Lesson #16 - GOING PLACES, OR NOT

Lesson #16 - GOING PLACES, OR NOT (Continuing reflections on Moses and the Israelites and our St. Paul's community)

For the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking hard about the answer to this question, “How do I know for sure that I’m doing the right thing, that I’m obeying God?” I’ve been wondering about that because as I reflect on the story of Moses and the Israelites, I am shocked and puzzled by the harsh reality of their lives: they wandered in the desert for 40 years.

Ugh. Wandering sounds a lot like being lost. Desert sounds barren, lonely, harsh, uncomfortable. 40 years sounds like a long, long time. It’s all the more dismaying when the facts are laid out plain: the desert was a little spit of land that could be walked across in 11 days.

The Israelites were in the desert more than 14,000 days. As a post on “Theology Web” explains: If the Israelites had traveled at the rate of only 1 mile per day for 5 days a week, they could have traveled from Egypt to China and back in 40 years and still had time for the occasional battle or other diversion.

So what were those Israelites doing all that time? Probably they were stationary for large chunks of time. Or they were going in circles, making camp at places where there was water, staying until food for their livestock ran out, and then moving on.

Scripture tells us that God kept them in the desert on purpose because of their disobedience and lack of faith. How? Did he mess with their ancient GPS coordinates by rearranging the stars they guided themselves by? Did he allow the flu bug to circulate through the camp so regularly that they had to keep resting and waiting for people to get better? Did he stir the fires of resentment and argument, keeping them at odds with the other nomadic tribes, who prevented them from taking direct routes across the desert?

But perhaps the more important question this: How do we avoid getting stuck in the desert? The Israelites certainly didn’t set out to be disobedient. We don’t set out to be disobedient. But somehow we, too, find ourselves wandering – sometimes for years – with our hearts aching for something more, something better, but not quite finding it. Existing, but not really living.

As a leader, of course, I can’t help worrying that it was at least partially Moses’ fault. Was he not showing them the way? Was something awry with his own internal compass? Certainly at one point, God told Moses he would be personally punished for not trusting in him (the water incident in Numbers 20, when the people said they were dying of thirst and Moses complained at God, too, fearing he wouldn’t provide for them).

Radical trust is what God requires of us. That’s hard. But I don’t want us all to be wandering the desert for 40 years, so I think I/we should do our best.

So now to tackle the next question: what does radical trust look like?

Faithfully,
Janet+

A student's prayer

Dear Teens at St. Paul's -

Of all the back-to-school prayers I've read over the past weeks, the following is my favorite. Because high school was a really tough time for me, I have an especially soft heart for you junior high and high school students. You face huge struggles and pressures. For all of you teens out there restlessly heading to bed this evening wondering what this year will bring, hoping for new good things, this one's for you!!!!
Faithfully,
Rev.Janet+

Lord, at school, I see athletes and cheerleaders who seem to have it all together. I see the latest fashions on the coolest kids. I see cars in the parking lot that make me jealous. But then I think about a world I don't really see - an invisible world. It's the world where a lonely freshman is important. It's a world where a genuine smile means so much more than an expensive car. It's a world where the kid in the wheelchair is strong and powerful. It's a world that values honesty and love more than cool and popular stuff. It's a world where I'd discover that even the cool kids struggle and feel insecure sometimes. Help me catch a small glimpse of this invisible world this year. If I do, I just might value what you value, love what you love and want what you want. And I think that might just be a very good thing. Amen.

Copyright © 2004 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.

It's been a whole month . . .

. . . since I posted on this blog. Wow. The time has flown! I don't want to bore you with the details of my life, but I do think you deserve to know where I've been. Since I started this blogging stuff a couple of years ago, I've never had such an extended break in my writing.

As I mentioned in the July 30 post, my grandmother (my mother's mother) passed away after a long decline of health over the past couple of years. I spent the last day of July and the first few days of August in Denver, mourning her loss and attending her memorial and burial services.

Then I returned home for a few days and plopped down into the rauckus fun of Vacation Bible School. "FEAR NOT" was the theme - which was a good one for me personally, with the special guest appearance by the bat, the amazingly wild number of kids and teens participating, and the fierce piles of paperwork (at work) and laundry (at home) I faced returning from one trip and heading off for another.

On August 10th, my family and I left for a two-week vacation in Oregon and Washington, visiting family and friends. We were in places so remote that there was no internet connection and almost no cell phone connection. We played on the beach, ate WAY too much ice cream, and went to a carnival and real live rodeo (we even had a long conversation with the rodeo queen - she told us the secret of how she gets her hat to stay on when she's riding fast!).

