The community of St Thomas responded with characteristic generosity in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. What's happening there today and how has the Church continued to support the people of Haiti in their struggle to rebuild this broken country? The articles linked below give us a snapshot of how another group of Episcopalians, these from Trinity Church, Staunton VA, are providing resources, expertise, and, most importantly, the spirit of compassionate solidarity in Christ with their brothers and sisters in Haiti. These stories are of particular personal interest to me because the leader of this effort is an old friend and colleague, The Rev. Roger Bowen. Roger is a priest of the Church who served as both Head of the York School (Episcopal) in Monterey CA and of St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin. Roger has long had a heart for the the extensive network of Episcopal schools in Haiti and in retirement continues to work tirelessly on various Haitian projects. He's a real inspiration.
http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/haiti_earthquake/episcopalians_in_haiti_working.html#more
We can continue to express our care for the Church and the people of Haiti by making contributions to Episcopal Relief & Development, an organization whose Board of Directors includes our own Tucker Moodey.
http://www.er-d.org/HaitiEarthquakeResponse
What other ways can we imagine that we at St Thomas might be of use to the people of Haiti?
Faithfully,
Lex
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Welcome, Lucas Andrea Nassisi!
We have another new little parishioner! Lucas Andrea Nassisi was born May 29, 2010, to Andrea and Amy Nassisi, sister Bella and brother Alexander. Congratulations to all five Nassisis!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Beyond Sundays - The Great Hall's Secret Life
The Great Hall holds a special place in our hearts. There we can gather after services and meet for Christian Education. In addition, its positive effects stretch beyond our parish into the community at large, providing the city of Medina and its citizens a critical public gathering space.
Every week scores of us gather after the 8:00 and 10:15 services for coffee and catching up. Amazingly, the Building Committee learned AA (Alcoholic Anonyms) and Al-Anon’s (family members coping with an alcoholic) monthly use of the Great Hall exceeds our own. Every Monday and Friday evenings our parking lot overflows onto the streets as the Great Hall fills with AA members. Its walls provide a vital sanctuary, a sacred pace where this AA Chapter helps its members continue in their daily path of sobriety.
The Building Committee was honored to hear the stories of affection and salvation members of the AA Chapter shared with us. Like us, they are attached to the Great Hall, but are aware of its structural limitations. The AA community and our parishioners agree the absence of private meeting spaces, comfortable restrooms, and modern childcare spaces are shortcomings which can no longer be ignored.
The Building Committee was also surprised to learn AA uses our childcare spaces on weeknights for their members. What an unwelcome shock to hear they are forced to turn away families when the number of children exceeds 18. Our AA Chapter actually uses our own childcare space more then we do. They are excited to know the Parish Life Center will give them the opportunity to help more people and young families suffering from the addiction of someone they love.
by Mikaela Cowles
Every week scores of us gather after the 8:00 and 10:15 services for coffee and catching up. Amazingly, the Building Committee learned AA (Alcoholic Anonyms) and Al-Anon’s (family members coping with an alcoholic) monthly use of the Great Hall exceeds our own. Every Monday and Friday evenings our parking lot overflows onto the streets as the Great Hall fills with AA members. Its walls provide a vital sanctuary, a sacred pace where this AA Chapter helps its members continue in their daily path of sobriety.
The Building Committee was honored to hear the stories of affection and salvation members of the AA Chapter shared with us. Like us, they are attached to the Great Hall, but are aware of its structural limitations. The AA community and our parishioners agree the absence of private meeting spaces, comfortable restrooms, and modern childcare spaces are shortcomings which can no longer be ignored.
The Building Committee was also surprised to learn AA uses our childcare spaces on weeknights for their members. What an unwelcome shock to hear they are forced to turn away families when the number of children exceeds 18. Our AA Chapter actually uses our own childcare space more then we do. They are excited to know the Parish Life Center will give them the opportunity to help more people and young families suffering from the addiction of someone they love.
by Mikaela Cowles
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Elusive Search for Balance
As a pastoral counselor, I've spent a lot of time talking to younger couples and individuals about "balance" in life. Many of us have three balls we're trying to keep up in the air, it seems to me. Marriage. Parenting. Career. The trick in keeping these three balls in the air is that we only have two hands.The ball that usually gets dropped, particularly when the kids are still around, is "marriage." So we talk a lot about attentiveness to our spouse or partner, making room for intimacy, setting boundaries,etc.; all this in service of the quest for "balance" in life. It's a clever analogy (and not one I created), but I've begun to realize it's ultimately not very helpful.
