I retired and have moved back to my family home in TX after being away for 38 years. Lots of memories have been coming up since I moved back here. But honestly, I don’t want to remember the agony of moving or do it again!

5. A memory you hope to have?

J and I have been visiting churches in the diocese. Finally last Sunday while sitting in a large parish, I suggested that we need to choose a parish in which we wanted to have our funeral! We have never gone to the same parish and will continue that practice so that we can both have a parish community where we both can be of assistance to the local rector. We also thrive in different kinds of parishes. For years we did that so that people would not think of us as a lesbian couple. So on my part, it was done partly out of fear. A memory I would like to have is for people to respect the relationship that J and I have, honor it and support us the same way that they support others who have made commitments to each other. We celebrated 32 years of living together this year. Married couples don’t generally do so well. Just sayin’….

Bonus- a song that sums up one of those memories

Home Sweet Home

2010-07-30T14:24:00.000-04:00

Friday Five: Love the One You're With

Katherinezj has posted today’s Friday questions:

This Friday Five will post while I'm at the beach which for me is more than a vacation destination, it is a trip home. I have found it quite easy to wax nostalgic about the places I used to live (well, except for one) and have begun to wonder what it is I like about the place I'm living now? For instance I sure do love the beach.

And so I ask you to please name five things you like about where you are living now... and as your bonus - 1 thing you don't like.

1. I have just moved back to my family home after being gone for almost 40 years. My parents are dead but my brother and his family live in the area. I feel connected to family once again even though we are not emotionally close. I am just sorry I couldn’t have gotten back here before mom died. But her memories abound.

2. Even though we have not gotten really unpacked (we cannot even get a small car into the 2 car garage, I love our house. It is all on one floor. It is light and fairly easy to clean.

3. When I attended the clergy periscope study last week, a couple of the older priests began to use phrases like “He’s all hat and no cattle” and “it’s dryer than a Sunday afternoon in Abilene”. Such phrases are ‘Texasisms’. Molly Ivins made them famous and Dubyah made them infamous. But they are wonderfully cornpone sets of word pictures that convey so much. I think when I left the state in ’72, I wanted to get away from that kind of speech judging it ignorant and backwards. But over the years I have found such ways of describing things ready on my lips, falling back into rather homespun ways of describing that which cannot be described except in rather artful phrases and humor.

4. Ft. Worth is much larger than Binghamton, NY where we were living. It is nice to be able to go to many different restaurants and not have to duplicate or have a choice of which doctor we can go to or hospital system. Yes, the traffic is a bit heavier, but the road system is easy and so far we have not had to sit in too much traffic.

5. The Church here is one in major transition. The diocese is the remnant of a diocese that chose to leave the Episcopal Church rather than welcome women and LGBT people in the ministry. I was never able to celebrate here when I was active. When I would visit my family, I gave up on going to church. It just wasn’t welcoming. Now, the change is remarkable. The lay folk of the diocese have found their spines and have thrown off a culture of repression by the bishops and clergy of the schismatics. It is fun to be around recently liberated people who are just learning to be Church. It is wonderful to be around joyful Christians.

Bonus: THE HEAT. I am not fond of heat and I knew that I would find it difficult. Getting into one’s car after coming out of A/C is like walking into an oven. But J. swears by the sun. She loves sitting under the pecan tree or even baking out the permafrost of upstate NY winters. But I love the idea of wearing shorts (even tho I don’t look good in them) and sandals everyday and most of all not having a clock that regiments my day.

Friday Five: Decisions

2010-07-23T11:27:00.000-04:00

Songbird wrote:

Since I've been in the midst of a discernment process, I've done a lot of reflecting on how we make decisions. But don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to reveal a dark story about a poor decision, or a self-flagellating story about an embarrassing one. Let's keep it simple and go with five word pairs. Tell us which word in the pair appeals to you most, and after you've done all five, give us the reason why for one of them.

Here they are:

1) Cake or Pie

2) Train or Airplane

3) Mac or PC

4) Univocal or Equivocal

5) Peter or Paul

Try not to pull on the big cat's tail when you answer. :-)

1. Pie as long as it has a good crust.

2. Train: my father worked for the Santa Fe so trains are in my blood. But I would rather travel by air.

3. PC . I wouldn’t know what to do with a Mac, however with Vista I might try.

4. Univocal, I guess. But I think I would rather be equivocal. Therein lies the problem.

5. Paul because I don’t believe he said all that stuff about women! (read Borg and Crossens on this) Paul was a preacher and a passionate advocate for what it means to be a Christian. Peter was the gospel writers’ straight man always using him as a foil for the message.

Friday Five: Memory

2010-07-09T14:35:00.000-04:00

I was wondering where the Friday Five was. I got up early to do it. I have been a blogging mood the past few days and wanted to get a head start on it. But by lunch time it wasn’t up. Finally Songbird posted this:

No, it wasn't my turn to do the Friday Five, but it was my job to confirm the new person whose job it is, so herewith, the Forgetful Jones Friday Five, complete with Sesame Street video for those who like such things.

a)What's the last thing you forgot?

Where I put the %^$&^ mouse.

e) How do you keep track of appointments?

Since we have moved here we have had to use paper and pencil because we couldn’t get our electronics up and running very quickly. So we now have a wall “At a Glance” calendar that is printed in the same town that I used to work in. J’s stuff and my stuff is written on it so we can remind one another what we are doing.
i)Do you keep a running grocery list?

At the moment ,yes. I like to work from a list when I go to the grocery but I hate trying to keep one because I lose them.

o) When forced to improvise by circumstances, do you enjoy it or panic?

At my age, there are few things that make me panic. As an ENFP, my whole life has been one great riff—improvisation is my middle name. It is why I was never a good Lutheran!

u) What's a memory you hope you will never forget?

My mother contracted a kind of dementia that robbed her of her vocabulary and finally her ability to communicate. Now at 65, I am forgetting words. I have always loved words. I grew up on “Increase your vocabulary” in the Reader’s Digest. I sometimes get criticism of my sermons that I use too large a vocabulary. The greatest fear that I have of old age is that I will forget how to express myself.

Ask the Matriarchs

2010-07-08T13:44:00.000-04:00

After bidding this blogsite adieu, I have found I need it to discusss things that don't belong on Stone of Witness. This is just one of those occasions-- Muthah+

Ask the Matriarch - When the Senior Pastor Phones it In
Our question this week comes from a lay leader with a sadly common problem: a senior pastor who seems to be biding time till retirement. Our matriarchs have some great wisdom to share. Read on:

I’m a lay person on the governing board of my church, where I’ve been a member about 5 years.
Our pastor is on track to retire within 3-5 years. I’ve had the impression for a long time that he was sort of “phoning it in” and recent conversations with more than one of the church staff indicate this is definitely true with regard to his leadership of the staff…there doesn’t appear to be any. So what ends up happening is that one of the staff who has a very extroverted personality (and who has been a member of the church for many years) is essentially running things…the pastor sits back and does whatever this person suggests. Lots of resentment ensues.

The church has good leadership from an associate and two retired pastors who help out, as well as from dedicated lay leaders. But finances are suffering, numbers are dropping, and the staff and church need more.

What should I/we do? If you were this pastor, what would you hope your board would do?

As one who has just retired, I know that often we get tired or burned out before the date when our pensions begin. It is hard on the congregation and it is hard on the pastor. There are several things that need to be addressed:
1. The sr. pastor’s needs and hopes.
2. The staff’s needs and hopes
3. The congregation’s needs and hopes.
Sr. Pastor’s needs: Often those of us in ministry—and I am guessing that your pastor is close to my age were not trained to take care of ourselves. We were schooled in the tradition of selflessness and sacrifice in ministry and often ignored vacations, self-improvement, continuing ed. and even the support network of colleagues and friends outside of the church. We have also been cosseted and rewarded with esteem and recognition for doing so. So although the thought of retirement seems wonderful and refreshing, it also means such a loss of status and community that it is hard for us to retire. It is a loss that makes us wonder what we have done with our lives. Some of us run from that or we work ourselves to death. Retirement ain’t for sissies!
Another issue is that we are in an era that has shown a decline in church attendance in all the mainline churches. This has never been seen before and it has happened on our watch. There is sometimes an attempt to lay this at the Sr. pastor’s feet by the laity or even the staff but it is a phenomenon being seen in the whole of the Church, not just in that particular parish. It is also part of the conditioning or our particular mindset for us clergy to take this decline upon ourselves. I have seen more depression among the clergy of my age group in the past 15 years than I have seen at any other time in my career. And feelings of failure or an ability to grasp what is happening to the Church faces those of us who are tired and ready to retire. I can understand that Sr. Pastor who is trying to ‘phone it in’. It is hard to keep doing what you have always done only to see it failing or not getting the results you once got. It is hard to face the fact that “maybe you don’t “have it” anymore. But in reality, that is really not what is happening. We need to read Diana Butler Bass or Phyllis Tickle to see that it isn’t our “fault” so that Sr. Pastors can be at the next stage of Church history to give wisdom to the newness that we are being faced with.
But the younger staff needs to know and the laity needs to know that: a.) this downturn in attendance is endemic and not the result of poor leadership b.) this era is unique in Church history in the US and needs both the wisdom of the elder pastor as well as the visions of the younger ordained and lay members to address c.) we have been in an era of anxiety and argumentativeness for the past 20 years and it will take a willingness to listen carefully and with real Christian concern for one another to meet the needs of the parish for the future and d.) there is no quick fix for this situation because it involves the entirety of what it means to be Christ’s to face this issue.
Staff needs and hopes: When on the staff of a larger church it is easy for clergy to get into one’s “own ministry” and fail to see the bigger picture. Also staff members often have a tendency feed on a type of paternalism that sees the Sr. Pastor responsible for all the administration and communication of the staff. Perhaps the staff can collectively work more organically by meeting regularly and charting out what the Sr. Pastor is not being able to do. Staffs need to be more of a family and pick up when one member isn’t doing his/her job so that all can know that the ministry of that parish will continue no matter who is ‘phoning it in’. This allows all the staff the security of knowing that they can be tired, or sick or distracted and that the ministry will be picked up. It is a way that we show we love one another. And it is the way that we can renew ourselves to do that which we were called to. This reminds the Sr. Pastor that all are in the ministry together and allow him/her to reconnect with the congregation and staff.
One particular statement was revealing. The emergence of a single person stepping into the vacuum. This will always happen if the rest of the staff is not willing to work together to provide the leadership. Of course the whole staff, including the Sr. pastor, needs to address the fact that there is a vacuum. This is best done with a consultant and the lay leadership as well as the staff.
The laity’s hopes and dreams: There needs to be an on-going multigenerational team doing visioning for the congregation lead by a member of the staff. It needs to be heavily weighted with the younger members of the congregation yet constantly in contact with the senior members of the parish. The team needs to be reading the pundits of the Emerging Church or other future related observations of Church. They need to write articles for the Church newsletter keeping the entire congregation aware that there ARE new visions in the offing. The retirement of a beloved pastor need not create havoc for our parishes, especially when retirement is 3 and 4 years away. We do not ignore grandmother just because she is old. We let her tell us the stories of how the family developed their love for one another so that it can support us as we address the challenges of your youth.
Even large churches can understand itself more organically than with the organizational models we have demanded of them. They can know themselves as a large family that can love one another just as surely as large extended families can. I believe that we have used the corporate model for churches to our peril. The church must be the family of God and must be willing to love one another when we are doing our jobs and when we aren’t. We need to be willing to give each other the benefit of the doubt and support one another when there are changes in the way we once proclaimed the Gospel. All too often we use the business model in our larger churches so that we can be indifferent or insular or more cut and dry. These are just words for expediency—the curse of the Gospel. The Christian message is lived out in the time ‘wasted’ loving each other, bearing one another’s burdens, helping each other.
Help your Sr. Pastor to re-engage for the sake of his/her soul. Help your staff get honest about the ministry of the whole of the congregation. Help your laity understand that ministry is not the passive reception of the Sr. Pastor’s ministry or the fault of the pastor that the attendance is dwindling. It is the work of you all to live out the call of Christ.

Change of Season

2010-06-30T10:55:00.004-04:00

I have been wondering how I was going to communicate in retirement. For some years now I have tried to keep up with two blogs: For A Season and Stone of Witness both at Blogspot. I wish to continue to blog. As an extrovert in a relatively introverted profession and who lives with an introvert, I need some way to express thoughts so that I can come to decisions. It is one of the ways that I formulate and continue to grow and change my opinions, my convictions, come to grips with what is going on in the world, my relationships and ultimately my faith.

For a Season began as a response to The Episcopal Church (TEC) and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Shori’s moratorium on the election and consecration of LGBT persons to the episcopate. It was a mild but important protest against the loading on the back of LGBT persons the real and now outward and readily apparent power plays of some in the Anglican Communion to make the Anglican Communion into something of their own imagination. But that blog morphed into a commentary on the vagaries of serving across denominational lines when I accepted a call to a small ELCA congregation. Those vagaries were both difficult and delightful. They were frustrating and freeing. And on this blog I found some joy and healing that TEC could not provide. I am thankful that For A Season became what it was even though in the past months I have not posted here.

For A Season, as its name suggests was intended to be temporary. The moratorium on LGBT consecrations has been lifted by TEC and I am no longer serving an ELCA church. But I know I have a readership on this blog that I appreciate and do not wish to lose. I need you because you give me a reason to express myself, grow and stay in contact.

Stone of Witness was a blog that I began when I started to work in the ELCA to address issues in TEC and the diocese I was living in at the time. It became a place where I could speak to the changes that were happening in the Church but it was unequivocally an Episcopal site. I knew my other denominational followers did not follow it as closely as they did For A Season.

I have decided to end For A Season and expand the focus of Stone of Witness. A stone of witness is an ancient custom found in Hebrew literature as early as the Jacob stories of Genesis. When one passed by a place of remembrance, a tomb or grave, a battle site, or a place of spiritual significance, people would place a stone to indicate not only that they had been there, but that they had remembered the original event. Cairns marked holy places all over the Middle East much as churches dot our land, or historical markers grab our attention. The simple act of placing a stone not only said that I was there, but that I valued the event or spiritual experience that had happened in that place. The stone tied the placer of the stone to the event, kept alive the event yet said that I would not forget.
Blog writing for me is a form of remembrance for me. It is a way of describing what is important but it is also a place where I return to find sustenance for my faith journey. It is a place where others find themselves addressing the same issues, wonderments, Scripture, events and sharing their thoughts, feelings and taking away something that may have been left. It is a way of communicating in a faceless world, a way in which God is present and visible in our lives and creation.

So I am inviting all my For A Season readers to join me by attending www.stoneofwitness.blogspot.com and perhaps bring a stone of remembrance yourselves. It will not be a singularly Episcopal site. It will be a site at which I will share the thoughts that come and raise their heads at odd moments in the journey of faith and life. I plan to continue to comment on the state of the Church but not only that. And because I am in that life that says is supposed to be retired, I will comment on what that means to someone who probably won’t retire as long as I can think.

Friday Five: Who do you think you are?

2010-05-14T13:56:00.004-04:00

Sophia has given the revgals a fascinating Friday Five:

I moved across country for a college teaching job last September, and my mother came to visit for the first time last week. We had a fantastic genealogical adventure tracing the family roots of her father's grandfather, who moved away from this state sometime between 1887 and 1891.

We drove a few hours to their county armed with some names and cemeteries, and wondered if we could locate anyone. It turned out there is an awesome local history room in the public library, with a very skilled librarian library, and with her map and a pile of copied records we struck gold! We found, cleared, deciphered and took pictures of old weathered stones marking members of several family branches in four tiny country cemeteries--the one above is my fourth great grandma. Of particular RevGal interest, we spoke with a friendly and helpful pastor at the United Methodist Church (window above) on the site of the Presbyterian church my fifth great-grandpa helped found in 1814!
1. Do you have any interest in genealogy?

Oh, yes! I love doing genealogy. When we get moved I plan to join genealogy.com and do more work on our family tree. I have already be able to get back 9 generations.

2. Which countries did your ancestors come from?

My mother, as a child, was told to identify herself as “Scots-Irish, Republican and a Campbellite.” She ended up as a Methodist but she was still Scots-Irish and a Republican at the age of 97 when she died. My name is Welsh and my paternal grandfather came from the UK in the late 19th century, so I guess I can claim my heritage as thoroughly Celt. There may be a German great-great grandmother back on my mother’s side somewhere but I am predominantly Celtic

3. Who is the farthest back ancestor whose name you know?

In this country it is 9 generations: Alexander and Elizabeth McKinney who are buried in Vernon, CT, a Revolutionary War vet. In Scotland I found records going back to the 17th generation of a Susan Beatt(ie) in Perthshire.

4. Any favorite saints or sinners in the group?

I am especially fond of the stories of my great-grandmother who came from Scotland at the age of 16 to be the nanny for a wealthy family in Chicago. During the Great Fire in that city she was charged with getting the children safely to the family’s summer home in WI. Later in life when she had lost her husband she ran a boarding house for railroaders in Cedar Rapids, IA where my grandparents met.

The picture above is of my Great-Uncle George, brother of my grandfather. George was 20 years older than my grandfather but it was to George that my grandfather was sent when both of his parents died in the great flu epidemic in Ottawa in 1872. George was an officer in the Raj and spent some significant time in Calcutta. This is a picture of him driving his carriage in Calcutta sometime in the 1890's.

5. What would you want your descendants to remember about you?

I believe I am the first clergy person in the family and I was of the early group of women clergy in my denomination.

Bonus: a song, prayer, or poem that speaks of family--blood or chosen--to you.

Retirement

2010-05-13T18:09:00.004-04:00

I am retiring. I will leave my congregation (Lutherans say ‘congregation’; Episcopalians say ‘parish’) on the 13th of June. J and I will be moving to TX to help out a refugee diocese that needs clergy following the wholesale abandonment of their cures by the bishop and the clergy of the diocese. It will be home again for me. I never thought I would be able to return. But I will be glad to be around family and childhood friends. After living in small towns for the past 15 years, it will be nice to live in a city and close to good symphonies, museums, good medical care and quality restaurants.

Most of all it will be good for me be to be back in my own denomination. I do not begrudge my time with the ELCA in any way. My congregation has been wonderful to me and I have found ways of preaching the Gospel that were new to me. I respect their somber approach to faith and the seriousness with which they take the God experience. But I know I am an Episcopalian. I respect TEC’s ways, theology, liturgy and her wonderful sense of governance. I have missed the TEC’s hymns and harmonies most of all.

I guess I could get nostalgic and think of my “career” as something in the past. However, I don’t feel that way since I have never thought of the priesthood as a career. I think I have used that word to describe my vocation, but it isn’t the way I live it. The priesthood is as much a part of me as my breath. I am not especially fond of the idea of the ‘ontological change’ that is supposed to happen with ordination. Some may describe it that way. I don’t. But I do know that I am a different person than the one that used to teach school or who was a professional musician. I am not sure it happened at the moment of hands being laid upon me. I feel that it has come gradually, grace upon grace as I have tried to live in a way pleasing to God. I do know that grace has come upon me has been because I said ‘yes’ to the priesthood and all that entails. I am not sure that grace would not have come upon me if I had not been ordained—grace has to do with God’s gift, not ordination. But the priesthood was and is how I am supposed to live out that grace that comes unwarranted and teaches me the joys and privileges of life.

I will mourn not being in charge of a parish. I have loved being a part of peoples’ lives in that priestly/pastoral way. I visited a couple of people who are in hospital today and I will miss that. I will even miss some of the vestry meeting or council meeting discussions because I have always enjoyed watching how people grapple with God in their lives even when they don’t want to. I will especially miss sharing the Gospel in the weekly bible studies that I have either attended or taught.

There is not much chance of me just sitting in the pew. I have already gotten emails about taking services for other priests. I am not sure I am a good ‘pew sitter’, but I would like some time to just not be in charge for a while. The only thing that I want to have responsibility for is supper and perhaps the dandelions in the back yard. Perhaps I will be able to find a choir that will have my failing alto. It will be nice to have a bishop who will accept me for who and what I am and not expect me to ‘just be nice.’

I AM tired. I didn’t know how tired I was until I went on a cruise/continuing education trip and found that I could fall asleep any time I sat down with a book. I have not written on my blogs much lately because I have been so tired. I need some time just to rest so that my brain can function again.

Know this, I will continue blogging. My two blogs will be revamped and perhaps even renamed. www.foraseason.blogspot.com was originally named for the interim in which LGBT ordination and consecration was placed on hold at the request of the Presiding Bishop. It was her phrase that named that blog. It morphed into a commentary on the Together in Ministry and being a Luth-Episk. www.stoneofwitness.blogspot.com became a commentary on the ministry in the Episcopal Church and often times particular to the Diocese of Central NY. How these blogs will be redesigned I don’t know and will probably evolve. Lives change and so does a body of work. But I will always have something to say about the God and Christ and Church that I love.

Stay tuned….

Spiritual Practices: Ancient and Modern

2010-04-23T21:37:00.003-04:00

I have just returned from a clergy conference with a group of women clergy. It is a group of women that I have corresponded with over the past 6 years but I had only met one of them face to face. It was an interesting topic that I felt that I could introduce to my congregation before I retired: Hospitality. But as we continued to go deeper into the subject, I found it was not the basic concept of welcoming new comers, or saying “Howdy”. The topic delved into how we were receptive to God and how we could invite the Holy into our lives and consequently invite others, both beloved ones and enemies into that Holy space where God dwells.

Many of the techniques that the director of the continuing education module taught were practices that I had learned years ago when I entered the convent: Learning to quiet the mind and heart, opening oneself to God, waiting for God’s word to settle upon us, and hearing and seeing in a different dimension. The group of women clergy was from several Protestant denominations but none of them seemed to know much about the ancient catholic meditative practices. Some of them practiced yoga, some, Buddhist meditation. There was there still a reticence among some to embrace a “catholic” discipline. I sometimes wonder if we will ever get past that 500 year old catholic/protestant division that we have used so long to identify ourselves.

The conference was held on cruise ship. There was no “Grand Silence” to break, or separation from the “World.” For that I am grateful. I have never liked the great separation of being “in the world but not of it.” I am definitely IN the world and OF that world and so is the God I worship. There is no isolation from the Creation that God has made even if some of the antics around the pool and on the beach were activities that I would not participate in. They are the people of MY world. They are creations just as holy and sacred as I. And when they stop to allow the HOLY to enter into their lives, they know God’s blessing just as surely as I.

So often I believe I have taught parishioners that the Church is the place where God is. I certainly have found the Holy there, but so many are not finding God there anymore. I wonder often what I did wrong—but then I also think that the World now is not the World I have always known. The world of social media is not one that is especially facile one in which to live. The technology goes so beyond what I know and can appreciate. But at the same time I do not want to be cut off from the young, the movers and shakers, the conversations about the Holy that remind me that what I have done in my life is not for naught.

The hospitality of God, the welcome that God calls me to and sends me out to offer to others demands that I be willing use forms of communication with which I am unfamiliar and will continue to be unfamiliar as I grow older. Old-fashioned sermons may not have the effect that they once had if they are not illustrated and music played in the background. Music may have to change to capture the hearts of those who long to enter the hospitality of God. But what about those who are being left behind? Do we just pat them on the head and pass over them? Do we call them to change as I must change?

The ancient practices of meditative prayer are still the meeting place for God and humanity. The ancient clearing (kenosis) of the heart and mind to make room for a loving Christ is still the place where we all meet. The singing of Matins and Compline still speaks of the Holy. The newness must make room for the ancient just as surely as “new occasions teach new duties.” The holiness of that which spans the universes, that goes beyond the Big Bang, that draws us into awe and leaves us incapable to describe the Presence is what is important whether it be worshipped in Church or art gallery, among thousands or in one’s closet, catholic or protestant, Greek or Jew, male or female or somewhere in between. Ohmmmmmm!

Friday Five: What is there to smile about?

2010-04-23T15:30:00.004-04:00

With the end of RevGalBlogPals' third annual Big Event, I am wondering who went and what it was like. There must be a lot of smiling from the Big Event! Hopefully, the rest of us are not frowning either.

So let us know how your past week was for you.

I went!!! I am still tired from the trip but exhillerated too so I need some time to contemplate what all went on. Some new things are going on within me that are very positive but still too amorphous to articulate yet.

1. When were you smiling lately?

I think I smiled almost all week! BE3 was wonderful!

2. What happened unexpectedly to you this past week?

A lot of BE3 was unexpected—the Caribbean was a lot colder than I thought it would be. I didn’t expect to have motion sickness—I was merely a bit queasy but with drugs all things were good. I was not expecting to like all the women on the event but I did.

3. How was a catastrophe averted (or not)?

Thankfully one of the sistahs had those wrist band thingies.

4. What was the most delicious thing you ate?

Awesome strawberry souflee with warm crème anglais!

5. Did you see any good movies or read any books or articles?

Been reading Dan Browne’s The Lost Symbol. I am glad it is the Mason’s who have gotten lambasted for their symbolism instead of the Church. It is a hoot of a read. My grandfather was a great poohbah in his Masonic group so I was familiar with some of the symbols that Browne uses. I’m also reading Karen Armstrong’s newest, A Case for God. Haven’t really gotten into it yet, but I usually love her stuff. Love my Kindle!

Travelin' and Packin': Friday Five

2010-04-16T11:18:00.003-04:00

Songbird is going on the same retreat that J and I are going on. She has packing on her mind:

I'm preparing to pack my bags for the Big Event Three, and as I gather what I need I'm thinking about just that: what do I *need* to take with me? As a person who likes to pack light, I worry that in the end I may underpack and wish I had other things with me. I own the gigantor version of the bag to the right, but my morbid fear of having it go astray and not get to the ship means I'm more likely to try to pack it all in a carry-on bag instead, especially since I have a very tight connection on the way to the cruise. But won't I be sorry if I don't bring ______________?

With that in mind, here are five questions about packing to go on a trip.

1) Some fold, some roll and some simply fling into the bag. What's your technique for packing clothes?

Let my roomie do it! She folds so neatly and compactly. I never get it right!
The problem is that we haven’t really started wearing summer clothes so we have to get those things out. We are also in the process of moving and we have already started packing for that. The house is a disaster of packing and the remnants of book culling.

2) The tight regulations about carrying liquids on planes make packing complicated. What might we find in your quart-size bag? Ever lose a liquid that was too big?

I only take medications and the stuff I will need on the plane in my backpack. Since it will be cold here when we leave, I have to take a jacket, but once I get to the airport, I stuff it in my big bag and then on the return I pull it out when I get to baggage claim. I always wear a suit jacket with extra pockets for such things as passport, tickets, etc. I have not carried a purse for 30 years so everything goes in the backpack. Let the xray do the rest!
I have had to give up a water bottle or two in the past few years.

3) What's something you can't imagine leaving at home?

My Kindle, my Birks and my laptop.

4) Do you have a bag with wheels?

Yes. Not as pretty as yours, Songbird, but serviceable

5) What's your favorite reading material for a non-driving trip (plane, train, bus, ship)?

I always carry one book for fun, a novel of some kind and one book that is professional in nature. Usually I have some spiritual reading too. Now that I have the Kindle, I can have it all in one unit. Makes packing so much easier. At the moment I am reading The Lost Sign by Dan Browne and A Case for God by Karen Armstrong. I think I will use the Psalter for spiritual reading.
Ooooooh, I can hardly wait!

Belated Friday Five: Redo, Refresh, Restore

2010-03-27T12:59:00.003-04:00

We're in the thick of it in church life as we approach the end of Lent. Palm Sunday and Holy Week await. In the midst of this busy-ness, I undertook a little redecorating here at RevGalBlogPals and found a new template for us.

