Friday, January 30, 2009
The Eucharist
Sunday morning we will begin our Eucharist planning in earnest. I have outlines from the Church in Wales, The Anglican Church in Canada and other bits and pieces. I think we'll start by reveiwing our current Eucharist and discussiong what each part accomplishes. See you Sunday at 10:15.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
YOUTH EVENTS FOR WINTER
Hi all,
Two things are coming up for the youth of SPC.
1. On January 25th at 4:30 pm we will meet in the church to watch the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" with Bantu and Liberian Youth. Please plan on attending. afterwards we will have dinner. Pick up will be at 7pm.
2. I would like us to start working on our own liturgy. On Sundays we will begin planning a youth-Eucharist to be held in the church sometime in February. If you look at your Book of Common Prayer (you know where it is, right?) page 400 there is "An Order for Celebrating the Holy Eucharist." We will follow this format but you will design the specific elements yourselves. The parts we need to design are: Proclaiming and Responding to the Word of God, Praying for the Church and for the World, Exchanging the Peace, Preparing the Altar, Making Eucharist, Breaking the Bread, and Sharing the Gifts of God. There are various ways we can do it and we'll start discussing it this Sunday at 10:15. see you then!
Two things are coming up for the youth of SPC.
1. On January 25th at 4:30 pm we will meet in the church to watch the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" with Bantu and Liberian Youth. Please plan on attending. afterwards we will have dinner. Pick up will be at 7pm.
2. I would like us to start working on our own liturgy. On Sundays we will begin planning a youth-Eucharist to be held in the church sometime in February. If you look at your Book of Common Prayer (you know where it is, right?) page 400 there is "An Order for Celebrating the Holy Eucharist." We will follow this format but you will design the specific elements yourselves. The parts we need to design are: Proclaiming and Responding to the Word of God, Praying for the Church and for the World, Exchanging the Peace, Preparing the Altar, Making Eucharist, Breaking the Bread, and Sharing the Gifts of God. There are various ways we can do it and we'll start discussing it this Sunday at 10:15. see you then!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Gaza
After our discussion last night about the conflict in the Middle East, Gaza in particular, I have excerpted this from today's New York Times:
Sun., Jan.11, 2 PM ET
Israeli troops began heavy fighting in the suburbs of Gaza City before dawn, moving in from the former settlement of Netzarim. Attacks in the Sheikh Ajleen neighborhood killed at least eight people, including two women and two children.
Airstrikes, and naval and artillery shelling continued through the day. Israeli forces are present in the northern section of Gaza, the eastern border and the Rafah border area.
Three rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel in the morning. Two exploded near Beersheva, injuring several people. A third hit empty land.
Casualty figures are difficult to verify, but the Gazan authorities have reported 884 dead, including 275 children, 93 women and 12 medical personnel. That does not include complete figures for Hamas fighters, who have not been taken to hospitals.
Israel allowed a three-hour cease-fire for the fourth day to give civilians an opportunity to seek supplies and medical care. The crossing at Kerem Shalom was open for supplies and Rafah was open for medical aid and patient evacuation. Karni Crossing - the only transfer point for grain delivery - remained closed.
More than 25,600 people are staying in emergency shelters. The United Nations opened four new shelters to meet demand in Gaza City, Jabaliya and Deir al Balah.
Some 500,000 people have no access to running water and the rest of the population has access for a few hours every two to seven days.
Previous days of conflict
JAN. 10U.N. relief operations resume after a daylong suspension prompted by a lack of security for convoys.
JAN. 9Israel and Hamas reject a United Nations call for a cease-fire.
JAN. 8Humanitarian aid deliveries are suspended after a driver was killed and two were injured.
JAN. 7Both sides cease fighting for three hours to allow civilians to access aid
Sun., Jan.11, 2 PM ET
Israeli troops began heavy fighting in the suburbs of Gaza City before dawn, moving in from the former settlement of Netzarim. Attacks in the Sheikh Ajleen neighborhood killed at least eight people, including two women and two children.
