DioBeth newSpin: May 2011

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May 2011

May 30, 2011

newSpin 110530

The newSpin newsletter, May 30, 2011
By Bill Lewellis
Published Mondays and Thursdays

TopSpin
• Memorial Day. Forgetting why we remember ... [NYTimes] Where did it begin, who created it, and why? Here.
• Memorial Day comes as troops fight in Afghanistan ... [Associated Press] Here.
Eternal Lord God, you hold all souls in life: Give to your whole Church in paradise and on earth your light and your peace; and grant that we, following the good examples of those who have served you here and are now at rest, may at the last enter with them into your unending joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. [BCP, p.44]
Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth, that in tranquillity your dominion may increase until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. [BCP, p.49]
• Renewal Assembly II ... June 11 (9:00 to 1:30) at eight locations across the Diocese. More here and on pages A1 & 8 of the June Diocesan Life. Register here. Registration will close on June 1. A new video will feature Bishop Paul in conversation with three lay people: Lucy Kitch-Peck on the Gifts of the Spirit in her life; Liza Holzinger of St. Andrew's Allentown on a Congregation detecting the gifts and opportunities the Spirit gives parishes; Warren Shotto of Good Shepherd Scranton on how parish leadership detects the gifts in individuals and calls them forth.
• Caveat ... [Bill] This morning I received notes to upgrade Acrobat Reader and Skype, in fact three notes. They look suspicious. Be careful out there.

TaleSpin
• Liking is for cowards. Go for what hurts ... [Jonathan Franzen, NYTimes Op-Ed] Liking, in general, is commercial culture’s substitute for loving. Here. [H/T Bishop Paul]
• What's up with the Jews? ... [NYTimes, online commentary by Stanley Fish] Here.
• Coming Out ... [NYTimes Interactive] Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teenagers talk about their lives in a weeklong video series and are profiled in an accompanying article. Read stories submitted by users that have been inspired to share their experience or submit your own. Here.
• Making the case for church with a fully functioning institutional spine ... Survival of the church is not our task. Shaping the church to better be able to serve our communities in the name (that is, according to the character of) Jesus Christ is the challenge. It isn’t an easy one, but it is more interesting and exciting than simply trying to keep an institution afloat. More here. [H/T Jim Naughton, Episcopal Café]

TailSpin
• Baseball Joy of Fan's Desiring ... [YouTube] Here. Find more on the Bottle Band of St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Chicago Synod) here. [H/T Andrew Gerns]
• The Slee Memo ... [Andrew Gerns] My take on the Slee Memo. Here.
• Improv Everywhere ... Watch Gotta Share for three minutes of fun.
• Worst ever carbon emissions ... [The Guardian, UK] Greenhouse gas emissions increased by a record amount last year, to the highest carbon output in history, putting hopes of holding global warming to safe levels all but out of reach, according to unpublished estimates from the International Energy Agency. Here.

Calendar
• Calendar of Events ... Updated May 2. Download here. Updated here.

Follow
• The Diocese of Bethlehem on Twitter ... http://twitter.com/#!/Diobeth
• The Diocese of Bethlehem on Facebook ... https://www.facebook.com/DioceseOfBethlehem
• Kat Lehman on Twitter ... http://twitter.com/#!/KatLehman
• Episcopal News Service on Twitter ... http://twitter.com/#!/episcopal_news

Go
• June 11, to Renewal Assembly II ... At many locations. See above, under TopSpin.
• July 9, to Called to be Heroes ... Bishop's Day for Kids, grades 1-5, at Church of the Good Shepherd in Scranton. Children in grades 1-5 are invited to spend the day with Bishop Paul, 9:30 to 2:30, and meet some no-so-well-known heroes in the Bible. Discover your own super powers, and enjoy being together. Storytelling, games, Eucharist and more. Also here.

Pray
• Before worship ... Read Raymond Harbort's reflection, Let Us Pray, above under DioBethSpin.
• The Daily Office ... with the Mission St. Clare.
• 20+1+1 = Renewal ... Challenge yourself to pray for 20 minutes daily, to worship for one hour weekly, and to serve others for one day a month. Find Mother Laura Howell's blog here.
• For our young men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families. Here.

Episcopal/Anglican
• Episcopal Church Website and News Service. Follow the Episcopal News Service on Twitter.
• Anglican Communion News Service ... on Facebook.

Moravian
• Moravian Church in North America website • Moravian Church Northern Province website • Moravian Theological Seminary website

Evangelical Lutheran
• ELCA website ... Here.
• ELCA News Service ... Here.
• ELCA's blogs may be found here. See especially "Web and Multimedia Development."
• NEPA Synod website ... Here.
• Synod E-News ... May 20. Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter by email here.

United Methodist
• May Communication newsletter ... Here. • UMC website ... Here. • UMC News Service ... Here. UMC Communication ... The United Methodist Church has long been a leader in providing useful resources for church communicators. Start here. • Eastern PA Conference of the UMC website ... Here. • Facebook ... Here. • Bishop Peggy Johnson's blog ... Here.

Roman Catholic
• Head of liberal Catholic weekly has died ... [Religion News Service and National Catholic Reporter] Joe Feuerherd, the editor-in-chief of National Catholic Reporter, who embodied the weekly newspaper’s fierce independence and liberal tilt, died on Wednesday (May 25) after an 18-month bout with cancer, NCR has announced. Here and Here.
• Complex questions of papal infallibility ... [NCR] Here.
• Vatican Information Service blog ... Here. • United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website ... Here. • Catholic News Service ... Here. • Diocese of Allentown website ... Here. • Diocese of Scranton website ... Here.

Additional sources of news/info/commentary
• Religion News Service Daily Roundup ... here.
• Diocese of Bethlehem
(1) The DioBeth newSpin blog
(2) The DioBeth website
(3) Twitter.DioBeth
(4) Twitter.Kat Lehman
(5) Facebook.DioBeth
(6) Public news and info lists: At the Diobeth website, enter your name and email in the "Get Connected" box on the right hand side. You are welcome to subscribe to any or all of these. "Bakery" is our diocesan interactive list.
• Episcopal/Anglican
(1) NewsLine
(2) News & Notices
(3) Infoline
(4) Episcopal News Service
(5) Episcopal Church website
(6) Twitter
(7) Facebook
(8) YouTube
(9) The Lead, Episcopal Cafe
(10) Daily Episcopalian, Episcopal Cafe
(11) AngicansOnline.
(12) AnglicansOnline News Centre.
(13) Anglican Communion website.
(14) Anglican Communion News Service.

• Find earlier issues of the newSpin newsletter here and recent ones in the left column here.

*************
Send info about newSpin to friends you think may be interested ... newSpin is an electronic newsletter that includes news, information and commentary related to the Diocese of Bethlehem, the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion and the world of religion ... with some spin, of course, from the editor. Edited by retired communication minister Bill Lewellis and ordinarily published twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday, it is currently received by some 1,200 people, many of whom forward it to many others. To have it emailed directly to you, subscribe at the "Get Connected" box on the right column of www.diobeth.org. Select newSpin under the groups. You may find samples of the newSpin newsletter on the left column of the newSpin blog, www.diobeth.typepad.com.

About the newSpin newsletter ... Composed at least weekly (usually twice a week) by Bill Lewellis, the newSpin newsletter appears as a post within the newSpin blog, but newsletter and blog are not identical. The newsletter comes, of course, with some spin from the editor, but the views expressed, implied or inferred in items or links contained in the newsletter or the blog do not represent the official view of the Diocese of Bethlehem unless expressed by or forwarded from the Bishop or the Archdeacon as an official communication. Comments may be addressed to Bill.

Bill Lewellis, Diocese of Bethlehem, retired
Communication MInister (1985-2010), Canon Theologian (1998)
Blog, Email (c)610-393-1833

Be attentive. Be intelligent. Be reasonable. Be responsible.
Be in Love. And, if necessary, change. [Bernard Lonergan]

10:40 AM in newSpin | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 29, 2011

Liking is for cowards. Go for what hurts.

By Jonathan Franzen
[An excerpt]

Liking, in general, is commercial culture’s substitute for loving. The striking thing about all consumer products — and none more so than electronic devices and applications — is that they’re designed to be immensely likable. This is, in fact, the definition of a consumer product, in contrast to the product that is simply itself and whose makers aren’t fixated on your liking it. (I’m thinking here of jet engines, laboratory equipment, serious art and literature.)

But if you consider this in human terms, and you imagine a person defined by a desperation to be liked, what do you see? You see a person without integrity, without a center. In more pathological cases, you see a narcissist — a person who can’t tolerate the tarnishing of his or her self-image that not being liked represents, and who therefore either withdraws from human contact or goes to extreme, integrity-sacrificing lengths to be likable.

If you dedicate your existence to being likable, however, and if you adopt whatever cool persona is necessary to make it happen, it suggests that you’ve despaired of being loved for who you really are. And if you succeed in manipulating other people into liking you, it will be hard not to feel, at some level, contempt for those people, because they’ve fallen for your shtick. You may find yourself becoming depressed, or alcoholic, or, if you’re Donald Trump, running for president (and then quitting).

[snip, snip]
The fundamental fact about all of us is that we’re alive for a while but will die before long. This fact is the real root cause of all our anger and pain and despair. And you can either run from this fact or, by way of love, you can embrace it.
When you stay in your room and rage or sneer or shrug your shoulders, as I did for many years, the world and its problems are impossibly daunting. But when you go out and put yourself in real relation to real people, or even just real animals, there’s a very real danger that you might love some of them.

