The Ven. Richard I. Cluett
June 25, 2006 (Proper 7)
Job 38:1-11, Mark 4:35-41
Well, here is an old, old story of Jesus and his love.
Do you remember that old, old hymn:
I love to tell the story ... Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love. I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true; It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
This is an old, old story of Jesus and the power of his love. Love strong enough to still the waves. Strong enough to move mountains. Strong enough to bridge over troubles waters. Strong enough to calm a raging fear. Strong enough to soothe an anxious heart.
I have been to Galilee and I have seen the Sea. I want to tell you it is a small, small sea, more a lake than an ocean; oval in shape, it is 13 miles long and 8 miles at is widest point.
I have been on a lake about that size when a storm has come up with a mighty and erratic wind that capsized my small sailing boat and threw me and my companions into the raging water a mile from shore. If I remember correctly, I think I was too busy surviving to call upon God for rescue, but if I had had the time, I know I would have done so with a mighty, and soulful cry.
A small boat in a stormy sea is a good metaphor for life, a good metaphor for faith. There’s nothing like a good, perfect storm to put our personal and human power into perspective. Perhaps I should say, to put the puny nature of our personal and human power into perspective.
There is good reason for the Sailor’s Prayer to be, “O LORD, watch over me for the sea is so great and my boat is so small.”
But isn’t the American ideal about exercising control over one’s life; being in control of our relationships, controlling our personal destiny?
Father Frank Wade writes: “Being in control of one's life is a virtue we admire greatly in this country. The discipline of the athlete, the successful professional, the wise investor, the accomplished artist. William Bennett's popular Book of Virtues fairly bulges with stories of responsible people in firm control of their lives.
“On the other hand, one of the harshest judgments we make is on people who are out of control in one way or another. To let your car get out of control is a crime...to let your emotions get out of control is an embarrassment...when your children are out of control it is considered a failure...with the mind out of control it is an illness. When our finances are out of control, they lead to bankruptcy and ruin. We take control very seriously in our community and rightly so.”
Control, and worrying about being out of control. Valuing an impossibility. Controlling life is an oxymoron.
Stress management experts say that only two percent of our "worrying time" is spent on things that might actually be helped by worrying. The other 98 percent of this time is spent thusly:
- 40% on things that never happen
- 35% on things that can't be changed
- 15% on things that turn out better than expected
- 8% on useless, petty worries
It is an old, old story.
But there are also times when we are so in touch with our limits, our frailty, our finitude that we anxiously wait for rescue, eagerly seek succor, hopefully expect salvation. And there is Jesus “in the stern asleep on the cushion”!
Where is a savior when you need one? Is God really a present help in trouble? Didn’t God say to Job,
"…(It was God who) who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb? --
when I made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
and said, `Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped'?
“O LORD, watch over me for the sea is so great and my boat is so small.” Where are you? I need you now?
O LORD, my child is so sick! O LORD, I am so alone! O LORD, the world is such a mess! O LORD, I’ve lost my job! O LORD, I’ve lost my way! O LORD, I am sinking! O LORD, I don’t know what to do! O LORD, save me!
It is an old, old story. Who has not uttered such a prayer? Who has not called on the name of the LORD in utter distress? Who has not invoked the power of God to save? You? You have not? Then wait, you will.
And will the LORD come, mighty to save? Will the Lord calm the sea? Will the Lord still the wind? Yes, even within the raging storm we can see God at work.
Have you thought it through, though? Jesus calms the sea and stills the wind and there is a dead calm. Then what? Stilling the wind stops sailboats dead in the water. How are you going to get through? How are you going to get home? How are you going to get to the shore? Jesus isn’t Commander Scotty on Star Trek. He’s not gonna “beam you up.”
I think there is only one way, the only way is to row… to pull hard on the oars, to break a sweat, to use the God-given power we do have, to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the miracle at hand, to get to work, to pull hard and to row like hell.
We well can pray that Jesus would work miracles in our lives and in our world and in our church. We can count on that happening. We can count on Him. We also need to be prepared to do the work necessary to finish off the miracle, to bring it to fulfillment, to arrive safely on shore. Along with the sea and the wind, we, too, are called to obedience, to discipline, to work, to cooperate with the miracle of his love.
It is an old, old story about Jesus and his love and us. Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
General Convention: Christian Formation Is a Life-long Process
The past 11 days our deputies and bishops have traveled the mountains and valleys together. And as some have remarked, we have limped across the finish line. Our grateful hearts are with our deputies and bishops as they travel home.
When I agreed to blog I knew that much of the work of GC would be overshadowed by the response to the Windsor Report. And, so I committed to keeping before me the fullness of the work of the Church. Here is a summary of those resolutions I promised to follow. I pray that we will continue to listen to the Holy Spirit and to do the work that God has brought before us.
Resolution A067 (amended) passed. This resolution approves, for experimental use, additional prayers and liturgies for transitions in life.
Resolution A070 passed. The Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music is asked to develop liturgies for pastoral issues that relate to the adoption of a child.
Resolution A089 (amended) passed. This resolution affirms the work of the Pastoral Leadership Search Effort (PLSE; pronounced "pulse"), and requests PB&F to allocate about $386,000 to the PLSE initiative.
Resolution A100 was not considered at GC 2006. This resolution identified Christian formation to be in a state of crisis and sought more adequate methods for reporting the state of Christian formation to General Convention.
