Connected as children of God – All Saints Day

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All Saints Day (Ephesians 1:11-23)  11/03/2013

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This past weekend, I joined the group of folks from this parish and hundreds of delegates from other churches throughout the Connecticut Diocese as we gathered for our annual convention. After arriving in Stamford and registering at the convention desk, Colin and I set off to accomplish one of the most important tasks of convention…finding a really good seat! We picked the perfect table and as we began to settle in we introduced ourselves to the one person  already sitting at the table, the Deacon from Trinity Church in Newtown, Tom Mariconda. After a brief conversation about convention topics, I asked Tom the question that is on everyone’s heart and mind, “how are the people in Newtown?”…and I mean, how are you all, really? Tom replied, “Good days, bad days; still a little bit of everything, and the one year anniversary is coming up in December.” We expressed our concern and assured him of our prayers, but the expression and emotion of his words simply hung in the air. The convention room slowly filled in as people arrived and our table was quickly filled with delegates from St. John’s, Grace Church (Hartford), and Trinity Church (Newtown). Throughout the convention we discussed many topics; topics big and small, official and personal, and some serious and some quite funny. But throughout our time, sitting at our table, there remained an awareness of the journey the folks in Newtown were traveling, made incarnate before us in the delegates from Trinity Church. Saturday morning, Kathie Adams-Shepherd, the Rector of Trinity Church, addressed the Convention. Kathie gave her thanks for the continued prayers and support of so many people; and she eloquently expressed the experiences of Newtown and the connection of their journey with the everyday journey of so many others grieving and in need – a connection with people who experience loss nearly everyday in Hartford, in New Haven, and in so many other places throughout our country and the world. She also expressed a connection with gracious acts of mercy from others, from people in Newtown, and in CT, and gracious acts from the helping hands and hearts of the wider world. As she spoke to the delegates of the Convention, she was thoughtful and heartfelt, her voice moving with emotion; and those in attendance that morning were connected to her, our hearts moving up and down with her, connected with great emotion and gratitude. Continue reading →

Close the almanac and say a prayer

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Pentecost 22 (Luke 18:1-8)  10/20/2013

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Information is an important part of our society today. We are connected to the news of the world in ways that were unimaginable just a few short years ago. Information feeds our curiosities and gives us confidence that we are in touch with our world. However, information of the “here and now” is not the only information that peeks our interest. We are not quite halfway through the fall season and I have already spotted my first winter prediction in the newspaper. Predicting the coming season’s weather has been a fascination with people for generations. I remember reading the Old Farmer’s Almanac as a young boy, intrigued that the details of the weather could be known so far in advance, and I soon learned that the Almanac was not always correct. Long-term predictions would have struggled to capture the fierce storm from nearly two years ago, an epic October snow storm that disrupted our way of life for a week or more. Throughout those days, many of us sought some solace, some hope in the power company’s outage maps and restoration predictions. And as the days dragged on through the week, it became difficult to believe the information given to us and not lose heart with our circumstances. This morning, our Gospel lesson offers us an interesting twist on how we might inform our lives, how we might live a life of faithfulness and hope-filled confidence by telling a story of a determined woman and an unjust judge who sat in judgment of her future. Continue reading →

At Home with God

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Pentecost 21 (Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7)  10/13/2013

Welcome to what is for many people the middle of a long weekend as we take time to celebrate and remember the adventures and discoveries of Christopher Columbus. The long weekend is an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful season of fall and perhaps a time to have some adventures of your very own. Throughout this past week as I was thinking of the many folks that would be traveling during this weekend, I was reminded of a phrase we often hear from returning travelers, “I had a wonderful time, but it sure is nice to be home!” Travel is a time of adventure, relaxation, and discovery, but as we return to our regular routines and our familiar places, it is nice to be home…except maybe for all the extra laundry you have to do! Coming home is a popular theme; as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz exclaimed, “There’s no place like home!” And even Christopher Columbus was exploring the world in search of a shorter trading route to the Far East in the hope of returning home a bit sooner. The comforts and the familiarity of “home” have great appeal to our sense of safety and stability, but what would we do if returning to that familiar home was not an option? What if our familiar world was turned upside down in a new and unusual way? This was the world in which the prophet Jeremiah lived and spoke to the people of the nation of Judah. Continue reading →

Together, a holy calling and Amani ya Juu (higher peace)

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Pentecost 20 (2 Timothy 1:1-14)  10/6/2013

