Living on the Edge in the Spirit

Why are we here?

When it comes right down to it, I can think of many things I would rather be doing than going to church on a Sunday morning.  I can even think of a few things to be doing that would be spiritually enlightening and would not require church.  More and more, well meaning and spiritually sensitive people are choosing to avoid going to church or belonging to a church.  Why bother?  Isn't it true that one can practice religion by oneself?  After all, God hears prayers wherever we pray them and in whatever way we pray them.  No Book of Common Prayer is really necessary is it?  

The history of Christianity is such that the gathering began in people's homes.  The pattern of Judaism was for ritual to take place around the routine customs and habits of living.  There were prayers for wine and bread, prayers for lighting candles, prayers for remembering those loved ones who had died.  There was no special need to go to a building away from the home to pray.  Christianity emulated this pattern and after Christ's death and resurrection house churches became the place where the community gathered.  Upper rooms, large porticoes, and intimate living rooms became the places where people gathered to break bread and to share in fellowship and prayer.  Rituals were done with small groups of people and largely out of the public eye - especially because to confess one's Christianity could lead to trial and death at the hands of the Roman authorities.

So, why are we here today?  Why have parishes?  Why even go to church?

I believe that in a culture that increasingly values individuality and one in which technology has increased our ability to isolate from others; community is an absolutely essential experience to seek.  We need community.  We need each other.  God created humankind for community because it is in community that we most fully become ourselves.  The South African theology of Ubuntu describes this well.  Ubuntu means "I Am because You Are."  I exist and I am a person because I exist in community with other persons who help shape my humanity, my identity, and my personhood.  Coming to church offers us a possibility of gathering in a community of people who we would not necessarily choose, yet who are also striving to follow the way to a deeper relationship with God in Christ just as we are.  We become a part of a pilgrimmage - faithful people on a journey.

Church is important as a place of experiencing community because it is a place where we are also sent from to go back into our neighborhoods and lives and create more community.  The church does not exist for itself.  It exists for the sake of those who have not yet come to know or to love God.  As a community of faithful pilgrims, the members of the parish are sent into the world to bring the good news to others and to invite them to join in the community of faith.  It is a community whose mission is to bring community to others.  

The church also exists as a place to make God's love known.  Love is something that by its very nature is experienced in the interaction between persons.  The church community is the place where we live out the Great Commandment - Love the Lord your God with all your being, Love your neighbor, Love yourself.  This excerpt from a dear friend of mine from the church in which I grew up just came across my desk as I am writing this post and it says more than I ever could.  May it deepen your commitment to community.

Many of you know that I am dying. You might ask, “Aren’t we all?” Of course, but I know what will almost certainly cause my death and approximately when it will happen. The cause is a terminal disease called Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a condition that develops scar tissue in the lungs, gradually shutting off the supply of oxygen to the heart. Research is going on but no cure has yet been found. About 40,000 people die of IPF each year—about the same number of those who die of breast cancer. It caused the deaths of Marlon Brando and Robert Goulet.

 

The time from diagnosis to death varies, but the norm is 3-5 years; I was diagnosed in December 2006. Since then I have had the benefit of supplementary oxygen, the only relief available. In the last few weeks I have welcomed some symptomatic relief from a new medicine. However, it is stressful for me to breathe, even in taking a few steps. Simple tasks are difficult and will eventually become all but impossible.

So much for dying. But there is another dimension of life after death—the death of others, a concern right now for Liz my wife, our children, and grandchildren. Many of you know that Liz and I lost our spouses in their 30s, a son at 40, and a year later our daughter, 37, with our two grandchildren, 6 and 10. I believe that qualifies us to affirm the reality of that kind of life after death. In our losses we have been sustained by God through loving family memories, by our larger family and our friends, and by our church family at Redeemer. You may not even be aware of how valuable you are when you tell someone that you share their sorrow, send a note of sympathy or make a phone call to say, “I am praying for you.” You are a giver of life to those who are experiencing loss.

 

And what about life after my death? Our Christian conviction is that I will be in God’s presence because by faith I have been joined to God’s life in Christ. I would like to think it will be a reunion with our family members who got there first, but most surely I know that I will be privileged to worship God in ways I cannot even begin to imagine. There is much unknown about that part of our existence, and I am content with waiting to find out. Of course I would like to stay here, strong and healthy, but that is not what is going to happen.

So take heart. As I look forward to life after my death, I covet for you the experience of the here-and-now new life in Christ. When people you love die, you will certainly be given whatever it takes to live through it. And when God calls you to live in His presence, you will experience the greatest gift of all—eternal life.

