Category Archives: Parish News

Remembering Barbara Bush

Posted on by

Dear Friends,

Most of us are aware that Barbara Bush, former First Lady and husband of President George H. W. Bush, died on Tuesday. Some of you have noted that her funeral will be held at an Episcopal church in Houston – St. Martin’s Church. Barbara Bush was in fact, an active Episcopalian. While in Washington D.C, she and her husband were members of St. Columba’s Church, where she served on the Altar Guild. The Bush family also has a long connection with St. Anne’s Church near their summer compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Many people have commented on her compassion and life of service to her family and the nation, as well as her willingness to speak in frank and honest ways about matters that concerned her. Yes, that frankness created problems at times. I still remember the time during the 1984 presidential campaign, when she made a joking but disparaging comment about Geraldine Ferraro, the first ever female vice presidential candidate. What I love about Barbara Bush is that she quickly realized her mistake and offered a heartfelt apology.

Given the way so many pundits, politicians, and provocateurs have broken down the norms of civil engagement and discourse, acknowledging one’s mistake can seem almost a quaint notion. But of course, it is one of the marks of a Christian. We do it all the time when we confess our sins. To say I am sorry. To say I have made a mistake.

I am certain that Barbara Bush’s Christian faith shaped her life. She lived her life fully. She freely offered her love, many times in sacrificial ways, to her husband, her family, her church, and her nation. We will miss her, but oh, how grateful we can be for her witness.

Faithfully,

Tom

 

We Wish to See Jesus

Posted on by

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.  John 12: 20,21

Dear Friends,

We had a good, but all too brief conversation at our vestry meeting this week about how we can make everything that St. John’s has to offer more widely known in our communities. Among other things, I know we can do a better job with advertising and on social media. But as we talked,  I was also reminded of the gospel lesson we heard on Sunday March 18. There were some Greeks who had heard something about Jesus. They came to Philip, one of the disciples. Philip went to Andrew. Then together, the two disciples brought the Greeks to Jesus.

By far, the most effective way of communicating the gospel is by word of mouth. Your parish leaders and I will do all we can to improve our communications with those beyond our doors. But the most effective communicator of the Good News of Jesus Christ is each  of you, as you share how your life is being blessed and transformed by your participation in Christ’s life here at St. John’s.

Easter is a wonderful Sunday to invite a friend to church, but so is the Sunday after Easter, and the Sunday after that.  Whether they have articulated it aloud, there are persons in your life “who wish to see Jesus.” I hope that you, like Andrew and Philip, will bring them to him.

Faithfully,

Tom

Can Anger Serve God?

Posted on by

From the Rev. Lyn Brakeman, Priest Associate

As a child and into adulthood I was taught not to be angry, not even to feel anger because it would surely lead to violence, or at least temper.

In seminary, a New Testament professor told us in no uncertain terms that anger was biological energy, that it happened normally in response to being hurt, insulted, oppressed, or otherwise messed with, and that God created us with all of our feelings. Understood and focused anger is a force by which we can defend those who are powerless, or even fuel transformation.   “Anger is normally human, people. Jesus felt it too—at least if you want to allow him to be human which is quite a good idea.”

Studying psychology and human behavior taught me the same thing about anger. Further, it could cause emotional and physical damage if it isn’t given an outlet. In short, one could become a bomb too easily detonated by even small offenses. Think road rage. Think teeth-gnashing. Think terrorism. Think collective rioting. Underneath stored up anger that won’t resolve often festers an unhealed wound. It can take time, therapeutic understanding, and compassion to remove the many masks anger wears, but it’s important violence-prevention work. Call it the liberation of anger.

Over time I’ve noticed that anger has also been gendered. It’s more socially acceptable in boys and men than in girls and women. Anger avoided, denied or suppressed may exacerbate, even psychologically cause depression in women and some men as well.

Honestly the Church is often not helpful about anger. Many people think anger’s unholy and automatically violent. And the wrath of God? Oh, God forbid. When I pray I often share my anger with God, even at God. I don’t get any shaming messages from God. Shaming is not even particularly biblical. Paul advises us not to let the sun go down on our anger. Also, be angry and sin not. That’s wise, not condemnatory.
Right now I feel furious at the resistance this country has about gun control, at politicians who take money from gun lobbies, at men who think women are objects for their hostile pleasure, at Christians who lack courage to speak about these issues for fear of angering a parishioner or ten, at leader who think more guns is the cure for gun violence.  I’m grateful that last Sunday’s hymns and sermon acknowledged the cleansing power of focused anger. It helps me to write and speak about my anger so I don’t stay angry and sin against God, self, or neighbor.
How many children have to die because our government is too paralyzed to legislate gun control?  I believe that the well-being of the whole is the responsibility of us all. I also believe that children have an edge— little children face down on beaches, teens hugging and wailing because their classmates are dead and they are alive, one more time a parent having to explain to a child that her school is safe, then praying to God that it is.
Anger is fuel. It shows you care. Jesus got angry, especially at the codependent Peter. Anger is Mercy. Anger can create justice. Anger, ironically, fuels non-violent actions—like writing, speaking up, lobbying, sharing, voting, praying.
God grant us enough serenity, courage and wisdom to place our anger in the service of Your Justice, Mercy and Love—lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.  Amen.

