September 25, 2024

Wednesday Word:  A New Life of Grace

This coming Sunday is the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels.  Michael is one of four archangels mentioned in scripture (the others being Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel).  We are most familiar with Michael and Gabriel, as it is Michael who leads the other angels to battle against Satan and Gabriel who is God’s main messenger (appearing to Zechariah and Mary to announce the births of John and Jesus).

Michael is also known as a healer and as the angel who guards people at the time of their death, leading them to everlasting life.

Adding to all of that, this coming Sunday is the baptism of Hope.  She is about 1-1/2 years old and the daughter of Joshua.  She is also fearless, which makes her a great companion to Michael.

This Sunday Hope and her family will attend Saint Luke’s for the first time.  She will be presented, renunciations and affirmations will be made, support will be given, prayers will be offered, she will be baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and she will be marked and sealed as Christ’s own for ever.  And in that moment, Hope will be raised to a new life of grace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

I once heard someone in another congregation say something along the lines of, “Why are they being baptized here if they aren’t part of our congregation?”  I have a snarky response to that question, but, instead, I’ll give you my best answer.

We baptize people who aren’t part of our congregation because they ask.  Baptism is the official entry point into the household of God.  Unlike Communion, the only requirement to being baptized is a desire to do so.  Baptism is the beginning.  We can hope that people who present themselves or their children for baptism have a desire to be part of a Christian community.  It then becomes our job to welcome them, feed them, pray and worship with them, and walk with them on the Christian journey.

This coming Sunday, let us welcome the newly baptized.  Let us affirm that we will stand with the family and Saint Michael as we do battle against spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God.  Let us offer a place of warmth, joy, and support so they know we appreciate their presence.  And let us celebrate this new life of grace to which we are all a part.

I look forward to sharing this special day with you.

PS:  Did I mention there’s cake?

September 18, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Faithful

I am part of a program that works to support and strengthen clergy for the challenges we face.  My group has clergy from Virginia, Alabama, Wisconsin, New York (near Buffalo!), and Nebraska.  None of that is important, other than to say that clergy in vastly different settings tend to share the same issues.

I met with my group facilitator last week and she talked about her time in Burundi, Africa.  While there the bishop of the Anglican Church made a trip to England and Wales.  When he returned, she asked him, “What was it like to be in those English cathedrals or churches where you only had a handful of worshipers compared to the several hundred you regularly have here?”

After thinking about it for a moment, she said, he replied, “I was amazed at the faithfulness of those few people.”

I attended a Resolution Committee hearing on Sunday as we reviewed several resolutions that will be brought before the Convention.  The one that got the most attention and discussion was a resolution about how we spend our money at the diocesan level.  One of the speakers was bemoaning the fact that church numbers were dwindling and if we didn’t address that, there was no point in arguing about how a shuttered church will spend its money.

And while there is a decline in church membership across all denominations, if we focus on trying to get people to attend and pledge so we can keep the doors open and lights on, we will be focusing on the wrong thing.  The mission of the Church isn’t to pay the electric bill.  The mission of the Church is to “restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ” through “prayer, worship, evangelism, and the promotion of justice, peace, and love.”

There is something about the Episcopal Church at large, and Saint Luke’s in particular, that continues to draw people in.  We have a particular message to proclaim and a particular way of living out our faith.  It is this faith and hope in the midst of widely publicized despair that we live and move and have our being. 

Numbers aren’t the only indicator of a vital church.  Do we serve others?  Do we publicly proclaim the gospel?  Do we provide love and support?  There are other indicators, but you get the idea.  The point is this:  Yes, numbers are helpful, but what is more important than simple numbers is whether or not we are being faithful to the gospel and our mission.  It will be that faithfulness that grounds you and encourages you, and it will be that lived faithfulness that will attract and draw people in. 

Our challenge, as it always has been, is to remain faithful even in the face of despair.