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A few years ago, I noticed a seminary classmate of mine wearing a beautiful priest’s stole, designed of patch work fabric. I asked my friend about the stole and she told me that it was made in Africa by a group of women who had formed a cooperative to sell handmade products. The opportunities for women in Africa remain very challenging, and a group of women in Nairobi, Kenya, came together to help each other by forming a program for marginalized women, a sewing and training program to help them work together and grow. The group is called Amani ya Juu, which means “higher peace” in the Swahili language. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI purchased a stole for myself and I am wearing it this morning. Since the time I purchased the stole, I think of these women and their families and I pray for them and their success. I also receive newsletters and updates of their work and their progress. This past Wednesday I received an email from the women of Amani and the subject line of the note read, “Westgate Attack in Kenya.” Two weeks ago this morning the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi was attacked by people who use violence to spread their sectarian religious beliefs and exert their forceful wills upon innocent, peace-loving people. The email from the women of Amani, who are centered in Nairobi, quoted Joyce Muraya, Kenya Country Director for the Amani women’s group: “It is hard to celebrate [that no one from Amani was harmed] when so many have lost their lives…On that Sunday, part of my family made its way to Nairobi hospital to donate blood. We stood in line with people of all races and faiths. As I lay there pumping away watching the red of my blood slowly flood the small translucent bag, next to me was a British lady…Her blood was red too. On the bed next to me my daughter Wamuyu filled her bottle rapidly with red blood. In the queue was a lovely Rwandan woman. We each received a sweet cool drink provided by a business man of Indian extraction. As we were leaving, two Muslim women…came in also to donate blood. Somehow this underlined our common humanity.”[i] In the midst of violence and chaos, the strength and peace of God came from those who responded with compassion using the means available to them; Joyce Muraya’s message highlights this truth. The world in which we live can certainly be a very challenging place, but as we come together, the gifts of the full community of believers creates a positive and powerful force that can take up any challenge. Continue reading →

Flashes of Heavenly Light

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Pentecost 19 (Luke 16:19-31)  09/29/2013

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Abraham said to the rich man, “Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” (Luke 16:26) There are many, many images of heaven in the Bible; some images are glorious, open and expansive, while other images are rather foreboding and exclusive. This morning’s story of Lazarus’ place in heaven and the rich man’s tormented existence in Hades is of the foreboding and exclusive variety. We have a difficult time trying to state with great certainty what any place is truly like when that place remains so elusive, just beyond our earthly grasp. If we desire to know the secrets of the heavenly dwelling place of God, the many and seemingly contrasting images from the Bible do not help us create the one true image we seek. These images may be fruitful inspiration for the artists and authors throughout the centuries who have brought their talents to the fertile ground of capturing the secrets of heaven in their many forms of art and literature. But what about the rest of us? What about our practical daily existence as we live our days with the doors of heaven just beyond our sight? Roger Ferlo, an Episcopal Priest and author, recently edited a collection of thoughtful essays on this very subject in a book appropriately titled, Heaven. In the introduction of his book, Ferlo suggests an earthly method of searching for the mysteries of heaven: “Only by considering closely the things of this world can we have any clue about the things of the next. This is an ancient insight, what the medieval theologians called the analogy of being. It is the conviction that in the [very being] of God’s creation we discern, if only by analogy or metaphor or indirection, a glimpse of the divine beauty and the divine splendor, what the poet T.S. Eliot called ‘a wink of heaven.'”[i] Ferlo’s suggestion is that in the very world in which we live, there are flashes of heavenly light, undeniable moments of God’s grace breaking in to our world. These moments are there for our inspiration and understanding, unless we choose to look the other way. And this brings us back to the rich man and Lazarus. Continue reading →

Stealing some moments for God

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Pentecost 18 (Luke 16:1-13) 9/22/2013

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I am very happy to report that the Boston Red Sox have clinched the American League East and are heading to the playoffs! I like to say that football season does not officially begin until the Red Sox have finished playing for the year…so the NFL will have to wait a little longer. College football is a different story; college football seems to be an integral part of the beginning of fall. College sports retain various elements of the rich history and traditions of the school and watching the game allows us an opportunity to be connected with those who have gone before us. Just last weekend I was watching a Navy football game on TV, the first home game of the season: the bright blue and gold uniforms, the old cannon firing with every score, and the Navy goat dutifully standing on the sideline. The entire picture could be repeated at many colleges throughout the country, except perhaps for the goat…why a goat, you might wonder. We just heard last Sunday about the shepherd and the sheep, the lesson of how the shepherd know their sheep; but we have a goat on the sideline of the big game! As with many traditions, especially funny college traditions, there are many stories to tell. One story of the goat involves the very first Army-Navy football game, played at West Point in 1890. As the Navy football players approached West Point, they realized they were heading to a very important game and they didn’t have a mascot…every team needs a mascot! There on the side of the road, tied up next to someone’s house, was a goat…so they simply untied the goat and headed off to the big game with their new mascot. A bit dishonest perhaps, but the act of borrowing the goat showed some interesting insights, an understanding that the odd act of taking the goat might just rally the team. Certainly, the theft of a goat would not seem to be Navy Football’s finest moment, but the lesson is not too far from the odd story we find in the Gospel lesson this morning. Continue reading →

The Intentional Disciple

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Pentecost 16 (Luke 14:25-33)  9/08/2013

