God-talk

community and creativity

2011-08-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

I’ve just come back from a week at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. It’s an amazing place. The property covers most of the western shore of Chautauqua Lake, and people can sail and swim. But that’s just the beginning. The institution began in 1874 as a Methodist center for study and recreation. It now houses a Department of Religion that hosts speakers and programs; a complex of dance, theater, orchestra, and voice training and production that leads many students to major performance venues; and programs of general interest. Each week of their 9-week summer season is organized around a theme, and speakers are brought in for each day. They also have a chaplain for the week, who preaches at morning worship every day. I went through their New Clergy Program, which aims to help clergy in their first seven years of ordained ministry reflect on their ministry and give them resources for growth. We went to the programmed speakers, and then had time together to reflect and to learn from each other.
The theme for my week was “Women Transcending Boundaries.” We heard from leaders of international training and aid programs working in Africa and Asia; from experts on the impact on women of terrorism and war; from Dr. Hawa Abdi, a Somali doctor who with her two doctor daughters has founded a refugee hospital that serves 100,000 people; from Donna Brazile, Al Gore’s campaign manager. We met women from all over the world, of all three Abrahamic faiths, who are doing remarkable things to heal the world.
How is this supposed to help me in my ministry with you? First, these women inspired me to do my best, to work harder for the healing of the world. I was inspired, too, by the people who make these programs possible. The staff are remarkable, with life-long histories of church work and social justice ministries. The donors who fund the programs are devoted to Chautauqua and to dialogue and life-long learning. They reminded me to be mindful of how I spend my resources.
Just as important as these speakers and supporters were my clergy colleagues. We had lots of time to talk, to share resources and ideas. It’s a model for what we can all do right here. I came back reminded of the need to gather regularly and informally to let new seeds develop. I see this same truth whenever I sit with a few of you and ideas start pouring out of us. Something magical happens when we sit together.
I believe that we will not find new life if our time together is limited to Sunday morning. The church of the 21st century has to be more than a one-day destination stop; it has to be a community. I’m looking for answers and ideas here. Please join me in that search, and let me know your ideas. It might be Saturday afternoon open house. It might be Friday night potlucks. It might be Wednesday morning coffee. If you want it enough to work on it, let me know.
We are called to love God, love one another, and serve the world. Together, we will see new potential for how to do that in this place.
God bless you this week, in your life and in your ministry. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

almost heaven

2011-07-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

We got back from our mission trip to West Virginia last Saturday night. If you were in church, you heard some of our stories and saw the thousands of photos taken by people who went. If you missed it, here’s a taste.
Six of us went from here to join 25 other people from northern New Jersey to work at a Habitat for Humanity site in Pendleton County, West Virginia. Like most of West Virginia, this area is short of resources. They don’t have easy access to travel routes, they don’t have industry, and the mountainous terrain makes farming hard. Mostly we saw beef cattle and a little corn. Incomes are low, but pride is strong. Every house and yard was neat and cared for. It’s a beautiful place, but a hard place too.
We stayed at “Almost Heaven” Habitat volunteer center. We worked at several sites. Houses had been framed, and we were continuing on a process that others had begun. At some we put up siding. At others they were ready for painting, floorboards, cabinets. We put up railings and staircases. At the end of the week, we left our work in the hands of strangers – the next group who will come, who are already there now, noticing what we did wrong and making mistakes in their turn. After the last group has left, families will move into these homes and live with what we did or failed to do.
This is true for all our lives. Paul uses the image of building when he writes the church in Corinth about other teachers coming through (1 Cor. 3:10-15). They are not in competition, but share in building up the body of Christ. Each must look to the foundation they’ve laid, and be careful to build properly, for the results will inevitably appear eventually. Even the nicest façade will crack if the foundation cannot support it.
The foundation is Jesus Christ. The example Jesus gives us of service, and the love we find in our hearts, send us out to serve in peace. Several people remarked on the generosity and positive nature of everyone on the trip. Even when tempers got thin, people were polite and looked for the good in one another. That is a testimony to the foundation they’ve been laying in their lives.
I hope to return to West Virginia next year. More important, I pray that I learned something this past week about service and teamwork and faithful living. I pray for the families that will live in “our” houses, and for everyone who works to build the kingdom of God. And I pray for you. God be with you.

beloved children

2011-07-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

’ve been thinking about the roots of my ministry lately, as I have asked you to do. One thing that stands out for me is the moment, years ago, when I heard a sermon about the baptism of Jesus by John. The preacher stated that the message of God, “This is my beloved Son,” was a sign to all of us that we are beloved children of God. I heard this in a way I’d never heard it before. All my life I struggled with feeling OK or good enough (I still do). In that moment, it really hit me: I am God’s beloved child! And that is what I am supposed to tell other people! I knew that that was my message, given by God to me, for me and for me to share.

Every time we celebrate the Eucharist together, I hold out the gifts of bread and wine and offer them to “you, the beloved people of God.” The prayer book doesn’t say to say that. I say that because that is the Gospel I am supposed to proclaim. We are God’s beloved children. No sin, no transgression, can change that. We can make God weep with our misbehavior; we can make God angry; but nothing can make God stop loving us. God delights in our growth, in our joy, in our love returned and shared. We are God’s beloved children.

I don’t know what message is sent to you. I don’t know what may reach you in the way that preacher reached me. But I know we each carry a piece of the message. Some of us carry it in words. Others carry it in various works and deeds. Some of us just light up a room with a smile. However we carry it, we are each bearers of a message from God.

