Holidays

New Friends!

The Wabash River continues to rise and flood the field behind my house. It is a very pastoral scene. The geese above are our most recent visitors. There are fish jumping and snakes prowling. So far everyone is doing well at keeping good boundaries! Today, between thunderstorms and rain, I worked cleaning up the yard. I pulled overgrown ivy, pruned the roses and cleaned the patio and outdoor furniture. I enjoyed making the yard look a bit tidier.

I think holidays are hard without family around. I love my parishioners - they are wonderful, fun people. They have expectations about who I am as their priest...always, even on holidays! I'm spending this Memorial Day at home, however, not because I'm avoiding my parishioners; I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow and they don't make hamburgers and chips in a clear liquid form!! I wish!!

This past Sunday was the Sunday after Ascension. "God has gone up with a shout..." These are the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 47 and they are a good description of Jesus' Ascension. We are between Jesus' Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit. It's an in between time of the year. Young people graduating from college are between school and jobs; those graduating from high school are "in between" waiting for the next thing to happen; and we are all waiting for summer to appear with its full blast of heat. Waiting is hard work. We have to slow down and figure things out as we wait. I wish slowing down came easier or more naturally. We do things so fast and expect instant results. The disciples must have wondered how it would all work without Jesus there with them. I wonder if they were close to giving up just as the Spirit filled them at Pentecost. I do still believe that waiting is important and that even when I get to the end of my rope I will be filled, but waiting is never easy. Being in between jobs or cars or houses or even in between projects is hard work. Even being in between sermons from one Sunday to the next has its tensions with plenty of "end of the rope" moments. Trusting God to "show up" is really at the heart of our faith....

The Fifth and Sixth Sundays of Easter

Another Project

Last week I was going through my clothes to get some ready to go to Goodwill and I found an old pair of pajamas made of the lovely material above. After throwing them in the box a couple of times and taking them out - I decided to keep them. I took them apart and cut the fabric into 4 by 4 squares. It was fun to hand stitch the design on the square and I like the way it looks. I'm not sure what I will do with the squares when I finish but it will be fun to do them.

This is the Fifth Sunday of the Easter season. Last week Jesus proclaimed himself as the Good Shepherd and this week Jesus is the "true vine." This would be a common visual for the people of Palestine. In fact all through the Old Testament the people of Israel are referred to as the vine. Israel continues to produce wild grapes and now in this passage Jesus tells us that he is the true vine and we are the branches which will bear the fruit of good works. Being a branch is hard work. Staying connected to the vine is hard work and having all those other branches around me is not easy either.

May 15, 2009 - I'm not sure what happened to the post I started above. It's likely that I got involved in another project and forgot to finish it. The days slip by so quickly and I continue to find that there are not enough hours in each day. I worked on the piece below this morning and I think it is finished. I have been working on it for a couple of weeks. The photo does not do justice to the layers of newspaper, and oriental paper under the angel. I have loved this angel since I cut it off of a card someone sent me (never throw anything away!). I decided to give the angel a home. This is another of my "good news" series.

New Harmony had an arts festival two weekends ago and although it was rainy and cool it was well attended. The artists had their booths set up on a wonderful grassy space on Main Street. Live music was provided by a number of New Harmony's talented folks. On Sunday after church I took my Katie over to have one of our local artists (and member of St. Stephen's) do her portrait. Jill Baker is such a fine artist. Jill has been in New Harmony for about 3 years. This is the portrait of Katie that Jill did:

Katie Scarlett O'Hara Honaker

For those of you who don't know Katie, she is my 11 year old golden retriever. I adopted her when she was 1 year old and she came with the name Katie Scarlett O'Hara. Her brother's name was Casey Rhett Butler! Katie is a dear companion along the way of life and I am thrilled to have his portrait of her.

