HONESTY AND THE CHURCH

Perhaps the greatest sin of our present age is not sexual misconduct—it is dishonesty. We face it constantly among public officials. We have almost become inured to the dishonesty coming from our politicians. We have become jaded enough to take anything come from them with a grain of salt. Telling lies to the people who vote for one seems to be part of the election strategy. The dishonesty of the system permeates the way that politicians do business. Today, we just expect our politicians to be dishonest if not corrupt. The credibility of those in public office ranks up there with used car salesmen and guys on the make.

Clergy, on the other hand, are expected to tell the truth. But even that has become eroded. The scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, and the way that their hierarchy dealt with sexual misconduct has done immense harm to all religious organizations’ credibility. The scandals of many televangelists too, have damaged the trustworthiness of the religious world. The misuse of funds by gurus, the forgery of Mormon documents, the sex scandals, the blatant ‘get rich’ gospels preached by some, and the yawning gap between intelligent design and fundamentalism and considered theological opinion have all contributed to the loss of respect that clergy must endure. We have seen over the last 20 years, deep distrust of religious institutions develop. It is hard to find any characterization of clergy on TV or film that portrays religious leadership in a positive, or for that matter, a neutral light.

And yet, we still EXPECT our clergy to tell the truth. Unlike the politician, we still expect our clergy to live in a way that is consistent with what they preach. And I believe that this is because the majority of those who still attend church still respect their pastors and religious leaders, still tell the truth, still live by a code in which their word is their bond. There are still vestiges of a conscience visible within the religious world. And there are still clergy who believe that as a messenger of the Divine that they have an obligation to be messengers of Truth.

I am thankful for this. It makes life much simpler to live as a cleric. Living a life that is transparent, based upon saying what is true in one’s life is so much easier than trying to live in a world of make-believe. As clergy we do have an obligation to hope. And as a Christian, that hope includes a willingness to be optimistic about life. But I may not be so altruistic as to distort the truth for myself or others. This honesty is appreciated by most people.

In honesty, I cannot tell a dying person what heaven is going to be like—I have never been there. I can merely tell them what I hope for. In honesty, I may not tell my congregation that the parish is financially on solid ground when I know that given the rate of spending off the endowment means that in a mere ten years that the congregation is going to be bankrupt. My pie-in-the-sky proclivities may not cover up the fiscal responsibilities I have to the congregation (this is not a situation in my present parish, but I know there are clergy who do not believe in bringing up the issue because it might ‘take away their hope’).

If the Church is going to regain its place as the plumb line in society, the mark of credibility in the world, we must begin with honesty. We as clergy may not “fudge” when we speak to our parishioners. We must be willing to speak with absolute frankness about our own actions—admitting our failures when we have failed. We must learn to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ and mean them. We must be willing to do the things that we say we are going to do and be faithful to our word. And we must call the Church and our congregations to do the same.

We must be willing to call our colleagues and our religious leaders to account when their words or actions do not convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must be willing to face the conflict that real Truth, that sword that cleaves mothers and daughters, fathers and son. We must be willing to call from ourselves an unwillingness to slough off dishonesty as a mere aberration of our era, and instead see it as the greatest sin that is destroying the credibility of the Church in society.

As leaders of the Church we must have no truck with lazy thinking that says “they will believe whatever I tell them.” We cannot allow ourselves the quick response that cuts off questioning because we don’t really have the answer. We must be willing to not have the answers and be a part of finding the answers among our people. We must be willing to elect those to leadership who are direct and honest in all their dealings and to depose or remove those who do not adhere to the life-giving Truth as a part of their ministry.

If we are to have a Church for the Third Millennium it must be a place where honesty is paramount. It must be a place where one may find the value of truth-telling as important as breathing because if we do not, the Church may not stand.

O Canada.....





Ooooolala, Quebec!!









The trip to Canada was wonderful. The travel was easy and fun. We saw no moose, not even a Canadian goose until we got home. There was the trip up through Lake George and then into French Canada. And when they mean French, they MEAN French. As little English is spoken as possible by the Quebecqois. They are proud of their culture and force us Anglophone (as English speakers are called) to try out our high school French no matter how long ago we studied. J. who studied German and Latin in school had a harder time of it, but I was able to remember what pomme frites and haricort vert were so that I could order from the menu without too much surprise.