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Welcome to everyone as we gather together to begin a new program year and embark on our shared journey of growth, discovery and ministry this year. The time of summer vacations is now nearly over and I hope everyone has some great memories of these past few weeks. I have made several wonderful memories during this past summer. And during this past week as I have reflected on memories of summer fun and other events, I recalled one of the most strange memories I have of summer. As a young boy, my family would drive through Berlin on what is today Route 9, past a section of the town that contains many small ponds created by the old clay pits used to provide material to the local brickyards. In one of those small ponds sits an abandoned crane, with only the very top of the crane’s mast visible above the water. The image of the crane sitting in the middle of the pond always struck me as very odd and I wondered how that might have happened. Over the years I have heard many stories about the old abandoned crane: the operator uncovered a natural spring of water, or perhaps there was a strong rainstorm that appeared quite suddenly (as we experienced last week!), or maybe some mechanical failure of the crane made it nearly impossible to retrieve. Regardless of the cause, the crane’s mast remains above the water as a monument of a very bad day; a cautionary tale of the dangers of distraction. Continue reading →

Godly love and care

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Pentecost 3 (1 Kings 17:8-24)  06/09/2013

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My family and I have enjoyed spending time in the great outdoors and have particularly enjoyed camping for several years. As we moved from the suburbs of Chicago to the outskirts of Washington D.C., we decided we would pay a bit extra and store our camper in a storage area so it would be close by. After many months of finding ourselves too busy, we finally packed up the camper and headed west to the Shenandoah National Park to enjoy the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. There were many beautiful and interesting sites to see, but there was one experience that was especially memorable. As we were driving along Skyline Drive, we noticed a black bear crossing the road, and suddenly the bear stopped halfway across. After a brief pause, there were two bear cubs that emerged from the bush and crossed the road as their mother closely watched; once the cubs were safely to the other side, the mother followed behind. The experience was exciting to watch, especially from the safety of our car! I am certain the experience for the West Hartford family that encountered a black bear in their backyard last week was not nearly as exciting to watch. However, the incident did give an example of how a mother’s love for her family knows no bounds; like a scene out of a movie, a wondering black bear and her two cubs enter the backyard of a mom and her family. When the overzealous bear decided she was going to enter the home, the courageous mom firmly stood her ground at the back door with her foot extended, just to be sure there was no misunderstanding – “no entry allowed!” This type of motherly love and care is exactly what we hear in the story of the prophet Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. Continue reading →

Trinity Sunday: The presence of God

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Trinity Sunday (Romans 5:1-5)  5/26/2013

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Not long after moving to the Chicago area, I was driving home from work and noticed the sky had become an angry looking color of green and purple. Growing up in Connecticut, this was a sky I was not familiar with at all. The dark clouds twisted and tumbled and there were a few rolling sections that seemed to be just waiting to reach toward the earth. As I neared my house the sirens began to wail, warning everyone to get inside and take cover. I found my family in the basement, which is where we all spent the next several minutes until the next series of sirens gave the signal that the danger had passed. As a native New Englander, the memories of that day remain with me; and those memories were in mind this past week as I watched the devastating impact of the powerful tornado that made its way through Oklahoma. Filled with Western spirit and resolve, the people of Oklahoma have already begun the hard work of putting their communities back together, but the frightening moments of that day and the challenges that lay ahead cannot be minimized; and we might wonder, where was God in all of this? Continue reading →

Easter memories & Summer spirituality

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Easter VII (Acts 16:16-40)  05/12/2013

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A couple of months ago I decided to dedicate some time to a hobby that has long interested me, and that hobby is the research of my family history. At first thought there was the anticipation of finding recognizable names from the past: colonial patriots, founding mothers and fathers of this country, and other people that streets and schools and parks are named after. However, once the real work of the research was underway I soon discovered that most of my time was spent sorting through old handwritten documents, visiting the town clerks office, and wandering through old cemeteries. I think the slow and methodical process of sifting through old records was the cause of my previous departures from this hobby in times past, but this time around something very different happened to me. I discovered that mixed in with all the hard, cold facts and figures of those old handwritten documents are the many, many fascinating stories of my family. Family research also provides the opportunity to discover information that has long since been hidden away; sometimes quite accidentally and sometimes quite on purpose. The more information I found, the more questions I had, so I gathered up all my information and set out to talk with as many family members as I thought would have even the slightest memory of the family stories of our past. Interestingly, those conversations began to shape a new understanding of the past and, remarkably, a new vision of how the past guides and informs our future. Thomas Merton, a 20th century monk and spiritual guide, once spoke of how memories must be more than simply facts from the past. Merton wrote, “Memory is not fully itself when it reaches only into the past. A memory that is not alive to the present does not ‘remember’ the here and now, does not ‘remember’ its true identity, is not memory at all. [One] who remembers nothing but facts and past events, and is never brought back into the present, is a victim of amnesia.”[i] Thomas Merton’s insight helps us to realize that memory becomes something far greater when we allow ourselves to move from the idea of simply recalling facts to the living process of remembering and sharing the sacred stories of our lives. Continue reading →