Faith in Tough Times

If it did nothing else, last week's Diocesan Convention proved that there's nothing like scarcity to focus congregations' attention on priorities. Much of Friday's session involved grappling, in one context or another, with what it means to carry out mission at a time when no one has all the resources they would like.

Fortunately, the convention agenda had already carved out much of Friday afternoon for extended “table discussions” in which designated leaders, recorders, and time-keepers led participants through a discussion of one of Bishop Baxter's four strategic visions. This provided an important opportunity for delegates to hear what other congregations are doing and how they are managing in trying times. Walking around the room, I heard a lot of variations on, “What if we tried... ?”, and saw sympathetic nods as delegates realized that they're not alone, and other folks have grappled with problems similar to theirs.

While there was palpable fear in the comments of several members of small congregations, there was also a common recognition that the Diocese is ultimately limited by the collective resources available from the parishes. The president of the Standing Committee put it most bluntly when he paraphrased a line he is fond of using during parish stewardship campaigns, “We have all the money we need. It's just that most of it is still in your pockets.”

So, while the mood was hardly upbeat, the quality of the dialogue was some of the best to emerge in recent years, with an honest focus on “how can we do it better” issues. One can only hope that the sharing will continue in the months ahead, and that we all will realize that the problem isn't “them;” it's “us.”

I hope you'll share your thoughts about how we can all do better.

Summer Reading

As usual, Diocesan Convention was a good occasion for compiling a short list of interesting summer reading. First up, an essay by J. Robert Wright, (Professor of Ecclesiastical History at General Theological Seminary) in the June 15 edition of Time entitled “Decoding God's Changing Moods.” You can read it here.

Wright sets out to explain the seemingly contradictory emphases on tolerance and intolerance of one's enemies in both the Bible and the Koran by examining the historical circumstances in which various portions of each were written.

While that's not a new approach, Wright goes on to suggest that during periods in which leaders saw relations with other nations as a “zero-sum” game, tolerance for other religions waned. On the other hand, when leaders saw opportunities for “win-win” scenarios, where each side could gain, in international or inter-tribal relationships, then tolerance increased. It's interesting stuff, and there's more in Wright's new book, The Evolution of God, which has just been published.

Another book that makes the list is Phyllis Tickle's The Great Emergence, The: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. The author makes the case that Christianity undergoes an upheaval every 500 years or so that results in a newer, more vital religion. She postulates that such an upheaval is currently underway, aided in no small part by new communication technologies. Several folks have recommended this one to your editor, and Bishop Baxter quoted from her in his address to the convention. It's available from Amazon here.

We hope you'll find these a starting point for this summer's reading. If you have picks of your own that you'd like to add to our list, please let us know by commenting on this blog.

We'll have more on the recent convention soon.

What is Your Prayer?

One of the Joys of the Book of Common Prayer—especially for lifelong Episcopalians—is the wonderful familiarity of prayers remembered from constant use. Who doesn't get a lump in their throat when hearing some particularly meaningful prayer remembered from another time. For this writer, it's the collect for families that usually does it.

Given the propensity of “contemporary” prayers for falling flat in their impact, it is refreshing to listen to new prayers that really connect. That's what happened when I read a set of Prayers of the People written especially for Lent by church school children at one parish in our Diocese. Here are some of the things they prayed for:

Please keep the world clean and give it lots of good clean water. Please pray for all of our pets and animals in the world, especially cats, horses, donkeys, big pretty lazy dogs, fish, llama, sharks and cockatiel birds.
Jesus, we love you, please hear our prayer.

Please help and take care of our policemen and women, our firefighters, our teachers, our principals, our cafeteria ladies, the crossing guards, and the custodians. Oh, and also take care of our families.
Jesus, we love you, please hear our prayer.

For all people who do not feel good, lets send them cards and flowers. For people who have died we want to give their families love and help them not to cry and let all give them hugs.
Jesus, we love you, please hear our prayer...

Jesus we pray for all your love to be shared among all the living creatures in the world. And peace be with us everywhere.

