New Year's Blessings To You

World Without End

The 30,000 foot view of creation (taken from an airplane). By the author.

John Donne, in his Christmas sermon delivered at St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1626, opens with a rather pointed message:

The whole life of Christ was a continual Passion; others die martyrs but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for to his tenderness then the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after, and the manger as uneasy at the first as his cross at last.  His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas day and his Good Friday are but the evening and morning of one and the same day.[1]

I have always appreciated the reminder that Donne points towards—the connection of Bethlehem and Golgotha, that Christmas cannot be separated out from Good Friday.  In fact it is an even more appropriate statement of the whole of salvation history, that God as author purposes creation to move towards its ultimate fulfillment in the Kingdom.  This imagery is even reflected in the collect from the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord:

O God, who makest us glad with the yearly expectation of our redemption: vouchsafe; that as we joyfully receive thine Only-begotten Son for our Redeemer, so we may with sure confidence behold him when shall come to our Judge, even Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord: Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the Unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.  Amen.[2]

So we come to the title, “World Without End,” a traditional ending for prayers in the catholic tradition.  Christmas, the birth of God’s Eternal Word born into our very midst, is the ultimate beginning of our salvation.  It is God’s most sacred action in loving God’s creation.  The powers and principalities of this world, even from the tender birth of a babe in the manger, see this Jesus as a threat to their world.  Recall Herod’s quest to quash this new king and resulting slaughtering of the innocents throughout the land.  This is also a sign of the threat to the Kingdom that has also endured throughout time.  And yet, the Kingdom, and the visible Body of Christ on earth the Church, stands as the judgment upon it.  Christians in every time and place work assiduously for justice, peace, and love to bring to fulfillment God’s eternal purpose.

The whole of creation sings out, “Glory to God in the Highest Heaven.”  We join with the angels’ song to add our hearts and voices in proclaiming God’s redeeming love to the world.  While so much of this has been lost in the commercialization of our culture today, remember that there is no Christmas without a Good Friday.  Easter is around the corner and it is more glorious than any Wal-Mart super sale.  Thanks be to God! 

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[1] The Showing of Christ, Sermons of John Donne.  Edmund Fuller, ed.  (New York: Harper and Row, 1964), 76.

[2] Missale Anglicanum, The English Missal, 3^rd altar ed. (London: W. Knott & Son, 1934), 12. 

At Last, We Are Official

On the Feast of Saint Andrew, members gathered in the Chapel of the Apostles (Sewanee) to officially establish the Sewanee Society of Our Lady of Walsingham.  What joy there was among those gathered to be able to bring together interests in Anglo-Catholicism and seeking to enrich their prayer lives with Our Lady.  At the founding, we have many non-residential members from as far away as Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  Members may elect to wear a Sarum Blue scapular over a black cassock to signify membership--though this is completely optional.

The Charter was approved unanimously with the only question regarding whether or not we should incorporate a yearly membership fee as opposed to what is currently stated as a one time $15 fee.

The rules of the Charter were suspended in order to elect officers to serve up until the week prior to Spring Break, and then the newly elected officers will serve a full year term as stated in the Charter.  The election results were: Karen Workman-Booth T'11, Clerk;  Charles Canon T'11, Prior; and Chad Krouse T'10, Superior General.  We had some fun in choosing the titles!  Some dull seminary humour.

We are female, male, black, white, religious, ordained, and lay.  We embrace a broad theology of inclusion, seeking to undo the baggage that has been heaped upon Walsingham by various factions in the Church.  We proudly claim an Anglo-Catholic heritage while also proudly claiming The Episcopal Church.  Our answer is "yes," that it is possible to embrace both and help work to heal a broken world.

Our Lady of Walsingham, I believe, is a source of unity for the Body of Christ. She is the only vision that is highly regarded amongst Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglicans alike.  If we allow ourselves to break free from the chains that have so wrongly tied down this noble vision, we may find that Our Lady's grace and intercession will help us all.  Thanks be to God!

P.S.  The chains in the new seal for the Society reflect those from the seal of The University of the South, a simple way in heraldry to illustrate our connection to the University's School of Theology.

Founding the Sewanee Society of OLW

This coming Monday, November 30th (the Feast of St. Andrew), we will be founding the Sewanee Society of Our Lady of Walsingham here at The School of Theology.  We are proposing an inclusive devotional group which aims to promote and sustain conversations in our community about the proper role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Church.

We have no formal connection to the Shrine in Walsingham, because we are including women priests and seminarians in our membership and leadership. My own personal goal for this, is to help undo the baggage that has been heaped upon Walsingham by various factions in the Church.

I am amazed at the response from our student body and our alumni, many are very interested in this endeavor and want to be apart of it!  Thanks be to God!  While the idea had been generated last school year, it simply took some time before the seeds could sprout roots.  Hopefully, this new group will be here to stay as a positive symbol of Our Lady in the life of faith for The Episcopal Church.

Chapel of the Apostles

Nothing, perhaps, causes more angst among seminarians than settling in to their new worshipping space. At The School of Theology, the Chapel of the Apostles (affectionately known simply as "COTA") is the rather awkward worship space for the seminary.  Consecrated in 2001, COTA is a wonderful place for meditative prayer and reflection.  Liturgically, it can be a challenging space.  It's also a challenge to take photographs inside...

About a year and half ago, we moved the space to be oriented in a "collegiate" style, with the congregation facing inwards with the altar and ambo on a direct plane--which actually goes baptismal font, ambo, and then altar.  Any hints as to where we stand with the proposition of an open table?  Alas, the seminary does not see itself as the laboratory for defying the canons of the Church.

Once inside, the narthex is centered around a large copper baptismal font.  And as a Sacristan of the Chapel, I can assure that this water gets changed religiously--pun intended (corny I know).

