Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

I have always had an interest in the faith practices of the Amish community, and find certain aspects of the culture surprising and even counter-intuitive. The degree of freedom offered to Amish children—both in decisions surrounding marriage and baptism—may seem unexpected for such a disciplined people. During Rumspringa, teenagers are given two years to live in and among the modern world to determine whether they want to join the church for life. At the end of Rumspringa, some choose to leave the Amish way of life and are not welcome to return again. In some cases, the child is not permitted to call or write any member of the family.

I thought this was harsh, and maybe even un-Christian. Providing the child the choice to leave, but not return! Then, in a recent PBS documentary, I heard this firsthand comment:

“In the Amish community, when a child leaves, his place at the table is always set and no one is ever allowed to sit there. Three times a day, for the rest of his life, the child [far from his family] knows, 'My place is set.'”

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The man’s displeasure is evident.

He grumbles on the walk through the doctor’s office, then rips into the technician. He had an appointment. Other people just walked in. He had to wait 20 minutes. He doesn’t appreciate the lack of service. Can’t people see that he is too important to be ignored?

Besides, he says, he has a meeting at 9.

The technician is apologetic and kind. I hope your meeting isn’t far.

About 15 minutes, he says. At his church.

The technician’s patience pays off and eventually he moves from boil to simmer. They begin talk of the horrific damage by the tornados. Turns out, they know some of the same people.

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Why does it take the worst to bring out the best?

Tragedy in the form of super-cell tornados ripped through southern Indiana, Kentucky, and small towns across the south. TV news and the Internet swarmed with devastating pictures of homes reduced to rubble and stories of whole families swept away and killed.

We were lucky. The tornados passed south of us by about 10 miles. But when the warnings were sounded, we didn’t know which way the wind would blow, so we hunkered into our basement apartment, with flashlights at hand.

About 20 minutes into our storm watch, with the tornados still an hour out, my husband went to check on the laundry. There in the hall was a family of four huddled in the corner.

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I like shiny and new.

I’m not typically first on the bandwagon of the latest trend, but I normally get in line for ride two or three. This is especially true with communication, and I’ve spent many keystrokes for ECF Vital Practices and other arenas encouraging the embrace of new technology, social media and other tools to share our faith.

But my daughter and three of her friends reminded me that sometimes communication can take the form of an ancient tradition.

A local TV station carried the story: My daughter and three of her friends found a message in a bottle three weeks ago at a lake about an hour away. When they uncorked it, they discovered a letter written in 2008 from a boy in a neighboring community. The girls decided to write back.

They tracked down his school and called the principal. The boy, in second grade when he launched the bottle, is now in middle school but still in the same district. The girls wrote a simple letter and sent it to him – this time, via snail mail.

The news glommed onto this as a novel way of communication against a backdrop of texting, tweeting and Facebook-ing.

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The festivities were well underway by the time we arrived.

Sequined dresses and glittered faces greeted us at the door. The normally more staid atmosphere of a diocesan convention was replaced with the upbeat celebration of Mardi Gras, complete with jambalaya, colored beads and auctions to benefit Haiti as well as local ministries.

I was instantly envious of the masks. Ladies in full regalia walked around with intricate masks – peacock feathers, beads and sparkles. What more could a girl want?

Despite my nudging, my husband passed the booth without stopping. But, God bless her, the only other woman in our delegation purchased two and presented me with the masked gift.

It was great fun during the night to don the mask (though I was careful not to wave it too high, lest someone mistake the gesture for a bid on one of the magnificent – but out-of-my-price-range – auction items).

Tonight, too, at our church’s pancake supper, I’ll wear the mask and embrace the frivolity and joy of Mardi Gras before laying it aside on Ash Wednesday.

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Apparently I’m in meetings often enough that when I told my son I had meetings the other day, he grunted.

“Meetings. Is that all adults do? Do you ever work in these meetings?”

My honest answer: Sometimes.

Meetings consume a lot of our professional and personal lives. And we’ve been to enough of them to know that all meetings are not equal. So when someone presents an effective, evocative way to begin a meeting, it’s worth sharing.

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For decades, Forward Movement has been most widely known for its flagship publication, Forward Day by Day. Hundreds of thousands of readers around the world find inspiration in the quarterly printed booklet. In the US, many Episcopalians learned about Forward Movement in their narthex. Lots of pamphlets sit in racks, waiting to be read.

So it came as a surprise to some folks that we would be partnering in the offering Lent Madness this year. Even the name doesn’t sound much like Forward Movement of the past.

