Breaking Fast on the Beach

Inter-Dependence Day

2008-07-03T14:07:00.000-04:00

There is special significance for this Independence Day in our house. As many of you will know, Jonathan, our beloved son turns 13 tomorrow. The rite of passage that being a teenager is not lost on any of us. That this rite of passage comes as we celebrate American Independence from Colonial Rule as a nation is an interesting coincidence.

For some 200 years we as Americans have relished our Independence and the glorious success that Democracy has been for us and for countless others across the globe. And for good reason.

Having said that, I think we can fairly make the case the complete Independence, on any level, is a myth at best. The fact of the matter is that isolationism has never worked for America as much as we’d like it to. The same holds true with children, adolescents, and adults. This is especially true with the spiritual life. It is true that God’s presence is everywhere. I cannot deny that as a basic tenet of the religious life. We all, by virtue of our kinship with Jesus have access to God in ways that our Hebrew forbearers could not imagine. It is easy, and a bit dangerous, to think that we can have the fullest experience of God possible all alone. John Donne, famous Anglican preacher and poet penned these words,

"No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee."

We have existence in God apart from others, but we cannot claim the fullness of fellowship that God desires for us all individually if we choose to make God and our relationship to God a private matter. As Christians the centrality of relationship is central to our belief. That’s why the Trinitarian understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is part of our ordering our common life. We are created for relationship.

I guess my point is (and I do have one) this: Independence is a step toward maturity, but it’s just a step and not the end to which we’ve been called. As we understand ourselves independently we are offered a great and noble choice, that is to choose interdependence. We cannot do without one another. We cannot experience God’s fullness outside of community. We cannot worship fully in our tradition without relationship. The Eucharist, by definition, is the community expressing its thanks to God for all that is.

Regardless of where you find yourselves tomorrow, I hope that in the midst of our Independence Day Celebrations we’ll remember that we depend on one another and indeed on everyone that is in ways that we can never completely understand.

Blessed 4^th! May you have the courage to seek Interdependence!!!

Technorati

2008-06-14T13:21:00.001-04:00

Technorati Profile

What's Happening Now?

2008-06-12T12:42:00.001-04:00

Dear Folks,

I’m getting ready to do some traveling. Next weekend Rick Kimball, Mary Hicks and I will travel to Washington D.C. for training in the Disciples of Christ in Community (DOCC) program at the National Cathedral (more on that in another update!!!!). After returning from that trip, we’re off on family vacation to Nashville with my extended family.

I mention this because it never ceases to amaze me how much work it is to get ready to go on vacation! There’s so much to do on both ends of a vacation, both the getting ready and the returning, that it’s easy to forget to really have one’s vacation. There is a strong corollary in the Spiritual Life.

We are people who treasure our tradition. We hear the stories of God’s past interaction with folks every weekend at worship. We often read these stories to ourselves as we study the Scriptures as individuals as part of our faith formation. We pay attention to the past and we should.

We also look forward to a more full coming of God’s Kingdom. We see ourselves on a Pilgrim’s Journey back to where we came from, communion and full relationship with God. So we look ahead with the Christian virtue of Hope squarely on the horizon. And that’s a good thing!

What can happen, however, is that we can spend so much time on where we’ve been and where we’re going that we miss the gift of where we are. So it is with the life of the Church. We can be so tethered to our memory of better days, that we miss the blessing that rests at our feet each day. Likewise, we can be so invested in the promise of a better future in God that we lose sight of the blessed present that God showers us in every day. I hope you get the point I’m making.

Reflecting on vacations past is great. Planning new adventures for the future is worthy. Having said that, I’m going to do my best to be really present to the experience of vacation while it’s happening. I’ll let you know how that works out. See you this weekend!!!

Judgement and Grace

2008-06-09T08:33:00.002-04:00

Just a note with this video. I was stunned by the disconnect between my expectations and the reality I witnessed. Another lesson in humility and standing back from judgement (and the Lord knows I really need all the reminders I can get).

Have a grand day and dream big dreams.

--Warren

Archbishop Rowan Williams - What is church?

2008-06-06T20:46:00.001-04:00

Archbishop Rowan Williams talking about at the core, what the Church is. The Church exists in response to the often surprising touch of Jesus into our lives.

Where's the Church? Not just under the steeple!!!

Learning to Deal

2008-05-28T13:13:00.000-04:00

‘Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’ (Philippians 4:8-13)

The Apostle Paul writes these words near the end of his letter to a fledgling church in Philippi struggling along with Paul in the challenges he faced as he was imprisoned and uncertain about his future. It seems to me that we might do well to put a bookmark at this passage as we face the uncertain future of a challenging world. I particularly draw your attention to verses 12 & 13:

‘I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’

Given the current state of affairs in the economy (especially at the grocery store, the gas station and when the oil delivery comes), it might be wise to pray that we can become as Paul in knowing the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry. What Paul is calling the Philippians (and be extension us) to is being mindful of the ground of our being (as theologian Paul Tillich would put it), which is God alone. At the very core of our being as humans created in the image and likeness of God is an insatiable yearning to connection, relationship, even union with God. We were created to reflect the confidence, glory, compassion and love of the God of all that was, is and is to come.

I guess I’d summarize one of our challenges like this: It has been said that tough times don’t last but tough people do. I would like to make an appeal to a different understanding. One that comes from a place of deep faith and confidence in God’s good wishes for us and for the whole world. I want to suggest that Paul’s appeal to the Philippians might be best summarized that tough times don’t last simply because God is. So then I see the challenge as not giving into the temptation to despair by remembering, to the core of our beings, that whatever tough times we endure, we do so with the God of all the universe at our side and in our corner. Maybe Julian of Norwich said it best, “All will be well and in all manner of things, all will be well.” She recognizes that it is not at present well in the eyes of God but that the promise is that the completion and perfection of the creation is a promise, not merely a dream. I believe that is what leads Paul to boldly proclaim is ability to ‘do all things through him who strengthens me’ (v. 13).

Here’s to strength for your journey, my journey and our journey. I trust that sooner or later, we'll all learn to deal .

Cultivating Gratitude

2008-05-22T13:10:00.001-04:00

Our Prayer Book boldly states that:

“The Holy Eucharist, the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord’s Day and other major Feasts, and Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, as set forth in this Book, are the regular services appointed for public worship in this Church.” (BCP p. 13)

This fact makes the active life of the community very important especially when we view ‘Eucharist’ by the literal meaning of the word in Greek, which is ‘thanksgiving’. Each and every week as we gather around the table and expect our Trinitarian God to transform our gifts of bread and wine into the ‘Real Presence’ of Jesus at our table we should be profoundly thankful. That thankfulness should not be limited to a ‘feeling’ of gratitude but should extend in to lives which display, in tangible ways, how thankful we are to be fed at the Communion Table.

One of the ways we have done this over the years at St. Luke’s is to gather non-perishable goods on the first Sunday of the Month to send off to Jeremiah’s Inn to help with their work with those seeking to break the grip of substance abuse. I don’t have to tell you that times are tough. I don’t have to tell you that it costs more to fill our grocery bags with our accustomed fare. I don’t have to tell you that just getting to the store is more expensive than it’s ever been. You all know all of that.

The really important question, given all of these realities, is; “What’s a Church to do about it?” I think that, among other things, we need to be more public about our support for those who feel this pressure most acutely and we need to do it publicly within the context of our regular corporate worship. A number of you have suggested over the course of the past months that we need to be more public about our monthly ingathering and have suggested that it become a weekly practice. I could not agree more and you all will be happy to see (I hope) that I’m getting around sharing your suggestion with the community.

Beginning this weekend, I invite you all to bring whatever non-perishables you have, whether it be macaroni and cheese, canned goods, dry cereal or the like. It doesn’t have to be much, but I believe it is a Holy Habit to cultivate, tend, nurture and watch blossom. Just as the flowers at the church or at our homes give us pleasure through our care and cultivation, so to does our Heavenly Father take pleasure in the gratitude that we cultivate in the giving of what we have to those who have so much less. I would also like for these offerings, whatever they may be, to be a part of the offering of our treasure and the gifts of bread and wine in the service. I conclude with this Offertory Sentence from the Book of Common Prayer (p. 376):

Through Christ let us continually offer to God the sacrifice of
praise, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his Name.
But do not neglect to do good and to share what you have,
for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:15, 16

Peace and Good,
The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602

Where Do You Stand??

2008-04-12T13:16:00.002-04:00

Dear Folks,

I write this just ahead of the Income Tax deadline. I won’t tell you when I filed, just say it’s done. It is a bit daunting to make one’s way through the maze of tax law under the best of circumstances. Whatever your position in this tax season, the reality is that we are all better off than most when we put it in a global context.

Before I give you a tool to find the answer, I want you to guess what your ranking among the world’s richest people is. For point of reference according to the world census clock (http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html) there are roughly 6,660,878,099 people in the world. That’s in the BILLIONS. Where do you think you stand my number? Are you in the top Billion? Higher? Lower? Hmmm, interesting to think about. Okay, if that’s too hard, where do you think you fall in terms of percentage? Top 25%? Top 10%? Higher? Lower?