And who knows what might happen to you then?

via www.nytimes.com

05:51 PM in Jonathan Franzen, Newspapers, Op-Ed | Permalink | Comments (0)

Memorial Day had its beginnings in Civil War

The first Memorial Day was organized as a day of mourning.

via www.baltimoresun.com

04:54 PM in Memorial Day | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 26, 2011

TCC – Many thank you all

By Bill Lewellis

"Due to declining enrollment and a lack of funding," the story began in today's Republican Herald, "the preschool[Trinity Center for Children] at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pottsville will close June 3."

How sad. In its heyday, TCC's enrollment surpassed 30. Today, 14 children, five full-time and nine part-time, are enrolled, with a staff of four, two full-time and two part-time people.

Sad, indeed, but might we not thank God and many groups and individuals for 20 years of this wonderful ministry.

I thank God for the vision and unselfishness of the lay and clergy leadership of Trinity Episcopal Church who sought back in 1991 to provide quality education and spiritual nurture for children beyond the bounds of their membership, for the Diocese of Bethlehem, the diocesan community's provision of financial and other important resources at TCC's launch and periodically thereafter, for the board volunteers of TCC, often recognized only when criticized, who over the years provided crucial governance, expertise and insight in hiring dedicated staff and keeping the ministry afloat. I thank God for the teachers who have loved the children and for the parents who have appreciated the teachers, the board, the Diocese of Bethlehem and the vision and leadership of Trinity Episcopal Church. Indeed, it took a village to raise 20 years of precious children. Many of us thank you all.

Bill Lewellis, Diocese of Bethlehem, retired
Communication Minister/Editor (1986-2010), Canon Theologian (1998)

05:42 PM in Canon Bill Lewellis, Children, Clergy, Congregations, Letter to the Editor, Trinity Center for Children, Trinity Pottsville | Permalink | Comments (0)

newSpin 110526

The newSpin newsletter, May 26, 2011
By Bill Lewellis
Published Mondays and Thursdays

TopSpin
• Pottsville's Trinity Center for Children to close June 3 ... Below, under DioBethSpin.
• Renewal Assembly II ... June 11 (9:00 to 1:30) at eight locations across the Diocese. More here and on pages A1 & 8 of the June Diocesan Life. Register here. Registration will close on June 1. A new 18-minute video will feature Bishop Paul in conversation with three lay people: Lucy Kitch-Peck on the Gifts of the Spirit in her life; Liza Holzinger of St. Andrew's Allentown on a Congregation detecting the gifts and opportunities the Spirit gives parishes; Warren Shotto of Good Shepherd Scranton on how parish leadership detects the gifts in individuals and calls them forth.
• Easter and Fenway Park ... [Bishop Paul] Believe in miracles ... Believe in next year, and the next and the next. Below, under DioBethSpin.
• Social Ministries now accepting grant requests for disbursements from the New Hope Campaign ... Below, under DioBethSpin.
• Let us pray ... [Raymond Harbort] Below, under DioBethSpin.
• The gift of friendship ... [Anne Kitch] Below, under DioBethSpin.

DioBethSpin
• Diocesan Life, June ... Read or download it here.
• Easter and Fenway Park ... [Bishop Paul] I don’t have the patience or devotion to be a good baseball fan, but for the last 15 years I have worked in an office where baseball is taken very seriously, religiously perhaps. I have observed two things about baseball fans that I admire very much. First, they believe in miracles. In fact they have seen them and wait for the next one regularly. Second – so important for our troubled culture – they believe in next year. Read it all on page A2 of the June Diocesan Life.
• Dolores Kiehne, 85, RIP ... [Reading Eagle] Dolores (Dee) Y. Kiehne, 85, formerly of Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland died May 19 in her home in center city Reading, PA, where she had resided the last 11 years. Wife of Frank Kiehne, she earned a BA in psychology and sociology from Webster University, Geneva, Switzerland Campus, at the age of 64. Memorial Service will be held at Christ Church, Reading, on Thursday, June 9 at 12 noon. Find obituary here.
• Let us pray ... [Raymond Harbort] There was a time when, as you entered an Episcopal Church (anywhere, of any stripe of churchmanship), you would find quiet. As people gathered for worship they knelt and prayed or they sat in silence. If people found it necessary to speak, they did so in whispers. This silence told you that you were in a holy place, a place set apart for prayer and worship, a place in which God’s Presence could be known. The silence spoke of the congregation’s awareness of the holiness of what they were about to do. And it created a space and time that enabled and encouraged prayer and worship. There still are parishes where silence before worship is still observed. But, what you find on entering most Episcopal churches today is a “din of robbers”, people chatting----robbing others and themselves of the quiet most of us need to pray. More here.
• Pottsville's Trinity Center for Children to close June 3 ... [Republican Herald] Due to declining enrollment and a lack of funding, the preschool at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pottsville will close June 3. "I think it's a shame because there aren't many programs in the area that offer a spiritual component to a sound educational background," said Tiffany L. Reedy, Pottsville, whose daughter, Samarra, 5, is a preschool student there. Reedy is also principal of D.H.H. Lengel Middle School, Pottsville. "The school's been operating in the red for the last three years," said the Rev. James Rinehart, a member of Trinity Center for Children's board of directors. "We had some money invested, but we've gone through our investments ... Last year, we didn't even hold our summer program because of lack of registration." More here.
• Education for Ministry ... [Cathy Bailey] Education for Ministry (EfM) is a 4-year theology course designed for lay people. It includes study of the Old Testament, New Testament, Church History and Theological choices. Every baptized person is called to ministry. This program, through study, discussion, guided reflection, prayer, worship and fellowship, helps Christians carry out that ministry. There is lots of information about EfM, including sample lessons, on the EfM website. Participants register for one year at a time, meet weekly in groups of 6-12, and are led by a trained mentor. There will be groups meeting at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, on Wednesday mornings and evenings starting in September 2011. If you would like more information please contact Cathy Bailey 610-442-1189 or Janet Kolepp 610-954-9582.
• 365 Alive ... Hillary Dowling Raining, assistant priest at Trinity Bethlehem, creatively writes a blog on her 2011 New Year's Resolution to try something new every day, a practice in living in the moment and seeing God in all things. Visit 365 Alive.
• The gift of friendship ... [Anne Kitch, ENS] I sit across the lunch table from my friend as we pray over richly fragrant beef-with-broccoli. It occurs to me as I offer thanks for our food and friendship that she and I have been praying over restaurant lunches together for years. Ten, 11, 12 years ago such mealtime graces included our children. Read it all here.
• Social Ministries now accepting grant requests ... The Social Ministries Committee is now ready to receive and consider requests for disbursements from the New Hope Campaign. The total amount we are able to grant for the 2011-12 calendar year is $100,000. Therefore, we are inviting Letters of Intent from parishes and Episcopal related organizations within the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem. The Deadline for Letters of Intent is 15 July 2011. More here.
• Renewal Assembly II, Saturday June 11 ... Above, under TopSpin.
• Jubilate ... Hymnody for Pentecost to Christ the King Sunday (June 12, 2011 to November 30, 2011), published by the Diocese of Bethlehem for our diocesan community and for free distribution to the world, may be downloaded here.
• Episcopal News Weekly bulletin inserts ... Download inserts here.
• DioBeth Website and newSpin Blog
• Public news and info lists ... At the Diobeth website, enter your name and email in the "Get Connected" box on the right hand side. You are welcome to subscribe to any or all of these. "Bakery" is our diocesan interactive list.

TaleSpin
• Oprah Winfrey, spiritual leader? ... [Washington Post] Oprah Winfrey plays many roles-- talk show host, chairman of a television network, philanthropist — but the one she says is most important to her is that of spiritual leader. “. . .I’m very clear about what my role and purpose is,” Winfrey said to Piers Morgan in a January interview. “This isn’t about me. I am the messenger to deliver the message of redemption, of hope, of forgiveness, of gratitude, of evolving people to the best of themselves. So I am on my personal journey. My personal journey is to fulfill the highest expression of myself here as a human being here on earth.” Read the WaPo story here. And on the CNN Belief blog, How Oprah became a messiah. Her last live show on network TV aired yesterday. And from the Chicago Tribune: Just how did a "black girl" from Kosciusko, Miss., born in abject poverty to an unmarried teenage mother, and who once wore clothes made of potato sacks and suffered all manner of neglect and abuse, climb so singularly far? With the help of Oprah and others, Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones goes on a search for the answers. [H/T Leadership Education at Duke Divinity]
• Could another Bible unite Christians like the KJV? ... [Religion News Service, Daniel Burke] 1604. England. Rebellious Puritans, establishment Anglicans and Roman Catholics are at each other’s throats. A new king fears his reign will combust in a powder keg of religious strife and anti-monarchical fervor. So King James I does what any sensible monarch would do: He orders up a new translation of the Bible. King James’ Bible failed miserably as a peacekeeper—civil war broke out in 1642—but enjoyed smashing success as a book. Published in 1611, the King James Version (KJV) reigned supreme over English translations for nearly three centuries, becoming the best-selling tome in history. There may never be another like it. More here.
• The 20 most tornado prone states ... (The Daily Beast) Here.

