Christmas 1

This morning's service went just fine. Kind of low-key at church--lots of people out of town this weekend. Descent sermon--I'll post the recording when I get a chance. After church we took Betsy's cousin to see a play downtown. We saw "Funny Business," a musical comedy held over from the Fringe Theater Festival. It's an earnest production, rough around the edges but with lots of energy. Betsy and I don't see nearly enough theater anymore, so this was a nice change.

Anybody see that Patriot's vs. Giant's game last night? Very exciting. I was rooting for the Pats all the way--hard to go against a winner.

-t

The Bug

Even before Christmas I had some kind of bug that kept me feeling less that 100%. Of course, I didn't let it keep me home much and generally ignored it with a few exceptions, but now that Christmas is over I can rest and get over it. Yet despite a few days of rest and plenty of fluids and all that, it remains. Right now it chooses to manifest as a sore throat, transient nausea, and general ickiness. It's not bad enough to keep me away from church this morning, but it is enough to annoy me enough to mention it in my blog.

Two of my gurus, Mary Gates and Bede Mudge, are big believers in the idea that physical illness is connected to spiritual processes. I know, that seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people still refuse to believe it. And so they both taught me that when you are dealing with some kind of distress like this, it is a sign from within that needs attention. Every part of the endeavor after that is very difficult work, partly because most of us are entirely out of touch with our bodies.

In my own case, I wonder whether this bug is the manifestation of some kind of acedia--a spiritual malaise that can settle in like a fog. It probably comes from the same place as the stuff that prevents me from going up to SSJE to pray with the Sisters like I ought. Bede and Mary and I have gone to this place of fog and swampy ground a couple of times to explore, but without resolution. So much of the spiritually engage life is about encountering yourself in this way. You come to something deep or important and then you sit there wondering, "ok, now what?" It's not much different in pastoral care situations when an important disclosure is made. It comes out and everyone present is thinking the same thing, "ok, now what?" But when it's someone else's stuff I usually can answer that question. For yourself, it's a whole different thing: everyone knows you can't be your own therapist.

Nor is it a coincidence that my spiritual "growing edges" would appear now. In my experience it's exactly those moments where everything is going great that these things make themselves known. I suspect this is because our subterranean selves really want to find healing and resolution and yet want to protect us when the going is tough. Thus, it's precisely when we have the most resources to do internal work that the work bubbles up ready to be done.

On a theological level, I think this reveals something very important about the role of human existence in the created order: we are the place where matter is transformed into spirit. That is, the whole universe is slowly being transfigured and reunited with God, and we are the place where that reconciliation is occurring. This is one of Karl Rahner's ideas, and sometime I'll explore it a few steps further. But right now I need to continue to get ready to preach and lead worship.

-t

About the Church's Decline...

One of my parishioners called this article to my attention from the December 22nd Globe and Mail. In it the author, Michael Valpy, explores the phenomenal decline in Canadian Church membership that began in the 1960's. He thinks the most compelling theory about why this happened has to do with shifting conceptions of gender and the church's inability to adapt to them. Here's my favorite quote:

That turbulent decade, says Prof. Macdonald, illustrated "the incredible unreliability of the clergy's insights into the faith of the average person."

Christianity in Canada won't die, of course, although Canadian Christendom is destined for history's sunset. And while it remains unclear how much the rebellion of the past 40 years has been against Christianity and how much has been against the church, many of the clergy's insights have radically changed and the churches today have a pretty clear idea of what congregations must do to survive. In fact, Michael Higgins, the Catholic scholar at St. Thomas, believes the decline is bottoming out and the congregations that survive, though smaller, will be more committed. (source)

I'm interested in this idea about the "unreliablity of the clergy's insights into the faith of the average person" that Prof. Stuart Macdonald (from Knox College) talked about. I think I agree with him, most clergy are probably out of touch with the spiritual currents of mainline society, even if they are pretty aware of what's happening with their own parishioners. Partly I think this is because most of us don't know how to listen to and interpret the spiritual language of post-Christians.

For example, take the recent resurgence in Tattoos. If you listen to the stories of people who have them, you quickly realize that getting a Tattoo is a ritual about transformation, growth, and meaning. People get Tattoos because there is something happening in their lives that needs this sort of ritual to integrate it. Often they commemorate deaths, births, and important commitments. But when is the last time you heard this discussed or mentioned in church?

The work of the church is about declaring the love of God in whatever language people can understand. Maybe I should give a sermon sometime about the marks on Jesus' body as being tattoos about his love for us? I have a suspicion that this kind of preaching is important for the world right now...