I’ll leave it to you to answer the questions and then go to this Website The Global Rich List (www.globalrichlist.com) and figure it out. You’ll have to convert the filter to dollars and then put in your income and see where you stand. I must admit I was humbled by both my rank and percentile. Let’s just say I (that is my family) is in the top 1% globally.

Why do I bring it up? Because perspective is important and we can do more good than any of us know if we begin from a posture of gratitude and abundance instead of fear and scarcity.

One of the marks of Missional Communities is gratitude and a sense of abundance in the face of God’s many blessings on our lives.

Whether you owed the IRS or are getting some of your money back, remember that all that we have is a gift from God. Our families, our homes, our ability to work, earn, save, spend and above all to give. God loves a cheerful giver! I pray that we all have the grace to give according to what God has given us.

Peace and Good,
The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)
Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Sometimes it's all in how you look at it!!!

2008-03-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

Monday, March 24, 2008

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

There’s an saying that was front and center in my mind and reflection after the Holy Week and Easter festivities were winding down today. The saying is, “Perception is reality.” I have to admit that there are times when that is more true for me than I would like it to be. As I thought about it I found that often when I use that saying, it’s not in a positive vein.

However, today, I was struck at every turn about how different things seemed around me than they did just last week. Sure, I’m talking about the spiritual realities of the profound shift from Lent to Holy Week to Easter, but in the temporal stuff around me, I also noticed a real shift in how things appear. It actually started on Good Friday. As I walked down the steps toward the door of the Church I saw a robin for the first time this spring. As I noticed the bird at work seeking a crisp morning meal, I found that I was hearing a cardinal here, and the chirp of more robins there, I could sense that new life was straining to break out all over.

Now I know the next part of this change in perception has largely to do with timing. But daylight savings time notwithstanding, the quality of light on things is just different in the past couple of days. The children are out playing longer after school. They’re also pushing on the limits of whether or not they should wear coats.

I noticed in driving back from a trip to the store this evening that I could hear birds everywhere. There were more than the usual number of folks out walking their dogs. There seemed to be more runners and walkers on the road. The big pile of snow in the turnaround at Flagg Street School is smaller every day. My perception of the world around me and what’s going on in it have a huge influence on my reality.

As Easter people it struck me that simply a shift in perspective can make all the difference as well. Assume for a moment that you don’t experience Lent and Easter knowing how the story turns out. Imagine if you will, what Jesus’s disciples might have experienced, perceived and felt each in their own way as it became clearer and clearer that something really important had happened.

Now move out of your imagination and into your experience and perception of the miracle you’ve been a part remembering and celebrating in the past week. You have a new chance this year, just as in every Easter season, to see the world in a new way as a result of the resurrection of Jesus. Death is no longer the final answer but merely a shift in lives that are eternal in nature. Hope is not merely an attractive idea but confident assurance that God can make good out of bad. Love is a way of life not an emotion. We can come to see people as walking talking images of God instead of viewing others with fear and suspicion.

Sometimes it’s all in how you seen things. Take a look at the world around you in the light of the resurrection and help change the reality of things and you’ll be helping bring in the Kingdom of God.

Fr. Warren+

How Are Things With Your Soul?

2008-03-13T13:12:00.001-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

As some of you might know, I have succumbed to one of the latest trends in our increasingly digital and pluralistic world.

I am on FACEBOOK.

For those of you who don’t know of it, Facebook (www.facebook.com) is a social networking website in which folks can make connections with people of similar interests and communicate in real time in a virtual community. As with most of the internet, you have to take the good with the bad, but Facebook lets you choose your content and who has access to that content. But that’s not what I’m really writing about.

Earlier this week, I received a ‘bumper sticker’ on my account from on of my Facebook ‘Friends’. He is a freshman in college at St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota and the oldest son of one of my seminary classmates. He still finds it amusing that relics like his mother and me are on Facebook. The sticker he posted on my site quotes noted 20^th Century Anglican C.S. Lewis, saying, “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” The implication, at least in part, is “there’s more to us than what you see….WAY more!”

Again last night while I was reading Ronald Rolheiser’s book The Holy Longing a similar claim barreled into my space. It said, to paraphrase, that the soul is what brings the chemicals of the body, the stuff of which we’re made, into animation. In that sense, according to Rolheiser, to lose one’s soul is to cease to live. It gave me pause to reflect. In fact, it’s still giving me that pause.

This morning I asked a gentleman who came to a meeting in my office, "How are things with your soul?" He pondered a moment and thend said, "I don't know, I don't think about it that much." I was taken aback with his honesty and had to admit that though I ask the question of others fairly often, I don't often take stock of how things are with my soul as often as I might. If my soul is that part of me that makes life fully possible, then you'd think I'd pay more attention to its health. After that meeting ended, (a couple of hours ago) I spent some time dealing with the question of how it is with my soul. It seems to me that is entirely consistent with what Lent call us to do. So, having said as much, here's how things are with my soul just ahead of Holy Week...

Thus far this year my Lenten Journey has been, as it often is, about focusing my energies on the things that God is calling me to do and not being concerned so much with those things that I’m told I ‘ought’ to do (either by myself or others). I don’t know about you, but it makes it much easier for me to step out in faith when I sense that God’s desire is my invitation and not that the expectations of another are my compulsion. Make no mistake, some of what we ‘ought’ to do is God’s will, but I invite you to at least acknowledge the possibility that what we ‘ought’ to be spending our time doing might be taking time away from getting into the heart of God in which our souls find their true rest and most powerful inspiration.

Well, enough of the reflection, I ought to get back to work. (he said with tongue firmly planted in cheek).

May the Love of Christ and the song of God in your soul inspire you to hopeful living this Holy Week!!!!

Take a look! Really take a good look!

2008-02-14T11:59:00.002-05:00

Okay, now I’m getting closer to having seen everything.

For what it’s worth, we didn’t have weather like the past three days out in the west. Usually when it snows there, it snows. When it rains there, it rains. When it sleets, you know that something’s really wrong!

I have to admit that on more than one occasion yesterday I caught myself looking out the window in wide-eyed wonder. As I found myself in that state, I wondered why I don’t do it more often.

If we open our eyes at any given time to what’s around us we stand a pretty good chance of seeing something that perhaps no one else will see. Sometimes that witness is a happy thing, sometimes not, sometimes it’s neutral, but the fact that we see it is an experience. Much of what the spiritual life is about is experience. We do liturgy in hopes of having a God-moment. At its best, prayer is putting ourselves intentionally in God’s way so that we might have another, newer and deeper experience of the Divine. Looking out the window at falling rain on top of sleet on top of snow was for me a remarkable experience of God’s imagination and the wonderfully Divine complexity of the Creation that is steeped in God’s own self.

As part of your Lenten journey toward the cross, the tomb and the resurrection, I invite you to really look around you in the midst of your business at least once a day. Take note of what you see. Where is God in what you see? How would God in what you see make a difference? How is what you see revealing in your own life the presence or seeming absence of God? It needn’t take long. Just steal a minute or two each day and think of God, the world and our place in it as the people of God. You might be surprised by what you see.

--Shalom
Warren

St. Brigid

2008-01-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

The icon you may or not be able to see to the left in this week’s reflection is that of St. Brigid a shining light in the Celtic pantheon of Saints. She is known as the patroness of hospitality and helped maintain Christian identity ahead of the celebrated time of St. Patrick on the Emerald Isle. Her feast day is tomorrow, February 1^st.

She was known to be generous to a fault. One story of Brigid is that she was sent to take the family dairy produce (cheese, butter and cream) to the county fair for judging in competition which would mean a great deal in real terms for her family’s dairy business. Her parents were skittish about sending her alone to do this task as she was known to give anything to anyone who she believed needed it more than she. Their fears were realized (though they would not know) when on her journey to the fair, Brigid came across a poor unfortunate. She shared a bit of her fare with him and went along, determined to have at least some of the dairy products to serve at fair. She came across another poor one and then another practicing her signature generosity along the way. She makes the last stretch of her journey to market and fair noticing that she has nothing left for the judging.

She takes her place in the judging line and opens up her basket one last time to see if she had missed something that she might offer for sampling and judging. Miraculously, the basket appears full and with products of a quality superior to that which she had left Kildare with. Her radical and reckless generosity was rewarded with top prize and orders for all the produce that her dairy could supply.

It’s a marvelous story and fun, no question. I believe there is a deeper reality about the nature of our call of God in Christ that we ignore at our own peril. To give without question and because there is need is the action of a faithful life and a mature faith. This last Sunday in my Annual Meeting address, I called the community to a commitment to practicing the Christian Virtue of Hospitality.

As you enter tomorrow, the shortest month of the year, and stand on the threshold of Lent, remember Brigid and her lasting example on a people who have a heritage of hospitality to the stranger. Remember Jesus in Matthew 25, “Whenever you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.” Or Hebrews 13 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Happy St. Brigid’s Day!!!

Preaching the Gospel and Hershey Bars

2008-01-22T09:37:00.001-05:00

I ran across the following news item in the ‘Odd News’ section of Yahoo. I was amused and thought it a ‘sweet’ story (pardon the pun) but realized it was something more when Elizabeth Emerson utters this line near the end,

"I couldn't enjoy it if I wasn't able to share."

What if we looked at the love of God and the Good News of the Gospel the way Elizabeth looks at chocolate. Just a thought. Chew on it for a time.