I am willing to go out on a limb and say that Sewanee and most likely Nashotah House are the only Episcopal Seminaries with a chapel dedicated to Our Lady.  Here we have what I believe to be Our Lady of Guadeloupe, given the horns on the base.  It is in the Lady Chapel where we reserve the Sacrament and have a side reconciliation room as well.  We do boast the world's smallest seminary sacristy, getting vested in there with all the altar party can be a challenge too!

So call me nostalgic, I just wanted to have some posts of the places where I've been worshipping and building community lo these past three years.

All Saints' Chapel

All Saints' Chapel stands in the very heart of the University of the South, a.k.a. "Sewanee."  Located high atop the Cumberland Plateau in Sewanee, Tennessee, the University of the South is home to The School of Theology, a seminary of The Episcopal Church.  It's also been home to me for the past two years.  The University claims ownership by the Episcopal Church, and its board is comprised of twenty-eight southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, with each bishop serving along with clergy and laity.

All Saints' is the University Chapel, where all our major festivities take place, complete with all the pomp and circumstance.  It's a great place to attend a well executed Rite II service.

All Saints' is something of a "royal peculiar" of sorts, an ecclesiological phenomenon.  The University sits in the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and in the bounds of Otey Parish--the local Episcopal parish in Sewanee.  Yet, the Chancellor of the University is a bishop of one of the owning dioceses.  The newly elected Chancellor is the Bishop of Atlanta (formerly the liturgy professor at The School of Theology).  The Chaplain of All Saints' is thus canonically resident in the Diocese of Tennessee and is answerable to the bishop of said diocese, but also has the Chancellor of the University as a boss!  Moreover, all sacramental acts of baptism and confirmation are recorded at Otey Parish because the University Chapel is not a regular worshipping parish.  To add more confusion, the Dean of the School of Theology acts as the Ordinary of the seminary chapel, but is somewhat under the Chaplain of the University.  Sadly, there are too many restrictions in order to have a child baptized in the seminary chapel and weddings in either chapel are even more complicated.

The University Choir hosts monthly services of Evensong and sing at the main 11:00 a.m. Sunday liturgy.  During the first weekend in December, the Chapel celebrates a locally famous Advent service of Lessons and Carols which can sometimes be standing room only (an Advent service because all the students have gone home during the Christmas break).

The font in the Chapel is amazing.  Complete with eight sides, carved statues of saints, and "living" water flowing, it harkens any liturgist back to the early days of Hippolytus.  My son was baptized here during the Easter Vigil in 2008 by the retired Episcopal Bishop of Mississippi.  Around the ambulatories, banners with the seals of the twenty-eight owning dioceses hang.

The High Altar is equally stunning.  Only used for Rite I services, sadly, the altar boasts statues of both historically Anglican saints as well as some peculiar to Sewanee, such as William Porcher DuBose.  The windows surrounding the Chapel can keep your eyes busy for hours.  I plan to take some photos of those windows soon.  The window above the High Altar depicts Christ the King, in all his kingly and imperial splendor.  Flanking the altar in this space are carved stalls for each owning bishop of the University, with carved seals of those dioceses atop each chair.

Always open for private prayer or simply a space for quiet reflection, All Saints' is a very special place for thousands of Sewanee Alumni and friends.  If you are ever in the area, stop in for a few minutes, it is well worth the pilgrimage.

Matthean Judgment and Elizabeth, Princess of Hungry

Feast Day of Elizabeth, Princess of Hungry

November 19, 2009

Chapel of the Apostles

Sewanee, Tennessee

Tobit 12:6b-9

Matthew 25:31-40

  

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these 
my brothers and sisters, you did it to me....”

       Her name was Sara, and this is her story.[1]  I met Sara while working during Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Saint Matt’s, a homeless shelter specializing in recovery programs for drug addiction and alcoholism.  St. Matt’s was founded on this very text from our Gospel this evening.  Now Sara was about 49 years old and she was recently released from prison.  She was homeless, in recovery for her crack addiction, and she was a prostitute.  Her face was rough, worn down by years of smoking and falling upon the hard knocks of street life.  In order to get money for her addiction, she would steal her mother’s jewelry and pawn it for crack.  One day she came to visit with me and told me that she still had some of her mother’s jewelry and did not know what to do with it, for she did not want it as it just lingered as a constant reminder of her past.  She had virtually no money to her name and each client of St. Matt’s was required to pay $25 a week to the shelter, demonstrating their commitment towards recovery.  I asked her what she thought would a good act of charity.  We then discovered that the ideal thing to do would be to sell the jewelry and anonymously pay the weekly fees for some families in the shelter that were struggling mightily.

      

I did not see her for a few days on the property and one afternoon she popped in with a huge smile.  She had done just what she said she was going to do.  Not only did this act of love help her to feel good about herself, it made her feel empowered as a human being who is a beloved child of God.  I saw in Sara the beginnings of her process of breaking free from the bonds of sin that enslaved her.  At the end of my time at the shelter, she brought me a gift, a National Geographic magazine featuring the history of the Vatican.  She paid 50 cents for it, and she was well on her way towards a holistic recovery.   

  

Our Gospel this evening from Matthew is a scene of judgment—the separating of the sheep from the goats.  To establish the context for this passage, it is preceded by three parables about preparing for the coming of the Son of Man, demanding constant watchfulness from the Matthean community of Jewish Christians.  The interpretation is that there is a separate judgment upon the Jews and the Gentiles by the Messiah—which is consistent with the Jewish ideas about the judgment of Gentiles.  The background for our text this evening is the judgment of Gentiles based on their treatment of Israel.[2]  The departure for Matthew is how these new Jewish Christians of Matthew’s community accept the presence of non-Jews who were not Christian while explaining how and why they can become part of the Kingdom of God.[3]  This gets at the difficulty of interpreting these offensive texts as anti-Semitic, as Dr. Holloway suggests in his recent sermon on this very same passage.[4] 

       

So if we hold to this idea that when the Son of Man sits upon his throne in final judgment looking at the non-believing Gentiles and separating out who has done works of charity and mercy directed towards us, then we diminish millions of other people who are to be sent off to eternal damnation.  Holloway reminds us that this is form of “Christian absolutism” at its very core.[5]  Is this the good news that we hunger for?  Was St. Matt’s shelter founded upon the direct exclusion of others?  No and no.  But we must acknowledge that this is in our tradition and we must repent of it.

