Growth and The Great Commission

On Sunday, we were sad to share the news that Mary Bonnyman passed away last Thursday afternoon at Epoch, where she'd been staying for some time. Her granddaughter, Chrissie, was with her, and she'd had a good day. She was 95. The service for Mary will be this Saturday at 11 AM. She'll be buried later this summer in her family's plot in her native Nova Scotia.

In our "GPS" meetings, we've been talking about growth; what does it mean to grow? Do we want to? It feels like we're supposed to want to, but it can also feel good to be in a church where you know everyone. Is it OK to just want to be sustainable, with enough people and money to accomplish the things we want to do? Of course, there aren't really simple answers to any of these things. It's hard when things change--even positive changes. The Great Commission, which ends the Gospel of Matthew, tells us we have to. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (28:19-20).

Unfortunately, a lot of terrible things in Christian history have happened in the name of the Great Commission. In her excellent Pentecost letter, our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, talks about how, "in their search for uniformity, our forebears in the faith have repeatedly done much spiritual violence in the name of Christianity," giving examples of the suppression of Native American cultural practices which, theologically, are congruent with Christian orthodoxy but made missionaries personally uncomfortable. Too often, that kind of missionary work ends up being a dividing line, with "Good Christian" on one side of the line, and "Condemned Heathen" on the other. And almost always in that scheme, the "Good Christians" are all supposed to think and act the same.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. We don't have to be old-style missionaries who travel the world (or stand with sandwich board signs on the street corner) telling people to repent. But we are still called to share our faith. I was talking with Noah about this the other day and he put it rather starkly: "If my faith is important to me, and I don't share it with others, then I'm saying 'this wonderful thing is MINE, and you can't have it."

Instead, we can share our faith out of the example of our lives--how we are changed, how we learn generosity, and peace, and kindness and justice--and how we are fed, forgiven, and loved.

But what happens when people actually take us up on it? If everyone invited a friend to church, and our sleepy summer services ended up with as many people as Easter Sunday? What would that feel like? Are we ready to open our arms to just anybody? I hope so, and I also hope that when we do talk about growth, that we can get out from under the financial imperative. Yes we need more pledges. Yes we need to grow to support our building and our staff. But we also need to grow because it's part of our faith. Spiritually, I believe we are called to a kind of "holy instability" when it comes to our communities, because they don't just belong to us. We need to always be facing outward toward the world to welcome in that world. It needs what we have!

We need to take care of ourselves, too--but the good news is that we can do both at the same time. We can take care of ourselves by having a potluck supper and games night at the same time as we make that event Bring a Friend to Church party. It's not a zero-sum game, where being open to others means not taking care of ourselves. There's enough grace, and space, for everyone when we realize that it's not our job to provide it--it's God's. And God can always come up with enough for everyone.

Blessings,
Sara+

For Bishop Katharine's Pentecost letter, click here.
Her letter is a response to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, whose own Pentecost letter was a sort of reprimand of the American Church--For Diana Butler Bass' very good analysis of the conflict, "The REAL Reason for the Anglican-Episcopal Divide" click here. She points out that recent disagreements over sexuality are actually disagreements about how Anglicanism works--and what kind of church we want to be.

Presiding Bishop Schori's article on the Gulf oil spill

I'm passing on an article I read online by our Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Before becoming ordained, she was an oceanographer, and was elected the head of the Episcopal Church, in 2006. --Sara+


A Lesson from the Gulf Oil Spill: We Are All Connected
By The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori

The original peoples of the North American continent understand that we are all connected, and that harm to one part of the sacred circle of life harms the whole. Scientists, both the ecological and physical sorts, know the same reality, expressed in different terms. The Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) also charge human beings with care for the whole of creation, because it is God's good gift to humanity. Another way of saying this is that we are all connected and there is no escape; our common future depends on how we care for the rest of the natural world, not just the square feet of soil we may call "our own." We breathe the same air, our food comes from the same ground and seas, and the water we have to share cycles through the same airshed, watershed, and terra firma.