Resolution A105 passed. This resolution establishes a Standing Commission on Lifelong Christian Education and Formation.
I am awestruck by the stamina and commitment of our deputies and bishops. They have struggled through blood, sweat, and tears to respond to the Windsor Report in a way that expresses our desire to be in conversation with the Communion They have also picked up the multitude of legislation that needed to be attended to nurture our souls. I particularly appreciate the new prayers and liturgies that recognize the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in renewing the whole creation. Let us now go and tell what we have seen~share these prayers with our fellow Episcopalians and encourage their use at gatherings~at home or at church. In the Book of Occasional Prayers you will find prayers for becoming a big brother or sister, beginning a job, important birthdays (both young and old), and reclaiming health. Yes, we have the words to celebrate God's presence and blessings!
I am also thankful that GC established a Standing Commission on Lifelong Christian Education and Formation. I was surprised by this resolution at first. Christian education and formation are foundational to ministry and mission;' why wasn't there already such a commission before?
Alas, this deficiency has been addressed. Amen to this resolution and hearty prayers for the work before them!
Thus ends the round-up. Truly, the Holy Spirit moves among us. And we need to continue to offer ourselves up to God for wholeness and healing so that we may witness to God's deep love for all creatures.
Almighty and most merciful God, grant that by the indwelling of your Holy Spirit we may be enlightened and strengthened for your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, on God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, p. 251)
In peace,
Jenifer
When I agreed to blog I knew that much of the work of GC would be overshadowed by the response to the Windsor Report. And, so I committed to keeping before me the fullness of the work of the Church. Here is a summary of those resolutions I promised to follow. I pray that we will continue to listen to the Holy Spirit and to do the work that God has brought before us.
Resolution A067 (amended) passed. This resolution approves, for experimental use, additional prayers and liturgies for transitions in life.
Resolution A070 passed. The Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music is asked to develop liturgies for pastoral issues that relate to the adoption of a child.
Resolution A089 (amended) passed. This resolution affirms the work of the Pastoral Leadership Search Effort (PLSE; pronounced "pulse"), and requests PB&F to allocate about $386,000 to the PLSE initiative.
Resolution A100 was not considered at GC 2006. This resolution identified Christian formation to be in a state of crisis and sought more adequate methods for reporting the state of Christian formation to General Convention.
Resolution A105 passed. This resolution establishes a Standing Commission on Lifelong Christian Education and Formation.
I am awestruck by the stamina and commitment of our deputies and bishops. They have struggled through blood, sweat, and tears to respond to the Windsor Report in a way that expresses our desire to be in conversation with the Communion They have also picked up the multitude of legislation that needed to be attended to nurture our souls. I particularly appreciate the new prayers and liturgies that recognize the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in renewing the whole creation. Let us now go and tell what we have seen~share these prayers with our fellow Episcopalians and encourage their use at gatherings~at home or at church. In the Book of Occasional Prayers you will find prayers for becoming a big brother or sister, beginning a job, important birthdays (both young and old), and reclaiming health. Yes, we have the words to celebrate God's presence and blessings!
I am also thankful that GC established a Standing Commission on Lifelong Christian Education and Formation. I was surprised by this resolution at first. Christian education and formation are foundational to ministry and mission;' why wasn't there already such a commission before?
Alas, this deficiency has been addressed. Amen to this resolution and hearty prayers for the work before them!
Thus ends the round-up. Truly, the Holy Spirit moves among us. And we need to continue to offer ourselves up to God for wholeness and healing so that we may witness to God's deep love for all creatures.
Almighty and most merciful God, grant that by the indwelling of your Holy Spirit we may be enlightened and strengthened for your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, on God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, p. 251)
In peace,
Jenifer
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
My teacher let me see again.
From back home in Bethlehem, PA it appears that night has fallen upon General Convention. My heart is heavy and prayers ever fervent for a way forward. A posting on the Bethlehem ecunet listserve speaks of blindness. Are we, like blind Bartimaeus, being asked "What do you want me to do for you?" Will we, like Bartimaeus ask, "My teacher let me see again." And, when given sight, will we, like Bartimaeus, leave the comfort of what is familiar to follow Jesus?
I offer this prayer for all of us this day:
Ever present God of light and darkness, help us to see our blindness.
Son who bears our blindness, give us courage to ask to see again.
Spirit of the truth and justice, give us strength to follow your Way.
(See Mark 10 for the full story of Bartimaeus' courage to ask and follow.)
Jenifer
I offer this prayer for all of us this day:
Ever present God of light and darkness, help us to see our blindness.
Son who bears our blindness, give us courage to ask to see again.
Spirit of the truth and justice, give us strength to follow your Way.
(See Mark 10 for the full story of Bartimaeus' courage to ask and follow.)
Jenifer
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Acknowledging pain, or changing direction?