       

So the preaching task, then, is how to apply this Gospel text in our everyday lives, teasing out the Good News.  We choose the side of hospitality, to recognize God’s likeness and image in all persons, receiving every person as though we are receiving Christ himself—something that is so old in our tradition as well and can be found in St. Benedict’s Rule.  We choose to place at the center of my life the “Fount of all Being,” and nourish that presence daily with prayer, scripture, and the Eucharist.  Being consumed by Christ, acts of mercy, love, and charity become our natural response.  Being consumed by Christ, we do not stand for the disfigurement of poverty, hunger, and discrimination which prevails in our time and circumstance.  Being consumed by Christ, we serve as the hands of the King of Kings here and now—not because it wins us points in the big book, but because we become transfigured beings by those whom we purport to help.  This is what I think Jesus means when he says later in Matthew, “for you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”[6]

       

The 50 cents that Sara spent for the National Geographic was an act that transformed me—I had seen that issue before, but this time it became something very powerful, something Christ-like. 

       

There is no coincidence that our text today falls on the feast of Elizabeth, Princess of Hungry, who modeled Christian charity and gave up her wealth to further the common good of the people of Hungry.     

       

In this Kingdom season, which reaches its climax this Sunday being Christ the King, my prayer for us all is that we stand in our truth and acknowledge those texts in Holy Scripture that divide and pass judgment on others.  The truth does indeed set us free, free to worship God without fear, holy and righteous in God’s sight, all the days of our life.  Amen.    

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[1] The name has been changed to protect confidentiality.

[2] See Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., The Gospel of Matthew, in Sacra Pagina.  (Minnesota:  The Liturgical Press, 1991), 358-359.

[3] Ibid., 359.

[4] Dr. Paul A. Holloway in a sermon delivered in the Chapel of the Apostles (Sewanee, TN) on November 11, 2009.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Matt 26:11, NRSV

St. Hugh of Lincoln

Today on the Church's Kalendar, we remember Hugh of Lincoln, Bishop and Confessor.  Hugh is a favorite of mine and I want to share with you my journey to his shrine.

I made my way on pilgrimage to Lincoln Cathedral this summer so that I may venerate Hugh's relics housed there at the cathedral.  The cathedral itself is massive, plainly understating its historic beauty which towers above the city of Lincoln.  I think, I cannot recall, that I had to pay to get inside the cathedral.  Against my own aversion to such practices, I was willing to pay whatever, since the trip down to Lincoln from Mirfield was already costing me more than I had imagined for such an expedition.  Plus, with two small children in tow, I was going to see the inside of this cathedral!

Hugh met my expectations.  The shrine is housed in the far eastern end of the cathedral, behind the high altar and surrounded by several small chapels.  I was simply humbled to be in the midst of this great saint, bishop, and confessor of the catholic faith.

I first learned about Hugh early in my seminary formation and my interest grew even more thanks to a BBC series on the cathedrals of England which devoted an entire episode to Lincoln Cathedral.

Double-click on the photos to enlarge them if you want to see more detail.

The western facade, currently undergoing renovation.

Inside the nave, facing eastwards.

The Shrine itself.  There is a rather hideous modern structure towering above it, a good try but rather odd and out of place.

Now you can see the spire of sorts.  Why?!?

The reliquary of St. Hugh.

The cathedra of the Bishop of Lincoln.

Painting of Hugh with his swan next to the Shrine.

My family braving the uphill expedition to the Cathedral.  I owed them big time.

The Icon of Hugh that I wrote in 2008 with words from the

American Collect on the scroll.

I put him in his Chartusian monastic habit.

Here is a Collect for Hugh, Bishop and Confessor from my newly acquired altar missal, The English Missal, Third Edition. (London: W. Knott and Sons, 1934).  More on the English Missal later.

O God, who didst wonderously adorn blessed Hugh, thy Confessor and Bishop, with pre-eminent merits and glorious miracles:  mercifully grant; that we may be stirred up by his example and enlightened by his virtues.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

But, I may add that it does not even hold a candle to Hugh's Collect found in The Episcopal Church's Lesser Feasts and Fasts:

O holy God, you endowed your servant and bishop Hugh of Lincoln with wise and cheerful boldness, and taught him to commend the discipline of holy life to kings and princes: Grant that we also, rejoicing in the Good News of your mercy, and fearing nothing but the loss of you, may be bold to speak the truth in love, in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

May we all be inspired by Hugh's example and so be led to work with cheerfulness and boldness for the Kingdom of God.  Remember and keep St. Hugh in your prayers today.

A Solemn High Mass in COTA?

This year, we were able to break significant ground in the Chapel of the Apostles (COTA)--the chapel for The School of Theology.  The Senior Class is divided up by the Subdean into Liturgy Planning Groups.  Each group, then, assumes responsiblily for planning and conducting 4-5 liturgies which constitute our Thursday evening "Community Eucharists."  Typically speaking, our Thursday evening liturgies are Rite II or come from Enriching Our Worship--very standard, nothing too complex for the overloaded diet of "Senioritis."  By chance, a group of spikes were placed together and out appeared Ritual Notes!

It must be said that our Subdean is firmly planted in the reforms of the Liturgical Movement, clear symbolism rooted in simplicity.  He did, however, pull out his own copy of Ritual Notes, 9th Edition (trumping my own edition) in our planning meeting!  Moreover, he allowed us to move the altar and re-orient the worship space for the ad orientum mass.  He even showed up for the liturgy.  He's come a long way!!!

