Be at Peace

I have posted this prayer here before- it is in my top five prayers. Until last Saturday, I had never heard it prayed aloud in community although I have prayed it a kajillion times over the last decade... our new Bishop prayed this to end convention... and I felt truly and rightly at home.

Be at peace --
Do not fear the changes of life --
rather look to them with full hope as they arise.

God, whose very own you are,
will deliver you from out of them.
He has kept you hitherto,
and He will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand it,
God will bury you in His arms.

Do not be afraid of what may happen tomorrow;
the same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you then and every day.

He will either shield you from suffering,
or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace --
and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.

St. Francis de Sales

YAY - Thankful List

• The sermon went well
• "You are a priest without a stole"
• Diocesan Convention was cooperative, collegial, healthy
• The Ordination of the First Female Priest was beautiful
  

Sermon writing

After a glance at the Tuesday Lectionary Leanings I am feeling like I am the only one preaching Mark 13:14-23 this weekend. My church will switch to the RCL at Advent, so we're still on BCP lectionary. It's a challenging text - false prophets, false messiahs. It fits my musings about the church lately but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to approach any of that from the pulpit in my second sermon there. I am pondering the 2004 tsunami and tying it with Jesus' instructions to flee. It seems to me that Jesus is saying that sometimes fleeing is the better action.

In the 2004 tsunami there were a few of the indigenous tribes who knew the ancient stories about what to do when the water receded - they ran for higher round and survived. There is a story that one schoolgirl also knew that story and saved her family.

The people with whom we stayed in Scotland and England in May value their ancient stories. We had story-telling evenings which will stay with me for as long as I have memory. It was special, dare I say sacred, time together in community.

Jesus is telling us an ancient story - the commentaries suggest that there is a code in the passage for information too dangerous to spell out - about how to know when to flee. Do we know our stories well enough? The last line suggests that if we immerse ourselves in those stories, we will - "But be alert, I have already told you everything."

Just my thoughts so far... not preaching Saturday - we have Diocesan convention, but preaching twice on Sunday. Sunday at 5, the first female will be ordained to the priesthood in my diocese. Thanks be to God! It will be followed with another on December 5th. We also get a new Bishop this weekend, so I am ever hopeful that one day soon I will learn my timetable.

Clarifications are in order...

Let me begin by stating that my sacramental theology is way too high to ever get me to leave the Episcopal Church. I believe to the very core of my being that something special and mysterious happens when we gather as a community, and one set apart and ordained blesses, and we participate in the sacrament.

That said, however, the visitors I had last week have committed their lives to living in neo-monastic Christian communities. When they return to England, they will live in a house with others who minister every day to the needs of the homeless in the area. They will feed, clothe, and employ a few of the homeless people through the income of a thrift store. The community members each also work part-time outside of the community for income for the ministry. Their existence appeals to me as a community and as an expression of Christ among the homeless. I admire the tenacity and self-sacrifice they exhibit in their Christian walk.

While they do uphold a daily prayer rhythm, they do not attend any church. In having them here, I was with them when they met another young man from a neo-monastic community in Germany who also states that he does not attend church. Here are the criticisms they offered:

• why do we work so hard to maintain a building/grounds that may only be in use 4-6 hours per week? is that good stewardship of resources?
• what is the church doing to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, etc? they see churches that are much more inwardly focused on the needs and concerns of the members with no time left over to minister to the world - chaplains for those already there.
  
• all of the time, energy, and resources spent on politics could be better used being the hands and feet of Christ to a broken and hurting world.

These are all valid criticisms in my book. Maybe because I'm kind of on the outside, looking in, I can see from where they speak. I'm not leaving, but I am looking in with eyes better opened.

The House is Quiet

The visitors have traveled on to Colorado, which will be their last stop in the US before heading back to Britain. It was really fun having them here. I haven't been out that late in a LONG time! And I've spent more time in pubs over the last week than I have since Iona. It was all good. Oh! I finally ordered an Airer for my laundry room with the help of the visitors - or at least the kit to make one. This one was more than $150, but the parts on Ebay (with shipping) was $48.61 - I'll add the wooden slats once it gets here. I will be saving tons of energy and $$ by cutting down my use of the tumble dryer.

Having them here to constantly discuss and debate issues made me realize how much I am missing the seminary discussions of abolishing the death penalty, fair trade issues, etc. Pondering that... I am also pondering just how tenuous my hold is on staying in a church. Don't get me wrong, I really like the new place... and I truly would not swap allegiances or churches. Being around those involved in the New Monastic Community movement is challenging, in a good way. It has me imagining other ways of being Christian, and they are not either/or.

Got all my RN stuff done - now I can tentatively start the job search. I believe that I will begin by contacting my CPE supervisor. She is wise - I look forward to her counsel on how this hybrid can look. When I was lamenting my trouble merging roles with my Spiritual Director, I said, "I feel as though I am neither fish nor fowl" to which she challenged me to imagine a merging with more beautiful imagery. I just cannot imagine it yet; so off to the mentor I go.

Still no decision on the name for the eye clinic. The Pear Butter is resting peacefully on the counter, just waiting for the decision!

Visitors from Another World...

YAY!! I get to have visitors from "across the pond" next week. They were living at the Northumbria Community House when our group was there in May, and now they have traveled to the US. They remembered my offer of hospitality and sent me a FB message yesterday. They get here Friday evening and will be here for a week. You all are welcome to come and have tea with us!! Those of y'all who know me irl know that I truly do love to hostess, so I am really looking forward to next week... I hope they are up for touristy stuff in the Big City!

This week I am finishing up my mandatory hours at the Clinic, but I love volunteering there, so I know I'll stick around. Still working on the contest, don't lose hope!! I'll take the entries to the Director tomorrow!

Special Eye Clinic

that's the working title, and it sucks! Sounds like it should be riding the short bus... "look dear, that eye is so special"

please help this poor campaign succeed...