Blessings,

September 11, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Thank you

Sometimes saying, “Thank you,” conveys everything you want it to mean.  When you get a birthday or anniversary call or text, saying thank you is good.  When someone puts an unexpected piece of pie on your desk, saying thank you is good.  When someone with a grocery cart full of stuff lets you in front because you only have a couple of things, saying thank you is good.

And sometimes saying thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it, but it’s the only phrase we have.

This past Sunday was the annual Harvest Hoedown.  The event had some good music, good food, good conversations, many good items up for auction, and a good spirit.  It was a huge effort by many, many people:  from the Committee who organized and planned it, to all those who set up and tore down, to those who cooked the meal, to those who donated items for both the silent and live auctions, to everyone who sold dinner and raffle tickets, it took the efforts of many people and the extra hard work of a few people.

Early reports are that this may have been the most successful Hoedown to date, and I think a good reason for that, besides the work of the planning committee, was the decision to give 25 percent of the proceeds to fire relief.

“Thank you” doesn’t seem to begin to cover all of what needs to be said; but it’s also the only phrase I have.

So . . . Thank you to everyone involved in this amazing event.  You are greatly appreciated.

Blessings,

September 4, 2024

Wednesday Word:  988

We all seem to be under more stress than usual.  Whether it’s fretting about politics, trying to figure out the aftermath of the recent fires, jobs, grades, difficult or harmful interactions with other people, or whatever the case may be, we all at one time or another have to deal with more stress than we normally do.

That additional stress can be fleeting.  Other times it lasts for a long time.  And sometimes it resurfaces later in life, being triggered by a word, a smell, a place, or who knows what.  The phrase associated with the latter is “Post Traumatic Stress,” and it can wreak havoc on a life.

Sometimes, when we are going through a difficult time, people will tell us (or we might think this), “God won’t give us more than we can handle.”

First off, God never says that.  That statement is very bad theology wrapped up in a bow and presented as words of wisdom and comfort.  The truth of the matter is that there are people who are dealing with way more than they can handle, and they may be holding on to life and sanity by a thread.

Second, despite what is depicted in the Book of Job, God is not playing with our lives as if he’s some kind of psychotic stage director looking for more and more burdens to drop on people.

And third, it implies that we can, in fact, handle everything in our lives on our own.  The reality, though, is that we might be so overwhelmed that we need help.

If you are struggling with a difficult situation, and ESPECIALLY if you are to the point where you think it would be better if you weren’t around, pick up your phone and call 988.  There are people who staff that number and are trained to help people who are having suicidal thoughts.

Additionally, if you know of someone who is struggling, you can call 988 on their behalf and work on getting them help.

Wyoming consistently ranks in the top three states for suicide deaths.  This is something we can help prevent.  It’s something we all need to be aware of.  And it’s something that has a lifeline.

We all go through a lot at one time or another.  Know you aren’t alone and know 988 is there.

Blessings,

August 28, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Fire

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. – Matt. 3:12

We have seen enough of fire over this past week.  As of Monday, the fire report was as follows:

Flat Rock Fire at 52,500 acres with 35% containment; Remington Fire at just over 196,000 acres with 0% containment; Constitution Fire at roughly 25,000 acres with 28% containment; and the House Draw Fire at about 175,000 acres with 88% containment.  That’s just under 450,000 acres that have been burned in NE Wyoming.  Not to downplay the scope of the disaster, but the good news is that no lives or homes were lost, although people did lose grassland and cattle, and wildlife was also lost.

The Bible has something like 630 references to fire – some good, some bad, and some just as a matter of fact.  Fire can help or it can harm.  It can comfort or it can terrorize.  It can help create and it can destroy.  We know this all too well.

In the above passage, John the Baptist is preparing the crowds for the coming of the Messiah.  It sounds like a hell-and-damnation sermon:  “Get right with God or be prepared to burn.”