I am preaching about loving one another on this coming Sunday. The title of my sermon is "Loving One Another 101." I wanted to title it "Loving One Another for Dummies" but was afraid I would offend folks. In truth we are all "dummies" when it comes to loving each other. I find my own heart betrays me all the time in this task. I judge the motives of others when I have no right to do so. Last week's epistle (1 John 4:7-21) has for me one of the most evocative verses in scripture: "We love because he (God) first loved us." (vs 19) I don't love my brother or sister because they are lovable... I don't love my parishioners because they love me... I don't even love my family because they are my family... I love others because I have been loved by One who knows me through and through (and still loves me). If God can love me then I can love others. It seems like such a no-brainer, but I struggle so against this call to love...

New Harmony Iris

The Irises have been spectacular this year in New Harmony. My backyard is literally "abloom" with irises and roses. It must be the enormous amounts of rain that we have had. I only wish we could figure out how to have flowers in abundance without the abundant mosquitoes...

Easter IV - Good Shepherd and Other Sheep

Honoring Bob Gregg

This week I drove down to Harrisburg, Illinois to be present when Southeastern Illinois College dedicated their newly renovated Technology building to one of St. Stephen's parishioners, Robert Gregg. Bob and his family (Rennie, his wife is in the wheelchair on the right side of the painting) were there to celebrate with him. It was a lovely and touching program. Bob's achievements at SIC go a long way in providing technical education for people of all ages. I sat next to the retired dean of the nursing program at SIC and she told me that there were only 2 technical programs at SIC when Bob came and when he retired they had 16+ technical programs.

Bob and Rennie came to St. Stephen's (they drive an hour to get there) in 2003. They had been members before when they lived just across the Wabash in Crossville, Ill. Their children were small then and they eventually moved to Harrisburg where they helped start an Episcopal Church - St. Stephen's! But as we all know in 2003 the Episcopal Church changed forever. We began to recognize the gifts for ministry that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters have. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, was consecrated Bishop of New Hampshire. Bob and Rennie found themselves in an awkward place, living in the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield under the rigidly conservative leadership of Bishop Beckwith. They came home to us at New Harmony and brought with them a wonderful woman named Patty Sayers. Patty was diagnosed just a year later with cancer and we were given the privilege of taking care of her over the last year of her life. Bob and Rennie continue to enrich our lives and I am so grateful for their presence among us.

The gospel this week is from John 10 - Jesus says, "I am the Good Shepherd..." He talks about laying down his life for the sheep - he is the Shepherd who never leaves us, never runs away no matter how fierce the wolves are; nor does he walk away when we are behaving like sheep - getting into trouble and being stubborn. Jesus does not give up on us. He is good. I love the picture from "The Chronicles of Narnia" when Lucy and the others have just arrived at the Beaver's house after running from the White Witch. The Beavers begin to talk about Aslan, who is a lion; and is the Christ figure created by C.S. Lewis. The more they talk about him the more frightened the children become. Finally, Lucy tells Mr. Beaver that she would be very afraid to meet a lion. And Mr. Beaver affirms her fear telling her that of course she would be afraid - if she were not she would be silly! Then, says a confused Lucy, "Is he safe?" "Safe," says Mr. Beaver, "No, he's not safe but he's good, I tell you. He's good." It is not safe to encounter the Good Shepherd. We don't know where he will lead us, or the ways he will change our lives; but as Mr. Beaver says, "He's good." He does not give up on us or run away in times of trouble.

This week the mother of one of our parishioners died. She was 95 and such a lovely woman. She had the countenance of a person who is at peace with her life. No matter if she was staying in the Nursing Home recovering from an illness or at her daughter's home with her dedicated caregivers, she was at home in herself. She will go home to Kansas to be buried but on Wednesday morning we gathered at the funeral home for a service honoring her life. It was an incredible service. There were about 40 people there who shared so many lovely things about the woman we were remembering, but also about our own mothers. Losing a parent is like losing an anchor. The feeling of loss is always there. We survive and move on but there is a place of longing in us... sometimes it is a longing for what we wished we had done; and sometimes it is a longing for what we did not receive from that person. Either way we still have to move forward with the pieces of what we have. Making a picture we can live with from those pieces is often challenging and may take us the rest of our lives to accomplish.