It took some careful planning and loads of practice, but we were able to have a full on Solemn High Mass, Rite I.  The ceremonial was directed by Ritual Notes, as our celebrant was sometime associate of Church of the Advent, Boston.  Yours truly was the subdeacon!

Since our Seminary does not own a full high mass set of vestments, I was able to borrow the set from my field ed. parish, St. Paul's in Chattanooga.  We even vested the thurifer in a tunicle!  Our Lady of Walsingham made two appearances:  one in the icon that I wrote and in the statue from Walsingham placed on the offering table!  Spikery at its highest level!

Two observations that struck me.  Whilst I've been worshipping in this space for the past two years, I've never felt the kind of excitement that I felt this past Thursday night.  First, I was struck by the fact that over 90 people from our community attended--with lots of kids in tow.  Getting 90 people to voluntary come out for anything in our community can be a challenge.  Many of the juniors came wearing their cassocks, hinting that there is a groundswell of support for this liturgical style.  Secondly, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of compliments that came from the congregation that was present. Many "thanked" us for doing this.  I was relived that everything went smoothly.  Many remarked as though it appeared that we have been doing this for a while!  Thanks be to God.

Morning Prayer Reflection

Proper 26,  Daily Office Year 1

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Chapel of the Apostles, Sewanee

Nehemiah 12:27-31a, 42b-47

Revelation 11:1-19

_________________________________________________

Thomas Merton once wrote that perhaps the best view of the world is experienced from standing on its fringes, on the margins outside of the city. The readings in the Office this morning, I think, help restore the tension found in the midst of the Kingdom of God.  On one side we have the restoration or rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah, with great fanfare and processions.  In the Revelation to John, we have the utter destruction of the city with dead bodies laying waste in the streets, earthquakes, peals of thunder, and so forth.   If we take Brother Merton’s perspective, then, what do we see in the city?  Celebration?  Devastation?

            

In the midst of the paradox, I believe that we can see the need for recovering Kingdom theology.  The Kingdom is like…it’s like…well, we struggle in the pulpit to articulate exactly what the Kingdom of God is.  It goes by many names:  God’s Divine Commonwealth, the Kingdom of Christ, the Reign of God.  Our wise Lord used parables to not only stretch our minds but prevent the Kingdom from being limited to mere human vocabulary.  The Kingdom of God can only be seen from the margins, here Merton’s view is that of Our Lord’s who spent his earthly ministry deep in the heart of the edges and corners of the world. 

            

The good news of the Kingdom of God is indeed revolutionary news.  That the Kingdom of God stands in contrast to and in conflict with the powers and principalities of this world is proof that it’s origins are not of this world—the Kingdom of God stands as judgment upon it.  Kingdom theologian Kenneth Leech writes, “the Kingdom is otherworldly…a constant symbol of the other world, a sign of transcendence.  It is a source of change and transformation for this world, a vision and impulse for a new world.”[1]  Moreover, Leech warns us that for too long the Church has evacuated the good, revolutionary news of the Kingdom, loosing the essence of conflictual and world-transforming dimension.

            

So did the great processions and fanfare in Nehemiah appear utterly ridiculous to the hungry, the orphaned, and the widowed?  Does the utter ruin of the city that John reveals in his writing fill the poor with a sense of doom and gloom? Where do you choose to stand and see?

            

Make no mistake, you cannot help build the Kingdom of God.  Nay, if you’re looking for it, you may be well served to look at a tiny mustard seed.  It’s already come.  Embrace it.  Taste it.  Live it and further it’s mission in the world in your own ministry, today.  Join the revolution.  Amen.

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[1] Kenneth Leech, We Preach Christ Crucified. (New York: Church Publishing, 2005), 43.

House of All Souls: One Monk’s Heart for Building a Home

Brother Ron Fender BSG, a brother in the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory the Great (a religious order in the Episcopal Church), has been tending and washing the feet of the homeless in Chattanooga for the past seven years as his ministry.  He is a case manager at the Community Kitchen, a Chattanooga refuge for the hungry and homeless.

Inspired by such projects as the Brother Bernard Fessenden House in Yonkers and Common Ground in New York City, Brother Ron sought to build an intentional community to house homeless men in the form of a monastic community.  He discovered that many who completed recovery programs and were eventually placed into apartments as a way to rebuild their lives, quickly fell back to street life.  Fender notes that, “putting a homeless person in an isolated room or apartment without supportive services, or even furniture or household goods makes no sense whatsoever… the most successful model for ending homelessness is to create community for the homeless.”  Brother Ron is seeking to do just that.

With a grant from The Rosewood Foundation, a new house has been constructed and nearly completed in Chattanooga.  Named the ‘House of All Souls,’ this home will bring together eight homeless men along with Brother Ron, who have been screened and agree to live in this intentional community.  The men will continue in their recovery programs while offering mutual support in the form of their own community. 

At the heart of the House of All Souls is a chapel where the men will worship God and keep Christ at the center of their lives.  The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) has donated copies of The Book of Common Prayer, Hymnals, and various books on spirituality to help further this new community.  Gifts of money, liturgical goods and resources (especially an altar) are greatly needed.  Ron hopes that the Bishop of East Tennessee will be able to come and bless the new chapel.      

Brother Ron was recently featured on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition which is chronicling stories from Main Street America.  You can listen to the archived story at http://tinyurl.com/fendernpr2009.  

In Clouds Above and on Earth Below: Feasting with the Saints

"Cloud of Witnesses iii" by Ugandan artist Eria "Sane" Nsubuga, 

Mixed Media, 2007.