Maine woman, 87, gets a sweet response

Mon Jan 21, 10:36 PM ET

JONESPORT, Maine - When Elizabeth Emerson confessed to a newspaper that her only real indulgence has been an occasional chocolate bar during her 87 years, she wasn't prepared for the sweet response that followed.

The 87-year-old Emerson was featured in a New York Times story about the impact of soaring fuel prices, generating letters from across the country, some with bars of chocolate inside.

She hit the jackpot in mid-December with an assortment from Hershey Co. that was accompanied by a personal note.

"I couldn't believe it. I laughed more than anything. All that fuss over little old me," Emerson told the Bangor Daily News.

The story about how the low-income elderly endure harsh Northeast winters gave a snapshot of Emerson's life: married for a half-century, grandmother and great-grandmother to 52, former aide at a nearby nursing home, now struggling to live on a $683-a-month Social Security check.

The final line disclosed her secret: "My greatest vice is Hershey bars."

This weekend, Emerson displayed what remains of her chocolate collection at her kitchen table.

"This isn't even all of it. I've given boxes and boxes away," she said. "I couldn't enjoy it if I wasn't able to share."

Besides, she said, "I can only eat so much chocolate."

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

What Gift Do We Bring?

2008-01-03T17:26:00.001-05:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

The dust is finally starting to settle. I’ve gotten at least a few of the boxes that filled the house broken down. The tree’s still up, but hey, it’s not Valentine’s Day yet and besides, it’s artificial. I’m really not ready to move on from the Christmas Season yet, but the calendar says the Epiphany is a matter of hours away!

During Christmastide we spend a lot of spiritual energy (or at least I have) on coming to grips with why God sends such a gift as Jesus to a bunch of folks (we humans) who so consistently seem to miss the bloody point. In fact I usually do so at the expense of forgetting to imitate the Magi in their Epiphany response. Moving between the sacred and profane aspects of Christmas (by profane, I’m not talking about my language) often diverts me from realizing that the new birth of Jesus into my life each Christmas ought to inspire some kind of thankful response. Let’s face it, the Magi were late, talked to the wrong people before heading to see Jesus and weren’t ‘the right sort of folks’, and yet we remember their faithful response to the coming of the Everlasting King by bearing opulent gifts to a poor child who appears to needed a place to stay more than gold, frankincense and myrrh.

As we prepare to Celebrate the Feast of Epiphany and the Sundays that follow before Lent comes (very early this year I might add), I want to invite you to search your experience of God over the past weeks in the liturgy, in your family, in the parish, at work, count some blessings and make an offering to God. Make an offering that may seem insignificant but that nags at you. Make an offering from the heart and see what God does with it. What good is the birth of a King if we just sit around and say how cool it is? Jesus has always called his disciples to reflection AND action. Let us as the people of God do both in hearty measure and with prayerful intention.

Blessed Epiphany!! Jesus the Light of the World awaits your gift. What do you bear for the coming of a King?

On the Advent Way--Just Be

2007-12-12T08:40:00.001-05:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Let me begin by thanking you all for your prayers and support as we have been traveling the journey of letting go and grief with the passing of Mary’s mother from this life to the next. There were many challenges and graces along the way and the support of a faith community is the difference between despair and a commitment to hope for me. I think I can speak for Mary in that as well.

One thing I can say for certain is that this Advent season has been a poignant one for me in preparing for new life and the reign of hope in the midst of grief and sorrow. That brings to mind a special event that I want to bring to your attention. This Sunday at St. John’s in Worcester (166 Holden St.) will be having a “Blue Christmas” service at 6 pm. The reality is that for many it is hard to embrace and feel the joy that is so much a part of the holiday and Christmas season. For those who grieve, on whatever level, the images of family, home and hearth are not comforting as much as they are a reminder of happier times. I want to invite you to be attentive to the folks around you during this season. It’s not incumbent upon us to entreat folks to ‘cheer up’ but rather to simply be present with people wherever their life circumstances have led them. What we can do, simply by our presence in most cases, is be with folks. We as the Church, The Body of Christ in the world, are given an opportunity to be with folks just as we prepare and celebrate the coming of Emmanuel, God with us, in the season.

In whatever circumstance you find yourself in this season, be present to the movement of God and to the position of others on their journey. Hold each of the folks in your lives in God’s presence and seek to be that presence for them in whatever way you can.

On the Advent journey, I bid you..

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)

When Just Resting Is Enough

2007-10-24T12:08:00.001-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

This week is one when something unusual besets me. I find myself, at least today, at a loss for words. As most of you know, we have been marching through some difficult times at the Rectory. With the stark diagnosis of pancreatic cancer for Mary’s mother, Patricia, the untimely death of a family pet and all that goes with having houseguests, I’m at fairly low energy.

In the section of the Prayer Book entitled Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families, there is this little nugget that seems appropriate right now.

O God, you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are

fixed on you; for in returning and rest we shall be saved; in

quietness and trust shall be our strength. Isaiah 26:3; 30:15

That’s about all I have for you today. In fact, it’s not anything that I have for you, but it is the sustaining promise of the God of all creation. That God, expressed in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is deeply interested in your peace, your rest, your quietness, your trust and ultimately your salvation. For today, for me, that’s going to have to do. I hope and pray it works for you as well.

Thank you all for all your prayers and support during these times.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Play Ball!!!!

2007-10-23T12:36:00.001-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Most of you will know by now that I am a huge baseball fan. The Grand Old Game has been on stage in a number of my major life events. Some of those stories are unlikely, but true. Some are mundane, yet profound. The love of baseball seems to be something of a family obsession around here too. Mary, Jonathan and I are quite captivated by the game. I think part of what makes baseball so appealing is that it is not bound by time or space. Here’s what I mean.

Baseball games only end (except by weather or other forces) when the prescribed number of innings are completed with one team clearly ahead. A game can be brief or very long and still comprise only the prescribed number of innings. When asked how long a baseball game takes, the right answer is always, “it takes as long as it takes.” There is no time limit.

Baseball diamonds also have only two real boundaries of play, the first and third base foul lines. Some of you may have seen the play made in this year’s Little League World Series when a player jumped over the fence and caught the ball that was apparently headed for a home run. That’s an out. That’s an out in any baseball field. Theoretically, Manny could regularly scale the Green Monster (or even sit there) to rob home run balls. Each field intersects each other field in some way abstractly. Have you ever considered that?

Baseball is also the only game I know of (besides cricket) that the offensive team does not possess the ball in order to score. Baseball, at its most ‘equitable’ is 9 players against 4.

By now, I hope you’re asking yourself, “What does this have to do with Church or the spiritual life?” Well I think there are some things that are worth noting. Like baseball, the spiritual life is one of practice on personal skills that ultimately benefits the team.

No matter how deep our prayer lives are, the Church is never a Church of one. Community and team are both ways of saying that I need the skills and talents of others in order to be successful. None of us, by our lives of personal prayer, devotion, service and worship, is going to point as effectively toward the coming of the Kingdom as will the whole church. On the other side of that coin, no one else can develop our relationship with God in Christ for us. Times of personal prayer, in spite of the personal benefits on our souls, are never a complete response to the action of God’s coming to the world in the person of Jesus. We can only ‘play the game’ meaning be the Church, if we all work together.

One last analogy if you’ll indulge me. By the time you read this, either the Colorado Rockies or New England’s beloved Boston Red Sox will be World Champions. This is a year unique in my experience and I hope that we all can experience something like it one day.

Part of the problem with baseball, despite all its intrinsic symmetry, anomaly and beauty is that we become attached to particular teams in a way that can blind us to the beauty of the game itself. I suspect that, whether in Colorado or New England, there are going to be despondent folks after one of the two teams wins four games in the Series. I however, see this as no lose. I love the Colorado Rockies, I am quite fond of the Boston Red Sox, but most of all I love baseball. Whoever wins, I suspect I’ll be happy to celebrate with either bunch. Not because I don’t care or am wishy washy, but because I love the beauty of the game.

What if we all were so in love with our Triune God that we didn’t worry about whether or not our ‘Team’ wins? What if we all recognized that our spiritual lives, both individual and corporate are no lose situations? I suspect if we were ever to live into that, even a little bit, the skeptical world would find Christianity so appealing that they wouldn’t be able to stay away and the whole world would win! I'm betting on Jesus in seven thrilling games.

—Fr. Warren

Let the Game Come to You!

2007-08-30T11:20:00.001-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

It’s great to be back from my several sojourns over the last month! Between retreat, vacation and surgery it feels as though I’ve run the gamut of experiences and they’ve all been valuable and instructive. I have to say that slowing down on retreat is always a chore. It is hard, sometimes, to shift gears from doing to simply being. By that I mean that even in getting ready to intentionally spend time listening to God, I found myself making lists of just how I was going to do that as if just sitting and listening in the context of the monastery weren’t enough.

The good news is that grace abounds in excess of anxiety and I was able to get to a state of being in fairly short order. I read, I prayed, I slept, I walked, I read some more, I ate wonderful Trappist Preserves with reckless abandon! At the end of a couple of days I was really getting the hang of this retreat thing! That’s when the thoughts of what had to be done upon my return started to seep into my reading, my prayer, my walking and the like. I guess the point I want to make is that we need to guard our being every bit as diligently as we plan our doing. I have hear athletes, artists, writers and musicians talk about how things slow down when they’re really in ‘the groove’, ‘the zone’, ‘the creative place’. I suspect that holds true for the art and discipline of prayer and discernment as well.