Rejoice and be glad, children! You are beloved by God.

making a difference

2011-06-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the Council and Vestry had a day-long retreat to do a Mutual Ministry Review. This is a time for us to look at what the last year has been like for our ministry together, and to chart a course for the coming year. We were fortunate to be led by Terry Perkins, who led our retreat last November.
We spent part of our time looking at roles in ministry. Many congregations used to act as though “ministry” was the job of the clergy, rather than the whole people of God. More recently, thriving congregations have adopted the model of “mutual ministry” or “total ministry,” emphasizing that we all do this work together.
As a pastor and teacher, my job is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). That includes administration, communication, and pastoral care as well as preaching and celebrating sacraments. It’s important to see, though, that YOU are the saints I’m supposed to be equipping. We do this ministry together to build up the body. We all have a part.
Last spring you filled out time and talent forms. In the coming months a team will be working to translate those into ministry opportunities. But ministry happens beyond our walls as well. We come together to get strength for the journey, to remember who leads us, to get directions for the road. Then we go out again to share the good news that we are beloved children of God, and that Christ is with us and among us. In ways big and small, we make a difference.
Today, Wednesday, is the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. These two men, and the communities they inspired, gave everything for the God they met in Jesus. They changed the world forever.
Next Monday we remember a group of people who made a difference. They took it on themselves to stand up, to trust in the future, and to risk their lives, fortunes, and honor for what they believed. We will remember them with fireworks, hot dogs, and hopefully with prayers. I pray that we will remember the difference they made by making a difference ourselves.
God bless you all.

needs for children

2011-05-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some figures you may not know about.

Every second a public school student is suspended.
Every 11 seconds a high school student drops out.
Every 19 seconds a child is arrested.
Every 19 seconds a baby is born to an unmarried mother.
Every 32 seconds a baby is born into poverty.
Every 41 seconds a child is confirmed as abused or neglected.
Every 42 seconds a baby is born without health insurance.

Every minute a baby is born to a teen mother.
Every minute a baby is born at low birthweight.
Every 4 minutes a child is arrested for a drug offense.
Every 7 minutes a child is arrested for a violent crime.
Every 18 minutes a baby dies before his or her first birthday.
Every 45 minutes a child or teen dies from an accident.

Every 3 hours a child or teen is killed by a firearm.
Every 5 hours a child or teen commits suicide.
Every 6 hours a child is killed by abuse or neglect.

(Source: Children’s Defense Fund, 2009)

Our children are born into an increasingly unsafe world. Their parents are too often children themselves, unable to give their children what they don’t have themselves.
The Episcopal Diocese of Newark has identified 2011 as a year of concern for the needs of children. The point is not to make 2011 “special,” but to raise awareness and begin to make change for our children. This follows the lead of Jesus, who said that whoever welcomes a little child in his name welcomes him (Luke 9:48).
What can you do, when your children are grown? Well, you can love your grandchildren. But more: you can love and support our wonderful children and youth at church. They need your wisdom and your attention, even if it’s just a hello or a question about their day. You can volunteer to work with children and young people. You can advocate for the needs of children. You can attend the workshop on May 19 at 7 p.m. at the Church of the Redeemer in Morristown, where they will discuss the justice needs of children.
And you can come to church this Sunday, when our young people will be leading worship. You can root for them and applaud them as they claim their faith in public.
Somewhere, someone taught you about the love of God. They likely did that by loving you. Now you have the chance to show another generation that the love of God includes them. Pray for those who come of age in this world of challenges. Tell them how important they are. Tell God how much you wish for them.
God bless you all this week, and throughout the Easter season.

doubt

2011-04-28T09:25:00.001-07:00

Christ is risen! Alleluia!
But of course we don’t all come to that joyful certainty at once, or at the same time. This Sunday we will hear the story of Thomas, who wasn’t with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them. He didn’t believe their report until he saw for himself. To this day he’s known as “doubting Thomas,” and somehow we learn that we should never doubt.
But faith and doubt are not opposed. An honest faith is one that asks questions, and that means that it faces doubts. If we never doubt, we cannot grow in faith.
Martin Smith, an Episcopal priest and retreat leader, has written movingly about doubt. He says that the doubter inside of us “may be a kind of very austere prophet within us whom the Spirit of truth uses to make us face the extent of God’s own hiddenness and silence.” He suggests that part of the problem in our churches today is that “we become so naively habituated to Christianity that we are unable to imagine the world and life seen from the standpoint of the unbeliever. So it may be an urgent matter for the Spirit to get us to attend to the doubters within ourselves. That way we might learn to be with unbelievers where they are, and live with the question to which they do not yet see the answers in what we preach.” Doubt keeps us honest, and connected.
The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is fear.
If you feel you’ve met the risen Christ in this Easter season, you’re blessed. If you haven’t, if you’re more like Thomas, you’re doubly blessed. Thomas was rewarded for his perseverance. He became a great apostle. There are no shortcuts to faith. Faith struggled for, faith claimed through honest doubt and questioning, is the only faith worth having.
May you be blessed in the struggle to encounter the living Christ, today and always.

it's almost here!