TailSpin
• St. Vitalis of Assisi – Who knew? ... [BBC] The severed head of a man said to be the patron saint of venereal disease will go on auction in County Meath on Sunday. The skull is allegedly that of St Vitalis of Assisi, an Italian Benedictine monk from the 14th century. Yes, you're going to want to know more.
• It's daja vu all over again ... [Daniel Burke, RNS] Taking to the airwaves on Monday, doomsday Prophet Harold Camping said May 21 was an "invisible Judgment Day," rather than, you know, the fire-and-brimstone, earthquakes-and-tsunamis type Judgment Day. The real destruction of the world will be October 21, saith Camping. The fringy, 89-year-old radio preacher brushed off questions from reporters, according to the NYT, and said he won't do any more interviews. The Family Radio website has been scrubbed of dire predictions. It will be interesting to see how Camping followers and the media respond to the new Rapture date, when "it won't be spiritual anymore," as Camping says.
[Religion Dispatches, Randall Balmer] When the world fails to end on schedule. Here.
[Clarence Page] The host of the Bible-focused Family Radio broadcast was so absolutely, positively certain that Judgment Day would arrive May 21 that he urged his believers to quit their jobs, leave their families and turn over their savings. ... So let us give the doomsday prophets their proper amount of ridicule, but don't call them crazy. It is not insane for us humans to prefer our feelings over facts. It's just wrong. Here.
[Patheos] A teachable moment, the perils of Rapture theology. Here.
• Baseball Joy of Fan's Desiring ... [YouTube] Here. Find more on the Bottle Band of St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Chicago Synod) here. [H/T Andrew Gerns]
• Reactions to ABC, ABY bullying ... [Episcopal Café, John B. Chilton] The Slee memo details how the Archbishops of Canterbury and York intimidated the members of crown nominations committee into taking off the table the preferred candidates for bishop of the south London diocese of Southwark after a meeting in the loo. It is presumed they washed their hands. Read the memo and reactions.

Calendar
• Calendar of Events ... Updated May 2. Download here. Updated here.

Pray
• Before worship ... Read Raymond Harbort's reflection, Let Us Pray, above under DioBethSpin.
• The Daily Office ... with the Mission St. Clare.
• 20+1+1 = Renewal ... Challenge yourself to pray for 20 minutes daily, to worship for one hour weekly, and to serve others for one day a month. Find Mother Laura Howell's blog here.
• For our young men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families. Here.

Episcopal/Anglican
• Mountain Echoes ... [Episcopal Appalachian Ministries] Spring 2011 newsletter.
• SCLM provides online resource archive ... [Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) has created an archive of materials it has collected and generated in its effort to accomplish the mandate given to it by General Convention concerning the blessing of same-gender unions. More here.
• Episcopal Church Website and News Service. Follow the Episcopal News Service on Twitter.

Moravian
• Moravian Church in North America website • Moravian Church Northern Province website • Moravian Theological Seminary website

Roman Catholic
• Vatican conference will consider AIDS, condoms ... [Religion News Service] (RNS) The morality and effectiveness of using condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS will be on the agenda at a Vatican conference this weekend (May 27-28), six months after comments by Pope Benedict XVI again touched off worldwide controversy. Here.
• Complex questions of papal infallibility ... [NCR] Here.
• Vatican Information Service blog ... Here. • United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website ... Here. • Catholic News Service ... Here. • Diocese of Allentown website ... Here. • Diocese of Scranton website ... Here.

• Find earlier issues of the newSpin newsletter here and recent ones in the left column here.

Bill Lewellis, Diocese of Bethlehem, retired
Communication MInister (1985-2010), Canon Theologian (1998)
Blog, Email (c)610-393-1833

Be attentive. Be intelligent. Be reasonable. Be responsible.
Be in Love. And, if necessary, change. [Bernard Lonergan]

02:38 PM in newSpin | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let us pray, by Raymond Harbort

By Raymond Harbort

At the “cleansing of the temple” Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer but you have made it a den of robbers.” I have often wondered if what Jesus was objecting to was, at least in part, the “din of robbers”---the noise made by moneychangers and sellers of animals so that prayer, knowing the presence of the Holy God, was made difficult if not impossible.

There was a time when, as you entered an Episcopal Church (anywhere, of any stripe of churchmanship), you would find quiet. As people gathered for worship they knelt and prayed or they sat in silence. If people found it necessary to speak, they did so in whispers. This silence told you that you were in a holy place, a place set apart for prayer and worship, a place in which God’s Presence could be known. The silence spoke of the congregation’s awareness of the holiness of what they were about to do. And it created a space and time that enabled and encouraged prayer and worship.

There still are parishes where silence before worship is still observed. But, what you find on entering most Episcopal churches today is a “din of robbers”, people chatting----robbing others and themselves of the quiet most of us need to pray. Anyone wanting to pray will find it difficult. (I confess that too often I find myself judging and grumbling to myself about the talkers rather than praying.) Sometimes, admittedly, the conversation is expression of the love we ought to have for one another (words of sympathy or support, inquiry about health, etc.). But couldn’t that wait until after the service or coffee hour? More often it is just chitchat about things like “where we went for dinner last night”. It seems to me that what loving one another should mean as we gather for worship is praying for ourselves and others or being silent so that others can pray.

If what we do during worship is of supreme importance (and it is---for we are seeking to enter into communion with God) then how we come to worship---the heart, soul and mind we bring to worship is of great importance. All of us struggle with distraction in prayer and worship. But if we are chatting and distracted as the service begins we will not be prepared to worship God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength.

I do not know how we got this way---how over the last 20-30 years we seem to have lost this custom of silence in the presence of the holy. Does the atmosphere of “friendly informality” that so many clergy and parishes adopted since the 1960’s and 70’s have something to do with it? Or is it perhaps a tendency to treat the church building as an ordinary place (not “sacred space) except during the times of worship (and, perhaps, sometimes not even then)? Is it that worship has come to be seen as a form of entertainment so that people are inclined to behave beforehand as they would at a concert? I have heard it said that the chatting before the service is a sign of the congregation’s love for one another---and therefore a sign of welcome and hospitality to the newcomer. (Hmm? I wonder if people interrupt their conversations to greet the newcomer? Perhaps.) On the other hand, if the ushers or greeters have exercised the ministry of hospitality at the door, then perhaps, once inside, a reverent silence would be more welcoming? What if a visitor, drawn by the Holy Spirit, came in deep spiritual hunger, seeking God, wanting to pray and couldn’t because of the noise? Yes, if visitors show up, welcome them in a whisper. Help them find their way through the service. And then, when the service is over, invite and escort them to coffee hour and introduce them to the clergy and members of the parish.

I don’t know how we got this way and I’m not sure how we get this counter-productive genie back in the bottle. I, like many others, have tried but have sometimes meet with resentment and little success. If I had it to do over again I think I’d try to enlist the understanding and cooperation of the vestry, parish groups, and those matriarchal/patriarchal pacesetters that everyone follows and who are present in every parish. Over time, by praying or sitting quietly in their pews before the service, their example could change the culture of the parish.

Finally, people not spending the time in prayer before the service raises another concern: have they prepared themselves to receive their Lord in Holy Communion? It is possible (but unlikely) that people have “made their preparation” at home the night before or that morning. More likely, they are coming to Communion having made no preparation whatsoever. When I raised this concern with a friend he replied, “Who can ever be “properly prepared?” True, nothing we can do, no amount of repentance and prayer, can ever make us worthy. It is all grace. But it seems to me that love and reverence bid us to at least make an effort. Preparing for Holy Communion by examination of conscience and prayer is grounded in Paul’s counsel to the Christians in I Cor. 11:28 and has always been part of the tradition. The many devotional manuals of all stripes of churchmanship witness to this as does, most eloquently, the Exhortation in the Prayer Book (p. 316-317). When was it last read in your parish? Maybe it would be a good subject for some preaching and teaching.

Let us pray.

---(The Rev.) Raymond Harbort

09:53 AM in Clergy, Raymond Harbort, Reflection, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 25, 2011

Pray For...

Pray for our young men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families:

Sgt. 1st Class Clifford E. Beattie, 37, of Medical Lake, Washington
Spc. Brandon M. Kirton, 25, of Centennial, Colorado
Spc. Bradley L. Melton, 29, Rolla, Missouri
Pfc. Ramon Mora Jr., 19, of Ontario, California
Pvt. Cheizray Pressley, 21, of North Charleston, South Carolina
Staff Sgt. David D. Self, 29, of Pearl, Mississippi
Pvt. Lamarol J. Tucker, 26, of Gainesville, Florida

Pray also for the fallen heroes also of our coalition partners, and for the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan who have died, unnamed and unknown to us, and for those who mourn ... and for an end to this endless war.

Culled from various web pages, including:
U.S. Department of Defense news releases
In Remembrance, at legacy.com
Honor the Fallen, from Military Times

Want to receive this in your email box? Subscribe to our "Pray For..." list via our "Get Connected" box on our web site: www.diobeth.org

11:16 AM in Military, Pray for..., Prayer | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 24, 2011

Lift up the stories of women, sexual minorities, and non-white people

Thinking ahead to Sunday's sermon (Easter 6)
Bishop Paul Marshall

[Posted on Bakery, the interactive list of the Diocese of Bethlehem, House of Bread. Responses welcome there, at the bottom of this post or directly to Bishop Paul.]

I got some very useful responses to last week's Tuesday rambling, so I am going to dash off another first thought, ill-formed as it may be.

Next Sunday we re-encounter Paul's famous speech at the Areopagus, and as I followed the translation with the original (which anybody can do by going to Textweek.com), an old problem arose for me.

The text has Paul open his speech with "men of Athens." He is using the gender-specific "andres" and not the inclusive "anthropoi." In our altogether well-motivated principles of translation today, this comes out as "Athenians." As I say, the motivation for translating this way is very good, but is it helpful?