The still-unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is good evidence of the interconnectedness of the whole. It has its origins in this nation's addiction to oil, uninhibited growth, and consumerism, as well as old-fashioned greed and what my tradition calls hubris and idolatry. Our collective sins are being visited on those who have had little or no part in them: birds, marine mammals, the tiny plants and animals that constitute the base of the vast food chain in the Gulf, and on which a major part of the seafood production of the United States depends. Our sins are being visited on the fishers of southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, who seek to feed their families with the proceeds of what they catch each day. Our sins will expose New Orleans and other coastal cities to the increased likelihood of devastating floods, as the marshes that constitute the shrinking margin of storm protection continue to disappear, fouled and killed by oil.

The oil that continues to vent from the sea floor has spread through hundreds of cubic miles of ocean, poisoning creatures of all sizes and forms, from birds, turtles, and whales to the shrimp, fish, oysters, and crabs that human beings so value, and the plankton, whose life supports the whole biological system -- the very kind of creatures whose dead and decomposed tissues began the process of producing that oil so many millions of years ago. . .

The reality is that this disaster just may show us as a nation how interconnected we really are. The waste of this oil -- both its unusability and the mess it is making -- will be visited on all of us, for years and even generations to come. The hydrocarbons in those coastal marshes and at the base of the food chain leading to marketable seafood resources will taint us all, eventually. That oil is already frightening away vacationers who form the economic base for countless coastal communities, whose livelihoods have something to do with the economic health of this nation. The workers in those communities, even when they have employment, are some of the poorest among us. That oil will move beyond the immediate environs of a broken wellhead, spreading around the coasts of Florida and northward along the east coast of the U.S. That oil will foul the coastal marshes that also constitute a major nursery for coastal fauna, again a vital part of the food chain. That oil will further stress and poison the coral reefs of Florida, already much endangered from warming and ocean acidification. Those reefs have historically provided significant storm protection to the coastal communities behind them. . .

There is no place to go "away" from these consequences; there is no ultimate escape on this planet. The effects at a distance may seem minor or tolerable, but the cumulative effect is not. We are all connected, we will all suffer the consequences of this tragic disaster in the Gulf, and we must wake up and put a stop to the kind of robber baron behavior we supposedly regulated out of existence a hundred years ago. Our lives, and the liveliness of the entire planet, depend on it.

To see the entire text on Huffington Post, click here.

General Convention, continued

Dear People of Christ Church,Our bishops and deputies have continued to meet in Anaheim this week, and General Convention (the every-three-year gathering of representatives from all over the Episcopal Church) ends tomorrow. The big ticket news items have, as usual, been on issues of sexuality. In 2006, General Convention voted in the controversial "BO33" resolution, which essentially initiated a moratorium on consecrating gays and lesbians as bishops. Even with that provision, though, we've continued to see the self-proclaimed "orthodox" leave the Episcopal Church and ally themselves with other provinces. At the time it was passed 3 years ago, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori spoke of BO33 in terms of a time of fasting: a fast, it had to be pointed out, only undertaken by some of our brothers and sisters. But any fast must be only for a temporary period; if you continue to fast, you starve, and with this General Convention, it has come to a close. The bishops and deputies both voted by a margin of 2:1 to officially open the ordination process at all levels, to all individuals are selected in accordance with diocesan discernment processes and the canons of the church. It also reaffirms the Episcopal Church's participation in the Anglican Communion, while acknowledging that the communion is not of one mind on this matter.

In a resolution that affects us closer to home, the House of Bishops also voted (by a 3:1 margin) that bishops, "particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church." The House of Deputies will vote later today, and will likely approve it as well. This acknowledges what is happening already, but it also gives us some breathing space to have more open discussion and reflect honestly about what we are doing and what we are about. At the next General Convention in 2012, the Church will consider rites of blessing for same gender marriages and unions and whether to have one single liturgy. As Anglicans, of course we have to have an authorized liturgy for everything!