2011-04-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

I won’t say much. During these Holy Days, we have enough to reflect on. God loved – loves – us. Jesus came and served us, as an example. He loved us enough to die. He lived a life of peace even among those who wanted to fight and kill. And in the end, he showed us that new life comes from such a life of love, service, and peace. Beyond our fear, our anger, our grief, Jesus waits for us. God’s love is unfathomable, beyond our understanding or our merit.
Come to church on Sunday. Come to begin a new relationship with the risen Christ. Come to sing and dance with the one who could not be conquered by hatred and fear. Come early, for the most ancient and powerful liturgy of the Church, the Easter Vigil. Come for breakfast. Stay for trumpets and butterflies and eggs. Bring someone who hasn’t been in a while. Share the fullness of life in Christ.
Soon, I’ll say the “A” word with you!

What is God up to?

2011-03-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Saints,
As your pastor, my life is centered on our church. (Note that I said "our church," not "our churches." We have two legal lives, but one life in Christ. We are one church.) As a single woman, I can over-focus on the church just like some of you may focus on your jobs too much. I can worry and obsess over where the money will come from and who will step up to take on the work that is the province of the congregation. I can lie awake at night and wonder, "what do we do now?"
Fortunately I have fleeting moments of sanity. In those moments I remember what I heard recently. A speaker said the question is not, "what do we do?" but rather, "what is God up to in the world and among us?" She reminded us that the initiative belongs to God. Our job is to discern where God is working and to get on board.
Now, that can be just as hard as trying to figure out what to do. It's scary to trust that God has a plan, and it's scary to commit to something that we may see only dimly. But it is the faithful way. If we worry about what we should do, we push God out. Discerning and following use as much energy as worrying and figuring, but they use it much more efficiently and effectively. It's the difference between worrying and praying.
Asking what God is up to also leaves open the question of where our church fits into God's plan. If we put ourselves at the center, we may assume that we have to keep our church going. But if we ask what God is doing, we may find that some new answer emerges. Does God want us to be here now? In five years? In ten? If not, we can serve God better by finding out what God is up to and getting on board. If God does want us here, why is that? What purpose are we to serve?
Please include in your Lenten spiritual practice a time each day to pray to know what God is up to among us. Pray that we as a church may be faithful stewards of what we have received and what we will receive. And when you think you have a sense of what God is up to, let me know!

God in Japan

2011-03-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

As the disaster in Japan unfolds, many people are wondering where God is in all this. Some people believe that God intends every thing that happens, so our job is to discern God’s intention in every event. When bad things happen, we wonder what God has in mind. This can get us – and God – into some hot water.
Some people are convinced that God caused this earthquake. They think it is a condemnation of Japan for not being a Christian nation. Some think it is a way of converting the Japanese to Christ, by showing them the error of their ways. Others are just horrified, and think God is inexplicable and horrible.
I think all these responses are based on a mistaken idea of how God works in the world. God – the Source of all being – created the world, and us. That included making a planet that cools, that shifts, that cracks and changes. That included making us, carbon-based life forms that grow and die. Sometimes the planet shakes, and we are hurt, but God did not “cause” that to happen at that time and place. God does not have a calendar with appointments for disasters.
If God did not cause the earthquake, where is God in all this? God is the source of strength that enables us to go in and help one another. God is the source of the intellect and courage that work against nuclear meltdown. God runs along with us, redeeming and recycling all the good and bad of our lives.
What does this mean for prayer? If God does not cause things, does God prevent things? Can our prayer change the world? I think prayer can change the world, but not so much by prevention of natural events as by equipping us to face what comes. Prayer can bind us together, and so help prevent tragedies that come as the result of human division and strife. Prayer can sustain people by reconnecting us to the source of life. Prayer is not magic. It is connecting to the will of God, gaining strength to be part of God’s healing and renewing power.
Please pray for the victims in Japan and their families, and for the rescue workers and the crews at the nuclear plants. Pray for the courage and hope to trust in God even when we don’t understand or like what we see.
Love God. Love one another. Serve the world. That’s how God works.

welcome to lent!

2011-03-10T16:20:00.002-08:00

Welcome to Lent! I mean that. Welcome. Lent is a special time. It’s spring cleaning for the soul. During Lent we pull out all our spiritual “stuff” and see what needs to be cleaned up and refreshed, what needs to be dropped, and what we need to acquire to make our soul welcoming and warm. It’s work – make no mistake about that – but the result is worth it.

We begin with prayer. Finding time for quiet reflection is like looking in the closet. We can’t know what we need to do until we look. We need to open the door and turn on the light. Our examination should include questions about how we use our time, talent, and money. Are we keeping the Sabbath, or are we running to and fro? Are we taking time to pray, to rest, to enjoy our family? And how are we using the time we have? Are we contributing to our community? Are we part of God’s healing of the world, or are we wasting time in activities that leave us feeling worse than when we started? Are we spending our money wisely, or – again – wasting it on things that leave us feeling unfulfilled? These are all worth asking.

Fasting is part of housecleaning. Fasting is not only about food, although that is also important. We can also fast from attitudes or actions that deny the goodness of God’s creation. We can fast from overwork, or from Facebook, or from criticism. Through fasting we find out what we really need, and what we can do without – or even do better without.

The discipline of “taking something on for Lent” is like going out and getting those new blinds, or drapes, or rugs. We take something on in order to grow in God’s likeness, to be more like what God has in mind for us. We may take on a service project. We may take on patience or perseverance. We may start an exercise program. We may decide to check in on friends and family. Whatever we take on, it’s important that we be aiming at being part of God’s plan for the world. The point is not just to be virtuous. The point is to grow in God’s image and likeness, to know God better, and to reflect God to others.