The NRSV translation obscures the fact that in Paul's day, at least as I understand it, Greek women were still kept at home, very much much less in evidence than Roman women, and men alone gathered in the agora (public square, so to speak) to do the philosophizing, which functioned to some degree like golf in my father's day.

Obscuring the cultural reality of the text may keep us from asking an important question. Paul's speech was not well-received by the men of Athens. Would the result have been different if women's voices had been welcome? Given who his Hellenistic supporters tended to be, I think so.

That is not the point on which the text turns, of course, but we miss another episode in the strange drama of our species if we airbrush it out. Our present translations create an image of the ancient world that appears to the naive reader to have been much like what we wish ours will eventually be.

Many of us have the comfortable illusion that we live in a post-gender, post-racial culture, or that only women or minorities own the rights to bring these topics into a conversation. Last week I attended a panel where three women psychiatrists, women in their 40s, 60s, and 80s, had amazingly similar stories to tell about how their interactions with male and female patients differed. So I tried the idea out on a Bible study group with about the level of success the Areopagus speech got (but without even the feigned interest!). I'm going to stick to my guns about this: I do not think that all preachers are sufficiently careful to lift up the stories of women, sexual minorities, and non-white people, and that we suffer for it. I tentatively say, translate according to the meaning of the original, leave the text where it is in the past, and show how it lives in the present--the fact that the Spirit continues to function is much more apparent when the contrast is real. Where the text permits inclusive translation or where gender is not playing a role in the text or subtext, have at it, but where cultural realities may be part of the story, leave it alone.

That is, having lived through the struggles of the last fifty years, and knowing the degree to which those who forget are doomed to repeat, I am experiencing doubt about the value of cosmetizing the past, a project in which my generation has been deeply invested for almost entirely good reason. What would be the point of Huckleberry Finn without the racial tension? Of The Scarlet Letter without gender inequality? Our day has seen attempts to do both, with very unsatisfying results.

Clearly the point opposite mine could be made compellingly. At the same time, how would the Easter stories be weakened if the women-men tension were glossed over ("moreover some people of our group went early in the morning...")?

I suspect from my encounter last week that we would like this issue to be gone, and that our levels of denial or weariness keep us from seeing its importance for homiletical practice.

I would be interested in knowing what you think.

+Paul

09:58 AM in Bishop Paul Marshall, Sermon Prep | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 23, 2011

newSpin 110523

The newSpin newsletter, May 23, 2011
By Bill Lewellis
Published Mondays and Thursdays

TopSpin
• Pray for the people of Joplin, Missouri ... [LATimes and NYTimes] A powerful tornado slammed into Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, killing at least 89 people as it ripped the top off a hospital, sheared parts of the roof off a high school and turned homes and major retail stores into heaps of rubble. More here and here.
• Renewal Assembly II ... June 11 (9:00 to 1:30) at eight locations across the Diocese. More here and on pages A1 & 8 of the June Diocesan Life. Register here. Registration will close on June 1. A new 18-minute video will feature Bishop Paul in conversation with three lay people: Lucy Kitch-Peck on the Gifts of the Spirit in her life; Liza Holzinger of St. Andrew's Allentown on a Congregation detecting the gifts and opportunities the Spirit gives parishes; Warren Shotto of Good Shepherd Scranton on how parish leadership detects the gifts in individuals and calls them forth.
• Easter and Fenway Park ... [Bishop Paul] Believe in miracles ... Believe in next year, and the next and the next. Below, under DioSpin.
• Social Ministries now accepting grant requests for disbursements from the New Hope Campaign ... Below, under DioSpin.
• Speaking up for the poor ... Below, under TaleSpin.

DioSpin
"DioSpin" has replaced the former "Diocese"
• Diocesan Life, June ... Read or download it here.
• Easter and Fenway Park ... [Bishop Paul] I don’t have the patience or devotion to be a good baseball fan, but for the last 15 years I have worked in an office where baseball is taken very seriously, religiously perhaps. I have observed two things about baseball fans that I admire very much. First, they believe in miracles. In fact they have seen them and wait for the next one regularly. Second – so important for our troubled culture – they believe in next year. Read it all on page A2 of the June Diocesan Life.
• Social Ministries now accepting grant requests ... The Social Ministries Committee is now ready to receive and consider requests for disbursements from the New Hope Campaign. The total amount we are able to grant for the 2011-12 calendar year is $100,000. Therefore, we are inviting Letters of Intent from parishes and Episcopal related organizations within the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem. The Deadline for Letters of Intent is 15 July 2011. More here.
• Renewal Assembly II, Saturday June 11 ... Above, under TopSpin.
• Jubilate ... Hymnody for Pentecost to Christ the King Sunday (June 12, 2011 to November 30, 2011), published by the Diocese of Bethlehem for our diocesan community and for free distribution to the world, may be downloaded here.
• Cathedral Church of the Nativity ... [Weekly notes] May 20.
• The Good Shepherd and 'Functioning Up' ... Archdeacon Stringfellow sermon, Easter 4A, at Good Shepherd Scranton. Here.
• The Deadline of Mortality –– Not Today ... This column by Bill Lewellis was published in The Morning Call on Saturday. Would you rather have lunch with Harold Camping or Christopher Hitchens?
• Heaven comes to earth, one vision at a time ... This sermon was preached at Trinity Easton on Saturday, May 21, by Canon Andrew Gerns.
• Bishop's School, Fall Semester ... The site has been moved from St. Peter's Hazleton to St. Stephen's Wilkes-Barre. More.
• Episcopal News Weekly bulletin inserts ... Download inserts here.
• DioBeth Website and newSpin Blog
• Public news and info lists ... At the Diobeth website, enter your name and email in the "Get Connected" box on the right hand side. You are welcome to subscribe to any or all of these. "Bakery" is our diocesan interactive list.

TaleSpin
TaleSpin has replaced the former "Spinning"
• Speaking up for the poor ... [ENS] House of Deputies president Bonnie Anderson says that Episcopalians can be the voice of the poor and the dispossessed in the current federal budget battle. Here. [H/T Andrew Gerns]
• Rethinking the pro-life label ... [CNN Belief Blog, Stephen Prothero] Being consistently pro-life requires more than caring for the unborn; it requires following the Biblical call to care for the poor and the downtrodden. One party has enjoyed a free pass on the religion question. They were the party of God, and a halo of sorts hovered over their public policy positions on "family values." But just how biblical were these positions? No one really knew, because neither the public nor the press were religiously literate enough to ask. More here.
• Majority of Americans favor same-sex marriage ... [Gallup] For the first time in Gallup's tracking of the issue, a majority of Americans (53%) believe same-sex marriage should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages. The increase since last year came exclusively among political independents and Democrats. Republicans' views did not change. More here.
• The Mormon Moment ... [Religion Link] Romney, Huntsman, Reid, and Beck. In the entertainment world the irreverent and even irreligious musical The Book of Mormon has taken Broadway by storm, and the HBO series Big Love just ended after five seasons of critical acclaim. And Stephenie Meyer, author of the hugely popular Twilight series of vampire stories, is a Mormon housewife-turned-novelist. Little wonder some are calling this “the Mormon moment.” Has the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gone as mainstream as Catholicism and Judaism – they also had to overcome historical prejudices? More here.
• No offense ... The cover of TIME (May 30) is "Sex. Lies. Arrogance. What Makes Powerful Men Act Like Pigs* –– The asterisk is picked up on the bottom right to the left of a lovable pig. Read the cover story here.
• Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint ... [Alban Institute] Here.
• Finding $45,000 in attic of new home, returning it ... [Huffington Post] Here. [H/T Andrew Gerns]
• Forgiving her son's killer: 'Not an easy thing' ... [NPR] It would be easy -- expected, even -- for Mary Johnson and Oshea Israel to be enemies. After all, he killed Johnson's only son, in 1993. He went to prison for that -- and toward the end of his sentence, he and Johnson made peace. Now 34, Oshea finished serving his prison sentence for murder about a year and a half ago. Recently, he and Johnson visited NPR's StoryCorps to discuss their relationship -- and the forgiveness it is built upon. More here. [H/T Leadership Education at Duke Divinity]
• When the Internet thinks it knows you ... [NYTimes Op-Ed] Here.

TailSpin
• Another doomsday prediction doomed ... [Bill] I expected to be among those left behind ... and I am. By strange coincidence, the publication date of my Morning Call column, The Deadline of Mortality – Not Today, written about a week before, was May 21, the impending doomsday and my 74th birthday. Read the column on the newSpin blog or at the website of The Morning Call. Harold Camping since Saturday has been a no show when sought out by the media.
• A fairy story for people afraid of the dark ... [Stephen Hawking] "I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark." [Bill] Should we say that's Stephen Hawking's "opinion" or "belief?" I don't recall his having proven that there is no afterlife.
• Religion and Sex Quiz ... [NYTimes Op-Ed, Nicholas Kristof] Think you know what the Bible says about social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage? Take this quiz and let's see. Here's a clue for one of the questions. "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food and posperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." Ezekiel 16:49
• Peggy Noonan on Why We Shouldn't Be Surprised by Newt, Arnold and DSK ... Peggy Noonan wrote her Friday WSJ column on Newt Gingrich, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. She argues that we probably shouldn't be surprised by their most recent disasters. Everyone knew that Newt was "combustible," that DSK had a "woman problem" and that Arnold has been plagued in the past by bad behavior and a trail of rumors, Noonan says. That's not to say the acts of these men's actions, particularly those of DSK and Schwarzenegger, were not outrageous. Noonan finds plenty to be indignant about, particularly France's overwhelmingly sympathetic reaction to DSK's arrest. But here's her point: "we wouldn't be so surprised if we paid more attention to what we know, and built our expectations from there." More here.
• Zombie Apocalypse ... [CS Monitor/Reuters/CNN] A blog post by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that mentions a ''zombie apocalypse'' as a lighthearted way to get Americans to read about preparing for hurricanes drove so much traffic that it crashed the website, the agency said Thursday. The Zombie Apocalypse campaign is a social media effort by the CDC's Public Health and Preparedness center to spread the word about the June 1 start of hurricane season. The campaign was designed to reach a young, media-savvy demographic that the CDC had not been able to capture previously. More here. CNN story here.
• Coming Out ... [NYTimes, Interactive feature] Bullying and suicides of gay and lesbian teenagers are in the headlines, the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy has been repealed, and the debate over same-sex marriage continues to divide the country. Against this backdrop, many L.G.B.T. youth wonder how accepting society will be. More here.
• A budget without core purposes, taxation without compassion ... [NYTimes, Editorial Observer] The budgetary policy of the United States has been the least generous in the industrial world for a very long time. Here.