Cafeteria ladies, eh? How's that for praying in terms that connect to your own world? Perhaps we could take a lesson in connecting from these children. Kudos to them—and to the teachers who encouraged them—for their work.

Pastoring in Tough Economic Times

It’s no news that folks are hurting these days, as are many of their congregations. Clergy suffer doubly, because they need to pastor their parishioners who are unemployed, “de-leveraged” or afraid while simultaneously trying to figure out how to balance the church budget. Income is down; costs continue to rise. It’s not pretty.

The Episcopal Church is offering several resources than may be helpful. Their web site includes a page on Responses to Troubled Times - a collection of examples and resources that clergy may find helpful. You can find it here; if you read nothing else, check out the “Enron example.”

The Stewardship page also contains a well-done print brochure (you can download the PDF and print ‘em off) on stewardship in hard times. It offers a reflective strategy that can be helpful in guiding folks through the inevitable re-prioritizing that a job loss entails. You can find it here.

We will include links to these resources on the parish resources section of the Diocesan web site.

One more note... my apologies for having been very quiet of late. Postings should be more frequent from here on out.

Emmanuel - God With Us

I have been absent from this blog for too long. Along with a promise to be more diligent in the new year, I want to reprise a bit of verse from last year—mostly because what was important last Christmas remains important this Christmas.

Emanuel – God with us
With the children who are anticipating their first Christmas
And the families who will share their joy
And the families who will be apart
And those which are torn apart.
With those who are with friends
And those who are alone
And those who are alone, even with friends
With the parents who are too busy to see the wonder
And the parents who care for children
And the parents who fail to care for children
And the parents who care for parents.
With those whose joys are memories, and whose futures are uncertain
And those who love them and watch them decline
And with those who grieve over their losses
And – especially – with those who do not know that God is with them…

Blessed Christmas to us all

Making All Things New...

This past Sunday was interesting. I spent the afternoon doing a little praying about the good people of St. Mary’s, Williamsport, who were celebrating their final eucharist before closing that parish. I’m delighted to hear that the pews were full, though the current congregation numbers only a half dozen or so souls.

At the same time, I was sorting through the photos that the Diocese received over the summer... images that illustrate the diocese we are today. There were shots of teams working to rebuild in Mississippi, visitors to Brazil; bishops at Lambeth; a number of local parish events; young people on mission trips, at summer camp, and at the national EYE conference in San Antonio. You can see them all from the “summer photo album” link on the diocesan web site here.

It is worth noting that there are new ministries afoot in Williamsport as well. They are the first fruits of a long process of rediscovery that the clergy and people there have crafted. It’s a slow process, but it’s happening.

Why does it matter? It matters because the rumors of our demise are, for the most part, untrue. Church, done successfully, is far more than how many fill the pews on Sundays. Church is about being God’s community when we’re out in the community, and we’re discovering that it can be really good evangelism as well. It’s not a new model; in fact, it’s the original model. It worked for the Disciples; it might work here, too.

Meanwhile, Back at Home...

Summer is nearly over, and with its end comes the inevitable, “What next?” Before turning the page on another season, though, it’s worth noting that over the past few months - while our clerical Big Guns were preparing for, experiencing, and reporting on the events of Lambeth 2008 - life went on.

That’s not to say that the work of bishops isn’t important; it’s vital. But a wise friend of mine likes to remark that ministry, like politics, is mostly local.

So, while the prelates did their business, our local parishes were conducting work projects - both here and in places like Mississippi and Virginia. Children were attending VBS sessions whose themes varied around the compass. (First prize to the Rev. Robyn Szoke at St. John’s, Carlisle, for a VBS - complete with armor - on a King Arthur theme.) Parishes were running outreach projects for those in need of all ages. Kids went to summer camp, and teens to conferences. Congregations were planning new ventures for fall, redesigning parish newsletters, welcoming new rectors, fixing the steeple, and a host of other events.

Some of it was new and wonderful; much was just as it usually is. But it’s what we do, and it’s all important. We should not forget that.