If we take Lent seriously, Easter will find us renewed and strengthened: our souls cleaned and shining, windows open to the world. So welcome to Lent!

i'm back!

2011-03-10T16:20:00.001-08:00

OK, after being away for months, doing my reflections by email, I'm posting here again. I hope you find something useful here!

The "S" word

2010-07-21T05:56:00.000-07:00

Since I came to St. Luke’s, I’ve been thinking a lot about stewardship. I don’t mean fundraising, although that’s part of stewardship. I mean being a steward. I’m thinking about what it means to be stewards of our churches.
This month I went to a workshop on stewardship given by Jerry Keucher, a priest who works for the Episcopal Church Foundation and consults with churches around the country. He’s written a book called Remember the Future, about financial management for congregations. I went with a sense of duty. I came away with much more. I came away with a vision I want to share with you.
Keucher reminds us that we receive assets from former generations in trust for future generations. We are stewards of these resources. The first duty of stewards is to remember the future, to manage our assets in such a way that those who come after us receive an institution stronger than the one we inherited.
Stewardship begins with the belief that our church has a future. Keucher says that in the press of tight budgets and smaller numbers, it’s easy to forget that we have a future. When we forget the future, we’re likely living with anxiety. Anxious people focus on details and people’s failures rather than hopes for the long run. We all go there sometimes. But stewardship requires us to believe we have a future, and to act to make that future happen.
Stewardship is inseparable from leadership. Leadership is oriented toward the future, planning the steps toward realizing a vision. It means taking a long view, a view that extends beyond us and our lifetimes.
I came here believing we have a future, and I still believe that. That’s why I talk about newcomers, and hospitality, and communication, and looking at our budgets, and proportional giving. I promise I’ll do more of that. New people will come. We need to be ready for them. When you hear yourself say or think, “We all know who we are,” or something like that, remember: if we have a future, we look forward to a time when we do not know everyone. We need to practice living into that time. Ask yourself what you would want and need as a newcomer, and then think of how you can be a part of making that available to others.
We also remember the future through focusing on our mission. Jesus did not commission the disciples to go and build big buildings and sit in them. He sent them out to preach and heal and bring comfort to the oppressed. He sends us in the same way. Our buildings are our refueling stations, essential but not the end.
This is also why I tell you to pray and discern this summer. The antidote to anxiety is trust in God’s ability to create new life out of old bones. As we pray, our anxiety can give way to hope and joy. Pray to know what God has in mind for us, especially in our ministry and mission. Pray for the strength and courage to pursue that. And when you begin to discern that mission for yourself, share it with others. Let us know what fires you up. Be a light to us all.
God bless you, this week and every day in the future. I’ll see you there!

The Fourth Commandment

2010-06-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Over the last few years I’ve become increasingly aware of how people forget one of the Ten Commandments. People who would never murder, who try not to lie or covet, who honor their parents, just forget that the Fourth Commandment exists.
Go look it up. It’s in the middle there.
“Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy.”
Our culture is a culture of no-rest. It is a culture of more, of production, of consumption. In our culture, resting is for wimps. Rest is laziness. Rest is boring. We prove our worth by how busy, how productive we are. But our culture is wrong. Being too busy to rest is a sign of something missing.
Sabbath is an ancient practice. Whether it’s a specific day, or a time each day, or a season, Sabbath honors our need to rest. The fact that Sabbath is one of the “big ten” points both to how important it is, and to how tempting it can be to ignore it.
Sabbath time centers us and brings us back to earth. It slows us down. During Sabbath, we can have conversations with others, with God, and within ourselves that let deep feelings and thoughts surface. When we’re busy, our thoughts and feelings get into ruts. It takes down time to loosen the ruts and find new paths.
Here are some of my Sabbath patterns:
Each day I give at least one hour to God for prayer and praise and thanksgiving. I say the Daily Office at morning, noon, evening, and night (it’s in both the BCP and the LBW), but also just spend time meditating or reading the Bible.
Tea time might be Sabbath, if I use it to savor the tea and stop working.
On my weekly Sabbath day, I try to be as useless as possible. I get together with friends. I read. Jigsaw puzzles are good. Sometimes I might shop, but only for fun things. I try not to do chores or work.
Every year I schedule several days in silent retreat. I go away to a convent or monastery. This gives me a chance to listen to God. I take my knitting, and something to draw with, and my journal, but I try not to read other than prayers and my Bible. It can be hard work, not fleeing to distractions, but eventually I settle in.
If you want to get more intentional about the Fourth Commandment, let me recommend Wayne Muller’s book Sabbath. He explains the reasons for Sabbath, the resistance to it, and he gives suggestions for how to celebrate it.
In the fall we’ll explore Sabbath times and quiet days. But this week, I’m off for my retreat at Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY. My phone will be turned off. You can call Carol Maxfield, and she can reach me in an emergency. There won’t be any.
I’ll see you on Sunday!