The pursuit of balance in some ways pits different parts of ourselves against one another, places them in competition without integrating them. We need integration of these various parts of our lives rather than "balance." These various parts of ourselves should be invited into conversation with one another rather than into competition. How can my vocation enrich my marriage which enriches my parenting which makes me a more whole and satisfied professional, etc. Another analogy is to the members of the Trinity, Creator Redeemer, Sustainer, who are always in conversation with and in relation to one another. The Trinity isn't about "balance". It's about the integrity of individual roles within a relational flow.
I recently ran across a fine book that speaks to the want for integration of the different parts of ourselves and our lives. The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self, and Relationship by David Whyte. His thesis is that we are not just involved in a primary relationship with a significant other. We have each made secret vows to our work and unspoken vows to our continually evolving inner selves. How these three "marriages " interact with and inform each other will be key to our fierce want to live into our true selves. Deepening and enriching the conversation, the interplay, the dance among these three marriages is the work of a lifetime.
Whyte is a poet, retreat leader and corporate consultant who lives and works on Whidbey Island.
He has a profound Celtic spirituality that radiates from all his work. I've been reading this book with a young couple with whom I've been doing pre-marital counseling and it has been as illuminating for them as it has for them.
Here's a sample of Whyte's poetry:
The pursuit of balance in some ways pits different parts of ourselves against one another, places them in competition without integrating them. We need integration of these various parts of our lives rather than "balance." These various parts of ourselves should be invited into conversation with one another rather than into competition. How can my vocation enrich my marriage which enriches my parenting which makes me a more whole and satisfied professional, etc. Another analogy is to the members of the Trinity, Creator Redeemer, Sustainer, who are always in conversation with and in relation to one another. The Trinity isn't about "balance". It's about the integrity of individual roles within a relational flow.
I recently ran across a fine book that speaks to the want for integration of the different parts of ourselves and our lives. The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self, and Relationship by David Whyte. His thesis is that we are not just involved in a primary relationship with a significant other. We have each made secret vows to our work and unspoken vows to our continually evolving inner selves. How these three "marriages " interact with and inform each other will be key to our fierce want to live into our true selves. Deepening and enriching the conversation, the interplay, the dance among these three marriages is the work of a lifetime.
Whyte is a poet, retreat leader and corporate consultant who lives and works on Whidbey Island.
He has a profound Celtic spirituality that radiates from all his work. I've been reading this book with a young couple with whom I've been doing pre-marital counseling and it has been as illuminating for them as it has for them.
Here's a sample of Whyte's poetry:
Everything is Waiting for You
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.-- David Whyte
from Everything is Waiting for You
©2003 Many Rivers PressI'd be interested in your thoughts about the integration of the various parts of ourselves and the role faith might play in that. also, if you would like to know more about David Whyte and his work, and I hope you will, here's a link to his website.
http://www.davidwhyte.com/home.htmlFaithfully,
Lex
Rowan Williams, Mitregate, Anglican Covenant, ... how much do you care?
Diana Butler Bass writes a very thoughtful blog called "Christianity for the Rest of Us" on beliefnet.com. This particular article jumped out at me.
It's a very timely article, and there's a great history lesson in it besides.
But it got me wondering about something. If you're not as much of a "church junkie" as I am, do you care about this stuff? Does it matter to you that the Episcopal Church is losing membership at a rate equivalent to one diocese every year? Does it matter that the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. is in hot water with Britain, regardless of the fact that the Church of England has no authority over us?
As long as St. Thomas is healthy and doing good ministry, does all this worldwide stuff matter to you? Should it? Or is the local church where it's really at, regardless of any denominational politics? After all, there are plenty of "mega-churches" out there with no denominational affiliation at all.
Please share your thoughts!
It's a very timely article, and there's a great history lesson in it besides.
But it got me wondering about something. If you're not as much of a "church junkie" as I am, do you care about this stuff? Does it matter to you that the Episcopal Church is losing membership at a rate equivalent to one diocese every year? Does it matter that the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. is in hot water with Britain, regardless of the fact that the Church of England has no authority over us?
As long as St. Thomas is healthy and doing good ministry, does all this worldwide stuff matter to you? Should it? Or is the local church where it's really at, regardless of any denominational politics? After all, there are plenty of "mega-churches" out there with no denominational affiliation at all.