It feels a little odd to celebrate things that have already been happening for some time, but I think the sense of breathing room is what's most important. Bonnie Anderson, the president of the House of Deputies (the body which represents lay people, priests, and deacons), said of the ordination process resolution "It's not an attempt to fly in the face of the Anglican Communion; it's an attempt to deepen relationships with the rest of the communion, because real relationships are built on authenticity."

There's also authenticity in acknowledging that even all Episcopalians aren't in the same place. Change came to the Diocese of Massachusetts first, but there can still be a wide variety of opinions nationally and locally. None of the resolutions adopted mean that any priest, parish, or bishop has to do anything. It is unfortunate that some have left the Episcopal Church, but we can't keep looking back as though it should have been (or even could have been) prevented at any cost.

As for the Anglican Communion? Interestingly, this year there are more international visitors than at any other time--a good corrective to the notion that the American Church just wants to go it alone. One commented that if more people internationally understood how decisions are made in the Episcopal Church that recent tensions might be calmer. Sometimes we pick up on a final stage and don't understand the process," said Archbishop Henri Isingoma, newly elected primate of the Anglican Church of the Congo. For more, see the links listed below and please continue to keep the Bishops and Deputies in your prayers as they wrap up their work.

Blessings,
Sara

+ps:I will be on vacation for three weeks, beginning after Church this Sunday. Please contact our wardens, Jonathan Duce and Marcia Luce, in case of an emergency. The Rev Cathy Venkatesh is on call for pastoral matters; she can be reached through the parish office or Jonathan and Marcia. The E-Crier will continue to be mailed out an announcements-only; please let Kristina know if you'd like her to include anything: office@christchurchwaltham.org.

From Dec. 17: The Presiding Bishop's Christmas Message

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5).

The world settles into winter, at least in the northern hemisphere, and life to many seems increasingly bleak. Foreclosures, layoffs, government bailouts and financial failures, continuing war on two fronts, terrorist attacks, murders of some identified only by their faith -- this world is in abundant need of light. We know light that is not overcome by darkness, for God has come among us in human flesh. Born in poverty to a homeless couple, to a people long under occupation, Jesus is human and divine evidence that God is with us in the midst of the world's darkness. Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, Divine Counselor is come among us to re-mind, re-member, and re-create. A new mind and heart is birthed in us as we turn to follow Jesus on the way. The body of God's creation is re-membered and put back together in ways intended from the beginning. And a new creation becomes reality through Jesus' healing work. Christians tell the story again each Christmastide, and the telling and remembering invites us once again into being made whole. Our task in every year is to hear the story with new ears, and seeing light in the darkness of this season's woes, then to tell it abroad with gladsome hearts to those who wait in darkness. Where will you share the joyous tale of light in the darkness?
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church

Dec. 1, 2008: Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

The first day of December is marked as World AIDS Day, and has been observed since 1988. Episcopalians join billions of people around the world to remember the devastation caused by the AIDS pandemic over the past generation, and to recommit to ensuring a future without AIDS for generations still to come. As our church year begins, it is especially appropriate to remember, pray, and work together to alleviate the suffering inflicted by this disease and its consequences.

As Episcopalians, we understand that we are part of a body that has AIDS – both the Body of Christ and the larger body of the family of God. More than half of our worldwide Anglican Communion lives in countries destabilized by epidemic rates of HIV infection, including several dioceses of The Episcopal Church. Parish communities in the United States have been responding to HIV and AIDS for more than 25 years.

In the United States, this year’s commemoration comes in a moment of transition for American democracy. A new President and new Congress will shape this nation’s response to HIV/AIDS at home and around the world. Many significant challenges face America’s leaders in the coming years.