It strikes me that it is important that the language of "regret" does not get mixed up with the word "repent". From what I heard at General Convention, particularly +Gene Robinson's moving sermon at the Integrity Eucharist (God loves us and asks us to respond by loving more) tells me that we do see the pain in the Communion and indeed weep because of it. We regret because we see the pain endured by God's children. The word "regret" seems to ring true. Looking at the etymology of the word "regret" has clarified this for me:
Middle English regretten, to lament, from Old French regreter: re-, re- + -greter, to weep (perhaps of Germanic origin) (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000)
Indeed we do weep and lament the consequences of our actions on the Communion. We weep for misunderstanding one another. We lament that we do not accept one another as made in the image of God....as whole people and of God. If we are being asked to say that we regret, we must search the depths of our hearts. We must feel the pain of our brothers and sisters in the Communion~the pain of those who see the brokenness of our common life. The brokenness of not being able to break bread together in our wholeness and in our brokennes. Asking for a statement of regret asks us to feel and witness to that pain.
Repent is altogether something different. I means to turn around, to walk in the opposite direction. I don't believe we can do this and live into the life that God is calling us. Turning around means changing behavior in a way that would deny the wholeness of God's people. We cannot repent the raising up of a bishop by the people of New Hampshire. It would deny the work of the Holy Spirit among us and the poeple of New Hampshire three years ago in 2003.
Some have suggested that we will be asked to regret the election of +Katharine Jefferts Shori. Perhaps this too will cause pain. From the request of different Primatial oversight by at least one PECUSA diocese, perhaps it has caused pain. Perhaps we will, again, take on the difficult work of listening to the pain. And perhaps we will let God do God's work of healing.
I do weep for the pain our actions have inflicted. We cannot fix that pain. We can, however, offer the pain to God and continue to offer ourselves to God for healing too.
Jenifer
Middle English regretten, to lament, from Old French regreter: re-, re- + -greter, to weep (perhaps of Germanic origin) (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000)
Indeed we do weep and lament the consequences of our actions on the Communion. We weep for misunderstanding one another. We lament that we do not accept one another as made in the image of God....as whole people and of God. If we are being asked to say that we regret, we must search the depths of our hearts. We must feel the pain of our brothers and sisters in the Communion~the pain of those who see the brokenness of our common life. The brokenness of not being able to break bread together in our wholeness and in our brokennes. Asking for a statement of regret asks us to feel and witness to that pain.
Repent is altogether something different. I means to turn around, to walk in the opposite direction. I don't believe we can do this and live into the life that God is calling us. Turning around means changing behavior in a way that would deny the wholeness of God's people. We cannot repent the raising up of a bishop by the people of New Hampshire. It would deny the work of the Holy Spirit among us and the poeple of New Hampshire three years ago in 2003.
Some have suggested that we will be asked to regret the election of +Katharine Jefferts Shori. Perhaps this too will cause pain. From the request of different Primatial oversight by at least one PECUSA diocese, perhaps it has caused pain. Perhaps we will, again, take on the difficult work of listening to the pain. And perhaps we will let God do God's work of healing.
I do weep for the pain our actions have inflicted. We cannot fix that pain. We can, however, offer the pain to God and continue to offer ourselves to God for healing too.
Jenifer
Monday, June 19, 2006
Pentecost 2: Small Seeds
The Ven. Howard Stringfellow III
June 18, 2006
I Samuel 15:34—16:13; Psalm 20; Saint Mark 4:26-34
In the Name of the True and Living God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I am delighted to be with you once again. Your healthy congregation, your healthy clergy, and your healthy staff are continuing to succeed in keeping me on the right side of the law. And I am grateful. I am a true church mouse. I would rather be here than at convention, or camp, or even the golf course.
Not lost on me today is that we have two tiny parables that begin with tiny seeds while it is Father’s Day, while the Cathedral’s campers are camping, and while conventioneers are conventioneering in Columbus. Amid all of these contexts we have tiny parables that begin with tiny seeds.
We begin today, also, the long sequence of Green Sundays, Sundays where we pretty well work our way through the Gospel of Saint Mark from chapter four to chapter thirteen from now until Advent Sunday, December 3.
It’s a time of year when we look at Jesus in the Gospel and see him as a teacher and a healer. We put aside, for a time, his identity as the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for us and for the sins of the whole world, and look to him as a teacher, a reconciler, and a healer.
And what do we see in him today? We see him teaching through two tiny parables some remarkable things, some things that may startle us by taking from us the control we may think we have.
He tells us, in the first parable, of seeds that are planted and then harvested. No human effort is required between the planting and the harvesting. That, to me, is very striking. The seed grows, as we hear, the planter “does not know how.” And also, in the second parable, the kingdom of God begins as the smallest of seeds and grows into “the greatest of all shrubs.”
I’m bound to tell you that the certainty of the harvest from nearly invisible beginnings with very little human effort appeals to my Type B personality and my tendency to under-function. The kingdom resists our control. We cannot sell it, market it, duplicate it, preach it, represent it, or otherwise do anything to make it grow. God does all these things. God’s work begins exactly where ours ends. We have been entrusted with tiny seeds to plant, and we plant them and harvest them as best we can. God does the rest. Type A personalities and over-functioners beware. Planters, real farmers, when they have finished irrigating, spraying, and fertilizing still wait in faith. They wait in the mystery of God’s time, and they wait in the unknown of God’s pleasure. The growth happens while they sleep and not as a result of their efforts.
Father’s Day, campers upon returning home, and even a contentious convention are opportunities, fields to plow and to plant for those of us who join in the celebrations and who stayed home. And we have some tiny, almost invisible, seeds, seeds that contain a certain harvest, seeds that certainly will grow into what God wants them to be. What more could we ask?