It's the sort of task I like in the middle of chaos, a chance to redo something, to refresh the way I feel, to restore some sense of order.

Please share with us five ways you redo or refresh or restore your body, your space, your blog, anything in your life that needs perking up this week.

COMMENTS:

Hmmm,
Songbird has put up an unusual Friday Five this week.

I have had several temptations to refer to Holy Week as Hell Week over the span of my career. And it has come to mind that this is going to be my last Easter before I retire. It feels a bit more like commencement or graduation than the same ole-same ole. I have found that the week BEFORE Holy Week is really the tough week rather than Holy Week itself because of the planning, music and preparation that goes on. I really try to plan everything ahead so that I can live into Holy Week as a spiritual discipline rather than just perform rituals for others. But of course ‘things’ always happen. Last year it was my mother’s death.

1. Prayer—meditative prayer. I really try to spend an hour of quiet meditation each day especially in Holy Week. It may be turning off the CD’s on my commute, or sitting in my chair with a cat by my side but it is quiet time I devote to being with God. It grounds me in who I am, whose I am, and what I have before me.

2. Look at the World—I try to spend a bit of time drinking in scenery, admiring some spiritual reading, watching something uplifting on TV or on computer. And this is a matter of choice of NOT looking at or reading things that are negative. This is not a matter of avoidance. Holy Week is such a dramatic encounter with Evil in the world, it is easy for me to bottom out in Good Friday and never get to Easter. It is always important for me to keep Easter in the picture—the hope for the world that our Lord had.

3. Looking at property listings in Ft. Worth-- Since I have lived in church owned housing much of my life, it is fun to look at some of the possibilities for a new home where we are moving. I just go on line and think of the future in this house or that apartment.

4. Clean off my desk—I am not the neatest person in the world. But one discipline I often require of myself during Holy Week is to clean off my desk. It may be something akin to stripping the altar, or perhaps seeking out the leven in preparation for Passover. But it is a physical and a spiritual renewal that usually makes the ‘neatnicks’ in my parish happy. But it does say something about welcoming Eastertide.

5. Getting a haircut.

Friday Five: Movies

2010-03-19T11:03:00.003-04:00

Revgal Jan has sent a new Friday Five:

Whenever daughter MJ comes home on breaks from college, I get to go to movies, which has me thinking about motion pictures. Plus, it is fun to watch rented dvd's at home, which my husband prefers.

Share your preferences, opinions, and recommendations about movies! Choose 5 types of movies to discuss:
• action
• thriller
• mystery
• drama
• comedy
• foreign
• animated
• children's
• science fiction
• western/cowboy
• ?
Bonus: Tell about the first movie you ever saw and/or the last one!

I am not much of a movie buff. I HAVE seen all the Harry Potter flicks, though, Revmom! ( But then again, I have read all the books!)

I don’t have a certain category that I attend to. Sometimes I go just for the actor: George Clooney ( J. says “sigh!”), Matt Damon, Queen Latifa, Meryl Streep, etc. Sometimes I go for the subject matter: Milk, March of the Penquins?, And sometimes I go because the trailers on TV sound good:

Two of J’s brothers work in Hollywood on sets and such. We have often gone to movies just because we know that they have been listed in the credits. One of them built the room that turned upside down in Nightmare on Elm Street. One of them worked on Fargo. Family loyalty does wonder at the box office!
My earliest movie I think was either Alice in Wonderland (the cartoon version) or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I know I had a record of the music from Alice (one of those little colored 78’s that I sang to for years until my mother almost took it away from me!) I do remember seeing The Wizard of Oz and was very scared.

We are such technical dunces, we don’t know how to work our DVD. One we get moved and we are settled again, we will see if we can figure out how it works again.
At the moment there isn’t much out there I want to see. I missed the Sandra Bullock movie that I wanted to see. We’ll have to wait until Netflicks gets it out.

I saw Doubt last night and it really creeped me out. I couldn’t even watch the whole of it. Streep was awesome in her intolerance and self-righteousness and the guy who played the priest was powerful in his part. The topic is so present to us in our diocese that it was almost too difficult to watch. I will have to gear myself up to watch the whole thing sometime. It is an important flick for these times.

Friday Five: Spiritual or Religious?

2010-03-12T11:16:00.006-05:00

Mompriest posted this Friday Five that is quite thought provoking:

Yesterday I attended a led conference by Diana Butler Bass. She is presenting new ideas on the state of the church and why there is hope for Christianity. One of her premises is a Newsweek/Washington Post poll from 2005 that states that 55% of the people in this country describe themselves as religious AND spiritual.

Without going into detail about her understandings of religious and spiritual (you may want to attend one of her conferences, if you can) share with us five thoughts ideas or practices that you consider to be "religious." Then share with us five thoughts, ideas, or practices that you consider to be "spiritual."

For example one thought about religion might be that it is "salvation" Or an idea about religion might be that it is an "institution" and a religious practice might be "going to church." An example of spiritual thought might be a phrase from a poem, a spiritual idea might be the inspiration for a piece of art and a spiritual practice might be meditation.

So, five thoughts, ideas, or practices that are religious....and then five thoughts, ideas or practices that are spiritual. OR are they the same thing to you?

Comments:

I have been to one of Diana Butler Bass’ conferences but it wasn’t on this topic per se. And there are a few comments that I have come up with re. Spiritual/Religious that I want to make:
First of all, in my mind the two go together because I am truly a church woman. But, I do not mean that spiritual and the institution of the church are necessarily the same. Growing up in any church means that from the beginning of one’s faith, we confuse our relationship with God with the institution and family. The boundaries between the “do’s and don’ts” of parents get confused with the do’s and don’ts of God. Prayer gets confused with liturgy and ritual. We confuse the mega myths of life with the facts of faith and we often use the boundaries of church as boundaries of faith. As we grow we find those boundaries too confining and we jettison those boundaries for something “more spiritual” when all we are doing is claiming the boundaryless dimensions of God. So I come up with the following list.

SPIRITUAL

1. Prayer—usually meditative, contemplative (non liturgical). Allowing me to empty myself of me and inviting God to enter. Centering on communion with the One I love and who loves me more than I can ask or imagine.

2. Music—listening, singing, playing it over in my heart and mind. Sometimes it is religious music but Mahler’s Seventh is enough to fall on my knees.

3. Spending time with a friend or a parishioner at the heart level. I do not have to look for Christ when people get to me at a heart level. It is like an open door to Christ that emerges.

4. Fishing—standing in the middle of a stream with bugs flying off the water concentrating on casting my line with a lightness of hand. Taking in the glory of creation.

5. Driving—I spend so much time on the road these days that there is a meditative element to driving. Most of my driving is on the interstate so it isn’t in congestion so I get to admire the scenery. Once again the glory of God’s hand in creation envelops me.

RELIGIOUS

1. Liturgy—I love the church when it comes together to worship, listen to the Word and gets into worship. My favorite is Christmas Eve which is so magical with everyone with glistening eyes remembering their childhood, children anticipating Santa and hearing the ancient story once again.

2. Church conferences—I love them. I love being around people who are about the same life I am. The business meetings are a bore, but I am usually interested in the way that we shape how we come together: the policy statements, the canons, etc. (Ok, I know I am weird!)

3. The ethos of the Church—Having worked in another denomination for the past 3 years, I know how much I miss the familiar boundaries of my own denomination. My faith is, I believe, is unbounded, but the world in which I live and move and have my being does have boundaries to keep me sane. I love the givens of my denomination: the things that we laugh about, the ways that we discuss our faith. It has been difficult to be in another denomination because I have not been as facile or as glib in it as I am in my own. It has to do with being home.

4. My faith in God is not dependant on Belief. There are no creeds or statements of faith that I even consider when it comes to my relationship with God. (It is why being an Episcopalian is so right for me) So often Religion means “what we have learned about God”. And I think that about half of the parishioners I have had approach God this way instead of inviting God into one’s life.

5. Ritual—All people have ritual. We in the Church have brought ritual to an art form. One of the problems of the present day is that the rituals are changing: the ways that we live have changed. We are no longer living in small towns where all ritualize relationships the same. We are no longer having sit down dinners so that communion has the same meaning. We are not gathering at the swimming hole in the summers to enjoy the dip in the pond. We are no longer finding solace in coming together to mourn our sinfulness. If the Church is going to survive, we are going to have to find new signs of Christ’s presence in our midst and learn what is powerful in those rituals.

Friday Five: Winter Olympics

2010-02-26T12:27:00.004-05:00

Friday Five: Winter Olympics Edition
It's been two weeks of snow, or not enough snow, of heartbreak before the action even began, of snowboards and skis and skates, of joy and sorrow. At our house, we've stayed up too late, and we don't even watch sports any other time!

1) Which of the Winter Olympic sports is your favorite to watch?

I love the ski jumping. I don’t know anything about it. I can’t watch the figure skating—I’m afraid they will fall. I have watched some of the aerials and some of the speed skating. I love to watch the Dutch go nutz. I was interested in the biathlon. And think curling is bizarre. And I loved watching the women’s hockey. But hey, I grew up in TX. We go indoors when it gets below 30!

2) Some of the uniforms have attracted attention this year, such as the US Snowboarders' pseudo-flannel shirts and the Norwegian Curling team's -- ahem -- pants.
Who do you think had the best-looking uniforms?

Bermuda! Shorts in the snow—daft!

3) And Curling. Really? What's up with that?

Agreed! Why am I not surprised to find that it was invented by the Scots in medieval times? I don’t like to use a broom even in my house!

4) Define Nordic Combined. Don't look it up. Take a guess if you must.

Ski Jumping and cross country. Just too much hard work for me!

(There will be a prize for the best answer, but be aware, this is a judged sport.)

5) If you could be a Winter Olympics Champion just by wishing for it, which sport would you choose for winning your Gold Medal?

I would be the Biathlon champ. To be a cross country skier is so much beyond my ken (I have always had problems with my knees just to watch them makes my legs hurt) that it somehow appeals to me. I would like to be able to control my breath and my heart rate like those folks do so that they can shoot. Biathlon requires several kinds of disciplines—cross country, of course and shooting, but a kind of zen concentration that to me is awesome.

Friday Five: Happy Lent!

2010-02-19T09:55:00.003-05:00

Each year you give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the Paschal Mystery with mind and heart renewed. You give us a spirit of loving reverence for you, our [Mother]/Father, and of willing service to our neighbor. As we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ, you bring the image of your Son to perfection within us.... (First Preface for Lent, Roman Missal)

1. Did you celebrate Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday this year? Any memories of memorable celebrations past?

Not really, I did have ice cream for dessert that night. I was too tired to go to the Shrove Tues. Pancake Supper at J’s church. New Orleans had their Mardi Gras a week early.

2. How about Ash Wednesday, past and/or present?

It snowed pretty heavily on Wed. so we didn’t have very many out for ashes. I ended up “preaching to the choir” in reality.

3. Does your denomination or congregation celebrate "this joyful season"? Any special emphases or practices to share?

Episcopalians are usually very diligent in observing Lent. The Lutherans are more laid back about their Lenten observance—less ‘giving up’ (too Catholic in their minds) and more taking on a practice like Bible reading or service.

4. Do you have a personal plan of give-ups, take-ons, special ministries, and/or a special focus for your own spiritual growth between now and Easter?

This Lent seems to be starting out with a bit more ‘sturm und drang’ than usual. I may just let the season take shape on its own. There are some really dreadful things beginning to raise their heads in the diocese and the parish is a bit wonky at the moment, too. I am about to take a week off—something I have never done during Lent. I need to go to my family home. I won’t be gone a Sunday, but it feels strange having to deal with “family things” during Lent. My family doesn’t observe Lent.

5. What is your dream for the image of Christ coming to perfection in you, the church, the world? How can we support you in prayer?

For the past year, I have been working at trying to control my anger. In the past my temper has gotten the best of me. I have made an important decision not to allow my anger or my tendency to ‘fight before fleeing’ in hand. I have a situation in which some angry folk are coming to me the weekend I return from TX. I need to remain non-anxious so that I can hear them. Your prayers would be appreciated.

Bonus: Song, prayer, picture, etc. that sums up your feelings about this liturgical springtime.

A Winnah!

2010-02-18T14:03:00.002-05:00

We have a gold medal winner at St. Luke's these days. Robin Haskin's dog Cooper took the best of his breed at the Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday. What a thrilling thing for her and for us her at St. Luke's. Good Goin', Robin!

From Robyn:
I have not been able to answer everyone’s emails and phone calls, but I want to thank you all for congratulating both Cooper and I for his Win at Westminster Kennel Club on Tuesday. We had a blast and thousands of breeders go their entire lives without even getting an award of merit at the Garden and we have been lucky enough to get an Award of Merit on one of our chessies in the past and to now have a Westminster winner in the family, in my Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. It is equal to getting an Olympic Gold in the dog world. So thank you to all for your support and accolades. I am so happy for the next few weeks I will be flying High. I was so proud he showed so well as a young dog to represent his breed and our community.

Thank you,

Robyn Haskin and Cooper

Transfiguration: Sermon

2010-02-14T09:24:00.003-05:00

Transfiguration Sunday
February 14, 2010

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration. It is always the last Sunday of Epiphany and the Sunday before Lent begins. This Gospel story is found in all three of the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. And there is little variation among those three versions. It is the story of an encounter with God that is experienced by Jesus but also Peter, James and John in which Jesus is seen talking with Moses and Elijah. And in the Gospel of Luke, there is one phrase that is different from the other Gospels:

They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Moses and Elijah are speaking with Jesus. The word for “departure” is the word exodus—it is a word that connotes that there is a religious meaning to his journey to Jerusalem. This is not mere travel to the great city of David; it means that there is something of God’s holy acts going to be accomplished in this journey. This is not a business trip to the nation’s capital; it is the accomplishment of the salvation of all creation. It is his journey to his death on a cross as well as his resurrection to new life and glory.

Why is this story so important to us today? What do we learn of God or Jesus and how does it help us live our lives embracing the fullness of Christ? What we see in this passage is the kind of encounter with our faith that we all long for. It is seeing Jesus while he prays being transformed into all that he is to be. In conversation with the heroes of the faith, Jesus is transformed—his face shines like Moses’ did when he came down from Mt. Sinai with the teachings of God. We see in this passage the possibility of the kind of encounter with God that changes us—that accomplishes the divine purpose that God has for US just as surely as God has for Jesus.

Peter, spokesman for the mere mortals, offers to make booths or tabernacles for the great ones so that they can remain on the mountain rather than down in the valleys where ordinary life continues. But in the cloud the voice of God descends upon Peter, James and John and identifies Jesus as the Son and to LISTEN to him. The transformation is to be accomplished by listening to Jesus. Transformation is not merely a mountain top experience. Transformation is the hard work of becoming what God has in mind for us. Jesus must embrace the journey to Jerusalem and all that entails for him to be all that he is.

Now, I am not speaking of predestination here. Jesus is not DESTINED to die on the cross. He CHOOSES to make the way of the cross because that is how he best can teach the world what self-emptying means, what real living really means.
All too often we find living to be somewhat bland. It seems rather relentless—we work, we play, we raise families, and then are somewhat disillusioned by the seeming lack of meaning it has to it. But life isn’t worth living unless we have found a way to give it away. The accumulation of things, success, even happiness pales if there isn’t a way to empty one’s self of SELF to embrace the fuller life of helping others, making the world a better place, fighting injustice. This isn’t mere humanism. It is at the root of faith. And it is interesting all the major religions of the world have this rootedness in this self-emptying. In Christianity, however, this emptying is found in the single act of Jesus’ embracing the Cross. His act of self-emptying brought about a change in the whole equilibrium of humanity. No longer were we destined to live out meaninglessness through sin and selfishness. He saved us from the kind of inanity that is the result of self-service and personal aggrandizement. His journey to the cross reminded the world that unity and wholeness is more important than the need for satisfaction.

The Transfiguration is our story too. It is not merely that Jesus could shine on the mountain top. The Transfiguration is the story that each and every one of us is invited to that opportunity to choose what our lives are to be. Do we choose to merely return to the mundane valleys from our experience of Christ? Or do we allow ourselves to empty ourselves of our selfishness, or self-centeredness?

This past week I saw on TV a story about Nelson Mandela. He was a man who spent more time in prison than he did free, but led his people out of slavery in Apartide in South Africa to embrace the bitterness so that it had no hold on him. The effort at forgiveness and reconciliation to which Mandela led his people was remarkable and unheard of in Africa. You hear of individuals forgiving. But you do not hear often of a concerted effort by a whole nation to enter into a process of forgiveness and reconciliation so that a nation can heal and move on. For a short while during my tenure in Washington, DC, I had a South African priest who was ethnically Chinese serving at my parish. He was on sabbatical learning of the approaches to minister in the HIV AIDS community—a serious issue in his country. He shared with me many of the ways that Mandela embraced the changes necessary for his country to keep from devolving into anarchy in the early 90’s. “We had been angry for so long” he said, “that we had to have a way to ritualize how we could be a peace with one another. It wasn’t a matter of getting the other to change—it was how we were going to change to keep our nation from becoming a blood bath. We finally realized that if we didn’t forgive, we would not survive.”

The Transfiguration is the story reminds us that we MUST change in order to survive. We must change as a congregation in order for any successive generations to find a home here. We must change individually no matter how righteous we are to choose to empty our selves of our selfishness, no matter how old or young we are so that we may find meaningful lives. We must change as a Church to find in other Christian the life that embraces others whose beliefs and practices are just a worthy proclamations of Christ so that Christ’s mission is not mocked. We must change as nations and cultures so that we can find in emptying ourselves of our nationalism and pride we can find a commonness of humanity in Christian love. We must be willing to embrace the journey to Jerusalem just as surely as did our Lord.

On Wednesday, we celebrate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. We ritualize this time of turning our face toward Jerusalem. Together we will begin this self-emptying. We need to know what it means to be forgiven. But more, we need to know that we are about the kind of transformation that comes when we give up our selves for the sake of others, when we live out the kind of mercy that we want to receive, or when we provide the justice to others that we hope to receive. To be transfigured is not being zapped by God. It is the painful effort of self-denial. It is the hard work of self-emptying so that real meaning fills your life.

The last part of our Gospel reading this morning is a strange story. Jesus returns from the mountain only to find that there is a child that needs healing that his disciples, even though they have been given the power earlier in the chapter, are unable to heal alone.

We are unable to heal ourselves alone. My South African priest friend said that the without the faith in Christ, South Africa would not have been able to heal. Unless we are willing to put ourselves in the hands of God, we cannot know the healing that is necessary to have meaningful lives. The ability to change ourselves is just not ours. It is God’s grace that allows us to make the changes in our lives. Ask any one in recovery from alcoholism or drug addiction. It is only through the grace of a power greater than one’s self can that kind of change be accomplished. It is through the grace of God that we can embrace the kind of life that memorializes Jesus.
So I invite you to embrace the Transfiguration as your own. Allow yourself to imagine yourself as God would have you. Then I would invite you to set your face toward Jerusalem—to embrace the pain and selflessness that it will require to accomplish that. Then I would invite you to spend Lent in practicing the self-emptying necessary for God’s vision for you to be lived out. You will find that you will have a holy Lent. AMEN

RevGals February Friday Five

2010-02-12T09:37:00.003-05:00

With Valentine's Day around the corner, it seems appropriate to write about February holidays. However, I'd never heard of "Waitangi Day" before: Feb. 6 is a holiday in New Zealand to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the founding of New Zealand, in 1840. I'll avoid Fur Rondy, as it is connected with Sarah Palin's home state.

1. When February comes along, how do you feel about the coming month?
February is not my favorite month except that it is the shortest. Here in upstate NY it is cold, snowy and icy and dark. But there is usually a light beginning to shine at the end of the tunnel. This winter has been especially cold and long. And now Epiphany is almost over with its emphasis on hope for the Light. But though cold today (20), the sun is shining with the recent snow piled all over. It looks inviting but it is not fun going out. And although there are several things to celebrate in February, all my energies are put into “getting through February.”

2. What memories do you have about Valentine's Day? Are you doing anything to observe it this year?

I am not a big Valentine Day fan. It reminds me of days in grade school when we had to have valentines for the whole class and I hated it then too. I will probably make a decent supper for J, though.

3. It is interesting that Monday's "Presidents Day" is not officially called that in every state. It is a U.S. federal holiday entitled "Washington's Birthday." Which is your favorite president and why?

I am still a Kennedy fan. He was the president of my youth. He asked me to think of what I could do for my country at a time when that question needed to be asked. I am a fan of Jimmy Carter to this day. And I have a connection to Lincoln—my mother’s family travelled with the Lincoln family over the Appalachians in the early 1800’s to Springfield, MO. It is the reason why my family is Republican to this day, except for me. Too bad the Republicans didn’t remain the party of the people as it was in Lincoln’s day.

4. Will you be celebrating Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras? How?

I may go to some church’s Pancake Supper. My congregation doesn’t do one. When I lived in New Orleans, Mardi Gras was the culmination of weeks of “ball season” that was lively and fun. Mardi Gras for one day just doesn’t really compute. But I have always said that Mardi Gras was my “feast day.” I am usually preparing for Ash Wednesday.

5. Any other ways to celebrate in February?

I guess I should celebrate February. It might help the mullygrubs that I generally get during the month. The forecast is for more snow throughout next week. Bah humbug! Let Lent come!

Bonus: A Lenten book or website you recommend.

www.workingpreacher.org has worked well for me.

Staving off the gloom; Friday Five

2010-02-05T16:06:00.002-05:00

Staving off the gloom; Friday Five

Sally, in the UK, is having a case of Seasonal Affective Disorder—she has the mid-winter blues! She has come up with a timely Friday Five:

Candlemass is past, and Christmas is well and truly over, here in the UK February looks set to be its usual grey and cold self. Signs of spring are yet to emerge; if like me you long for them perhaps you need ways to get through these long dark days. So lets share a few tips for a cold and rainy/ snowy day....

1. Exercise, what do you do if you can't face getting out into the cold and damp?
I have been cleaning house. I usually can’t get up the energy to do that when SAD comes upon me, but this year I have a young woman helping me. I actually found my hand weights. I just might do something with them….but then again…. Exercise is not really my métier.

2. Food; time to comfort eat, or time to prepare your body for the coming spring/summer?
This is the time when I like making stews, shepherd pie, chili. I have found a place where they serve chicken and dumplins so all is right with the world. But I have a tendency to gain weight during the winter and I am having a harder time this year than usual. But in the Northeast we can’t get really good produce and I want something fresh besides parsnips and broccoli.

3. Brainpower; do you like me need to stave off depression, if so how do you do it?
Oh, yeah! Too many days without sunshine and I get the mullygrubs. Being an extrovert, I find that if I get out with people it helps. Also, if I keep active—not exercising exactly but keeping busy keeps me from getting too far down in the dumps. Also if I can think of others, I am less likely to get too Eyorish.

4. How about a story that lifts your spirits, is there a book or film that you return to to stave off the gloom?
When I was going through a particularly nasty time in my life, I found Karen Armstrong’s biography, The Spiral Staircase especially helpful because we had so much in common, the depression being one of them. Her heroic piecing together a life for herself when her original plans were dashed was especially appealing to me.

5. Looking forward, do you have a favourite spring flower/ is there something that says spring is here more than anything else?
I look forward to pussywillow, snowdrops and that wonderful smell of earth that comes just before spring begins to show itself.

Sally, in the UK, is having a case of Seasonal Affective Disorder—she has the mid-winter blues! She has come up with a timely Friday Five:

Candlemass is past, and Christmas is well and truly over, here in the UK February looks set to be its usual grey and cold self. Signs of spring are yet to emerge; if like me you long for them perhaps you need ways to get through these long dark days. So lets share a few tips for a cold and rainy/ snowy day....

1. Exercise, what do you do if you can't face getting out into the cold and damp?
I have been cleaning house. I usually can’t get up the energy to do that when SAD comes upon me, but this year I have a young woman helping me. I actually found my hand weights. I just might do something with them….but then again…. Exercise is not really my métier.

2. Food; time to comfort eat, or time to prepare your body for the coming spring/summer?
This is the time when I like making stews, shepherd pie, chili. I have found a place where they serve chicken and dumplins so all is right with the world. But I have a tendency to gain weight during the winter and I am having a harder time this year than usual. But in the Northeast we can’t get really good produce and I want something fresh besides parsnips and broccoli.

3. Brainpower; do you like me need to stave off depression, if so how do you do it?
Oh, yeah! Too many days without sunshine and I get the mullygrubs. Being an extrovert, I find that if I get out with people it helps. Also, if I keep active—not exercising exactly but keeping busy keeps me from getting too far down in the dumps. Also if I can think of others, I am less likely to get too Eyorish.

4. How about a story that lifts your spirits, is there a book or film that you return to to stave off the gloom?
When I was going through a particularly nasty time in my life, I found Karen Armstrong’s biography, The Spiral Staircase especially helpful because we had so much in common, the depression being one of them. Her heroic piecing together a life for herself when her original plans were dashed was especially appealing to me.

5. Looking forward, do you have a favourite spring flower/ is there something that says spring is here more than anything else?
I look forward to pussywillow, snowdrops and that wonderful smell of earth that comes just before spring begins to show itself.

Friday Five: Social Media

2010-01-29T11:07:00.002-05:00

I had the joy of spending time with Songbird last weekend, someone I would have never met had it not been for the blogosphere. Now we keep in touch using a large variety of methods: blog (hers a lot, mine not so much lately), facebook, twitter, text messaging, chat and email. So far there has been no skype.

It got me to thinking of the pros and cons of these relatively new means of communication and interconnecting and so I ask you the following:

1) What have been the benefits for you of social networking (blog, twitter, facebook, etc...)
I have a facebook account and I have two blogs. I am more or less bewildered by facebook. I don’t know how to use it to expand the ministry. I am not sure what ‘skype’ is, Katheryn. I don’t text so I don’t Twit. My thumbs are not that dexterous.

2) Which medium do you use the most? Or if you use them all, for what do you use each of them?
I have been blogging since I went to the MS coast after Katrina. Being an significant extrovert who has to get her ideas out in order for me to make decisions, work them through or even speak about them coherently, and being in a place where I have been cut off from a lot of collegiality, blogging has been a Goddesend.

3) If you could invent a networking site (with no limits on your imagination), what would it provide? What would it not provide?
Now, you have gone beyond my pay grade! I am not techie enough to think beyond the constraints of blogging. H___ I can’t even link! I am bringing my laptop to B3 hoping that SOMEONE will teach me to link!

4) Who have you met that you would not have met if it were not for the 'miracle' of social networking?
MaryBeth, FranIAm, Klady, Daniel, Brian Stoffregen, Bishop Walter Righter, Bishop Jack Spong, Bishop Pierre Whalon, Bonnie Anderson, the ELCA. It goes on and on. We had a meeting of the Episcobloggers last year and I finally got to meet some of my online friends. AWESOME!
I have had conversations with theologians that I would not have gotten to meet because they are on the left coast and carried on conversations about the Episcopal Church with people all over the world.

5) Who do you secretly pray does not one day try to 'friend/follow' you?
There are those who DO follow and sometimes leave ‘those kind of comments’ that I reject. “It’s my blog and I can post what I want to” she said musically! I do monitor my comments. On facebook I “hide” some comments, but I ignore some “friends”. The viagra seller are at the top of my list!

BONUS: What was the most random/weird/unsettling/wonderful connection you made that would not have happened if it were not for the ease of which we can find each other in the computer realm?