The trips to two Ursuline convent museums were treats for me. It brought back some happy memories of religious life and my time with the women who traced their faith roots back to Marie de l’Incarnacion, the first nun in North America who came to teach Indian girls the basics of the faith. The Sisters still have schools in French Canada and still live in their monasteries some 400 years after their founding. I met some alumna of Ursuline schools while visiting these museums: women my age giving thanks for the education and values that they were taught as children. It is these values that I still carry with me because of the time I taught with them and lived as one of them. I can only give thanks for their witness. I would not have known Christ if it weren’t for them.

Visiting French anything revolves around food and our trip did too. Now I must subsist on salads to remind me of my sins. We climbed—and one must climb—all over Quebec City through streets that were a challenge even one way. There were shops and galleries, churches and auberges to haunt. We didn’t get to see but a miniscule portion of either Montreal or Quebec City. But we know that these are places that are not too far to visit again.

As a part of our Sabbath rest we happened upon the Anglican Cathedral in Quebec City in time for a daily Eucharist. There were a group of heart souls there, half of us clergy from all parts of Canada and the US. It was good to worship as a part of our rather harried Anglican Communion. On the pew level, we celebrated our oneness. It matters not what is happening on the purple level. We knew we were living out what it means to be IN Communion with one another.

And now, to begin a stage of my life in the Church: to embrace Lutherans and for them to embrace me. I made my first home visit with a parishioner today. It felt good to be back in the saddle—sharing the joy of Christ and the Church. Yes, those old Ursuline values of community, faith and family are still strong. The joy of a common English heritage still ripples through my heart and now to share the river of a common Protestant experience opens up to me. God is Good—All the time!

Sabbath

I am going on vacation! For the first time in 3 years, J and I are getting out of Dodge and spend sometime relaxing. It is the first time in 3 years that we have felt that we could spend money on playing. We are overdue for sabbath time. So we are taking the last week of the Summer to see the sites.








We plan to go to Montreal and Quebec City, Canada. Neither of us have ever been there. It isn't far but I believe it will be to a different culture. It will be a bit of a pilgrimage for me too. The Ursulines, the order I belonged to years ago, have a house there. It was the first house of the Order in North America, founded in 1639. They were the first community of women to come to North America. There is a small museum there. I hope I will be able to make contact with some of the sisters, that is if they speak English.

We hope to sample some French cuisine and most of all just relax with the slower pace that Canada often offers us frenetic Americans.

It is not for nothing that this Sunday's readings deal with the Sabbath. It is a time for rest and appreciating God's world. That we will do if we don't get caught up with having to see everything, or feeling we have to be somewhere "on time." We bid your prayers for us as we travel. We will carry you in our hearts. May you know a Sabbath's rest too.

Then I will return refreshed to begin my new work as Pastor of St. Luke's. What a treat!

Schizophrenia

I am trying to write a decidedly Lutheran sermon today for my new parish. I have been preaching the past few weeks in an Episcopal church and I spent yesterday at a very tenuous Episcopal clergy meeting, but now I must change gears. I must put away the breezy way I relate to Episcopalians and find ways to proclaim the gospel to those who hear the Gospel in the light of Luther. I never would have thought that there would so much difference. In fact, I am not sure that there is that much difference. My sermons at St. Luke’s have always been well received.

I have been corresponding with another Episcopal priest who did some of her training in a Lutheran church. She also acknowledged that there was not so much difference except that she felt uncomfortable. I wonder if that is what I am experiencing—discomfort rather than real difference. I do know that I feel right at home in the pulpit at St. Luke’s. The liturgy is becoming a bit more comfortable. Then what is it that makes me feel peculiar and inexperienced doing what I have done for the past 25 years?

Is it an overwhelming desire to succeed? No, I don’t think that is totally it. But I do know that there is some ego involved. Although the Episcopal Church is open and very broad about it acceptance of ideas, Lutherans seem to be much more “gathered” or “collected” in their theology. I think one of my drawbacks is being a bit more self-conscious about my theological task in the sermon. “Does my sermon address confessional issues for Lutherans?” is a question that I have to address for Lutherans that I do not have to do as an Episcopalian. It seems somewhat artificial at present, but it is a way I can guarantee to touch the Lutheran soul.

Meanwhile, I need to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Church, both Lutheran and Episcopal. I need to not let the heaviness of the conflict in the Episcopal Church to rain on the parade of the Lutherans. Perhaps this is the hardest chore of all.

Square Pegs in Round Holes

Someone referred to “square pegs in round holes” at Council meeting this week. I merely said, “No, it is just putting an Episcopalian in a Lutheran church. May be it is “square peg” me, in a round-hole parish, but there are definitely differences between my Episcopalian self and this Lutheran parish.