Who knows how some small gesture of friendship, some brief word of encouragement, some kind deed hastily done, or some small act of putting oneself out has grown in someone whom Christ dearly loves? Who knows how many people have seen their faith in Christ increase because they have received some tiny seeds? Nothing that we do in God’s name is too small to be used in his kingdom.
Silently and imperceptibly at times, perhaps, the kingdom grows. We can let, I think, all of our personalities go. What Jesus asks of us is not one type of personality or another, or one program of growth or another, but to rely upon the promise of the kingdom just as we know we have to rely upon God when we plant a seed. Seeds grow in the dark ground even when we cannot see them. Seeds grow in us and in our world, yearning for meaning and purpose, even when we cannot see them.
In Christ’s Name. Amen.
June 18, 2006
I Samuel 15:34—16:13; Psalm 20; Saint Mark 4:26-34
In the Name of the True and Living God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I am delighted to be with you once again. Your healthy congregation, your healthy clergy, and your healthy staff are continuing to succeed in keeping me on the right side of the law. And I am grateful. I am a true church mouse. I would rather be here than at convention, or camp, or even the golf course.
Not lost on me today is that we have two tiny parables that begin with tiny seeds while it is Father’s Day, while the Cathedral’s campers are camping, and while conventioneers are conventioneering in Columbus. Amid all of these contexts we have tiny parables that begin with tiny seeds.
We begin today, also, the long sequence of Green Sundays, Sundays where we pretty well work our way through the Gospel of Saint Mark from chapter four to chapter thirteen from now until Advent Sunday, December 3.
It’s a time of year when we look at Jesus in the Gospel and see him as a teacher and a healer. We put aside, for a time, his identity as the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for us and for the sins of the whole world, and look to him as a teacher, a reconciler, and a healer.
And what do we see in him today? We see him teaching through two tiny parables some remarkable things, some things that may startle us by taking from us the control we may think we have.
He tells us, in the first parable, of seeds that are planted and then harvested. No human effort is required between the planting and the harvesting. That, to me, is very striking. The seed grows, as we hear, the planter “does not know how.” And also, in the second parable, the kingdom of God begins as the smallest of seeds and grows into “the greatest of all shrubs.”
I’m bound to tell you that the certainty of the harvest from nearly invisible beginnings with very little human effort appeals to my Type B personality and my tendency to under-function. The kingdom resists our control. We cannot sell it, market it, duplicate it, preach it, represent it, or otherwise do anything to make it grow. God does all these things. God’s work begins exactly where ours ends. We have been entrusted with tiny seeds to plant, and we plant them and harvest them as best we can. God does the rest. Type A personalities and over-functioners beware. Planters, real farmers, when they have finished irrigating, spraying, and fertilizing still wait in faith. They wait in the mystery of God’s time, and they wait in the unknown of God’s pleasure. The growth happens while they sleep and not as a result of their efforts.
Father’s Day, campers upon returning home, and even a contentious convention are opportunities, fields to plow and to plant for those of us who join in the celebrations and who stayed home. And we have some tiny, almost invisible, seeds, seeds that contain a certain harvest, seeds that certainly will grow into what God wants them to be. What more could we ask?
Who knows how some small gesture of friendship, some brief word of encouragement, some kind deed hastily done, or some small act of putting oneself out has grown in someone whom Christ dearly loves? Who knows how many people have seen their faith in Christ increase because they have received some tiny seeds? Nothing that we do in God’s name is too small to be used in his kingdom.
Silently and imperceptibly at times, perhaps, the kingdom grows. We can let, I think, all of our personalities go. What Jesus asks of us is not one type of personality or another, or one program of growth or another, but to rely upon the promise of the kingdom just as we know we have to rely upon God when we plant a seed. Seeds grow in the dark ground even when we cannot see them. Seeds grow in us and in our world, yearning for meaning and purpose, even when we cannot see them.
In Christ’s Name. Amen.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Eucharists at Convention (Jenifer Gamber)
Celebrating Eucharist
After two flights ~one to D.C. and another to Columbus~I've arrived at my first Convention. I am here as a guest, but here nonetheless. Nick is right about the Convention Hall. Cavernous. Delegations have brought things to make it home for the week: the Star of Bethlehem sits atop the pole at the Bethlehem deputation. A chicken perches on the pole from the Diocese of Northwest Texas, a loon at Michigan's table and a lobster at Maryland. Yes, our deputations are open to holy humor, which brings me to my next GC topic~a rag by the name of "The unConventional Times: The Unofficial Journal of the 75th General Convention." Evidently we Episcopalians have been celebrating way too much. This is what The unConventional Times reported today:
"The U2charist. The General Convention's daily Eucharist. The Integrity Eucharist. Alternative Eucharists.... that are straight BCP ('28 or '79 we don't know). Everywhere you go at Convention there is a Eucharist taking place. The Episcopal predilection to celebrate Eucharist has spawned a new group called Episcopalians Newly United for Fewer Eucharists (ENUFE).
The rubrics say you must have two people to celebrate Eucharist, not when you have two people you must celebrate Eucharist," said a spokesperson for ENUFE. The group is also annoyed by all the services being held by special interest groups. In response, ENUFE will be holding a Nocharist. The service will be open to everyone."