Calendar
• Calendar of Events ... Updated May 2. Download here.

View
• Enchantment Marketing ... Guy Kawasaki, Apple's former chief evangelist. Here.
• Three things I learned while my plane crashed ... Here.

Go
• June 11, to Renewal Assembly II ... At many locations. See above, under TopSpin.
• July 9, to Called to be Heroes ... Bishop's Day for Kids , grades 1-5, at Church of the Good Shepherd in Scranton. Children in grades 1-5 are invited to spend the day with Bishop Paul, 9:30 to 2:30, and meet some no-so-well-known heroes in the Bible. Discover your own super powers, and enjoy being together. Storytelling, games, Eucharist and more.

Pray
• For the people of Joplin, Missouri ... Above, under TopSpin.
• The Daily Office ... with the Mission St. Clare.
• 20+1+1 = Renewal ... Challenge yourself to pray for 20 minutes daily, to worship for one hour weekly, and to serve others for one day a month. Find Mother Laura Howell's blog here.
• For our young men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families. Here.

Episcopal/Anglican
• Pilot program nurtures leadership for Episcopal young adults ... [ENS] Young adults have an opportunity to participate in an innovative pilot program, the Episcopal Leadership Institute for Young Adults, which centers on leadership and advocacy training. More here.
• The Anglican Alliance has launched a Facebook page. Alliance. News release on launch. Facebook page.
• Episcopal Church Women ... eCommuniqué, Easter 2011, here.
• SCLM provides online resource archive ... [Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) has created an archive of materials it has collected and generated in its effort to accomplish the mandate given to it by General Convention concerning the blessing of same-gender unions. More here.
• Episcopal Church Website and News Service. Follow the Episcopal News Service on Twitter.

Moravian
• Douglas Kleintop, 93, died May 19. He was the father of Bishop Douglas Kleintop. Bishop Doug's wife, Rosemary, served on Bishop Paul's staff at Diocesan House a few years ago. Here's the obituary.
• Moravian Church in North America website • Moravian Church Northern Province website • Moravian Theological Seminary website

Roman Catholic
• Voice Lessons ... [America Magazine, Peter Steinfels] When a national conference of Catholic bishops habitually speaks with a common voice, does that undermine the leadership of individual bishops? More here. That's the focus of Steinfels' article, but it seems to me to miss the point of Vatican concern, which is the authority/influence of national conferences of Catholic bishops in relationship to the Vatican. The Vatican has long insisted that individual bishops, not national conferences, have authority. My take on that has long been that Rome can control individual bishops much more easily than national conferences. Perhaps Steinfels will someday write about that.
• Helping Catholic students remain Catholic in a setting of Nietzsche and beer pont ... [NYTimes] Nationwide pilot pogram designed to keep actively Catholic college students actively Catholic. Here.
• Vatican Information Service blog ... Here. • United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website ... Here. • Catholic News Service ... Here. • Diocese of Allentown website ... Here. • Diocese of Scranton website ... Here.

Bill Lewellis, Diocese of Bethlehem, retired
Communication MInister (1985-2010), Canon Theologian (1998)
Blog, Email (c)610-393-1833

Be attentive. Be intelligent. Be reasonable. Be responsible.
Be in Love. And, if necessary, change. [Bernard Lonergan]

01:55 PM in newSpin | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 20, 2011

Diocesan Life for June 2011

Open publication - Free publishing - More anglican

If you would like the issue in a .pdf, you can download it here. It's 2MB:

Download June2011_DiocesanLife_SMALL

12:37 PM in Archdeacon Stringfellow, Asset Mapping, Bishop Paul Marshall, Calendar, Canon Anne Kitch, Canon Charles Cesaretti, Christophany, Clergy, Column, Conference/Workshop, Congregational Renewal, Diocesan Event, Diocesan Life, Free, Knitters/Crocheters, New Ministry Celebration, Prayer, Quiet Day, R2O, Renewal, Renewal Assembly, Tony Pompa, William McGinty | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 19, 2011

newSpin 110519

The newSpin newsletter, May 19, 2011
By Bill Lewellis
Published Mondays and Thursdays

TopSpin
• Renewal Assembly II ... (9:00 to 1:30) at eight locations across the Diocese. More here. Register here. Registration will close on June 1. A new 18-minute video will feature Bishop Paul in conversation with three lay people: Lucy Kitch-Peck on the Gifts of the Spirit in her life; Liza Holzinger of St. Andrew's Allentown on a Congregation detecting the gifts and opportunities the Spirit gives parishes; Warren Shotto of Good Shepherd Scranton on how parish leadership detects the gifts in individuals and calls them forth.
• Canon Mark Laubach's 25th ... On Sunday, May 22. Below, under "Diocese."
• Social Ministries now accepting grant requests for disbursements from the New Hope Campaign ... Below, under "Diocese."
• Weed and Seed needs your help ... Below, under "Diocese."

TailSpin
• Another doomsday prediction ... [Bill] Many have given evangelist Harold Camping of Family Radio far more rent space in their heads than he deserves for his prediction that the world will end on May 21. His is the latest of some 220 predictions that, obviously, have been wrong. But we are in the Information Age and Camping has gotten much more visibility than probably the other 219: on radio (mostly his own network), TV (not so much on the stations I watch, but probably more on Friday and Saturday), newspapers (enough, probably more on Friday and Saturday) Internet (a lot), and on other venues. According to a report from the New York Daily News, one of Camping's followers has spent his retirement savings of $140,000 for an ad campaign: signs on subway cars and bus shelters around NYC. I don't suppose Camping will reimburse him on May 22. More at Episcopal Cafe, posted by Andrew Gerns. Also Bill Lewellis' Morning Call column to be published on doomsday. Would you rather have lunch with Harold Camping or Christopher Hitchens?
• The fight over Billy Graham's legacy ... [Newsweek, Lisa Miller] With the great evangelist in his twilight, his children jostle over his image and the family name.
• What Stephen Hawking doesn't understand about heaven ... [N.T. Wright, Washington Post] It’s depressing to see Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant minds in his field, trying to speak as an expert on things he sadly seems to know rather less about than many averagely intelligent Christians. Of course there are people who think of ‘heaven’ as a kind of pie-in-the-sky dream of an afterlife to make the thought of dying less awful. No doubt that’s a problem as old as the human race. But in the Bible ‘heaven’ isn’t ‘the place where people go when they die.’ In the Bible heaven is God’s space while earth (or, if you like, ‘the cosmos’ or ‘creation’) is our space. And the Bible makes it clear that the two overlap and interlock. For the ancient Jews, the place where this happened was the temple; for the Christians, the place where this happened was Jesus himself, and then, astonishingly, the persons of Christians because they, too, were ‘temples’ of God’s own spirit. More here.
• Two weeks without working for Latino people ... "I would invite all Latin people to do nothing for about two weeks so you can see who really, really is running the economy. Who cleans the sheets? Who cleans the toilets? Who babysits? I am here to give voice to the invisible." [Musician Carlos Santana, protesting Georgia's immigration law while accepting Major League Baseball’s Beacon of Change award before the "Civil Rights Game" in Atlanta. (Source: USA Today)]
• Speaking with the Virgin Mary ... [CNN] House Speaker John Boehner teared up while delivering Catholic University's commencement address, and said a phone call from his high-school old football coach was "pretty darn close" to speaking with the Virgin Mary. [H/T RNS]

Calendar
• Calendar of Events ... Updated May 2. Download here.

Word
• Deathers ... Those who doubt that Obama bin Laden is dead.

View
• Enchantment Marketing ... Guy Kawasaki, Apple's former chief evangelist. Here.
• Three things I learned while my plane crashed ... Here.
• Diocese of Bethlehem related photos and photos and photos ... Here.
• Renewal Assembly I video ... with Bishop Paul, Mother Laura Howell and Father John Francis, at YouTube, split into two parts, or all in one at Vimeo. Length of video is 23:30.

Go
• June 11, to Renewal Assembly II ... At many locations. See above, under "TopSpin."
• July 9, to Called to be Heroes ... Bishop's Day for Kids , grades 1-5, at Church of the Good Shepherd in Scranton. Children in grades 1-5 are invited to spend the day with Bishop Paul, 9:30 to 2:30, and meet some no-so-well-known heroes in the Bible. Discover your own super powers, and enjoy being together. Storytelling, games, Eucharist and more.

