Dear People of Christ Church,
As I mentioned in my email last week, plans for Lent are underway, but we still have two Sundays of Epiphany. This week, we celebrate the baptism of Theodore Edward Drozd. It will be a wonderful day, and I'm especially glad we get to celebrate together before the Drozd family move to the DC area this spring. We will miss them! March 6, we will have another of our big children's Sundays, with kids doing readings, singing in the choir, sharing the sermon with me, and helping at the altar. The last time we had a big kids' service was for St Francis Day, way back in October, so it's about time.
It's not Lent yet, but we can feel it coming. The word comes from the Old English "lencten"-the days lengthen-and it's in the air, that heady excitement for the thaw and the light, but also still an awareness of how much is still grey, seemingly dead. You'll read more in weeks to come about the meaning of Lent and the many ways there are to observe it. This Sunday, we'll have our annual "Ministry Fair," where you can learn about all the things that happen at Christ Church and talk with representatives from different ministries about how to get involved. Lent is often a time when people take on a spiritual discipline; maybe it could be a time to try out a new ministry here at Church. With Michelle's departure, we will need a new person to schedule the greeters!
Before Lent, though, there are many occasions to celebrate. Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday" ("Shrove Tuesday," if you want to sound more religious) is the day before Ash Wednesday, traditionally a time to eat up all the fatty foods in the house before the austerities of Lent begin. We're starting early, though, with a Friday concert the weekend before, with the big band sounds of Steve Taddeo and the Suburbanaires. Steve and his band have used our lower hall for rehearsals for some time now, and are offering this concert as a benefit to us at no cost-the proceeds all go to Christ Church and supporting our ministries here. We'll have beer and wine available that night, and you can even pre-order a pizza. So buy your tickets now, (on our website,) and invite your friends-it's a week from tomorrow!
We celebrate here, but are always aware of those in other places who are not-I've been much in mind of the people of ChristChurch New Zealand. Tuesday, February 22, a 6.3 quake hit the city, still recovering from an earthquake in September. The Anglican Cathedral's tower collapsed, and people are still feared to be stuck in the rubble inside. At this point, 98 people are confirmed dead, 226 still missing. With our twitter name CCWaltham, a lot of our followers are looking for the Waltham neighborhood of ChristChurch, New Zealand and ended up on our page, so I have been sending prayers their way-a very 21st Century-style closeness.
And, of course, the Middle East. I mentioned in my sermon on Sunday that people in Egypt's Tahrir Square had been reading Ghandi and MLK (for more on that, visit fellowship of reconciliation here. The fall of Mubarak and the violence in Libya, the political standoff in Wisconsin-so much is happening in our world! So much is worthy of our prayers and attention. God is in the midst of it all.
Blessings,
Sara+
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Preparing for Lent
Dear People of Christ Church,
This past Monday, we had our first vestry meeting with our new 2011 team. It was great! This parish is lead by such a talented group of people, and it is a gift to be able to work together discerning the dream of God in this community.
This Sunday, a group will be meeting at 8:45 AM to plan for Lenten liturgy. We observe the changes in the season in many ways as part of our worship-the music, prayers, even the colors used serve to draw us into a particular experience. Why are we meeting at 8:45? Choir begins at 9:15, so we want as many people as possible to be able to come. It's early, but I promise there will be coffee. For Lent, (starting March 13) we'll convene a spiritual practice group, also at that hour, to invite conversation on how our Lenten disciplines are treating us...or, maybe, how we are treating them. Choir members can leave for choir at 9:15, and others can either continue talking or move into the church for silent meditation. We'll have some beautiful photographs of the stations of the cross from (Roman Catholic) Westminster Cathedral to hang in the church to pray with as well.
Our Lenten Tuesday night series, beginning on March 15, will meet as we always do for Eucharist at 6:30 and dinner and conversation at 7:15. This year, we'll be reading Archbishop Rowan Williams' Resurrection. It is a little dense, but it's also short, so we'll just be reading about 25 pages a week. I'd like us to begin with chapter one, so please let me know if you'd like to participate and I'll order you a book. It's $11.00. The book is an amazing meditation on resurrection-not just "THE resurrection"-an event in a distant time-but resurrection in general. Williams writes, "To speak of the resurrection of Jesus is also to speak of one's own humanity as healed, renewed, restored, recentered in God." In Easter season we'll celebrate confirmation/reception of new Episcopalians-please let me know if you're interested in this or the introduction to the Episcopal Church class.
For more information on Lenten doings, please visit the Lent and Holy Week page on our website.
Blessings,
Sara+
This past Monday, we had our first vestry meeting with our new 2011 team. It was great! This parish is lead by such a talented group of people, and it is a gift to be able to work together discerning the dream of God in this community.