Airstrikes, and naval and artillery shelling continued through the day. Israeli forces are present in the northern section of Gaza, the eastern border and the Rafah border area.
Three rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel in the morning. Two exploded near Beersheva, injuring several people. A third hit empty land.
Casualty figures are difficult to verify, but the Gazan authorities have reported 884 dead, including 275 children, 93 women and 12 medical personnel. That does not include complete figures for Hamas fighters, who have not been taken to hospitals.
Israel allowed a three-hour cease-fire for the fourth day to give civilians an opportunity to seek supplies and medical care. The crossing at Kerem Shalom was open for supplies and Rafah was open for medical aid and patient evacuation. Karni Crossing - the only transfer point for grain delivery - remained closed.
More than 25,600 people are staying in emergency shelters. The United Nations opened four new shelters to meet demand in Gaza City, Jabaliya and Deir al Balah.
Some 500,000 people have no access to running water and the rest of the population has access for a few hours every two to seven days.
Previous days of conflict
JAN. 10U.N. relief operations resume after a daylong suspension prompted by a lack of security for convoys.
JAN. 9Israel and Hamas reject a United Nations call for a cease-fire.
JAN. 8Humanitarian aid deliveries are suspended after a driver was killed and two were injured.
JAN. 7Both sides cease fighting for three hours to allow civilians to access aid
Thursday, January 8, 2009
This Sunday January 11
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship is presenting the Adult Forum, so we will meet in the Walker room to hear this instead of in the youth room. At 4;30 pm we will gather in the youth room for food and games. Pick up will be at 6:00.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Another sermon
This Christmastide I preached three times, Christmas Day, Holy Name and the Second Sunday in Christmas. The most recent is below:
Adolescent Angst—The Boy Jesus at the Temple
Christmas 2 Yr. B Luke 2: 41-52
January 4, 2009
“But they did not understand what he said to them.” (Luke 2:49) A common refrain from any parent of an adolescent Mary and Joseph are no different as, exasperated, they berate Jesus upon finding him at the temple instead of with their traveling party. Jesus’ parents frustrated scared and bewildered by this eldest son of theirs must have wondered: “what in the world has gotten in to him?” Frustrated that he didn’t stay with his traveling group, not thinking how his actions affected others, scared that they couldn’t find him and had been searching for three days and bewildered by his strange response that of course he must be in his Father’s house---yes frustrated scared and bewildered, a typical response to the vagaries of adolescence.
In this season of incarnation it’s appropriate to think of Jesus as a regular adolescent, acting out in all the usual ways. When removed from the direct hit of dealing with a moody teenager, we can empathize with the difficulty of the teen years-- changing bodies, burgeoning ideas, striving to establish our own identity…. who would go through adolescence again?
A confusing and exciting time for the teen, an exasperating and mind-boggling time for parents.
In retrospect I think most adults would admit that during adolescence they were driven by unknown and mysterious forces, at times feeling as though their bodies were overtaken by an alien being.
In this Christmas season we are called to consider the humanity of Jesus. To fully do this we remember the infant as we do on the Feast of the Nativity and the adult as we do throughout the Gospels of the church year-- but today we are granted a glimpse into the early adolescent Jesus. A Jesus on the cusp of all that adolescence brings—the good, the bad and the ugly….
It’s just human nature to wonder what the growing Jesus was like….what did he think? How did he feel?
Anne Rice’s fictional book, Out of Egypt provides her interpretation of Jesus’ childhood. Reviewer Tamara Butler wrote that Rice's Jesus is “childlike but divine, wise beyond years yet wondering who he is and why he is different from other boys.”