Please share your thoughts!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
HISTORY OF PARISH LIFE CENTER PLANNING
2005 Mark Nelson, Parish Life Center architect, evaluated the plan of the entire campus in preparation for the St. Thomas School remodel. The school project started parishioners thinking about upgrading the Great Hall, then over 50 years old, having significant maintenance problems, and increasingly becoming inadequate for church growth.
March 2006 Father Lee proposed a remodel/rebuild of the Great Hall. At the 2006 annual Vestry Retreat, he is turned down with the rationale that the church has had significant problems in the recent past, and although improvement was needed, we should let recent soothing of past problems continue for a while.
August 2006 A Facilities Task Force is established to plan for a future update. By October initial plans are prepared by Mark Nelson, designer of the Chapel built in 2000.
Winter 2007 Bad winter with multitude of serious utilities failures required major effort and convinced Vestry that a significant upgrade was both urgent and unavoidable.
Spring 2007 School demolition uprooted shared utilities between School and Parish, disabling plumbing, heating, and electrical systems. Expensive repairs further highlighted infrastructure problems.
September 2007 Focus groups were formed to evaluate needs of church and the nationwide search for development consultants to help was begun. After the search the Enrichment Group from Tacoma was determined to be the best fit as they had demonstrated much success in Puget Sound area in Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian churches.
Later 2007 Father Lee was called to be Bishop of Chicago. Consecrated as Bishop in February 2008.
2008 Simultaneous continued building project, profile development, and search for new rector were too complex and building project went on hold. However, through interviews and focus groups, evaluation by Enrichment estimates that a $4.5 - $5 million Capital Campaign is very possible. Sole proviso of donors was that the Profile and Search Committees emphasize importance of new Rector having experience with capital campaigns and major building projects.
Late 2008 Bishop Rickel meets with Search Committee and Vestry and urged everything NOT be put on hold as happened in Diocese prior to his arrival. It left too much for the new Rector to do in addition to his regular duties. All agreed going much further required the new head of St. Thomas to be in place before proceeding.
October – November 2009 Process restarts with Father Lex’s arrival in September. Vestry resolved to officially reaffirm campaign and authorized with funding through September of 2010.
March 2006 Father Lee proposed a remodel/rebuild of the Great Hall. At the 2006 annual Vestry Retreat, he is turned down with the rationale that the church has had significant problems in the recent past, and although improvement was needed, we should let recent soothing of past problems continue for a while.
August 2006 A Facilities Task Force is established to plan for a future update. By October initial plans are prepared by Mark Nelson, designer of the Chapel built in 2000.
Winter 2007 Bad winter with multitude of serious utilities failures required major effort and convinced Vestry that a significant upgrade was both urgent and unavoidable.
Spring 2007 School demolition uprooted shared utilities between School and Parish, disabling plumbing, heating, and electrical systems. Expensive repairs further highlighted infrastructure problems.
September 2007 Focus groups were formed to evaluate needs of church and the nationwide search for development consultants to help was begun. After the search the Enrichment Group from Tacoma was determined to be the best fit as they had demonstrated much success in Puget Sound area in Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian churches.
Later 2007 Father Lee was called to be Bishop of Chicago. Consecrated as Bishop in February 2008.
2008 Simultaneous continued building project, profile development, and search for new rector were too complex and building project went on hold. However, through interviews and focus groups, evaluation by Enrichment estimates that a $4.5 - $5 million Capital Campaign is very possible. Sole proviso of donors was that the Profile and Search Committees emphasize importance of new Rector having experience with capital campaigns and major building projects.
Late 2008 Bishop Rickel meets with Search Committee and Vestry and urged everything NOT be put on hold as happened in Diocese prior to his arrival. It left too much for the new Rector to do in addition to his regular duties. All agreed going much further required the new head of St. Thomas to be in place before proceeding.
October – November 2009 Process restarts with Father Lex’s arrival in September. Vestry resolved to officially reaffirm campaign and authorized with funding through September of 2010.
Have you visited the Episcopal Cafe?
Here's a favorite/bookmark to add to your list of excellent websites you'll want to visit regularly. The Episcopal Café is an independent Web site featuring news, commentary, art, meditations and video. “The Café is collaborative effort by more than two dozen writers and editors, and an ever-growing list of visual artists. Together, we aspire to create a visually appealing, intellectually stimulating, spiritually enriching and at least occasionally amusing site where Episcopalians and those interested in our church can read, watch, listen and reflect upon contemporary life in a context informed by faith and animated by the spirit of charity.” Click here to explore for yourself and share a comment about what you found that was particularly interesting.
