Faith Affirming

If anyone wondered if living in the life of Christ ever made any difference, the answer was plain to see in this past week.  Any range of reactions can be expected from a horrible murder/suicide of our colleague and friend.  A mentally troubled homeless man, every parish knows at least one of these wandering people.  A parish secretary and a co rector could be any of us.  A homeless man known to the parish with a gun kills the parish secretary, the co rector, and then himself forces us beyond the bounds of our ability of comprehend and cope. Any range of reactions can be expected as people feel the safety crumble beneath them.

For the people of St. Peter's, our neighboring congregation, St. John's and the people of the Diocese of Maryland, a range of reactions did not occur.  What occurred was an outpouring of love, anticipatory concern for anyone who might be effected, compassion even in the midst of anger, and an outpouring of offers to help.   We didn't get to that place of facing life by accident.  We got there through a life of Christ lived imperfectly yet faithfully every day.

Week of Reflection

After a week of reflection, why do you attend St. John's and why Jesus Christ?  Could you answer these questions if asked?   A Living Lord shapes our lives so that we can live as people fully alive in God.  A Living Lord shapes our lives so that we serve one another.  Its a both/and.  Jesus Christ about more than our personal spiritual growth and more than helping others.  Why Jesus?  Because when we are changed from the inside and serve the needs of the world through a life in Christ, then the Living Lord is alive for all.

As the week unfolds, more reflections on our question

Now we are at the fourth day of praying and reflection on our questions, "Why do you go to St. John's, and, Why do you believe in Jesus Christ/"  Is it time to put pen to paper, voice to voice, comment to comment?  I hope so.  Here is the continuation of my answer (first part was yesterday's post).

A Living Lord attends to each generation of the church.  He is made new for each person is a risen life, a life of fully living the joys and the pains of our humanity.  The community of disciples, to make the way of life known through his crucified and resurrected life known to others by many forms of witness.

Responses to our questions...

As promised in my sermon last Sunday, here is the beginning of my answer to the question, "why I believe in Jesus Christ."  I have decided to give the answer in stages as a way to encourage the conversation.  So far a few members of St. John's have emailed me with their answers. Here is the beginning of mine.

I believe in a Living Lord whose presence is available to us at all times and in all places.  The Living Christ is revealed to all in through the account in scripture, the sacraments of the church, prayer, and, the worshipping community of his followers.  These are the places, times, and  people through which I most powerfuly know and feel his presence.

Three minute elevator speech

On the Third Sunday of Easter the congregation was asked to respond to the following,

"If someone asked you this week, "Why do you go to church?" what would you say?

And

If someone asked you this week, "Why do you believe in Jesus Christ?" what would you say?

Pray, reflect and then write your answer.  We are encouraged to share our response with one another through this blog page, our parishes facebook page, email or written notes.

Healthy Congregations, Healthy Practices

As the season of Lent moves through its fifth week, preparation for the  Holy Week and the three day Great Paschal Festival, also known as the Triduum, reflection moves into sermon preparations and spiritual preparation.  The blogs, as you might have learned last week, will be less than daily.  After the Easter celebration I anticipate returning to daily posts.

For daily reflections I suggest the on line Lenten Devotions found at www.stjohnsec.org.

For today, Healthy Congregations Keep Promises.

The theological bedrock of keeping promises is God's Covenant with us to be steadfast in love, justice, and compassion.  The Episcopal Church celebrates, affirms, and continually guides our lives in God through our Baptismal Covenant.

In congregations the implicit promise of congregational life is that we are all God's people together. Infidelity to promises unravels the trust that builds community.  Small ways that relationships are viewed as preferential speak that not everyone is equal.  Questions about how money is used, or about how it is reported, say that what is proposed and what is implemented are different.  A tight leadership circle that controls erodes the congregation's commitment to the community.

Christine Pohl says, "When we are on the receiving end of failed promises but do not see the justification or excuse for them, we feel betrayed.   Betrayal is devastating to our trust and sense of justice-and sometimes to our faith."

Keeping the promise of congregational life means that we continually inspire and offer ways for all of God's people to participate in God's purposes.  This may come about through personal vocation, using one's gifts and talents, on behalf of the mission of the congregation,  or, being part of any number of activities that make alive that congregation's call from God.

Reflect today how you are part of your congregation's keeping promises.  Where do you need to grow?  Where does your congregation need to grow?

Healthy congregations - Healthy Practices

Gifts to us are the authors who over the last ten years have named and nurtured the aspects of our common life and lifted again and again why so many of us love the church.  Among them are Dorothy Bass, Craig Dykstra, David Wood, Nancy Ammerman, Eugene Peterson, and Christine Pohl.

Christine names four practices of healthy congregations that while they are important as individual spiritual disciplines they are magnifiers for the support healthy congregations.

To begin, a story.  Recently my husband and I traveled a long distance to see our college daughter compete in a sports event. After the day we took her out to dinner.  As we waited for the table she said,  "I am grateful that you and dad came today and are staying so long."  A simple thank you that amazed and comforted me.  She was also letting us know that her parents fill an important place in her life.

"Gratitude, Christine Pohl writes, "begins with paying attention, with noticing goodness, beauty and grace around us."

God's goodness, beauty and grace surrounds us all the time, but, do we notice?  Are we comforted by the goodness through which we make our way each day?  Do we let God know that God fills an important place in our lives?  Do we let the people around know us they are important to us?  For our communities of faith, do we name and notice the goodness that flows from the members each day?