I am trying very hard (with dubious success) to really believe that simply showing up and paying attention is all that God requires of me in the daunting task of aligning my life and work to God’s will and plan. Sometimes I want to complicate the simple (don’t think that I mean ‘easy’) instead of just allowing God’s grace to act upon me as an open channel of possibility.

In the rest of the week ahead, I invite you to look at the passage from Jeremiah that we will read in Church this Sunday where the LORD talks with Jeremiah as the clay and God as the potter. It is up to God to form us lumps into the images that reflect the Glory of God that is meant to be ours as God’s children. In order for clay to be shaped, it mostly needs to just be clay. God is working on forming us, you and me, into vessels of His Grace. Wait upon God’s work and expect truth, goodness and beauty to be the product of His forming us all, over and over.

It’s great to be back!! See you all around!

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

More Than We Can Ask Or Imagine

2007-07-05T15:21:00.001-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

I was reviewing the parish website of a seminary classmate today and took the time to read a sermon that she preached this past Sunday. In it she took on the text from Luke not looking back and moving forward into the reality of God without reservation. From putting our hands to the plow, letting the dead bury the dead and dealing with Jesus news that “"Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Let’s face it, taken literally Jesus is claiming to be homeless! Jesus is so completely at home in his own skin that he recognizes that his authenticity is a gift from God and that being in the right place at the right time is a matter of listening to the voice of God leading the way and not clinging to the trappings of security. That’s freedom that I can scarcely imagine. I guess the closest I’ve come is in trusting God to lead our family to Worcester, not even knowing what Worcester was like.

My friend is challenged by that text because, in her own words, “I’m such a homebody.” On some level we’re all like that. We like what’s comfortable. We’d rather stay around the ordinary than to make ourselves available to the extraordinary, spiritually speaking. Jesus uses this occasion in Luke’s Gospel to challenge us to trust God’s presence and passionate desire to bless us ‘more than we can ask or imagine’ (Ephesians 3:20).

I believe we make ourselves available to the best that God has to offer when we trust that no matter where we go, God is. On the fleeting occasions when we’re able to trust God in that way, we find ourselves called to places that we’d never imagine ourselves and being richly blessed to boot.

I believe God is calling the community of St. Luke's Church to some amazing places (that’s easy to say, because I believe God calls everyone and every community to amazing places!!!!!!). I want to challenge us all to allow God to do the unimagined and unbelievable in our midst. There’s only one way for that to happen, in my opinion. That is to pray daily for God to lead us into the realities he has prepared for us.

Will you make that sort of commitment? If so, here’s a prayer to use should you like to have one:

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so
guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our
wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto
thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always
to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP p. 832 A Prayer of Self Dedication)

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

What's Yours To Do?

2007-06-26T16:35:00.001-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

As I sit in my office and write this, the mercury is headed for 90 for (I believe) the first time so far this summer. I can’t help but marvel how easily I change my tune from one season to the next. It wasn’t a month ago that I was lamenting the fact that warm weather had been so elusive so far in 2007 here in Worcester. Today, I found my mind wandering to the coolness of the fall already. I have such a hard time being in what is sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with hoping for an improvement in our lives. Having said as much, I have a hard time remembering the weather is not in my sphere of influence. What’s the old saying? “Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it!” As if we really could do something about it.

The weather is but one of the objects of a certain kind of magical thinking in my world from time to time. I have to admit finding myself concerned about ‘big issues’ while at the same time being unwilling to act in the small ways I can around me sometimes. There are many examples I could give, but here are two.

1. I decry the lack of Sabbath time in our lives. Weekends are full with all sorts of things, and yet I find myself available by phone and/or email almost all the time. Sometimes, despite my protestations to the contrary, I act as though I am indispensable. “For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15).

2. I am concerned about the fact that our culture preaches the ‘more is better’. I know that the scripture tells us that “where our treasure is, there our heart will be also” and yet, I have to admit that I really like my things. I’m trying to work on that but it’s a tough one for me.

Sometimes our deep concern about the big issues can be an excuse for not doing the things we can that are right before us with regards to our personal transformation. Let’s face it, worrying about the big, hard problems can be a way of getting out of doing anything.

There are times when I can grasp the deep faith in St. Francis’ dying words, “I have done what was mine to do”. What sort of world might we be able to create if we could all say that at our last? Better, I’m guessing. We all have something to do. May we all have the strength to do it, no matter how small it may appear. Many small acts, done faithfully, are what ultimately can change the world. I leave you with the following classic prayer by Reinhold Neihbur, an acclaimed 20^th Century Theologian. Note, if you will, his prayer for temporal happiness is qualified, he prays only to be reasonably happy in this life. Oh that we could be so easily satisfied!

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

What is this World Hungry For?

2007-06-20T15:56:00.001-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

It’s been just now a year since you extended the call for me to be your rector. My how time flies!! One of the things that made a big impression on me from the first was the Mission Statement of St. Luke’s. In the I’ve been here I find myself attaching it to all kinds of things. This weekly (or almost weekly) update. The Blog that contains these updates. It’s amazing how something can fade into the background in a short time. The Mission Statement above has done so a bit for me.

I was having a conversation with a couple of folks the other day and we started talking about the Mission Statement and we spent an awful lot of time concentrating on the first phrase. ‘Nourished by God’s Word and Sacraments,’

The assumption that it makes is that we, all of God’s people, have a hunger that only the experience of God can satisfy. That seems to me to be the easy part. The more challenging reality at hand is twofold.

1. Invite people to the table and let them express their hunger.

2. Prepare, from our best ingredients of faith and truth, wholesome, nourishing food for the soul.

During the remainder of our conversation we were quite taken with the feeding metaphor that nourishing conjured up for us. I want to encourage you to sit with that image as well as the summer unfolds. It seems to me that it connects beautifully with our self-identified gift of feeding, eating and hospitality. We do those things well, but we can always do all things better and more faithfully. Sit with this question if you will.

”With what shall we feed the stranger at our door who hungers for the transformative power of God in Jesus Christ?”

This, it seems to me, is a great question because there are a whole number of ‘right’ answers. Let’s reflect on this and talk about it as we encounter one another through these languid summer months.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Gardens, Gardens, Everywhere!

2007-06-07T16:08:00.000-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Memorial Day has come and gone and Independence Day is bearing down upon us. The days are longer, the flower, oh my the flowers here are truly a sight. You must remember that I am used to living somewhere where 9 inches of rain is a year’s worth. The green, verdant and colorful gardens everywhere are such a treat to the eye!

I have been reading a book by a man named N. Graham Standish who is a pastor of a Presbyterian Congregation in Pennsylvania. He says that congregations and churches are like gardens. Some he says are like English Gardens, requiring lots of upkeep and planning to maintain their character. Some, he says, are like herb gardens that add flavor and fragrance to the world about it. Others are vegetable gardens, that feed those in the church and the many neighbors as well with hearty and simple fair grown from fertile, loamy earth. Another variety is the cottage garden whose plants are simple and often serve the purpose to create separation and space from noisy and nosy neighbors. Others are like wilderness gardens. Wilderness gardens are grown on large tracts of land, require a bit of planning and maintenance, but are often allowed to grow wild. They have incredibly lush areas and some dead spots as well. Standish thinks that much of New Age Spirituality is like this. Finally Standish offers the conservatory model. It is a garden that has many varied zones and may contain all of the above types (save maybe the wilderness garden). It can be confusing, it takes enormous amounts of time, planning and money to maintain and is not easily accessible or necessarily a place of prolonged respite.

I have been wondering what sort of garden we are at St. Luke’s. I see elements of several and I’m not sure there’s any ‘right’ answer. What is far more interesting to me is to deal with the question, ‘What sort of Garden does God wish for us to plant in this fertile soil?’ I point you all back to the parish profile where there is mention of fertile soil and tilling. Could it be that part of the Holy Conversation into which God is inviting us is to plan, prepare, plant and tend a particular kind of garden (either literally or metaphorically)? I’m not sure of the answer but I’m loving the question.

Shall we all grapple with the question together in the coming months? During the summer we are likely to have the chance to experience some different church settings in our vacation travels. Why not try and find out what kind of garden you’re visiting? See what kind of plants seem to be flourishing there and bring back your stories. Who knows, we might be able to do some transplanting to make this Garden Spot of God more lush, diverse and inviting?

Have a great summer. Bring back your ideas, but most of all, rest in the lushness of God’s garden, wherever you may find it.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Heresy!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-31T15:40:00.001-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. As I mentioned last weekend, it has been said that it is likely impossible to talk for more than a few minutes about the Trinity without uttering some sort of heresy. I suspect that’s true. It is most certainly true if we adhere to the following definition of heresy from the American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy:

heresy--a belief or teaching considered unacceptable by a religious group.

If we apply this definition it is little wonder that Christians down through the ages have cried ‘heresy’ to those who have the temerity to announce the just possibly God is doing a new thing. Before we get to wrapped up in the heresies (and heretics) of the Christian Church after establishment under the Emperor Constantine in the 4^th Century, it may be worthwhile to examine the Scriptural record (both Hebrew and Christian Testaments) and see that ‘heresy’ (as defined above) is a common trait among many whom have become for us examples of faithful living.