Finn McSherry born this morning!
Let's all welcome the newest St. Thomas parishioner, Finn McSherry, born this morning at 7:26 a.m.!
If you have a Facebook account, you can see photos here.
Congratulations to Bill, Kristen, Lucy and Finn for becoming a larger family.
If you have a Facebook account, you can see photos here.
Congratulations to Bill, Kristen, Lucy and Finn for becoming a larger family.
Monday, June 14, 2010
What is a Christian? And why do we baptize?
Recently on Facebook, I noticed a popular new page that everybody seems to be "liking." It's called, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car."
Well, duh: I figured that's self-evident. Baptism is what makes you a Christian, not going to church -- and your baptism can't be taken away, no matter how rarely you attend services. That Christians out there are using any other standard to measure who is and isn't a Christian is a source of some concern to me.
I think the confusion lies in the fact that some Christians have a hard time differentiating between the terms "Christian" and "good person." They feel that everybody who is a good person ought to be a Christian, and vice versa. The minute somebody deserves to have his "good person" label revoked, the implication is that he really wasn't a Christian in the first place, or isn't anymore. And the far more sinister assumption (which most would never admit) is that you can't be a good person unless you're a Christian. Clearly, the world is not this black and white!
Now, of course I'm bothered by the behavior of many Christians: greedy TV preachers, pedophile priests, politicians who use their faith to knock down their opponents, etc. But often, I'm also bothered by my own behavior. And there's no doubt in my mind that, no matter how much I mess up, I'm still a Christian. I always will be.
It also doesn't bother me that a good many people out there aren't baptized. Baptism is a sign of something that God has already done and is still doing: working through a person's life to help bring about the Kingdom. Just because we, as a community, haven't shown that sign publicly does not mean God does not love that person, or that the person is not doing good things.
Above all (and following logically from these points), failure to be baptized in no way relegates anybody to hell. We stopped believing that a long time ago. Yet some people (especially, I've noticed, the parents of non-churchgoers who won't baptize the grandchildren) still harbor some anxiety about this point -- anxiety that could probably be redirected to more constructive and faith-filled ends. I do understand the anxiety: who doesn't want their grandkids to have a good moral upbringing? But I don't believe that possibility hinges on baptism.
So that leads to an interesting point: Why do we baptize at all? If it is not necessary for salvation, and if not every good person need become a Christian, what's it for? Let's discuss.
Well, duh: I figured that's self-evident. Baptism is what makes you a Christian, not going to church -- and your baptism can't be taken away, no matter how rarely you attend services. That Christians out there are using any other standard to measure who is and isn't a Christian is a source of some concern to me.
I think the confusion lies in the fact that some Christians have a hard time differentiating between the terms "Christian" and "good person." They feel that everybody who is a good person ought to be a Christian, and vice versa. The minute somebody deserves to have his "good person" label revoked, the implication is that he really wasn't a Christian in the first place, or isn't anymore. And the far more sinister assumption (which most would never admit) is that you can't be a good person unless you're a Christian. Clearly, the world is not this black and white!
Now, of course I'm bothered by the behavior of many Christians: greedy TV preachers, pedophile priests, politicians who use their faith to knock down their opponents, etc. But often, I'm also bothered by my own behavior. And there's no doubt in my mind that, no matter how much I mess up, I'm still a Christian. I always will be.
It also doesn't bother me that a good many people out there aren't baptized. Baptism is a sign of something that God has already done and is still doing: working through a person's life to help bring about the Kingdom. Just because we, as a community, haven't shown that sign publicly does not mean God does not love that person, or that the person is not doing good things.
Above all (and following logically from these points), failure to be baptized in no way relegates anybody to hell. We stopped believing that a long time ago. Yet some people (especially, I've noticed, the parents of non-churchgoers who won't baptize the grandchildren) still harbor some anxiety about this point -- anxiety that could probably be redirected to more constructive and faith-filled ends. I do understand the anxiety: who doesn't want their grandkids to have a good moral upbringing? But I don't believe that possibility hinges on baptism.