(Library Journal, November 1, 2005)
I bet this is accurate—wondering why one is different from others is a common refrain for many teens---they just don’t feel like they fit in. And that is a tough feeling for anyone of any age. I’ve shared with you before the story of my nephew Bryce’s first day of kindergarten realizing how much his fair
complexion stood out in a class full of predominately Latino students exclaimed: “Rats they’re all brown kids.” This wasn’t a racist statement it was a plea to not be
different. He wasn’t mad they were brown; he was upset he wasn’t brown. Standing out in a crowd is hard. We all try to fit in and if we can’t we employ various coping
techniques. Some of us just try to blend in, taking on the clothing, tastes and opinions of the majority---others of us become so outlandishly different, so intentionally separate that we ostracize others and become even more alone than before.
A burgeoning adolescent can go to both extremes. Often in the same week!
It’s easy for us on the outside to think that this behavior is intentional ---that it’s
designed to drive us—the adults in the picture----insane. This may be true, to an extent, getting a rise out of our elders is a pastime we’ve all engaged in, but I think most sociologists and child development experts will agree that these behaviors are often as mysterious to the adolescent as they are infuriating to us. They are driven by forces which although powerful are difficult to define. I think it fair to assume that the boy Jesus, in his fully incarnate nature, experienced a lot of these same feelings of confusion, distraction, rebellion and mystery. He was trying to figure out
who the heck he was. He knew he was different and this just wasn’t a case of appearance, skill at boyhood games or economic/class standing of his family. He
knew something was REALLY different about him, but so far no one had told him much. Remember, throughout our Advent and Christmas readings we are told that
with each passing oddity—the angelic visits, the shepherds following some wild star and the strange visitors from the east, Mary wouldn’t start talking about it, no we
are told that while she outwardly accepted these events, she also pondered these
things in her heart. Mary was waiting for more to be revealed—so until it was revealed to her that it was time for Jesus to know the truth about his identity she was keeping quiet. But while she and Joseph ponder just who this son of theirs is, Jesus begins to explore his own heart’s desire, his own identity search.
And on that day, his heart led him to the Temple ….to His Father’s house. Now this wasn’t some adolescent dig against the father who raised him--Joseph, no this was Jesus responding to his developing sense of self, leading him away from his earthly family and toward the mystery of his spiritual family. Yes Mary and Joseph were raising Jesus, but he was ultimately God’s Son. Jesus’ birth mother, Mary was an instrument of Jesus’ Father, our Father, God. Jesus had to follow the draw of his identity—that of being the Son of God. If he hadn’t claimed his rightful spot as God’s
Son then we could never claim our spot as heirs to Him as inheritors of the Kingdom of God. So yes, Jesus had to be at his Father’s house and yes that scared the dickens
out of Mary and Joseph as they frantically searched for their boy. Like any parent the safety of their child was uppermost in their hearts and minds and they would not
rest until they found him safe and sound. Likewise, Jesus would not rest until he found his own place of safety, security---his home.
On this day, this day when Jesus is drawn to the Temple, Mary and Joseph have a truth tangibly presented to them—a lesson every parent learns—that the day comes when they must let their child go,. And this day had come—they needed to let Jesus go so he could grow into his full identity.
And by letting him grow, by letting their Son by letting Jesus develop his own identity Joseph and Mary give us a wonderful gift a Savior who leads us to where we must be, at home with God.
Amen.
Adolescent Angst—The Boy Jesus at the Temple
Christmas 2 Yr. B Luke 2: 41-52
January 4, 2009
“But they did not understand what he said to them.” (Luke 2:49) A common refrain from any parent of an adolescent Mary and Joseph are no different as, exasperated, they berate Jesus upon finding him at the temple instead of with their traveling party. Jesus’ parents frustrated scared and bewildered by this eldest son of theirs must have wondered: “what in the world has gotten in to him?” Frustrated that he didn’t stay with his traveling group, not thinking how his actions affected others, scared that they couldn’t find him and had been searching for three days and bewildered by his strange response that of course he must be in his Father’s house---yes frustrated scared and bewildered, a typical response to the vagaries of adolescence.
In this season of incarnation it’s appropriate to think of Jesus as a regular adolescent, acting out in all the usual ways. When removed from the direct hit of dealing with a moody teenager, we can empathize with the difficulty of the teen years-- changing bodies, burgeoning ideas, striving to establish our own identity…. who would go through adolescence again?