I joined a discussion on Ecunet some years ago (before Katrina) with a pastor who was really opposed to gayfolk. We ended up having a very long and very offline email correspondence. He was what I thought was a typical ‘southern conservative’. We ended up having many long telephone conversations. He shared his fears with regards to the LGBT issue and I shared some of my journey. He came 180 degrees to understand himself and his own prejudices were. He died suddenly a few years ago and I really miss his friendship. We were really candid with each other. I miss having a man with whom I can have that ‘intimate’ and that ‘safe’ with.

Crows

2010-01-08T13:06:00.001-05:00

I spend a good bit of my time driving on the Interstate. Highway driving can get very boring and even soporific if I don’t have something to distract me. Sometimes I pray; sometimes I work on a sermon or something I am writing in my head as I am driving. It keeps me awake and present to my driving. But my constant companions are crows.

Winter or summer, crows are always my companions as I drive.
I seldom see a crow alone. They are usually three or more in the vicinity. When I hear them in town when I am sitting on my screened in porch they dominate the bird voices in the spring. But surprisingly, when they do come to the feeder, they do not fight with other birds. But I often see crows being chased by other birds on the road.

Crows are carrion eaters, but according to Cornell’s online info about birds, they don’t have the equipment to pierce the skin of a squirrel so they have to wait until something else opens a dead animal up for them to eat the flesh. I often see the big black beasts feeding on road kill. I am somehow heartened by Nature’s ability to keep us cleaned up.

As a child I listened to farmers at my grandmother’s curse the crows that were in their corn. I learned about scarecrows quite early and always found them rather silly. I guess I still equate them with Ray Milan, but for some reason I never got a bad feeling about crows. I guess I didn’t see the movie “Birds.”

One evening about a few weeks ago, J and I stopped for supper on a road trip. Overhead was a flock of crows that darkened the twilight. It was awesome. There must have been hundreds of thousands of crows in that flock. I am used to seeing only 3 or 4 at a time. I am accustomed to seeing starlings flock with their swooping flight patterns. These crows, however, did not have the grace of those starlings, but they could navigate together with an amazing precision. It was a quiet flyover. Instead of their usual cawing presence, the flock’s presence was marked with only chirps— crow-like grunts to mark their presence.

I am somewhat in awe of crows. They can live in families and in flocks. They can fly in formation or be singular in their attacks for food. They are ubiquitous and noisy as well as necessary in the balance of Nature’s shalom. But most of all I appreciate their presence as I drive.

Friday Five: Dreams

2010-01-08T11:21:00.004-05:00

Sophia, a revgalblogpal, posted this Friday Five”

With the beginning of my college teaching semester I have been having some unusually intense and memorable dreams lately--especially related to my Women and Religion class. With the beginning of a new calendar year many of us are engaging with dreams of another kind: planning, brainstorming, setting intentions or resolutions, etc. And many churches will celebrate the baptism of Jesus this Sunday, reading the Gospel account of his vision of the Holy Spirit as a dove and the "beloved child" words of Godde that set him off on his mission sharing Godde's dream for the world. So let's take a few minutes on this (where I am at least) lovely snow-blanketed Friday morning and share about the many different dreams and visions in our lives.

1. Do you tend to daydream?

Of course I day dream! How can I be a preacher, a rev., a pastor without dreaming? No matter our faith, faith is about dreaming. The Prophets certainly dreamed. It is part of the hope mechanism of my life. Unlike Ezekiel, I don’t dream of a New Jerusalem, but I do dream of a time when things will be better. God will be in charge. There will be peace on earth. How could I preach otherwise?

2. Do you usually remember your night dreams? Do you find them symbolic and meaningful or just quirky?

I am not so good about night dreams. For years I had dreams, but would wake up in a sweat but could not recall anything. After a good bit of therapy, I remember some of my dreams. But on the whole I do not remember many of them. The may be intense when I wake up but they fade fairly soon after waking up. I figure that they are my subconscious working something out and I go on about my way.

3. Have you ever had a life changing dream which you'll never forget?

As a young person I had a dream that I would get out of the world of ignorance and racism that seemed to pervade my home. It wasn’t so much my family’s ignorance but the environment that seemed to permeate the society that I lived in and with which our neighbors, schools and community were content. I was determined to go to college even though I was not really a good student. I was not going to be stuck with the typical teacher-secretary-nurse options that were available to women in my day. That dream changed my life. I did get out. But now I am contemplating going back to that world as a missionary.

4. Share a long term dream for one or more aspects of your life and work.

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5. Share a dream for 2010....How can we support you in prayer on both the short and long term dreams?

I guess I have always dreamed of retirement since I started working in my teens. Now that it is facing me, I am not sure what my dream is. I love what I do. I love being pastor-priest. I love my congregation. I can’t see stopping that. I need to move. My landlord is being a jerk. I think he wants to sell the house. Prayers, please.

Lutheran-Episcopal 'Together in Ministry'

2010-01-04T14:45:00.003-05:00

I continue to marvel at the intricacies of working in the Lutheran church while being an Episcopalian. Yesterday I led a service at a parish that is bringing together a Lutheran congregation and an Episcopal parish. They began their journey because of financial necessity. But that isn’t what can keep them together. They will have to make something new that is a compromise of their two equally strong traditions to make the ‘Together in Ministry’ work.
How we worship is central to both traditions so even small changes in the liturgy can be problematic. But compromises can be made when both sides understand that both are sacrificing for the betterment of the congregation. Those sacrifices need to be fairly equal, though. However, one group cannot be the bearer of all the sacrifice in the matter of liturgy and still maintain their sense of rootedness in their own tradition. It will take quite a bit of creativity on the part of that group to develop ways of celebrating Christ among them and spread the good news that is in them. So here are some things that I observe that are different that may need to be addressed:
• Bishops’ offices are not the place to work out difficulties. This is not casting aspersions against our judicatories, but the bishops’ job is to maintain the denomination. Those of us who are working across denominational lines need to tell our judicatories what it is like in ecumenical settings and help our bishops understand the exigencies of this new reality.
• Ethnicity IS an issue. The majority of Episcopalians is ethnically English or has been heavily influenced by English culture. Because American culture is heavily influenced by English culture, most Episcopalians do not even realize that ethnicity or culture is an issue in religion until we confront the Lutherans who constantly have to address the German-Scandinavian divides that are among them.
• Catholicism and Protestantism is STILL an issue. Many Episcopalian see their faith as heavily catholic with a small ‘c’. Lutherans can be almost phobic about catholic theology. They do not trust catholicism because they identify it with Romanism against which they are still leading the protest. It is deeply rooted in their protestant tradition. But the catholicism that Lutherans retain in the Deutche Messe is deeply treasured. They just don’t identify it with being catholic. Episcopalians on the other hand don’t hold with papism but they often ape romanistic ways in the liturgy. Episcopalians need to be aware of the reasons for their actions in the liturgy and Lutherans need to find ways of claiming their own rootedness in a catholic faith.
• There are some stereotypes of Lutheran and Episcopalians that need to be addressed: Episcopalians are often seen as the landed gentry, or the upper class in America. That was once true in American history, but is no longer the case. Since WWII for the most part, Episcopal churches serve in all kinds of ethic and economic worlds. But sometimes we Episcopalians still give off airs of being upper class. We have to address that. The really wealthy tend not to be in any church these days—more’s the pity. Most Episcopalians are just ordinary folks—usually a bit better educated than the average Christian according to the various surveys. Lutherans give off the air of being stodgy, dour hard-headed Germans or Scandinavians. And some of them are. But most of them are as far from the European experience as most Americans are. Our values are usually the same.
• The majority of Lutherans have been Lutheran since birth so family customs dwell deeply in their experience of faith. Eighty percent of Episcopalians, on the other hand, have been some other denomination before landing in the Episcopal Church. Change tends to be more difficult for Lutherans than Episcopalians, but that stereotype doesn’t necessarily hold. I have known Episcopalians who have had just a rough time with the changes of recent years. It is the reason that we have the schism presently.
• I have said before that humor is different among the two denominations. My snarky, sarcastic, sardonic, wordsmithed play with the English language is not appreciated among my Lutheran friends. It is not seen as seemly. This may come from having been an immigrant community for so long, but it pays those who are trying to bring two different ways of understanding together to be aware of it.
• In comparison to the Lutherans, Episcopalians do not understand church organization. The Lutherans do know how to organize and manage things! And don’t try to get in the way. At the diocesan or clergy level, Episcopalians think of the canons. We think of how things fit into the legal realm of things. Lutherans are more likely to try to manage things at the congregational level and the management goes up from there.
• The understanding of the role of the bishop is very distinct. Episcopalians tend to elect their bishops and then treat them like the far-away home office. They provide great pomp and circumstance when they visit, but mostly they ignore them. Lutheran bishops are elected for a length of time. They visit only if invited or if the congregation is without a pastor. Pastors do not have an obedience factor in their relationship with their bishop as a priest does.
• The role of pastor and the role of priest are a bit different too. When I went to seminary I understood the role of priest to be one priest who was prophet and who was teacher. Very little of the idea of “locum Cristi” was part of the theology that I was taught. There was some nod toward the role of pastor in the pastoral counseling skills we were taught. Today in the Episcopal Church I find more of my younger colleagues to have been taught more of that “locum Christi”—standing in the place of Christ—theology. That is too Romish for me but it works for them. Among Lutherans, the role of the clergy is to be PASTOR in large print. And I have seen that theology of ministry from the top (from the Presiding Bishop) down. There is less of a need for a herald, although the evangelical element is constantly emphasized. The leader of the church is to be one who shepherds, cares and brings peace into the community. I can see the benefits of both. I feel that I have become a better pastor through the influence of Lutheran friends. I hope through my emphasis on teaching and proclaiming, I have been able to stir folks to encounter Christ more readily.
• Lastly—at least for today. I see the differences in TEC and the ELCA is that we approach the Christ event from two different points of view. Our doctrine is the same. The prevailing theologies that under pin that doctrine are fairly interchangeable. But Lutherans always look at the Christ event through the lens of the Cross. All emphasis is put on Christ’s saving work of the Cross. All of Scripture is seen through that lens. I think that Episcopalians see the Christ event through the lens of the Incarnation—that God became human that we might know the call to divinity. This is my opinion and there will be some on both sides that will disagree. And that is fine. But it is a good way to begin thinking of how we approach the Christ event and that perhaps we have come to a time when we use more than one lens.

Epiphany 2010

2010-01-03T08:45:00.002-05:00

What would it have taken the Magi to make their trip to Jerusalem? Think about it. Say you lived in ancient Iran and were a member of a tribe of Zoroastrian priests deeply centered in your own faith, a faith that believed in one God and waited for a virgin-born savior, which is what Zoroastrians believed, what would it have taken you to make the trip from Tehran to Jerusalem on camels? It was a trip that would have taken months. It would have been filled with hardship. You carry with you gifts for a king, gold, frankincense and myrrh, gifts of diplomacy. Because you have studied the stars as part of your priestly training, you are following a configuration of the stars or a comet but you are also seeking a phenomenon of faith. You have hoped to find the one who will lead the world to peace.

The story of the Magi is an important one. It speaks of spiritual seeking—of the journey of the soul to come to a place of contentment, faith and peace. And it is an important part of our Christian life. Most of us have been “taught” our religion. We were taken to church at an early age and we were taught what faith meant by Sunday-school teacher and parents. But at some point we made faith our own whether it was at confirmation or as some other point in life. Others of us came to faith at a different time in our lives. But at some point we all have to ask ourselves “what do I believe and how am I going to live according to that belief.” That is the process of seeking.

I love the Christmas season. Not just because Christ comes, but often I get to meet the children of my friends, the ones who live away from home. I sometimes get to visit with those who are seeking, trying out what it means to believe through their own lights. Often it is the trip home that gets them thinking about what they really have faith in. And I get to have some interesting discussions with those who are willing to challenge. Some have already had an experience of God or some realm of the holy and they are trying to figure out how to claim that experience and place themselves in a place where they might be able to experience it again.
Others are asking questions that bring their childhood faith into question. This is not to say that their education in their childhood was not good, it is merely the fact that their ability to understand has grown and they are “putting away their childish things.” They have outgrown their childhood faith and must claim an adult faith. Some are angry that what they learned in childhood doesn’t serve them as adults—but it is more of situation is that they haven’t tended their childhood faith so that it will grow with them. Faith is not made out of Spandex—we must let the seams out ourselves so that it will fit an adult relationship with God. Faith is made to order-- each one developing our relationship with Christ. We no longer have the faith of our parents, or Sunday school teacher or the pastor. Our faith in God is uniquely our own but within some kind of tradition that is right for us.

Seeking is a gift, however. God invites us to seek—graces us with curiosity. We are drawn by the stars of our own needs and desires. All of us are invited to seek even if our faith is secure. We seek to know more of God. The Magi sought to find the Prince of Peace—the virgin-born Savior of their own tradition and they found Jesus. We often seek through reading Scripture or studying how the Church has believed over the generations. It is of God’s nature to be found. God does not avoid us as we seek. If we go looking for God, we will find. The door will be opened to us.

Some of us need to allow ourselves to be sought. God seeks us just as surely as we seek God. We need to allow ourselves to be quiet enough for God to speak to us, to allow ourselves to be encountered by the holy One. But sometimes we have to let go of looking in what we have always thought were the right places. The Magi thought they were supposed to go to Jerusalem to find the Christ Child—their directions were not as fine tuned as they thought. Their GPS was nine miles off—their goal was in Bethlehem—down in Podunk Holler.

The Magi had something else that the good nuns in my convent used to describe as the most important part of one’s faith: perseverance. It isn’t a term that is used much anymore. Everything in society these days needs to be mobile. That stick-to-it-iveness that the word perseverance implies is not as valued in the workday world but it is valued in matters of faith. The Magi were unfailing in their seeking. They did not let things like Herod deter them. They kept on looking until they found the Messiah. They persevered. Seeking requires that kind of dogged, relentlessness. It requires forging ahead even when doubts assail us, grief makes us despondent, or apathy or laziness would overcome us. Perseverance equips us to meet the difficulties that seeking requires.
One of the things that I see that is a barrier to God’s gift of seeking is an unwillingness to confront the issues of being faithful today. Sometimes it comes from an attitude of “I know all I need to know—my faith works for ME and I don’t have to learn anything more.” That is like a forty-five year old trying to get by on an eight-grade spiritual education. The seams are too tight. One’s vision of God is too small to meet the needs of someone who is middle aged. Another one is “I have always believed…”. Faith is not static. Seeking God always expands our faith. It forces us into thinking about how our faith must address the issues we must face life in a changing world.
The other one is “I am afraid that the new teaching is taking me away from Jesus.” There is nothing that can ever take us away from Jesus. No education can take someone from Jesus Christ if it is truly education and not indoctrination. Sometimes it hard to tell the difference, but we must be willing to trust Christ enough to allow us to address the world’s issues in the light of our Christianity. There are those whose religious affiliation is based more on indoctrination than faith. But if one’s faith is deeply rooted in that relationship between God and humanity through the Incarnation of God in Christ, nothing can shake it—no questions, no information, no way of teaching, no way of understanding Scripture, no fear, no indoctrination. Because who we have sought has been God. God will not allow our foot to be moved. If we persevere in following where God leads us, we cannot fail in faith. The only failure comes is when we give in to the fear.

Seeking allows us to see the world in different eyes—God’s eyes. Seeking allows us to see the parts of the world that are not our own and have compassion for people who are different from us. It was the Magi’s compassion that led them not return to Herod to tell where the Christ child was.

Throughout this Epiphany season we will seek the Light of Christ in our readings. The Light of Christ may be a star in the sky or the warmth of caring, or the delving into learning to know more of Christ. It may be us bringing the darkness of our world into the Light so that we may find some way to conquer that darkness with the love of God. The gifts of the Magi may once have been gold, frankincense and myrrh. But now they are Seeking, Perseverance and Openness. The Magi gave us an image how to live in the world and not try to escape from it.

I invite you this season to find the places where God is calling you to seek Him. It may be in the old—in the comfort of the history of faith. It may be in the future hope that God gives. It may be in the here and now. God may be calling you to bring the darkness of the world into the Light. God may be calling you to explore issues that are difficult with the Light of who has come into the world. But in all those places, God is with you like he was with the Magi, saving you, and opening your horizons to a greater faith. AMEN

Christmas Eve

2009-12-30T10:42:00.002-05:00

--the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in the land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.

Those of us who live in the country know what it means to walk in darkness. It is not uncommon to drive down some of our back roads feeling like we are in a cave with only our measly headlights to guide us. There is always the fear that a deer, or worse, a skunk, will jump out in front of us. If it is snowing we can’t even use our high beams we just have to pick our way carefully. If it is clear, we can see the stars. But even out here in the country there is still some light pollution and it is difficult to see the whole array of the heavens.

In Texas, Christmas time is a light show. The electrical consumption doubles in the state of Texas between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every building, out building, fence, tree and outhouse is decorated with lights. When you fly into the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport the two cities look like they are ablaze. There is no distinction between night and day. Every house has electric icicles hanging from it. There is no groping to find the driveway there. It wasn’t until I moved to Bainbridge 30 years ago that I found out that icicles were not a GOOD thing. In my mind, they were just pretty decorations, not the telltale signs that your house didn’t have any insulation. Up here in the North we know the difference of dark and light. And so did the people in Isaiah’s day.

They found their way by following the stars in the desert the same way that mariners found their way on the sea. They longed for the light of home the same way we look for a porch light on a snowy night. And Isaiah used this metaphor to remind the people that God would provide them with the kind leadership to leave the political and spiritual darkness that had come upon them. Isaiah warned of the coming captivity of the people of Judah, but he also gave them hope that God would relent and give them a future.

Isaiah tells of a leader who would come to show the way from darkness to light. “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” and for 500 years the people of Judah looked for that child.

Finally in the time of Caesar Augustus, when Quirinius was governor of Syria and the Galilee, that child was born into the tribe of Judah to lead the people out of the political and spiritual malaise into which the people of God had once again fallen. He was to lead the people of God back to living in the light. This child was to know what it meant to be human. But he also was born to know what it meant to be Divine and teach that to us all. He was the Prince of Peace, because when humanity knows the love of God and lives it, peace reigns. He was to familiarize us with the Father—bring us into a common family, all peoples, all tribes, and all faiths for the sake of the whole world.

All ages walk in darkness. All of us personally enter into darkness. It is part of what it means to be human. Even in our light-polluted world where we do not fear the deer or the skunk jumping out in front of us, we still walk in the darkness of doubt, or short-sightedness, or self-absorption, or fear and self-protection. We, too, fumble through life searching for meaning, searching for purpose, searching for connection with others—in short we are looking for that Light of God in our own captivity. We look for the warmth of acceptance, or home, or peace. We often hide from the Light because it is there we see our frailties and shortcomings. But in the Light of God we do not have to hide. We are called not to dwell on our imperfections but to learn from them and sin no more. It is in Christ, that child who was born for us in Bethlehem so long ago, that we can find the wherewithal to trust and let go of fear. This child who was brought to us in a stall in Bethlehem is the Light of the world. It is he who has shown all humanity what it means to totally alive, totally fulfilled, totally satisfied, totally filled with God’s grace.

Tonight, over two thousand years later we still celebrate that moment when God and humanity met and became one. No longer can those of us who claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior find in ourselves only our humanity. In Christ Jesus have had a taste of what it means to be whole and holy. In the Incarnation of Christ we find that the Christian life is not just waiting for the bliss of Heaven. The Christian life is the adventure of drinking deeply of what it means to live fully in the Light of God with the full knowledge of our failings and the full experience of God’s mercy.

Like the shepherds of tonight’s Gospel reading, we too are drawn by the light and music. We too must journey to Bethlehem to see this thing that has been related to us by prophets and sung to us by angel choirs all our lives. We are drawn to the light of home—for it is in Christ we know what we were born for. It is in his name we proclaim our family heritage. It is in his life that we find the pattern for our own.

It is in Christ we know the holiness of our birth. In Him we know not only the particular uniqueness of our personal existence, but we find our commonality with all creation. As we gaze at the manger, we know the lowliness of our birth, even if we were born in a castle. As we look at the tiny fingers of the new born, we see our own hands. As we watch Mary and Joseph we see the love of family and know our mission to pass that love on.

We are a people who have walked in darkness but we know where our Light is. We know that if we do not keep that Christ Light before us, we can opt for fear and dissolution. And all though we celebrate this journey to Bethlehem only once a year, the journey to Bethlehem is something we do daily. Christ is born anew in us each time we live in Christ’s light. Each time we forget ourselves and contribute to the well-being of others we understand why this Child came to us. Each time we stretch ourselves to expand our vision of peace, each time we feed those who are hungry, each time we refrain from vengeance, each time we contribute to the welfare of others we get a glimpse of the light that radiates from that manger—the Light that saves the world.

Tonight we come to Bethlehem, to hear again the story of Christ’s birth and our own. At this altar you are invited to become all that you were hoped to be. In the light of these candles you are drawn to the love of the Father. In the ancient songs and carols you can find your home, that centered place where God and you are made one.

So when you go back to your everyday world next week, someone may ask you, “What did you do for Christmas?” Just answer them, “I went to Bethlehem.” They will probably think you went to Pennsylvania, but you will know better. If they ask, “what did you do there?” You can tell them you saw the hope for the world. You saw in Christ the hope that walking from the darkness into the Light brings. You saw the hope that says that God and humanity have met and are made one. You saw that in Christ that we can do all things in the name of the One who sent him. In Bethlehem you saw the Christ Child but you also saw yourself and all the hope that God has in you. AMEN

Noel

2009-12-22T15:17:00.003-05:00

Once the last Sunday of Advent is over, I start getting Christmasy. I break out my red and green sweater and fuzzy bear-snowflake vest. By then all the gifts I ordered online are arriving and I start thinking about Christmas dinner.
Most of the time J and I have a quiet Christmas Day following all the Christmas Eve services we celebrate. This year J has a Christmas Day service so I will get to have the kitchen all to myself to fix the roast of beef and Yorkshire pudding—the singular nod to our English heritage. There are generally telephone calls to family members and perhaps a movie in the afternoon.

But the real Christmas is in the Christmas Eve service wherever it is. It is in the ancient ritual and music that the world is made right for me. Candle lit faces sing a truth that can only be understood in song and poetry.

Christmas is not an event, some historical moment in time encapsulated in ritual. Christmas is a life lived reminded of how intimate God is. It is a reality of Divine presence and who dwells among all that I know and think of. With Christmas, God is never “up there”. God is constantly within my world whether it is as a child or friend or parent, or creator or spirit beyond the universes. And no matter how far God may seem to be in my restlessness, or how close in my consolation; Christmas Eve breathes God’s intimate breath into my soul and gives me the oxygen of faith to face whatever life holds for me for the next year.

Join us at 7:30 Thursday evening at St. Luke’s for this wonder moment of faith and Christian nourishment. Celebrate, worship and praise the God who comes to be with us within a community who cherish his presence.

Sermon: Joy

2009-12-14T10:56:00.003-05:00

Friday night J. and I went out for dinner. As is our habit, we discuss the readings for the coming Sunday. There is a real plus to living with another preacher. “What are the readings?” she asked. “Two readings on Joy and ‘you brood of vipers’, I said and we both laughed. Sometimes our readings seem to be at real odds with one another. The theme for today is JOY and yet our Gospel reading seems decidedly NOT joyful. So what are we to find in today’s readings, or as Luther would have asked “Was ist das?” or “What does this mean?”

In the Zephaniah reading for today we hear words of pardon and return. The prophecy of Zephaniah was written before the Babylonian Exile and tells of the wrath of God that will come because the people of Judah have strayed from worshipping God. They have not followed the Torah—the teachings of God. Zephaniah prophesies that as the punishment of the people of Judah will be great, so will the joy be great when they return from exile. It is this joy that the people of God celebrate. It is the joy that comes after repentance. It should be noted that joy comes after taking responsibility for their sin against God.

In the reading from Philippians, Paul is writing to a community that has been under persecution. Instead of commiserating or cosseting the people of Philippi, he counsels them to “rejoice in the Lord always.” He calls them to be grateful for the misadventures that have befallen them. Because Paul knows that it is through their joy, the truth of Christ’s sacrifice will be witnessed. The good news of Christ’s resurrection will be proclaimed in their sufferings.

Even in the canticle from Isaiah that we read responsively instead of a psalm this morning, we find joy coming in the face of what should be fear. Confidence in God’s salvation brings forth joy, not fear. So our readings really do have some commonality.

John Baptist comes to the people from the desert in the Gospel to preach to the “riff-raff”, the tax collectors, the Maddoffs and Sillings of his day and the Roman soldiers, the gangbangers and mobsters of society. John Baptist does not say ‘believe in the Messiah who is coming’. He says ‘turn your life around.’ ‘Make changes in what you are doing if you want to know the joy of God.’ John was teaching about the coming new age when God’s teachings, God’s Torah would rule the land. He preached that Israel would return to its former glory and God’s law would be the law of the land once again. No longer would the injustice of Roman law prevail. God’s teaching would call from all those living in Palestine a kind of just living that would demand that the tax collectors be honorable and the police serve all the people, not just the Roman landholders or merchants.

Joy, in the minds of the prophets, was the consequence of living out God’s hope and righteousness in community. Joy was the result of living worthy of one’s calling. This is not just some “happy, happy, joy, joy” passing pleasure. It is what comes to those who live out their faith with intention and commitment. Joy was the gift that comes when Christians act on their faith rather than just believe. Joy is how Christians live when they have little concern about themselves and more concern about others.

Often when the days darken, the cold sets in and the idiocy of a consumerism holiday season takes hold, I tend toward grumpiness. This is not an incipient Scroogism, nor is it some deep-seated dislike of Christmas. From the number of people who talk to me during November and December, it is the complaint of many of us. We often wonder why this depression at a time when everyone is singing about joy. And I think it is because we have lost this biblical understanding of joy. We have opted for “fun” or “pleasure” or some passing FEELING rather than that deeply experienced understanding of God’s gift of joy—of that sense of life is “right”, that there is balance and wholeness to our lives in Christ.

Joy is a type of contentment—not the ‘I have finally arrived and I don’t have to change anymore’ kind of contentment. But the kind of contentment that comes with having lost my own self in the service of others. It is a kind of wholeness that does not rest on our labors, but rests in the understanding that God is in charge of our future. The gift of joy comes to us when we find in our faith not ways of manipulating others to believe the way we do, but by evangelizing by exemplifying the courage to become better persons.

Advent is that time when the Church allows us to embrace that sense of Joy. It is a time when we can provide a community of faith that recognizes that we never can be all we want to be. It is a community of faith that recognizes that we are all trying to be more Christ-like than we were last year. In Advent we as a Church understand that we are all works-in-progress, and our goal is still before us. And in Advent we hear of those attributes that God offers us of Hope, Love and Joy that come when we turn our lives over to Christ.

We need not fear John Baptist facing us with our sinfulness as a “a brood of vipers” because we know that it is in repentance that God’s joy comes upon us. We need not fear persecution because in the sacrifice we find God’s joy in us. We need not fear our mistakes because in God’s mercy we know a joy that passes all words. We need not fear a new age because God’s Torah—God’s way is shown to us in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. We need not fear our grumpiness or depression because it is that abiding gift of wholeness and oneness that God provides us in the midst of our tribulations, our sacrifices and service to others.

In Hebrew there are ten different words that are translated ‘joy.’ In Greek there are at least six. English has several that could be substituted for ‘joy,’ but we are all know what joy means even if we cannot find the word for it.Joy is the result of our dependence upon God alone. And Joy is the result when we have worked hard with the grace of God to transform ourselves into that selfless, Christ-like, whole, person working to bring balance to our world.