reaching out, filling up

2010-06-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a wonderful day. We had our annual outdoor service and picnic. We welcomed two new members, and we had several visitors from Annunciation in Oradell. We had food and conversation English and in Korean. We had water balloons. In short, a great morning. Then I went to Morristown with Steve and Jim as they received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the diocese. We sat in a huge church, filled to the brim, and celebrated the ministry of people from 40 churches.
Bishop Mark gave a powerful sermon at the Awards Evensong. He noted that most people are nominated for these awards based on their service to their church, in the church – on boards and vestries, Altar Guilds, caring for the buildings and the people. Rarely are people chosen for their service from the church to the world. He challenged us to nominate people who serve in this way, who embody the mission of the church.
This is so important. Many of us grew up in a time when serving the church meant serving the people who were already in the church, making it a nice place for those who would (inevitably) come. But that was not the original idea of the church and its mission, and it cannot be our idea any longer. Most Americans do not go to church. The needy are mostly not in our churches, whether we consider material or spiritual need. And we are not called to serve ourselves. We are called to go to all, proclaiming the reign of God.
I have begun praying for us to find the need in our local community, and to find the response in our hearts. We have recently joined World Vision, and that is important, but it is far away and it’s easy for it to be a matter of writing checks. We are called to share our goods, but more – we are called to share our lives. I’m also praying for our commitment to children in Mozambique to become fully embodied and transformative of our lives as well as theirs.
Today I received an email from World Vision about a book called The Hole in our Gospel. This award-winning book describes one man’s struggle to commit himself more completely to Jesus’ command to care for the poor and needy. I would like to read this book this summer, and I invite you to join me. All royalties from the book will be donated to World Vision, so buying this is another way to support our children.
Let me know if you would like to join with me, and suggest some meeting times. In the meantime, please join me in praying daily for discernment of our mission and our social ministry. God bless you all.

ubuntu

2010-06-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

Ubuntu

Last Sunday I preached about the idea of “ubuntu” as a way of thinking about the Trinity and its life in us. Many of you wanted to know more. I’d love to tell you I’m the first to think of this, but I’m not. I am because we are. I know this because others taught me. Rather than reinvent the wheel, let me direct you to two sites.
The Episcopal Church had ubuntu as its theme for the 2009 General Convention. To see the logo and learn about ubuntu’s relation to the Trinity, go to http://ecusa.anglican.org/gc2009_96805_ENG_HTM.htm?menu=undefined
For a meditation about Ubuntu used at the General Convention, go to
http://ecusa.anglican.org/documents/GC2009_Meditations(1).pdf
In these days of increasing polarization between churches in the global South and the global North, ubuntu reminds us that we are connected (like it or not!) and that new learning goes both ways. We don’t have to agree; we don’t have to stop being who we are; but we cannot pretend that our individual lives depend on ourselves alone. To imagine that we are the center is to imagine God right out of our lives.

On another note, let me say what an amazing experience Sunday’s Eucharist was. I don’t know why – that’s why we talk about the Holy Spirit – but it has filled me and carried me for days. I cried still this morning telling someone about it. I know it has to do with our prayers and worship together. Thank you for making this a place where the Spirit drops down.

Dance, Spirit, Dance!

2010-05-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Here’s what I hate about Pentecost:
It’s only one day long. We name the season after Pentecost “the Season After Pentecost,” but that’s all the play it gets. The vestments and paraments are red for one day, then we have Trinity Sunday’s white, then everything goes green. If red is the color of the Holy Spirit, we can conclude that She gets one day of the year. This is how you treat a member of the Trinity?
I know, I know, apostles and martyrs get red on their feast days, but most of us aren’t celebrating those days, so the Spirit gets shortchanged.
Last week a parishioner remarked on my use of the feminine pronoun for the Holy Spirit. In the Western tradition, indeed, the Holy Spirit has been masculine. We say “He” in the creeds. But in the Eastern tradition, the Spirit is identified with Wisdom, the feminine face of God. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Wisdom is clearly feminine. In Greek, “spirit” is neuter, and so the grammatical default is masculine, but that doesn’t make the Spirit male. The Spirit transcends our attempts to categorize and contain Her. Really, the Spirit prepares us for approaching the Trinity, because the mystery of the Spirit is the mystery of the Trinity. What do we make of a God that is three, and yet one?
The central insight of the doctrine of the Trinity is God’s relational heart. God is not an individual who occasionally enters into relationship. God is relational all the way down. Inside God a multiplicity of qualities and activities find their place. Masculine and feminine are just two of those seeming polarities. Active and passive, sending and sent, lover and beloved, source and result – these and other poles are transformed in God into stations in a never-ending circuit of love.
The Eastern theologians have a great word for the way the Persons of the Trinity interact. They talk about “perichoresis” – literally,dancing around. The Three dance toward and with one another, always in motion, in a divine pattern of grace and truth.
Maybe the way we acknowledge the Spirit – a day here, a day there, blowing across saints past and yet to come – is more faithful than a season. After all, the Spirit can’t be contained into one season or part of the Church.
I wish we wore red longer. I wish this season was “of Pentecost” rather than “after” it. But for now, I’ll wear green. Mostly. In public.
Dance on, Spirit!

Radical Welcome - Come, Holy Spirit!