 

Polity, Schmolity...

It does matter how a system is organized to do its work.  This was true in the early church and rudimentary procedures such as casting lots were used to determine which elder could replace the fallen disciple, Judas.  There are also plenty of examples within the New Testament of places where people were designated for leadership roles within the faith community.  By the 5th Century, there were some clearly defined roles for leadership: episcopacy, presbyterate, and diaconate.  However, I wonder if Jesus or the early church leaders could have conceived of a system that has become so top heavy as to raise the ordained to an almost god-like status in the eyes of the average church goer in any Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Anglican/Episcopal Church?  While hierarchy has its purpose, I sincerely wonder whether hierarchy in the Episcopal Church has become a significant stumbling block to mission and a substantial reason why the church is shrinking.

All too often I have been in churches where the prevailing attitude, even if it is unspoken, is that "Father or Mother knows best."  The priest is the one in whom the authority, responsibility, and expectations for the entire community are placed.  When those expectations are not met, many people will simply go to another church citing the reason that they did not like the priest and therefore had to leave.  Nevermind that the parish had been the place for so many life transitions to have occurred for that family.  Nevermind that the people of that parish had been the good friends of the departing family for so many years.  People in churches vote with their feet instead of doing the hard work of staying connected in relationship even amidst disagreement and conflict.

I am becoming more and more convinced that what we have here is a polity problem.  Maybe the more congregational churches among us have some wisdom to offer here.  The church is after all the people gathered and called out of the world to become a community of faith sent back into the world to usher in God's kingdom here on earth.  The church is a kind of laboratory where the people of God practice living right now as if God's kingdom has come on earth, when in all honesty the people know that God's kingdom has not yet fully come.  The church is called to be a community where people work together for a common purpose and where people are brought together by the love of God in Christ.  A parish should also be a place that is specific to its context yet broad enough to embrace its connectivity to parishes in quite different contexts.  

The problem with an overly hierarchical church is that the people of God invest too many expectations, too much authority, and not nearly enough accountability in its ordained leadership and this results in a way of avoiding responsibility for common life by simply parish-hopping when one does not like the ordained leadership.  I am much more Benedictine in my outlook.  I believe that order is necessary in as much as it serves the mission and purpose of the organization.  In the monastery, each monk has an important and unique role that is essential for the good of the whole community.  The smooth conduct of monastic life depends upon seeing the interworking of all within the community as being the priority.  It is the ministry of the Prior to facilitate that smooth interchange of life and ministry within the community.  It is not the job of the Prior to take on all the work, to pick up all the pieces that others drop, or to rule over the monks as a monarch.  It is the job of the Prior to lead by example, to provide a definitive interpretation of the rule of the community in matters of disagreement, and to be a spiritual leader in setting the tone for how to live a common life.  In this way, the polity of the monastic community serves its mission and purpose more than anything else.  A disgruntled monk does not leave the priory in search of another because he does not like the prior.

What would our churches be like if more people would make it a greater priority to stay connected with their sisters and brothers in Christ instead of searching for the "right pastor?"  What would it be like if more churches were places where individuals could learn to exercise their gifts of individuality within the context of the higher value of community?  What would it be like if church leaders were not placed on a pedestal over and above church members but instead were a part of the circular gathering of equals within the community?   

How about those Phillies!!! Celebrating in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection!

The Weekly Challenge - 9/26

The story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) is a provocative story that awakens our attention to those around us.  The chasm that was created between the rich man and Lazarus had less to do with the fact that the rich man ignored Lazarus' needs than it did with the fact that the rich man ignored Lazarus' personhood.  The rich man knew Lazarus by name and even had a relationship with him in which the rich man felt it appropriate to order Lazarus around.  I imagine that Lazarus had probably done some menial work in return for food or at least the right to beg by the gates to the man's mansion.  However, the rich man did not see Lazarus as a person.  He saw him as a worthless bum - nevermind that Lazarus had a history, a family, a job at one point, and most likely a half-way decent life.  The rich man could not comprehend a way of life in which he had to be responsible for caring for anything else besides his own needs and desires.  

The weekly challenge for us is to expand our vision of the world around us.  Where are the chasms that we perpetuate in our ways of living?  Who are the people in our midst who we are blind too or who we ignore as not being worthy of our attention and compassion?  On Sunday, I asked us to list on our 3x5 card one way in which we can reach out in love and service to someone near to us this week.  This awareness, this openness to neighbor and willingness to see the Godlieness of other humans connects us deeply with God's love and God's call to love the neighbor.  It also helps us to be intentional about living not for ourselves but for those who have not yet come to know and to love God in Christ.  Our health as a parish depends on our ability to look outward and connect with those who are searching for a different way.