Nearly all of the prophets, beginning with Moses, got into trouble (at least in part) for challenging the religious establishment’s understanding of who God is and what God does, who God likes and how those who don’t behave are going to upset things. There are many others, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, Nathan, David, Jonathan, and of course Jesus. Each of them, in one way or another, were the heretics of their day.

In Christian history the Common of Saints is littered with those who, in their day, were accused of heresy only to be vindicated as the conversation about the nature of God pushed beyond its present limits to widen the understanding of God’s nature, character and attitude to the entire Creation that is God’s Magnum Opus. Whether proved (?) forever beyond the reach of orthodoxy (that is right belief) or not, each of those who utter heresy (in the best scenario) help bring clarity to the discernment of the Body of Christ about what the authentic nature of God is as we can understand and experience it at any given time. The ancient heresies of the Church weren’t useless. They, each in their own way, help to bring to clarity the expression of God’s nature by the faithful. Vindication, for some, was/is a long time in coming.

There is no little bit of anxiety about being ‘right’ about God’s nature even in our day. In many ways, nothing much ever changes. While the conversations are important, they primary importance has to do with our faithful living and is not a threat to the authentic nature of God. The reality is that God is as God is whether or not our descriptions, understandings or pronouncements are accurate. The moving toward God is always a process, never a completed action.

So I suspect it is not only preachers who stray into heretical waters when daring to talk about the Living God, it is all of us who dare to wonder about God’s nature. To be called a heretic (at least potentially) is a small price to pay for coming to any kind of depth of experience and understanding about the Divine Nature that gives life and breath to everything in heaven and on earth. I hope you’ll join me in daring to be wrong in daring to approach God. To my way of thinking it’s not only worth it, but one of the risks that faith requires.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that we want to be reckless and challenges the accepted and time-tested understandings and experiences of God's nature. For example, I'm not suggesting that we challenge the reality of God's nature as a loving and nurturing Creator, I'm simply saying that for us to push on the accepted boundaries of God's goodness and what it means for the life of the world is part of the theological project. I'm not interested in doing reckless and bad theology, but I'm not interested in 'safe' theology either. To push to the edge of understanding is the pioneering spirit that has led God's people into the presence of the Divine throughout the ages. I, for one, am not sure we should harden the edges. In fact, someone told me recently, that most of really good spiritual growth entails softening our edges while strengthening our center.

If our center remains on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I suspect that we'll survive our theological wanderings and the Good Shepherd will stop at nothing to bring us back to our heart's true home.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Planting, Growing and Producing

2007-05-23T10:50:00.000-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Memorial Day is upon us and the Program Year for St. Luke’s is coming to a close. Over the course of this first year (nearly) I have been very impressed at the diversity of ministries here and the passion that surrounds them. I want to thank you all for the way in which you embraced our first Ministry Fair which we held in September. I’m looking forward to many more of them. The day provided me (and many others) with an opportunity to see all that goes on here at St. Luke’s in a way that is easily accessible and inviting.

Having said that, I am still aware that we are at our best when we are diligent about inviting folks to ‘Taste and See’ that life here at St. Luke's Church can be very nourishing indeed. When we do this, however, we also have to be aware of how deeply rooted we are in the ‘success’ culture of our environment. Jesus seems to make very clear that the exercise of being faithful is about ‘doing the work’ more than it is about ‘getting the results’. Perhaps just having come of the traditional ‘Rogation’ or planting days, of the church, we’d do well to revisit some of Jesus’ parables that have to do with planting, tending and harvesting.

“Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.

35 Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.

36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.

37 For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.'” (John 4:34b-37)

2 Jesus began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

3 "Listen! A sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil.

6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.

7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.

8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

9 And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"

10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables.

11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables;

12 in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'"

13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?

14 The sower sows the word.

15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy.

17 But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word,

19 but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.

20 And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."(Mark 4:2-20)

Our work is to keep telling the story. Our work is to keep casting the seed out there. We cannot always ensure that it will take root. The fact of the matter is that no gardener makes anything grow, not really. All any gardener can do is put plants in fertile soil in places where they have the best chance of taking root, thriving and producing flowers, fruit and seed all in due season. We (God’s gardeners) cannot make anything grow faster than it will grow. We cannot make plants that love the sun grow in the shade. We cannot make the lemon tree produce oranges….you get the idea.

What we can and must do is pay attention to soil conditions, rainfall and the suitability of our garden and put the seeds of ministry in the most likely places for them to take root and grow. We can fertilize. We can weed and we can water to a certain extent. But growth itself is a matter between the plant and its very nature. Nature is God’s work the best attention we can pay is the nurture that gives the implanted word its best shot at flourishing.

Keep inviting folks to find their place in the Garden of Life. Bask in the warm sun that gives growth in due season and continue to grow well where God has planted you!

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Pray for The Victims and the Perpetrators!

2007-04-19T12:46:00.000-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

You, like me, were no doubt horrified as the events unfolded in Blacksburg, VA this week. We were living in the Denver area when the events of Columbine High School unfolded nine years ago. What struck me this week is that unlike that day, I did not find myself experiencing the profound surprise and shock that I did when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on their rampage. I didn’t glue myself to the television. In fact, I have tried to avoid all the media buzz. There seems to be such a feeding frenzy when something like this happens.

I spend some time wondering just why that might be. I suspect it is because it happens more frequently than ever before. I suspect that the unblinking eye of the media brings more of it to our attention. I suspect that after the events of September 11, 2001 we have lost a great deal of our naiveté about our relative safety in the world.

After I’ve spent that time, I spend some more time thinking about what we as Christians ought to DO in the face of such unspeakable and senseless horror perpetrated by one human being on other human beings. For now I’m not talking about how to prevent such things. It seems to me that is the role of folks who determine public policy. What we can do, however, is be intentional about our response to such events. Of course our initial response and prayer goes out to the victims of such violence. What of the perpetrators? If our sympathy lies only with the victim, we rob some of Jesus’ teaching some of its counter cultural impact. Look to Luke’s Gospel for instance. Jesus says here in the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:27-38):

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.

30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.

31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven;

38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

We should of course keep the victims and their families in the forefront of our prayers. Having said that, we should also find the grace and courage to prayer for the young man who did such horrible things and the suffering his family must be enduring as well. I believe it breaks the heart of God to see any of his children die so desperate and apparently without hope.

I know it’s hard to prayer for those who persecute us or others. But really, who needs it more than they? Pray for it all, give it all to God.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Easter in Perspective

2007-04-17T14:44:00.000-04:00

Dear Folks,

I'm posting this in addition to the weekly post I try and manage. This letter, written by an Anglican Priest serving St. George's in Baghdad helped me put some perspective on the Gift of the Resurrection that I take for granted sometimes. I share it with you here.

Please see below this Sunday's Easter article I have written for the 'Mail on Sunday'.

Happy Easter to all from the FRRME; may you know the glory of the resurrected Jesus.

Andrew

Easter in Baghdad

I know I have the best parish in the world. Yes it is rather different than most but it is wonderful. The journey to church is different than any other vicar experiences. I leave my trailer with my body armour and armoured helmet on. My body guards surround me as I get into the armoured vehicle. We drive through the International Zone, through many army check points, and finally into the ordinary streets. Half a mile away is the church. We arrive in 5 minutes; the Church of St George’s is surrounded by razor wire and bomb barricades.

The Special Forces know that I am arriving and have surrounded the Church and cut off the road. My security team searches the church and the churchyard and ensures with our church guards that there are no unknown people in the building. They give me the all-clear and at last I can go into my church of St George’s Baghdad. Many people have called it the most dangerous parish in the world; I prefer to leave that title to some church in British suburbia. For today is Easter and when I cry out in Arabic ‘Alleluia Al Masiah Kahm’ (Alleluia Christ is risen) the people will reply ‘Kahma Beltakid Alleluia’ (He is risen indeed Alleluia), and they will mean it.

A few months ago I was waiting for the helicopter in the International Zone to take me to the other side of Baghdad. I realized that it was almost exactly twenty years ago that I was asked what I wanted to do in 20 years time. I said I wanted to be a vicar in London. Today I find myself in the midst of a war zone and for some reason I love it. I miss my wife and two young boys in Hampshire. I loved my days as a vicar in London and as a Canon at Coventry Cathedral and it was whilst there that I started coming to Iraq 9 years ago.

Our congregation is all Iraqi though not Anglican. There have been Christians in Iraq from almost the beginning of the faith. At first a really miserable evangelist turned up by submarine transportation, called Jonah. He preached a short sermon, they all repented, and he really complained to God and said he wanted to die. A few hundred years later another miserable man turned up, this time it was doubting Thomas on his way to India. He asked them if they knew their Messiah had come and they said no. He told them about Jesus, they believed in him and to this day their greatest saints are Jonah and Thomas and many of the Christians still come from Nineveh.