In Judaism, our Lord’s faith, the faithful person was one who did “mitzvot”. The word actually means "blessing. But it often conotes an act or deed of goodness or righteousness. We Protestants often get a bit uncomfortable with good acts or works. But a ‘mitzvah’ is the blessing of God putting the world back in balance in the face of human sin through our acts of kindness and fidelity. In John Baptist’s call to baptism, the tax collector and the Centurion ask John Baptist “What can we DO?” John Baptist tells them very succinctly what they are to do: ‘Do not extort’, ‘Do not bully’. ‘Change your life.’ ‘Bring balance back into the community by acting justly.’

Joy, that sense of rightness and balance is there for us when we surrender our lives. For those who know they are saved, hope, love and joy are all part of our daily experience of God. When we do “mitzvot”, those blessings of kindness, those acts of balance, we participate in the God’s reparation of Creation. So I invite you to find things that you can DO to bring about joy in the lives of others. I invite you to do acts of bringing balance into the world, acts of restorative care for others for in it you will find the joy of Christ in them. AMEN

Good Church Order

2009-12-11T11:56:00.003-05:00

Often times congregations are unaware of something called ‘Good Church Order.’ It is a manner of operating a congregation or a synod or diocese in a manner that is workable for all. Bishops, priests and pastors and deacons are all responsible for good church order. Some of Church Order is published as rules of order, by-laws or canons but others are merely understood as custom or recognized as ‘polite’ behavior. Some of these customs bridge denominational lines. One of these is: “a pastor does not return to his/her former congregation without the express invitation of the current pastor.”

The social dynamics of churches are often volatile things. Given the political climate of our times, it is not surprising that the emotional climate of most congregations in the US is precarious at best. There are many things that upset folks in our churches these days and the management of good church order is often more like riding a bucking bronco than anything else. The surprise entrance of a former pastor into a current congregation is difficult and often becomes an unsettling element in the parish’s life. When a former pastor attended a church event and asked the present chair of council if he could preach that Sunday, I was stunned. Not only had he ignored the good order of the church, he had crossed the boundaries of the development of affection that were trying to be built by me in my current parish. He wasn’t being mean or malevolent. He was just trying to touch that missing sense of love he had known while pastor.

One of the sacrifices that clergy must make in their lives as priests and pastors is the friendship with those they have served. It is the MOST difficult sacrifice I have had to make in order to be a priest. I work hard at the friendships in the pastor/parishioner relationships in my congregations. I try to give my all to these people in Christ’s name. I spend myself for them. That is not only my job; it is my calling. Most of the time, that service, love, affection and respect in loving them is reciprocated. I get loved back and that feels wonderful. It is in that reciprocal love Christ is most often identified and glorified. It is fulfilling, healing to others and myself. It is the most Christ-like way to lead the community of the faithful.

However, when I leave that position as pastor or rector, that particular dynamic of love and reciprocity is ended for good church order. I cannot expect to give or get the kind of love that I did when I was leading the congregation. It is one of the down sides of my vocation. Even if I have spent my whole life in one congregation, I cannot expect to depend upon those friendships when I leave because those friendships must be reoriented to the new pastor or rector. It is my duty to those I have loved and served not to return. It is my duty to cause no undue tension in the congregation or focus the attention on my needs for love and friendship. It sometimes means that I am lonely after I have left a church. I want to say “My friends can change their relationship from pastor to friend.” But quite frankly most can’t.

When I leave a church there are voids in my life that hurt unmercifully. But that is a sacrifice I must make for good church order. It is the final act of loving for a parish I can do. And even if my successor is a numbskull, a pitiful preacher, or a unloving SOB or not even there yet, I cannot step in to that parish, or even have friends in that parish, until that present pastor has his/her feet on the ground and has developed the reciprocal love that is necessary for his/her leadership in that congregation.

Sermon: Adventual Love

2009-12-07T10:11:00.004-05:00

Most of you remember that in October I went out to participate in a drug intervention of my friend in St. Paul, MN. I have known Cece since she was 16 and watched her grow into a well-functioning neo-natal nurse, be a contributing part of society, mature into a 40-something woman that was capable and alert, yet after an injury and extensive surgery became a recluse, drugged, hoarding, cat lady unable to pay her bills or take care of herself. My friend Beth and I confronted Cece with her addiction. It was not a happy event. Cece’s denial was strong and angry. She was afraid to see herself as an addict. It was hard to set a mirror before her and ask her to look at what she had become because of the disease of addiction. But the love we had for her was strong and I believe it got through the drugged fog she lived in. This week I got a long email from her. She has completed the initial phase of rehab and has chosen to go into another phase of rehab that will give her the skills to address the world without drugs. She actually thanked us for intervening.

Love is the theme for this Sunday of Advent. Now, I have spoken lots about love—it is the foundation of our relationship with God. Often it is that soft, gentle love that we want to hear about. We want to hear how God goes after the lost sheep, or welcomes us home like the Prodigal Son’s Father. We love to hear the stories of how we are fed and cosseted by God’s saving grace. But sometimes God’s love is a much more terrifying kind of love—like the love that my friend Cece had to face when she had to look at herself in rehab and see that she had become a drug addict no different from the homeless guy on the street.

Adventual love is the kind of love that hears John Baptist’s cry to “prepare the way of the Lord.” Adventual love is a call to look at ourselves and see where we have fallen from the image that God has for us. Adventual love is ‘tough love’, in which God says to us: “I know you are better than you are behaving right now, and I am giving you a chance to do something about it.” And God holds up a mirror for us and shows us who we really are. That is tough love.

Adventual love does not have to show itself in our lives during Advent. Often times that Adventual love catches us when we have made a real fool of ourselves or when we have run away from our failings rather than face them. But that voice from the wilderness is always there—“prepare a place for God in your life.” Until we are willing to move the barriers to the love God has for us, we can never really know that healing love of God.

Adventual love is the kind of love that says we can risk God’s presence in our lives. It says that when we are loved we can face the shame that we carry, we can admit the sinfulness of our hearts, and we can begin the process of forgiving ourselves because God already has. The kind of tough love that God holds out for us is the kind of love that allows us to love others through their faults—a love that can love through the hurt. It is the kind of love we want to be loved by.

When I began my career in ministry—this was long before I was ordained, I began to study Scripture. It was not long after Vatican II and I was listening to and being taught by teachers who had been liberated from the limitations of Catholic dogma to teach the truths of Scripture. To me it was thrilling. It opened up the Scripture to teach me how God’s love was alive and pertinent to me today. It taught me the history, but it also taught me how the truth of the stories could speak to me in my own time. As I went on in my journey in faith I understood that I was called to the Episcopal priesthood, but more importantly I was to teach others how Scripture impacted their lives.

During the past 10 to 15 years I have seen a reaction going on in the greater Church to Scripture that dismays me. I have seen both clergy and lay opting for a kind of scriptural literalism that is quite alien to our Episcopal or Lutheran traditions. I see people read the story of Adam and Even as if it were stuck in some historical time instead of reading it as if Adam and Eve were US—-letting us seen that our inability to take the responsibility for our actions expels us from the Eden of truth. The story of the Fall is not about what happened back then! It is about what is happening in our lives NOW when we do not listen to God’s voice, when we disobey God’s hopes for us.

When we do not attend to the social contract of how we govern ourselves and ignore the gradual take-over by moneyed interests, or fail in our goodness to care for one another in society, are we not like those in the time of Noah that were drowned in the Flood? Have we not allowed our society to become corrupt because of our lack of attention? And will we not bring our world to destruction if we do not attend to our sense of loving community or the needs of our frail Creation?

Does not the story of Lazarus and Dives, the parable that Jesus told remind us that we have beggars on our streets here in Sidney, and we have been cheap and parsimonious towards them? The Bible is our mirror, Brothers and Sisters. The Bible reminds us of God’s love and how we fail in that love. The Bible is Adventual love—that tough love that God gives us to help us become what God intends for us --when we surrender to that incredible lightness of God’s yoke of faithfulness.

In the reading from Malachi this morning we hear of the messenger that God will send. He is not a warm, sweet Baby Jesus:

"But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap;
he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness."

The Messiah that Malachi predicts is a God who will love us with tough love—who will scrub us with LAVA soap, who will refine us through difficult times, who will make our offerings of service and worship perfect through the tough love that demands from us our best. God’s love is both the all-embracing love of the lost sheep as well as the well-tested love of those who have failed and have been redeemed. We cannot help but pass this kind of love on when we have known what it means to be saved.

In this Advent season, allow yourselves to read the Bible. Allow the stories in it mirror you to yourself and allow yourselves to see the habits or deeds that are not what God intends for you. Choose one of them and offer it to God as your gift. Let God take that habit, that attitude, that way of doing things from you as you allow Christ’s refining fire to work in you. Read your Bible. (If you don’t have one, I will give you one.) Allow it to mirror you in the light of Christ’s love. Surrender to God’s washing so that you may be an offering of righteousness, of wholeness and balance, of kindness and generosity as a response to God’s love for you. AMEN

Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T15:54:00.002-05:00

Grocery shopping during the Thanksgiving season, especially the day before Thanksgiving is a major chore. Thanks be to God I got most of mine done on Monday. The required turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, etc are set out so that everyone can see them. But for some reason they are not on the shelf where I can find them the rest of the year. I am so used to ignoring the “special displays” that I can’t find what I need. All I have to pick up now is ice cream and flowers.

We are having over 4 women friends. This is going to be a “hen Thanksgiving” and I am looking forward to it. Nothing is too different when the group is all women except that half the group is not in front of the TV watching the traditional football rivalries. Such a group is usually missing family but we enjoy the chance to tell funny stories, argue politics without being shouted down and try out our favorite recipes with each other.

I think I want to ask everyone at the table to name what they are thankful for during the prayer before dinner. I am always thankful for my congregation and the Church. I am thankful for a warm home and good health. I am thankful that I have friends who come and help J and I celebrate the feast. But I have prayers for friends who have died this past week and other friends who have gotten bad health reports. I have prayers for people who have no possibility of having a feast or those who are lost in dementia and don’t know it is a feast. I have prayers for my nation and thanksgivings for those who have made it strong--- from those Pilgrims who feasted with the Indians so long ago to those who now stand watch all over the globe.

I am thankful for 65 years of Thanksgivings and how they have molded me to have an attitude of gratitude. But most of all I am thankful for a faith that has been flexible enough to embrace and love those who have come into my life. I am thankful for the chance to be a servant of God in the Church and the grace of perseverance to remain faithful to that God who loves me despite all the temptations to walk along other paths. And I give thanks that there will be more opportunities to give thanks.

Rest in peace, Gingie and Jim. Your thanksgivings are complete. I give thanks for your friendships.

2009-11-20T11:10:00.003-05:00

Friday Five: Thanksgiving Thoughts

Jan has given us an interesting Friday Five by posting this poem:

The Cure

Lying around all day
with some strange new deep blue
weekend funk, I'm not really asleep
when my sister calls
to say she's just hung up
from talking with Aunt Bertha
who is 89 and ill but managing
to take care of Uncle Frank
who is completely bed ridden.
Aunt Bert says
it's snowing there in Arkansas,
on Catfish Lane, and she hasn't been
able to walk out to their mailbox.
She's been suffering
from a bad case of the mulleygrubs.
The cure for the mulleygrubs,
she tells my sister,
is to get up and bake a cake.
If that doesn't do it, put on a red dress.

--Ginger Andrews (from Hurricane Sisters)

So this Friday before Thanksgiving, think about Aunt Bert and how she'll celebrate Thanksgiving! And how about YOU?

1. What is your cure for the "mulleygrubs"?

Generally when I am really down in the mouth, I try to be with people. As an extrovert, other folks who aren’t blue are the folks I need to be with. Sometimes I just go out to a restaurant and eavesdrop on conversations at other tables—not in a malicious way, but just to hear others enjoying themselves, or I will read a book with other people around me where I can look up and know that I am not alone.

2. Where will you be for Thanksgiving?
I am cooking for J and four other women I know. I love to cook and love to have friends over. It will be a good time.

3. What foods will be served? Which are traditional for your family?

Typical turkey, dressing with almonds and apple, a fresh cranberry, walnut and celery gelatin relish that goes with the turkey well, a green veggy. No wine this year as I have folks in recovery coming but that is fine with me. Friends are bringing the desert and other friends are bringing something that they like.

4. How do you feel about Thanksgiving as a holiday?

Thanksgiving is always a family day. But I haven’t spent a family T’giving since the year I went to MS to help after Katrina. My family is pretty scattered emotionally at present so I doubt if we will ever get it together like when Mom was alive. I think we gathered as much for her than anything else.

5. In this season of Thanksgiving, what are you grateful for?

I am not sure at the moment. I am always thankful for my faith and the congregation I serve. I am thankful that I am well and have people who love me and who I love. But I am about to go to the Diocesan Convention at which the Presiding Bishop is going to be speaking. I am disturbed that the PB has not spoken out about the movement in Uganda to criminalize homosexuality and the voices of African bishop calling for the execution of people because they are gay. I went to a funeral last night of a colleague that was younger than I. I saw more clergy there than I have seen at any diocesan function since I have been back in the diocese. It reminded me of my ordination though it was not as joyful. But it was a strained group. We seem to have nothing in common—the Church does not sustain us as a family any more. Perhaps the Diocesan Convention this afternoon will help us find some commonality. I pray that it is so.

BONUS: Describe Aunt Bert's Thanksgiving.

Ginger and her sister fly into Little Rock and rent a 4x4. They stop at the local fancy grocery in Little Rock and then head to Aunt Berts and Uncle Franks’. They surprise them with turkey and dressing and all the trimmings. They spend the afternoon and evening watching football with Uncle Frank and washing the dishes with Aunt Bert. They find that the funky mood that they have been in all over the country has dissipated. It will be something that they will remember the rest of their lives.

Thoughts on being priest/pastor

2009-11-16T17:13:00.007-05:00

I attended the ordination of the first woman priest in the Diocese of Ft. Worth, TX. For as long as I have been a part of the Episcopal Church, that diocese has said that women were unworthy to serve the people of God. I remember hearing one of the bishops saying that “For me to lay my hands on a woman would be no different than my laying hands on a cow, she still wouldn’t be a priest.” Thanks be to God, those bishops have left the Episcopal Church. They have set their ideas totally in the past, not on what is new that the Holy Spirit is doing in the Church and throughout the world.

When I was ordained in 1983, I knew I was doing something that most could not yet understand. I remember a layman on the interviewing committee of my first call fussing about having to interview a woman because “no woman was going to be HIS priest.” In the interview he did a 180 degree change and became one of my greatest supporters. It wasn’t so hard to have a woman at the altar they began to agree, it was more important to have the “right” person at the altar.

All too often we don’t get who we want when we call a new pastor or rector to the congregation we attend. We want someone who will be OUR pastor, OUR priest, OUR minister. No one cleric can fulfill that role and no one cleric SHOULD try to fulfill that role. The only thing that a cleric can do is be faithful to the God as he/she knows and share that fidelity with others. There can be no ownership of clergy by either the laity or the bishop. There can only be the invitation to share the life of Christ with one another.

Each day it is incumbent upon me to remain faithful—to serve as Christ would have me. Sometimes I don’t do it very well but that is my prayer each morning and my confession each night. Sometimes I can fulfill some folks expectations and sometimes I don’t even come close. And then there are the days that I don’t even fulfill MY expectations, but that is always the plan for the journey.

As I share this ministry with others I listen to so many who are discouraged by the loss of membership and the shifting understanding of the meaning of Church. Some who are close to retirement or who are in retirement mourn the loss of status they once had. They grumble about expectations of the faithful or the passivity of the laity. And yet it is often the clergy who have initiated that passivity by taking over or micromanaging things. It is tempting to catch this malaise of clerical attitude. But for some reason I can’t. Yes, the Church universal is taking a beating at the moment. Mostly because we (clergy and lay) have become passive rather that taking responsibility for the faith we have been invited to share. But God is still present in the world and in our Church. Watching a fellow sister become ordained in a place where it has been verboten for years was thrilling. It says that God is working; God is still raising up those who will share the message and God will raise us up to do the work God has given us to do. Halleluia!

Friday Five: What's New?

2009-11-06T08:43:00.002-05:00

Songbird has provided a new Friday Five.

There's a new baby on my street, a double PK whose Mom and Dad are Methodist pastors and church planters. I'm hoping to go over and meet her today. I love new babies, the way they smell and their sweet little fingers and toes. Little K has me thinking about all the new things that please us with their shiny freshness.

Please share with us five things you like *especially* when they are new.

1. New Clothes- I love how they fit and how they look. They generally don’t look the same after a wash—atleast in our washing machine.

2. Fresh Veggies—I like to go to the market or the grocery the day I am going to cook them rather than put them in the frige.

3. A new book—the crack and the smell of opening a new book. But then again I love to open old books too.

4. New Resturants—I love to try out new places. I am glad I live in a small city. If I lived in NYC I would be broke. But new resturants are fairly uncommon here so I don’t break the bank.

5. New car. I am not crazy about the new car smell, but I do love the way it handles and the quiet way it moves on the highway.

All Saints’ Day 2009

2009-11-02T18:37:00.004-05:00

A colleague went to Israel some years ago. While he was there, he had to have his car tuned. It was in those days when it took only a screw driver to and a gap gage to tune the sparkplugs. The mechanic adjusted the car by the sound until all the coughing and sputtering of the idle moved into a place when all the cylinders began to work together and began to purr. The mechanic stepped back with satisfaction. “Tsedek” he said in Hebrew. “It is righteous!”

It was a use of the word “Tsedek” I had not ever heard before, because the word in Hebrew is usually translated “Justice or Righteous”. But I believe that it is the mechanic’s understanding of the word that helps us understand what the Wisdom reading means this morning.

When I read that “…the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will ever touch them…” I want to know what it means to be righteous. In western Christianity we often translate “tzedek” as “saint”, often giving the ‘righteous’ all kinds of miracle working powers or extraordinary abilities or talents that perhaps the majority did not have. But St. Paul writes to the various churches in the epistles and usually calls the people who follow Jesus “saints” and then he chastises them for all the things that they are doing wrong. So we need to find another way to understand what the word means.

The best way of describing a Tzedek is one who tries to make the world a better place by trying to bring the world into harmony. They may be called the Righteous or Saints or just plain “good folks”. But they are the ones who understand the joy of knowing and being known by God in Christ Jesus.

Personally I have been in the presence of those who I know will be considered a saint sometime in the future. One was Mother Theresa of Calcutta and the other, Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Both of these people were just plain ordinary people whose mission in life was to “make things right”. There is an aura about them that exude peace and a deep sense of hope. They are people who have suffered, and seen suffering yet knew that suffering is not the end.

All Saints’ Day celebrates that sense of hope—that sense that life can be “tzedek”, “in tune”, righteous or holy when we allow God’s love and peace to guide us. This does not mean that we become doormats, or opt for ‘peace at any price’. ‘Tzedek’ is quite the opposite. It calls for an honesty that brings us into harmony with those around us.

In the reading from Revelation we find John the Divine explaining his vision to a people who suffered being conquered once again, whose homeland has been savaged , who have lost their sense of themselves through the Jewish Wars. He sees in his vision, new hope, a “New Jerusalem”, without a Temple. It will not be a city where there are those who fight about who has the right to live there or visit there. GOD will be there. As Pastor Marilyn Sanders taught us last Lent, this is not a reading about heaven, but of the kind of life that God can help us create in this world. God makes all things new—God is the beginning and the end. The New Jerusalem is not place where people rule—it is any place where God’s “shalom” and “tzedek” are lived out.

But it is in the Gospel reading from John that we hear of what it means to be raised from the dead. The story of Lazarus coming forth from the tomb is a foretaste of what is to come in Jesus. This story tells of Jesus raising one who is truly deceased, his friend Lazarus. It is this miracle which is at the center of Christianity. It is reminds us that resurrection is not just for the Son of God—it is for those who are his friends. It is a reuniting of a man with his family and friends. But most of all, this story tells the followers of Jesus that Jesus is the Son of God. The miracles that are worked by Jesus focus on his loving-kindness but most of all on his ability to “make things right”. Like God, it is Jesus’ righteousness that is to be seen, he is ‘tzedek.’

Today we remember those who have become “Tzedek” who have entered into the realm of God who know the harmony of God’s presence as they have never known. Today we remember those who have died and who have entered into that presence and we name them. During the Intercessions we will repeat those whom we have lost their physical presence but who are among the righteous, among the saints. I invite you to name and give thanks for those who taught you righteousness, who taught you to be ‘in tune’ with your life and your God.

Revgalblogpal Friday Five: Lifesaver Edition

2009-10-30T09:34:00.003-04:00

Katherynzj has said:

In honor of BE Three I thought I'd offer up a Friday Five of lifesavers. I'm going on our cruise (are you?) because I am excited about meeting up with my blogging buddies again, I am interested in the speaker and because when I went on the first one my life was saved (okay, that may be a little over-dramatized but if you saw me getting on the boat and then the difference when getting off the boat you would know of what I speak).
I don't expect - or need - another life saving moment but I want to support the conference.

Of course lifesavers can come in all sizes and with far less drama. I would readily admit that I have considered a person (children's sermon substitute), the location of a bathroom, and a beverage (the last diet coke in the back of the fridge - score!) all to be lifesavers at one point or another.

And so today I ask you - dramatic or fairly common - what have been/are your lifesavers:

Muthah+: Well, J and I are going too, so that is my next lifesaving event.

1) Your lifesaving food/beverage. Iced tea, no sugar, no fruit. All the time.

2) Your lifesaving article of clothing. For 3 seasons of the year: Fleece made into vests, jackets, hoodies, pants and sox and warm fleece lined boots.

3) Your lifesaving movie/book/tv show/music. At the moment it is a cross between Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony, Mahler’s 1st Symphony and Mama Mia. (Go figure!)

4) Your lifesaving friend. I have several. J. is the everyday turn to. E. is my professional lifegiving person. H. is the maintenance lifesaver and T. is my family go-to girl, B. and L. make me laugh so hard that I wet my pants and J and D are my couple friends that remind me of married life in a way that is whole.

5) Your lifesaving moment. When I came to know that God was real and loved me just the way I was.

Musical Friday Five

2009-10-23T10:56:00.003-04:00

Songbird has come up with an interesting Friday Five.
She is younger than I and remembers cartoons that had "A Mighty Fortress" as their themesong. I don't remember that, but there are some tunes that mean life, love and faith.

It was the same Martin Luther who said:

"I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people gay; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor."

On this Friday before Reformation Sunday, let's talk about music. Share with us five pieces of music that draw you closer to the Divine, that elevate your mood or take you to your happy place. They might be sung or instrumental, ancient or modern, sacred or popular...whatever touches you.

Some of us even love hymns. (Well, I do.)

Please visit one another to read answers, because you never know when you might discover a kindred spirit!

1. Nada Te Turbe from Taize Not only are the words taken from one of my favorite spiritual writers, Teresa of Avila, the repetative music is a wonderful mantra.

2. Ubi Caritas Et Amore

3. Pia Jesu A. L. Webber

4. Anything from the Brahm's requiem, Mozart Requiem or Faure Requiem

5. Rutter Gloria

Friday Five: On Your Feet!

2009-10-16T15:58:00.003-04:00

Too often the Friday Fives I offer up seem extremely introspective, so here's something that could be fun. I notice as I finish my sixth decade that my taste in footwear is much different than when I was younger, as comfort wins out over fashion. So look at your feet and think about what you put on them!

1. What is your favorite footwear at this time in your life?

I prefer whatever is comfortable. I have found a style of Munro’s call unstructured that are wonderful. They are black and hold a decent shine and look decent under vestments. This morning I am wearing new shoes—Birkenstock oxfords. They look horribly manish, but they feel like my Birks with sox. We are having our first snow today—seemed like a good choice.

2. What was the craziest shoe, boot, or sandal you ever wore?

I had to wear bright red pumps for a wedding when I was in college. YUCK!

3. What kind of shoes did you wear in your childhood?

When I was small we all wore oxfords. Little children needed support for their little feet. As a teen, black suede penny loafers were the rage with white bobbysoxs.

4. How do you feel most comfortable? Barefoot, flip-flops, boots, or what?

If I could get away with it, I would be barefoot, then Birkenstocks, then sneakers, then boots. I do not wear heels of any kind and haven’t for at least 30 years.

5. What kind of socks do you like, if any?

I love nutty socks, the wilder the better, but I can’t get away with too much. I love Thorlo’s. They are warm and comfy.

Bonus: Anything you want to share about feet or footwear.

In the winter I wear boots a lot. Our parking lot ends up being a quagmire and so I need something that I can kick off when I get inside. Since I wear a size 11, and I live in a town with not a single good shoe store, I have to buy on line. ^(&^%% Boots are so hard to buy on line. Got any suggestions?

Friday Five: Special Days

2009-10-09T21:08:00.003-04:00

Sophia at Revgals has provided a very provocative Friday Five:

I am pre-posting this because Friday I will be at my new Independent Catholic church's yearly Synod, being welcomed and conditionally re-consecrated to episcopal ministry for this jurisdiction. I leave in a few hours and am spending the morning packing and making last preparations for my preaching, presiding, and teaching during the week. Exciting stuff but also nervous making with less time to prepare than I would prefer and lots of new people to meet--especially because, in accord with the pioneering status of ordained Catholic women, 95% or more will be men and I am not sure how receptive some may be to the Christian feminist theological/liturgical perspective!

This has me thinking of the special rites of passage in our lives which we participate for ourselves or in which we support and bless others: baptism, confirmation, marriage, ordination, graduation, funerals, etc. Such important days, so exciting and joyous, but also sometimes anxiety provoking or deeply painful....So, this week, please share five memories of such sacred moments with God and her holy people from your life and the lives of those you love.

1. There are so many ‘thin places’ in my life where God has touched me through my life. I was 25 when I was baptized. I was one of the first ones in the RC church in the 60’s who was baptized and confirmed at the same service at the Easter Vigil in a poor little parish where I was working. I had spent the three days before at a convent in retreat praying the hours with the community and then went to be baptized. It was a powerful experience.

2. Ordinations were blow away experiences—both of them. The priestly orders were crushingly evocative of birthing: the weight of the pressure of all the hands on my shoulders and head to the point that I thought I was going to be forced to my hands and knees, then the prayer of consecration and the lifting of the hands, fresh air, the hands that helped me to my feet. I knew I was a new person, one consecrated to do what it was that God wanted me to do.

3. In 1977 when J. was ordained—one of the first regularly ordained women in the Episcopal Church, I attended her history-making ordination. I was Jan. 6th in a driving snowstorm in the Cathedral in St. Louis. I was still a RC and went with a number of Sisters to the event. I saw the rite make her a priest. I listened to the preacher (who would later be the dean of my seminary) open the scripture and knock down every argument against the ordination of women. I felt as though someone had opened my brain, my heart and my whole meaning to entertain the priesthood for myself. It wouldn’t be until 1983 before I was ordained, but that night God came in the doors of that cathedral and touched me and said, “I want you.”