2010-05-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

This week is the run-up to Pentecost, the week when we “prepare” for the coming of the Holy Spirit. I put “prepare” in quotation marks because of course the Holy Spirit just comes when She will, She is not something to be controlled by us. And yet, we do – we must – prepare for Her. We open ourselves to Her transforming power, as best we can, and we pray that She takes root within and among us.
So it was appropriate that this weekend seven of us from St. Luke’s went to a workshop on radical welcome and the emerging church. This was a challenging workshop for many, if not all, of us there. We were asked to look at our congregations and analyze the centers of power and exclusion. We were asked to name what we never name. We were asked to look at how our congregational practices exclude or disinvite certain people. We tried to talk honestly, one-on-one, about our fears of exclusion and about times we’ve been welcomed. And the next day we worshipped together, using the Cathedral space in a way it likely had never been used before.
Then we went home. Back to the way it’s always been, the way it must be. The scales did not suddenly fall from our eyes. We did not shout “hallelujah, I see the light!” I think we mostly went home exhausted. But we got a taste of another way. We got a first peek out from under the curtain that shrouds our vision. We got something to think about and to share over time.
We all want to be inviting. We want other people to come and share what we love. But radical welcome is about loving others enough to want them to come and bring something new, even at the risk of challenging or losing what we love. Radical welcome is about loving Jesus more than we love our ways of doing church. It’s about being willing to bear the burden of insecurity for the sake of community. It’s about seeking the kindom of God rather than the comfort of familiarity.
Jesus prays that we all may be one. It sounds good. But it’s hard. How much do you want it? Do you want to be one if it means you have to change? I do want it, but it scares me too. I don’t know what I’m not willing to give up until I’m actually at the point of loss. Then I have two choices: I can kick you in the shins, or I can pray. Help me, Jesus. Help me to love past the fear. I want to love that much, Jesus. Help. Send your Spirit to enlighten, encourage, and in-spire us. Amen.

Want to pray to the Holy Spirit this week? Here are some ways:
Chant “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” (Come, Holy Spirit) over and over.
Read Hymns 500-516 in the 1982 Hymnal, or 472, 473, 475, 478 in the LBW
Write your own poem prayer. What would you ask of the Holy Spirit?

separation anxiety

2010-05-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Ascension Day, so tonight at Evening Prayer we begin to celebrate. But what exactly do we celebrate on Ascension Day? I think of this as Separation Anxiety Day.
In Luke’s Gospel and in the Book of Acts (also written by Luke), we hear the account of the Ascension. After the Resurrection, Jesus tells the disciples a few things. They ask, now? Are you going to do what we thought you would, now? Jesus says, “Who knows? Wait for the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will give you power to witness to me.” Then he was carried up to heaven.
Here the two accounts diverge a little. In the Gospel, the disciples seem to have no anxiety. It says “they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God” (Lk 24:53). Acts is a little less enthusiastic. The disciples are staring up at heaven when two men in white appear and say, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? “ (Acts 1:11). They seem a little more subdued and confused here.
I don’t know why Luke changed his account from one place to the next, but I know that it probably is important. The two stories are like two sides of a coin, and we live on both sides. The first side is joy and surprise. Look what Jesus does! Jesus is awesome! We want to give thanks and praise. But the other side is real too. Where did Jesus go? I’ve never seen anything like that. Should I believe my eyes? And, where is Jesus now? Suddenly I feel alone and weak.
Some days are like the Gospel version, and some days are like Acts. Some days I can see God’s glory and believe in miracles. Other days it seems the most vivid thing about God is absence.
Soon the disciples will have the Holy Spirit come on them, and they will go out and preach and heal and feed and baptize. Soon the Holy Spirit will come to us, and we will celebrate its renewed presence among and within us. But for these ten days, we can honor the very human anxiety and confusion of the disciples when Jesus left. That doesn’t mean doing nothing. The disciples are told to stop “gazing up toward heaven,” and so are we. Jesus will come again, but in the meantime we have work to do. We are the witnesses who are to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins. We do so as human beings, sometimes scared and confused and doubtful, but also as beloved children of God. We, like they, have been blessed by Jesus. And soon, soon, the Holy Spirit will come. Get ready .

Go forth . . .

2010-05-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

In my sermon yesterday I spoke about Sara Miles, who came to St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, ate bread, drank wine, and fell in love. She then turned around and began feeding thousands of other people through a food pantry she began at St. Gregory’s. It’s full of the “wrong” people, who are doing “bad” things like putting potatoes on the altar and yelling in the sanctuary. It sounds like the kingdom to me. Now, Miles has written a second book. It’s called Jesus Freak, and it’s about her continuing life and growth and ministry at St. Gregory’s. Frankly, if you read the first book, Take This Bread, you know the story. But it’s a fun and moving read nonetheless.
What I really love about Miles is that she’s not ordained. She feels a call to ministry, she lives it out wholeheartedly, but that doesn’t mean she needs to wear a collar and get herself certified. She is a powerful example of the potential of lay ministry. She runs around feeding people, blessing them, anointing them, chanting prayers, preaching, all without a license. Who does she think she is?
She’s a beloved child of God.

The Episcopal Church has an interesting dilemma. Our total population is declining, but the number of priests continues to grow. In the face of the reality that many if not most priests will not be employed in parishes, candidates still come forward. Why is that? Call isn’t about prudence or job markets – it’s about something in us that needs to express itself. But that doesn’t explain why so many Episcopalians feel this call.
The reality is that we remain a very clergy-centered church. Because we are liturgical and sacramental, we maintain a (more-or-less) clear line between clergy and laity. But that’s not the problem. The problem is that we set up so many lines and funnels and gates for ministry. Want to read the lessons in church? Sorry, you need a license. Want to feed people? Wait for a training session. Do you think you have something to say? Submit three sample sermons to the bishop. If your parish priest doesn’t happen to ask or invite you for these ministries, would you push your case? I doubt it.
I think we have so many priests because we have a shrunken view of the laity as assistants to the clergy, or as the business managers of the church rather than partners in ministry.
Sara Miles has broken through that line. She had sympathetic priests, but she also had her own enthusiasm. Enthusiasm – literally, having God within, being filled with God. Sara Miles is an enthusiastic Christian.
Sara Miles will be in Newark in October. Come hear her. Go read her books. But most importantly, let the Spirit of God fill you as she let it fill her. Go into the world, healing, feeding, reconciling. Don’t worry about whether your papers are in order.
Go. Now.