We arrived home in the middle of the night on Tuesday night, and since then have been turning our attentions to getting things in order - full steam ahead!

It's been SO good to be home - to work out on my own yoga mat and to eat vegetables from our own garden and to see familiar faces at the grocery store and community center. I missed you all.

Well, now . . . back to work!
Faithfully,
Janet+

Parish Book Group Postponed

Dear Friends in Christ -
Due to my grandmother's funeral, I will be unable to host book group this Friday, July 31st. I invite you to come to the Rectory on Friday, September 4th, at 7:00 p.m., instead. We'll discuss the book we've read - The Last Lecture. In the mean time, if you haven't seen the lecture, I invite you to do that in preparation for our discussion.
Faithfully,
Janet+

My Grandmother

Dear Friends in Christ -

My grandmother, Audrey May Atherton Knight, passed away at home on Tuesday morning this week. My Grandma Audrey, my mother's mother, meant a great deal to me. She was a very faithful, lovely woman who had a deep appreciation for simple pleasures. Family was the most important thing to her, so being with us to - and through - the end was her fondest wish. My mother, Peggy, bravely saw her through her final difficult weeks. I'm so proud of my mom for having the strength and courage to tend her dying mother.

My grandmother is survived by her husband of 70 years, Charles; her sister, Leona; three children, eight grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren.

I'll be travelling to her memorial service and burial. As I go, I want you to know how much I appreciate your prayers and care. Thank you for giving me this time to grieve and to discover anew the power of resurrection.

Faithfully yours,
Janet+

Follow-up

Dear Friends in Christ -

For the past few weeks, we've been praying together (on Sundays and at other times) for the work of General Convention, our church's tri-ennial decision-making gathering. When we pray for something, it's always nice to hear what happens in relationship to our prayers. Always, when we pray, things happen - in the situation itself and in our hearts, - sometimes what we expect and sometimes something unexpected. With big happenings like General Convention, it also takes a while to unfurl the meaning, and to live into the "results", of the event.

Following is a letter to all of us from our Presiding Bishop. It summarizes the key matters raised and addressed at General Convention, and invites us to push on together. I hope it's helpful to you in understanding what has happened in our larger community. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have questions.
Blessings,
Janet+

Presiding Bishop's letter to the church on General Convention
July 22, 2009

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has issued a letter to the church about General Convention, which was held July 8-17 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. "Above all else, this Convention claimed God's mission as the heartbeat of The Episcopal Church," Jefferts Schori says.
The full text of the Presiding Bishop's letter follows.


My brothers and sisters in Christ:

The 76th General Convention is now history, though it will likely take some time before we are all reasonably clear about what the results are.

We gathered in Anaheim, as guests of the Diocese of Los Angeles, for eleven full days of worship, learning, and policy-making. The worship was stunning visually, musically, and liturgically, with provocative preaching and lively singing.

Our learning included training in Public Narrative, as well as news about the emergent church, in the LA Night presentation.

We welcomed a number of visitors from other parts of the Anglican Communion, including 15 of the primates (archbishops or presiding bishops), other bishops, clergy, and laity.

You can see and hear all this and more at the Media Hub: http://gchub.episcopalchurch.org/

The budget adopted represents a significant curtailment of church-wide ministry efforts, in recognition of the economic realities of many dioceses and church endowments, which will result in the loss of a number of Church Center staff who have given long and laudable service. Yet we will continue to serve God's mission, throughout The Episcopal Church and beyond. This budget expects that more mission work will continue or begin to take place at diocesan or congregational levels. Religious pilgrims, from the Israelites in the desert to Episcopalians in Alaska or Haiti, have always learned that times of leanness are opportunities for strengthened faith and creativity.

As a Church, we have deepened our commitments to mission and ministry with "the least of these" (Matthew 25). We included a budgetary commitment of 0.7% to the Millennium Development Goals, through the NetsforLife® program partnership of Episcopal Relief & Development. That is in addition to approximately 15% of the budget already committed to international development work.

We have committed to a domestic poverty initiative, meant to explore coherent and constructive responses to some of the worst poverty statistics in the Americas: Native American reservations and indigenous communities.

Justice is the goal, as we revised our canons (church rules) having to do with clergy discipline, both as an act of solidarity with those who may suffer at the hands of clergy and an act of pastoral concern for clergy charged with misconduct.

The General Convention adopted a health plan to serve all clergy and lay employees, which is expected to be a cost-savings across the whole of the United States portion of the Church. Work continues to ensure adequate health coverage in the non-U.S. parts of this Church. The Convention also mandated pension coverage for lay employees.