A confusing and exciting time for the teen, an exasperating and mind-boggling time for parents.
In retrospect I think most adults would admit that during adolescence they were driven by unknown and mysterious forces, at times feeling as though their bodies were overtaken by an alien being.
In this Christmas season we are called to consider the humanity of Jesus. To fully do this we remember the infant as we do on the Feast of the Nativity and the adult as we do throughout the Gospels of the church year-- but today we are granted a glimpse into the early adolescent Jesus. A Jesus on the cusp of all that adolescence brings—the good, the bad and the ugly….
It’s just human nature to wonder what the growing Jesus was like….what did he think? How did he feel?
Anne Rice’s fictional book, Out of Egypt provides her interpretation of Jesus’ childhood. Reviewer Tamara Butler wrote that Rice's Jesus is “childlike but divine, wise beyond years yet wondering who he is and why he is different from other boys.”
(Library Journal, November 1, 2005)
I bet this is accurate—wondering why one is different from others is a common refrain for many teens---they just don’t feel like they fit in. And that is a tough feeling for anyone of any age. I’ve shared with you before the story of my nephew Bryce’s first day of kindergarten realizing how much his fair
complexion stood out in a class full of predominately Latino students exclaimed: “Rats they’re all brown kids.” This wasn’t a racist statement it was a plea to not be
different. He wasn’t mad they were brown; he was upset he wasn’t brown. Standing out in a crowd is hard. We all try to fit in and if we can’t we employ various coping
techniques. Some of us just try to blend in, taking on the clothing, tastes and opinions of the majority---others of us become so outlandishly different, so intentionally separate that we ostracize others and become even more alone than before.
A burgeoning adolescent can go to both extremes. Often in the same week!
It’s easy for us on the outside to think that this behavior is intentional ---that it’s
designed to drive us—the adults in the picture----insane. This may be true, to an extent, getting a rise out of our elders is a pastime we’ve all engaged in, but I think most sociologists and child development experts will agree that these behaviors are often as mysterious to the adolescent as they are infuriating to us. They are driven by forces which although powerful are difficult to define. I think it fair to assume that the boy Jesus, in his fully incarnate nature, experienced a lot of these same feelings of confusion, distraction, rebellion and mystery. He was trying to figure out
who the heck he was. He knew he was different and this just wasn’t a case of appearance, skill at boyhood games or economic/class standing of his family. He
knew something was REALLY different about him, but so far no one had told him much. Remember, throughout our Advent and Christmas readings we are told that
with each passing oddity—the angelic visits, the shepherds following some wild star and the strange visitors from the east, Mary wouldn’t start talking about it, no we
are told that while she outwardly accepted these events, she also pondered these
things in her heart. Mary was waiting for more to be revealed—so until it was revealed to her that it was time for Jesus to know the truth about his identity she was keeping quiet. But while she and Joseph ponder just who this son of theirs is, Jesus begins to explore his own heart’s desire, his own identity search.
And on that day, his heart led him to the Temple ….to His Father’s house. Now this wasn’t some adolescent dig against the father who raised him--Joseph, no this was Jesus responding to his developing sense of self, leading him away from his earthly family and toward the mystery of his spiritual family. Yes Mary and Joseph were raising Jesus, but he was ultimately God’s Son. Jesus’ birth mother, Mary was an instrument of Jesus’ Father, our Father, God. Jesus had to follow the draw of his identity—that of being the Son of God. If he hadn’t claimed his rightful spot as God’s
Son then we could never claim our spot as heirs to Him as inheritors of the Kingdom of God. So yes, Jesus had to be at his Father’s house and yes that scared the dickens
out of Mary and Joseph as they frantically searched for their boy. Like any parent the safety of their child was uppermost in their hearts and minds and they would not
rest until they found him safe and sound. Likewise, Jesus would not rest until he found his own place of safety, security---his home.