But chaff is the name given to the outer husk of things.  It’s the protective coating around the seed.  In this passage, what is being burned isn’t the good wheat but the outer husk.  I think of this as the wheat being all the good things that we give to God and all the good fruit we produce.  The husk, that which is burned, is all the other stuff we use to shield ourselves or the images we project to protect ourselves. 

We tend to be fiercely independent people, surrounding ourselves with a protective outer husk, which is just so much chaff.  But in the aftermath of these fires, what I have seen is a lot of chaff that has been burned.  What is left is the wheat – the wheat of a community coming together to help those in need; the wheat of people offering spaces for people to set up camp as needed; the wheat of one landowner opening up their land for others to send cattle; the wheat of companies pooling resources for the common good.

Fire can be devastating, but it can also burn away the chaff so that the good wheat can be gathered up.  May we continue to be the good wheat.

Blessings,

August 21, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Balance

I recently finished re-reading The Benedictine Handbook.  This is a manual written by St. Benedict of Nursia in the 6^th Century that lays out how monks and nuns are to live.  It’s not terribly long – roughly 88 pages broken down into 73 chapters, and it covers topics from hospitality to diet to prayer to work to discipline and everything in-between.

It’s thought that Benedict wrote The Rule in about 540, and almost 1500 years later it is still being used in monasteries and other contexts around the world.

One of the things that gives The Rule its staying power is its simplicity.  Benedictine monks and nuns take a vow of “stability, amendment of life, and obedience.”  Within that vow, and within the life of the monastery, is a simple balance of life that revolves around the body (dormitory, refectory, and grounds), mind (library), and soul (chapel).  In seeking that balance, he divided the day up into neat sections of work, prayer, study, nourishment, and sleep.

In this Rule, everything matters, and God is at the center of everything – God is present in our work, in our play, in our hospitality, in our study, in our worship, and in everything we do.

We can get so busy with certain aspects of our lives that we get “out of balance.”  This is not new to the 21^st Century – it was something of which Benedict was aware close to 1500 years ago.  It would behoove us to pay attention to The Rule, if not to join a monastery at least to pay attention to our lives.  Do we have a good work/life balance?  Are we getting enough sleep?  Do we eat sensibly and regularly?  Are we spending the same time in prayer as we are watching TV?

The list and examples of how we could obtain balance are as varied as the number of people reading this, but you are the only one who can decide what’s appropriate.  I would urge you, however, to examine your life and find that balance where God gets as much attention as your phone.

Blessings,

August 14, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Jonathan Myrick Daniels

Today, August 14, is the Feast of Jonathan Myrick Daniels.  If you’ve never heard of him, don’t worry, I hadn’t heard of him either until I attended seminary.

Jonathan was a seminarian attending the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, MA, in the early ‘60’s.  In 1965 he answered Martin Luther King, Jr.’s plea to come to Selma and help secure voting rights for all citizens.  He was arrested and jailed on August 14 for joining a picket line, and then was unexpectedly released.  As he and his companions approached a store, a white man with a shotgun accosted 16-year-old Ruby Sales.  Jonathan moved between the two to protect her from the attack, whereby he was shot and killed.

Almost 60 years later, this country is still racked by acts of racism, both overt and covert, and with the ghosts and sins of slavery and a war fought over the right to own other human beings.  People of color face more societal obstacles than do white people.  Women have their own unique challenges.  Certain groups of people are working to disallow other groups of people from voting.  Attacks on people “not like us,” both in word and deed, seem to be on the rise.

Jonathan Daniels understood that following God meant opposing certain acts and policies of man.  He said he knew he had to go to Selma when the words of the Magnificat filled his soul:  “He has put down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things.”

In one paper he wrote before his death, he says, “I began to know in my bones . . . that all life . . . [is] indelibly one.”

When we are faced with hatreds of all kinds wrapped up as patriotism or as Christian values, may we remember the courage of Jonathan Myrick Daniels who sacrificed himself for the protection of another human being.  And let us also work to renounce evil powers bent on destroying the creatures of God while also striving for justice and peace among all people.

Todd+