For those of you who haven’t joined the Internet sensation yet, Lent Madness is a “saintly smackdown” patterned after college basketball’s March Madness. Each day of Lent, starting with “Ash Thursday," February 23, readers will vote for their favorite saint. Celebrity bloggers will write about the saints, and the winning saints will advance through a single-elimination bracket. We start with 32 saints, but only one saint wins the Golden Halo.

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A month into our move the shininess has worn off, and we’re beginning to call this home – and the other place, “where we used to live.”

Now comes the hard part of making friends and building community.

Last week our church held an ECW event, which attracted 30-plus participants. For our reflection, we talked about the importance of our women friendships, how to nurture and cherish them. I spent a little of the time wistful.

Even when a move, like this one, is good on so many levels, there is still loss. I’m in the midst of experiencing which friendships can bridge the chasm of distance – and which ones cannot. 

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Scott Gunn’s Jan 2, 2012 Seven whole days blog post brought the Bible Challenge back into my consciousness. The concept is simple: Read the Bible in a year by following the Bible Challenge’s formula of reading the books of the Bible “in sequence and ensuring that a psalm and a portion of the New Testament are read each day in order to provide strong spiritual daily content to sustain readers working through the entire Bible.”

“I’ll do it,” I thought. Had my Bible been within reach of my desk, I might have started right then. Instead, I thought, “Where’s my Bible?” and “I’ll get it later.” And then promptly put it out of my mind.

Now on January 5, I still haven’t started. But I want to.

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The end of a year always puts me in a reflective mood. Like a DJ at some local radio station, I take full advantage of these days to look back and compile lists of the past year’s greatest hits and less successful ventures. It’s also when I ask myself frank questions about what I’m doing with my life and where I'm going. 

The end of the church year is no different. With this past Sunday behind us, we are heading full steam ahead toward Advent and the beginning of a new church year. But before we get there, I think this is a good time to reflect on our level of involvement in our local congregation. Was all that effort worth it? Or, to put it more finely, were you transformed this year?

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It was hard to choose which class to take of the three offered this fall at our Center at St. Andrew’s. Dr. Ann Redding who was defrocked by Bishop Wolff of Rhode Island for becoming a Muslim is offering, “Making Peace with Islam: An Introduction.” Two parishioners with long backgrounds in the field are teaching, “Not If but When: A Class on Emergency Preparedness.” But the one that caught my imagination is “Kids, Parents - Exploring Questions of Faith: A Class for Adults.”

In my role as pastor I am constantly approached by parents about how to talk with their children about religion, spirituality, and belief. It was not a topic that was well covered in seminary and I have had little training in this area except what I have learned on the job. So this fit one concrete need I have and besides it is so nice to take a course at my church rather than teaching one.

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What’s your dream?

I spent the past 2 ½ days dreaming with the board of Forward Movement, an organization dedicated to reinvigorating the church. We did board things like approve the financial report and talk about policies, but we also spent a good chunk of this meeting imagining how the 76-year-old agency might serve the Church.

Under the helm of the new executive director, the Rev. Scott Gunn, the organization is exploring new ways of helping form disciples, from its bread-and-butter business of daily devotionals and tracts to multi-media content and creative partnerships in and beyond the church. Being invited to brainstorm – in a safe place where no answer is wrong and no suggestion undoable – unleashed innovative ideas and boundless enthusiasm. While many of our dreams may never reach fruition (an Episcopal-like Words for Friends game, anyone?), some of these ideas will come to life. And, through the Holy Spirit, perhaps they’ll play a role in transforming the church – and people’s lives.

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Congregations across the Anglican Communion are invited to take part in a communion-wide survey which asks how Episcopalians and Anglicans understand and engage with the Bible. In the Diocese of Connecticut’s September 24, 2011 weekly eNews, editor Karin Hamilton writes:

How do you engage the Bible? Survey, study option

The Bible in the Life of the Church project, of the Anglican Communion, wants to know how you understand and engage with the Bible. So they've created a survey, online and paper. It takes about 15 minutes. They've also created a five-session study program.

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I love how God flips our expectations upside down.

Sixty years separate the two couples. The first couple is in their 90s, the husband dapper in a tie and white slacks, whose likeness to Bob Barker always requires a double take. He steadies his wife as she climbs the three steps to the altar rail. She steadies him right back when he rises from kneeling. 

The other couple just started coming to church in the past few months. She’s a bit shy but bright. Her husband teaches English and wears the Three Stooges down his tie. Their son is nearly 2 and so busy, eager to explore.