Our congregation is very large with over 1300 members; fortunately they do not all turn up at every service otherwise we would not fit them all in. After the war in 2003 we had about 10 people. Since then we have grown every week. Many of our members are Chaldeans, Syrian Orthodox and Assyrian Christians. They came to our church because travel was difficult and no other church was near them. Coming to church is dangerous; some have even been killed on their way. Christians, like all others in Iraq, are constantly under attack but they do not give up their faith; it is the thing that gives hope in the present chaos. The persecution of Christians is sadly increasing continually; they are all under mounting attack.

As the congregation arrives I greet them all with three kisses and if I leave one person out I am told in no uncertain terms. Then the children come in from their classes to see me. There are well over a hundred each week. They all expect a hug and a kiss as well. They then start the worship; they sing and sing and sing. An hour passes and we can commence the main service. Today the only Church of England thing about the gathering will be the hundreds of chocolate creme eggs that I have brought with me from England.

Here in Iraq everything may be awful. I look around the congregation and see that many of the women are wearing black-- their husbands have been killed, many since last year, and I know for them Easter is very real. We sing the song “Because He lives we can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone because I know He holds the future and life is worth living just because He lives”. For us here in Baghdad Easter is not just a festival that means turning up to church, it is the very heart of hope and light in darkness.

Here our church is an Anglican Church, but it is not plagued by the worries and problems of many churches. The issue of sexuality has never even been mentioned. Here the only worry is will there be food on the table tonight, will my loved ones survive the day and will my children return and not be kidnapped. What happens each day here can not really be mentioned, it is far too awful. I regularly tell people that I have spent much of my past decade in war zones; what you see on TV is usually worse than the reality but here in Baghdad it is the other way round. In reality Baghdad is a 100 times worse than anything you ever see on TV. Just as the reality of the tragedy of this place is worse than you see, so is the reality of Easter far greater here than you can ever imagine. Here Easter is more than real, it is part of daily life for the Christians of this land and Easter is such a time of celebration.

When we say in our liturgy that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again, we mean it. We know that Christ is alive and real and it is this we celebrate on this day. Our worship will be exceptional not just today but everyday. As we think of what our Lord has suffered there is a real understanding of the nature of the cross; for our people here suffering is real. It is the reality of daily life. The other day I asked my people who of them had a loved one killed or injured in the past two years. They all responded positively. For them death is in the midst of life, therefore resurrection is their only hope. For them the fact that on this day they celebrate Christ rising from the dead means they are certain that this is what will happen to their loved ones and themselves,

So the worship continues, there is such joy amongst these people that not just on Easter but every resurrection day they can celebrate Christ rising from the dead. There is joy and even laughter in the midst of this suffering. Sometimes you realise that if you don’t laugh you will just cry, and there are many tears as well. The other week we had our service in one of the Government offices. Ali turned up and wanted to know why I had not told him all the children were coming. Now Ali is a leader in one of the major terrorist groups. I quickly thought to myself ‘I don’t usually tell the terrorists where our children are going to be’. He told me that he wanted to give them all presents. He left the room and returned a few minutes later, this time with piles of children’s Bibles. A few hours later (services are long) I looked at the Bibles only to discover that they were the precise ones that had been stolen on their way into Iraq recently.

I mention this because for the children this was part of their Easter story. One little girl told me the Bible had come to them because Jesus is alive. Because he was alive he would ensure that whatever was meant for them would be given to them. Even if by a terrorist it was an act of God. For us in Baghdad today God is alive and real.

I see the same belief in the reality of a living God amongst my other congregation at the US Embassy. Here most of the congregation is military; beside them on the floor is their body armour and guns. For them too the truth remains that ‘Because He lives they can face tomorrow’. They too have had their loved ones and colleagues killed and injured, they too hold to the hope of resurrection. For many, today is a time for Easter Egg hunts, fluffy bunnies and too much food; but for us, today is a day of hope and transformation as we proclaim here in Baghdad that “Alleluia Christ is risen, He is risen indeed Alleluia”.

The Rev’d Canon Andrew White

Anglican Priest in Iraq

President of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East

www.frrme.org

Get Out of the Way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-04-11T13:48:00.000-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!! The Lord is Risen Indeed!

First, let me begin by thanking the multitude of folks who worked so hard to make our Holy Week and Easter Celebrations a delight to behold and a joy to share! I have mentioned before in these missives, that liturgy is literally translated ‘the work of the people’. There was not one instance of LITURGY last week that was not deeply filled with the inspired work of God’s people….all of us!

The music was stellar, the atmosphere was Holy, the engagement and willingness to try new things in the course of our walk toward the Resurrection was great. Holy Week is so wonderfully rich, it is definitely our Episcopal Tradition at its best.

I was wandering about Church Websites as I sometimes do looking for something when I came across a piece by the Rector of a Church in Pennington, New Jersey entitled “What’s Right About The Epsicopal Church”. To hear secular media (and any number of others across the continuum of our Church) tell it, we are on life support if not already nearing our last gasp as a Church. To that, I politely say, “Fiddle Faddle!”. With thanks to Fr. Jack Belmont, Rector of St. Matthew’s in Pennington, New Jersey, I offer you this:

The Episcopal Church is not perfect and is in continual need of repentance and renewal, as are all institutions touched by humanity. Yet, I feel personally blessed by God in Christ to be counted as member and priest of this Church. I believe we have much to offer the world in Christ's name that is right and good. I am saddened by those on both extremes who would hurt this Church by cruel words and accusations, especially those with whom we break the bread and share the cup. It becomes apparent to the world we are called to serve when some of us are long in zeal and light in charity! Surely Christians who strive to seek the will of Christ for this sinful and broken world have a common mission. In our disagreements, we are confronted, challenged and mandated to love as He loved us. As Episcopalians, we can be the answer to the great high priestly prayer of Jesus: "Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one." Only we can get in His way!

I would like to add a hearty HERE, HERE to Fr. Belmont’s sentiments. Without a deep investment in seeking to serve Christ in All Persons (especially those with whom we disagree) we have nothing to offer the world that does anything to counter the tendency to shrill bickering that most of the general populace believes about our Episcopal Church. We must do better, because God wants desperately to demonstrate a ‘more excellent way’ to the world through His Church. To quote Fr. Belmont again ONLY WE CAN GET IN HIS WAY!

It is my fervent prayer that during this Easter Season we will find the grace, courage and wisdom to get out of God’s way and to allow Him to work his grace in the world.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Holy Week...How does it Fit?

2007-04-04T12:42:00.000-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

I write this to you all smack dab in the middle of Holy Week. It is Wednesday. It is cold. It feels like winter all over again. Something is blowing in and it’s not simply the next wave of moisture from the Great Lakes. The drama of Holy Week is bursting at the seams, straining to break out and surprise us all over again.

On most Tuesdays I meet with a group of Episcopal clergy-type colleagues and we share lunch and discuss the readings for the coming week. This week there was no shortage of giddiness in that meeting. It was not excitement about Holy Week per se. Nor was it the joy of Easter straining at the boundaries of Lent. It was something else. We spent a good deal of time talking about how hearing the story in this week makes preaching difficult, almost superfluous.

What I pray for during every Holy Week is that we all really get into this story. It is the greatest gift we as the Church, the Body of Christ in the world, have been given. The intimacy of the Last Supper gives way to the tension in Garden, to the courtroom drama of Pilate really trying to let Jesus live to see another day, and the theatre of the absurdity of crucifying God careens out of control. Once the dastardly deed is finally done, then shock takes over and the reality of what life is going to be sinks in with the disciples and a sort of Holy Despair takes over. It seems to me that only then can any of our hearts be ready for the unbelievable to dawn into reality.

Wherever this week finds your heart (at any given minute!), I continue to pray that you’ll continue to try the story on for size. Just as we grow older and our clothes fit, let’s say differently, so too does this marvelous Gospel story fit us differently at each fitting. It may pinch us in places that it has never pinched before. We may delight to find that we’ve gained a little room and better fit around the middle. It seems to me that it’s never a bad fit, it just seems to direct our attention to the appropriate place at the appropriate time. As this week moves on and as the story takes further grip on your days, may you feel comfort in this story not because it always fits comfortably, but rather because it is true, with a CAPITAL “T”.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Holy Week and Our Role in the Drama

2007-03-29T08:58:00.000-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

This coming Sunday we will gather and celebrate the Liturgy of the Palms. We will recite the Hosannas to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem proclaiming his greatness and then by week’s end we will join in the chorus of ‘Crucify Him’ with an angry crowd bent on avoiding conflict with the ruling Roman Governor and the Emperor he represents.

The wildly shifting of emotions of Holy Week can be dizzying. That’s a good thing. Coming to grips with the fullness of our participation in the life of God means that we will be from time to time faithful vessels of God’s blessing to the world and then confound ourselves by the ways in which we can work against the coming of the Kingdom. The fact of the matter is that it is part of coming to grips with our fallen nature in relationship to God. Just because we might expect to foul up doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive for the greater gifts. By the same token, we cannot be too hard on ourselves. Remember the Rock upon which the Church has been built (St. Peter) got it wrong profoundly alongside getting it right in divinely inspired ways.

I hope that we all will be convicted during the journey with Jesus to the cross and through to the resurrection. I pray our convictions will be across the continuum of faith. God permit us to be convicted in both our faithfulness and our faithlessness. Understanding where we stand is the requisite first step in plotting a course to being transformed and becoming agents of God’s transforming love in Jesus.