4. After the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson, the gay bishop in the Episcopal Church the fall out was fierce. The neo-conservative dean in my district accused me of being gay (I had been a vowed celibate for 3o years at that point) and I could no longer say no with integrity. I was in a new parish and the homophobia was rife. It was not handled well by either me or my bishop and I lost my parish. Then the bishop refused to allow me to work in the diocese because I defended a colleague whom I had known for years. I couldn’t even substitute in the diocese. So I began to substitute for the Lutherans. One little congregation, after several weeks of me serving there asked me if I would stand for election as their pastor. I asked them to talk to their bishop and their bishop talked to MY bishop and I was elected. That was three years ago. The installation was a wondrous affair. It still reminds me that God will have what God wants. At Lutheran clergy conference a few weeks ago, we renewed our ordination vows and then the bishops present prayed with each of us individually. With tears running down my face I asked the bishop to give thanks to God with me for making me a better Episcopalian. She was a bit puzzled by that but I know more why I am an Episcopalian and what that entails. I am so grateful to my Lutheran congregation and my Lutheran colleagues for helping me become a better priest, a better pastor, a better person. The walls between my Episcopal bishop have begun to come down too. God is good—all the time.

5. This week I have travelled with a friend half-way across the country to do an intervention for a mutual friend who has become addicted to prescription drugs. For the past 3 days she has tried to squirm out of going to rehab. She, like many addicts, had a laundry list of excuses. We finally said that none of them were acceptable. With that, she went to the refrigerator and the pantry and brought back crackers and grape juice. I didn’t really know what she was doing—the feelings were so tense. Then she went to her bedroom and brought back her prayer book and set in front of me. Without another word, I opened the Book of Common Prayer and began the Eucharistic service. We all cried: C. because she was beaten down and knew that she needed God to go through rehab, B. because she has struggled with conflicting images of who God is in her life and me. It was the first time I had celebrated according to the Book of Common Prayer in 3 years. God has been wonderfully present in those liturgical celebrations in my life.

One Day at a Time...

2009-10-08T23:35:00.004-04:00

Tonight I helped a friend to get into drug rehab. She was not too happy with me when I left her in her room at the rehab center. I had to draw on all the resources, pastoral, psychological, spiritual and some just plain ole Texas orneriness to make it happen. I feel like I have been in a wrestling match. Physically I am pooped, corporally I feel battered and spiritually I feel spent. But in the heart of my heart, I know I have done a good thing.

I feel like Jesus in the wilderness. I have driven halfway across the country to make this intervention happen. I could not have done it without the deepest sense of prayer and support and help from a treasured colleague. But I feel that I have met evil in this disease—not in the person who has it. I deeply love this person and long for her return from the disease that has taken her personality, her faith, her wit and her self-respect and made her fearful, unable to grapple with th day to day living that most of us take for granted.

I don’t talk about evil much. I don’t believe in a devil. I cannot personalize or even anthropomorphize evil. But I certainly know that evil exists. Evil is that which takes away our ability to be free in God—free to know how much we are loved, free to be about being all that we can be. Tonight I know I have grappled with that evil. I will not know if I have won that battle—it will be my friend who will have to grapple with it now. But I have won Round 1 and that is good enough for this moment. Now I have to hand my friend over to God so that she has the strength to embrace the strength that God has for her. One day at a time…

Super Charged: Friday Five

2009-09-04T13:26:00.001-04:00

Sally at Revgals has come in with a charged up Friday Five: “A few weeks ago my lap-top battery died, suddenly I found myself looking at a blank screen and was rather relieved to find that it was only the battery and not the whole computer that had failed. This morning a new battery arrived in the post, and suddenly I am mobile again!

After a week with what feels like wall to wall meetings, and Synod looming on the horizon for tomorrow I find myself pondering my own need to recharge my batteries. This afternoon Tim and I are setting off to explore the countryside around our new home, I always find that walking in the fresh air away from phones and e-mails recharges me. But that is not the only thing that restores my soul, so do some people, books, pieces of music etc....

So I wonder what/ who gives you energy?”

1. Is there a person who encourages and uplifts you, whose company you seek when you are feeling low?

Being an extrovert other people are often the catalyst to my feelings. There are several people I look forward to revving me up. Several colleagues are special ones. I have lunch after services on Sunday with another single woman colleague and we get through the post service fatigue together. J is the person I seek out when I am really bumbed out. My friend, Elizabeth Kaeton, who has that lesbian humor so deeply imbedded in her that she can make me laugh when I feel the most depleated.
2. How about a piece of music that either invigorates or relaxes you?

Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony #7, Mozart’s Requiem, most of the stuff from Taize, ( I could write a book!) Almost any medieval religious piece and all Gregorian Chant.

3. Which book of the Bible do you most readily turn to for refreshment and encouragement? Is there a particular story that brings you hope?

Ben Sirach, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Mark. The story of Balaam’s donkey!

4. A bracing walk or a cosy fireside?

Neither work for me. I found that I really enjoyed the beach this summer. I also find that time for reading and quiet are beneficial to my sanity.

5. Are you feeling refreshed and restored at the moment or in need of recharging, write a prayer or a prayer request to finish this weeks Friday Five....

After vacation this month, I am pretty good. I got some good news from my bishop yesterday and I am good.

As For Me and My Household...

2009-08-23T19:13:00.003-04:00

Sermon

Friday afternoon, I sat with my laptop in my lap and watched, with better fidelity than the participants had, the Church Wide Assembly of the ELCA not only affirm the Human Sexuality Statement with a few amendments and then go ahead and provide a way for Lesbian and Gay pastors in partnered relationships to serve as rostered leaders in the ELCA. I watched the discussion, some of it very painful. I heard some leaders of congregations say that if this passed, their congregations would leave the ELCA. I also heard others speak for Lesbian and Gay clergy that have served their congregations faithfully and plead that they be allowed to have the partnered relationships of their heterosexual brothers and sisters.

As one who is unfamiliar with the way that the ELCA does business on the national level, I was moved by the primacy of prayer throughout the whole discussion. I was awed by the candor and the honesty of the discussions. Quite frankly, after my experience in the Episcopal Church, I was surprised that the resolution to allow partnered lesbian and gay clergy to serve the Church passed the way it did. And the audible gasp that came from the Church-wide body was a sign that I believe that most did not believe it would pass either. Those who attended the meeting afterward said that they felt a movement of something on the floor of the meeting. They identified it with the Holy Spirit. Those who were opposed, I am sure did not think it was from that source!

I immediately sent off an email to Bishop Jerge to offer my assistance if there were congregations who needed to talk with a gay pastor to calm their fears about this legislation. I really offered her the efforts of YOU, the congregation that went out on a limb and called a lesbian pastor even though some of you are still uncomfortable with it.

I have not spoken on the “gay issue” from the pulpit except in passing. And if I am making you squirm by talking about it now, please bear with me. I figured that like being one of the early women priests when I was first ordained, I didn’t have speak about it. I just needed to live into the calling God had given me in being your pastor.

I am not comfortable being out. I grew up knowing that I was different, but at a time when being out in Texas could have been a death sentence. It was a fearful way to live. I ignored my own sexuality by entering the convent and making vows of celibacy. I have lived by those vows knowing that I could not serve Christ in his Church in any other way, but I would not recommend it. Celibacy cuts off intimacy—not just sex, but that whole realm of tenderness that comes when two people come to respect and honor one another with their whole beings. I am thankful that the ELCA and the Episcopal Church have chosen to open the ordained ministry to those whose lives are directed by Christ to live in monogamous, life-long relationship as gay people and to live within the confines of what we have always declared as marriage.

The Church-wide Assembly did go so far as to allow the blessing of same-sex unions. We may have to deal with this in the civil realm as there is legislation already passed in some states to allow for same-sex marriage. It will not be long before that is upon us in the state of NY. What we do here at St. Luke’s will be the decision of the congregation, not the bishop and not the pastor or even the council. Bishop Jerge’s wisdom is that it is the congregation’s mission to support people in their lives together. So if it becomes an issue in this congregation, it will be the topic of a congregational meeting. And we will make that decision together.

So what does this new law in the church have to do with the gospel? If we look at the reading from Joshua we hear the successor of Moses saying to the Israelites who have come into the Promised Land to make a decision. He outlines all the things that God has done for them and then asks them to make a decision to either follow the gods of the Moabites or to follow the Lord. And Joshua declares that as for him and his household, they will follow the Lord.

It takes a decision to follow God. It takes an act of the will to follow God. Yes, the grace to follow Christ is given by God, but somewhere each and every one of us has had to say “I will follow the Lord”. It is the way that we respond to the grace that is given in faith. It is what underpins a covenant. A covenant is basically an agreement between God and the faithful. Worship and allegiance is what God asks of us, and God will provide protecction and love.

There are those in the ELCA and those in the Episcopal Church who will leave our traditions simply because gay folk are being held to the same standard in their relationships as heterosexual relationship are held to. They may leave because they cannot abide the thought of being led by a lesbian or a gay man or as is the case with many of the opposing clergy, having to be collegial with us.

It has nothing to do with morality, it has to do with having to get used to the idea that what was thought to be foreign is really very much a part of them. They blame the “ELCA” or TEC as being too worldly, unwilling to hear the hard sayings of Jesus, but what I saw in that video of the Church Wide Assembly, was folks just like us grappling with what it means to be Church in the world today. The ELCA is US. Those who would leave, are just going to have to deal with the "US" of themselves where ever they go.

In the Gospel today we hear the last of this great discourse on the Eucharist. We find that with the thought of eating Christ’s body and blood, some are unable to hear the call to community in that act. Some of Jesus’ followers leave because the thought of eating the body of Christ and the Blood of the covenant is contrary to what Kosher laws had taught for centuries. They cannot hear the newness that Christ is calling them to in Holy Communion.

Some denominations so discriminate against gay folk that they do not allow them to receive Holy Communion. Some continue to find truth in biblical passages that that are so arcane that they cannot be intelligently rendered even in Hebrew. They cannot find in Christ’ love for the Gentile or those outside of traditional Judaism, the image to accept the newness embodied in those who are different from them.
Faced with the same kind of rejection, Jesus asks his apostles if they too will leave because of his opening faith to that which is new and different. And Peter answers for all of them. “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of everlasting life.”

There it is! There is the conundrum! It is Christ who has the word of life. It is this tribe of followers who listen to his voice about accepting others who are different, about finding the gifts of ministry in a group that was once far off who are now are brought near. It is in this gospel of hope that God welcomes all strangers, all those who are willing to make that decision to follow the Lord. We as Church have no other place to go—-no other way to live. We have a Way to follow—Christ’s Way-—a way that says that we can love one another and support one another in our relationships, that we can entertain the new because of what God has wrought in the past. We have a way to live out our baptismal vows in ways that not only support what has been in the past but which takes us into the future.

I am humbled and freed by the actions of both the Episcopal Church and the ELCA this summer. I am astounded at their votes to reach out in loving ways to those who have been vilified which drag our churches into a new millennium. I have been humbled and freed by this congregation in your willingness to accept me. Last Sunday I signed a new one-year contract to continue my pastoral duties here at St. Luke’s. Because like you, I have no place else to go. The word of Christ’s eternal love is lived out here for you and me. AND AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSEHOLD, WE WILL FOLLOW THE LORD. AMEN

2009-08-19T15:17:00.002-04:00

The prolonged discussion of the sixth chapter of John over the past 5 weeks in the readings merits a hard look. In the liturgy, John gets fairly short shrift. Only short passages of John get used in the readings for Sundays. It is a shame because John is a book that is not only very readable, it is also one lush with theological concerns. The only problem with reading John is that it comes from a world-view that is different than ours. And one must read John with a commentary at hand to really glean what the writer meant about Jesus and the community of the Way that followed him.

Feeding of the 5 thousand: First we find Jesus’ miracle of feeding the thousands. It is one of the Signs used by John to give structure to his theology. The signs are not just miracles to entertain the crowds. They are signs of Jesus’ messiahship and his divinity. But it is also to show how Jesus is the new Moses. Jesus gives bread like God gives bread in the desert, the manna. But there is always something more in John. John writes his life of Jesus as if it were an onion—always just one more layer down in order to taste the sweetness.

I have often avoided the Gospel of John because of those layers. They are so hard to preach on. They can only really be “eaten”. The Gospel of John is like the ancient wisdom poets spoke—like honey from the comb. Reading John one must suspend one reality for the next in order to treasure the taste of the gospel.

Reading John is more of a submersion into a multilayered reality rather than the straight historical reading that one can get in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Just the way that John uses the Greek language allows one to savor the levels of meaning. In the passage for Sunday he makes the distinction in the Eucharist from the manna in the desert. The Jews (by this I mean those who were not willing to entertain Jesus as the messiah) ate manna in the desert and John uses a rather normal, polite word efagon to mean eat. But when he refers to eating the Body of the Eucharist, John uses a rather crude word—like an animal eating, trogo. It is as if the Eucharistic meal is primal. The Bread is the source of life. This ultimately is found to be contra-gnostic. But it gives a really gutsy understanding of what the Eucharist is about.

No wonder I have found such a primal understanding of my faith in that little ritual of breaking bread and drinking wine!

The fray that is called Church

2009-08-17T14:54:00.001-04:00

Returning from vacation is much like starting a new school year, January 1st, or an anniversary. It is a time of renewed energy and purpose. To that end, I am going to try to post something daily on this site again. I have gotten quite lazy about addressing the issues of church, faith and daily living. The laziness often comes from fatigue but it also comes from a certain ennui that comes from being in the Church.

Both of our traditions have had national Church meetings this summer. The Episcopal Church had theirs in June. The Lutheran Church-Wide Assembly begins today. Church politics is something that many want to ignore or deny. But any organization has a political character to it. Whenever people are united in a specific cause, there are politics. But Church politics often seems to be somehow un-holy, or demeaning. Often I hear people cite “church politics” as the reason they don’t go to church. But what they are really saying is that they don’t want to deal with controversy.

Controversy is at the center of Church. It cannot be helped. Whenever someone who has faith discusses their faith with another there is likely to be controversy. Whenever we have those deep and abiding relationships with the Divine, we are likely to find that even our best friends have different ways of describing their own relationship with the Holy. When we talk about our experience, we want others to share our experience rather than entertain that their experience might be informative or enlighten us. And often we want to “win others to think the way we do” in order to reinforce our own relationship with God rather than listen to the unique experience of the other.

I must admit that one of the things that drew me to the Episcopal Church when I left Rome was their polity. I love the democratic process as it relates to the development of faith. I believe that groups of people can, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, come to faithful renderings of the path for the Church. I have been gratified by finding much of the same attitude in the ELCA. Of course, it takes lots of discussion, lots of listening and some political savvy to accomplish things in either Church on the governmental level. And yes, there are always those who lose. But the democratic system works, both in state and in church as a way to address the needs of folks and help us plot our way. It is part of the checks and balances of the church.

I have also heard others, usually those who are not winning, complain that God is not about majority decision. Of course that is true. God is about speaking not only to our individual hearts, but God is also about leading us in ways that we can share, not by edict but by mutual consent. In the Episcopal world, the delegates to convention talk online about the issues as they face the Church. Sometimes there is some tedium to the discussion; sometimes the rhetoric can be galling. Those who are not delegates can follow the conversations and may join in if another delegate will post it for them. I follow these conversations because it is a way for me to remain current in my own tradition. But also it makes me take seriously the opinions not my own. In no other church publication can I find this level of dialogue going on. I have not found this discussion in the ELCA. It may be that it is going on, but I just don’t know how to access it.

But all of this kind of discussion can tire one. It sometimes leaves me stale and unimaginative in the face of the liturgy, parish life, and the mundane life of a Christian. Sometimes the awesome responsibility of Church takes its toll in the way I live my life in Christ. In other word, I get grumpy!

This is why vacations are a necessity! Just sitting on the beach watching the waves roll in, no book, no discussion, no thoughts in my head, was remarkably refreshing. I am not generally a beach babe. My Celtic skin is too prone to sunburn to be comfortable, but this past week was temperate and kind. The sunburn isn’t bad and is actually turning sort of brown. The wind blew away the fatigue; the sun baked out the parish-based tension and I was cradled in God’s generous bounty. The rhetoric and the issues were drowned in the roar of waves.

Now I throw myself back into the fray that is called Church refreshed and renewed.

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life,

2009-08-16T15:08:00.003-04:00

Sermon August 16, 2009

It is hard for us to think of how the primitive cultures of the world have understood what it meant to eat the ‘food of the gods.’ But there was always a sense of closeness with the god when there was food offered to the gods of a Middle Eastern culture. Sacrificing to the God Yahweh was something different, however. The early Jews understood that they were offering thanks to God for freeing them from Pharaoh’s slavery. Offering the first fruits, or gifts for thanksgiving were provided in which part of the animal or grain was given to the priest and part was used by the family usually for a feast. Not only was the act of sacrifice something for God, it required that the one offering the sacrifice be generous to his or her friends. It was a time to feast. Only for the holocaust or olah in Hebrew, the sin offering, was the whole animal burned completely.

There was a tradition in the eucharist—the thanksgiving offering, that such sacrifices were to be shared with friends and family. And so it is not surprising that the earliest liturgical developments in the Jewish-Christian communities revolve around the celebration of Passover—the time of the sacrifice in the Temple that reminded the people of their freedom given by God.

In John’s Gospel, we do not have the story of the Last Supper and the breaking of bread. It is found in Mt. Mk, and Lk but NOT in John. In Jn. we hear the story of the washing of the feet of the disciples. But what we do have in the Gospel of John is this long discourse on the Eucharist in which we find Jesus inviting his followers to eat his flesh and drink his blood that we have been hearing over the past 4 weeks. For John, the liturgical act of taking, blessing, breaking and eating the bread and wine was not a memorial. It was the receiving of the flesh and blood of the Son of God. It was a feast but it was also the act of being intimate, of receiving Christ into one’s own body which was the mark of the Christian. It was a sacrament. It was an action that did what it purposed—it sanctified; it made holy. The grace that God conferred in the sacrament was what helped the Christian to be molded and transformed into the Body of Christ, the Church.

This liturgical act was misunderstood by many in the first centuries of Christianity. Accusations of cannibalism were levied at the early followers of Jesus. And Christians were persecuted for it. It was strange to the pagan believers of the day.

A colleague of mine was reading the words of institution in church one Sunday. He came to the words, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; "for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” And a rather precocious four-year old piped up, “EWWW, YUK!” And that 4yr. old heard the words but only understood the outward and visible acts. She had not yet come to that place where the inward and spiritual act allowed her to know that the bread and wine were real, but so were the flesh and blood.

When we think about it, it is a strange way of signing that God is within us. It is a strange way of describing what happens when Christ is at the center of our lives. There is no more primal action than eating and drinking, except for those who know God at that experiential level. There is no way to really explain what it means to be Christ’s own better than knowing that we consume his body and blood.

Theologians have waxed quite eloquent, giving us all kinds of explanations of how this happens. The Roman Catholics call it transubstantiation, Presbyterians call it memoriam, Orthodox Christians call it mysterium. Lutherans are often said to believe in consubstantiation. But all in all, we know that it is the Real Presence of God that dwells among us and in us.

It is this indwelling of God that is both scary and wonderful. Most of the time, I would guess that I don’t get one of those remarkable, God-walks-in-the-room experiences when I receive the Holy Eucharist. The bread and wine just remind me of those moments when God DID walk in the room, DID take my breath away. It reminds me of how completely forgiven I am of all my sinfulness even though I am not deserving of it. It puts me in touch with God’s wanting me to know how much I am loved, how much I am cared for and how much God wants me to share that love with others. That is why we celebrate this Holy Meal. It is why we are here each Sunday.

Last Sunday I attended an Episcopal Church in Lewes, DE. The church was full of all ages. One of J’s classmates was preaching at the baptism of two little children. He wanted to tell these children, he said, that God loved them. “It’s as simple as that.” God loves them just the way they are.

And that is what I want to say to you. God loves you just the way you are. You can’t earn his love, but you can be transformed by that love. It is that transformation that is what the book of Proverbs is about. It is what the letter of Ephesians is trying to get across.

Because we have been loved with a love that is eternal, because we have been loved with a love that goes beyond death, we have the ability to be changed by that love. I call it loved-into-being. Many of us know how we have been changed by the love of another—How we came to be a better person because someone loved us. Some of us know what it means to be able to share that love with others and watch them become better, more whole or healthy people simply because someone cared enough about them.

I have friends who through the love of others in AA or NA have been able to be freed from alcoholism or addiction. I have watched kids who had poor home lives grow into solid and selfless citizens because a teacher or a coach or a scout leader cared about them. So how much more is it when we know that it is God who is the one who is calling us to be more than we once were? Who is loving us into being more than we were? It is that kind of transformation that I am talking about.

The incarnation of God, that in-fleshed love of Jesus Christ, works a kind of love that allows us to step out of old selves and into a new world each day. In the Proverbs reading Wisdom, the feminine manifestation of God, invites the disciple of God into new learning, invites even the simple, even the untrained to come and learn of God’s love. “Come eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed” she says. This eating and drinking strengthens us to center our lives more in Christ’s love. It nourishes us in faith and hope. It is this willingness to learn more of our faith that allows us new ways of expressing that overwhelming gift that Jesus gave in his death on the Cross.

It is through the food—the nourishment of our faith through the sign of Jesus’ body and blood that gives us the strength to demand more of ourselves in his Name. It is with the taste of bread and grape that we know our own fleshiness and at the same time we know God’s presence within us. We know it individually and we know it in our community of faith. That in-fleshed presence we know in the bread and the wine is also known by every other person in this church. It was known by the people in Lewes¸DE. It is known in all the congregations up and down in this synod. It is known by the Roman Catholics, and the Methodists, the Mennonites and the Congregationalists. It is what makes us one.

And so I invite you, when you stand or kneel to receive the nourishment of Christ himself at the altar this morning, to think first of how God has loved you in the past. Then I would invite you to think how you can learn more of God and how you can love others in the future. It IS that simple. AMEN

Friday Five at the Perfect Church

2009-07-24T13:24:00.002-04:00

Singing Owl has posted an interesting Friday Five.

Please pardon me for talking about church in the summer when many of you may be on vacation. However, the church we are talking about today is the one you dream of. I've been thinking about this because I miss pastoring and preaching, because I am sending in resumes, and because...well...jut because. So have some fun with this. Tell us five things that the perfect church would have, be, do...whatever.

We can dream, right?----Singing Owl

Singing Owl has been without a church and is wondering what the perfect church is. This is hard for me especially when I am just coming off my “honeymoon” with my new congregation. This is not to say that my present congregation isn’t a “perfect” parish. And the comments I make should in no way be a critique of my present church. I love my bunch of Germans and Scandinavians. But I would answer this Friday Five after having served 7 or 8 different congregations in 3 different denominations. Some of them have been huge (over 7,000 FAMILIES) some have been quite small (36 Average Sunday Attendance). In church work, Size matters, in my estimation. It tells what kind of leadership strategies I must use. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION, matters—whether it is rural, small town, city, urban, suburban and Culture makes a difference too. And the following matter:

1. Humor: First a congregation must have a sense of humor or a sense of joy. I remember one church I served couldn’t laugh in church. They had never read the story of Baalam’s donkey, I guess. They couldn’t embrace a God who calls us to foolishness. It was a difficult call for me.
2. Honesty/ Integrity: A congregation must be willing to look at itself and speak its truth as a community. There are certain questions that one can ask in the interview stage that will help you figure out if the congregation is willing to be self-reflective enough to be able to own its own sinfulness, its own failings and even its own reservations about the Gospel message.
3. Welcoming/ Inclusive. A congregation or parish needs to be open to new people, ideas and different cultures. Of course they would have to be open to LGBT folks and different ethnic groups. I would love a church in which different faith traditions (not just denominations) could find a home.
4. Community: I need a parish that is sincere about the respect that they have for one another and act on that sincerity.
5. Sense of Liturgy—I don’t care what kind of music it offers; I do expect it to be able sing in harmony and with a sense of joy.
6. Bonus: My perfect parish needs to be willing to learn. I guess this could be a part of Welcoming and Inclusive but often parishes only want to be tended. I believe that parishes are to be willing to challenge their corporate faith as well as their personal faith. I agree with the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church who has said that personal salvation is the heresy of the modern Western Church.

For a Season: The Ministry of Blogging

2009-07-23T16:12:00.002-04:00

I have for some time now wanted to start a blog for the congregation. I would like to post my sermons for those who like to read on line as well as discuss issues that are central to the congregation. A blog like this can bring sermons, Scripture and events to the mind of the congregation.

I am aware that some of the congregation are not computer literate. There are other programs that can meet their needs. I am generally available to those who are more senior to discuss the issues in the congregation. But many of us do not have time to “drop by” the office or even set up a meeting with me to chat about things that under gird our faith. What I am hoping to do is provide a place where everyone who has internet access can follow such a blog and comment on the articles. Blogs often are places where community develops.

Facebook for the Congregation might be a good place, but I find that Facebook does not provide the place where we can go deeper than just facile comments. It does not provide a place where we can follow a topic that permits people to give feed back.

For A Season is my personal blog. On it I have discussed my feelings or my ideas. The title of the blog comes from Scripture—Ecclesiastes 2 ff. But it was with these words that the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church at our 2006 General Convention used to put a moratorium on the ordination of LGBT members as bishop and developing blessings for same-sex couples. For those of us who are part of that lgbt minority it was a devastating blow. Just last week, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church reversed that decision and the season of waiting is over.

For A Season also became a place three years ago to grapple with the issues of being a pastor of a Lutheran Church. Over the past few months, I have found that what I thought would be interesting about working in a tradition not my own, would be interesting to the congregation. I am finding that it is not—in fact it seems to tear at the thread of community for some members of the community. So I probably need to develop a place where issues that are completely centered on life at St. Luke’s can be addressed.

A congregational blog would be one which I would be presenting topics that are pertinent to the life of the congregation, issues that are discussed at ministerium, discussions developed at various Lutheran or Episcopal clergy gatherings or theological issues that I have read about.

I know that several members of the congregation both real and virtual read this blog. I would invite you to comment as you would like. I do not mind pseudonyms or nicknames. I merely ask that you do not post anonymously so that if there is a thread that develops I can keep track of who is posting. I will not tolerate inappropriate language as there are too many with varying sensibilities who read this blog. But if you want to comment, go to the bottom of the article, click on comments. It will ask you to sign in. Just give them the information that they need—Blogger does not publish this info. But I will be able to see, if I need to, who is commenting on the church’s blog. I will moderate and eliminate any comments that are inappropriate or abusive. Blogs do not cost anything to the blogger so it will not be an expense to the congregation at all. But it will be a place where folks can ask questions, make statements at their leisure and I can respond at a time that is not frazzled such as before church services, or when there are many people vying for my attention.

I would appreciate any comments.

Struggling With Faith

2009-07-18T07:31:00.003-04:00

I have always found it difficult to understand those who would opt for and easy faith, an understanding of Christianity that is “nice” rather than a continuous call to renewal and hard work of living the life of change and justice that I perceive Christ’ s life incarnates. This difficulty has often put me at odds with those who would opt for a ‘simple faith’ or a ‘Jesus-and-me’ religion that serves no one, certainly not God, but themselves. It is the kind of popular religion that is bandied about by independent churches that have no rootedness in the apostolic faith that is characterized by the mainline denominations.

The history of Christianity bears out that Christianity has changed quite significantly over the past 2000+ years. From the days of the apostles in which some Christian communities lived communal lives through the imperialization of the Church during its Byzantine era, through the medieval era with its embracing of the magical, the reformation’s rejection of that magical era to the present day, the message of Jesus was to repent and to trust in the one and only God of the people of Israel. It was a faith that was based in hope and rooted in a man who incarnated God so that we humans could imagine how we humans can live together with integrity and peace.