On this day, this day when Jesus is drawn to the Temple, Mary and Joseph have a truth tangibly presented to them—a lesson every parent learns—that the day comes when they must let their child go,. And this day had come—they needed to let Jesus go so he could grow into his full identity.
And by letting him grow, by letting their Son by letting Jesus develop his own identity Joseph and Mary give us a wonderful gift a Savior who leads us to where we must be, at home with God.
Amen.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Feast of the Holy Name
The sermon for today:
"What's in a Name?"
+
What’s in a name? We’ve all heard children’s names and thought---oh man what were they thinking? There are any number of names which make me think, these parents never thought about what this kid would go through in middle school…there are stories attached to many name choices. My parents had quite a process for choosing names----the name needed to be biblical and if the first name wasn’t biblical then the middle name had to be. Otherwise the middle name was a family surname and on and on. When I was born my older sisters named me. I think my parents were just out of girl names so they gave into my sister’s who wanted to name me after the Chatty Cathy doll. Yes, there are often stories attached to our names.
Jesus’ name was no different, although his story is a little more well-known. At the Annunciation-- the angel Gabriel told Mary:
“and now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus.” (Luke 1: 31). Boom, no reason is given for naming him Jesus, Gabriel just tells her to do this and being a very devout and faithful young woman, Mary agrees.
Not unlike the naming of John when Zechariah and Elizabeth insist on giving John a non-family name, Mary simply agrees to do what she has been told. Joseph in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, is told in a dream to take Mary as his wife, in spite of her pregnancy and to name the son Jesus. Both Mary and Joseph, willing, able and faithful servants do as they are told. Being faithful Jews they continue their obedience on the eighth day following Jesus’ birth by having him circumcised. It is according to Jewish custom on this day, the day of the circumcision, when a male child is named.
Faithful and obedient Mary and Joseph follow their custom and their religious law by ritually naming their son on this eighth day.
Naming. To name something is to take action, to take a stand. We name our preferences, we name our choices, we name our loves.
Naming is a definitive and assertive act. When committed to helping someone, no matter what, we tell them, “just name it.” Just name it and I’ll do it. We encourage people who struggle with standing up for themselves to name their needs—
By naming something---a feeling, a stand, a need, a child we claim it as our own. By following angelic directions, Joseph and Mary do not name Jesus as their own, that would involve a discussion between the spouses weighing the pros and cons of various names and then choosing one which holds significance for them and their own history---no they name him as instructed with a name holding no significance for either of them.
Jesus’ name means, depending on what translation you adhere too—God saves, Jehovah is salvation , or deliverer. But all in all I think we can say that Jesus’ name tells us if we trust in the incarnate God, we will be changed. Forever. For it is through Jesus we encounter God in a personal intimate and very human way. By naming Jesus as God did, we receive a very important message: salvation, hope, deliverance comes through the Son of God. By naming Jesus as directed by God Mary and Joseph do not claim their son as their own. By naming him as directed Mary and Joseph serve as messengers for God’s claim that Jesus is His Son and that his name promises what God intends: that Jesus will save us, Jesus will deliver us, Jesus is God’s gift to us.
By naming Jesus God gives us a way to relate to the Almighty. Remember in ancient Judaism one did not utter the name for the almighty one would not say God. Jesus, not only with his being but also by his naming is a portal to the almighty God, a way to be one with our Creator.
This Feast of the Holy Name is a continuation of our celebration of the Nativity---the Incarnation. By celebrating the Holy Name, by pronouncing Jesus as Lord we are announcing that we are God’s own and we are welcoming God naming us as His own. Today we claim our place, with Jesus, alongside our Father, Abba, God. Forever.
In this New Year’s season of resolutions, of fresh starts, of hopeful plans, in this season of beginnings, in this season of miracles and in this season of claiming one’s name I challenge us all to renew our commitment to a faithful life, a life rejoicing in the power of God’s love for us, manifested through the gift of Jesus, named before he was in the womb, marked as God’s own from the start and given to us to claim as our own as well. Let’s do it, let’s take this day of Holy Name and name ourselves as one of God’s beloved. After all, God has named us his own, isn’t about time we claimed God, through our savior Jesus Christ, as our own as well?