"For all the saints..." began the service this morning marking the Feast of All Saints' on the Kalendar.  We named the faithful departed in 2009 during the Mass and we gave thanks for the on-going witness of all the "little S-s" saints in our daily lives.  We even had a baptism today, shocking only that this parish would opt to actually follow a rubric on this topic!  Anyways, I digress.

Feasting with the Saints.  I can just imagine that now.  My grandparents, cousins, and other friends whom have died and risen in glory with Christ above, eating their fill, celebrating the goodness of God and God's creation.  I wonder, especially today, what they are saying to themselves about me.  "Oh Lord, there goes Chad again..."

One thing that I miss with newer parish churches is the lack of a parish cemetery.  In most parish churches in England, you cannot take one step without coming in contact with a memorial stone or engraving of some kind.  There's even something commemorating whenever the Sovereign comes inside!  You cannot help but notice the great cloud of witnesses in those bastions of stone and glass.  And yet in the States, we tend to want to keep our dead as far away from us as possible.  "Why would you want to clutter up a nice church yard with grave stones?"  Now to be fair, there are plenty of churches here that have cemeteries--most tend to be historic though.  Many have adopted columbaria as a method of depositing the ashes of loved ones into hermetically sealed containers in a church wall somewhere.  But I wonder why we fear the dead so much?  We don't even like to say the word "death" or "dying."  Instead, many opt for the politeness found in "passing away," and the like.  Our culture fears death, the one certain thing that we can count on that never requires its software to be updated.

For me, I've decided, I want to be cremated and scattered.  No need for a marker or stone anywhere.  "Why clutter up the earth with something that has passed away?" I had to get that one in there.  But seriously, I'm a firm believer in being "green" on this issue.  I just see it as a waste to go through the expense and hassle of it all.  Death is certain, and yet death is not the end.  Resurrection in Christ is our hope and it is what I look forward to follow.  Nothing will be left behind, all of creation is moving towards its fulfillment in the Trinity.  You can count on that.  

From Merton

I recently came across this excerpt from Thomas Merton and I wanted to share it.  As someone who continues to grow in my own monastic calling and in contemplative prayer, I deeply appreciate silence. Peace to you this day.

O my brother[s and sisters], the contemplative is [not] the [person] who has fiery visions of the cherubim carrying God on their imagined chariot, but simply [those] who have risked their mind in the desert beyond language and beyond ideas where God is encountered in the nakedness of pure trust, that is to say, in the surrender of our poverty and incompleteness in order no longer to clench our minds in a cramp upon themselves, as if thinking made us exist.

The message of hope the contemplative offers you, then, is not that you need to find your way through the jungle of language and problems that today surround God: but that whether you understand or not, God loves you, is present in you, lives in you, [abides with] you, calls you, saves you, and offers you an understanding and light which are like nothing ever found in books or heard in sermons.

The contemplative has nothing to tell you except to reassure you and say that, if you dare to penetrate your own silence and risk the sharing of that solitude with the lonely other who seeks God through you, then you will truly recover the light and the capacity to understand what is beyond words and beyond explanations because it is too close to be explained: it is the intimate union, in the depths of your own heart, of God’s spirit and your own secret inmost self, so that you and [God] are in all truth One Spirit. I love you, in Christ.

 Merton, The Hidden Ground of Love, 157-158

Retreat to the Smokies

This past weekend, several seminarian families (with kids in tow) journeyed to the Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina during our Fall Reading Break.  The autumn colors were brilliant and the views simply holy.  Above is the view from our deck at the mountain house.  We were spoiled.  All six children--all under the ages of 3--managed to be good and allow their parents some down time, not too much mind you.

There was every color imaginable on display in the mountains.  Sewanee is only now beginning to change in color.  Fall is certainly my favorite time to be here!

Around One Table: The Episcopal Identity Project

     

In the wake of the recent news from the Vatican, I thought it may be appropriate to open up a discussion on Episcopal identity.  From the National Office:

Around One Table is an invitation into a conversation. It's a conversation about who we are as Episcopalians — our identity, our wellness, our mission — and how our sense of identity is expressed through our lives and the call we explore in ministry.

Around One Table is a conversation that has already begun but is far from over. The 23 themes of Episcopal identity emerged through a four-year study called the Episcopal Identity Project. Do you find yourself and your core values among these themes of Episcopal identity? We'd like to know.

Around One Table is a conversation. We hope you will return here frequently.

Here being this link.  There being also the place where one can download the "Abbreviated" and Full-length reports of EIP.  I just learned of this project and found it interesting to note that there does not seem to be a lot of hype about this in the Church.  Perhaps the moans from the clergy at this past week's clergy gathering was indicative that are saturated with it?

So, what are the 23 themes of Episcopal identity?  Gosh, that sounds so market-speak and official. Let's see:

Core Episcopal identity (most tightly related and central themes): Christ as Central, Sacramental, Book of Common Prayer, Incarnational, Scriptural, and Pastoral. 

Secondary Episcopal identity (somewhat related and central themes): Reason, Inclusive, Tradition, Common Liturgy, Ceremonial, Experience, and Responsiveness to Societal Change. 

Tertiary Episcopal identity (less related and less central themes): Middle Way, Diverse Theological Positions, Ecumenical, Diverse Spiritual Practices, Prophetic, Source of Societal Change, and Dispersed Authority. 

Stand-Alone Episcopal identity (themes not related or central): Elite, Source of Salvation, and A-confessional. 

I don't want to sound skeptical, as a former amateur marketer in my former life, I appreciate data and know that data can drive some good, sound decisions.  But, only 92% of bishops in TEC responded to the survey!  I am guessing that this number included retired bishops which may mess up the numbers.

I do wonder how many Episcopalians in the pews would claim "Incarnational" as their identity?  I certainly would, but my mother who is a life-long Episcopalian probably could not tell you what that word means!

More to come...after an Ethics mid-term...

Bound for Rome: Swimming the Tiber?

