Rector’s Reflection -- February 2012
by The Rev. Elaine Breckenridge
The themes of February are many and paradoxical. We are still in darkness, some of us are still watching the clocks as the sun rises and sets. Are the days getting noticeably longer, I wonder? In the meantime there are cultural activities that keep some of us busy, from Groundhog Day to the Super Bowl to Valentine’s Day, there are events to organize and rituals to observe. As for the church, St. Brigid’s Day, on February 1 and the Feast of the Presentation on February 2 have come and gone. Notes and resolutions from the Annual Meeting are almost filed away and some of us are wondering, what shall we do for Lent this year?
Lent has been described by writer and theologian Henri Nouwen as the season during which winter and spring struggle with each other for dominance. In February, winter wins, and those of us who look for spring will have to wait, content with the knowledge that the word Lent itself means springtime.
For me, Lent brings with it a season of hope, a season to prepare for the resurrection of the earth as well as the season celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. Just as a gardener will begin the work of preparing the ground for spring planting, so too does Lent give us a season to prepare our hearts for Easter. Thinking of Lent as a season to amend our souls as we might, the ground is not a bad metaphor for what the church has said is a time for fasting, prayer and study, and regular almsgiving.
That list seems long and this year I long for focus. Lent is often the catalyst for many of us to begin or resume a regular practice of prayer and study either in solitude or in community. This year at St. David’s we have chosen to focus on prayer.
Prayer has been called the glue of monastic practice. The Rule of St. Benedict included regular times designated for daily prayer for monks who chose to live by the rule. However those who had chores to do did not drop everything to get to the chapel. No, the rule invited the monks to stop the work wherever they were to say their prayers. It was the prayer that kept the community together, not the geographical proximity of those praying.
At St. David’s this Lent, we will have ample opportunity to gather in smaller communities to practice a life of prayer. This year, we will also try the Benedictine practice of sanctifying time daily as a community by offering a set prayer wherever we are at a set time.
As we begin the season of Lent, I invite each of you to join us in the recital of a prayer from the Prayer Book at 12:00 noon each day.:
O God of peace, you have taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Called a prayer for Quiet Confidence, what better way to
prepare the ground of our hearts than to take time to be still and know
that God is God?
Please take a moment to read an invitation to pray written by Judith Scarborough, below. It was her idea to call us to a communal practice of prayer in the monastery of heart tradition. I invite you to make that prayer and time the foundation of a Lenten discipline this season, and of course that can be supplemented by taking advantage of the other opportunities for prayer and ministry contained within the pages of this newsletter.
In the darkness and in the light of February’s winter, let us commit ourselves to returning and rest and quiet and confidence. by Judith Scarborough:
As a member of the vestry and having served on the “Grow The Church” committee in 2009, I have been in many discussions about how to invigorate our church community. One thing that always comes back to me is the power of a group of people praying together. Yes, we do this on Sundays and at other times we gather as a community. However, in visits to monastic communities, I have prayed with them at set times during the day. It occurred to me that we could offer a St. David’s Prayer Time, when those who choose to could pray the same prayer for the benefit of St. David’s. The time chosen for the parish prayer is daily at noon. So we would invite your participation in this prayer practice, and joining in the community of St. David's, wherever you are, at noon and saying this prayer from The Book of Common Prayer (page 832) with us:
O God of peace, you have taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I include this daily thought that I received today from Gratefulness.org. It seems appropriate to this invitation: “Pray – period! Don’t expect anything. Or better, expect nothing. Prayer cleanses us of expectations and allows holy will, providence, and life itself an entry. What could be more worth the effort – or the non-effort?” – Thomas Moore
Let us join our hearts and souls together and see what blessings occur!
Rector’s Reflection -- November 2011
by The Rev. Elaine Breckenridge
In the 1970s, theologian William Gibson wrote an essay called, “The Lifestyle of Christian Faithfulness” which focuses on sufficiency as the norm of justice. “Sufficiency,” he said “must become the controlling consideration for lifestyles, for systems, and for synchronizing lifestyle changes with systemic changes. The aim of sufficiency is that everyone shall have enough of the things that are needed for a reasonably secure and fulfilling life.” There is no doubt in this author’s mind that a generally accepted norm of sufficiency would radically change the lifestyle of most Americans.
I am drawn to the concept of sufficiency as I begin the spiritual task and obligation of re-evaluating my own annual financial pledge to St. David’s Church. As we enter the annual giving season, my commitment is to ponder the use of my monies and most of all my lifestyle as a consumer. ‘How much is enough?’ I ask myself, as I find another rotting head of lettuce in the vegetable crisper, forgotten when conflicting schedules eliminated another family meal from the weekly line up. ‘How green does our lawn need to be?’ I asked myself looking over the September water bill. For me, it is all too clear that I am an over-consumer, and my reading recently has called me to think about my lifestyle in light of sufficiency.