For me, the challenge this week is to approach the homeless woman who I often see at the Sears Building at Roosevelt Mall and engage her in a conversation.  I want to know her name and whatever else she wants to tell me about her story.  I want to pray for her by name and include her hopes and desires in my personal prayers.  I pass by her all too often without wanting to stop and recognize her humanity and the image of God within her.  I am challenged to slow down, open my eyes, and meet this neighbor.

What will your challenge be? 

What Do I Mean by Death?

The recent post entitled, "Can Our Church Live?" first appeared in the inaugural edition of the All Saints Sentinel a newsletter to friends and family of All Saints Church.  I wrote it in order to get people thinking and to look honestly at what is necessary in order to make a transition from one way of life to another.  There are some folks who have read the article and interpreted it to mean that they must die or that the parish of All Saints must close in order to have new life again.  Some have even been personally offended and replied that they are not afraid of death.  One member of the parish has even claimed that this article drove the member to leave the parish.  

I should not be surprised by such strong reactions.  Talking about death is a touchy subject.  Nevertheless, as a pastor it is one of the things I often do with families and with those who are dying.  Death is real, certain, and inevitable.  This is true not just in the physical sense of what happens to our mortal bodies, but also in the way in which our organizations and systems have a life cycle.  As a Christian, however, death is not something that need be feared.  The reality of our faith is that God has transformed death once and for all from a final ending to a transition place.  Death is a process by which we transition from one life to another.  If we fully embrace the theology of the resurrection, we know that death is a passageway to eternal life.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that all who believe in him should not perish but have life everlasting."  (John 3:16)  

I did not intend to say that individuals in this parish must die in order for us to move on.  I also did not intend to say that All Saints Parish must close and die in order that we then develop a new congregation in its place.  For those who heard those messages, I apologize and hope you will consider that I did not wish to communicate that message.  However, what did I mean when I said that we must die in order to live?

The reality is that all change brings about transition.  Transition, according to William Bridges, is "psychological: a three phase process that people go through as they internalize and come to terms with the details of the new situation which change brings about."  (William Bridges, Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, Cambridge, MA: DeCapo Press, 2003)  The first phase involves endings, death, and letting go.  It is the phase where we acknowledge that old ways have to end and our old identity is no longer real.  This is what I mean by death.  For us at All Saints Parish, it means that we have to let go of ways of functioning that no longer work.  It also means that we have to let go of the image of ourselves that no longer matches the reality of who we are.  For example, for many years our previous pastor spent great amounts of his personal time gardening both around the rectory and around the church.  This was his passion and perhaps his way of releasing his own personal stress.  It was his choice to use his time in this way.  However, over the years many folks developed an expectation that the pastor would always make sure the church grounds were clean and pretty.  When the former pastor retired and moved away, there was no one to tend to the grounds and gardens.  For months the Vestry had to determine how the care of gardens was going to continue.  Once a new pastor was called, there was an expectation that she/he would take on the role of gardening around the rectory and the church grounds.  The expectation was that this would be done in addition to the normal duties of pastoral ministry and would be done on the pastor's personal time.  However, this expectation was not voiced by the Vestry nor was it included in a Letter of Agreement with the new pastor.  It was assumed that what had always been the case would continue.  

The reality is that the change that comes with a new pastor/leader means that old ways of doing things cannot be guaranteed nor assumed to continue.  Each pastor will bring with her/him a unique set of gifts, passions, and skills to serve the needs of the parish.  Change will occur when new leadership comes in any organization.  With that change comes the need to make a transition.  When I said that we must die to the "we have always done it this way" idea, I meant that we as a parish need to acknowledge the things that are no longer the way they once were because of the changes that we experience both in leadership and in membership.  

The role of the pastor does not include gardening.  So, part of letting go means that we recognize and celebrate the extraordinary gifts of horticultural care that Pastor X offered the parish, and we plan ways to ensure that our horticultural needs are met in another way now that Pastor Y is serving the congregation.  We come together and find ways to ensure that the necessary task is accomplished in a way that meets our needs but also takes seriously our resources as a community.  Pastor Y may like gardening, but Pastor Y may not have the leisure time to garden because Pastor Y may have different family commitments or may be engaged in different activities that impact the parish community.  