-t

Year's End

I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things at church. The church bookkeeper comes in on Fridays, so today has been about the end-of-year financial picture at COTM. It's better than expected, which is good news. December giving is disproportionately generous at most churches thanks to high-attendance, Christmas bonuses, and people wanting a 2007 tax receipt. It's not a bad thing, just a fact of church life. When we present the actual numbers to the annual Vestry Meeting of the church I think people will be pleased.

One of the things that has me feeling really good about things right now is that I feel that the congregation and I have bonded. I can't point to a particular moment when I knew this to be true, but there have been many signs and conversations in the last few weeks that have cemented this observation. Like any relationship, I'm sure this feeling will change and evolve, but it feels like the right thing for today, and I'm happy about that.

-t

Christmas Recap

Today I'm coming up for air after having spent most of today and yesterday recovering from the Christmas rush. In the end things worked out marvelously well. We had family staying with us--Betsy's parents, her sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. I think they had a nice time staying with us. We were certainly pleased to be able to host people at our place--shear space to host people is the greatest benefit of having a real house for a Rectory! They all left Wednesday morning and Betsy and I have been taking it easy ever since.

Services at the church went extremely well. I was particularly pleased with my sermon at the Christmas Eve midnight Eucharist. I really felt like I was in my groove and preaching like I want to be preaching. Anyway, here it is.


Sermon for Christmas Eve 2007

This is also a chance for me to show off some new tech. I got a digital audio recorder similar to the one I bought for SMM and used it to record the sermon. I still have a few bugs to work out (like that annoying hum in the back ground) but it's progress. Before long I hope to get video up and also a website, of course. These are things for the new year--part of "media rich church" concept. But I also have to get the Centre For Children's Faith Formation going in the new year. It's going to be a busy time.

But for the moment I'm going to enjoy some more time off. Everything will be here for me when I come back tomorrow!

-t

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Services this evening went extremely well. The Pageant was as chaotic and fun as these things should be, and the midnight service was just gorgeous. I was especially pleased that my sermon at the candlelight service was among my best in the last few months. I tried to record it with a little digital recorder, so maybe I'll be able to post it here soon.

One more service to go (in the morning) and then I hope to have a few light days.

Ah, the bliss of having executed good liturgy!

-t

Megan's Farewell

Church today went very, very well. The whole service had such a nice and loving feel about it that several commented afterwards how much they appreciated it. Of course, the biggest task in today's worship was giving Megan a proper farewell. I was very proud of the way everyone said goodbye to her. If Friedman were here, I think he would appreciate our healthy way of wishing her well, also.

Time to go home and recover a bit of energy!

-t

Self Care

Our Hip-Hop Pageant rehearsal went well, and now I've got a little downtime before I make a pastoral visit this afternoon.

Something that a colleague said to me at a diocesan event weeks ago is on my mind: "They don't pay us for what we do; they pay us for who we are." This in an interesting way to look at clerical leadership--the notion that it is the particular character and role of the priest that is their chief value to the community. Simplistically, this could be taken to mean that we are supposed to lead exemplary spiritual and moral lives--and that is true. But at a deeper level it means that our first vocational task is to pay attention to ourselves and our relationships MORE than we pay attention to program and strategic growth and all that good stuff. I know, this is obvious to everyone, but I find that this simple principle is ignored more than I would like.

An important corollary to this idea is that when priests become either over- or under-preforming, or become egomaniacs or alcoholics, it's usually related to their loss of self in the face of the task of ministry. People want so much out of their clergy that it's easy to become stressed out and anxious about those expectations, and it's easy to become unhealthy by either "working" too much or to disengage with alcohol or some other drug.

It's a tough job--but I think we need to look at self-care as more than just insurance against burnout. Self-care is about the ongoing process of sanctification that is a work of Grace and the Holy Spirit. We should never have to apologize for going on retreat or closing the office door to pray and read or anything else like that. Of course our congregations understand all that, so why do continue to feel guilty? It's something internal in the mindset of clergy that we pass along to future generations.

It's a tough job--but it's a deeply satisfying job. Rarely have I felt so alive with the shear possibilities of the moment. So much to do; so much to learn. Where to start? In this moment, I suppose. But I'm waiting for the roofer. Should I close my office door and not worry about the roofer (who was supposed to arrives hours ago and hasn't called)? Ah, the quintessential challenge of ministry: maintaining self while caring for other.

-t

My Horoscope

I don't believe in Horoscopes, but I did find this one that appeared under my sign (Cancer) in Now Magazine amusing:

You worked your ass off in 2007. Am I right, my fellow Cancerian? In fact, you threw yourself into your hard labours with so much dutiful fervour that you sometimes lost sight of the fact that they were mostly just preparation for bigger and better assignments. Luckily for you, I’m here to snap you out of your amnesia. Please begin immediately to formulate a vision of how you will make the transition to those bigger and better assignments.