A focus on sufficiency makes thinking about proportional giving much easier. Proportional giving is one of the gifts and tools that both the Bible and the church have given us to use when it comes to making decisions about our standard of giving and living. The church invites us each year to look at our income and then asks us to set aside a portion of that income to offer to God for use in Christ’s church. The tithe or ten percent is the biblical standard to which we are all called.
As common parlance puts it, “Yikes!” Ten percent seems like it is beyond most of our ability. Yet the stewardship journey begins, I believe, with an awareness that everything we receive comes from God and in thanksgiving, we are asked to offer the first fruits of those gifts back to God.
What are our spending patterns? What are our ideals? Are there areas in our lifestyle where we may be over-consuming and over-spending? Could establishing a standard of “enough is enough” free us to become more generous in our sharing and caring, not for ourselves but for others? The invitation is to look at our pledge as a percentage of our income and then each year incrementally raise it. For myself, this year I am cutting back in some areas of my lifestyle, so that I can raise my pledge to St. David’s.
This year’s annual giving campaign is entitled, “Baptized to Share and Care.” During the weeks of November, we will be invited to think about our personal resources and the resources of the church in light of the church’s baptismal covenant; that is, our response to share our time, talents and treasures in the church as we care for God’s world.
I invite you to reflect and pray about your giving to St. David’s by using proportional giving as a tool. Being faithful stewards of what God has given us, I pray that all of our pledges this year will involve a renewal of our commitment to St. David’s and the adoption of a pattern of living that will enable us to be generous stewards.
Rector’s Reflection -- October 2011
by The Rev. Elaine Breckenridge
The Gospel of Luke features a parable comparing the Kingdom of God to a great banquet given by a man. The man issues invitations, but those invited are too engaged with the activities of their own lives to attend the banquet and so they send their regrets instead. The man then sends his servants out into the streets and the lanes of the town to bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. It was done, and still there was room at the table. “Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.’” [Luke 14:23]
It is an interesting story and a charge to the church today. Too many churches, including our own, have excess room at the table. Every Sunday we prepare two banquet feasts, hoping that people have received the invitation and will come. However, like the Gospel story of old, many people have other things to do with their lives on a Sunday morning than attend a church service. For many it is their only day of Sabbath rest. Others work on Sundays. We know that families, in particular, are busy. Are there other reasons that keep people at home and not in church?
Kate Blanchard, in a recent Religious Dispatches article titled “Spiritual But Not Religious? Come Talk to Me,” gives her own reason for not attending church on Sunday mornings. She writes as one holding a Master of Divinity degree and a doctorate in Christian ethics. She writes and talks about religion for a living. She is married to an ordained pastor, and her son was baptized as an infant. She grew up in the church. In her own words,
“I occasionally attend a local Protestant congregation, full of wonderful human beings who generously tolerate my spotty engagement, where I have also taught adult Sunday school and led a women’s retreat. But most Sundays I don’t go to church because, frankly put, it bores me. I am tired and church fails to provide any compelling reason to get out of my pajamas. . . . Although I like the people at church very much and I wish to support them in their hours of need, I am still unwilling to prioritize membership. I have an emotionally demanding job that takes up all of my time and psychic energy during the academic year, and I would honestly rather get work done in my off hours than act as an usher or sit on a church governing body. Moreover, my child hates church, almost as much as he hates vegetables, and I cannot readily explain to him why he has to go when I myself would rather not. Does this make me completely lame? Perhaps.”
“Church is boring, it fails to provide any compelling reason to go.” I have heard that before, not only from children but from teenagers, young adults and adults alike. How can we make church more compelling, I wonder? Some churches use guilt, others provide entertainment. Some churches are full because Sunday mornings are simply a part of their members’ weekly routine.
I believe that we do have compelling reasons to attend church. The Church at its best is a community of faith where people can learn and practice the spiritual life. Nowadays some people reject church, claiming that it is a place that is religious but not spiritual. I guess by that they mean there is too much emphasis on creed and culture, and not enough emphasis on providing resources to help people connect the Gospel with their everyday lives.
I believe that is not true of St. David’s. St. David’s is genuinely a church which tries to nurture the faith and spirituality of those who choose to affiliate with us. Through programs like Cursillo, Church to Go, EfM, the women’s Contemplation and Conversation group, regular book studies for adults, DVD series on Sunday mornings, spiritual direction, our healing and Transition Ministries, and our study and practice of Celtic Christianity, we seek to help people engage God and follow Christ.
“Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.’” –Luke 14:23
Maybe we need to be more compelling in the ways we reach out. Like the man in the Gospel of Luke, our hospitality begins with issuing invitations. St. David’s may not be for everybody, but everybody is invited. One of our challenges right now is to be a people of invitation. We have a vision that articulates what it means to be the Church in this time and place. We now need to share that vision with others more effectively.