This Sunday, a group will be meeting at 8:45 AM to plan for Lenten liturgy. We observe the changes in the season in many ways as part of our worship-the music, prayers, even the colors used serve to draw us into a particular experience. Why are we meeting at 8:45? Choir begins at 9:15, so we want as many people as possible to be able to come. It's early, but I promise there will be coffee. For Lent, (starting March 13) we'll convene a spiritual practice group, also at that hour, to invite conversation on how our Lenten disciplines are treating us...or, maybe, how we are treating them. Choir members can leave for choir at 9:15, and others can either continue talking or move into the church for silent meditation. We'll have some beautiful photographs of the stations of the cross from (Roman Catholic) Westminster Cathedral to hang in the church to pray with as well.
Our Lenten Tuesday night series, beginning on March 15, will meet as we always do for Eucharist at 6:30 and dinner and conversation at 7:15. This year, we'll be reading Archbishop Rowan Williams' Resurrection. It is a little dense, but it's also short, so we'll just be reading about 25 pages a week. I'd like us to begin with chapter one, so please let me know if you'd like to participate and I'll order you a book. It's $11.00. The book is an amazing meditation on resurrection-not just "THE resurrection"-an event in a distant time-but resurrection in general. Williams writes, "To speak of the resurrection of Jesus is also to speak of one's own humanity as healed, renewed, restored, recentered in God." In Easter season we'll celebrate confirmation/reception of new Episcopalians-please let me know if you're interested in this or the introduction to the Episcopal Church class.
For more information on Lenten doings, please visit the Lent and Holy Week page on our website.
Blessings,
Sara+
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Valentine's Day
Dear People of Christ Church,
Today, I find myself thinking about Valentine's Day, coming up next week. Your parish leaders will spend the evening at vestry, so no candlelight dinners for us. The parish hall is currently decked out in red and pink-thank you to our faithful decorating elves!-so that will have to be enough.
Something about Valentine's Day makes me a little cranky-there's so much in our culture's glorification of romantic love to be critical about. Maintaining real, honest relationships is hard work; those early, heady days of romance give way to the different graces of constancy and faithfulness, but those aren't celebrated nearly as enthusiastically, precious as they are. Chocolate and flowers are not proof of dedication and affection, and their absence isn't indicative of much, either. And, of course, it's possible to life a fulfilling life as a single person, but the TV ads for flowers don't tell you that. It's another excuse to buy stuff.
Our church has not done a great job of countering this; St Paul's memorable formuation, "Better to marry than to burn" casts marriage as the lesser of two evils for someone unable to control their lust. Western culture tends toward dualism-man/woman, spirit/body, good/bad. Historically the Christian tradition has a terrible track record for celebrating the gifts of the embodied experience including, yes, the gift of our sexuality. The cultural conversation around the meaning of same sex marriage hasn't just unveiled a lot of homophobia, it's also reminded us how impoverished our thinking is about the meaning of heterosexual marriage. The liturgy for marriage talks about it as a lifelong covenant, the profundity of which is not decreased given the number of marriages that end in divorce. Companionship, raising children when the partners are called to it, and a whole host of other benefits also ensue-but what it means for society is more complicated, and a conversation we're just beginning to have. In December of last year, a study was released in which 40 percent of respondants found that marriage was becoming "obsolete:" a complicated question if ever there were one!
The Bible doesn't offer us much clear advice. In her new book, Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions about Sex and Desire, the Rev. Jennifer Wright Knust talks about how there's just no way to get a sexual ethic out of the Bible, its pronouncements and ideas all being too contradictory and too out of context to be useful. In a patriarchal culture, the ownership of women tended to dictate a lot more than the real discernment of God's desire for our flourishing. (See below for some links to articles and an upcoming lecture by Knust)
So where does that leave us, peering into another Valentine's Day? 3 years ago in this space, I talked about the origins of "St Valentine" vis a vis Saints Cyril and Methodius, whom our official church calendar give us for February 14 (read here).The question then, as now, of doing theology comes down to honest reflection about what life is like. Where is God revealed in our lives, in all their complicated, messy glory? When has a tragic divorce lead to new life? When has the love of God been revealed in friendship as well as romantic love, in fifty years of marriage as well as a new engagement, a single person's devotion to community and individual contemplation? Where does our faith call us to take a critical stance on our culture? When do we just enjoy the candy hearts? Thanks be to God that we are part of a community of conversation, as well as conviction.
Blessings,
Sara+
Today, I find myself thinking about Valentine's Day, coming up next week. Your parish leaders will spend the evening at vestry, so no candlelight dinners for us. The parish hall is currently decked out in red and pink-thank you to our faithful decorating elves!-so that will have to be enough.
Something about Valentine's Day makes me a little cranky-there's so much in our culture's glorification of romantic love to be critical about. Maintaining real, honest relationships is hard work; those early, heady days of romance give way to the different graces of constancy and faithfulness, but those aren't celebrated nearly as enthusiastically, precious as they are. Chocolate and flowers are not proof of dedication and affection, and their absence isn't indicative of much, either. And, of course, it's possible to life a fulfilling life as a single person, but the TV ads for flowers don't tell you that. It's another excuse to buy stuff.