I personally am sorry to have missed the U2charist. (Hmmm, maybe we'll have to celebrate one in Bethlehem.) I love Eucharist --gathering around the table and sharing a meal. Don't we need to gather to be nourished? And isn't it around the table that we really get to know one another? Just hours after arriving, my friend Ann Fontaine and I attended the Integrity Eucharist along with hundreds of people. It was packed~not just the nave, but the basement too. Tomorrow morning, I'll be taking communion again at 10 am. We sure do love to party. And Jesus does too...he's there every time.
~Jenifer
p.s. Saturday at 3pm I'll be signing copies of my book My Faith, My Life: A Teen's Guide to the Episcopal Churchk at the Church Publishing booth in the Exhibit Hall. I signed a book today for Angela, a teen from Florida who had been having a hard time finding a book for herself. Where are those books for teens? Makes me wonder.....why doesn't the Episcopal Church have books about faith for teens? Teens are asking.
After two flights ~one to D.C. and another to Columbus~I've arrived at my first Convention. I am here as a guest, but here nonetheless. Nick is right about the Convention Hall. Cavernous. Delegations have brought things to make it home for the week: the Star of Bethlehem sits atop the pole at the Bethlehem deputation. A chicken perches on the pole from the Diocese of Northwest Texas, a loon at Michigan's table and a lobster at Maryland. Yes, our deputations are open to holy humor, which brings me to my next GC topic~a rag by the name of "The unConventional Times: The Unofficial Journal of the 75th General Convention." Evidently we Episcopalians have been celebrating way too much. This is what The unConventional Times reported today:
"The U2charist. The General Convention's daily Eucharist. The Integrity Eucharist. Alternative Eucharists.... that are straight BCP ('28 or '79 we don't know). Everywhere you go at Convention there is a Eucharist taking place. The Episcopal predilection to celebrate Eucharist has spawned a new group called Episcopalians Newly United for Fewer Eucharists (ENUFE).
The rubrics say you must have two people to celebrate Eucharist, not when you have two people you must celebrate Eucharist," said a spokesperson for ENUFE. The group is also annoyed by all the services being held by special interest groups. In response, ENUFE will be holding a Nocharist. The service will be open to everyone."
I personally am sorry to have missed the U2charist. (Hmmm, maybe we'll have to celebrate one in Bethlehem.) I love Eucharist --gathering around the table and sharing a meal. Don't we need to gather to be nourished? And isn't it around the table that we really get to know one another? Just hours after arriving, my friend Ann Fontaine and I attended the Integrity Eucharist along with hundreds of people. It was packed~not just the nave, but the basement too. Tomorrow morning, I'll be taking communion again at 10 am. We sure do love to party. And Jesus does too...he's there every time.
~Jenifer
p.s. Saturday at 3pm I'll be signing copies of my book My Faith, My Life: A Teen's Guide to the Episcopal Churchk at the Church Publishing booth in the Exhibit Hall. I signed a book today for Angela, a teen from Florida who had been having a hard time finding a book for herself. Where are those books for teens? Makes me wonder.....why doesn't the Episcopal Church have books about faith for teens? Teens are asking.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
General Convention Humor
It appears that Episcopalians have roundly rejected the cucumber sandwich.
[I]n an exercise conducted to help deputies learn to use a touchpad voting system, deputies voted down a resolution to make the cucumber sandwich the official food of the Episcopal Church in an exercise conducted to help deputies learn to use a touchpad voting system, deputies voted down a resolution to make the cucumber sandwich the official food of the Episcopal Church. as reported by The Daily Episcopalian.
How about a vote on the proper placement of the dessert fork? (grin)
~Jenifer
[I]n an exercise conducted to help deputies learn to use a touchpad voting system, deputies voted down a resolution to make the cucumber sandwich the official food of the Episcopal Church in an exercise conducted to help deputies learn to use a touchpad voting system, deputies voted down a resolution to make the cucumber sandwich the official food of the Episcopal Church. as reported by The Daily Episcopalian.
How about a vote on the proper placement of the dessert fork? (grin)
~Jenifer
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
General Convention Resolutions about Children and Youth (Jenifer Gamber)
Well, I promised to post about resolutions. So, I'll cease my digression about Kanuga and get onto the task. This will be a quick and dirty summary:
Resolution A070 asks the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music to develop liturgies for pastoral issues that relate to the adoption of a child.
Resolution A089 seeks to affirm the work of the Pastoral Leadership Search Effort (PLSE; pronounced "pulse"), an organization that helps denominations and congregations identify and cultivate gifted young people interested in exploring the ministry as a possible vocation.
The resolution asks for GC to allocate about $386,000 to the PLSE initiative.
Resolution A100 identifies Christian formation to be in a state of crisis and seeks more adequate methods for reporting the state of Christian formation to General Convention. The resolution also asks for the development of special forms of prayers of the people and other resources to emphasize Christian formation and strategies for incorporating formation into all areas of parish life.
Resolution A105 seeks to establish a Standing Commission on Youth and Christian Formation that will develop policies for lifelong Christian formation. The resolution requests $48,000 to implement the resolution.
The National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors (NAECED) has published thoughtful position papers that include both appreciations for and concerns about specific resolutions regarding Christian formation. NAECED representatives urged the Joint Standing Committee for Program, Budget, and Finance at a Monday hearing to allocate additional funds to children's ministry and Christian education to provide more balanced funding with the budget allocation for Youth and Young Adults. The ENS covered the hearing.