Do you know someone who says that church is boring and not compelling? Invite them to try one or both of our worship services. Different in style, both services “gather the folks, tell the stories, break the bread and share the cup.” And guided by the Holy Spirit, we who attend the Eucharist regularly can testify that is where transformation occurs. It may not be what everyone seeks, but for those who wish to become a new creation in Christ, we are equipped with the means to partner with the Holy Trinity in that process. Participation in a Eucharistic community with an open heart can be a life-changing process both for individuals and for the world. Let us compel people to come in, so that God’s house, the Church, may be filled and our world transformed.
Rector’s Reflection -- September 2011
by The Rev. Elaine Breckenridge
"We welcome all to the communion table and into our fellowship including children, seekers and those whom others might neglect or reject.” By now, I hope that this sentence sounds familiar. It is a portion of one of our core values, related of course to hospitality, also a central value of Christianity. In Jesus we see it exemplified perfectly. On the cover of this newsletter, Julian of Norwich’s vision about a divine incarnation of hospitality is quoted.
As we begin another church year, with new worship services and programs, let us remember that we do so in the name of hospitality. The purpose of combining our former 8 and 10 a.m. services into the current 9 a.m. service is to infuse our worship with a sense of hospitality by offering a vital service with a diversity of ages represented. The new service at 11 a.m., by intention, will be focused on both hospitality and community. Through it we hope to reach out and attract not only Christians, but perhaps also the unchurched. A central feature of this service is that it will be in the round–emphasizing both our relationships with
one another and the importance of all gathering with Christ around the altar.
We hope to invite, welcome and incorporate new members into St. David’s in ways that we have not been able to before. We will need everyone’s help. Brochure and business cards are now available which you can take to promote St. David’s. It is well documented that people most often visit a church because they were invited by another human being and then welcomed.
Because hospitality is so important, we will be focusing on it for the months of September and October. Each Sunday, I plan to “plant some seeds for thought” related to hospitality which I hope you will reflect upon and discuss either at coffee hour or at home during the week. Perhaps by highlighting what it means to be hospitable, all of us will become better hosts and hostesses. Remember the words of Julian, and please invite your friends to our great feast where all are welcome and where all share Christ’s love.
Rector’s Reflection -- July-August 2011
by The Rev. Elaine Breckenridge
We are back to ordinary time and the green season of the church year. The annual cycle of Advent through Trinity Sunday is complete and now we settle into a season of listening to the teachings of Jesus. First up, the parable of the sower. For the next couple of months our Gospel readings will focus on how to spread the Kingdom of God.
In the church, we like to translate that to mean, how can we get new members? While sustainability is important, it is easy to miss the point that our mission is to grow “in Christ” not simply grow in size.
Of course the challenge for any congregation is to become like Christ. But what might that look like today? The culture that we live in now is so radically different from the one that Jesus lived in. Not only that, the culture is continuing to change right before our very eyes. There has always been a disconnect between the church and the rest of the culture where most of us live, and now the gulf appears to becoming even greater.
One consultant for the national Episcopal church, a blogger named Tom Ehrich, likens the church to the car industry. He writes, “If you have been inside the church for any length of time, you can assume you aren't sufficiently clued in to what is happening outside the church. Imagine trying to sell automobiles if you haven't stayed in touch with driving habits, green thinking, different attitudes among young drivers, family size and two-income families.” He goes on to say, “In the church, our present constituents tend to be older (twice the national average), less diverse, less technological, less active in social networking and less focused on career. That means, the potential new converts and new members outside the church are younger. They are not caught up in sexuality debates. They are tech-savvy. They are tied to work but not to specific employers –– and more.”
Most importantly, they are not interested in belonging to a church as much as they are interested in participating. They are interested in participating in worship but they are also passionate about having a ministry in the world, not necessarily in the church. Rather than attend a fund raising event for an outreach ministry, they would rather participate in an outreach ministry. Welcoming new people into the church is going to mean thinking outside of the box –big time. We might find our job easier, if we think in terms of spreading God’s kingdom. In other words, how can we tap into the gifts of new members and equip people to serve the world not simply serve the church?
The Episcopal Church, like all mainline churches, basically missed a generation of growth. That means we are going to have to build new bridges between those of us in here and those us out there, remembering all the while that the bridge we build is between two disparate cultures. To return to the metaphor of the auto salesman, we are used to selling big expensive cars and yet more people are now shopping for hybrids and smaller cars.
Reaching out to the unchurched and the formerly churched means learning how to reach out in new ways. That is one of the reasons for trying new service times and new service styles in the fall. As Tom Ehrich observes, “The marketplace is changing rapidly and confounding expectations in every arena. We can’t possibly do enough market research to guarantee success. ‘Try something new. Test and measure.’ is today’s development mantra.”
In order to become a more inclusive church which reflects the diversity of our culture we will have to get outside of ourselves and outside of the building to attract new converts. What might that look like? Well, stay tuned because that will be the subject of my next two sermons. For those of you interested in sowing some seeds, there will be plenty to scatter around. The parable of the sower is coming, and it is not just a story anymore.
|