We must find ways to build on successes in fighting HIV and AIDS in the developing world. American leadership since 2003 has brought life-saving treatment to more than 1.7 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (in contrast to 50,000 in 2002), while supporting more than 33 million counseling and testing sessions and providing prevention services for nearly 13 million pregnant women. Still, more than 6,000 people continue to die each day as a result of the pandemic, and infection rates in some of the hardest-hit places continue to grow. Earlier this year, Congress and the President pledged significantly increased funding, and renewed strategies, for the global fight against AIDS. It will be up to the new Congress and Administration to keep the promises that have been made by their predecessors.

The incoming Administration of President-elect Obama is soliciting suggestions from citizens for national priorities in the year ahead at www.change.gov. I urge all Episcopalians living in the United States to ask President-elect Obama and his Administration to make the fight against AIDS at home and around the world a priority, even in difficult economic times. The security and well-being of the world depends on health and healing for all. You can join your voice with those of other Episcopalians who will take action in the months and years ahead to advocate for strong U.S. responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic by signing up for the Episcopal Public Policy Network at www.episcopalchurch.org/eppn.

I commend to Episcopalians the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition, www.neac.org, a grassroots group that has been working in Episcopal communities for more than two decades to support caregivers, give guidance on prevention, and advocate for a more compassionate AIDS policy. In particular, I draw your attention to the online quiz NEAC has developed for Episcopal communities to commemorate this World AIDS Day.

Christians around the world marked the First Sunday of Advent yesterday as a season of hope and expectation, remembering that the "Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings" (Malachi 4:2). On this World AIDS Day, I pray that the God who tents with humanity will raise us up to work together to make the divine dream of healing and abundant life for all creation a reality – may your kingdom come, O Lord, and speedily.

Your servant in Christ,
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/presiding-bishop.htm 

July 2: The Anglican Future

I wanted to write to give you a little update on what’s been going on in the Anglican Communion. You may have seen in the news a recent conference in Jerusalem, “GAFCON” (Global Anglican Future Conference). In a very strongly worded statement, archbishops from the Global South declared a new locus of power separate from the archbishop of Canterbury. They have agreed on what they claim is a new way forward of walking separately from what they perceive is the heresy of the Church in the US and Canada’s inclusion of gays and lesbians in the life of the church. The meeting comes just a few weeks before the Lambeth Conference, a gathering of all the bishops in the Anglican Communion (well, most of them—more on that later) that happens every ten years. Many of the attendees at the GAFCON conference are boycotting Lambeth this year, however, to show their disapproval for what they see as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s capitulation to western liberalism. Unfortunately Bishop Gene Robinson, (the bishop of New Hampshire, who happens to be gay) has been un-invited to Lambeth, in a nod to the anti-gay elements of the communion who oppose his consecration. At the same time, the irregularly consecrated anti-gay bishops (those who are sent by provinces in Africa to be “missionaries” to American churches who are unhappy with recent developments over sexuality) have also been un-invited, so it is clear that the Archbishop is trying to follow what he perceives as a middle way.

In media reports it seems that even the attendees of the conference are divided over whether it represents schism or not—Archbishop Akinola of Nigeria says “There is no longer any hope” for unity; while the archbishop of Sydney, Australia, says that it’s not about breaking up. I wanted to share with you the statement from our own Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. She is very wise!!

Much of the Anglican world must be lamenting the latest emission from GAFCON. Anglicanism has always been broader than some find comfortable. This statement does not represent the end of Anglicanism, merely another chapter in a centuries-old struggle for dominance by those who consider themselves the only true believers. Anglicans will continue to worship God in their churches, serve the hungry and needy in their communities, and build missional relationships with others across the globe, despite the desire of a few leaders to narrow the influence of the gospel. We look forward to the opportunities of the Lambeth Conference for constructive conversation, inspired prayer, and relational encounters.

Yes—let’s get on with our mission—let’s move forward in worship together, and feeding the hungry, and curing the sick. Amen!