We may be a mixed blessing when it comes to our faithfulness to the Mission of Jesus in the Church but remember that we are a blessing nonetheless.

Blessed Holy Week!

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

It's Never to Late to Plant for a Good Harvest

2007-03-15T11:12:00.000-04:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Experts say that it takes 21 days of consistent practice to develop a new habit.

We have passed the halfway mark in our sojourn through the 40 days of Lent and so might be expecting some new habits to have broken out and perhaps some old ones to have evaporated. I do hope that is the case with us as we travel through these great 40 days with Jesus on the way to the cross.

As part of our Lenten Quiet day on February 24^th, we spent a great deal of time wrestling with how to be Mary in a Martha world. If you’ll remember that Jesus informs Martha in the midst of her busyness that “she is worried and distracted by many things, there is need of only one thing.” (Luke 10:41-42) I have been wondering if the measure of keeping a ‘Holy Lent’ isn’t simply uncovering ONE thing that will enrich our souls spiritually or that will make a tangible difference in the life of the world and at least ONE of God’s people in it (other than ourselves). Maybe the richness of the gift that is Lent can be found in doing ONE of each of these things.

Specifically I have come to believe in this Lenten season that we have to live out of both/and rather than either/or when it comes to a personal discipline of Lent and a public expression of compassion for the world. Sometimes I’m a bit slow on the uptake, but that seems to be the life of faithful integrity that God is calling us to through the person and ministry of Jesus. By integrity, I mean the integrating of the contemplative and active parts of the Christian life. I suspect that’s a lifelong goal toward which we can only progress and never truly attain completely.

For Christian communities in general and St. Luke’s in particular, I believe that the measure of how we’ve kept a Holy Lent will be found in how we live in an Easter reality. I is my fervent prayer and abiding hope that the keeping of a HOLY LENT will be the blossom on the tree of our common life that will produce the resurrection fruit of compassionate ministry in the light of a newly dawned Easter.

So regardless of how you think “you’ve done” on your Lenten discipline to this point, remember it is never to late to keep a Holy Lent.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Woody Allen and the Church????????

2007-03-08T17:50:00.000-05:00

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.”

Woody Allen--US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 - )

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Think what you will of Woody Allen from a personal or artistic standpoint, but this little nugget is at the heart of being able “to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.” (BCP 366). For us to be the Good News People that we are called to be as Christ’s Body in the world, we first have to show up. Another way of putting it is that we need to exercise a ministry of presence. To be really present where we have been called to be is a consistent challenge for those of us who seek to live a life of faith.

One of the accompanying challenges is not to shrink from the world around us. The ministry of presence is not passive. To be really present with the world is to be engaged in it. To be aware of what’s going on about us and to be unabashed in re-presenting ourselves and the Gospel Good News to the world is at the heart of being faithful witnesses. That’s the work of a missionary. By our Baptismal Covenant we have all been called to be active and present in the Mission field.

This past Tuesday the active part of St. Luke’s ministry of presence bore wonderful fruit. Without compromising the confidentiality of the event our proclamation of presence to the neighborhood in our new sign planted a seed around the Healing Service. One of the folks who attended the service told me that she had come because she had seen the sign. With her she brought the concerns of a friend. Because of our willingness to declare our presence without guilt or shame to the passersby on Pleasant St., we had the privilege of being a prayerful presence with and for some of God’s Beloved.

Whoever you are, wherever you are and whatever you do, remember who you re-present. Show up, be present, tell the Gospel truth and leave the results to God.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Spring and Rumors of Spring--Lent as Gift and Sign of Hope

2007-03-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Over the course of the past two weeks I have seen the signs of spring mixed in most strikingly with the realities of the winter in which we find ourselves. On Shrove Tuesday, I noticed nearly a dozen robins bouncing around on the ground outside the Parish Hall. It may not be the case here in New England, but in the West the arrival of the first robin of spring is more important than any pronouncement made by Punxatawney Phil. I have not seen those robins so much in the intervening days, but I hear them constantly. Spring indeed cannot be far away.

The second of the most remarkable of signs I’ve seen showing me that Spring cannot be far off is the fact that I was able to watch a baseball game last night. I watched (along with the rest of RedSox Nation) the beloved boys from Fenway fill the seats at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers to watch a 40-year old pitcher work through 19 deliveries to a mixture of the best and youngest that the Minnesota Twins have to offer. It was not ‘mid-season’ form by any stretch of the imagination, but it filled my heart with joy as sure as the first breezes of spring fill my lungs through an open window when I convince myself that it really is warm enough to leave it open (even if only a crack) through the night.

In many ways these two examples are also a part of what makes Lent such a gift to me. The uncertainty of living between the worlds of the Passion and the Resurrection is exciting to me. The uncertainty of what sort of weather the next system will bring is life giving for me. Make no mistake, I like some certainty in my seasons. Summer should always be warm enough for shorts and sandals. Fall should be sweater weather. Winter should make me appreciate hearth and home in a way that other seasons don’t. Spring, however, is most exciting for me emotionally and spiritually, when the next day, the next gift from God, is less certain.

I hope that this uncertainty can open up new ways for us all to appreciate the gift of Lent. Just as surely as summer follows the spring, Easter will follow Good Friday and the fullness of time and the Holy Promise of new and unending life will again be our companion on the Way. That being said, I pray we all be present to whatever the wind blows our way during the rest of Lent.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Amazing Grace Indeed!!!!!

2007-02-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

Dear St. Luke’s Community,

Here’s the question of the day!

There are, no doubt, many plausible answers to the above question, but the image here comes from the promotional materials to a new film being released nationwide this coming Friday. It is from Amazing Grace: The Epic Story of William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was the member of the British Parliament most responsible for the outlawing of the Slave Trade in the early 19^th Century. He was a protégé and friend of John Newton, Anglican Priest, and author of the hymn after which the film is named. Newton’s disillusion with the slave trade came from first hand experience and after having a conversion experience he penned the words to the famous hymn and yet would have to wait some 50 years for the courage and faith of his convictions to ‘come true’ as part of the national fabric of England needed to be rewoven in light of its endorsement of and benefit from the trade of Africans as slaves.

The film opens this Friday in theatres everywhere and shows the possibility of faith and truth triumphing (finally) over the powers of economy, politics and the status quo. It is important to note that the impetus to right this reprehensible wrong has at its core the message of the Gospel. The answer to the previous question for us who proclaim Jesus is simply faith. Jesus says that if we have but the faith of a mustard seed we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). The key of course is that our will and desire is aligned with that of God.

As the Lenten season unfolds, especially for us here at St. Luke's Church, I ask you to ask yourselves what mountains might God be itching to move. Then I bid you pray with all the faith you can muster for those mountains to be cast into the proverbial sea. What is most important in all of this is stated clearly in the words of the Lord’s Prayer as we say, “your kingdom come your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” Remember the goal of faith, prayer and ministry is always to align ourselves and our actions with the will of God. Too often we pray (in whatever circumstance) for God to be on our side. Another great abolitionist said when asked if he prayed, answered, “Yes I pray, but I pray not so much for God to be on our side, but for us to be on God’s side.” Those words were spoken by on Abraham Lincoln more than 50 years after the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain.

To find out more about the film, go to http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/index.php. Go see the film. You’ll also find good discussion resources on the website as well.

Peace and Good,

The Rev. Warren Earl Hicks, Rector
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
921 Pleasant St.
Worcester, MA 01602
508-756-1990 (Office)
508-756-8277 (Fax)

Blog Address www.frwarren.blogspot.com

Historical Perspective

2007-01-30T10:09:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

My undergraduate degree is in History. I didn't get through my Bachelor's until I was the ripe old age of 40. In fact I graduated from College on May 13th and left for Seminary 6 weeks later. While I was wrapping up my Bachelor's an old priest in my sponsoring parish asked me what I was majoring in. "History!" I replied proudly.

"What era?" he asked.

"Twentieth Century American History!" came my enthusiastic reply.

He sort of chuckled and said, "My dear young man, that barely qualifies as current events!" His view was History was something that took a while. Perspective and reflection were always the measure of Historical accuracy and interpretation on what the signs of the times might really have meant.

I've never forgotten that, especially when (in whatever context) people say one of two things:

1. Things have never been worse!

OR

2. I really miss the good old days!

Generally speaking there is always some point in history that we can point to to learn about the current state of affairs. Sometimes what we learn is simply that 'it's not so bad, after all.' I have to say that we in the Church get caught up in hand wringing from time to time. When that happens what always suffers is the Mission of the Church (look up p. 855 BCP again!!!).
I genuinely believe we're on the cusp of losing focus again. Don't get me wrong, I believe that the current climate in the Anglican Communion over issues of Women's Ordination and Human Sexuality are important and that the Communion is in a fragile state! What I would hope we could remember is that this is not the first time there have been profound disagreements about doctrine and it won't be the last!
What I believe would be a real shame is for us to act as though we are at the make or break point with regard to the work of the Church. And I don't mean the Episcopal Church, or even the Anglican Communion. I mean the Mission of Jesus. That will go on until the Kingdom comes on earth again.
One of my favorite websites, Anglicans Online, published the following bit of historical perspective on their homepage this week.

Hallo again to all.