Liturgical additions were also included in the Convention's work, from more saints on the calendar to prayers around reproductive loss.

What captured the headlines across the secular media, however, had to do with two resolutions, the consequences of which were often misinterpreted or exaggerated. One, identified as D025, is titled "Anglican Communion: Commitment and Witness to Anglican Communion." It
• reaffirms our commitment to and desire to pursue mission with the Anglican Communion;
• reiterates our commitment to Listening Process urged by Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988, and 1998;
• notes that our own participation in the listening process led General Convention in 2000 to "recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships 'characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God'";
• recognizes that ministry, both lay and ordained is being exercised by such persons in response to God's call;
• notes that the call to ordained ministry is God's call, is a mystery, and that the Church participates in that mystery through the process of discernment;
• acknowledges that the members of The Episcopal Church, and of the Anglican Communion, are not of one mind, and that faithful Christians disagree about some of these matters.

The other resolution that received a lot of press is C056, titled "Liturgies for Blessings." The text adopted was a substitute for the original, yet the title remains unchanged. It
• acknowledges changing circumstances in the U.S. and elsewhere, in that civil jurisdictions in some places permit marriage, civil unions, and/or domestic partnerships involving same-sex couples, that call for a pastoral response from this Church;
• asks the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, and the House of Bishops, to collect and develop theological and liturgical resources for such pastoral response, and report to the next General Convention;
• asks those bodies to invite comment and participation from other parts of this Church and the Anglican Communion;
• notes that bishops may provide generous pastoral responses to the needs of members of this Church;
• asks the Convention to honor the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality.


The full text of both resolutions is available here: http://gc2009.org/ViewLegislation. I urge you to read them for yourself. Some have insisted that these resolutions repudiate our relationships with other members of the Anglican Communion. My sense is that we have been very clear that we value our relationships within and around the Communion, and seek to deepen them. My sense as well is that we cannot do that without being honest about who and where we are. We are obviously not of one mind, and likely will not be until Jesus returns in all his glory. We are called by God to continue to wrestle with the circumstances in which we live and move and have our being, and to do it as carefully and faithfully as we are able, in companionship with those who disagree vehemently and agree wholeheartedly. It is only in that wrestling that we, like Jacob, will begin to discern the leading of the Spirit and the blessing of relationship with God.

Above all else, this Convention claimed God's mission as the heartbeat of The Episcopal Church. I encourage every member of this Church to enter into conversation in your own congregation or diocese about God's mission, and where you and your faith community are being invited to enter more deeply into caring for your neighbors, the "least of these" whom Jesus befriends.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

Squash Delight

Dear Friends in Christ -

In our garden, the zucchini, yellow squash and pattypan squash are all growing faster than we can eat them, so we've started to share them with friends. (If you need some, give me a call, and I'll cut some off the vine for you!)

I do this sharing with a bit of a sigh and a chuckle. True confessions: over the years, many people have often offered to give me free zucchini and squash - and I've often either declined it altogether or taken it home and watched it go bad in the refrigerator.

So I feel it's only fair offer not only the produce, but also an idea of a tasty way to eat it. Let's face it, we've all eaten a lot of bad vegetable dishes in our lives. Sometimes the squash or zucchini goes uneaten because we can't think of a quick, yummy way to prepare it. So . . . . along with the free squash, here's my version of baked squash. Warning: I cook like my grandmother, so amounts aren't measured! (Trust yourself! You'll know how much to put in!)

BAKED ZUCCHINI/SQUASH

Preheat oven to 350 degrees or preheat grill
Wash squash or zucchini and cut it down the middle length-wise
Scoop out the seeds and enough of the flesh of the squash to make a trough
Set aside

In a skillet, saute on low enough of the following to fill the trough in the zucchini:
diced onion
diced red pepper
diced mushrooms
diced garlic
leftover cooked rice or the flesh of the squash, diced fine
salt
pepper
a few finely chopped basil leaves
Saute until onions are translucent and red pepper is soft

Place stuffing in a bowl and stir in crumbled feta cheese or crumbled chevre cheese

Place zucchini on a baking sheet
Rub it with a bit of butter and lightly salt it
Place stuffing in zucchini troughs (if it spills over a little, that's OK)
Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until zucchini is soft and stuffing mixture is browned

Eat warm in large quantities as a main dish or in small quantities as a side dish with a chicken or fish entree

Bon appetit!
Blessings,
Janet+

PS - Watch for an article this week here on this blog . . . Lesson #19 - "What to do with mannna"