"What's in a Name?"
+
What’s in a name? We’ve all heard children’s names and thought---oh man what were they thinking? There are any number of names which make me think, these parents never thought about what this kid would go through in middle school…there are stories attached to many name choices. My parents had quite a process for choosing names----the name needed to be biblical and if the first name wasn’t biblical then the middle name had to be. Otherwise the middle name was a family surname and on and on. When I was born my older sisters named me. I think my parents were just out of girl names so they gave into my sister’s who wanted to name me after the Chatty Cathy doll. Yes, there are often stories attached to our names.
Jesus’ name was no different, although his story is a little more well-known. At the Annunciation-- the angel Gabriel told Mary:
“and now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus.” (Luke 1: 31). Boom, no reason is given for naming him Jesus, Gabriel just tells her to do this and being a very devout and faithful young woman, Mary agrees.
Not unlike the naming of John when Zechariah and Elizabeth insist on giving John a non-family name, Mary simply agrees to do what she has been told. Joseph in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, is told in a dream to take Mary as his wife, in spite of her pregnancy and to name the son Jesus. Both Mary and Joseph, willing, able and faithful servants do as they are told. Being faithful Jews they continue their obedience on the eighth day following Jesus’ birth by having him circumcised. It is according to Jewish custom on this day, the day of the circumcision, when a male child is named.
Faithful and obedient Mary and Joseph follow their custom and their religious law by ritually naming their son on this eighth day.
Naming. To name something is to take action, to take a stand. We name our preferences, we name our choices, we name our loves.
Naming is a definitive and assertive act. When committed to helping someone, no matter what, we tell them, “just name it.” Just name it and I’ll do it. We encourage people who struggle with standing up for themselves to name their needs—
By naming something---a feeling, a stand, a need, a child we claim it as our own. By following angelic directions, Joseph and Mary do not name Jesus as their own, that would involve a discussion between the spouses weighing the pros and cons of various names and then choosing one which holds significance for them and their own history---no they name him as instructed with a name holding no significance for either of them.
Jesus’ name means, depending on what translation you adhere too—God saves, Jehovah is salvation , or deliverer. But all in all I think we can say that Jesus’ name tells us if we trust in the incarnate God, we will be changed. Forever. For it is through Jesus we encounter God in a personal intimate and very human way. By naming Jesus as God did, we receive a very important message: salvation, hope, deliverance comes through the Son of God. By naming Jesus as directed by God Mary and Joseph do not claim their son as their own. By naming him as directed Mary and Joseph serve as messengers for God’s claim that Jesus is His Son and that his name promises what God intends: that Jesus will save us, Jesus will deliver us, Jesus is God’s gift to us.
By naming Jesus God gives us a way to relate to the Almighty. Remember in ancient Judaism one did not utter the name for the almighty one would not say God. Jesus, not only with his being but also by his naming is a portal to the almighty God, a way to be one with our Creator.
This Feast of the Holy Name is a continuation of our celebration of the Nativity---the Incarnation. By celebrating the Holy Name, by pronouncing Jesus as Lord we are announcing that we are God’s own and we are welcoming God naming us as His own. Today we claim our place, with Jesus, alongside our Father, Abba, God. Forever.
In this New Year’s season of resolutions, of fresh starts, of hopeful plans, in this season of beginnings, in this season of miracles and in this season of claiming one’s name I challenge us all to renew our commitment to a faithful life, a life rejoicing in the power of God’s love for us, manifested through the gift of Jesus, named before he was in the womb, marked as God’s own from the start and given to us to claim as our own as well. Let’s do it, let’s take this day of Holy Name and name ourselves as one of God’s beloved. After all, God has named us his own, isn’t about time we claimed God, through our savior Jesus Christ, as our own as well?
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