~Jenifer Gamber
Resolution A070 asks the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music to develop liturgies for pastoral issues that relate to the adoption of a child.
Resolution A089 seeks to affirm the work of the Pastoral Leadership Search Effort (PLSE; pronounced "pulse"), an organization that helps denominations and congregations identify and cultivate gifted young people interested in exploring the ministry as a possible vocation.
The resolution asks for GC to allocate about $386,000 to the PLSE initiative.
Resolution A100 identifies Christian formation to be in a state of crisis and seeks more adequate methods for reporting the state of Christian formation to General Convention. The resolution also asks for the development of special forms of prayers of the people and other resources to emphasize Christian formation and strategies for incorporating formation into all areas of parish life.
Resolution A105 seeks to establish a Standing Commission on Youth and Christian Formation that will develop policies for lifelong Christian formation. The resolution requests $48,000 to implement the resolution.
The National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors (NAECED) has published thoughtful position papers that include both appreciations for and concerns about specific resolutions regarding Christian formation. NAECED representatives urged the Joint Standing Committee for Program, Budget, and Finance at a Monday hearing to allocate additional funds to children's ministry and Christian education to provide more balanced funding with the budget allocation for Youth and Young Adults. The ENS covered the hearing.
~Jenifer Gamber
General Convention and Faith Formation in the Home (Jenifer Gamber)
"Will you be responsible for seeing that the child you present is brought up in the Christian faith and life?" "Will you by your prayers and witness help this child to grow into the full stature of Christ?" The celebrant asks the parents and godparents these two questions when they present a child for baptism. The parents answer them saying, "I will with God's help.
These questions and promises recognize the reality that parents carry the primary responsibility of growing faith in, and with, children. This is nothing new. The words that following the shema in Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Scripture command us to recite our faith and tell it to our children.
We began this morning at Kanuga with these promises and by recognizing the importance of faith formation in the home. The reality is Sunday School teachers see children for just one or two hours a week. It is in the rhythm of daily life at home and at school that children learn about who they are and who God is. Parents are the primary teachers. So, we shared family rituals that inform and form the faith in our families~daily devotions, a blessing cup, family covenants and intentional times for thanksgiving and intercession. Having caring conversations, telling stories, and intentionally recognizing one another as God's people opens our eyes and the eyes of our children to God's daily presence in our lives. We will bring these treasures home to share with our parents.
I am pleased to see that the resolutions being considered during the triennium also recognize the primary role of parents in faith formation.
The Resolution on the Rites of Passage asks the General Convention to offer opportunities to ask for God's blessings and offer that blessing to the Christian community during times of significant change. These opportunities are in the form of additional prayers and rites of passage in the Book of Occassional Services. The prayers provide the words to help parents recognize developmental moments for their children: becoming a big brother or sister, starting a school year, earning a driver's license, and graduating from high school.The rites of passage are liturgies to be celebrated during worship. The Rite of Passage for Young People and Their Parents affirms and upholds young people as they grow and mature and continues to reaffirm the important work of parenting. Two other proposed rites for young people include the celebration of a significant birthday and the declation of the intention for marriage. Truly, faith formation is a lifelong process. The resolution also offers prayers and rites for transitions in midlife and transitions of elders.
These prayers and rites recognize God's abiding grace in our lives and that much of our formation happens in the home and through daily life.
I'm off to Eucharist centered on images of Christ. The celebrant has been integrating projected images throughout our time together. Later this evening, I will tell more about resolutions at GC. See you then!
~Jenifer Gamber, reporting at the request of Rick Cluett, Interim Dean and Rector of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity
These questions and promises recognize the reality that parents carry the primary responsibility of growing faith in, and with, children. This is nothing new. The words that following the shema in Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Scripture command us to recite our faith and tell it to our children.
We began this morning at Kanuga with these promises and by recognizing the importance of faith formation in the home. The reality is Sunday School teachers see children for just one or two hours a week. It is in the rhythm of daily life at home and at school that children learn about who they are and who God is. Parents are the primary teachers. So, we shared family rituals that inform and form the faith in our families~daily devotions, a blessing cup, family covenants and intentional times for thanksgiving and intercession. Having caring conversations, telling stories, and intentionally recognizing one another as God's people opens our eyes and the eyes of our children to God's daily presence in our lives. We will bring these treasures home to share with our parents.
I am pleased to see that the resolutions being considered during the triennium also recognize the primary role of parents in faith formation.
The Resolution on the Rites of Passage asks the General Convention to offer opportunities to ask for God's blessings and offer that blessing to the Christian community during times of significant change. These opportunities are in the form of additional prayers and rites of passage in the Book of Occassional Services. The prayers provide the words to help parents recognize developmental moments for their children: becoming a big brother or sister, starting a school year, earning a driver's license, and graduating from high school.The rites of passage are liturgies to be celebrated during worship. The Rite of Passage for Young People and Their Parents affirms and upholds young people as they grow and mature and continues to reaffirm the important work of parenting. Two other proposed rites for young people include the celebration of a significant birthday and the declation of the intention for marriage. Truly, faith formation is a lifelong process. The resolution also offers prayers and rites for transitions in midlife and transitions of elders.
These prayers and rites recognize God's abiding grace in our lives and that much of our formation happens in the home and through daily life.