In an unprecedented move, the Vatican has announced today the formation of "Anglican Ordinariates" within the operational structure of the Roman Catholic Church.  Established under a soon-to-be released "apostolic constitution," the new home for disenfranchised Anglicans and Episcopalians will supposedly be allowed to retain Anglican style worship albeit with rigors of Roman theology.  Apparently this is a major move for the Vatican to accept in whole or in part Anglican dioceses, parishes, and clergy into the fold.

Married Anglican bishops who abandoned the Communion will not be allowed to be Roman ordinaries, but somewhere I did read that celibate Anglican bishops and priests would be considered.  I'm guessing, here, that Rome will re-ordain all priests and bishops received in this new manner, since it's been made quite clear that Anglican Orders are not substantiated in Roman eyes.

I must admit that I'm surprised by this.  I learned about this today while attending a Clericus (local clergy gathering) over lunch.  I suppose I stand firmly in the camp that it is quite acceptable to be and remain Anglican which is part and parcel of the worldwide apostolic, catholic church.

Is this really an open arm gesture from Rome inviting full communion?  Does it impair future Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue?  Should we be excited about this?

Rowan's Perspective

The full text of Archbishop Rowan Williams' letter to the Primates of the Anglican Communion released today:

20 October 2009

The Vatican has announced today that Pope Benedict XVI has approved an ‘Apostolic Constitution’ (a formal papal decree) which will make some provision for groups of Anglicans (whether strictly members of continuing Anglican bodies or currently members of the Communion) who wish to be received into communion with the See of Rome in such a way that they can retain aspects of Anglican liturgical and spiritual tradition. 

I am sorry that there has been no opportunity to alert you earlier to this;  I was informed of the planned announcement at a very late stage, and we await the text of the Apostolic Constitution itself and its code of practice in the coming weeks.  But I thought I should let you know the main points of the response I am making in our local English context – in full consultation with Roman Catholic bishops in England and Wales – in the hope of avoiding any confusion or misrepresentation.  I attach a copy of the Joint Statement that I agreed to make alongside the Archbishop of Westminster, the President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.  It can also be found on my website.

It remains to be seen what use will be made of this provision, since it is now up to those who have made requests to the Holy See to respond to the Apostolic Constitution;  but, in the light of recent discussions with senior officials in the Vatican, I can say that this new possibility is in no sense at all intended to undermine existing relations between our two communions or to be an act of proselytism or aggression.  It is described as simply a response to specific enquiries from certain Anglican groups and individuals wishing to find their future within the Roman Catholic Church.

The common heritage of the achievement of the ARCIC agreed statements, and the IARCCUM principles for shared work and witness (in Growing Together in Unity and Mission, 2007), remain the solid ground both for our future co-operation as global communions, and our regional and local growth in common faith and witness.  For those who wish to enter into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church in the near future, this announcement will clarify possible options, and we wish them God’s strength and guidance in their discernment.  Meanwhile our ecumenical relationships continue on their current cordial basis, regionally and internationally.

+  Rowan Cantuar

Fall Is Here

Fall term of my senior year is proving to be an extraordinarily busy one.  Not so much on the academic side, but on every other front!  Hence my absence of recent posts.  I've started some new projects, mainly woodworking and woodburning and I'll post some pictures of my work soon.

St. Michael, Pray for Us.

This is the very first icon that I acquired a number of years ago.  It just so happened that it was an image of the Archangel Michael--whose name I bear.  It was written by iconographer Phil Duncan and dated 1976.  I love it.

Michaelmas and the Celestial Chivalry

Today the Church commemorates the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels otherwise referred to as "Michaelmas."  Today we remember those other heralds of God the Father, the angels.  The Anglican tradition maintains the three main archangels:Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel.  Often there is the fourth, Uriel.  Especially in the Episcopal tradition, there seems to be a fear of discussing the angelic hand of God.  Michael is my middle name and I have always had a special place in my heart for the warrior of the Father.  While I do not count angelic theology as a particular interest of mine, I know that I do not know enough about angels in heavenly chorus.  I pray this day that I may come to a greater knowledge of angels and the celestial chivalry.

Hymn
Tibi, Christe, spledor Patris*

Thee, O Christ, the Father's splendour,
Life and virtue of the heart,
In the presence of the Angels
Sing we now with tuneful art;
Meetly in alternate chorus
Bearing our responsive part.

Thus we praise with veneration
All the armies of the sky;
Chiefly him, the warrior Primate
Of celestial chivalry,
Michael, who in princely virtue
Cast Abaddon from on high.

By whose watchful care repelling,
King of everlasting grace,
Every ghostly adversary,
All things evil, all things base,
Grant us of thine only goodness
In thy paradise a place.

Glory to the Father sing we
with resounding voices sweet,
Glory unto Christ our Saviour,
Glory to the Paraclete:
Standing forth, One God and Trinal,
Ere the ages; as is meet.
Amen.
________________

*The Monastic Diurnal (London:  Oxford University Press, 1963).

A Feast Day Collect

Everlasting God, who have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sermon Audio

Okay, I'm honestly not a self-promoter, but I thought this was actually a decent picture of me taken whilst preaching at St. Paul's.

Click on the link to hear my most recent sermon given at St. Paul's, Chattanooga.
http://stpaulschatt.homestead.com/Pentecost16_sermon.mp3

Morning Prayer Reflection

Proper 20,  Daily Office Year 1

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Chapel of the Apostles

Sewanee, Tennessee

2 Kings 5:19-27

1 Cor 5:1-8

___________________________________________

Lord David Hope, former Archbishop of York and yours truly

 outside of Halifax Parish Church, June 2009.