Transition involves letting go.  Letting go means that we experience loss.  Death brings about an experience of loss.  This is real, this is normal.  It is necessary for every organization to understand and work through the process of experiencing loss every time a transition takes place as the result of change.  All you have to do is look at Washington, DC after each time a new president is elected.  You may never see as many moving vans gathered in one place as you do when there is a change in presidential leadership in DC.  Imagine for a moment how much loss is experienced by those families, by the local businesses who have developed relationships with those public servants, and by those public servants themselves when they have to pick up their lives and move as a result of the change of leadership.  This is normal.

So for us at All Saints, change is already taking place.  We are now in a time of transition.  We are in Phase 1 - Letting go, death, ending.  We will feel loss and we will have various reactions to that loss.  Some of our members will find it more than they can manage and will choose to walk a different path.  This is normal.  We will miss them and we will reassure them that our welcome remains for them if they choose to return.  This is what Jesus did.  We, too, must be willing to acknowledge and experience the stages of grief that may accompany loss.

However, the promise for those who believe in the power of the resurrection is that new life is waiting to take hold.  This loss enables us to move forward into the new possibilities that are awaiting us.  This letting go enables us to be ready to take hold of what God may invite us to embrace in the future.  A new church community is coming to All Saints.  The Asian Church of Philadelphia will soon join us and share in ministering from our space.  They bring with them a wealth of technical equipment that will enable contemporary media filled worship.  The Asian Church will welcome us to share their equipment in our mission to reach those in the name of Christ.  They will offer us the use of computers, projectors, audio equipment, and other technology that our younger families and youth are accustomed to using.  The arrival of this new church will enable us to share resources that might assist us in reaching a whole new group of people in our community and bring them into our parish family.  What a wonderful opportunity to help us meet our mission goal of reaching out to youth and young families!  What a blessing we are receiving!  So, while you may soon see drums in church, you may also be able to see them as a tool which All Saints can use to help grow our parish.  We will be working to develop a new worship opportunity - not replace what you are used to on Sunday mornings.  

My dear friends, Jesus invites us to not fear death.  I invite us to see death as a natural part of life and a healthy part of the process of experiencing change.  Death and life go hand in hand.  My prayer is that you will offer up your losses at the altar of the Lord and let Jesus carry them away.  Then, be fed with the Food of Life and renew your commitment to moving forward in faith and reaching out to embrace God's unknown future for us.     

Can Our Church Live?

This is a question on the minds of more than a few of us at All Saints Church.  It is also the title of an Alban Institute Publication by Episcopal Priest, Alice Mann, who has spent a number of years helping congregations in the redevelopment process.  In this book, she even uses as a case in point a parish in our deanery located at Roosevelt Boulevard and Front Street – St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Olney.  The question is one that faces many churches in mainline Protestantism throughout our country.  Will our church die, or can our church live?  However, I think the real question is the one that Mike Regele asks in his book, Death of the Church.  It is, “What choice will the Church make?  Will it die as a result of its resistance to change, or will it die in order to live?”  Maybe we are afraid of the wrong things at All Saints.  Many of us are afraid that our church is dying.  Many of us see only the loss – the drop in attendance, pledging, participation, and in the number of children.  We focus on the signs of death and say that surely the end to All Saints as we know it is coming.  The truth is that All Saints must die as a parish in order that it have any hopes of living again.  The reality is that the Paschal Mystery reveals to us that all of life is a process of death and resurrection.  In this approaching season of Autumn, we see the signs of the coming death of leaves and trees.  Yet, we do not run around shrieking and screaming that the world is going to end because it is getting colder, the days shorter, and leaves falling from the sky.  We know that this death of vegetation is necessary in order that new life will emerge and grow in the Spring.  So too was Jesus’ death on the cross necessary in order that God might save us through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  The reality of our life cycle as a congregation is that we must die – die to old ways of doing things, die to an identity that is now past, die to thinking that we matter more than those who are waiting to discover All Saints, Rhawnhurst.  If we are going to live, we must let go of all that holds us captive in the chains of death.  What are the things we are unwilling to let go of in order to follow our mission and our vision?  It is those things that we must die to – let go of – in order that we might live.  Alice Mann invites us to ask three major formational questions as the place to start in wondering, “Can our Church live?”  They are, “Who are we?  What are we here for?  Who is our neighbor?”

In the weeks ahead, I pray that we will ask these questions and spend time talking about them wherever we may be.  We can live only if we are willing to die to those attitudes that hold us back.  We must let go of “but we have always done it this way,” and embrace instead, “let us try this new thing and see how God is at work among us…”  My dear friends, are you ready to reach for the new life that is waiting for us if only we will risk enough to be willing to die first?  Now is the time to die in order to live again!