I'm off to Eucharist centered on images of Christ. The celebrant has been integrating projected images throughout our time together. Later this evening, I will tell more about resolutions at GC. See you then!
~Jenifer Gamber, reporting at the request of Rick Cluett, Interim Dean and Rector of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity
Jenifer Gamber Reporting on General Convention...from Kanuga for now
Greetings from Kanuga
Hello. This is Jenifer Gamber, parishoner of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, PA and author of My Faith, My Life: A Teenager's Guide to the Episcopal Church and the website myfaithmylife.org, a site for Episcopal teens, parents and youth leaders. Archdeacon Rick Cluett, Interim Dean and Rector at the Cathedral asked me to share my General Convention reporting posted on Entangledstates. I will report on General Convention on resolutions affecting the ministry of and with children and youth. A number of important resolutions concerning youth and Christian formation will be considered. I will provide a summary of these resolutions later today.
Youth are present at Convention! The Official Youth Presence is comprised of two youth from each of the nine provinces in the Episcopal Church, USA each with seat and voice at the House of Deputies at General Convention. Youth have also gathered for E3~Educate, Experience, Empower~to learn about Episcopal Church governance, experience General Convention, and become empowered to be agents of growth in their home parishes.
Until Friday, I will be watching General Convention from the Kanuga Conference Center where 80 Christian educators have gathered to "See the Big Picture" of Christian formation in our parishes. We're enjoying keynoter Tracey Herzer~listening to her story of being set afire by the Holy Spirit and saying "yes" to God and sharing our own "yes" stories. The more we listen to one another's faith stories, the more we might see that Big Picture. It is my prayer and hope that we continue to inquire and listen to one another. Through that listening we will come to know God's magnificent creation and discern our common life together in Christ.
Hello. This is Jenifer Gamber, parishoner of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, PA and author of My Faith, My Life: A Teenager's Guide to the Episcopal Church and the website myfaithmylife.org, a site for Episcopal teens, parents and youth leaders. Archdeacon Rick Cluett, Interim Dean and Rector at the Cathedral asked me to share my General Convention reporting posted on Entangledstates. I will report on General Convention on resolutions affecting the ministry of and with children and youth. A number of important resolutions concerning youth and Christian formation will be considered. I will provide a summary of these resolutions later today.
Youth are present at Convention! The Official Youth Presence is comprised of two youth from each of the nine provinces in the Episcopal Church, USA each with seat and voice at the House of Deputies at General Convention. Youth have also gathered for E3~Educate, Experience, Empower~to learn about Episcopal Church governance, experience General Convention, and become empowered to be agents of growth in their home parishes.
Until Friday, I will be watching General Convention from the Kanuga Conference Center where 80 Christian educators have gathered to "See the Big Picture" of Christian formation in our parishes. We're enjoying keynoter Tracey Herzer~listening to her story of being set afire by the Holy Spirit and saying "yes" to God and sharing our own "yes" stories. The more we listen to one another's faith stories, the more we might see that Big Picture. It is my prayer and hope that we continue to inquire and listen to one another. Through that listening we will come to know God's magnificent creation and discern our common life together in Christ.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Pentecost: Come Holy Spirit
The Ven. Richard I. Cluett
June 4, 2006
Acts 2:1-21 John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15
In John’s Gospel, Jesus has been bidding farewell to his followers. He is preparing them for his leaving and for their continuing mission in the world. He is going to the Father, but he will not abandon them. The Father will send the Holy Spirit.
The disciples still didn’t “get it” though. They were still hoping that the messiah would be a great warrior entering Jerusalem mounted on a huge white horse bringing an army to institute God’s reign. Their hope was for a Messiah who would come in a spectacular blaze of glory and who would put away all the evils and injustices of life.
As Jesus came nearer and nearer to Jerusalem and to the cross he tried to prepare his disciples for the time when he would no longer be with them, preparing them for a future quite different from that for which they had hoped. Jesus would die on the cross and the disciples would soon find themselves the object of the world’s hostility.
John wrote his gospel in a time of great persecution as well. Christians were being persecuted, martyred, imprisoned, losing their homes and their possessions, being treated as enemies of the state.
There are places in the world today where this is still true, particularly in some parts of the Far East, Middle East, and Africa. It was a major reason for the 50-year civil war in Sudan between the Arab Muslim North and the African Christian South.
Even in our own day and time and place, the world is hostile to the teaching, to the values, to the way of God taught by Jesus.
In the Acts lesson we hear of the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus as God’s Holy Spirit descends on the people – descends not as a gentle dove, but as tongues of fire to cleanse, purify, strengthen and temper the disciples for a ministry of witness to Him and to the marvelous acts of God in the face of a world hostile to God’s truth, and in such desperate need of God’s truth.
God sends the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for the Holy Spirit is “Paraclete” which has variously been translated as advocate, intercessor, teacher helper, comforter.
All of those aspects, those dimensions of the Holy Spirit are God’s gift to the disciples who must carry on the building of God’s kingdom here on earth, the speaking of God’s truth to an unbelieving and uncaring world, the nurturing and caring for the those the world considers the least and the last, the outcast, the alien, the “Other.”