It was nearing the end of my time on placement from The College of the Resurrection at Halifax Parish Church in West Yorkshire.  The Parish was celebrating its patronal feast day, that of Saint John the Baptist.  It was a truly festive occasion, complete with a rare High mass set of vestments on loan from the Community of the Resurrection.  Our guest preacher that evening was Lord David Hope, the former Archbishop of York and Primate of England.  Following the peace, the Vicar invited me to stand next to him at the altar before the canon of the mass was to begin.  All ready the nerves were starting to kick in.  After the fraction and the clergy received the holy sacrament, Hilary—the vicar—handed a chalice of wine to the Archbishop and then turned to me and handed me the patten full of bread!  Now, I had several images racing in my head of a certain liturgics professor here having a mild stroke at this proposition, but I had to pull it together as the choir was in place and ready to receive.  Perhaps I was safe being a continent away!

Out came the hands.  So I did what I knew, I carefully took the wafer, made the sign of the cross and said, “the body of Christ, the bread of heaven.”  At that point, I had no earthly idea what Common Worship said about any of this, nor was I about to embarrass the vicar by asking Lord David his opinion on the matter.  Vicars in the Church of England have absolute, legal authority over their parishes.  So off I went.  One by one, I distributed the bread in the most reverent manner possible.  What struck me the most as I walked back and forth behind the altar rail was the image of one broken human being handing over the bread of wholeness to another.  The eyes, their eyes were very telling.  So much of the pain of life, the joy of life, and the hope for Christ was all bound together in their eyes.  It was palpable.      

During my hour-long bus ride back to Mirfield, I reflected on what had happened in the liturgy.  This bread, this bread of sincerity and truth was in our hands so that it could feed our souls.  Christ’s body taken, blessed, broken, and given to the world was somehow making me whole, giving me life to pursue the truth.  I, like most seminarians I’m sure, daydream of the time when as a celebrate at the table, I can proclaim to the people, “Alleluia, Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us.”  And now I find myself in the very midst of unpacking those words.  To proclaim those words is to know deeply what Paul is describing in today’s epistle.

The unleavened bread, rises up, just as Our Lord rose from the tomb.  We are bound to strip away the old leaven, the leaven of sin that attempts to destroy our lives.  Just as the Corinthians read this exhortation from Paul, we hear this today as the invitation to strive for the narrow door, to remove from ourselves those things which pervert the Gospel and obscure the truth.  That way, we can say with all sincerity and truth, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20).

The bread of life was given for freedom to live a life of conversion as God’s beloved people.  Disorder, chaos, and sickness are the results of sin.  Wholeness and health are results of the truth.  Hear what the first letter of John says, “for if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”(1 John 1: 8-9).

So for today, seek the banquet of the lamb, the great festival of festivals, where we all have a welcomed seat ready for us.  But know this, there is no warning label attached to the Christian life, your pursuit of the truth may be dangerous, but ultimately the heavenly joy will shine down on your path as you rise up to meet Our Lord upon the road.  Therefore let us keep the feast.  Amen.

Deo Soli Gloria: An Appreciation

Icon of Saint Gregory the Great

The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory (BSG)

Deo Soli Gloria, or "to God alone the glory," is the motto of the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory the Great (BSG).  BSG is a religious order in The Episcopal Church and is celebrating this year the fortieth anniversary of their founding.  The following is from their website:

The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory is a Christian Community of the Episcopal Church, whose members follow a common rule and serve the church on parochial, diocesan, and national levels. Members--clergy and lay, without regard to marital status--live individually, in small groups, or with their families. They support themselves and the community through their secular or church-related work, making use of their God-given talents inthe world while not being of the world. The trust that all labor and life can be sanctified is summed up in the community's motto: Soli Deo Gloria, To God Alone the Glory.

The Brotherhood was founded on Holy Cross Day 1969, by Richard Thomas Biernacki, the present Minister General, after consultation with many Episcopal and Roman Catholic religious. Among the latter the Sisters of the Visitation were particularly helpful and encouraging. It was in their Riverdale, New York, monastery chapel that the first members made profession of vows to the Brotherhood's chaplain, the Rev Thomas F Pike.

Later that year, Bishop Horace W B Donegan of New York recognized the Brotherhood as a Religious Community of the Episcopal Church. Upon his retirement, his successor, Bishop Paul Moore jr, became Visitor to the brothers, whom he came to call the "Flexible Friars." He was succeeded by Bishop Walter D. Dennis, Suffragan of New York. The present Visitor is Bishop Rodney R. Michel, Suffragan of Long Island.

The icon is currently on display at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee where one brother, Br. Ron Fender, BSG worships.  He is something of a local saint, though he would tell you that he isn't!  He is deeply engaged with the work of the homeless in Chattanooga and he is supported by our parish.  We also are blessed to have a BSG brother here at the School of Theology this year as he completes his studies for ordination.

The icon is painted on a bread board worn down over the years by working hands (double-click on the icon to enlarge it).  It was written by the founder and Minister General of the Order.  Pope Gregory the Great is shown on his cathedra as a dove of the Holy Spirit flies near his right ear for inspiration consistent with the traditional accounts of these visits of the Spirit during Gregory's sermon-writing.  The four evangelist gospel writers are depicted by their animal metaphors in the corners.

I give thanks for the Brothers of Saint Gregory for their growing witness to our world and for their labor and prayers to further the Kingdom of God.

Water-Logged, A Sermon

16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Saint Paul's Episcopal Church

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Ritual Mass with Baptism

Psalm 1

Mark 9: 30-37
_______________________________________________

One of the greatest joys of being a father is being able to take your children to the amusement park.  Funnel cakes, ice cream, and my personal favorite, cotton candy; the amusement park is one of the great pastimes for any big-kid at heart.  It’s a place where you can lay aside any sense of decorum and let the good times roll.  It’s a place where the ride takes control of your life, twisting and turning on a path unknown.