Our church has not done a great job of countering this; St Paul's memorable formuation, "Better to marry than to burn" casts marriage as the lesser of two evils for someone unable to control their lust. Western culture tends toward dualism-man/woman, spirit/body, good/bad. Historically the Christian tradition has a terrible track record for celebrating the gifts of the embodied experience including, yes, the gift of our sexuality. The cultural conversation around the meaning of same sex marriage hasn't just unveiled a lot of homophobia, it's also reminded us how impoverished our thinking is about the meaning of heterosexual marriage. The liturgy for marriage talks about it as a lifelong covenant, the profundity of which is not decreased given the number of marriages that end in divorce. Companionship, raising children when the partners are called to it, and a whole host of other benefits also ensue-but what it means for society is more complicated, and a conversation we're just beginning to have. In December of last year, a study was released in which 40 percent of respondants found that marriage was becoming "obsolete:" a complicated question if ever there were one!
The Bible doesn't offer us much clear advice. In her new book, Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions about Sex and Desire, the Rev. Jennifer Wright Knust talks about how there's just no way to get a sexual ethic out of the Bible, its pronouncements and ideas all being too contradictory and too out of context to be useful. In a patriarchal culture, the ownership of women tended to dictate a lot more than the real discernment of God's desire for our flourishing. (See below for some links to articles and an upcoming lecture by Knust)
So where does that leave us, peering into another Valentine's Day? 3 years ago in this space, I talked about the origins of "St Valentine" vis a vis Saints Cyril and Methodius, whom our official church calendar give us for February 14 (read here).The question then, as now, of doing theology comes down to honest reflection about what life is like. Where is God revealed in our lives, in all their complicated, messy glory? When has a tragic divorce lead to new life? When has the love of God been revealed in friendship as well as romantic love, in fifty years of marriage as well as a new engagement, a single person's devotion to community and individual contemplation? Where does our faith call us to take a critical stance on our culture? When do we just enjoy the candy hearts? Thanks be to God that we are part of a community of conversation, as well as conviction.
Blessings,
Sara+
Monday, February 7, 2011
Feb. 3: A Psalm for the Weather
I hope you have not gotten too buried or strained under all of this snow! There is something about all of this Weather (with a capital W) that gives kind of a sense of perspective. We humans have figured out a lot of things, but there are certain immovables that we just can't force our will upon. It's a good metaphor for the spiritual life-we can do a lot, and we can be in control of a lot, but we aren't the ones with all the power.
Another image comes to mind which, I think, comes from Buddhism: a contemplative practice is like opening a window; you can open it, but you can't force the wind to blow. You can prepare yourself in prayer, but only God decides how and when to be known. But if you don't open the window, it's a lot harder to know the wind is there.
Anyway, along with the doings of your very faithful vestry, I thought I'd share a psalm for the season-the inclusive language translation comes from the Episcopal order of Saint Helena. Please also keep those who are homeless in your prayers--the weather is not just an inconvenience (or a metaphor) for those who are outdoors.
Blessings,
Sara+
Alleluia! Praise God from the heavens; sing praise in the heights.
Praise God, all you angels, sing praise, all you heavenly host.
Praise God, sun and moon; sing praise, all you shining stars.
Praise God, heaven of heavens, and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the Name of God; by whose command they were created.
God made them stand fast for ever and ever; and gave them a law which shall not pass away.
Praise God from the earth, you sea-monsters and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and fog, tempestuous wind, doing God's will; Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars;
Wild beasts and all cattle, creeping things and wingèd birds;
Sovereigns of the earth and all peoples, leaders and all rulers of the world;
Young men and maidens, old and young together.
Let them praise your Name, O God, for your Name only is exalted, your splendor is over earth and heaven.
You have raised up strength for your people and praise for all your loyal servants, the children of Israel, a people who are near you. Alleluia!
Another image comes to mind which, I think, comes from Buddhism: a contemplative practice is like opening a window; you can open it, but you can't force the wind to blow. You can prepare yourself in prayer, but only God decides how and when to be known. But if you don't open the window, it's a lot harder to know the wind is there.
Anyway, along with the doings of your very faithful vestry, I thought I'd share a psalm for the season-the inclusive language translation comes from the Episcopal order of Saint Helena. Please also keep those who are homeless in your prayers--the weather is not just an inconvenience (or a metaphor) for those who are outdoors.
Blessings,
Sara+
Alleluia! Praise God from the heavens; sing praise in the heights.
Praise God, all you angels, sing praise, all you heavenly host.
Praise God, sun and moon; sing praise, all you shining stars.
Praise God, heaven of heavens, and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the Name of God; by whose command they were created.
God made them stand fast for ever and ever; and gave them a law which shall not pass away.
Praise God from the earth, you sea-monsters and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and fog, tempestuous wind, doing God's will; Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars;
Wild beasts and all cattle, creeping things and wingèd birds;
Sovereigns of the earth and all peoples, leaders and all rulers of the world;
Young men and maidens, old and young together.
Let them praise your Name, O God, for your Name only is exalted, your splendor is over earth and heaven.
You have raised up strength for your people and praise for all your loyal servants, the children of Israel, a people who are near you. Alleluia!
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