It's still spring here although the weather is very funky... we may all grow mildewed after the next several many days of rain that are predicted! Something about leftover April showers...

Hanging out with Jesus

If you look closely at the picture above, directly under Jesus' right arm, you will see the small face of my cat Pumpkin. She is technically an "indoor cat" but goes out in the backyard each morning for a little fresh air. I caught her hanging out with Jesus one morning last week. Perhaps I have underestimated Pumpkin's spiritual life. She is such a strange little creature. I didn't grow up with cats and have always avoided them as pets. When I lived in the church rectory here in New Harmony I was invaded with mice one fall. I did not like killing the nasty little creatures but I didn't want to live with them either. A parishioner found Pumpkin, who was a tiny kitten, in a piece of cardboard under a truck. He brought her to me and the mice fled. She grew up hissing at everything that moved and more specifically my two golden retrievers. I finally put a cat door in the utility room door so she could have her privacy and we all could have peace. After we moved into this house two years ago, she decided she loved Katie and Sugar. Somehow I don't find it strange that they did not feel equally "warm" towards her. Sugar just ignored her, but Katie tolerates her. Now that Suggy is gone, Pumpkin has Katie all to her self.



I'm starting a new series of collage cards called "Good News." When I was in Greenville, SC visiting my friend Jack Peyrouse recently I went to their Ten Thousand Villages store. (http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/) It is a fair trade store and they have beautiful things from all over the world. I bought a roll of paper, the light blue above, which has pieces of old newspaper imbedded in its fibers. So I am combining this paper with newspaper to do some collage crosses and trees like the one above and this one:

I'm just in the beginning stages with this and am having a lot of fun. But now it's time to go do the other work I love to do...

I can go anywhere...

This morning I sat at my kitchen table which has the best view in New Harmony! I listened to the kitchen clock tick a metronome of prayer – Lord Jesus…Lord Jesus…Jesus Christ…God’s Son…Have mercy…Have mercy…On me… as I watched the wind run in ripples across the water. The Wabash River is shooting out a lake from its overflowing shores. An island of green rests between me and the wild running river. The sunlight, just a few hours old, plays with the newly opening plants and from the middle of my iris and rose bushes Jesus oversees the whole process. I love this incredible view of the world because it reminds me how small I am.

Last week I had the gracious gift of retreat with friends. Resting from Holy Week and Easter’s intensity I traveled to St. Mary’s Retreat Center in Sewanee, Tennessee. Mary Mac Shields and Ruth Gillis met me there and we explored the mountains visiting all our favorite haunts and alternating between rest and fun. If laughter is indeed the best medicine then we should be healed from head to toe. Ruth brought us both copies of Barbara Brown Taylor’s new book:

I have just finished the second chapter of this incredibly compelling book. Taylor is seeking to help us find an everyday spirituality that looks for God in “more” than the usual places. It is a compelling book, so well written and lovely to read. On one of our trips last week “off the mountain” Mary Mac and I noticed Ruth who had a book tucked in her pocketbook. We teased her a bit and she said, “If I have a book, I can go anywhere!” This is a quote for all of us who love to read!

Yesterday I finally got to the orthopedic doctor with my leg which has been causing me pain. I supposed it was something to do with the Achilles tendon. After x-rays and evaluation it was decided that it is a tendonitis which responds only to rest. So I am in a boot which allows the tendon to rest by avoiding stretching. Actually it feels quite good and is wonderful to have this kind of relief after limping along for a couple of months hoping it would get better on its own. I feel a little off balance with the boot but I know this too will pass.