However, I often find churches filled with those who learned something about Jesus in their school years and have not bothered to read Scripture, study the faith, or even understand the history of their church who would prefer to hold the church hostage to a facile faith, a cheap imitation of the life that Christ offers. And it is usually those who find the most fault with their preachers, create unrest in the church and live lives that belie the faith that they think they profess.
Over the past 75 to 100 years, Christianity has undergone some incredible new learning. With the development of the sciences of archeology, philology, linguistics and historical scholarship, the incredible finds of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammani library, the knowledge that informs our faith has grown exponentially. There has been more study of the Bible in the past 100 years than at any other time in history. And yet there are those who would prefer to exclude any such information from faith matters. Like those who prefer to embrace that the earth was created in seven 24hour days rather than engage God in that wondrous wrestling with knowledge that is at the center of educated faith.
Granted, faith is a gift from God. It is not something that I can even initiate. It is God’s grace that allows me to grapple with what it means to believe. But it is incumbent upon me to stay current. Salvation does not require our assent, but it I often wonder about those adults who never allow themselves to be engaged by Scripture, never open themselves to the ever-growing understanding of faith through scholarship, and never question their faith to make it stronger.
It is not for nothing that Jacob wrestled with God. Our relationship with God is not passive. It is not just a matter of being ‘nice’ and saying the right things. Faith is learning day in and day out how to trust in God for all our needs. Faith is a wrestling with ethical issues to form consciences that tell me how to live in a world in which addiction assails our children, war warps our young men and women, financial irresponsibility and speculation allows CEO’s millions of dollars at the same time as they are laying off thousands of workers. It is our relationship with God that calls forth from me a conscience in how I pastor, how I preach, and how I live in the world.

I attended a good seminary, studied beyond that Master’s degree and went on for a doctorate not because I wanted letters behind my name, but because I felt I could best serve others if I understood the complexities of what it meant to believe. But when I try to teach what I have learned, I find that the majority of the church would rather be ignorant. They got all they needed in their confirmation class when they were 14. They even become upset when some new archeological find disturbs their well-constructed ignorance and blame the preacher when they have to struggle with a new find.

Salvation is not the sum total of my faith life. Salvation is perhaps the ground floor of faith. But it is the use of my faith that makes for a deepening of my relationship with God. It is the daily struggle with what it means to live with others, cheek by jowl, in the light of Christ’s love for me and for all Creation that requires something more than passively listening to a ten minute sermon.

Luther said that a sermon should not be longer than 45 minutes. I think I am safe there. But when I was in seminary we were trained to preach 20 minute sermons. It allowed for three points to be developed and addressed in the span of one sermon. The attention span of congregants has gotten much shorter. Partly this is due to television and sound bite news reporting. However grappling with faith is not a twitter or a tweet. It is a profound engagement with difficult issues. It is not merely Law and Gospel or repentance and hope. It is nourishment for those who dare encounter God incarnated in the lives of those around them.

Friday Five: GAMES!

2009-07-17T10:34:00.002-04:00

Jan is looking at games for the family vacation. I am not much of games player. But it is fun to do this Friday Five.
In less than three weeks, my family, including children and their partners, will be gathering in Seattle, WA for 12 days. After various days in Seattle sightseeing and in Bellingham seeing family, we will travel to the coast of Washington State to spend three nights in a large rented house. With nine adults (from almost 20 years old and up), I am thinking that we need to have some activities pre-planned--like GAMES! (Any ideas will be appreciated.)

So this Friday Five is about games, so play on ahead. . . .

1. Childhood games?
When I was a child, we played pickup games of baseball, football, whatever we had on hand. Some of us had equipment and some of us did not. I learned to catch softballs without a glove before my folks had enough to buy me a glove. After Christmas we would drag discarded Christmas trees to build forts for mudball fights. We learned strategies of attack and defend of which Sun Tzu would have been proud. We didn’t need any equipment for that. Make believe was an important part of our childhood games. Most of us didn’t have TVs until later in our childhood so we learned to play Cops and Robbers, G-man, Wonderwoman from the comic books or the radio. Of course we played Cowboys and Indians which probably isn’t PC anymore but in TX?....of course we played Cowboys and Indians! Our imaginations were creative and fertile. A finger was a gun, a broomstick was a horse and a towel tied around the neck was a superman cape. All we needed was another kid to play with.

2. Favorite and/or most hated board games? Because we didn’t have many board games I remember only parchesi, checkers, Chinese checkers, dominos and yatsi. Monopoly was a colossal bore for me. I couldn’t understand how you could charge someone money for just landing on your property. It wasn’t fair in my young mind. I have always been a communalist at heart.

3. Card games?
We played fish and slap jack. We didn’t have special decks then, just the discarded decks that some of the adults would hand down to us: Rummy, gin, poker with matchsticks, and later, cribbage. Finally, we learned canasta, bid whist and pinochle. I was never really good at them, but it was good for rainy days. J plays bridge but I can’t count cards worth a damn.

4. Travel/car games?
License plates (seeing how many different states we could count on one trip), Trying to find all the letters of the alphabet in license tags. We sang a lot too. All the camp songs were sung on the way to camp and back. There was no radio in the car during my childhood. I think I can still sing a pretty good rendition of Skidimerinkidink, Skidimerinkidoo.

5. Adult pastimes that are not video games? READING!! Reading funny books outloud while others are washing dishes, or fixing dinner. Doing the NY Times cross word puzzle as a community project. Somebody has to have a dictionary and an atlas. Handwork—knitting, sewing, tatting, quilting, while carrying on a conversation with others. Word games—scrabble, etc. I am a lousy speller so this is not fun for me.

Bonus: Any ideas for family vacations or gatherings? I still think that a good game of softball or red rover with all members of the family playing, or volley ball or badminton or even basketball HORSE are fun. Croquet can be fun if you have space. Even grandma can play HORSE even if she can’t run anymore.

Friday Five: Exercise

2009-07-10T15:54:00.002-04:00

SOPHIA AT REVGALS IS BRINGING UP MY MOST UNFAVORITE TOPIC IN THE WORLD: EXERCISE. BUT I GUESS I WILL PLAY ANYWAY.

I just got back from an 8 mile bike ride down the beach boardwalk near our home, and was struck with the number of people out enjoying physical activity. Runners, other cyclists, surfers, swimmers, dogwalkers, little kids on scooters....

It's easy to lose track of my physical self-care in the midst of flurried preparation for a final on-campus interview Monday for a college teaching position in the Midwest (prayers welcome!) and the family move that would accompany it. But each day that I do make time to walk or ride my bike it is such a stress reliever that it is well worth the time invested!

So how about you and your beautiful temple of the Holy Spirit?

1. What was your favorite sport or outdoor activity as a child?

I loved playing soft ball. I wasn’t especially good at it but I loved to play. We had separated play grounds in those days—the boys and girls couldn’t play together and the ball diamond was on the boy’s playground. But on the block we had a good bunch who would play scrub in the street until they rerouted the busy street down ours. I loved to swim but there weren’t pools near us. As a family we went to Burger’s Lake several times a summer.

2. P.E. class--heaven or the other place?

HEAVEN up through 8th grade. I had a crush on my 7th grade PE teacher. But once I was in band, I had to choose between music and exercise in high school. Music was my life then.

3. What is your favorite form of exercise now?

I am a true couch potato. I have definite knee problems and have had since I was in high school. It curtails walking, running, playing sports. I have tried all kinds of exercise: spinning, walking, swimming, weight or strength training, cardio work outs, etc. None of them make me feel any better or do much for my spiritual well-being. And any lower body work will cause my knees to swell to the point that they will not bear my weight. Grrr. I have been to orthopedic folk galore. The problem is not necessarily the joints, they say. We have tried therapy for long enough even the therapists are bored, but to no avail. I end up with having to have shots of cortisone and I think that defeats the effort. The steroid isn’t good for my heart either.

4. Do you like to work out solo or with a partner?

So I couch potato alone!

5. Inside or outside?

I will sit and do online exercises of the mind and the spirit inside or outside. My summer haunt is the screen porch which is where both J and I hang out. J is there all winter too since she does not smoke in the house, but when I sit on the porch it is always up wind.

Bonus: Post a poem, scripture passage, quotation, song, etc. regarding the body or exercise

On Being a Prophet in a Not-for-Prophet World

2009-07-05T07:51:00.005-04:00

Sermon
July 5, 2009

I generally do not title my sermons. In either of our traditions, sermon title sare not very important since we generally preach from the lectionary-that three year cycle of readings that most of the mainline traditions follow. But today I am making an exception and am going to steal a line from my friend’s Elizabeth Kaeton’s blog: This sermon title is going to be “On being a Prophet in a Not-for Prophet world”.

In the reading from Ezekiel we find in the call of God to Ezekiel one that is painful. Ezekiel lives during the Babylonian Captivity in the 6th century BCE. He had been taken into captivity when Nebukenezzer carried off most of the Judean elite to what is modern day Iraq in 586 BCE. The call of God comes to Ezekiel in this passage and calls him “Mortal” The Hebrew word is “Bar Adam”—son of Adam, Son of the mud. God tells this son of the earth to stand up and speak the word of God to the Jews in captivity. God also tells him that “the people are a stiff-necked people who probably won’t listen to you, but you are to tell what I put in your mouth” Now; I can assure you that that is a thankless job. It is hard to speak God’s word when no one is listening—when no one will pay attention or when people don’t like what you are saying. The role of a prophet is not one that people want to be. It takes God putting a fire in one’s heart. Or in Isaiah’s case, put what felt like burning coals on his lips so that he would speak. No, the role of the prophet is not a role that one chooses. It is a position that one cannot keep from doing.

A prophet in Hebrew thought was the mouthpiece of God. The Hebrew word for prophet Navi comes from the word for a hollow reed, like the reed that one made a whistle, or a musical instrument from. A prophet, then was one who did not play his own pipe, but became the pipe that God played. One third of the Hebrew Scripture, what we call the Old Testament is the writings of the Prophets. It was so much of Jesus’ tradition, that we cannot ignore the work of the prophets.
The role of the prophet in Jewish society was to wake people up to the message that God was still present to them. Whereas other nations had soothsayers and diviners who attempted to discover the will of their gods, according to Abraham Heschel the Hebrew prophets are characterized by their experience of God turning towards humanity. Heschel argues for the view of Hebrew prophets as receivers of the "Divine Pathos," of the wrath and sorrow of God over his nation. He says:
Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profane riches of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet's words. (The Prophets Ch. 1)

Prophets always sound angry. There is a temptation to think that the Old Testament God is an angry God, but I would suggest to you, that it is not God’s wrath that we see, but it is the frustration of the prophet who must each day speak God’s promise only for it to be ignored.
In the Gospel reading from the Book of Mark we find Jesus teaching in his home synagogue. Why can Jesus can do no miracles in his hometown? It is because the people have no faith. They know him. Jesus’ family is not up on the social scale. After all he was just a carpenter—of the artisan class, not a land holder. They mention that he is Mary’s son—they may even know that Joseph may not have been his father. They don’t know what rabbinical school he attended. He is just a hometown boy. He doesn’t have anything to say.

This reminds me when I was looking at colleges, a small college in Illinois was recommended to me by a friend’s mother who was a school counselor. Mom had lived in the town where that school was. “Aw, that is a nothing place” Mom said. Even though it was one of the best small schools in the country, Mom could not countenance it because it was from the same place she was. It obviously couldn’t be any good.

Often the reverse is true. It is the person from the outside that cannot be trusted. “What does he know of OUR situation?” we ask. “Or we don’t know who her family is, how can we believe her?” We cannot trust the prophet so we cannot hear the words of God coming from his or her mouth.

If we are to be able to hear prophecy, if we are to hear the word of God in our world today we must find ways to have faith in not in the prophet, but in the prophet’s words. Sometimes we would rather to disregard or guard against hearing God’s wrath or sorrow over our sinfulness. We try to avoid hearing the hard words that God has for us. In the gospel of Luke, this same story ends with an attempt on Jesus’ life. The people of Nazareth cannot tolerate for someone to preach God’s law to them so that they might have to repent of their deeds and their attitudes so that God’s message of love, peace and acceptance can be lived out in their lives. All too often the prophets in Old Testament times were killed for their faithfulness. Often they were excluded or ignored. But their word lasted. Their word hung around the necks of those for whom the word was meant like millstones. It was written down because it was true and important to the health of the community.
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Prophecy is that call to honesty and justice that is God’s will for us in the world. It is the guard against falling into the dominion of power or privilege. It is the call to step beyond ego and into the land of promise and hope. Prophecy is what Jesus lived out in his life so that through his death we might know salvation. It is God’s word. But God’s word is not just something written on a page, or a word spoken. God’s word is not a noun—it is a verb. It is an action, a living out of God’s goodness. It is the thing that drives us to our knees. Some would call it law. Some would call it Gospel. It is God’s life working within us that draws us to Divine goodness, that draws us to what is always life-giving and healthy.
Is our day any different that those of Ezekiel? Are we not exiles just as intent upon ignoring God’s love for us and others as were those in Babylon? I find it incredibly ironic that we are still fighting in Babylon today. I find that the lure of Babylon’s wealth just as strong as it was 2500 years ago. Is our day any different than those of Jesus? Are we just as tempted to ignore the call to newness that the Nazareans did? Are we just as tempted to pay no heed to the life of justice and caring that is preached today?

The call today is no different. We must be willing to hear with the same kind of action that the word of God is proclaimed. All too often we have become so passive that the word of God cannot not root itself in us. We have become spiritual’ couch potatoes’ rather than the ambassadors of Christ that our baptism calls us to. Or we are more likely to fight against the true word of God and try to kill it by trivializing it, excluding it or demonizing it because we do not want to make the changes that God is calling us to.

The Church, the world has become a Not-For-Prophet country. All too often the newness of our age is fearful. We cannot trust the prophets. There are so many prophets that it hard to know which way to go. But I can tell you that wherever there is fear, wherever there is lack of trust, wherever there is lack of inclusion, God is not in it. Trusting is hard work. It is not warm an fuzzy. To trust in the word of God, in prophecy is cannot be done lightly. It requires goodness of heart. It takes a willingness to let go and let God be the center of our lives and not our personal opinions, or past traditions.

In the Epistle reading from 2nd Corinthians today, we hear the writer of the epistle speaking about just this issue. Paul is speaking about what it means to speak Christ’s word. He doesn’t do it out of a need for power or boasting. He says ,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong."

It is in our weakness, whether we are rich or poor, employer or employe, laity or clergy. Whether it is in expertise or the way we have always done it, whether it is paying attention to that which is new or old, it is always God’s word that we must listen to. Most of the time that word is painful. Always it calls us to change; no matter how content we are with our lives, our attitudes, our education, our skills. It always calls us to change. Living willing to be moved by the word of God means that we must be willing to listen to the prophets in our lives wherever they come from, because it is not their words that they speak. AMEN

It's all about the look- Friday Five

2009-07-03T10:45:00.002-04:00

Sally has said:

In readiness for my move in 6 weeks time I spent almost all of yesterday morning sorting through my wardrobe ( closet, I am so British :-) marvelling at how I had accumulated so much stuff! The result is three large sacks full of clothes to be given away. Some came into the category of " what was I thinking", some too big now ( at last), and others I will never shrink into again. Some are going simply because I want to streamline my wardrobe.

So how about you:

1. Are you a hoarder, or are you good at sorting and clearing?

Definitely I am a hoarder. I am not neat. There is a method in my messiness but not one that can easily be detected. We have moved stuff we haven’t worn in dog’s years from one place to another. Now we can’t do that anymore. When we move again, we will have to jettison piles. Sally, I don’t envy your task.

2. What is the oddest garment you possess and why?

I guess my waders. But that isn’t what you wear to the grocery store! There is something about putting on my waders that says “I am taking time for myself.” Of course I haven’t had them on for a couple of years. The streams are getting too hard to wade.
The other thing that is strange is my rabbat—that funny little clerical dickie. It is too hot to wear in the summer and I only wear it when I am looking “Ohhh so clerical.

3. Do you have a favourite look/ colour?

I am always drawn to turquoise blue or dark green. I love orange, but I am too big to wear too much of it. A blouse or shell. I wear lots of black—hmmm, I wonder why? I have been wearing clerics much less the past couple of years or wearing blue or pink clergy shirts. But starting this Sunday, I am going to wear civvies even to Church on Sunday. We are not air conditioned and it gets way too hot on the altar. I hate taking off my vestments and looking salt stained for the rest of the day.
I like today’s look of a blouse worn untucked over a shell. It does seem terribly “dishabiller” but it is comfortable. But most of all I love summer when even I can wear shorts and a shell to the grocery and no one makes a comment. But for professional attire, I like the professional look of a good pant suit. It also assuages my somewhat butch proclivities.

I am really unhappy about the over use of spandex in clothing these days. Jeans, chinos, even shirts have spandex in them and they make me soooo warm. I have not been able to find those really neat blouses or shirts that one could wash and wear without any touch up. There are those “no iron” shirts but they don’t breath. I like a 60%/40% blend and find it hard especially to find pants without having to pay $$$$.

4. Thrift/ Charity shops, love them or hate them?

Hate them—they never have my size!

5. Money is no object, what one item would you buy?

There are a couple of things—a good suite jacket—usually navy. A really good black suit and SHOES. I want good comfortable shoes and usually have to buy them online ever since the one good shoe store left town. When I visit my family in TX, I can go to the shoe stores and try on the things I like and then order them more cheaply when I get home. Once or twice a year J and I will go to the outlet malls and go bananas.

Biblical Inerrancy

2009-06-19T16:15:00.000-04:00

From one of my Episcopal cohorts. But I think he has it right!

Life is a Verb: Friday Five

2009-06-19T13:15:00.004-04:00

Revgal Jan offered this Friday’s Five:

Jennifer recommended this book, which I got because I always value Jennifer's reading suggestions. The author of Life is a Verb, Patti Digh worked her book around these topics concerning life as a verb:
• Say yes.
• Be generous.
• Speak up.
• Love more.
• Trust yourself.
• Slow down.
As I read and pondered about living more intentionally, I also have wondered what this Friday Five should be. This book has been the jumping off point for this Friday.

1. What awakens you to the present moment?

The clock radio! NPR slides into my consciousness while I am still comatose. I have always appreciated NPR. Their news speaks the truth the best, I think.
They usually have thoughtful ways of presenting and keep me up to date. My natural inclination is to avoid the national and international news. Their version of the news isn’t snarky and I can usually find something in the news that reminds me of my Lord and I can begin my day with prayer.

2. What are 5 things you see out your window right now?

I can’t see much out my window from where I sit with my laptop, but I can see the screened in porch which is my “summer tree house”. I do see the grape vine that clings to the side of our house. I can also see the thermometer that tells us whether to wear long johns or not. There is a rainbow mobile that turns in the breeze and a wind chime. But most of all I can hear the birds who whistle their presence in my life. I can hear a squirrel chipping at the presence of the cat who just went out his cat door. And I can feel the breeze as it breathes on the porch. All is right with the world for the moment.

3. Which verbs describe your experience of God?

IS---it is really the only word I need. It is God’s constant presence that makes my life worthwhile.
QUICKENS—this is an old English word that I identify with God. It means to make lively.

4. From the book on p. 197:
Who were you when you were 13? Where did that kid go?

I was a very frightened and depressed girl. I hated school and skipped a lot. It was a very unhappy time in my life. That kid finally was able to grow up and take control of her life and finally allow Christ to have control of her life. And after years of good therapy she finally got healed and lives within me. Her sadness still comes back, but I am able to give her some happy times by reading, or sitting by a stream and playing in the water.

5. From the book on p. 88:
If your work were the answer to a question, what would the question be?

“What’s for lunch?” I think that I nurture folk. I give them food for thought. I try to be there to provide what they need to move on in their lives. I try to teach them how to be open to God’s nurture.

Bonus idea for you here or on your own--from the book on p. 149:
"Go outside. Walk slowly forward. Open your hand and let something fall into it from the sky. It might be an idea, it might be an object. Name it. Set it aside. Walk forward. Open your hand and let something fall into it from the sky. Name it. Set it aside. Repeat. . . ."

I think I am pretty spontaneous. It drives some of my German parishioners nutz, especially in liturgy. But the Swedes seem to appreciate it. But with all the birds in my yard, I would be a bit leery of doing this exercise!

This kind of spontaneity has always marked my life for good or ill. It may be the way that I pray—that kind of meditative prayer that allows me to be more present to God that allows me to live this way.
I know when I am not being present to God, my life becomes too predictable. I am probably not as sucessful as other people but that doesn't really bother me. At this point in my life---who cares?

Sermon for an Installation of a New Pastor

2009-06-16T16:26:00.001-04:00

The Installation of Michele Fischer
St. Paul’s ELCA, Penn Yann, NY
June 14, 2009

+ In the Name of the Creator, Redeemer and the Sustainer. AMEN

Today St. Paul’s celebrates the coming of a new pastor, one in a line of many. Pastor Michele celebrates life in a new congregation, a new place to respond to the calling God has given her to serve Christ in his Church. We celebrate this day with liturgy and song, communion and prayer, gathering and support. We mark this day as important because it is.

No matter how congregational our church is, we Christians tend to mark our personal journeys in faith by our pastors. Lutherans in small towns tend to tell our spiritual stories “Well, back when Pastor Schwartzengruber was here, we did it this way.” Or Pastor Olysen confirmed me”, we say. The leadership of pastors, no matter for how long, leaves a mark on the congregation we serve even if we are a flash in the long history of a church. So it is an important day today. How many of you have grown up in at St. Paul’s? How many of you have been a part of this congregation for more than 40 years? You have seen pastors come and go and it may even seem like “old hat”. But it isn’t. The call of a new pastor changes the whole congregation, the whole conference, the whole synod, the whole Church. Today you become different that you were. And all of you who are clinging to old adage, the Seven Last Words of the Church…”we have always done it this way,” must understand that you are now different because someone new has come among you to bring to you the ever-new message of Jesus Christ.

About 5 years ago a new pastor came to the church where I attended a weekly clergy bible study. She was young and enthusiastic. I was a seasoned, but out of work Episcopal priest who had just been chewed up by my last parish. Michele was as exuberant as I was cynical. She was fresh and had great ideas while I was tired and flat. But one thing we had in common was Jesus Christ. Michele was as charismatic as I was Anglo-Catholic. Our theologies and our politics were really quite different. But we had Jesus and that was enough. I began to do supply in some ELCA congregations and found it fun. It was through Michele that I have come to serve as a contract pastor for a small congregation in the Southern Tier conference. Michele helped “Lutheranized” me. She is the age of my great niece and yet she is my colleague, peer, and friend.

You have called into your midst someone who understands her call to serve you as she is serving Christ. It is among you that she must find the love of her life—the God who has promised to be with her forever, a God who has loved her more than life. She has come to you because she feels called to preach the Gospel to you, not just with words but with her life. She is called to lead you and yet follow you. She is called to be a God-person within your family of faith.

We pastor types are an odd lot. Any psychological study will tell you that the personality type and skill sets that describe most of the clergy in all churches is only about 5% of the population. Most of us have personalities that allow us to be sensitive to ways of knowing things that don’t fit the rest of the population. Mostly we clergy don’t know how we know things. We just know that we know them—call it intuition, call it a connection with the holy—whatever. We cultivate this unknowing with prayer and scripture study. We share a faith that often touches us all and can speak of that relationship with God even when the relationship is something that is indescribable. The pastor is the one in a community of faith that is supposed to speak to you of that part of you that isn’t as comfortable with that ineffable, unknowable aspect of God’s holiness. The problem about being one of those clergy types is that on any given Sunday, 5% of the population who does not know how they know what they know is preaching to 95% of the population who DO know how they know what they know. And we wonder why there is a disconnect sometimes with the pastor?

St. Paul understood this conundrum. That is why he wrote that passage in First Corinthians. We all have different gifts to bring to the Christian community called the Church. Some of us are treasurers, or council reps. some of you are deacons or sing in the choir, some of you do the kitchen things, some of you do the futzy stuff around the altar, some of you see to the spread of the Gospel by what you do in your work place or your school, some of you minister to the poor and the needy or the sick and the imprisoned. And you invite a new person into the community to speak of God whom you have been listening to most of your lives. And then she speaks of God differently than you. THAT is what she is SUPPOSED to do! She is supposed to sing the songs of Zion in a different tune. She is supposed to say things differently and lead differently. That is the only way congregations stay attentive to the Holy Spirit, stay fresh to the Word, and continue to proclaim the Gospel to succeeding generations.

But we are still one Body of Christ. We do things differently, but we have the same family. We bring different talents to the Body of Christ. And we follow the commandment to love in different ways.

I serve a small part-time parish in a town of less than 3,000 people. The congregation is only about 60 years old and some of our founders are still among us. They have always been a small church and have had to depend upon themselves because they are in such a remote area. During their history, they went 20 years without a called pastor. They wear that like a badge of honor. They are very good about pastoring one another. They are dynamite in stewardship and ministry to the community. They are even good about their contributions to the synod and the larger church. But they don’t know how to use a pastor. They don’t know that they don’t know. They are not very well versed in Scripture. They don’t know their own Lutheran theology very well. They are threatened when there are changes in “the way we used to do it” because they don’t trust their pastors enough to know that “someone from out there” can really understand them, can really be there for them.

The role of the pastor is not just to take care of you. That would be paternalistic. The role of the pastor is to excite you, to stir you up so that you can hear the voice of God in new and different ways. The role of the pastor is to bring new and different people into the community of Christ—ones that perhaps you haven’t seen in your community. And one of the things that is tough for us all who are on the shady-side of fifty, we need to listen to our new and younger pastors. They have access to systems of communication and ways of learning that are leaving us older folks in the dust. They are our only hope for a whole generation who know what they know differently than we do. If there is any one disconnect between younger Christians and older, it is that their brains work differently and they go about learning differently that we do. The Gospel story is the same—the promise of salvation is the same—but we must be able to package it and communicate it in a new song, in a new way. That is what a new, young pastor can do for you.

Jesus preached a new commandment-- a commandment to love one another. You have promised in your baptismal commitment that you will love one another. You have promised to love your neighbor as you love yourself. You have promised in that love to trust one another in faith—to challenge the fear that closes the heart. Micah spoke God’s word in challenging the people of Israel to not put their trust in lifeless sacrifice but to walk with God, to do justice, love mercy and walk with reverence with God. Michele does this. It is her natural inclination. She will want you to walk with her in her journey with God and she will want to walk with you in your journey with God.

Michele,
As you journey with St. Paul’s remember the humility that Micah calls you to. Sing your song of faith with the melody that God has taught you. Teach the people of Penn Yann the story you have had written on your heart by the Holy Spirit. But do not fail to find in them THEIR story of God’s journey with them. Do not fail to see that they have been proclaiming God’s Word for many generations. You are but a part of that story.

Would the members of St. Paul’s rise? People of St. Paul’s, you have called into your midst someone who most likely will hear God differently than you. Listen to her—she’s young but she knows God. Fear not her energy and her joyfulness. It is a sign that the Holy Spirit is speaking. Dance with her. Help her to hear your song too. Teach her of your love for God and teach her the steps that God has danced with you. Ministry is a shared work. She cannot do it without you and you cannot do it without her. Walk humbly together with God. AMEN

On being an onion in a petunia patch

2009-06-15T12:19:00.003-04:00

I have just found a new part to Vista that helps me with blog accounts. I have no idea how this will be published on my blog. But it is fun to work with a new application.

