Participating in the polity - Rector's Rambling for October 28, 2018

Yesterday the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan met in it’s yearly Convention.  Since I am writing this mid-week, I cannot report on the details of what occurred at Convention, but I do want to keep people in the loop about it.

This convention is particularly interesting because it is our last “regular” gathering as a Diocese before the election of our new bishop.  That will occur, God willing, on June 1, 2019.  Bishop Gibbs has announced his intention to retire in December of 2019, giving the Diocese of Michigan time to prepare for the election, confirmation, and enthronement of his successor.

The polity of the Episcopal Church mirrors that of our federal and state government in many ways.  This is not accidental, but rather a product of the foundations of our denomination being established shortly after the writing of the U.S. Constitution.  Many of the originators of that document were also present when our church governance was put together.  We have bi-cameral houses for legislation, and both at the national level, and local diocesan level, important legislation, including the election of a bishop, must be passed in both houses.  At the diocesan level, the clergy and the lay representatives of each parish vote separately for important matters, like changes to the Canons, and, of course, the election of a new bishop.  To pass, or be elected, the legislation must gain a majority in both houses.

In my 18 years in this diocese the yearly conventions have seen, thankfully, a reduction in the types of resolutions where we take a supposed high moral position and tell politicians what to do.  Instead, we spent more time on mission and ministry, including the passing of balanced budgets.

Yesterday at convention there was all sorts of legislation in preparation for the upcoming election in June.  The results will be available on the diocesan Web site at www.EDoMI.org.

And pray for God’s blessing on us as the we prepare to elect a new bishop.

St. Raphael, pray for us! - Rector's Rambling for September 21, 2018

The Holy Angels have gotten a lot of mentions the last few weeks.  On September 29, the Church celebrated the Feast of St. Michael and all Angels, which we celebrated the next day at St. John’s on Sunday.  On the Tuesday following, the feast day was The Holy Guardian Angels.  This week, the angels come up again as we celebrate the Feast of St. Raphael the Archangel.

Ss. Michael and Gabriel are the archangels mentioned by name in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation, but Raphael might be harder for you to find.  He is mentioned in the Book of Tobit, which is a part of the King James Bible that is omitted by many American Protestant publishers.  That section is known as the Apocrypha, or deuterocanonical books.  They were written between the Old and New Testaments, and are considered canonical (valid) by the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican Communions (which make up 80% of Christians worldwide).  In the later parts of the Reformation, churches began removing these books because of questions of authority (now resolved by historical fact), as well as theological issues inconvenient to their changes to the Church.

Tobit is a good and holy man, who has made it his ministry to bury the Jews who have been killed and bodies disregarded in the foreign town he lives in.  Stricken with blindness, he sends his son to get some money on deposit with a family in another town so that they can continue to pay their living expenses.  Unsure of the way, a man identifying himself as a relative offers to take the son Tobias on the journey.  Unknown to all until the end, it is really the Archangel Raphael in disguise.

St. Raphael is the archangel of healing, and the adventure recorded for us includes healing of a woman to become Tobias’ wife, as well as Tobit at the end.  It is a wonderful story, full of twists and turns.  It is not long, so take some time today to give it a read.  If your Bible doesn’t have it, try reading it on-line at http://ebible.org/kjv/Tobit.htm

Your time, talent and treasure - Rector's Rambling for October 14, 2018

It is that uncomfortable time of the year, when we talk about money, and more importantly we talk about your money.

I have to admit that I do not like talking about money or asking for money.  If I talk to you about worship, prayer, study, moral choices, and parish involvement, and a variety of other things, but not your money, then I am not giving you the full picture of the life God is calling you to live.  It is a part of the big picture that we call Stewardship.

Stewardship, to put it simply, is how you use the blessings and talents you have to the Greater Glory of God.  It is a biblical way of thinking that begins with the gratitude that all that you are, and all that you have, is a gift from God.  King David, after listing the remarkable amount things he and the people of Israel donated for the building of the Temple, states, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” 1 Chronicles 29:14

If we live from an attitude of gratitude, then we will be learning to be generous in our giving of the three legs of Stewardship: Time, Talent, and Treasure.