This summer, I was able to take my daughter to Camden Park back in my hometown.  As a child growing up in West Virginia, the possibility of even going to Camden Park was an unbelievable treat.  And now, some twenty years later, I find myself passing through the same ticket gates now holding my daughter’s hand.  Not surprising, the same rides were still there and still working.  We started off slowly, working our way through the kiddy rides, which are pretty big to any ambitious two-year old.  The carousel, the boats, and the requisite train ride around the perimeter of the park felt as natural to me as reliving my childhood.  But, looming in the far off distance was the ubiquitous water ride called the Log Flume, a giant among rides in the Park that ends with a steep descent crashing through a monstrous wall of water.  I could see in her eyes that water plus a fun ride was surely going to equal one great time with Daddy.  I smiled.

We stepped into our boat and shoved off for the twisting turns of the deceptively calm, flowing water.  Now, just in case you have any misgivings about this giant drop at the end there is a smaller version that first tests your resolve, it prepares you for the next monumental climb coming just around the corner.  Well, after that first, tiny splash, she began to cry, “I do want to ride this anymore.”  To which I responded, “it’s too late to change your mind now.  Just hold on to daddy and close your eyes!”  The belts began to pick up our little log boat and up we climbed.  Up, up, and up still some more.  And then, of course, there’s that brief moment of levelness, a feeling that everything will be okay, and then woosh!  As our stomachs raced to our heads, we plunged down, down, down and until finally the king of all splashes hit us.  We were safe and horizontal—soaked, water-logged might be more accurate.  Her cries were fairly audible throughout the entire park, but as we came back to the starting house, there stood grandma and grandpa taking pictures and cheering us on.  The crying quickly stopped, and before you knew it, my daughter was telling her little brother how much fun she had; she passed through the water and the water forever changed her experience of fun.

       

Mark’s Gospel this morning continues the narrative from last week, where Jesus instructs his disciples to take up their cross and follow him, warning us that there is no profit in gaining the whole world only to forfeit life itself.  For Mark, the mystery of the cross and its implications for discipleship dominates the Gospel.  Today, the teaching takes on yet another twist:  “whoever wants to first must be last of all and servant of all.”  To illustrate the point, because the disciples in Mark never seem to understand, Jesus takes in his arms a small child.  Why a child?  Perhaps it was the nearest warm body to make his point, or perhaps that in this culture children were seen as both small and insignificant.  Fortunately, this has changed greatly over time.

In his rule for forming monastic communities, Saint Benedict urges new communities to include the young in the councils, chapters, and decision-making groups, because, he believes that more often than not, the Holy Spirit speaks through youthful souls.  Children help remind us to never let go of our sense of wonder.  Through children’s eyes we are free to regain our creative, curious nature that keeps us in awe of God’s unfolding plan of creation.  We will join and pray in a few minutes following baptism, that these newly baptized candidates receive the gift of joy and wonder in all of God’s works.  For if we dare to lose that sense, we risk losing our reverence of the great mystery of God’s sovereignty.  So Jesus’ illustration with the child is not lost:  whoever welcomes the least, the lost, and last welcomes Jesus.  Whoever welcomes people who may seem insignificant, those who live on the margins, who are powerless, who have no status in society, welcomes the Lord and Savior of the world.  So, who is the greatest among you?

In this culture of honor and shame, this was a very important question, and Jesus overturns these accepted norms using a child.  To be great in the community of Jesus is to be a servant of all; reaching out and embracing those on the fringes of our world.  The Ubuntu theology from South Africa expresses this clearly:  I am because you are.  Honoring the sacred presence of Christ in every person we encounter is the new norm—regardless of gender, orientation, ethnicity, or anything else.  These are the new norms of the Kingdom.  “The Kingdom of God has come near,” John the Baptist proclaims in the beginning of Mark, and even as the Gospel ends with the finality of the cross and empty tomb, leaving out any post-resurrection stories, the implication for us is to carry on the work of the Kingdom.  And here is where we connect with Baptism.

This morning at Saint Paul’s we’re preparing to join with these new candidates for a water ride of their own.  Baptism is the indissoluble covenant between God and us: we go down into the water, buried with Christ in his death, only to then rise up sharing in His resurrection.  Baptism is at the very heart of our common life of faith in Christ.  Baptism has shaped our Book of Common Prayer and how we witness the Gospel equal with our sisters and brothers.  For many of us who were baptized at a very early age, it is so easy to see this as a past event—all I can do is look at the photograph of my parents holding me next to the font when I was a mere three months old.  And yet, baptism is not a past event, it is a real present reality.

The Episcopal Church embodies this in the form of the Baptismal Covenant, a reminder at every baptism that we all are presently sharing in the work of the Kingdom.  If baptism is the great equalizer for the Kingdom of God, then our Baptismal Covenant names before God our commitment to proclaim by Word and Deed the Good news to everyone, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, striving for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being.  This is our bond, this is our obligation to the Kingdom!  It is always before us. And we cannot do this alone; we must share in the Apostle’s teaching and fellowship, accomplished only within the community of faith.  It is done by dying to ourselves and truly taking the plunge down the steep waterfalls in our lives, so that we can honestly say, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

The bonds forged by God in the waters completely and forever change our whole world.  With Christ alive inside of us, we are like trees planted firmly in the ground, with strong, hearty roots feed by deep streams of water.  With Christ alive inside of us, we bear fruit for the Kingdom, we can weather the turbulent storms in our lives and not be blown away.  With Christ alive inside of us, we can, as our Collect this morning says, hold fast to the heavenly things that endure.  We cannot pass through the walls of water and hope to emerge the same person.  We, who are baptized, are bound and beckoned to be the hands of Christ, the voice of Christ, and the love of Christ yesterday, today, and forever.  Life in Christ floods everything that we do:  how we choose to spend our money, where we spend our time, and ultimately which god we worship in the center of our being.

So we rejoice today as our household continues to grow and be flooded with the Holy Spirit.  May that same spirit flood our souls and continue to burn that celestial spark where Christ lives and moves and grounds us.  Amen.