What is the Spirit Saying to You?

Posted on by

Dear Friends,

When the vestry adopted our mission statement last year, we affirmed our belief that God’s Holy Spirit speaks in our lives, inviting us to respond to Jesus’ call to be his disciples in the world. The Holy Spirit speaks to us as a community, and also to us as individuals.

Of course, it is rare that anyone of us dares tosay, “Here is what the Spirit said to me today.” The promptings of God do not necessarily come in complete sentences or through the vision of a burning bush before us.  Yet the Spirit speaks.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit is speaking when we find ourselves profoundly upset or disturbed by conditions or circumstances we see in the world, conditions antithetical to what we understand to be the way of Jesus. One way I hear the Holy Spirit is through the persistent thought, the word, phrase, or unsettled feeling that will not leave my heart or mind.

What may the Holy Spirit be saying to us as we respond to the shootings last week in Parkland? We can grow numb. We can also listen, and see if God is asking us to be agents of change and reconciliation. How do we listen? Here are a few suggestions:

Listen in prayer – Connect with God. Pray for the world, and for those who are grieving and suffering. Pray also that you will be guided to act and speak nonviolently in this world, and bear witness to the love of Christ in however you respond.

Listen for those who share your passion – Connect with the like-minded: Do you hear others in the parish expressing concerns similar to yours? Perhaps you are feeling called to attend one of the gatherings being planned on Saturday, March 24th. Might the Holy Spirit be calling on you to coordinate the efforts of others in the parish to attend? is there a  ministry that might emerge from your conversations with others?

Listen for those with other perspectives – Connect with those with whom you disagree: One way to test and assess our own understanding of the Spirit’s call is to hear the viewpoint of others. Do you know someone in the parish who would vigorously disagree with your understanding of what Jesus calls us to do? What would it mean for the two of you to sit down, not with the intention of changing each other’s mind, but to truly listen to another’s perspective?

Listen beyond our parish – Connect with the larger church: Bishops United Against Gun Violence is a coalition of Episcopal bishops  seeking to engage the church in prayer and action to address the ongoing violence caused by guns in our culture. You can find out more about their work and their recommendations for us here.

Read the scriptures: Connect with Jesus and his Way: The Holy Spirit calls us to live as disciples of Jesus Christ. I know we are reading the gospel of Luke during Lent, and that is a good thing! As we consider how we are to live as Christians in a violent world, I also encourage us to return time and again to  the Sermon on the Mount, that collection of Jesus’ teachings in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Matthew. Jesus faced the violence of his own day with a profoundly countercultural stance. He invites us to do the same.

I am listening, and I hope you are too. I am eager to learn what you hear the Spirit saying to you.

Faithfully,

Tom

 

 

Reading The Bible Together

Posted on by

Dear Friends,

I invite you to join me, and Episcopalians around the world, in a common endeavor as we enter into the season of Lent.  The Good Book Club (not to be confused with our own Theological Book Club!)  is an invitation to all Episcopalians to join in reading the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts during Lent-Easter 2018. (The actual start date is this Sunday, February 11).

Forward Movement (which among other things, publishes the Day by Day devotional booklets) is providing a a schedule and various ways to support our daily reading. We will have a printed schedule of the daily readings here at church on Sunday. By Ash Wednesday, we will also have calendars for those who wish (somewhat like the Advent calendar I design) with each day’s assigned reading.  In addition, you can download an app which will provide you with the daily reading as.  During Lent and Easter, you can subscribe to Forward Movement’s email devotions, and receive them that way as well.

Here at church, I will be offering a half hour summary and discussion of each week’s reading on Sunday mornings from 9-9:30. For those in the choir or other Sunday ministries, I am also happy to plan another time during the week to gather and reflect on the readings – just let me know if you are interested.

Why has Luke-Acts been chosen? Here is an explanation from Forward Movement:

“We love sequels, and Luke-Acts provides a wonderful two-part narrative. Luke tells the wondrous story of Jesus’ birth, ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection. Acts picks up where Luke leaves off and tells the story of the earliest disciples through the lens of Peter and Paul and the real star of the show — the Holy Spirit. Written by the same author, the books are accessible, and the story is a page-turner!”

We actually start this Sunday, February 11, before the beginning of Lent. We will have the list of daily readings at church on Sunday. You can also find them, and other resources, such as the app for phones and tablets, at the Forward Movement website: Forward Movement

I am excited by the idea of all of us taking this journey together. Please consider making this daily reading of scripture one of your Lenten disciplines.