Yesterday I preached at a friend’s installation as pastor in a new congregation. It is a lovely, large mid-sized parish in the wine country of the Finger Lakes. When I have the chance to preach in Lutheran congregations I enjoy heightening the differences between being Lutheran and being Episcopalian. I am always still delighted with the new ways of speaking of the faith that these two traditions have. There is some freedom that an “auslander” has in speaking to a group of laity and clergy. Being the ‘onion in the petunia patch’ helps the onion see and gives us the freedom to speak more forcefully and more candidly than someone from the patch. I love this position and it allows me to see some of the things that make our traditions unique.

The congregation was originally founded by Danish immigrants. The customs of the Danes –especially in matters of food, were evident. The post celebration smorgasbord had interesting tastes even if their Danish forbearers were generations ago. This is a part of Christianity that as an Anglican I did not have. The Anglican-ness of us even though never spoken of, is so majority culture that there is never too much thought of it. Episcopalians never think of themselves as any one culture even though we are decidedly English. There is sort of a sense of entitlement we have by being the first, the majority, the quintessential WASP’s in the community. We are really never aware of being of any other ethnic group unless we have come to the Episcopal Church from some other ethnic faith group. But then again, most Episcopalians were something else before they became Episcopalians.

But for Lutherans, congregations usually have a long history set in the immigration of people from other countries. Most Lutherans have been Lutheran for generations. And their Lutheranism is a part of their German or Scandinavian roots. There may even be some deep-seated discomfort if a child or a sibling joins a different denomination—it is like they have denied their heritage much in the way an Italian or Spanish Roman Catholic will feel if the family “leaves the Church” to be come protestant.

A congregant from my own parish suggested that I not make such strong contrasts between our denominations because he felt that I was distancing myself from my congregation. I have thought about that comment and I understand how he feels. But distancing is not what I am doing. I am quite amazed at how pluralistic a congregation can be. I am caught up with the amount of diversity that we can sustain in the Body of Christ.

I subscribe to the Episcopal list-serve on which delegates to the church-wide meetings talk about the direction that TEC is going; and I listen to some of the hide-bound elements of doctrine and dogma get in the way of our living together in peace. I also am a part of an ecunet discussion group of conservative Lutherans and I wonder how such “thumping of Luther” can bring people to a relationship with God. Both of our traditions are faced with an obsession with doctrine and what it means to be TEC or ELCA. Both are frightened by what is splitting our churches apart.

I saw a quote on another blog recently “Faith is what you’re willing to die for. Dogma is what you’re willing to kill for.” – Robert Shahan. This is an important statement. The violence that we heap on each other in the name of faith is sinful. Yes, our faith is something that we are to die for—die each day for--DIE TO OURSELVES FOR. Faith is the putting God first and consequently putting away our own self-centeredness. But there is nothing in faith that requires us to go to war with each other. Underlying any such killing in the name of Christ is a type of rigidity that says I do not have to change, I do not have to accommodate, that I do not have to embrace those who think differently than I.

I have been scandalized by the vituperative statements made on both sites by people who claim community in the name of Jesus. I have watched simple discussions about sharing Christ turn into such raging arguments that no one wants to stay in the room simply because we are unable to discuss the real issue—which is, who has the power? Who has the power to tell me what is right and wrong? Only God does. We spend so much energy trying to kill other Christians for what they believe or don't believe, we have never been able to love our enemies as Christ instructed.

In matters of faith, we all have power and that is the power of Jesus Christ. We are not pawns; we are not called to be just observers or passive in the journey of faith. We are all called to proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ. If we thump doctrine and dogma, if we demand that only when things are done according to Hoyle to cover our passivity, then we have nothing to offer the Body of Christ except our distrust. For those of us who are deeply embedded in the relationship with Christ, we can find it within ourselves to embrace those who disagree with us. We can offer to them the kinds of compromise that is necessary for us to live together in peace. We do not have to have others have the same relationship with God as we do in order for us to live in peace.

Sometimes it is good for us to step back from our patch in order to get God’s perspective on our lives. Being an onion in a petunia patch is just such a perspective. I honor this chance, this congregation that gives me a new view of what it means to be Christ’s own. To lead such a congregation does not mean that I will take them where they do not want to go. I just means that I have a new perspective on what it means to be a Christian in today’s world. What a wonderful gift God has given me.

Friday Five: Trader Joe's!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-12T12:50:00.002-04:00

Sophia is ecstatic:

Gals and pals on the West and East coasts, and a few spots in between, may know of Trader Joe's--a quirky, well-stocked, well priced semi-gourmet store that attains near cult status among some. I discovered it through my Aunt Judy, who always brought a couple of their desserts to holiday parties....The best was a chocolate ganache torte that had my four year olds begging for it (and among the only four year olds on the planet to know what ganache is, presumably).

My family has happily Trader Joe'd in southernmost California, up to the Northwest, and back down to southern Cal. And now we're really excited because today a brand new Trader Joe is opening up across the street from our apartment. Wahoo! There are sure to be lots of tasty free samples on opening day and from now on we can just walk across the street to get a lot of our shopping done. I have a new spiritual directee coming tomorrow and she has already mentioned that she'll be stopping in on the way here, leaving me to be jealous cause I'll be spending that noon hour like, praying and preparing and study-vacuuming and everything, and won't be able to stop in till the afternoon.

So in honor of the new Trader Joe's, this week's Friday Five is all about food shopping.

1. Grocery shopping--love it or hate it?

I generally like to grocery shop. We don’t have a Trader Joe’s here in upstate NY. We do have Wegman’s. I worked there between churches back in 2002-3, so I am really aware of what they have and don’t have. It is not as “californian” as is Joe’s. Whenever we are in the West we stock up on Joe’s salsas. But Wegman’s has a number of neat gourmet things and a nice prepared foods line. They also have sushi made fresh while you wait that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. They also have the best pizza in town. I hardly ever roast a chicken anymore since they have roasted chickens for $4.99. I use it for fajitas to chicken salad.

2. Who is the primary food shopper in your household?

I am the primary shopper. J gets things like milk and chocolate éclairs which neither of us need.

3. Do you have a beloved store like TJ's which is unique to your location or family?

We have Sam’s. And I do shop there upon occasion but the large volume is usually too much for just the two of us. But their meat is quite good. And it is the only place I can get briskets for barbeque.

4. How about a farmer's market, or CSA share, as we move into summer? Or do you grow your own fruits/veggies/herbs?

Not far from the church is a wonderful farmer’s market I have traded at off and on for 25 years. I love their tomatoes and strawberries because they trade with the local farmers. I refuse to buy Driscoll berries. I had a church in Watsonville, CA where they are from and I didn't like the way that they treated their workers.

I wish I could grow my own stuff but our yard is very shady. Not even my herbs will grow. My landlady has some mint, chives and sometimes thyme that she will let me pick. That is all I really need. I can get hydroponic basil at the store. As folks begin to harvest their gardens, I sometimes get tomatoes and squash. I have already gotten some rhubarb.

5. What's the favorite thing you buy at the grocery store?

Cheese and Italian supplies such as roasted red peppers or different olive oils. I also like their fresh baked goods. There is a kind of bread called “Marco Polo” that I just love. Because we are in a large Italian community, we get lots of different kinds of pasta, olive oils, and sauces.

Moving on up: Friday Five

2009-06-05T10:51:00.003-04:00

Sally who works in the UK has offered a disturbing Friday Five. Since I have just started a new parish just a couple of years ago, the thought of moving is abhorrent. But because I am basically a complaint person, I will answer her 5 this Friday.

The theme of change is dominating my thinking at the moment, this morning my husband Tim has headed off for an interview in Sheffield. The West Sheffield Methodist Circuit are looking for an Evangelism/ Mission Enabler, in may ways this would be Tim's ideal job, but we wait on God... ( if you can spare a prayer today we'd be grateful)

...Sheffield is a commutable distance from my new post as Minister in Sherburn-in Elmet and some of the surrounding villages, before Tim gets home I will have left to join the Leadership team there for an away day on Saturday, I'll be staying the night with the current Minister in Sherburn to talk over some of the practicalities of the post.

ALL IS CHANGE.... and although I am looking forward to it, it is not without a sense of trepidation, as change always brings challenges.

Changing location also means packing, so next month will be a month of clearing and sorting, deciding what comes and what gets left behind...

So with change in mind I offer you this Friday five; ( if you've never moved here's a chance to use your imagination)

1. A big move is looming, name one thing that you could not possibly part with, it must be packed ?

The library. I have been carrying around tons (literally) of books for years. I believe that my library breeds in that quiet little room. They just seem to multiply. The past move, we had to pay for ourselves. Now we will not be able to afford to move our books anymore. I can’t believe how important my books are to me. I feel like Linus without his blanket if forced to be without my books.

2. Name one thing that you would gladly leave behind...

Books. This next move will be into retirement. I won’t need all those books anymore. Most of what I want to know I can find on the internet anymore.

3. How do you prepare for a move?

Sort books.
a. practically? I would like to have a big garage sale, but our apartment has no easement so we have no place to hold a garage sale.

b. spiritually/ emotionally?

I hate moving with a passion. J doesn’t seem to mind it as much. I generally go to the new place and prepare for moving van arrival and J lets the moving van guys do the rest. One time I took a 10 day workshop between cures. That was a good move.

4. What is the first thing you look for in a new place?

Places to shop and places to eat. Then doctors and dentist, pharmacy. Church members are good sources for that.

5. Do you settle in easily, or does it take time for you to find your feet in a new location?

When you are moved to a new location by the parish, there isn’t much time to settle in. Usually the congregation wants you to start the first Sunday you are available. I don’t know what I will do when I retire.

The bonus for today; a new opportunity has come up for you to spend 5 years in a new area, where would you go and why?

Of course you mean that this is an all-expense paid type of move, don’t you? I would like to move into a small town in a diocese where the ministry is needed and support a struggling parish but somewhere where I can also relax a bit. Part of me would like to go back to Latin America, but I don’t think I have the energy that living in a foreign country would entail. I think my next stop is retirement with responsibility for a small pt. time cure.

LGBT ISSUE: the Lutheran way

2009-06-01T18:19:00.002-04:00

I have spent an inordinate amount of time the past month dealing with LGBT issues in the Lutheran Church. Partly because I don’t quite understand how position statements work in Lutheran polity, I have been somewhat concerned about how the Statement on Human Sexuality is going to fly at the Church Wide Assembly.

At Synod Assembly (Diocesan Convention to you Episcopalians who read this blog) this weekend we crafted a memorial to the Church Wide Assembly that called for not only the ordination of LGBT folk but the recognition of same-sex unions.

The Statement (SHS) is a flawed document but it has made some statements about such sticky theological issues that I find it to be exceptional and praiseworthy. For a church that puts so much energy into the concept that “all are sinners,” the insistence that SHS has placed upon the gift of our human sexuality is an important statement. This moves the sex act out of the realm of the ‘necessary for creation’ into the realm of God’s creation for mutual joy. But of course, the SHS came under fire from those who find it too soft on LGBT, especially those in the ordained ministry.

I spoke to the issue as the only lesbian pastor who is out and for a congregation that has been accepting and reconciling. I must admit I found it difficult to do so, not because I was afraid, but because of the responsibility I had to all the silent LGBT people I know I represent. Throughout the rest of the 3 day event, people came to me and thanked me for speaking up, for putting ‘a face on the issue’. The gay and lesbians in the clergy of the ELCA are under wraps. They either keep it quiet or are unwilling to face their own sexuality, choosing, as I did for many years, to ignore what God had gifted me with. It is a terrible waste of human resources.

The ordination of LGBT persons will come about in the ELCA and it will not take very long to get there. But it was to my amazement then when I read Sunday morning that the Synod of Stockholm of the Lutheran Church of Sweden elected a lesbian in a partnered relationship to be Bishop of Stockholm. Woo Hoo! Bishop-elect Eva Brunne and her partner, another pastor, have a 3 year old son. I mentioned this to a member of the congregation and he said “Well, those Swedes have been sexually liberal for a long time!”

I don’t generally take on this issue on this blog but I guess it is time to. It is time to help folks to understand that being gay is a blessing from God, not something to hide from. It is a God-given aspect that makes us different from other folks and helps us understand what all Christians are called to—being different from other folk.

For 1700 years Christians in most countries have had the protection of the state to be Christian. They have not had to separate themselves from the majority of society to live out their Christianity. Now, in a post-Christian world we will have to differentiate ourselves from the majority society in order to live out our Christian calling. If anyone can teach what it means to live on the edge of the majority society, it is gay folk.

I rejoice with the Synod of Stockholm. I rejoice with The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Church who has endured such awful reception in the Anglican Communion that he now has a companion in the struggle to confirm LGBT persons in their call to live as Christ’s own. I pray that Bishop-elect Brunne will be able to lead her synod with the calm resolve that +Gene has done.

Firday Five: Vacations

2009-05-22T18:56:00.003-04:00

Mary Beth from revgals is dreaming of her vacation. It has obviously gotten warm and sunny where she is! She has come up with come up with questions on vacations for our Friday Five.

1) What did your family do for vacations when you were a child? Or did you have stay-cations at home?

My vacation from the time I was a Brownie through high school was Girl Scout camp. Mom and I usually went up north to visit grandmothers. But Dad never went on those trips. There were a couple of camping trips that I remember to Estes Park in CO and to Padre Island in TX. My folks didn’t really start traveling together until after I left home. Then they got a camper/trailer and took off. Dad traveled for a living so traveling was not what he wanted to do for vacation. He spent his vacation working on the house.

2) Tell us about your favorite vacation ever:

I have had a couple of really neat vacations. Just after I was ordained and had a full-time salary, J and I went to the UK for a month. We went under the auspices of the Movement for the Ordination of Women since they weren’t ordaining women in the UK yet. It was my first trip abroad and since both J and I come from Celtic or Brit backgrounds we did some family hunting. It rained 3 of the 4 weeks there, but that didn’t dampen the trip. The other trip was the vacation we took to Anaheim for the 1985 General Convention. We borrowed my brother’s camper van and saw much of the Southwest that I had never seen.

3) What do you do for a one-day or afternoon getaway...is there a place nearby that you escape to on a Saturday afternoon/other day off?

During the spring and summer my favorite place is our front porch. I am pretty good about distancing myself from stuff when I need to just hang out. But our porch is on the second floor so there is a bit of “tree house” effect about it. Inthe early mornings the screens hold some of the river insect life that I love watching. (They are on the OUTSIDE) There is usually a breeze and presently the lilacs have been awesome this year and their smell wafts over me while I sit and read or doze.

4) What's your best recommendation for a full-on vacation near you...what would you suggest to someone coming to your area? (Near - may be defined any way you wish!)

I am not far from the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Soccer Hall of Fame for those who are into that. We have rivers that have been some of the oldest blue ribbon trout and small mouth bass fishing in the country. The Erie Canal System goes throughout our area and there are some nice campgrounds for campers. The middle part of NY state is beautiful, full of lakes, wineries, and historical sites. The Senaca Falls Women’s Museum shares the history of women’s suffrage. There are interesting traces of the Underground Railroad to Canada. I love upstate NY. There is so much history and just plain beauty here.

5) What's your DREAM VACATION?

I had one of my dream vacations last summer when we took the Canadian Railway across country. But I would love to go to Spain and rent an apartment or a small pension in a small town. We have friends that really want to do that on the coast of Italy. We need to save our $$ to do that. And I still want to go to the Holy Land. But at the moment I don’t want to support the Israeli regime. If there was a way I could make contact with the Palestinian Christian community, or go to the College of St. George, I would love to go. I also would love to go to New Zealand.

Bonus: Any particularly awful (edited to add: or hilarious) vacation stories that you just have to tell? ("We'll laugh about this later..." maybe that time is now!)

Our first trip to the UK was when the worst hurricane since the Spanish Armada hit London our first night there. It literally shut down the city for several days. It uprooted huge oak forests all throughout the southern part of the country. We were staying with a group of Anglican monastics. When we came down for breakfast we found the whole community huddled on the steps in the stairwell. “Did you have a bit of wind last night?” I asked. They were incredulous that we had slept through the whole thing. J and I come from TX and OK. High winds were part of life there.

Friday Five FRIENDS

2009-05-15T11:05:00.002-04:00

Friday Five Friends

Revgal Jan writes
Ever since I found out I could be the hostess for the third Friday Five of each month, I have not been able to get the thought of friends out of my mind. Being an only child (all growed up) who moved around a lot in my lifetime, friends have always been very important to me. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: "The way to have a friend is to be a friend."

So today let's write about the different kinds of friends we have, like childhood friends, lost friends, tennis friends, work friends, and the list goes on. List 5 different types of friends you have had in your life and what they were/are like.

As a bonus, put a link to a new (to you) blogging friend and introduce us!Comments:

It is very interesting that Jan has brought up this topic. In my parish, the women’s study group has been reading Joan Chittister’s The Friendship of Women. In it, Sr. Joan uses various women in the Bible to characterize the kinds of friendship that illustrate the kinds of friends that we women develop. It was an especially lovely book when I picked it up last year and read it for my spiritual reading. I heartily recommend it.

1. J. is my BF. We have lived together for over 30 years. We are not lovers but I guess after 30 years we could call ourselves “partners”. J. is straight and I am lesbian. Shortly after I left the convent and as I was beginning to understand my vocation to the priesthood (in the mid ‘70’s before TEC was ordaining women) I met J. at a women’s ministry group led by the Rev. Mary Bruggeman. It was a heady time when many of the mainline denominations were considering the ordination of women. J. was one of the first women priests regularly ordained. I eventually became an Episcopalian and was ordained 5 yrs later. We found that we did not do well living alone and that ministry was just too difficult by ourselves. We found that life was just much better when we had s someone to come home to. This does not mean that we see eye to eye on everything; we are both strong women. But our relationship allows us to have ‘community’, that sense of being enveloped in love and respect that allows us to go “once more into the fray” each morning. Last week when the NY assembly voted to support same-sex marriage, I asked J. if she wanted to get married. We both laughed. “It wouldn’t be any different than most of the marriages of people our age”, she said. I doubt if we will do that since it isn’t what we want to say about our love for each other. But it might be nice to get the tax break.

2. J&D—are a couple. They joined my parish in my first call back in the early 80’s. I have moved all over the country since that parish, but J&D have stayed “up” with each other. A phone call, or a short visit keeps our lives primed to the kind of love that is ready when any of us need it. My present church is in the next small village from theirs and we get to see each other upon occasion. We are very careful not to intrude upon the pastor/parishioner boundaries that continue with relationship with their rector. We are FRIENDS and the expectations are different. We are considering a trip to Europe together. They are a bit younger than we are, but we enjoy so many of the same things that I think that it would be great fun.

3. I met H. at church just after I lost my parish in the dio. She was a therapist and I need a therapist in the worst way. The bishop promised to pay her fee and we began to do some of the best work in therapy that I have ever done. But the bishop refused to pay for her services when she submitted her bill. I was shocked and angry and had no insurance. I was also without an income. H. agreed to see me without pay. After several years of therapy, we realized that our sessions were becoming less therapeutic and more friendly and we ended our professional relationship. But we continue to see each other weekly for breakfast. She has become the supervisor of the counseling that the ministry requires. And I have become her spiritual director—i.e. friends. Yes, it is a bit of blurring of those proper boundaries, but we are respectful of what it means to be our special selves.

4. B. was the moderator of a list-serve I joined some years ago. He was as conservative as I was liberal but I enjoyed the group that I had met on line. He was blind and pastored in the deep south. He maintained many of the “bubba” mentality that had finally forced me from my southern roots back in the ‘70’s. But he was a kind person and I could not just delete him. He was especially bad about LGBT issues just as I was coming out and claiming who I was. We finally began a long and rather torturous conversation off the list serve in which I talked about how I understood myself as a lesbian. He began to share some very difficult encounters with gay men in his youth. What came out was his fear of his own sexuality. It was one of the holiest and honest discussions I have ever had with a colleague. He did a 180 degree change on LGBT issues. We often talked on the phone. When I went to volunteer after Katrina, I visited with he and his wife. A couple of years ago he had a massive heart attack and died. The list-serve had stopped at that point and there was no group with whom I could grieve. I couldn’t even reach his wife to offer my condolences. Perhaps it was the anonymity of the internet that allowed us to become close, but the love and support we had for one another was part of our own spiritual growth. His friendship will always be with me.

5. C. was my BF G’s mother when I was in Jr. High. C taught school, I didn’t know her as a teacher. She was just G’s mom. The relationship with my own parents was often strained in my teen years. C’s was always calm. She let me talk and she listened. She never judged. G and I lost contact after her marriage. But always I would visit C. She was always glad to see me. She was the only member of my life as a youth that encouraged me when I wanted to go to seminary. Whenever I visited my family, I would always visit C. Some years ago I visited and realized that C. was failing. Her normally sharp mind was no longer there. Last year G. called me to tell me that her mother had passed. They asked me to do the funeral. What a privilege that was!

Bonus: I would like you to meet Elizabeth who blogs at www.telling-secrets.blogspot.com She is one of the most prolific bloggers I know and is wonderfully funny. She is also very savvy about Episcopal matters. I met her when I was a senior in seminary and she came to visit the campus. I have watched her grow into a wonderfully articulate lover of Jesus and a champion of LGBT and women’s issues in the Church. It is always such a delight to see one who comes after you excel and carry on the message that God is love. I hope to see her next month when some Anglican bloggers get together.

Friday Five: A Bug's Life

2009-05-08T09:49:00.002-04:00

Sophia has been keen on nature today with here Friday Five:

As I was walking the beach today, I was surprised and delighted to find it swarming with ladybugs. The sweet little red beetles are one of my favorite insects and also my daughter's blogname--though as of this morning she was thinking of changing it to Butterfly. I'll keep you posted.

This got me thinking about spiritual insect trivia: Did you know that medieval mystics and theologians esteemed the bee for its dedicated work and transformation of ordinary ingredients into sweetness? That Spider Woman is an important creator Goddess to many Native American tribes? Or that Francis of Assisi was reminded of Jesus not only by lambs being led to slaughter, but also by worms (think "I am a worm and no man" from the Psalms)-- so he picked them up and took them out of stomping-vulnerable spots?!

In that spirit, this week's Friday Five is a magical mystery tour through God's garden of creepy crawlies!

1. Ladybugs or ladybirds? Pillbugs or roly-polys? Jesus bugs or water skeeters? Any other interesting regional or familial name variations?

I have always called them Ladybugs. The President’s wife was Ladybird. When I was growing up there were interesting little indentations in the sand that were made by ant lions. There were also stinging caterpillars that the neighbors called asps. I was 4 when we moved to TX from IL so I was treated to a whole different set of bugs. We had tarantulas and we had chiggers.

2. Stomp on spiders, carry them outside, or peacefully co-exist?

Today, I guess it depends. If they are Daddy Long-legs, I generally ignore them, especially if they are in the bathroom during the summer. They eat the gnats and no see’ums that come through the screens in the bathroom. If they are something that I know to be poisonous then they get flushed.

3. Favorite insect?

Since I am a fly fisher and tie my own imitations of the bugs that trout like, I have several. I love mayflies. The are often hard to imitate but they are so pretty coming off the water during a hatch. The huge Drakes—often 2” long down to the itsy bitty ones that we refer to as midges. I also like caddis flies because they are fairly easy to imitate. I still delight to a wet summer evening when the lightening bugs are in the grass and the whole field looks like a fairy den.

4. Least favorite?

I really abhor chiggers in the South and black flies in the North or the mountains. It is hard to understand the wisdom of God in their regard. And I really dislike mosquitos, not because their bite is so obnoxious, but they are known to pass on poison ivy to which I am extremely allergic. It makes fishing a hazardous sport for me.

5. Got any good bug stories to share?

The spring of my first year in NY I went to a friend’s cabin in the Adirondacks to assuage the hurt of being turned down my the ordination committee. I was sitting on their dock while fishing absorbed in the pain of seeming failure. There were gnats swarming around me but I was so sad I didn’t notice. It was my first introduction to black flies. I woke up the next morning with golf-ball sized knots all over me. My eyes were swollen almost shut. One ear looked like I had been in a fight, and I had a fever. I have never gone to the Adirondacks during May again. Of course, I applied again and was accepted. But I still identify black flies with rejection.

Bonus question: share a poem, song, quotation, etc. about insects.

I don’t remember any poems or songs except “Itsy-bitsy Spider”, but I do remember that when I was in first grade we had a story about Billy Goat Gruff in which I played the bee which stung the Billy Goat and made him go back into his pen. I had a really neat costume my mother made that included golden cellophane wings that daddy made for me.

Friday Five- celebrating the seasons of life

2009-05-01T14:30:00.003-04:00

Sally, in her oh so English manner is pondering the connections faith has from different traditions. I remember as a young child it was important to take little flower baskets to the older people in the neighborhood. I guess this was a relatively Yankee custom--or more likely it came from the Scottish/English heritage of my parents. I would gather up all the dandilions and any other things that were blooming and place them in construction paper baskets Mama and I made and then placed them on the door handles of our neighbors and then ring their door bells and ran off. Perhaps it was a vestige of Beltane.

Sally says:

It is the first of May, or as I have been concentrating on dialogue with folk interested in the new spirituality movement this last week, it is Beltane, a time to celebrate the beginning of summer. The BBC web-site tells us that:

Beltane is a Celtic word which means 'fires of Bel' (Bel was a Celtic deity). It is a fire festival that celebrates of the coming of summer and the fertility of the coming year.
Celtic festivals often tied in with the needs of the community. In spring time, at the beginning of the farming calendar, everybody would be hoping for a fruitful year for their families and fields.
Beltane rituals would often include courting: for example, young men and women collecting blossoms in the woods and lighting fires in the evening. These rituals would often lead to matches and marriages, either immediately in the coming summer or autumn.

Another advert for a TV programme that has caught my eye on the UK's Channel 4 this weekend is called Love, Life and leaving; and is a look at the importance of celebrating the seasons of life through ritual and in the public eye, hence marriages, baptisms and funerals.

I believe that we live in a ritually impoverished culture, where we have few reasons for real celebration, and marking the passages of life;

So

1. Are ritual markings of birth marriage and death important to you?
I am an Episcopalian, OF COURSE ritual is important! It is so much a part of my life that those who are not part of my faith don’t understand many of the things I do. I can’t just do Hatch, Match and Dispatch! But it is hard to find others who attach as much meaning to the rituals around important happenings in life.

I have never married or given birth so I don’t have a way to articulate what that means. I have to rely on the rituals of the Church to sign the beyond-verbal experience that such events provide for others. I have to depend that the Word will infuse meaning into what I cannot verbalize in sign and the paltriness of language.

2. Share a favourite liturgy/ practice.

Absolutely the Eucharist! I love to baptize and I even love to commit others to the ground, but it doesn’t so completely satisfy me as does the Eucharist. It doesn’t have to be in any particular tradition. Just the gathering of people who invite Christ into their midst with bread and wine connects me to all who have gone before and all who will come after.

3. If you could invent ( or have invented) a ritual what is it for?

I need a ritual for getting up. Off and on I have had certain actions I have followed in those moments between being asleep and being fully awake. I want the ritual to reconnect me with being fully alive, fully awake and fully trusting in the God who loves me. As long as I have this vertigo it takes all my energy just to get my bearings. And then it is off to brush the teeth. I need to take the time to center my day
4. What do you think of making connections with neo-pagan / ancient festivals? Have you done this and how?

Because I am an Episcopalian/Anglican I believe that many of the rituals we have already touch the pagan origins of what it means to be in connection with God. Christmas is Saturnalia and Easter is just the name for Astarte or Spring. When I worship, I want to direct my worship to the Omnipresent One, however he/she is named. But I am a follower of Christ’s way and I am more likely to identify the Holy with the Christian tradition. I am as drawn to Stonehenge and the holy wells of my Celtic heritage as I am to a cathedral or a pilgrimage site. When I was in the UK I was stunned with how gripping my first sight of Stonehenge was. I knew it was a ‘thin place’ between the sacred and the profane.