So that leads to an interesting point: Why do we baptize at all? If it is not necessary for salvation, and if not every good person need become a Christian, what's it for? Let's discuss.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Liturgist's thoughts on Pentecost 2010
Pentecost is my favorite season. As much as I love Advent with its quiet yet joyful expectation, Christmas with the carols everyone loves to sing, Epiphany culminating with the Transfiguration, that moment so ecstatic that Peter wanted to live in it for ever, Lent culminating with the great drama of holy week and Easter -- as much as I love those seasons, Pentecost takes the cake for me because it isn't a remembrance or observation of an event; in fact, we are still experiencing that same Pentecost that the Apostles experienced. We live in the time of the Spirit, the same Spirit that was experienced that day has been with and in us all ever since.
Have you ever been to Esalen Hot Springs in Big Sur, California? It is an unusually beautiful place in the forest above the Pacific, with sheer cliffs dropping to the sea. Just on the edge of those cliffs are natural hot mineral springs. Twenty four hours a day the guests may soak in the springs looking on one side at the waves crashing against the cliffs, and on the other, giant Redwood trees. I had the luxury of having a massage there one day, during which the masseuse spontaneously sang to me, "Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on you. Melt you, mold you, fill you, use you. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on you." Of course I was sobbing as she sang, and for a long time after. I was so aware of the Spirit around me and within me, so aware of how blessed I am, so aware of the goodness of creation, and so thankful. I will never forget it.
So, you may ask, why is our Liturgist telling us intimate details about the best massage he ever had? Because events like this are what inspire my music and affect how I think about and plan liturgy. I had known that song since I was a child, but at that moment I heard it anew. That is what my goal is in my work: to help the community experience traditional things anew, so that they mean something now. So that they inspire us to love now. So that they give us real peace and happiness now.
This is the original text of that song written in 1926 by Daniel Iverson:
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
The event at Esalen inspired me to add 2 verses to that hymn:
2. Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go;
Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go.
Let all go dear, so comes love dear.
Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go.
3. Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you;
Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you.
Melt you, mold you, fill you, use you.
Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you.
Verse 2 came from this idea: the more I am able to let go of selfishness, the happier I am, the freer I am to be interested and concerned about others around me, the more I am able to love. I am sure all of you know what I am talking about; it is one reason we gather together on Sundays and commit to being a part of this Christian community. In small and large ways, we are inspired to exhibit the same self-giving love that Jesus showed throughout his life and ultimately with his letting go of life itself as he forgave even those who put him to death.
Verse 3 is the natural result, then, of verse 2: instead of continuing to ask that the Spirit fall on me, our deepest desire is for others' happiness. Therein will lies our own peace, our own happiness. We all feel it deep down: we are connected, we are brothers and sisters, one family, the entire earth.
Have you ever been to Esalen Hot Springs in Big Sur, California? It is an unusually beautiful place in the forest above the Pacific, with sheer cliffs dropping to the sea. Just on the edge of those cliffs are natural hot mineral springs. Twenty four hours a day the guests may soak in the springs looking on one side at the waves crashing against the cliffs, and on the other, giant Redwood trees. I had the luxury of having a massage there one day, during which the masseuse spontaneously sang to me, "Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on you. Melt you, mold you, fill you, use you. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on you." Of course I was sobbing as she sang, and for a long time after. I was so aware of the Spirit around me and within me, so aware of how blessed I am, so aware of the goodness of creation, and so thankful. I will never forget it.
So, you may ask, why is our Liturgist telling us intimate details about the best massage he ever had? Because events like this are what inspire my music and affect how I think about and plan liturgy. I had known that song since I was a child, but at that moment I heard it anew. That is what my goal is in my work: to help the community experience traditional things anew, so that they mean something now. So that they inspire us to love now. So that they give us real peace and happiness now.
This is the original text of that song written in 1926 by Daniel Iverson:
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
The event at Esalen inspired me to add 2 verses to that hymn:
2. Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go;
Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go.
Let all go dear, so comes love dear.
Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go.
3. Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you;
Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you.
Melt you, mold you, fill you, use you.
Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you.
Verse 2 came from this idea: the more I am able to let go of selfishness, the happier I am, the freer I am to be interested and concerned about others around me, the more I am able to love. I am sure all of you know what I am talking about; it is one reason we gather together on Sundays and commit to being a part of this Christian community. In small and large ways, we are inspired to exhibit the same self-giving love that Jesus showed throughout his life and ultimately with his letting go of life itself as he forgave even those who put him to death.
Verse 3 is the natural result, then, of verse 2: instead of continuing to ask that the Spirit fall on me, our deepest desire is for others' happiness. Therein will lies our own peace, our own happiness. We all feel it deep down: we are connected, we are brothers and sisters, one family, the entire earth.
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