One of the differences I really see is the emphasis that is placed upon the Incarnation in Anglican spirituality and the place that salvation by grace alone in Lutheran spirituality. While much of what Anglicans believe is based on Lutheran grace, there is still more than a little Pelagian sense of works-righteousness that hangs around Episcopalians. But more than that is the tremendous emphasis that Anglicans tend to place on Christ becoming human that is so central to Anglicanism.

I have not heard many Lutheran sermons and the ones that I have heard are often heavily theological and are centered in the Cross of Christ. I do not wish to imply that Lutheran sermons center on the Crucifixion, and Episcopalians center on the Resurrection. That would be too facile indeed. But I do see that the place that the Incarnation has among Episcopalians colors how they see the purpose of the Cross and the Resurrection. I am not sure how Lutherans draw out the joy of the Christian life from Death and Resurrection of Jesus, I only know that they do, and it is different. One thing that Episcopalians need to hear that is common to Lutherans is how much God has done for them in the Cross and Resurrection, that the grace that is given is so utterly free and comes to us not because of anything we have done.

BUT, what does seem the same is the need for pastoral care. St. Luke’s has been without a pastor for two years. In the memory of members of the congregation, the parish has gone 18 years without a regular pastor. They did not want to do that again, so an Episcopalian may be good enough. The pastoral work is the same. It is the being willing to listen. It is the willingness to be present and available to not just the parish community but the whole town. It is being the person who works with other churches in the town or their representative at civic events. It is the willingness to laugh when faced with odds that seem to overwhelm and the consolation when there are no words at all that will suffice. These aspects are the same no matter the theology or doctrine. It is what I call the “being there” Christianity that speaks of the Jesus of the Scripture.

This parish seems to have a great deal of respect for the position of “Pastor”. The deference made in the title is not one to be ignored. It feels like a throw-back to days when “Father” was spoken with awe in Episcopal Churches rather than with the kind of folksy familiarity that it is today. “Mother” has never quite caught on with me. I have been comfortable with being called by my Christian name, but “Pastor” has nice ring to it. It speaks more of what I do than what I am. This may be from a Lutheran sense of ordination, but I like it.

The hot topic among the Lutherans about this “Together in Mission” is the historic episcopate. I know that there are those Anglo-Catholics who believe that this is the be all and end all of Episcopal understanding of the episcopacy. I do not subscribe to the historic “laying on of hands from one bishop to the next” as the evidence of the validity of episcopal orders. It is the handing on of the Faith that is implied in that action of the laying on of hands that is important to me. I am not the only Episcopalian that thinks that way. I am also beginning to think that episcopal orders may be conferred for a time too, but I know that I would not get very far in the Episcopal world with that view. I wonder about those who are made bishop who clearly don’t belong there—and find that they are better suited for pastoral work than ecclesial. I think we may have made too much of the ontological issue and not enough of the realistic issue of the action of our spiritual gifts. But this is part of the growing edge of our two communions. And yet I know that there is a change that comes with ordination. I am not sure exactly what kind of change that does come, but there is a grace that comes with the office of priest that I cannot explain.

There will be constant comments like these over the next few years. I invite any who might wish to comment to do so. The journey for Together in Mission is for all to celebrate, not just Episcopalians and Lutherans.

For a Season (reprise)

When I began this blog, I took the name from the words of ++Katharine Jefferts-Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church for the title. She was speaking of the moratorium on the election of LGBTQ bishops in a partnered relationship. It has been a difficult season for the Episcopal Church but one that has probably caused the most serious discussion in the whole of the Church that I have ever known. Ultimately this season of discussion and dialog on such things as the House of Deputies list serve and in the blogosphere will serve us well as we pick up the loose ends of the attempts to split the Church. The Episcopal Church will survive intact, perhaps a bit smaller, but with the same life and vigor. We will continue to be a faith for people who question openly and who see that actions and belief are part of the same coin.

But now this title has come to have new meaning. I have just been called to the pastorate of a small Lutheran Church ELCA in Sidney, NY. It is part of the new efforts between our two denominations to expand our ministry. Clergy in either tradition can work in the other’s church without having to change loyalties. “Together in Mission” is a covenant to learn from the Episcopal and Lutheran ELCA churches’ gifts and while not uniting our churches, allows for a broader understanding of faith for both traditions.