Pray
• The Daily Office ... with the Mission St. Clare.
• 20+1+1 = Renewal ... Challenge yourself to pray for 20 minutes daily, to worship for one hour weekly, and to serve others for one day a month. Find Mother Laura Howell's blog here.
• Pray for our young men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families. Here.

Diocese
• Angel Eyes ... Thinking ahead to Sunday's sermon, by Bishop Paul. Here.
• Social Ministries now accepting grant requests ... The Social Ministries Committee is now ready to receive and consider requests for disbursements from the New Hope Campaign. The total amount we are able to grant for the 2011-12 calendar year is $100,000. Therefore, we are inviting Letters of Intent from parishes and Episcopal related organizations within the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem. The Deadline for Letters of Intent is 15 July 2011. More here.
• Canon Mark Laubach's 25th ... St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Canon Mark Laubach’s service to the church following a choral Evensong at 5:00 pm Sunday, May 22, in the church, at 35 South Franklin Street. More here.
• Weed and Seed needs your help ... [Bob House, parish administrator, Grace Allentown] State and federal budget cuts have eliminated the funding of the Weed and Seed Program. This might be penny wise but it is pound foolish. The job counselor program alone, which we have sponsored since 2006, has brought in over 7 million dollars during that period to the local economy at a cost of only $35,000 per year. The entire W & S budget for all 17 locations in PA is only $435,000. The current state budget seems to be designed to destroy the safety net supporting poor people in our state. Here's how can you help.
• REACH's end leaves homeless with few options ... [Times-Leader, Wilkes-Barre] Drop-in center at St. Stephen’s closing down for lack of funding. Barring “a miracle” or an organization stepping in to take over homeless services of The REACH Program, folks can expect to see increasing numbers of homeless people hanging around Public Square and other areas in the city after July 1. REACH Inc., a “grass-roots ministry of last resort for the less fortunate,” will be forced to close the doors of its drop-in center located in the basement of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on South Franklin Street because of a lack of funding, according to a news release that board members issued Monday ... In addition to providing breakfasts, showers and information, referral and case management services, REACH’s drop-in center gave the homeless a safe place to get off the streets and take a breather during the day, said Executive Director Stefanie Wolownik. Wolownik said she has seen sources of funding dry up over her 10 years with REACH, from about $40,000 annually to “zeroing-out” for this coming fiscal year. “But because of the governor’s cuts, we have to cut that (homeless services) program. More here.
• Renewal Assembly II, Saturday June 11 ... See above, under "TopSpin."
• Jubilate ... Hymnody for Pentecost to Christ the King Sunday (June 12, 2011 to November 30, 2011), published by the Diocese of Bethlehem for our diocesan community and for free distribution to the world, may be downloaded here.
• Melinda Merchant RIP ... [From Father Bill McGinty] Mrs. Melinda Merchant, wife to Karl and mother to Christine and Julia, died 17, May 2011 after a three year struggle with cancer. A lifelong Episcopalian and member of Good Shepherd and St John the Evangelist Milford, Melinda will be remembered by all involved with Diocesan Youth, Christophany and Happening in the nineties. Her suffering over, she rests in the arms of her resurrected Christ. Prayers please for the family, 126 Santos drive, Milford. 18337. Thank You.
• The Good Shepherd and 'Functioning Up' ... Archdeacon Stringfellow sermon, Easter 4A, at Good Shepherd Scranton. Here.
• The Deadline of Mortality –– Not Today ... This column by Bill Lewellis will be published in The Morning Call on Saturday. Would you rather have lunch with Harold Camping or Christopher Hitchens?
• Book drive to benefit children whose families come to the Grace Food Pantry ... Grace Church Allentown’s Grace Montessori School is holding a book drive to benefit children whose families come to the Grace Food Pantry, located at the church, for supplemental groceries. May 16 to 20. We invite you to ask your child, grandchild, godchild, niece, nephew, or neighbor to look around the house for a gently used children’s book that he or she has outgrown and which they would like to donate to a child in need in the Allentown community. The food pantry serves about 200 families (including 350 children) per month. The school’s goal is to be able to give each one of those children a book to take home. Please ask a child you know to pick out a book they would like to share with another child. Such a simple gesture can make a big difference and put a smile on a child’s face. More here.
• Festive Evensong at Mediator ... [Jo Trepagnier] The Church of the Mediator invites you to our festive Easter Evensong on Sunday May 22 at 4:00p.m.
• Creating a Culture of Peace Training, May 19-22 ...The Peace Commission is conducting another Creating a Culture of Peace Training at Christ, Reading, May 19-22. Register online by Mary 13. Cost is $45. Scholarships are available. More info: Here ... or Barb Gessner, 570-460-9335 or bgessner@verizon.net.
• Episcopal News Weekly bulletin inserts ... Download inserts here. May 22, Fifth Sunday of Easter: Affordable Website Designs Available for Congregations, Dioceses, and Provinces.
• DioBeth Website and newSpin Blog
• Public news and info lists ... At the Diobeth website, enter your name and email in the "Get Connected" box on the right hand side. You are welcome to subscribe to any or all of these. "Bakery" is our diocesan interactive list.

Spinning
• American Scripture: How David Barton won the Chrstian Right ... [The Atlantic] David Barton wants you to know that America is a Christian nation. He has been making that point for two decades in speeches, books, pamphlets, and videos, in which he claims to unearth the forgotten history of the nation's founding. He has, in the process, amassed a large and loyal following. But it is the praise lately showered upon him by presidential aspirants Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Michele Bachmann that has brought him into the public eye. In the last week, he has been featured on the front page of the New York Times and on the Daily Show. The week before, Mother Jones and Religion Dispatches took their shots, and People for the American Way updated its indictment. Barton's errors, exaggerations, and elisions have been exhaustively cataloged; no credible historian defends his work or his conclusions. And yet millions continue to find his message compelling. Why do they trust him? More here.
• Born Like This ... Patrick Malloy, former rector of Grace Allentown, now Associate Professor of Liturgics at General Theological Seminary NYC, was recently featured in a video aimed at young people who are gay and lesbian and in danger of harming themselves. Nationwide concern about bullying and the incidence of suicide among GLBTQ teens has resulted in the well-publicized It Get's Better Project. With similar goals, a group of NYU students founded the website, Born Like This and approached Malloy about recording a message that would speak of a loving God to young people who may be desperate for help in building a positive self-image. Click here to view his first video for the group.

Episcopal/Anglican
• SCLM provides online resource archive ... [Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) has created an archive of materials it has collected and generated in its effort to accomplish the mandate given to it by General Convention concerning the blessing of same-gender unions. More here.
• Episcopal Church Website and News Service. Follow the Episcopal News Service on Twitter.

Moravian
• Moravian Church in North America website • Moravian Church Northern Province website • Moravian Theological Seminary website

Evangelical Lutheran
• The Lutheran Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania ... The ne
• ELCA website ... Here.
• ELCA News Service ... Here.
• ELCA's blogs may be found here. See especially "Web and Multimedia Development."
• NEPA Synod website ... Here.
• Synod E-News ... May 13. Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter by email here.

Roman Catholic
• On the causes and context of the abuse scandal ... U.S. Catholic bishops released a 350-page study on the "causes and context" of the abuse scandal by researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The verdict seems to be: blame the '60s. Victims' groups dismiss the conclusions, saying the blame lies with the church hierarchy. Researchers say their numbers and methodology are sound. Mark Silk has doubts about the celibacy findings in the report. [H/T RNS] Also here and here.
• Vatican Information Service blog ... Here. • United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website ... Here. • Catholic News Service ... Here. • Diocese of Allentown website ... Here. • Diocese of Scranton website ... Here.

Bill Lewellis, Diocese of Bethlehem, retired
Communication MInister (1985-2010), Canon Theologian (1998)
Blog, Email (c)610-393-1833

Be attentive. Be intelligent. Be reasonable. Be responsible.
Be in Love. And, if necessary, change. [Bernard Lonergan]

06:08 PM in newSpin | Permalink | Comments (1)

Canon Mark Laubach's 25th

May 22 Evensong and Laubach Celebration

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Canon Mark Laubach’s service to the church following a choral Evensong at 5:00 pm Sunday, May 22, in the church, at 35 South Franklin Street. Evensong is one of the most beautiful services in the Anglican tradition, and the public is invited to stay for the reception afterward.

Music at the Evensong will include Let the People Praise Thee, O God, the majestic anthem composed by William Mathias for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in July, 1981. The St. Stephen’s choirs under Mark Laubach’s direction also will sing the Evening Canticles in E by Herbert Murrill, and William Smith’s Preces & Responses.

Mark Laubach came to St. Stephen's as Minister of Music January 2, 1986, just two years after winning the National Young Artists Competition in organ performance. He was appointed a Fellow in Church Music at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and shortly thereafter came to St. Stephens. Canon Laubach has performed in major venues all over the world, including the Kennedy Center, St. Thomas Church and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (both in New York), and in London at St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, as well as the King’s Chapel in Cambridge.

Canon Laubach administers a busy liturgical, choral, concert, and broadcasting schedule at St. Stephen’s. In 2002, under his supervision the church’s large pipe organ was rebuilt by the Berghaus Organ Company of Chicago. This instrument now stands among the finest of its type in the Mid-Atlantic region, having won high praise from organists and audiences.
--
Suzanne Fisher Staples
www.suzannefisherstaples.com
570.945.7143
570.561.5962 (cell)

03:49 PM in Canon Mark Laubach, Celebration/Anniversary, Choral Evensong, Evensong, Liturgy/Music, Music, Parishes, St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral | Permalink | Comments (0)

Renewal Assembly II – June 11 – Assembly video to 'Connect the Dots'

On the Eve of Pentecost, Saturday, June 11, the Diocesan Congregational Renewal Committee will sponsor the second Renewal Assembly from 9:00 AM- 1:30 PM at eight sites across the diocese. The day’s organizing theme will be: Focusing on God’s Blessings – Connecting the Dots.