April 1874

Then the Vicar of Fordington told us of the state of things in his parish when he first came to it a half century ago. No man had ever been known to receive the Holy Communion except the parson, the clerk and the sexton. There were 16 women communicants and most of them went away when he refused to pay them for coming. They had been accustomed there at some place in the neighbourhood to pass the cup to each other with a nod of the head.

At one church there were two male communicants. When the cup was given to the first he touched his forelock and said, 'Here's to your good health, Sir'. The other said, 'Here's to the good health of our Lord Jesus Christ'.

One day there was a christening and no water in the Font. 'Water, Sir!' said the clerk in astonishment. 'The last parson never used no water. He spit into his hand.'*

A fast day in the early 19th century
in the Church of England

There is much at present in the Anglican Communion about which we can be gloomy. But since the 19th century, in matters of church basics, we've made enormous advances. We take for granted an understanding of the importance of the two dominical sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion in parish liturgical life. To a greater or lesser degree, parishioners have an informed understanding of those sacraments. The primacy of the Eucharist is established in most parish churches; just a short time ago, historically speaking, it was likely a four-times-a-year occurrence or, in advanced parishes, perhaps once a month. From Kilvert's Diary again:

The Archdeacon on a Visitation tour came to a small upland parish in the diocese of Salisbury. He asked the clerk how often the Holy Communion was administered in the year. The clerk stared. 'What did you please to say?' he asked. 'The Holy Communion,' repeated the Archdeacon. 'How often do you have it in the year?' The clerk still stared open-mouthed in hopeless bewilderment. At length a suspicion of the Archdeacon's meaning began to dawn faintly upon him. 'Aw,' he blurted out, 'aw, we do never have he. We've got no tackling.'*

'Tackling' is assumed in most parishes now! Yet it's easy to forget that our present liturgical state is the result of hard-won victories. From the early high-church heroes who risked gaol (in England) and presentment, trial, and opprobrium elsewhere to advance the understanding of sacramental liturgy, to the Oxford movers-and-shakers whose concentrated energies burst onto the world and made theological tracts best-sellers, from clergy who daringly risked for the 'adornment' of churches and argued a return, to more historically correct ecclesiastical vesture — all these made the parish church the place we know today.

When we're tempted to be glum and weary about the struggles and strife in the Communion in our own time, just remember that not long ago, in the mother church of the communion:

people could be paid for coming to Holy Communion;
spit could be used in baptism;
clergy could 'forget' Ash Wednesday, or not offer Divine Service on rainy days;
livings and advowsons could be bought and sold;
the Bishop of Bristol, Dr George Pelham, could send his butler to ordination candidates and tell them to 'write an essay' (1807);
churchyards were let for grazing animals; at Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, one lady refused to buy mutton that had been grazed there, for it 'had a deathly taste'§ (1856);
the Reverend Sydney Smith could be offered the parish of Foston-le-Clay in Yorkshire, where there had been no resident parson since the reign of Charles II (1809); and 'when he thumped the cushion of his pulpit he claimed that the accumulated dust of 150 years made such clouds that he could not see his congregation for several minutes'§;
more than twenty parsons in Devon kept packs of hounds (1860s).

Take heart! Life is better now. Whatever our problems be today, they seem more refined than those of a century or two ago. Perhaps the source of the problems will never change — human nature — but the problems themselves do evolve.

This week let us not 'forget' Candlemas. And we'll see you next week.

I for one am not looking forward to going back to these 'good old days!' That being said, continue to pray for our Church and particularly the sinful human beings (that's all of us) that call it home!

---Warren

The Gospel.....it's not easy, but it can be very simple!!

2007-01-19T14:43:00.000-05:00

The only purpose of the gospel is to reconcile people to God and to each other. A gospel that doesn't reconcile is not a Christian gospel at all. But in America, it seems as if we don't believe that. We don't really believe that the proof of our discipleship is that we love one another (see John 13:35). No, we think the proof is in numbers ... Even if our "converts" continue to hate each other, even if they will not worship with their brothers and sisters in Christ, we point to their "conversion" as evidence of the gospel's success. We have substituted a gospel of church growth for a gospel of reconciliation.

- John Perkins, from "With Justice for All"

I will freely admit to 'lifting' the above quotation directly from the God's Politics Blog (http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/godspolitics/) hosted by Jim Wallis and Sojourners. As I think you all might be aware, I am not above 'stealing' good ideas if they help in proclaiming the radical grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Perkins, in my view, hits the nail on the head when identifying reconciliation and the chief work of the gospel. In fact it sounds very much like (almost verbatim) to the Episcopal Church's own view on what is the Mission of the Church.

Q. What is the mission of the Church?
A. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to
unity with God and each other in Christ.

I sometimes get in trouble when I critique the 'Church Growth' movement of the 1990's. Don't get me wrong, I would always like for there to be more folks in Church. What I will challenge is that the notion that any growth is good growth. After all the work of the gospel is to bring folks to Christ, so what could be wrong with more people in Church? The answer, I believe, lies in what sort of fruit shows up on the tree. I am deeply troubled by any community that proclaims to have such a clear vision of God's heart and mind so as to pronounce that there are those who 'don't belong' in the family. That goes for all faith communities--Churches, Mosques, Synagogues---take your pick.

At the end of the day, all of the three Abrahamic Religions (those claiming Abraham as a common ancestor)---Judaism, Islam and Christianity---seek to faithfully respond to a God whose chief characteristic is love. How then can we ever justify any 'violent' act in the name of a loving God? You should know that there are a great many plausible answers to that. I believe that none of them faithfully captures the essence of God, that is reconciliation.

To love those with whom we disagree is hard. But it is the Gospel. To love those who don't look like us can be hard. But it is the Gospel. To love those who experience God in a different way than us is hard. But it is the Gospel. As the heading of this post indicates, the Gospel is hard, but it is simple. The commitment to living Gospel truth is costly, but it is worth it. Maybe it can be summed up like this, "The Gospel is loving when loving seems to be the hardest response to the realities we face".

Perkins is right. John's gospel is right. It's all about reconciliation and that is hard!!

The core message of Christianity is simple. Bono of U2, puts it like this, ""I love the bit when Christ asked for his greatest hits and he says, 'OK, love God, and love your neighbours as yourself.' Christianity is not complicated, that's what it is."

With a deep and radical commitment to that sort of simple love that is among the hardest things to do in the world, the love of Jesus and the power of God will reconcile the world and bring about the healing of the broken nature of human relationships on every level.

Let's start in the Church. Let's show the world that we can love in disagreement and seek 'a more excellent way' of being (see 1 Cor 12:31-13).

Quoting the first letter of John let this sentiment be our guide as we simply do the hard work of the Gospel,

"Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us."

---Warren +

Drinking from the Well of Thanksgiving

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Today we celebrate in the Episcopal Church the life and witness of Julia Chester Emery, a native daughter of Massachusetts and one at the vanguard of opening the ministry of the Church to all regardless of their gender.

Born in Dorchester, Mass in 1852, Julia embodied the Missionary zeal of a the Episcopal Church. At the time of her birth, the Episcopal Church was known as the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA. Ms. Emery took very seriously both the Domestic and Foreign aspects of Missionary work. At the age of 24, she took over the Chair of the Women's Auxiliary of the Church and traveled to every domestic Diocese in the Church and to many foreign dioceses as well. In the forty years she was chair of the Auxiliary, the role of women in the life of the church grew and became critical in ways both tangible and spiritual for the life of our church. She represented DFMS at the Pan Anglican Congress (an early meeting of the fledgling Anglican Communion) in 1908 bringing the voice of Women and their concerns and points of view before the entire communion nearly 100 years ago!

Under her leadership the Auxiliary broadened its vision and the vision of the Church with regards to issues of education, social ministry and perhaps most importantly the establishment of the United Thank Offering. For all these and countless other faithful responses to God's call to be present and push forward the cause of ministry of all to all, I encourage you all to drink from the well of Thanksgiving that so obviously nourished Julia Chester Emery throughout her 40 years of faithful ministry to the Church.

-----Warren

The Feast of the Holy Name

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Philippians 2:5-11

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death--
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Greetings to one and all on this the first day of the New Year according to the Gregorian Calendar. In the Church Calendar, however, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name. It is on this day that we Mary and Joseph presented Jesus at his Jewish naming day. It was not until this day that the charge laid upon Mary and Joseph was fulfilled. Jesus was named before God on this day. What does that mean for those of us who have been brought into the family of God through the birth of Jesus? The Incarnation marks the coming of Jesus, the Light of the World, to be our guide, our God and our brother.

As we live into the remainder of this Christmas Season and celebrate the dawning of the new light of Christ in Epiphany, I pray that the newness of the work we have been given to do might inspire us to deeper faith, more regular prayer and heightened sensitivities to the challenges of living out our faith in the world.

That we have brought into the Holy Family is not cause to relax and feel as though we've 'arrived.' Just as Paul says in the text from above, whatever relationship we have with God by virtue or Jesus' invitation into the Holy Family, is 'not something to be exploited'. Rather, we are to empty ourselves of personal and community agendas and focus squarely on Jesus and his will for the world.

Happy New Beginnings to you all!! May the Dream of God become the most fervent desire of our hearts as we move into this next chapter of Mission and Ministry in the name of God Incarnate, Jesus our teacher, our Lord and our Brother.

---Warren