The older couple has faithfully attended the Episcopal church for nearly a century. On this Sunday morning, they carry in Tupperware containers of cheese spread and fruit, crackers and cookies. 

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The heavy conversation starts out, as is often the case, on a light note.

Mommy, why aren’t you eating your toast?

It’s the last piece, I answer. I want to see if you are still hungry before I eat it.

My 7-year-old son ponders this for a minute. The crumbs of his toast gather in the folds of his shirt and shorts.

So, he says. I have a question. Do you ever regret doing that? You know, giving me something even when it means you won’t get any?

I stop him; tell him to look into my eyes. Do you see how much I love you? I would give anything for you. It’s because I love you that I don’t regret the sacrifices, big or small.

He waits, a struggle playing out between his mind and mouth. Finally, the mouth wins: So if I was about to die, would you die instead?

Yes. Yes. I would give my life for you. Tears brim my eyes. He looks at me, incredulous. After a few minutes, he shakes his head. You’re kinda crazy. And he returns to his toast, even though we both know his world, our world, just shifted.

I thought of this kind of love throughout Sunday. About the kind of love that propels firefighters up smoky stairs when everyone else is barreling down. The kind of love that compels strangers on an airplane to make an unspoken promise, to sacrifice themselves to save others.

The kind of love that defies all logic, that’s kinda crazy, that leads both God and man to hang on a cross. Without any regrets.

You bore me.

That’s the conclusion of a UCC pastor in her superb, pointed commentary.

I’m not normally a Facebook re-poster, but her blog was so compelling that I thought it was worth sharing. Who knew that it would ignite?

Friends and acquaintances from various points on my personal timeline chimed in. Some lauded the author: Preach it, sister. But others took her to task, calling her snarky and judgmental.

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A crew from Calvary, Ashland, Ky., was supposed to be rolling in late last night, weary but exhilarated from a train trip to Washington, D.C., part pilgrimage to the National Cathedral, part journey on historic rail cars.

But first there was an earthquake, and then a hurricane named Irene. What’s next? Locusts?

So the trip was cancelled, and suddenly, unexpectedly, we had the gift of an unscheduled, uncommitted weekend. I can’t remember the last time that’s happened.

We didn’t clean out the garage or prep for next weekend’s yard sale. We didn’t sand the doorframe, which has lingered on the honey-do list since our son was in diapers.

We just spent time with each other and with family and friends. My husband enjoyed the pleasant weather on Friday for a hike in a nearby state park. I caught a movie with a woman who moved into town 10 days ago and visited the church for the first time on Sunday. We ate pirate-themed cake at a party for a 5-year-old – and princess cake the next afternoon for our 3-year-old goddaughter. During worship – a three-parish picnic on a small lake – we sat together. I can’t remember the last time that’s happened.

For dinner, we grabbed grilled cheese and piled on the couch to watch the Disney channel, and before bedtime, we played with a new train set. It wasn’t a weekend to make the Christmas letter, but it was perfect in so many ways. And I can’t remember the last time that’s happened.

Don’t get me wrong: I know we were blessed in Ohio to be well out of the way of both weather events, and those of you on the east coast have been in my prayers and thoughts. Our inconvenience of a cancelled trip doesn’t compare.

But I wonder if there might be unexpected gifts even for those bailing out from the storm. A neighbor who lends a hand. A night without electricity, absent the demands of being plugged-in and on. A weekend of people worrying about each other, praying for each other. Maybe even a small spike of Hurricane Irene babies in nine months or so. Who -- but God -- knows?

With the 10 anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon falling on a Sunday next month, most churches are developing some way to respond. At St. Andrew’s, Seattle, we will hold a service of Light and Remembrance on the eve of the anniversary of what has come to be known as simply “9/11.” In an evening of candle lighting and chant all of us will be offered the opportunity to enter into contemplation on the meaning of those horrific acts ten years ago. We will mourn the loss of life that day, the loss of all the lives that the aftermath and reaction to those events have caused, and pray for peace for our troubled future.

Peace will require reconciliation. To help us understand the mystery of the possibility of true reconciliation, Kathryn Reichert will begin a class entitled “Reconciliation in the 21st Century,” on Sept. 12 which will run for three Monday evenings. Kathryn recently completed a dissertation titled, “Talking Back to God” focusing on Lamentation in Scripture.

Peace will require understanding. To help us understand more deeply the tenets and principles of Islam, particularly those that focus on reconciliation and peace, Dr. Ann Holmes Redding will be leading a class during the autumn quarter for the Center at St. Andrew’s. Her topic will be, “"Making Peace with Islam: An Introduction." Ann is a former Episcopal priest who has converted to Islam.