The day will begin with a special 18-minute video presentation. Three laypersons –– Liza Holzinger, a member and former senior warden of St. Andrew's Allentown; Lucy Kitch-Peck, a member of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity Bethlehem; and Warren Schotto, member and senior warden of Good Shepherd Scranton –– join Bishop Paul to discuss the gifts of the Spirit in their lives, how a congregation detects the gifts and opportunities the Spirit gives parishes. and how parish leadership detects the gifts in individuals and calls them forth.

A small group discussion follows to respond to issues surfaced in video.

The participants will then move on to an exercise in “Focusing on God’s Blessings.” This exercise will introduce the process of “asset mapping.”

Asset mapping begins with the recognition of the abundance of God’s gifts and talents. In the process of mapping out God’s blessings, the congregation can find an exciting, new and positive energy to break out of the negative cycle of need, dependence, and “survival mode” that congregations sometimes experience.

Following the exercise, participants will enter a time of prayer – private and corporate. We will begin with “prayer triads” where three people join to ask for prayer and respond to the prayer needs identified. Then, the entire assembly will join in corporate worship.

The host sites –– The Church of the Redeemer, Sayre; St. Paul’s, Montrose; Good Shepherd, Scranton; St. Stephen’s Pro-Cathedral, Wilkes-Barre; St. Peter’s, Hazleton; St. Mary’s, Reading; St. Stephen’s, Whitehall; and, St. George’s, Hellertown –– were chosen for easy travel, parking, and adequate accommodations. A luncheon will be provided with a “free will” offering to offset local expenses.

Registration is open on www.diobeth.org. The registration info is found by clicking on the “Register for Diocesan event” on the right column of the homepage. Registration closes on June 1. All registrants will be assigned to the most appropriate host site.

Bulletin inserts may be downloaded below. One B/W, one color.

Download 110518BulletinRAII-BW.pdf
Download 110518BulletinRAIICOLOR.pdf

Photos by Kat Lehman. From top: Bishop Paul with Liza, Lucy and Warren.

01:06 PM in Bishop Paul Marshall, Canon Charles Cesaretti, Congregational Renewal, Renewal Assembly, Video | Permalink | Comments (0)

The deadline of mortality – not today

By Bill Lewellis

[This, or an edited version because it is significantly longer than I usually send, will be published in The Morning Call on Saturday, May 21.]

I admire intelligence, insight, wit and wisdom. I know them when I see them. That may explain why I do not admire those who claim to have deciphered scripture to predict the end of the world.

Despite his 1994 "miscalculation," 89-year-old evangelist Harold Camping of Family Radio has touted for at least three years that the beginning of the end will happen today (May 21). At 6:00 p.m., two percent of the earth's population will be "raptured" to meet Jesus, while the rest of us experience five months of torment before the final end.

If you enjoy non-contextual play with scripture, read a Dan Brown novel. It's at least entertaining.

Never having listened to Family Radio, I don't know whether Camping has ever encouraged listeners to put an end to poverty, war, or the marginalization in many churches of gays and lesbians. Betting man that I am, however, I'd lay odds that he has not.

I don't mean to ridicule people who have given some credence (and money) to Camping. I'm simply saying, "Shame on you, Harold Camping."

On the other hand, I have admired the intelligence, insight, wit and wisdom of Christopher Hitchens. Because he is arguably today's best known atheist, I wonder about wisdom –– but that's not fair.

Upon reading the following, how can one not read on, seeking wisdom?

"Like so many of life’s varieties of experience, the novelty of a diagnosis of malignant cancer has a tendency to wear off. The thing begins to pall, even to become banal. One can become quite used to the specter of the eternal Footman, like some lethal old bore lurking in the hallway at the end of the evening, hoping for the chance to have a word. I don’t so much object to his holding my coat in that marked manner, as if mutely reminding me that it’s time to be on my way. No, it’s the snickering that gets me down."

Hitchens, 61, was diagnosed last summer with Stage Four metastasized esophageal cancer. "The thing about Stage Four," he quipped, "is that there is no such thing as Stage Five."

He recently lost his voice.

"Like health itself, the loss of such a thing can’t be imagined until it occurs ... I wait impatiently for a high dose of protons to be fired into my body at two-thirds the speed of light. What do I hope for? If not a cure, then a remission. And what do I want back? In the most beautiful apposition of two of the simplest words in our language: the freedom of speech."

The oncology bargain is that "in return for at least the chance of a few more useful years, you agree to submit to chemotherapy and then, if you are lucky with that, to radiation or even surgery. So here’s the wager: you stick around for a bit, but in return we are going to need some things from you. These things may include your taste buds, your ability to concentrate, your ability to digest, and the hair on your head."

Hitchens has written three brutally honest columns* on his experience of cancer.

"In whatever kind of a 'race' life may be," he wrote in one, "I have very abruptly become a finalist."

We all became finalists the day we were born. Only when we approach the deadline of mortality, however, might we become intentional about the undiscovered country of death, whatever lies beyond. There is some shortsightedness in most of us about the deadline of mortality. I know indications of mine.

Hitchens knows cancer, aggressive treatments, and the snickering of the eternal Footman.

He does not know religion. Boston College professor Stephen Prothero wrote In a scathing review of Hitchens' 2007 book, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, that he had "never encountered a book whose author is so fundamentally unacquainted with its subject."

Prothero wrote later that Hitchens' reflections about “the unfamiliar country” of people undergoing treatment for cancer rank with the best writing he knows on that topic.

I admire compassion and action arising out of compassion, seeking to ameliorate misery. I cannot understand people who tell Hitchens in hard, hard copy or online that God is punishing him, especially with the loss of his voice, for his "blasphemies" against God and religion. I cannot understand people who, because Hitchens is an atheist, want him to agonize in his illness and then go to hell.

Christopher Hitchens might not last long. I know God will be compassionate.

Jesus will be with him the way he was with his disciples on the night before he died. He will have a basin, some water and a towel. He will pour water into the basin. Jesus will look deeply into his eyes and heart. He will see him for the best person he had ever been … and all the suffering he may have experienced. “You’ve had a long journey,” Jesus will say. “You must be tired. dirty and sore. Let me wash your your feet and dry them. The table has been prepared." Jesus will take bread and wine. He will bless the bread and wine and say, “Welcome to the banquet.”

* Published in Vanity Fair: Topic of Cancer (Sept. 2010), Unanswerable Prayers (Oct. 2010) and Miss Manners and the BigC, (Dec. 2010)

[Canon Bill Lewellis, blewellis@diobeth.org, a retired Episcopal priest, served on the Bishop’s staff of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem for 24 years and on the Bishop’s staff of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown for 13 years before that]

11:40 AM in Cancer, Canon Bill Lewellis, Christopher Hitchens, Column, Harold Camping, Newspapers, Rapture | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 18, 2011

Pray For...

Pray for our young men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families:

Sgt. Amaru Aguilar, 26, of Miami, Florida
Sgt. Kevin B. Balduf, 27, of Nashville, Tennessee
1st Lt. Demetrius M. Frison, 26, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lt. Col. Benjamin J. Palmer, 43, of Modesto, California
Spc. Brian D. Riley Jr., 24, of Longwood, Florida
Sgt. Robert C. Schlote, 26, of Norfolk, Nebras

Pray also for the fallen heroes also of our coalition partners, and for the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan who have died, unnamed and unknown to us, and for those who mourn ... and for an end to this endless war.

Culled from various web pages, including:
U.S. Department of Defense news releases
In Remembrance, at legacy.com
Honor the Fallen, from Military Times

Want to receive this in your email box? Subscribe to our "Pray For..." list via our "Get Connected" box on our web site: www.diobeth.org

05:45 PM in Military, Pray for..., Prayer | Permalink | Comments (0)

Weed and Seed needs your help

[From Bob House, parish administrator, Grace Allentown]

I have mentioned a couple of times during our biddings that the state and federal budget cuts have eliminated the funding of the Weed and Seed Program. This might be penny wise but it is pound foolish. The job counselor program alone, which we have sponsored since 2006, has brought in over 7 million dollars during that period to the local economy at a cost of only $35,000 per year. The entire W & S budget for all 17 locations in PA is only $435,000. The current state budget seems to be designed to destroy the safety net supporting poor people in our state.

You can be instrumental in the effort to restore these funds. Last week around 100 people went to Harrisburg for the “Day on the Hill” event to meet with various legislators. State Weed and Seed sites will continue sending letters, visiting legislators and basically doing what they can to advocate on behalf of returning Weed and Seed to the budget. What can you do? Send the letter shown below.
Download a letter you can send to our representatives and key members of the legislatures. Download a list of legislators to whom you might send the letter.

Here's a factoid you can include in your letter (should you choose to customize it) - according to Laura Accetta, the Easton Weed and Seed Coordinator, State Senator Lisa Boscola said PA prisoners are allowed 10 stamps per month. If we reduced that to 5 or 6 stamps, we would save $2 million dollars! That would pay for our program for about four years.

You can either send this as a letter by printing it out and mailing it or you can “cut and paste” and send it as an email. The important thing is that you send it. These representatives pay attention especially if a significant number of communications are received.