But I am unlikely to attend Neo-pagan rituals because it might be misconstrued by the faithful. As a priest I feel that I have some obligation to the Church which ordained me to stay within my own tradition and those we are in communion with. In the pastoral realm, when someone comes to me with an experience of the holy with in an ancient tradition, I give thanks for that. At the same time, I look for the continuation of faith that my forbearers had--the manifestations of goodness, wholeness and loving are qualities that I know that they too cherished. I need not disparage that simply because it was BCE. Faith is given by God and I believe that there is only one God. How God has manifested God’s self to others through out the ages is fascinating and supports my own faith in a God who is manifested in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

5. Celebrating is important, what and where would your ideal celebration be?

I find that celebration can take place in the grandest and the grungiest of places. I celebrated when I placed the ashes of my mother in her grave last week. It seemed like the completion of what my mother had done for me. I returned her to the earth. I got down on my knees and reached deeply into the sandy clay of Ft. Worth, TX to finish the cycle of life she had completed. It connected me with all of her 96 years, with the earth we cherished, and made her again a Bat Adam—a daughter of the earth from which she had come. It was not a planned act. It was what I needed to do after the rest of the family had left. The funeral director I think was a bit appalled, but I don’t care. It was an act that will link me with her the rest of my life—and after all, that is what celebrations are about—linkage, connection, touch.

Church History

2009-04-30T16:41:00.006-04:00

I am preparing to teach a course on Church History from Jesus to the latter Middle Ages to those who are desiring to be deacons in our congregations. In order for anyone to preach, one must have some idea what the Church has taught. I have picked up a couple of new books on the history of the Church, one by a Lutheran author and the other by and Episcopalian. They both come down about in the same place. After all history is history, we think. But the flavor is different.

Martin Marty’s book, The Christian World, is the product of a mind that has been dealing with the vagaries of the Christian Church for a long time. He is a retired professor whose systematic approach toward history underlies this rather informal overview of the life of Christian nations. For one who has been schooled in the formal history of Christianity with its dates of various Ecumenical Councils and their doctrinal statements, I find Marty’s work fairly easy to follow but shallow. But that is not the intention of this book. His overview showing how the Gospel message was spread throughout the various parts of the world is quite helpful and straight-forward.

Butler Bass’s A People’s History of Christianity is an unusually breezy way of telling the story of the growth of faith. Based in her understanding of the Christian message as loving God and loving one’s neighbor, she endeavors to show that this message has been taught throughout the ages. She quotes the earliest writers to support her points, but it seems quite anachronistic. Annoyingly she will jump around in the first 500 years of the formation of Christianity with little regard as to how the various doctrines and dogmas were developed. And yet, she has a significant point: Doctrine and Dogma are always the statements of those in power. They are always the product of those who have prevailed in a conflict for the faith of the people. It is not the stuff which taught the love of Christ and the awe of God to the people over the centuries.

Today is an era in which people have lost their memory. We in the US, as a populace have forgotten the principles upon which we stand in the face of over-population, consumerism and imperialistic power. We have ignored our history as a nation and a democracy and we have become amnesiacs in matters of faith. The non-denominational churches often do not connect with an apostolic faith—a faith that is grounded in the message of Jesus as it has developed through the ages. Yet those of us who call ourselves apostolic often get stuck in the doctrine and dogma and not the communal love that the Church has supplied throughout the centuries since the time of Jesus.

Both Marty’s book and that of Bass have tried to create an environment in which we can find ourselves in the history of the Church. Either one of these books will tell the story of how Christ’s body is made manifest throughout the world. I am still laboring under the need to understand what the difference between the Valentinians and the Montanists is, but that is ok. I kind of enjoy all those nit-picky things that have nothing to do with the faithfulness the love of God provides for us in the apostolic Church.

Doubting Thomas

2009-04-19T17:55:00.002-04:00

I didn’t preach this morning. I am still in TX following my mother’s funeral so I was ready to hear a sermon and be ministered to by the sacraments. It is always good to hear a sermon from someone else. And the story of Doubting Thomas had good points for me to hear.

All too often I preach on how important doubt is to the faith process. I preach this because it was important in my journey of faith. But I have been assailed with all kinds of questions this week by friends and family.

The southern culture has a religious component to it that demands a rather mindless sense of faith. It also contains an idea of the afterlife that is tiresome for me—“well, your mother is in a far better place.” Your mother is just up there looking down on you… or “Your mama is up there with your daddy…” etc. So I was surprised when an old friend—a 90 year old friend at that, said “Do you really think your mother and father are together up there? I don’t.” Now, I have known this friend for 60 years and my first response was to think “Oh, God, I hope they aren’t together for the sake of Heaven!”

But Ruth’s doubt needed to be answered. “No, I don’t think they are up there. I have no idea what heaven is like and neither does any body else. I am not sure that there is a heaven either. But one thing I am certain of is that the God I know and who loves me will make whatever is next good. I trust in that. My mother didn’t believe in the southern religious culture either. She said “When you’re dead, you’re dead.” What she meant by that is that she did not believe in popular religion’s portrayal of heaven. I do believe that my mother is REALLY surprised these days, though. I do not know by what or how. But I trust that she is where there is no sighing or crying and she knows that she is loved.

Doubt needs to be addressed. Thomas addressed his doubt. He checked out what he could and couldn’t believe with his experience of Jesus. Do I believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus? I don’t know that either. But I do know that I am content with the metaphor of Christ’s resurrection to sustain me in my grief and my joy in my mother’s death. I can test my faith against the God of history and the God of always to know that I am loved and will be loved for as long as is necessary.

So I thank Thomas for his doubts, for the temerity to allow his doubts to be known without fear and the ability to come to that confession of faith that led him to embrace the Risen Christ. I am grateful to my friend Ruth and the boldness of her question. And I am overwhelmed with the love that God has had for me and my mother all these years. That’s all that is important. Alleluia, He is Risen. The Lord has risen, indeed. Alleluia!

RIP Nov. 12, 1912 -- April 14, 2009

2009-04-15T19:03:00.003-04:00

My mother, Naomi Lorene McKinney Gough, died yesterday at about 5:15 pm. She was 96 years old, and for some years now has been unable to see, hear or speak. It has been difficult to communicate with her the past few years and I know was so difficult for her not being able to be in the middle of things. The kind of dementia she experienced did not take away her ability to know us, or her mind; it just took away her ability to share with us.

Mom and I did not always get along. Perhaps we were too much alike but over the past 10 years we have gotten closer. We mostly didn’t see eye to eye about politics. She was of the mind that Nixon got a raw deal We did agree a lot about religion though she never understood why I wanted to become a priest. She was never comfortable going to my services or listening to me preach. Partially because she really didn’t like the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer and partially, she was afraid that I would say something that people wouldn’t like. But for all our disagreement, I never thought she didn’t love me. She just couldn’t SAY it. It just wasn’t her way.

Mom was funny. She wasn’t especially out spoken, but you nearly always knew where she stood. She was a small woman, only 5’2” but she was much like a banty hen. She would stand her ground if she needed to.

My brother is 12 years older than I. He was always the apple of her eye (at least that is what I thought). There is something about your first born, but I resented that when I was young. And boy-children were always held in great esteem in her family. But as she grew older, I realized that she was attracted to young men—what they were doing, what interested them. She made over the husbands of her granddaughters the same way she made over my brother. And she always responded to her male nurses better than the women. It was just her way.

She didn’t have a chance to go to college. She graduated from high school in 1930; no one had money for college in those days. She married young to a young railroader that stayed at her parents’ boarding house. They ran off and got married; no one could afford a wedding then. Dad lost his job soon afterward and they had a hard time until the WWII came along and Dad could get his job back. Both of them worked at various jobs during the Great Depression and taught me that one could make a living even when it wasn’t one to your liking, or in your field.

When I was in 3rd Grade she started back to work. She was an elementary school secretary. She loved the educational world. She would have made a good teacher if she had been given a chance. She made the best of it by helping teachers and principals do their jobs and directing children. She continued in that job for over 30 years.

Some years ago I started doing some genealogy on her family. I found that the McKinneys and the Crowders had both served in the Revolutionary War. The McKinneys had come to Connecticut in the late 17th century from Scotland by way of Ireland. When I told her of what I had found, she said: “Yep, my father said if anyone asked who I was I was supposed to say ‘I am Scots-Irish, Republican and a Cambellite’” (Disciples of Christ) Her family had come across the Appalachian Mountains with the Lincoln family and originally settled in Sangamon Co. IL. Being a Republican was a genetic predisposition, not merely a conservative way of thinking.

Last time I visited her in February I told her that I had to fly back to NY. She took my hand and held it up to her face. She didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to let go either. We sat there, side by side and just held hands. I knew it would be the last time I would be able to talk with her. She was going and she knew it and I knew it. I had hoped for just one more time to sit and hold hands. My brother called me Easter morning just after my last service and told me that she was fading quickly. When I was finally able to get here on Tuesday morning she had already fallen into an unconscious state. I talked to her, rubbed her arms and face. I am convinced she knew I was there. When I had to leave for dinner, I told her that we were all here and that my eldest niece was coming in the next day. She died about an hour later. She went easily with just a sigh, the nurse told me. She is home, I believe—where ever that home is.

She was a good woman. She cared about others and did what she could for others. She delighted in life and taught me to do the same. I am thankful for that. Go in peace, Mom.

Friday Five: Good Friday Five

2009-04-10T18:49:00.002-04:00

Sophia has given us a wonderful Good Friday Five:

Adoramus te, Christe,
et benedicimus tibi,
quia per sanctam crucem tuam
redemisti mundum.
Qui passus es pro nobis,
Domine, miserere nobis.

We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you,
because by your holy cross
you have redeemed the world.
O Lord, who suffered for us,
have mercy on us.

1. How will you pray and worship today?

Today we will celebrate an ecumenical Seven Meditations at the Methodist Church in town. It is a time for the clergy to worship together. We are a pretty good group and we never get to do this except on Good Friday and Thanksgiving.

2. Share a powerful memory or memories of Good Friday past.

I was baptized at the Easter Vigil 40 years ago tomorrow. I spent this night in retreat and in prayer that what I was doing was God’s will for me. I spent it in a convent chapel overwhelmed with the service of Good Friday. It was the first time that the Crucifixion made any sense to me.

3. How have you grown and experienced God's love during this past Lent?

This Lent has been quite haphazard for me. It is the first Holy Week in this congregation and in this denomination. Learning how each denomination stresses and nuances this mystery of the Cross is fascinating. I feel that it has broadened my understanding of the God who was willing to die for me so that I might have life abundant.

4. In whom do you see the face of the suffering Christ most clearly?

I see the suffering of Christ in the families of those who were shot in my city, in those who came to the realization that there is no security even in their own hometown. I see the suffering of Christ in the faces of those who are bewildered by the violence that is in the world, because the world has told them that there is security in might and power. In other words, I see the suffering of Christ in almost everyone I meet.

5. Where do you find hope for resurrection?

I find the hope for resurrection in the absolute giving of my Christ. His emptying fills me with hope. I also see it in my congregation--people who in their day to day rather mundane lives trying to live the love that God has given them.

Bonus: Share a song, poem, or prayer that makes the paschal mystery come alive for you.

My Song is Love Unknown

Good Friday "Into Your hands I commend my spirit."

2009-04-10T15:06:00.002-04:00

“Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.” Lk.23:46

Many years ago when I was in the convent, each night we met to say Compline together. Compline is the night prayer said each night by those who are in religious orders in liturgical denominations. It is a series of prayers based upon the psalms and said just before everyone turns in for the night and silence descends upon the house until morning. It was often said with minimal light and with rather hushed voices. Every night we repeated “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” Not only are these words the last words of our Savior on the Cross, they were also the words of Psalm 31, written some 500 years before Jesus during the time of Jeremiah.

These words are words of surrender, and protection. From the Cross they could be construed as giving up—the act of one flinging himself wildly into the unknown. But for anyone who has prayed these words constantly in their lives, it is quite the opposite.

To pray “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit” regularly is one way to find that there is nothing which can keep us from the loving God who stands ready to accept our surrender. Now, surrender can be seen as a giving up. But in this case the kind of faithful surrender to God is last step in faith. It is the recognition that God is our home and as Jesus utters the words of this psalm he is embracing the fullness of his Godliness—his reunion with the Father.
To pray “Into your hands, I commend my spirit” is the comfort that the faithful know when we have done all we can, that God is there to guide us, to accept us, to redeem us and our all our efforts.

Jesus also knew the rest of that psalm. The parts that said:
“How abundant is the good
that You have in store for those who fear You,
That You do in the full view of humanity
for those who take refuge in You.”….
vss 22-25
Blessed is the Lord,
For He has been wondrously faithful to me,
A veritable bastion.
Alarmed, I had thought,
I am thrust out of Your sight;
Yet You listened to my pleas for mercy
when I cried out to you.
So love the Lord, all you faithful;
The Lord guards the loyal, and more than requites him who acts arrogantly.
Be strong and of good courage,
all you who wait for the Lord.

Jesus knew that the Father had all things ready for him. He surrendered to know that togetherness that welcoming that fulfilled him.

Any good Jew understood what Jesus was saying. They knew Jesus was fulfilling his call from God. He had drunk deeply of the cup that was given him so that he would provide for us a witness that death has no power, pain has no power, evil has no power over the goodness and holiness of God.

To be reunited with all that is good and sacred is what God wants for us all. No matter what evil we face, no matter what seems to overcome us, for those of us who love Christ and serve him, we know from this scene that we are saved by the love he gave us upon the cross.

This kind of love—the kind of love that unites us one to the other at the deepest level does not protect us from bad things. We have but to look at the scene of Golgotha. This love does not mean that we can avoid the difficult things about us. It does not mean that we can avoid looking at the evil in the world. It does not mean that we can ignore the evil. Because of the love Christ surrendered to us on the Cross we are called to alleviate evil when we see it. Because Christ emptied himself and surrendered himself to the Father, we too can depend upon God to accept us when we have no answer to the things that seem to overwhelm us. This reunion is ours too. This embrace by God is what Jesus came to earth to teach us. We can depend upon it. We can have faith in it. We know the ending of the story just as those who stood at the Cross knew the end of the psalm. We can live in truth and light facing things that would beat us down. We too can surrender; can commend our spirits to God. And for life to have meaning for us as Christians, we must surrender ourselves to God. Reunion with God is not just our hope—it is the promise that Christ made with his life. AMEN

Maundy Thursday

2009-04-09T16:13:00.002-04:00

Back in the mid -70’s just after I left the convent, a group of friends from the parish I attended would meet on Maundy Thursday at a wonderful French restaurant a block away from church. All of us were very active in our parish. Mary Margaret was in charge of lay readers. I taught in the parish and directed the guitar service, Kathy taught church school and another was active in the women’s group. It was a huge congregation—7,000 families, and only 3 priests to serve us.

We knew if we were going to get anything out of Holy Week, we would have to infuse the liturgy with meaning. So we would break our Lenten fast with a sumptuous meal. We would order a bottle of wine to share. We always had an extra chair at our table reminding us that this meal was special. It was not just a night on the town. This was a meal to which Christ was invited.

This was long before I began to understand my vocation to the priesthood. No one “celebrated” this meal. It was an agape—a love feast to which we invited our Lord, broke bread, blessed our food and one another, ate superbly and shared wine. Then we would walk to the church to celebrate the Maundy Thursday service.

Maundy comes from the word maundatum in Latin. It means law or commandment. In the Gospel appointed for today we hear Jesus giving his disciples a New Commandment. After he had washed his disciples’ feet, Jesus instructs them with a New Commandment—“Love one another.”

Often we get fixated on the washing of feet or the institution of the Eucharist at the Maundy Thursday service. But it is this New Commandment that is important. At our pre-mass agape my friend and I celebrated our friendship—our love for one another. We tried to imitate Christ’ Last Supper by asking for his presence. And we were reminded in those actions that how we lived together respecting each other’s gifts, sharing each other’s lives, laughing with one another was a response that to that love that Christ had offered us from the Cross.

Here at church in this celebration of this Holy Meal, the Communion with our God, we not only remember what Jesus did, we are invited by Christ to share in HIS meal. We feast not merely on bread and wine, or on veal piccata or coquille saint-jacques. We feast on the body and blood of Christ, our Lord. We take the One who would show us the Father into us, not just for sustenance but for strength to live out this law of love.

The Eucharistic meal—and Eucharist means thanksgiving is our offering to God and God’s offering to us. It is an invitation by God to step beyond our own limitations. It calls us to find within ourselves the grace that God gives to love more than would be humanly possible by emptying ourselves in order to love others. This act of taking bread, blessing, breaking and giving it signs that we can let old slights and bitterness go, we can begin anew with relationships. The grace of this sacrament empowers us to not cut each other off or dismiss one another. The grace of this sacrament opens us to respect those with whom we share the bounty of the earth. The grace of this sacrament raises our eyes to those around us who are suffering. The grace of this sacrament fills us with hope that what we do in the name of Christ will manifest Christ’s saving message that we are loved and that we can love others. The grace of this sacrament opens our hearts to those whose hungers cannot be satisfied by the stuff of this world and calls us to share the joy of God.

Throughout this Lenten season we have looked at our baptismal promises. As a response to the gift of eternal life given to us in baptism, we promise to live among God’s people, share in the liturgy of the Church, proclaim the good news, serve one another and strive for justice and peace. Baptism is a sacrament—that outward and visible sign of God’s grace-- that we do only once and then remember it. Holy Communion is the sign by which we can remember, we can respond, we can be about the loving one another. The regular reception of the Eucharist helps us to realize that all meals shared are Last Suppers, not mere feeding troughs. They are times for expressing our care for one another. In the celebration of Holy Communion can we realize that even a quarter-pounder and a Coke can be a divine touch when we share them in love.

I love the way this parish has dinners for the greater population of our area. We invite people into our parish home and feed them because Christ taught us how to love each other through the meal. I often worry that our falling into habits of eating on the run tears at the fabric of our society in which we are intended to enjoy one another at meal time, to eat and drink and be merry with one another. Meals together need to be that reminder of the New Commandment. Our hustle-bustle lives often take away the real sense of community or communion with one another. And most of all it wears at our basic communion with not only one another, but with God too.

Holy Communion not only reminds us, but the grace of the sacrament—of Christ present in the act—allows us to refocus ourselves on the New Commandment that we live out because Christ gave his Body and Blood for us. We celebrate this night not merely to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, but to recognize that our footsteps are guided by Him. We celebrate this night to remember that it is through our reception of the Body and Blood of our Savior that we participate in the life, death and resurrection of Christ and though it we live in him and through him.

The early Christians referred to Holy Communion as the mysterium trimendum. The Greek Orthodox refer to the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ as mystery. Lutherans refer to it as the sacramental union of God and humanity. Episcopalians call it the Real Presence. However we name it, the sharing of bread and wine in the name of Jesus Christ is a participation in God’s work in this world. It is life-changing. It is nourishing; it is mundane and sacred at the same time. It bridges what it means to be created and what it means to be cherished. And it is the simple act of a man 2,000 years ago who wanted to share his love for his friends that has been passed on to us by ages of those who have shared in that love.

Holy Eucharist is the oldest uniquely Christian ritual we have. By 50 CE it is already a regular rite in the Christian community. In a mere 20 years after our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, the breaking of the bread is part of the life of those who followed the way of Jesus. When we share in this meal we stand upon the shoulders of generations who have taken, blessed, broken and given of bread and wine in the name of Christ. This act binds us to those generations just as it binds us to those generations who will follow after us.

And so we celebrate tonight this simple act of sharing bread and wine. It is layered with all the ways that we live out our faith. It is layered with history and tradition. It is layered with mystery and awe. It is layered with desire to serve and desire to receive. But it is supported in one simple commandment—Love One Another. AMEN

Grief

2009-04-04T11:03:00.003-04:00

Yesterday the dreadful shooting of 14 people happened in my city. I was at my parish 40 miles away when it happened. The incident was near my home and on a route I take almost daily. I avoided that route on my way home last night knowing that there would still be emergency vehicles in that vicinity. But in my mind, I can see that building—a place where immigrants attend classes to become citizens—a place of welcome and information.

I still don’t have access to much of the information. I watched the news last night. Access to the internet newspaper is causing my browser to crash so I can’t get the most up-to-date information at the moment. I don’t know why this man did this. We may never know why this happened; he is one of the 14 deaths. But the violence of the act overwhelms us and makes us shutter.

This story will ring in Binghamton’s psyche for years. Our sleepy Southern Tier city has been visited with what we think is ‘urban violence’. The sense of security that most of us usually live in has been violated and shaken in a way that floods or other natural disasters cannot do. It smacks of Pogo’s declaration that “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

This post could easily be a rant on gun control, or a strident call for vigilance. But it is not. It is merely a comment on the sadness that I feel and the grief that I share with all involved. It is a ‘standing-with’ all of our city family who have lost family and friends.

Recently I heard Walter Bruggeman speak about grief in western culture. He said that we, all too often, do not allow ourselves to truly grieve losses so that we can honestly move on. He showed how the Hebrew prophets would not let the people forget the things that grieved the people and God. Grief is the sadness, the utterly painful experience that we are not in control of the Universe. And if anything has shown us that we are not in control, it has been the mindless killing of people who were studying to become citizens of our country.

It is in grief that some of our better traits can come to the fore. I am remembering the goodness that came about when we flooded a couple of years ago, when neighbor helped neighbor. I know that we here in our city have the ability to reach out to one another at this time and to grieve our loss of innocence together.

That this incident comes the week before Holy Week is not lost on me either. It is so easy to enter Holy Week with a sense of ‘retreat’ or introspection through the events of the Passion of Jesus. But this year, I do not believe I have that luxury. Holy Week may not be my personal journey to the Cross and Empty Tomb. It must be a journey I must take with my neighbors and friends in order to experience and live through the grief of what has happened. It is the only way that the Cross makes any sense whatsoever.

We are vulnerable here in Binghamton. We are not as safe as we have thought. No matter what kind of vigilance we can negotiate for ourselves, we will never be in control of our Universe. Bad things will happen. And the only thing that we can depend upon is the grace of God and the comfort of human kindness. Grief reminds us that we have obligations to one another to support and to be compassionate in the name of the God who loves us more than life.

Friday Five: Holy Week Prep

2009-04-03T16:06:00.002-04:00

Often it is the week before Holy Week that is the hardest on clergy. All of the bulletins have to be done, the music chosen, the coordination with the Choir Director, the support of the Altar Guild, and in my case, the parish play begins tonight as well as pastoral calls. Sally at Revgals has given us a chance to speak to what we long for:

Holy Week is almost upon us, I suspect that ordained or not, other revgal/pals calendars look a bit like mine, FULL, FULL, FULL........

Jesus was great at teaching us to take time out, even in that last week, right up to Maundy Thursday he withdrew, John's gospel tells us he hid! He hid not because he was afraid, but because he knew that he needed physical, mental and spiritual strength to get through...

So faced with a busy week:

1. What restores you physically?

SLEEP! Listening to calming music and sitting in the warmth of an 80 degree day with a cool drink at hand. But I am feeling really off of late. For the past few weeks I have been dealing with an inner ear problem that makes me woozy. The Dr. gave me valium—I thought that went out in the ‘80s! Besides valium has the reverse effect on me anyway. So I guess I am just having to live through it. Lying down makes it worse so I am not getting the rest I need.

2. What strengthens you emotionally/ mentally?

PRAYER. Meditative prayer that allows me to listen to all the clamor within and let it go.

3. What encourages you spiritually?

MUSIC! I wish I had some time to go and just sing to my hearts content. But maybe after Easter.

4. Share a favourite poem or piece of music from the coming week.

My Song is Love Unknown

5.There may be many services for you to attend/ lead over the next week, which one are you most looking forward to and why? If there aren't do you have a favourite day in Holy week if so which one is it?

I love the Maundy Thursday service. I don’t do the Washing of the Feet. Upstate NYers don’t part with their sox in April! So I put an emphasis on the Eucharist and the sign of community. I would like to find a good Easter Vigil to go to. Often the Anglo-Catholic ones are too fru-fru and the more evangelical ones don’t understand the symbolism and often leave important things out. I haven’t tried a Lutheran one yet. It is hard to get my parish out for Maudy Thursday or Good Friday. I sure as heck won’t be able to get them out for an Easter Vigil.

Friday Five: Blogroll Spotlight

2009-03-28T11:29:00.003-04:00

Revgals was quite late in getting out its Friday Five so I am doing a Saturday special. --Muthah+
Mary Beth writes: On my blog sidebar is a list titled, "Blogs I Read Every Day." After my mother became a blogger, she asked me how I could possibly read that many blogs daily!? I had to confess it then: Okay, I don't read them all every day! I have over 100 on there! But I have favorites, and you do too.
Some of you probably use feed readers to let you know when your favorite bloggers have posted...not me, not yet. I just have folks who are part of my day-to-day.

So for today's Friday Five, give us five blogs you visit regularly, and tell us briefly WHY you like them. These can be RevGal and Pal bloggers and others ... or news sites, knitting sites, etc. Who are you showing the love to on a pretty constant basis?

Hopefully we will all get to know some new bloggy friends this way!

My blog sites (and they are relatively few) that I read regularly are mainly to keep me up with what is going on in the Episcopal Church while I work in the ELCA. Since I cannot join in on the “internal politics of Lutherlandia, I mainly keep up with ELCA issues through contact with my Lutheran colleagues at local ministeriums, or bible studies.

1. Telling-secrets.blogspot.com. Far and away the most intriguing and challenging daily walk with my church and my faith comes from my friend Elizabeth Kaeton. She is deeply immersed in TEC but mostly deeply immersed in Jesus Christ. She helps me deal with LGBT issues that I would not have thought of, she looks at political issues through the eyes of faith, she is funky and fun and one of the best story tellers I know. She is faithful to her daily sharing and I usually can’t wait to see what she has come up with that day. I feel privileged to call her my friend.

2. Katie Sherrod’s wildernessgarden.blogspot.com. Keeps me up with the goings on in the Diocese of Ft. Worth, TX. She is a mild, mannered reporter (NOT!) from my home town who tells it like it is. She has been the sole voice from that diocese that has been worth listening to for the past 30 years. It has been her single voice saying No to those who would separate the diocese from TEC that has helped those in the diocese keep fixed on faith through all the machinations of the past leadership there. She is the Molly Ivins of the Episcopal Church and I try not to miss her ‘column.’

3. anglicanfuture.blogspot.com Mark Harris from TEC’s Executive Committee writes a good blog that keeps me up on what is current in the TEC. Mark was one of J’s classmates so his hermeneutic is a known quantity. The fact that he can write well doesn’t hurt either.

4. Madpriest’s revjph.blogspot.com is the single most zany, ribald, snarky, irreverent Anglican blog I know. For the photoshopping alone this blog is worth it. There is a population of bloggers who visit there that I enjoy and sometimes follow. His ‘amurika’ following stay up with ‘mother church’ and remind the MadOne that we are a single people separated by a common language.

5. And finally, franiam.blogspot.com. Fran is a Roman Catholic struggling to stay faithful to her heritage and loving her church when the leadership does so much to tear at the fabric of the faith. I know her struggle and I am startled with the depth of her loyalty in the midst of inanity. She has been willing to find Christ in the many different denominations found in the blogosphere. She is preaching a gospel of inclusion that is so silent in the RCC these days. Good on yer, Fran!