What God has done through Jesus is to give our lives purpose. What God has done through the gift of the Holy Spirit is to give our lives power. Purpose and power that are best lived out when we help others to recognize their worth, their purpose, their power and that these gifts come as a gracious gift from God and they are for now, for today and for ever.
Sometimes, there are barriers that prevent people from hearing, believing, knowing this Good News. Sometimes people have to have their bellies filled first. Sometimes people have to have their fears acknowledged and assuaged first. Sometimes people have to have their isolation broken through first. Sometimes people have to have their bodies clothed first. Sometimes people have to have be sheltered first. Sometimes people need to find healing first.
Sometimes these things have to be taken care of first, before people can be ready to hear and to know the gracious goodness of God made known in Jesus and given to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes people need an advocate. Sometimes people need an intercessor. Sometimes people need a teacher, someone to show them the way. Sometimes people need a helper. Sometimes people need a comforter. First, before they can receive the truth abut God’s goodness, about God’s love
Sometimes just in taking care of these things people have come to know the gracious goodness of God, because as the work of the Holy Spirit is done, people can see and hear and feel and experience that gracious love. "I am doing this because God loves me and because God loves you."
Matthew Fox reminds us: “When your gifts are put with her gifts and put with his gifts and put with my gifts, it is Pentecost because God’s spirit is poured out, and we become, in fact, one body, Christ’s body carrying the Good News of God’s gift powerfully to all races and nations; to all sorts and conditions; to the outcast and to those hidden away. All people will be able to hear in their own tongues the Good News; that means they will hear it in ways they can understand and know... they will hear in their own tongues of the mighty works of God. And they will know that they, too, are part of God’s mighty work."
It is Pentecost. Receive God’s Holy Spirit and witness to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen.
June 4, 2006
Acts 2:1-21 John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15
In John’s Gospel, Jesus has been bidding farewell to his followers. He is preparing them for his leaving and for their continuing mission in the world. He is going to the Father, but he will not abandon them. The Father will send the Holy Spirit.
The disciples still didn’t “get it” though. They were still hoping that the messiah would be a great warrior entering Jerusalem mounted on a huge white horse bringing an army to institute God’s reign. Their hope was for a Messiah who would come in a spectacular blaze of glory and who would put away all the evils and injustices of life.
As Jesus came nearer and nearer to Jerusalem and to the cross he tried to prepare his disciples for the time when he would no longer be with them, preparing them for a future quite different from that for which they had hoped. Jesus would die on the cross and the disciples would soon find themselves the object of the world’s hostility.
John wrote his gospel in a time of great persecution as well. Christians were being persecuted, martyred, imprisoned, losing their homes and their possessions, being treated as enemies of the state.
There are places in the world today where this is still true, particularly in some parts of the Far East, Middle East, and Africa. It was a major reason for the 50-year civil war in Sudan between the Arab Muslim North and the African Christian South.
Even in our own day and time and place, the world is hostile to the teaching, to the values, to the way of God taught by Jesus.
In the Acts lesson we hear of the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus as God’s Holy Spirit descends on the people – descends not as a gentle dove, but as tongues of fire to cleanse, purify, strengthen and temper the disciples for a ministry of witness to Him and to the marvelous acts of God in the face of a world hostile to God’s truth, and in such desperate need of God’s truth.
God sends the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for the Holy Spirit is “Paraclete” which has variously been translated as advocate, intercessor, teacher helper, comforter.
All of those aspects, those dimensions of the Holy Spirit are God’s gift to the disciples who must carry on the building of God’s kingdom here on earth, the speaking of God’s truth to an unbelieving and uncaring world, the nurturing and caring for the those the world considers the least and the last, the outcast, the alien, the “Other.”
What God has done through Jesus is to give our lives purpose. What God has done through the gift of the Holy Spirit is to give our lives power. Purpose and power that are best lived out when we help others to recognize their worth, their purpose, their power and that these gifts come as a gracious gift from God and they are for now, for today and for ever.
Sometimes, there are barriers that prevent people from hearing, believing, knowing this Good News. Sometimes people have to have their bellies filled first. Sometimes people have to have their fears acknowledged and assuaged first. Sometimes people have to have their isolation broken through first. Sometimes people have to have their bodies clothed first. Sometimes people have to have be sheltered first. Sometimes people need to find healing first.
Sometimes these things have to be taken care of first, before people can be ready to hear and to know the gracious goodness of God made known in Jesus and given to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes people need an advocate. Sometimes people need an intercessor. Sometimes people need a teacher, someone to show them the way. Sometimes people need a helper. Sometimes people need a comforter. First, before they can receive the truth abut God’s goodness, about God’s love
Sometimes just in taking care of these things people have come to know the gracious goodness of God, because as the work of the Holy Spirit is done, people can see and hear and feel and experience that gracious love. "I am doing this because God loves me and because God loves you."
Matthew Fox reminds us: “When your gifts are put with her gifts and put with his gifts and put with my gifts, it is Pentecost because God’s spirit is poured out, and we become, in fact, one body, Christ’s body carrying the Good News of God’s gift powerfully to all races and nations; to all sorts and conditions; to the outcast and to those hidden away. All people will be able to hear in their own tongues the Good News; that means they will hear it in ways they can understand and know... they will hear in their own tongues of the mighty works of God. And they will know that they, too, are part of God’s mighty work."
It is Pentecost. Receive God’s Holy Spirit and witness to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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