I have been, for the last 3 year not permitted to take even Sunday supply in my own diocese because my bishop and I are at odds. It isn’t a matter of disobedience; it is a matter of the way that I believe he has handled some things that do not reflect well on the Episcopal Church and on Christianity. It has been a painful time. At the same time it has been a season filled with grace—the grace of being able to trust in God at a level I have never known, and the grace of friendships that have been stalwart and true. I am humbled in gratitude all that has been given me.

For a Season has been a way for me to keep in contact with friends and a place where I could work out my thoughts in a seemly manner of what was happening in my beloved Episcopal Church. This blog will continue to be that but will take on a decidedly Lutheran hue. My past year and a half I have supplied at ELCA congregations in the Southern Tier. I have found them exceptional folk, who take their faith seriously and intensely. I have begun to understand some of the humor of Garrison Kiellor when he speaks so fondly of Lutherans.

There are all kinds of comparisons that I can make on the two different traditions. Liturgically we are so alike that there is almost no difference—just enough that makes for the tongue to get tangled or to forget some part of the service. But culturally and theologically we are quite distinct. I will probably put my foot in my mouth with some regularity commenting on the differences between our churches but I will try to understand us both. All I do know is that if our two denominations do really merge we will be awesome! There is so much talent in both churches and many of the things that the Episcopalians fail in are Lutheran strengths and vice versa.

So I will attempt to bring together this wonderful opportunity of the Lutheranizing of Lauren with the joy of the Episcopalianizing of St. Luke’s. Please God, make this a blessed work.

Meanwhile I will hope that you readers will continue to comment, kid me, and offer insight to this season’s journey in to a “strange land.”

Pilgrimage

I have been on many pilgrimages because for me the Christian life is a journey. I have gone on planned retreat-like trips and some have been just happenstance. Most of the places have touched me in some way. I have gone to Canturbury, Santiago Compestela, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Taize, Little Gittings, Iona, Lindesfarne, and the pilgrimage of the Mississippi Martyrs near Selma, AL for the feast of Jonathan Daniels. I plan to visit the place where the Ursulines came to North America in Quebec at the end of the month and touch a bit of my past in the convent. All of these places held something of the connection between humanity and the Divine that makes them special. Some have held the remains of those who have gone before, the history and the faith upon which I stand. Some have just been “thin places” which my Celtic forbearers say are the narrows between heaven and earth. All of them have moved me.

The trips I have taken have varied. The ones that were designed to be “holy,” weren’t. There was the totally unscheduled, such as the trip to Little Gittings, the sight of a Protestant religious community in northern England which was delightful and light-hearted. The pilgrimage to Jon’s site of martyrdom with Judy was hard but healing after 41 years. And then there was Stonehenge that was never intended to be a place of pilgrimage but turned into such a profound experience of my forbearers attempting to touch the Divine --And then there was the walk through the church yard cemetery in Scotland where my family came from and feeling my past reach out to me.

At Compostela I was moved by the dished steps in the crypt where the feet of pilgrims have worn away the stone. The supplicants who walked on their knees to the Villa of Our Lady of Guadalupe humbled me with their piety. Iona and Lindesfarne both gripped me with the starkness of the life of those who founded Christianity for much of northern Europe. And Taize claimed the newness and the inclusivity of my faith with the lives of young people from all over the world.

I have not gone to the Holy Land. I thought of going there on sabbatical at one time but was afraid that the commercialization would gall me. Certainly the political situation has been off-putting for a number of years. Perhaps it is my vision of what those places are like that I don’t want disturbed by reality that keeps me from visiting the lands that Abraham and Sarah, our Lord and the apostles walked. If I went I would like to go with a Jewish archeologist who could help me separate the myth from reality. I do believe that the events of Jesus’ life are by far more mundane that the past 2000 years have told us.

What makes pilgrimage different from tourism? I am not sure except I don’t think I am too often a tourist. When I go places I want to drink deeply of the culture, the faith, the life of the people both past and present of a place. I am not one who eats at McDonalds when I travel. It is when I can talk and eat with those fellow travelers that I grow in my understanding of others and God. It is when I can participate in the festivals of a people whether they be Christian or some other faith, I feel God reaching out to me in the hearts those whose God has touched them too. There is a bond and we are one in Spirit. All life is a pilgrimage when seen this way.

For those who go, take pictures, write your feelings in a journal, stop and recall the smell, the light, and the people you meet, and let God do the rest. Yes, the trip will become apocryphal. You may remember more or less of what the journey was really like. But what will stay in your memory will be what God wants you to remember. Most of all go with an open mind and an open heart no matter where you go. God is always there, you know.