The most clear and immediate reflection of a successful gathering is that people linger. Toward the end of our first Sunday Supper last weekend, as I stood back by the baptismal font gazing out into the nave of the church, this was my view: round tables with crumpled napkins and empty plates and cups. Vestiges of salad, bread and cookies. Tables that had hosted a satisfying meal. And people....
As I write this, the month of the year known to college basketball fans as “March Madness” is halfway to its conclusion. The Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games will be played this weekend, the Final Four and Championship rounds will happen just as March turns to April the week following. Although I have never been much of a follower of basketball on any level, that changed this year when I was given some tickets to the Big East championship game right here at Madison Square Garden. Now it’s a thing for me. I don’t have the patience to tune in to many games or pay serious attention to anything more than the final five minutes of the games I do watch, but I’m involved....
A couple of weeks ago, I was blessed to find myself in Boston at Trinity Church, Copley Square. And I was doubly blessed to be hearing a sermon from the Rt. Rev. Carlye Hughes. Bishop Hughes serves currently as the 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. Her words to the congregation were impassioned, and she spoke the truth to us in love as she focused on power and welcome, systemic injustice and growth....
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....