ast Sunday evening, after my first Annual Meeting at Holy Apostles, I settled in front of the television to watch a live telecast of the musical RENT. Although I have always been a lover of all kinds of music as well as a self-confessed “theater-geek,” I missed RENT in its first incarnation....
Back in the early days of Advent, a parishioner forwarded to me a video of Ray Suarez’s keynote address to the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. The theme of his talk was church growth and changing demographics (the link to the video is here). As you are probably already aware, church growth is an issue addressed early and often when faithful people gather together. I know it was a topic of discussion when I was interviewing with the Holy Apostles Search Committee and Vestry, and Bishop Shin shared during his Visitation with us that it is the subject he is most asked about when he spends time with congregations....
photo by Charles Edward Case The Rev. Dr. Anna S. Pearson On the Feast of Epiphany in some parts of central Europe,
photo by Charles Edward Case During the four Sundays of Advent, I have been leading a short series called Articulated Transcendence: Advent
Advent is a beautiful season (to state the obvious), but it is also a season that is a little bit, well, off. Wedged in between the feasting of Thanksgiving and the exultation of Christmas, Advent is neither as peaceful as the lazy, meandering days in the middle of Pentecost, nor as penitential as the long and rigorous weeks of Lent. Perhaps this is due to the shortness of the time we are given to prepare. Or maybe it is because of the distractions that are everywhere this time of year, pulling us toward standards not of our own making. Or it could be that the weeks fly by because of the distractions, resulting in the unsettled feeling that we haven’t quite gotten every box checked off our “to-do” list....
On Monday, my calendar told me that I was up to write the meditation for this week. My first thought was, “Well, I will have to wait and see the results of the midterm elections, so I can respond.” And I did. And, as we all now know, Wednesday morning brought victories and defeats for people across the political spectrum. Depending on where we locate ourselves on that spectrum, we experienced some disappointments as well as some happy surprises. But one reality reflected in all post-election analysis remains consistent: we continue to inhabit a divided nation. Fear is ubiquitous. There is still much work to be done.....
A recently retired friend is also an accomplished equestrian. Now that she has more recreational time to play with, she has started using her love of horses as a way to reach out to people who are struggling. On a recent visit, she spoke with me about her latest venture: she volunteers with a group that uses horses in a process of practicing emotion regulation with military veterans. Veterans from all branches of the armed services come to the program through the local VA hospital. Each has experienced significant trauma in one form or another and find it difficult to cope with even the most basic social interactions. They have an orientation and then, over the course of one week, they assume basic responsibilities for a horse assigned to their care. They don’t ride, but they brush, feed and learn how to be present with their equine companion....
f you think that the television series Friday Night Lights is a show about football, you would only be partially correct. Based on a book about an actual high school football team in Odessa, Texas as well as a subsequent movie of the same name, the narratives in the show revolve around people and activities in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. The plot follows highs and lows during the high school football season of the Dillon Panthers; we meet the players, their families, and their coach—a committed, compassionate ex-player named Eric Taylor....
Last week we started our Adult Forums at 10 am in between worship services. The first gathering was Part II of a Question and Answer session that first happened just after I started serving at Holy Apostles. This time the group was smaller; some people had attended the first session, some were asking me questions for the first time. In my narrative and my responses to questions I was incorporating the word “we.” As in, “We did this,” or “We are hoping to do that.” And toward the end of the time, someone said, “You keep talking about ‘we.’ I’m just wondering, who is ‘we?’ How do you define that?”...
What a glorious celebration we shared last Thursday evening! From the opening notes of music in the service to the final bite of food at the reception, the Spirit was evident everywhere. The Celebration of New Ministry was beautiful, made so because every person involved in the process that led up to that evening and in the liturgy itself brought their faith, their dedication, their commitment and their hearts to that sacramental moment. The Book of Common Prayer defines sacraments as “outward and visible signs of inward spiritual grace.” This means that sacraments and sacramental rites make visible something that is already happening—like poetry expressing feelings fully realized to the beloved, or laughter embodying delight. Sacraments recognize abounding Grace and make Grace manifest....