Spiritual formation - a broken bridge?

2009-09-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. All summer I’ve been worrying about our education programs. We have named Spiritual Formation as one of our bridges to hope, but our bridge needs some repair.
At first I thought about our Youth. We are planning to begin an ambitious program, Journey to Adulthood. It demands a regular commitment from the youth as well as the leaders. I’ve worried that we don’t have that base built up, that our youth won’t want to commit to meet every week, that sports and other activities will take priority.
Then I started to worry about Sunday School. We want to offer our children a rich perspective, but we have so few children that it’s hard for them to get a wide exposure to different ideas and experiences. We’ve tried various curriculum packages. Teachers have labored for years, and some need and deserve to take a break.
And of course, close to my heart is adult education. I taught college before I came to New Jersey, and I love to see minds open and people get excited by ideas. We have several programs, but I’d love to do more and see more people participate.
Why, you might ask, did I worry but not act? I didn’t feel that it was my place. I am here in David’s place only for three months. I can’t start programs that I can’t sustain. Nonetheless, I feel I should have done more than I have. That’s why I’m confessing.
But confession isn’t action. It clears the decks for action. So now I’m doing what I can: I’m telling you all about it.
I suspect you know all these things already. You know one another, and I hope you talk to each other. Some of these problems have deep roots, while others are of recent origin. But I know that there’s a big difference between one or two individuals lamenting to one another and the energy that a public conversation can generate. If we lament in private, we may come up with an idea, but we’re likely to feel as I did – “it’s not my place to talk about this.” Some of you have grown children, and you may think your time as a teacher or leader is past. Some of you may have ideas, but you don’t know where to take them. Some of you may simply have given up. Some of you may have poured your heart and soul into these programs, and you’re waiting to see what might happen.
So let’s start talking. We are not going to make big changes this fall. David has ideas, and he needs to return and share his thoughts and plans. But we can start a conversation that gives him someplace to join in.
What is your vision for education and spiritual formation at St. David’s? What did you love about Sunday School and youth programs when you were young? What would you like our young people to have? What role are you willing to play in ensuring that they get it?
I hope we can have a meeting about this later in the fall, but don’t wait until then to start thinking and talking. Write me, talk to the teachers, the wardens, the Vestry – anyone! Please help me – help us – move from confession to action. God will be with us, if we step out in faith.

the bread of life

2009-08-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

I just came from a wonderful visit. Mike Odian and I went to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey to donate $3000 from the Brake the Hunger Cycle Tour. This year 75% of the proceeds from the Tour went to Episcopal Relief and Development projects in Latin America, and 25% stayed in northern New Jersey. Phyllis Dunlop, Vice President and Resource Development and Marketing, took the time to show us their operation.
The Community FoodBank was chosen because it fulfills our goal of feeding people. It was founded 30 years ago by Kathleen DiChiara. Today it is much more than a warehouse and distribution facility for local soup kitchens. It also provides free school lunches and snacks, as well as clothing and school supplies, for students in need. Now they have a training school for food-service providers. Many of the students are people who have not had a job, or who have been in prison, and who are looking for a new start. For some the program is the first time they have graduated from something. Lives are being changed at the FoodBank.
We learned that much of the labor of sorting donated food and clothing is done by volunteers. The FoodBank could not afford to pay all the hours it takes to do this work. Some people volunteer regularly, but often groups will come in and do a day at the FoodBank. Corporate groups, church groups, and others all find their lives enriched by time spent there. The FoodBank also has a “wish list” of items they need. I will post that on my door at church. If you feel called to donate, please consider taking your donation down in person and seeing the work in our midst.
God’s people are in need. God’s people are being fed, and they are feeding others. I’m inspired by the vision and the determination of Kathleen DiChiara and the thousands of volunteers and students who are sowing new life. Let this seed drop into your heart. I’m letting it sprout in mine. Let me know what grows in your garden!

God's sinners - us

2009-08-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry - I forgot to post this last week.

In the Daily Office we’ve been reading the story of David’s rise to power, his abuses of power, and his struggles to keep power. Today (Wednesday) we read of David’s learning that his son, Absalom, has been killed in battle – a battle that Absalom initiated, to wrest power from his father. A first courier arrives to declare victory over the opposition, but all David wants to know is, “What happened to my son?” When he learns that Absalom is dead, he laments: “Oh Absalom my son, my son! Would that I had died instead of you!”
The story of David is a story of glory, but also of loss and sin. David is anointed by Samuel at God’s instruction. He forms a united kingdom for the first time in Israel. But he also forcibly takes his poor neighbor’s wife Bathsheba, and sends her husband to die in battle so he can have her. He is gifted, called by God, but also a sinner. And that’s why this is such an important story to me.
It’s so easy to think that God divides us up into good and bad, and that’s the end of it. Many writings, in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, say that we are all one or the other. Most of those writings seem to be written by people who see themselves as righteous. The sinners are someone else, somewhere else. But David’s story is more complicated, and more true to life. We are beloved by God. We are “God’s chosen.” And we are also sinners - schemers, coveters, scorners – pick your poison. That’s why we need regular confession as well as constant celebration. We need to acknowledge both sides of our selves if we are really to be united with God. God doesn’t leave us, but we are always open to temptation.
Let me encourage you to spend some time in Second Samuel and the books of Kings this fall. Like novels, these stories can tell us more about God and the world than some other forms of writing. Let yourself take in the mysterious reality of God’s work in a fallen world. What would your story be like?

as a little child . . .