Time is the giving of yourself to the parish and other worthy causes.  Showing up EVERY Sunday, being involved as an acolyte, altar guild member, usher, coffee hour host, prayer wall team member, or whatever opportunity may present itself is the giving of time.  Also, time spent in prayer for the parish, for the clergy, and for all around us is time well spent to His Honor and Glory.

Talent involves much of the activity listed above, as well as things which you have a special ability, and could be of help to the parish and community.  Plumber?  Electrician?  Teacher?  Coordinator for outings or activities?  What is some ability that you may have, that we haven’t even thought of, that may be of help here to Glorify God?  No thing is too little to God.

 And of course, there is the giving of your treasure, which is a financial donation to the church for our operating expenses, ministries, and presence in the community.  Remembering that it is God who gives us the ability to work and earn an income, we donate to His Church in gratitude.  The biblical image is the Tithe, the first 10% of your income.  If you are not at that level you can resolve to work towards it.  This is for many a very hard thing to let go of (after all, who doesn’t want or need more money?)  But of course that is exactly why we need to learn to give – we need to trust that God will continue to provide for your needs.

Four years ago Bruce Burton, our Senior Warden, predicted when we signed our lease with Olympia, that people would ramp down their contributing to the parish because of the outside payment we receive.  The first three years that was not true, and although we were behind in budgeted contributions for the first half of the year, we are now catching up with anticipated levels of giving.  Thank you to all who have continued to be generous in their support of St. John’s.

I understand the temptation to say to yourself “St. John’s doesn’t need my money because they get it from the lease”.  But actually, YOU need to GIVE the money as an exercise in gratitude for what God has entrusted to you.  Giving to St. John’s is a way for you to show that gratitude to Him.

     As you know, we are in the midst of a renovation of the ministry center, and will be renovating the kitchen and undercroft in the coming months.  This is to help position us for ministry opportunities that are beginning to present themselves as our neighborhood is being renewed and reinvigorated.  That project is being paid for with a signing bonus from the lease, savings over the last three years lease payments, a large gift from one parish family, and many other gifts from parishioners.  Opportunities will be presented soon to sponsor portions of the new facility and furnishings.  This would be above and beyond our support of the regular ministry of the parish through the Stewardship Campaign.

Let’s be sure to pray how God can help you to be grateful and generous, and then fill out a pledge card for 2019.  Thank you in advance.

St. Francis - Rector's Rambling for October 7, 2018

This past Thursday we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of what is now known as the Franciscans.

Photos of the Blessing of Animals in honor St. Francis make the rounds this time of the year.  St. Francis himself is frequently depicted with birds, and perhaps what looks like a dog, because he once preached to the birds, and tamed a wolf that was terrorizing a town.  He is much beloved by those who love the soft image of one who blesses pets and makes people feel good about their animal companions.

But those two incidents are a very small part of the life of a remarkable man called to a unique life and ministry, one which has never been fully imitated by his many followers over the centuries.  To say St. Francis was extreme in following the Gospel would be to put it mildly.  He read “Sell all that you have and give it to the poor and follow me”, so he did, and lived in abject voluntary poverty all the rest of his life.  He read “the son of man has no place to lay his head”, so he lived as one homeless, sleeping on the floors of churches.  When he heard Jesus tell him from the cross to “rebuild my church”, he at first took it literally to fix the dilapidated structure he was praying in, until he realized it was a bigger mission of the CHURCH, not just the building.  And when he prayed that God would use him as a living example of Christ’s suffering for our salvation, he received the marks of the crucifixion on his own body (see painting above).

His life had a unique charism, and he has inspired many people to follow Jesus more closely.  His radical reliance on God’s grace and provision would be terrifying to most of us.  But his example to be detached from THINGS that draw us from the love of God should motivate us to evaluate our priorities.  And Francis’ unmitigated love for Jesus and unabashed joy, should motivate us to a deeper love and joy as well!