Peace will require forgiveness. This may be hardest of all. How to forgive for an event whose scale of tragedy still looms so large over our entire culture, especially when the organization which perpetrated the act still seeks our destruction? But forgiveness is not a contract between two parties. Forgiveness is a state of grace bestowed freely by the Holy Spirit in response to the gifts of Jesus Christ that is available to all of us. Forgiveness is a form of prayer, a spiritual discipline, a posture we can choose to take toward a world full of violence, pain and betrayal.

I would love to hear how other churches are using this tragic anniversary to advance peace, reconciliation, understanding and forgiveness. Please respond to this blog and share what is going on in your faith community. I hope the season surrounding our commemoration of the tragedy of 9/11 takes us deeper into a spiritual life of reconciliation. It is the truest way we can honor those we mourn.

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Members of another urban congregation are picketing the second service of St. John’s in Columbus, Ohio.

The service is Street Church, where for the past five years, the Rev. Lee Anne Reat presides over a full Eucharist on a street corner in downtown Columbus. Attendance averages about 70 – a little more than the first service of the day, which is held in the church facility. The Street Church congregation has celebrated baptisms together and gathered for funerals.

“This is not an outreach program” says Reat. “The language we use to talk about what we do is so critical -- this is our second service. I don’t think we can really be the church if we separate out what we do in worship from what we do in the larger community. It is all of a piece.”

Over the past five years, “we’ve had some successes in getting people off the street,” says Reat. “But what’s most gratifying is the relationship aspect … to be part of a community that I envision looking a lot like the kingdom of God – that’s pretty awesome. From my upper middle class, privileged background, I would probably never come across some people who I now call my friends.”

Taking religion to the streets is nothing new. Throughout history, street preachers have urged people to repent, to turn or burn, to change their lives or face damnation. St. John’s is part of the nationwide Ecclesia Network, a loosely affiliated group of street churches that focus on worship and connection.

“Our emphasis is on being in relationship with the most vulnerable among us,” says Reat. “Our focus is on worship. We try to meet other needs if we can, referrals for housing, getting jobs, providing dry socks, coats, boots and tents. But the most important thing is being in a real mutual relationship.”

That’s why it was so gratifying when one of the Street Church parishioners invited some of the picketers to lunch. He offered them some of the sandwiches that the congregation eats after the worship service.

“They keep yelling at us to repent,” says Reat. “And we keep saying, let’s respond with love. Let’s love them.” And so the Street Church member showed them love, from one community of faith to another.

Reat begins a sabbatical this week and will spend three months traveling across the United States, worshipping with different street churches. One of her goals is to collect liturgical ideas and resources to create a street church prayer book.

You can follow her journey at www.streetchurchacrossamerica.blogspot.com. And if you have ideas or practices for street churches, post them on the blog.

“I really see this as part of the fresh expressions of the church – it’s the church beyond walls. There’s so much potential for communities to do this,” Reat says. “The reason we go outside the church building is because there are people who feel like they can’t come inside the church, for whatever reason. I smell. I don’t have the right clothes. I’m drunk. I’m high. I wouldn’t know what to do.

“When you’re outside, all those barriers are broken down. People can come and just be who they are. There’s potential for that in every community.”

Note: Check out Marek's Tip Sheet for creating a Bible Challenge in your own congregation.

Episcopalians take pride in reading more scripture aloud in church on Sunday than most denominations, but few Episcopalians have read the entire Bible.

This year our church found a dramatic way to change that in one parish, and it is having an enormous impact on our congregation. We now think that it could have a great impact on churches across the United States and around the world.

On September 15 we will begin sharing this ministry around the Anglican Communion and throughout the world as we launch a new website for The Center for Biblical Studies (www.thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org). The CBS is designed to support individuals, clergy and churches of all denominations in reading the Bible from cover to cover.

This ministry started after Christmas, when we launched “The Bible Challenge.” As a priest, I realized that I personally needed to get more serious about reading the Bible. For years, I had been reading the Daily Lectionary, but there were times when my reading became sporadic. Occasionally, I read a book of the Bible with a commentary, but it had been over twenty years since I had read the entire Bible.

After Christmas, I read in a colleague’s newsletter that he was encouraging his parish to join him in reading the Bible from cover to cover. He offers this challenge each year, and his church has prospered under his leadership. As a result of his appeal, 15 members of his church decided to read the Bible with him.

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