2009-08-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

Jeanne Wertheimer left Kinnelon on Monday to go live in Cyprus. She and her partner Chris came to us a year ago, “just for a little while,” but the visa process stretched out and we got used to them being here. Jeanne immediately got busy in outreach to local seniors, helping with the service at Cedar Crest and visiting a woman who needed help but couldn’t afford it. She also joined the Wednesday Bible Study.
Jeanne’s voice was a key part of that Bible Study group. Each week we read the lessons for the coming Sunday. Usually we study the Gospel in depth. Over and over, Jeanne would bring us to the question, “did this really happen?” If something was in three or four of the Gospels, she’d be more insistent that it must have been historically true. She was worried when I talked about the Gospel as stories told to a later community to illustrate the experience of being with Jesus. She wanted it to be historically true.
Jeanne’s clarity and willingness to argue pushed the rest of us to grow – to think through our viewpoints, to express them without anxiety, to be engaged without being aggressive. She surely helped me.
But this isn’t just about Jeanne. In the daily Office reading for Tuesday, Jesus tells the disciples that “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it” (Mk. 10:11). I think that Jeanne exemplified that. Receiving “as a little child” doesn’t mean just accepting it on authority, or reciting a creed. It means grabbing it, wrestling with it, not protecting it from questions or challenges but pushing forward in the knowledge that God can handle all our questions and doubts and needs. Little children don’t analyze or theorize; they absorb. As adults we are called to analyze and theorize as well as absorb, but Jesus – and Jeanne – remind me that this is a matter of life and death. We have to grab, and hold tight, to the Gospel. As Jacob wrestled with the angel, and was blessed (and marked!) for his effort, we are called to wrestle with the Word. We are blessed, and marked, at baptism, but it is in our struggle that we manifest the grace given us there.
So Godspeed, Jeanne. We’ll miss you. But we will wrestle, and rejoice, and remember. Come back soon.

2009-08-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Both our Sunday Eucharistic readings and the Daily Office readings for the past week have featured failures of communication. In John chapter 6, the crowd follows Jesus because they want bread, but they demand a sign (as though they haven’t seen enough!). His claims about his relation to God, and about the bread of life, meet with derision and confusion. In Mark, Jesus feeds 5000 and then later feeds 4000 from a few loaves, but still the disciples don’t understand what they’re seeing and hearing. Jesus walks them through the history of the two miracles, and then asks, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mk. 8:21).
Well, no. I, for one, do not understand. I don’t understand where the loaves and the fishes came from. I don’t understand exactly what this “I am the bread of life” stuff means. I don’t get all the parables and instructions and signs. I don’t understand.
Fortunately, I’m not alone. A strong tradition in our church has always realized that understanding is not the key to a relationship with Jesus. This is exemplified in The Cloud of Unknowing, a book written in 14th-century England. The anonymous author is clearly intelligent and well-read, but he insists that understanding is not the high road to God. He argues that “all rational beings, angels and men, possess two faculties, the power of knowing and the power of loving. To the first, to the intellect, God who made them in forever unknowable, but to the second, to love, he is completely knowable.”
I don’t understand all the elements of faith. Thank God (I mean it!) I was taught that I didn’t have to. I don’t mean we should turn off our minds and act like robots. God gave us reason and awareness, and we are not to give them back. But God gave us more. God loved us into being, and loves us into being still. I was taught that love, not doctrine, was the measure of my faith. Jesus may be frustrated with me sometimes, but nothing will end our relationship.
So as we continue our journey through the sixth chapter of John, take in the words. Let yourself be baffled. Better disciples than we have been baffled, and yet their lives were transformed by the relationship they had with Jesus. Love. Do you not yet understand?

loaves and fishes

2009-07-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the big news this week is that I’ve started a blog! After writing this column a few times I found I wanted to hear from you all. Some of you say things on Sunday, or in passing, but others may never get the chance. My hope is that we all will realize that we can speak “god-talk.” Special thanks to Christine Rudolphi, who got me set up at blogspot.com. I don’t have anything posted yet; this will be the first item, and I’m technologically challenged, so be patient. But come, and see, and write me!

The address is http://shanesgodtalk.blogspot.com.

For this week, let me share Mary Oliver’s poem “Logos,” which I read during my sermon on Sunday.

Why wonder about the loaves and the fishes?
If you say the right words, the wine expands.
If you say them with love
and the felt ferocity of that love
and the felt necessity of that love,
the fish explode into many.
Imagine him, speaking,
and don’t worry about what is reality,
Or what is plain, or what is mysterious.
If you were there, it was all those things.
If you can imagine it, it is all those things.
Eat, drink, be happy.
Accept the miracle.
Accept, too, each spoken word
spoken with love.

What does this poem say to you? Let me know.

Daily readings for the week of August 2 are Proper 13, found on page 978 of the Book of Common Prayer.

-Deacon Shane