Thousands of poor people all over our state need your help. Many of those folks are within walking distance of our church. Please take fifteen minutes and send a letter or an email.

Robert S. House
Parish Administrator
Grace Episcopal Church
108 N. Fifth Street
Allentown, PA 18102
610-435-0782 – Office
610-360-1476 – Cell
bob.house@graceallentown.org

05:01 PM in Grace Allentown, Social Ministry, Weed and Seed | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jubilate for Pentecost through November 30, 2011

Hymnody for Pentecost to Christ the King Sunday (June 12, 2011 to November 30, 2011), published by the Diocese of Bethlehem for our diocesan community and for free distribution to the world, may be downloaded below as an Acrobat or MSWord file. Jubilate is a service of our Liturgy and Music Commission, specifically Canon Cliff Carr who has been doing this for more than 30 years.

Download PENTEC-A Adobe Acrobat required for this .pdf

Download PENTEC-A Microsoft Word format

02:34 PM in Canon Cliff Carr, Jubilate, Liturgy/Music, Music | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 17, 2011

Social Ministries now accepting grant requests from New Hope Campaign

[From the Social Ministries Committee]

17 May 2011

Dear Partners in Ministry,

The Social Ministries Committee is now ready to receive and consider requests for disbursements from the New Hope Campaign. The total amount we are able to grant for the 2011-12 calendar year is $100,000. Therefore, we are inviting Letters of Intent from parishes and Episcopal related organizations within the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem. The Deadline for Letters of Intent is 15 July 2011.

The Letter of Intent should contain:

The Mission Statement of the parish/organization
A summary of the proposal including a brief project description
An outline of the focus and scope (who will be served?)
Amount to be requested from the SMC (one time or multi-year request)
Partner churches, agencies, organizations, etc., if any
Project start date
Name, e-mail and day and evening telephone number of contact person(s).

Letters of Intent should be sent to The Rev’d Daniel C. Gunn, St. Stephen’s Pro-cathedral, 35 South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 or emailed to dgunn@ststephenswb.org with “Social Ministry Application” in the subject line.

A member of the Social Ministries Committee will be in contact soon thereafter. These Letters are preliminary proposals and will be considered in the order in which they are received. Applications will be sent after the initial contact.

In peace,

The Rev’d Daniel C. Gunn, Chair

04:06 PM in Congregations, Grants, Ministry, New Hope Campaign, Parishes, Social Ministry | Permalink | Comments (0)

Angel Eyes

Thinking ahead to Sunday's sermon (Easter 5)
Bishop Paul Marshall

[Posted on Bakery, the interactive list of the Diocese of Bethlehem, House of Bread]

We are very used to hearing two parts of Stephen's story: the early verses of Acts 6, where he is among those at the first ordination service, and the last verses of Acts 7, where he is murdered, with Saul of Tarsus looking on.

It might be useful to read all the verses in the middle. What gets Stephen into trouble is his doing "wonders and signs," and the church is growing. He is hauled into court for what he is saying, giving witness to Christ. His testimony fills Acts 7, but before he gives it, his interlocutors saw that "his face was like the face of an angel." When I think of the kinds of angels in the scriptures, I wonder whether he looked like the angels who guarded the Garden of Eden, the angels in Isaiah 6, or the angels who say "fear not" in Luke's Christmas and Easter stories. In any event, his affect was striking enough to be noticed and remembered. When you recall the faces of the most holy people you have known personally, what do you see? When I read the text a few moments ago, I thought of ABBA's hit, "Angel Eyes," not useful in itself, but it got me thinking these thoughts. As we used to say in Latin 2, whatever works is good.

Well, back to the story. In response to the charges that he is preaching about Jesus who is coming to destroy the temple, Stephen tells the whole story of Israel in what must be called unflattering terms, asking them most forcefully to repent.

His asking them to change is when they drag him out and murder him.

The story functions to model the ancient message, to remember Stephen, and to introduce Saul of Tarsus. I wonder if it doesn't also remind us of the human tendency to reject pretty strongly those who ask us to change, as individuals and as a people. Even good news can be a threat.

Two possible homiletical extractions:
--When it is our turn to witness, we need to be prepared for resistance or even rejection, and be prepared to face it, remaining in character.
--when we see angel eyes, it may be a clue to lower our own resistances and prepare to receive a gift.

I would be interested in your thoughts about this passage and its context.

Best,
+Paul

08:08 AM in Bishop Paul Marshall, Sermon Prep | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 16, 2011

The Good Shepherd and Functioning Up

Archdeacon Howard Stringfellow
Preached at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Scranton
Easter IV, Year A, 15 May 2011

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit” (Saint John 10:1).

Today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is a special day for the Church of the Good Shepherd. For today is “Good Shepherd” Sunday, the Sunday every year that we recognize that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and that we pray we shall follow where he leads. The case could be made that today is our Patronal Feast, the day when we recognize that our Patron is Jesus the Good Shepherd and that our identity (among many) is in following the Good Shepherd.

Rather than preach about sheep, and shepherds, and shepherds’ crooks, and pastures, and wolves, and gates, I want to move in another direction and speak about “functioning up.” I frequently ask groups to function up. And I remember a particular occasion here at the Church of the Good Shepherd when I asked everyone, including me, to function up. It was about twenty months ago. You may remember the time. We were in the midst of the controversy about the Garden. There were hurt feelings. There were people who wanted to use those hurt feelings to get their way, and I held firm and asked people to function up. What does functioning up mean, any way?

Someone asked me that the other day, and I confess I had no specially good answer. But one came my way. I was trying to say that functioning up means seeing the whole situation from the big perspective and not one’s own narrow point of view. It means transcending your personal myth about how you are right most of the time and how other people, consequently, and not right when the two of you don’t agree. And I couldn’t come up with a way of conveying the idea in a way that was compelling. But, as I said, one came my way.

Like some of you, perhaps, I have been fascinated recently with the Navy SEALs, those soldiers so thoroughly trained, so competent, and so courageous, who so successfully completed the mission they were given, a mission they did not choose, just two weeks ago. And I saw an article in The Wall Street Journal that spoke about functioning up though that term was not used. The writer was explaining how difficult SEAL training is, how few recruits actually complete the course, and how few of them have the opportunity to put to work in the field the things they have learned. About the recruits who made it through the rigorous training, the author wrote:

Almost all the men who survived possessed one common quality. Even in great pain, faced with the test of their lives, they had the ability to step outside of their own pain, put aside their own fear and ask: How can I help the guy next to me? They had more than the ‘fist’ of courage and physical strength. They also had a heart large enough to think about others, to dedicate themselves to a higher purpose (Eric Greitens, “An Inside Look at the SEAL Sensibility,” 7 May 2011).

Putting aside our agenda, whatever that may be, for the good of the parish is functioning up, and functioning up in a powerfully impressive way. And, we are called to do it. We are called to pursue a mission and a ministry. We are called to pursue the mission of restoring “all people to unity with God and each other in Christ” (BCP, page 855). And the Church pursues that mission “as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love” (BCP, page 855).

And to do these things we have to put ourselves aside. We have to put God and God’s mission first; we have to seek more than our vindication; we have to seek more than evidence that we are right, as usual. We have to put the good of us all beyond the pleasure and fuzzy feelings of each one of us.

It is not lost on me that we have a powerful example of setting aside ourselves for a greater good. For I believe that the Good Shepherd functions up on our behalf. Specifically, I believe the Good Shepherd functioned up on our behalf when he made the supreme sacrifice of himself on the cross for you and for me, and for everyone who was, who is, and who is to come. And by that sacrifice, he opened the gate to let any one of us in who puts her or his trust in him. If he gave his life for us (and he did), can we not do likewise following his example? Can we not lose our pride, our assurance that we are always right, our determination to have our way, our conviction that no one else gets it as clearly as we do? Can we not put ourselves aside for the good of us all?

The Christian life is not, of course, a military operation though expert military have something to teach us. They can certainly teach us how to follow a mission not our own; they can show us how to follow where the Good Shepherd leads. They can show us how big a difference there is in following him rather than doing what we want and calling it what he wants. They can give us an example of hearing our Leader’s voice, who calls each of us by name, and following where he leads (BCP, page 225). And if we persevere, if we succeed, the Good Shepherd will not have failed, either. He will have given us life, and we shall have it abundantly (Saint John 10:10).

09:23 AM in Archdeacon Stringfellow, Good Shepherd Scranton, Sermons | Permalink | Comments (0)

DioBeth newSpin

News, information and commentary, especially items that impact or may be of interest to individuals and organizations of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, the Episcopal Church USA and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

May 2011

May 30, 2011

newSpin 110530

May 29, 2011

Liking is for cowards. Go for what hurts.

Memorial Day had its beginnings in Civil War

May 26, 2011

TCC – Many thank you all

newSpin 110526

Let us pray, by Raymond Harbort

May 25, 2011

Pray For...

May 24, 2011

Lift up the stories of women, sexual minorities, and non-white people

May 23, 2011

newSpin 110523

May 20, 2011

Diocesan Life for June 2011

May 19, 2011

newSpin 110519

Canon Mark Laubach's 25th

Renewal Assembly II – June 11 – Assembly video to 'Connect the Dots'

The deadline of mortality – not today

May 18, 2011

Pray For...

Weed and Seed needs your help

Jubilate for Pentecost through November 30, 2011

May 17, 2011

Social Ministries now accepting grant requests from New Hope Campaign

Angel Eyes

May 16, 2011

The Good Shepherd and Functioning Up

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