Bigger and better assignments, heh? I wonder if that means spending the first few months of 2008 getting the Centre for Children's Faith Formation up and running? It's an ambitious project that could really put us on the map if I do it right. I have in mind the sort of thing done by The Children’s Mission of St. Paul & St. James, New Haven. From their website:

Founded in 1995 as a ministry of the Episcopal Church of St. Paul and St. James, the Children's Mission reaches out to city children and their families with hope and help. In our varied programs we seek to enrich children's lives through books and stories, art and music, liturgical worship, cooperative learning, loving adult attention, and table fellowship, and to make available to them and their families the parish's resources of faith, celebration, pastoral care, support and love.

We offer four major programs to city children, focusing on ages 3-10:
• Mustardseed Club: a secular story hour that meets in the sanctuary during the Saturday Loaves and Fishes food pantry
• Light and Peace: a simple Compline (evening worship) service for children followed by craft time and supper
• Light and Peace Summer Program: three week afternoon summer program of friendship, crafts, singing, games, stories, worship and food
• Mustardseed Afternoon Club: an after-school enrichment program providing academic enrichment in a safe and structured environment five days a week

Of course I don't want to reproduce this at COTM--but it does give me the sense that something like this possible, even for a pastoral-sized congregation. All it really needs is some ambition and good Christian leadership.

And yet God knows there's plenty of other stuff for me to address. Today I've got the roofer coming to look at a minor leak we are having. And then there are the Christmas services to do. And of course I have barely begun planning for Lent! Ahhgg!

-t

St. Bart's in the NYT

St. Bart's, NYC, is one of these parishes that people talk about a lot as an example of how to renew/rebuild an urban church. Today the Rector, Bill Tully, was profiled in the NY Times. From the article:

His very first Sunday sermon at St. Bart’s was, in a word, lonely. In a space designed to accommodate 1,300 worshipers, there were perhaps 200. Extinction not only seemed a real possibility; in a sad way it seemed to make sense, even to him. “I didn’t want to be known for being the rector of a fancy landmark and nothing more.” Mr. Tully came to the instant revelation that if reinvention was in the cards, putting new people in the pews was paramount. “A theology of radical welcome was what we needed,” he says. “Because there is no parish here in the traditional sense of a residential neighborhood, we had to become a destination church. We are loose around the edges, but solid at the core. This is a thinking person’s church.”

Now that he has grown the numbers and has a good corp of people, he has started to raise the money to repair the facilities--that will take about $100 Million. His first phase is only $30 Million, but still inconceivable by the standards of most Canadian Anglican churches. And yet he's already well on his way.

One of the comments that my Canadian colleagues always make when discussing St. Bart's is something like, "Americans aren't afraid to ask for money." And I think they may be pointing to one difference between American and Canadian Church culture, but at the heart of it I think a more profound difference is evident: American churches are more entrepreneurial in character. "Radical" initiatives of the type that made St. Bart's successful are simply more common and better accepted in the ECUSA than the ACC.

This pattern is shifting. There is a lot of talk in ministry circles about being being more entrepreneurial. That means taking risks and being creative and spending resources without a guaranteed return. I know of only a few churches in this diocese that seem to be doing that (I'd rather not name them here). And it also requires a very new kind of pastoral leader:

Only an outside-the-steeple thinker whose idea of a religious experience is donning cycling Spandex for a full-throttle 12-mile bike ride through Central Park at daybreak could be unfazed about raising $30 million — in phase one — in the current fiscal climate. So far, his parish has come up with $15 million; corporate donations, led by a $1 million gift from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, have yielded just over $2 million. Progress.

This is not your grandfather's parish priest--nor am I. Pastoral leadership that is capable of this kind of transformation requires a certain amount of edgy gumption. I'm sure that means that people like Billy Tully are weak in other areas. And I'm sure there are lots of faithful disciples out there who won't gain much from his leadership--but he sure has done a remarkable thing at St. Bart's.

I think it's a mistake when looking at examples of good clerical leadership to focus too much on what was done or even how it was done. The more fruitful question to ask is about the character of someone like Billy Tully. What sort of person is he? How does he live? What does he care about. Where does he spend his time? And so forth. Alas, a short profile in the New York Times won't help me much in this regard.

Another church that gets talked about a lot is St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco. I see that they are hosting a conference on leadership in late January. I'm tempted to go--it seems right where I am. As usual, though, much will depend on the timing of things.

-t

Christmas Cards 2

That's Dave Walker's cartoon.

-t

Random Acts of Kindness

Here's an image of an ad spotted by the author of the Alive and Young blog.

-t