Post Easter

Just when I think that going through a three year lectionary cycle of Sunday lessons doesn't provide much creativity, I get surprised. Every third year on the second Sunday of Easter we hear the story of Thomas the twin who doubts Jesus' resurrection until he is able to see the resurrected Jesus for himself. The disciples are hiding in a room fearing for their lives. In their minds, I'm sure, is the fear that the Jewish authorities would be coming to get them. Being a friend of Jesus is risky business.

These disciples characterize for me the dilemma of many Christians today. Whether we grew up in a home that encouraged faith or not most of us have come into the church because we have known some spiritual experience, some spiritual longing that has motivated us to want to know more. Something has happened in our life that opened our heart to God. Hoping to find more of God in the church we risk walking into the doors of a church and becoming part of a community of other people seeking God. As in everything the more we risk the more vulnerable we become to hurt. Religion, organized religion, is often not a safe place. We get hurt in church, we experience loss, and we get frustrated with each other because we have human failings. Being a friend of Jesus is risky business. Sometimes we lock ourselves away like those first disciples because we are afraid. We are afraid that our risk will prove too expensive, too painful.

But the risen Christ came among the disciples in the homeliness and everydayness of ordinary tasks, shared walks in creation and meals. And he is still present to us in the everydayness. He still says: see my hands and feet. Don’t divert your eyes from my wounds out of politeness or disgust. Look at them. Being my friend means taking a risk. Remember the incarnation. I came among you first in human flesh; human flesh just like yours. Human flesh just like that of your neighbor - flesh that can be hungry and fed; flesh that can be hurt and even killed. Flesh that can embody God’s love.

It was realizing this presence of Jesus in the everyday activities of life that allowed the disciples to move foward and continue the work that Jesus called them to do. And it is this presence of Jesus in our lives that allows us to continue taking the risks of being Jesus' friend.

Happy Easter

It has been a while since I posted anything here but I haven't given up. Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Greenville, South Carolina to speak at a friend's church on Reconciliation. Jack and Jane Peyrouse and their children, Jane, Jay and Marcia have been friends since my days as the Associate Rector at Holy Trinity in Fayetteville, NC. Jane died two years ago - way too soon for those of us who loved her. Jack moves along busily, involved in so many things at his church and in the theater community in Greenville as well as the lives of his children and grandchildren. A wonderful treat while in Greenville was to see Jack co-starring in a production of "Love Letters." The play by A. R. Gurney chronicles the letters written by two people from second grade to late adulthood. It was wonderful to see Jack perform again. The play is interesting and thought provoking both for the story it tells and the story left untold. Gurney left openings for us to add our personal interpretation of the story and perhaps to weave our own stories into the love letters!

A glorious and blessed Easter awaits us tomorrow. I welcome the good news of the resurrection into the darkness of our current world. I ponder the causes of so much illness and death in this small community of New Harmony. I wonder if the depression in our economy, the losses which people have experienced, have pushed some beyond their capacity to hope. It is the dilemma of our age which causes us to place our hope in "things." When the "things of life" begin to fall out from under us there must be something greater to hold on to. What could be greater than the knowledge that God has come to us in his Son Jesus and that he takes away death's sting. This is good news - great news indeed.

Seven Stanzas of Easter

John Updike

Make no mistake:

if He rose at all

it was as His body;

if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules

reknit, the amino acids rekindle,

the Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers,

each soft Spring recurrent;

it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled

eyes of the eleven apostles;

it was as His flesh: ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes,

the same valved heart

that–pierced–died, withered, paused, and then

regathered out of enduring Might

new strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,

analogy, sidestepping, transcendence;

making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the

faded credulity of earlier ages:

let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mâché,

not a stone in a story,

but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow

grinding of time will eclipse for each of us

the wide light of day.

And if we will have an angel at the tomb,

make it a real angel,

weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair,

opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen

spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,

for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,

lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are

embarrassed by the miracle,

and crushed by remonstrance

Have a blessed and joy-filled Easter!