Tag Archives: community

Lenten Book Study – Encountering the Trinity of God: Second Sunday in Lent

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If you were asked to assemble a list of “the mysteries of faith,” I believe most people would have a rather long list; and the mystery of “God the Trinity” would be pretty high on most people’s list. The Christian idea of a trinitarian God: “One in Three and Three in One” is an idea that often sits just beyond the grasp of most people’s minds…at least most people I know. The trinitarian understanding of God is a belief that distinguishes the Christian faith tradition from many others; and is a mystery that helps describe some of the most intimate and important characteristics of God’s eternal love. This is the mystery that Mark McIntosh takes up in this week’s chapter of his book, Mysteries of Faith. The mystery of discovering God in our daily lives is often revealed to us as we reflect on the deepest desires of our spirits…it is there we often find resonance with the Spirit of God. McIntosh writes, “The beauty and power we long to possess are only the whispers of One who cannot be possessed but who lives by giving all away freely in love.” The beauty we discover in life is often the reflection of the true and everlasting beauty of God’s love.

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Celebrating a wonderful life: God’s grace in everyday life

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This morning we gathered to celebrate the life of a wonderful lady, taken from us far too soon. The many gifts and gracious moments of her life serve as a reminder to us that the many miracle of God’s grace are found in the everyday miracles of our common life together. The sermon delivered at her service of Christian Burial is below:

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Book Study: Part III – Zealot: Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth

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Our book study of Reza Aslan’s “Zealot: Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth” concludes with Part III of III. First, I want to say that I REALLY wanted to like this book…I really did! Unlike many other books that I am requested to read as I join others’ book studies, I had the freedom to pick any book I wanted; I selected this book because I had heard some interesting and provocative ideas were contained therein. And there are certainly provocative ideas, just none that I can take too seriously or somehow internalize and thoughtfully create an inflection point on my journey of faith and spirituality. I will be the first one to say I enjoyed many aspects of Dan Brown’s books, but he never seemed to present his narrative as anything other than historical fiction. If Aslan is going for historical fiction…I take everything back; if he believes he is a serious, scholarly writer, well, that’s a different matter altogether. Continue reading →

Book Study: Part II – Zealot: Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth

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Our book study of Reza Aslan’s “Zealot: Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth” continues with Part II of III. In this middle section of Aslan’s book, we hear the details of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and learn Aslan’s insights to the ministry of Jesus and the reasons for his ministry, both as Aslan proposes Jesus understood his ministry and how his followers understood the meaning of Jesus’ ministry and later massaged this meaning to fit their evangelical purposes. Aslan’s claims are always provocative, sometimes compelling, and often based on personal opinion, without the necessity of scholarly research. Continue reading →

Witnessing God’s love in Community

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Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 18:15-20)  9/07/2014

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These last few days there has been a lot going on in the world, both near and far; the news media would say, “it surely hasn’t been a slow news day!” There has been continued unrest in the Middle East, with continuing reports of extremist activity; there has extreme weather, with tornadoes as close as Worcester; and of course, there is the busy time of packing up the summer vacation period and heading back to school. As you might imagine, even with all the activity going on, I cannot help but be preoccupied with the idea of community. Yes, that’s right, the change of communities and the community of St. Francis in particular. And as I have considered this topic, I have wondered…how is it that we are “community” in the Christian sense? Some characteristics of community are obvious, while some are not so obvious. The obvious ones might be easy to pick out: we gather in the same building for worship and meetings, we support the same ministries, and hopefully we are setting our future in the same direction. The “not so obvious” ones may be a bit harder to plainly see: we faithfully pray for each other, our lives are transformed by the presence of others, and our communal presence transforms our broader community and the world in grace filled ways. And some characteristics of community can be just plain hard to do, like forgiveness and open-hearted conversation. These last characteristics, these challenging characteristics are the ones on the mind of Jesus today in our Gospel lesson. Continue reading →

New birth and a living hope – transformed by Christ

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Second Sunday of Easter (1 Peter 1:3-9)  4/27/2014

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Last week I mentioned the important meaning of this year’s Boston Marathon, especially in light of the tragic events of last year’s race. The Boston Marathon is significant in many ways for those who run the race. There is, first and foremost, hundreds of hours of training…an act of dedication on the part of the runner. Although I have never run a full marathon, I have spent a few months training with friends who have run marathons and I can attest to the commitment they put forth. After countless hours of training and preparation, the day of the big race finally arrives. This year’s Boston Marathon included more than 35 thousand runners (the second most in the race’s history) and was blessed with beautiful weather! Cheering fans lined the streets of the 26.2 mile course and provided excitement and support to all those who pass by. As the moments passed by and after the elite runners quickly ran past, the cheering fans remained to support the competitors who run because they love it; for many runners, the Boston Marathon is a very special moment in their lives. This year, there was a man from Massachusetts who was running in the race and he had nearly reached the 26 mile point, just a few hundred yards from the finish line…and he found that he had run out of energy, the muscles in his legs giving up on him. It is not uncommon to see runners taking a rest during the race, but with just a short distance remaining this man collapsed to his knees, unable to move. I can imagine his lonely agony, surrounded by thousands of people, yet feeling alone in the moment as he slumped to his knees unable to move. Runners continued to pass by, focused on that line just ahead, but there was one man from Illinois who did something surprisingly different – he stopped and supported the slumping man by lifting him under his arm. And then another man from Texas stopped to support the other arm. As the three runners moved slowly forward, unable to sustain their forward movement, two additional runners stopped as well, a man from Minnesota and a woman from Seattle. The group moved toward the finish line, a weary man supported by four exhausted runners: time didn’t matter, the rules of the race that prohibited assisting others didn’t matter, nothing mattered except helping each other, and in helping each other, everyone was dramatically transformed.[i] Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →