Now what?

Have you ever read a book
Where the plot takes a turn
And the unexpected happens?

Have you ever seen a movie
Where you knew the outcome from the start,
Only you didn't?

Have you ever waited anxiously,
Not knowing what would come,
Or how life would resolve?

I imagine that must be how Mary felt.
Carrying life from God within,
And watching that Child grow.

And wondering, "Now what?"

- DJC, December 2009

Is this a formula for growth?

Recently the Bishop of Arizona opened his weekly newsletter with this paragraph:

It is probably a truism that Episcopalians generally tend to be theologically conservative but socially liberal. We usually do a pretty good job of holding these two perspectives in tension. In fact, this tension is what makes our denomination so attractive to many (myself included).

K. Smith, Bishop of Arizona, December 2009

The Bishop continues by expressing his views on what these words mean, but I must admit that when I read the first sentence here, I was first of all taken aback by such a statement, and had to check the definition of "truism" lest I was misreading his words. (truism: A claim that is so obvious or self-evident as to be hardly worth mentioning, except as a reminder or as a rhetorical or literary device. That word meant what I thought it meant.)

I find his statement in the first sentence quite telling. The average age of an Episcopal church parish in the US is a bit over 57. In Arizona, the average age is likely to be higher, given the popularity of the state for retirees. The average age of the US population is about 34. So I suspect that an equally valid statement would be this: "It is probably a truism that population groups with an average age over 57 tend to be theologically conservative." Even if the Bishop's statement is true, it does a serious disservice to the church to declare it a truism, because making it such an inherent assumption silences dissent and leads to actions that are not well considered.

Here's a situation that shows what I mean here. My (now former, as of two weeks ago when I resigned from the Bishop's Committee) parish was founded to try to construct something new, to truly be inclusive, and to hold in tension a disparity of theological perspectives while building a community of faith. Eventually, the parish built a building, moved in, and continued holding services for the diversity of the membership: a music free Rite I service, a rather traditional Rite II service, and a contemporary service that included both traditional elements and readings from more contemporary authors as well as different faith communities.

Shortly after moving in to the building, the founding Vicar retired, and a search for a new Vicar ensued. A rather progressive priest was found and hired, but did not work out for a number of reasons. At that point the Bishop appointed, without input from the community, a new Vicar. That was 2 years ago. In the ensuing time, the new Vicar has proven to be quite theologically conservative, and insistent that there was no other way to God for the parish than through the conservative path. At this point, there are only a handful of theologically progressive members left in the congregation; the rest have been driven out, oh so gently, from the community that we love. There is now only one progressive Episcopal parish in the Tucson region, and it is in the process of searching for a replacement for the recently retired Rector. The Bishop has insisted on vetting all candidates.

If you start from the premise that Episcopal parishes are by definition theologically conservative, you'll end up with theologically conservative parishes, particularly when you insist on applying pretty heavy control over the process of selecting parish leadership.

So, to quote another one of those of us that have been dispossessed from our community by these actions, "Now what?" It is no longer clear that the vaunted large tent of the Episcopal communion extends to those of us that hold to a progressive theological perspective, at least in the state of Arizona. We have no place to go, in spite of years of effort to be inclusive of all.

Maybe it's just me...

I was struck a few weeks back by the difference in form and substance between the RCL readings and the structure of the liturgy at the service I attended. Here's the reading that struck me this way:

"Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

-- Heb 10: 19-25

Those that know me know that I don't particularly care for the weekly practice of confession of sin and absolution, not because I don't think that we all sin, but rather because to me it seems disrespectful of God's grace towards us. To me, it better reflects the gospel and the whole thrust of the good news -- and besides, it matches Hebrews this way! -- to have this call and response be one of confession of hope and call to service, rather than confession of sin and absolution. The former calls for action because of God's actions on our behalf; the latter has us moaning and actually being quite passive.

At least, that is how it seems to me.

A Christian Nation?

"In order for our children to survive in the world, they need a firm understanding and belief in the basic principles of sharing freedom and respect of individuality."

--Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders

There is a contingent in the US that lives by the credo that we are a "Christian nation." It makes me wonder what they think Christ would actually say about the actions they espouse. The platform of this group seems to be that anyone - ANYONE! - that disagrees with their political agenda is going straight to hell.

It seems to me we'd be better off examining the behavior one might expect from a Christian nation. The more I think about what that might look like, the more impossible it seems, because one of the first tenets that emerge for me is this:

All humankind is in the image of God, and as such is to be respected and valued.

Now suppose that is an accepted principle. What should it mean for a nation that follows it? Well, one of the very first things that occurs to me is that it requires that differing views be respected and heard. Hence freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. Without these, we deny the dignity of those we disagree with.

But what do we do then with the non-Christian that comes along? We must accept and value this person with views different from the (supposed) majority. Accept, value, and truly hear. That means more than let the vibrations from their vocal cords rattle our eardrums, it means listen attentively, think and contemplate what they say, and learn to live with and accept them -- they are, after all, created in God's image.

Okay, so we must accept all people. And give them a voice. What that means is that we must let everyone participate. No limitations. No "your faith must match mine."

So much for a viable "Christian nation" as it is often defined. But by the same token, if we only could truly give up any attempt at such a nation, if we could STOP demanding that everybody's beliefs conform to some ill defined set of creeds and instead include everyone equally, only then would we have a chance at a nation that actually follows the way of Christ.

Breath of God

Breathing,
We speak the name of God.
Breathe purposefully,
and know God's presence.

Breathing,
The life breath of the Creator fills and empties us.
Breathe purposefully,
God is with us.

Breathing,
We connect with the Divine.
Breathe purposefully,
And act in grace.

- D. Conway, April 2009

Sinners All

I have a good friend that worked as part of our liturgy team designing and assembling liturgies for a contemporary service. I remember her muttering -- at least once a meeting -- her objection to our use of the word "sin" in the service. And I understand and agree with her viewpoint here. Another member of the team -- also a friend, of a more traditional nature -- could be counted on to respond sarcastically "I'm glad to hear that nobody at the contemporary service ever sins."

Argh! Talk about missing the point -- this (predictable, repeated!) response does just that. In our culture, the word sin comes loaded with so much unhelpful baggage that it has become a useless way of talking about how to transform ourselves from creatures that plod through the ordinary, willfully manipulating it to our advantage into beings that see and strive to bring God's kingdom to the world. It is an issue of learning to be and to do, rather than one of living in guilt and learning to don't.

When I read what Jesus taught, I see him talking about redefining our lives and actions to align with a path into wholeness and health for all of the world. "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," and "Follow me" are all examples calling us to leave behind self serving choices, and to move to a place of being -- be a peacemaker! -- and doing -- seek God's righteousness! -- in order to be fulfilled.

That is also what I see when Jesus tells the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more." I hear his call in these simple words not to stop, but to start living a life of love and respect for one another, so that we can be transformed into beings that show God's grace to the world.

Yes, we are all sinners. But God's call and desire for us is that we focus on becoming instruments playing out God's grace in a broken world.

Thoughts on Worship Services

I walked into a house of prayer, I didn't feel so welcome there.
I was looking for the hand of God when it struck me hard I was hit by fraud.
-- k.d. lang, "Jealous Dog"

I tend to read a lot of communications that are not particularly Christian, from both the scientific community and other sources. In these sources, the mistreatment of gay folks, denial of any validity for evolution and global warming, lack of support for sexually transmitted disease control through proven means like distribution of condoms, and a host of other social issues get categorized as the way Christians behave. Not fundamentalists. Not evangelicals. Not conservatives. Christians. For the more liturgically based Christian sects, those that use the traditional language of the church and those that apparently require an element in their services focusing on sin and repentance are all grouped together with those that demand that members of disenfranchised communities change themselves before they are welcome. In other words, to many secular groups and to groups that have been most damaged, liturgical services that always include text demanding repentance sound like services that do not meet seekers where they exist today, and therefore are not inclusive communities. That is the way the church is viewed in the world when we do not present alternative liturgical settings that focus on grace, using language that the unchurched or those raised in fundamentalist communities can see as inclusive. I do not believe that that is the way of Christ.

Acting Locally
It seems like whenever I hear the song quoted at the top of this post, I sigh. k.d. lang is a gay performer who began her career singing country/western music, and moved into more vocal (“torch song”) pieces over time. The song quoted here is from her 2008 album, “Watershed.” The words speak of her rejection by the Christian community because she is gay, even though she was seeking spiritual sustenance. I believe we should be doing better as a global community. The only way to bring about the type of change that is needed, though, is through the actions we take locally.

For me, there are three components to a contemporary service that address these needs. These elements are the language of the liturgy, the style and substance of the music, and active congregational participation in the service. I’ll attempt to describe each component here.

Language of the Liturgy
This element is, perhaps, the most sensitive of the three, so I’ll tackle it first. I did not grow up in a liturgical tradition, so I may not quite get what others do out of the liturgies of the Episcopal Church. I do often find the language to be rich and beautiful, but also find it to be missing some of the meaning I desire it to have. Sometimes I find the text to be so focused on getting the dogma correct that it misses the call to bring God’s reign into the world through the way we live our lives. To me, that is the crux of Christ’s message – the kingdom of God is with us now, so we need to live and act in a way that exemplifies God’s presence in the world today. Quite frankly, I find matters like the question of the virgin birth to be quite secondary to Christ’s call to feed the poor, clothe the hungry, and care for the world. I think that is what is meant in 1 Cor 13: “So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” If we agree that this is the crux of the message, it seems to me that it should also be the crux of our liturgy.

There are several elements that I want from our liturgies for a contemporary service. They should:

• Speak to us about God’s ongoing creative work in the world
• Provide a sense of life
• Call us to act and live in the way of Christ
• Encourage action based on God’s grace towards us
• Speak to seekers in language that they can understand
• Use modern language and context
• Allow for times of silence and contemplation, as appropriate

I have found it quite challenging to find liturgical texts that meet these criteria in the standard Anglican prayer books.

Music and Timing at the Contemporary Service
Music provides me with an avenue to immerse myself in something larger than ordinary life. It provides me with refreshment that I do not get any place else. I value the times where I can relax and sing or listen to music without other distractions; it provides me with a contemplative sense that I do not usually get by other means, and, in a service settings, it often provides me with a sense of contact with God.

There are several things that we can do with music in a contemporary service that will help to build a feeling of connection with God’s presence. Here’s my current list:

• Use music from a variety of traditions, not just hymns. In fact, for the contemporary service, I’d tend to use few hymns and instead use selections from the St Louis Jesuits, Taize, John Michael Talbot, and similar more contemporary sources than are typically found in the 1982 hymnal.
• Allow the music to guide the flow of the portions of the service where it is a primary component, rather than having other elements drive things. I’m not sure that what I mean here is clear, so here is an example. During communion, we should have enough music selected to cover the distribution of the elements, and we should let the music reach resolution afterwards, rather than try to be sure both components of that portion of the service are timed to end at the same time.
• Select music that matches the theme of the service and the time of the liturgical year
• Allow for times of silence and contemplation, as appropriate

Okay, that last bullet is a repeat from the previous section. However, sometimes it can be quite meaningful to have a short time of silence after a song or choir anthem.

Active Participation
I view the work of the clergy as one of preparing the laity to do God’s work in the world. That is how I read the passage in Ephesians 4: “…for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ…” I do think that one goal in the Sunday services is this equipping, and that the members of the congregation need to be active participants in being equipped. To that end, my preference is that the service as a whole includes portions that engage the congregation, through singing, responsive reading, and other activities that connect us with one another and with God.

Summing Up
Finally, I think it is important that we design and plan our services to honor the words of the psalmist: I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." (Psalm 122:1) That should be our goal, creating services that invite folks in to meet the Divine.