July 25, 2018

More on Houses

This past Sunday, the Rev. Bruce Torrey visited St. John's on behalf of Food for the Poor (FftP). He spoke eloquently and passionately (and even threw in a little banjo music) about FftP's expanding mission to feed, clothe, and house the extreme poor of Central America and the Caribbean. I found his story of Carmen to be particularly moving. Both our website and Facebook page have last week's service up, so you can view it again or for the first time if you choose.

For those who missed it, Fr. Torrey told of an experience in Honduras where a group of FftP representatives visited an open pit garbage dump. It was while there that they met Carmen and her four children who lived in the dump on a couch they found and managed to shade with a tarp. They not only lived in/on the dump, but that is also where they worked, scavenging enough materials and food to live. As it turns out, FftP was able to build a house for Carmen and her family so that they no longer live in/on the dump, greatly improving their standard of living.

I have received at least one e-mail asking if St. John's could support the building of a house through the FftP program. As it so happens, I was also wondering the same thing.

A single-unit house through FftP is listed at $3600 – quite a bit less than the houses Joelene and I have seen. Basic math tells me that it would only take 36 people donating $100 to accomplish the goal of a St. John's sponsored house.

In conversation with this person, they made the very generous offer, and challenge, to match received donations so that we could donate the cost of a single-unit home with sanitation or, depending on the amount received, the cost of a double-unit home with sanitation and water.

If you would like to be a part of funding a FftP house through St. John's, please either send a check to the office, or put one in the offering plate, and memo it “FftP House.” Donations will be accepted through August 26, 2018.

We live in times where we are all asked to support ministries and people in a variety of ways, and we need to discern how we want to be generous with our funds. We can't do everything, but we can do something. And if St. John's could support one house a year so that there is one less family living in a garbage dump, it would be a very good thing.

Blessings

July 18, 2018

House Shopping, Shoes, and Church

Joelene and I are house shopping. We've been house shopping seriously now for about a month. We have a particular style in mind, as well as particular needs. I am not good with tools. To borrow a line from a movie, “I have a very particular set of skills,” and none of those skills include home improvements. So we are looking for something that requires minimal work.

I'm not interested in repainting the blue doors and red walls. I don't want to have to knock out walls to make the space fit our needs/desires. I don't want to have to worry about the water-damaged ceiling. I don't want to feel claustrophobic. Ish . . . Buying a house is a lot like buying shoes.

Buying shoes is one of those worldly things that I really dislike. Besides finding a style you like, you need to find ones that fit properly. If they're too big, your foot sloshes around and blisters are a real possibility. If they're too small, you might develop bunions. And a size 10 in one brand may feel like a 9-1/2 in another brand. Sometimes the size differential even appears in the same brand but in different styles. It's hard trying to find shoes that you're happy with and that fit well. Ish . . . Shoe shopping is a lot like house shopping.

And both of these are like church.

At first we “church shop.” That is, we look for something that doesn't seem to be in a state of disrepair or one that doesn't need a lot of work. We look for one that isn't so big that we slosh around, nor for one that is so small that we get cramped. We want one that fits.

But even the best house will have problems here and there. Even the best pair of shoes may stretch out and become too big, or maybe even shrink depending on what you've done to them. Churches, also, will experience times of growth and times of shrinkage. They expand and contract.

Sometimes that expansion will cause you to grow in new ways so that you can continue to “fit.” Sometimes you may experience a tightness, an uncomfortableness, that makes you feel like you are being squeezed. But eventually things will work themselves out and you will once again fit.

St. John's is not a perfect fit for everybody; but I'm glad it's a good fit those who call this house their home. And regardless of the house we find, or the shoes I wear, I know that St. John's will fit for a long time.

Blessings,

July 11, 2018

BCP Revision

If you've been following the proceedings at General Convention in Austin these past several days, you will know that one of the big issues being discussed and debated is prayer book revision. If you haven't been following the proceedings at General Convention, let me be the first to tell you that one of the big issues being discussed and debated is prayer book revision.

Prayer book revision is always a touchy and sometimes heart-wrenching topic among Episcopalians. That is to be expected because, although we are a “bible-believing church,” it is the Prayer Book that shapes our liturgy, our prayers, our theology, and hopefully our life. From Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline during the days, to Holy Eucharist on Sundays and Wednesdays, to Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, and Burial, we Episcopalians live the Prayer Book. So revising it is always filled with hope and fear and joy and anger and a whole host of other emotions.

In the early stages of this debate, I have already heard people proclaim that if the BCP is revised they will leave the church. I've heard people proclaim that we need a new BCP to reflect concerns of inclusive language. I've heard fears that it will become not a Book of Common Prayer, but a book of á la carte liturgies that would make the Episcopal church unrecognizable as a body. I've heard anticipated joy of seeing a fully inclusive book. There have been concerns that women are not equally represented on the revision committee. There have been concerns that non-English speakers are not fully represented on that committee. And there have been many other sentiments expressed.

So yes, revising the Book of Common Prayer is a theological, liturgical, rubrical, and grammatical minefield.

As I write this, the House of Deputies voted to begin the process of revision. The House of Bishops has yet to vote. If they approve, the process will begin. If they don't, it won't.

But this won't happen overnight. If the House of Bishops approves revision this week, you won't find new BCP's in the pew next Sunday. Or the Sunday after that. Or even by Christmas. This is still a long process. My first memory of the BCP was the Green Book. Then the Zebra Book. Then the Proposed Book. And finally the authorized Book of Common Prayer. The proposed timeline would give us a new BCP in 2030.

I don't think we need to go all apoplectic. I don't think we need to start crying that the sky is falling. I don't think a new BCP will do away with Trinitarian language/theology. Nor do I think it will be, as someone said, “A New Age Unitarian mess.” So in the words of the Philadelphia 76ers, I will trust the process.

And in the meantime, I will continue to tape and glue my BCP together; and I will continue to worship God in the best way possible – with the Sacraments, Rites, and Ceremonies of this Church.

Blessings,

July 4, 2018

Odd and Ends

Today we celebrate our independence as a nation. Today we celebrate our ability to choose how we will govern our nation and ourselves. Let us never forget that it was this self-evident right of equality and self-determination that (supposedly) guides our country. And let us never try to force our ideas upon others such that those mandates would eliminate another persons freedom to choose the best course of action for themselves, or result in benefits for a few at the expense of the many.

Today is the 4^th of July. May we all celebrate safely and sanely. May we remember to keep the potato salad and mayonnaise on ice. Keep the drinks cold, the burgers and 'dogs hot. Keep the games fun. And please, Please, PLEASE don't burn anything down or blow anyone up.

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church officially begins this Friday. This is the triennial event that ultimately governs this Church. Every diocese, regardless of size, is able to send four lay delegates and four clergy delegates who, along with the bishops, produce, vote, and pass (or not) a variety of legislation. There are also thousands of “convention junkies” who go to see old friends and meet new people.

I am not one of those people.

However, if you would like to follow the goings on of General Convention, the GC Media Hub has live feeds of the various proceedings, as well as other updates.

The link is here: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/general-convention-2018-media-hub

Two of the major discussions will revolve around the continuance of trial marriage rites and whether or not we should pursue revising the BCP.

In closing . . . It's the 4^th of July! Eat, drink (lemonade), and be merry. Stay safe. Stay intact.

And remember to celebrate our risen Lord with the same enthusiasm.

Blessings,