In my youth, when I heard someone say that they were spiritual, my assumption was that they were talking about spirituality in the Judeo-Christian tradition. I had some vague idea that people from the Far East might be speaking from the Hindu or Buddhist tradition, or that some people from the Middle-East might be speaking from tradition of Islam. I had no idea that a pantheon of sorts was emerging in the United States, and that spirituality did not necessarily refer to a belief in the teachings of the church.

Today, that pantheon has a firm hold on the culture of the United States, and when people say they are "spiritual" it may mean any number of different things. For some, spirituality may have everything to do with the faith and practice of the Christian Church. For others, it may be one of the other ancient religions. Still others mean they have a sense of transcendence, or a sense of unity with the universe, or a heightened sense of consciousness.

The most common thread seems to be that most people think of spirituality in very personal terms. It is often used to describe an emotional experience, a sense of personal balance, or a feeling of peace. Oddly enough, I have even heard a number of outspoken atheists describe themselves as very spiritual people.

The problem that arises when personal enlightenment and ecstatic experiences become the measure of spirituality is there is no accountability to truth. It makes no sense to someone who has just had the kind of intense emotional experience they have been striving for to ask, "Yes, but was it an experience of truth?" When we evaluate the many forms of spirituality offered in the new pantheon of our society, the question we, as Christians, need to be asking is not, "Is it really spiritual?" but, "Is this spirituality truly of God?"

St. Paul begins the twelfth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians saying, "Now concerning spiritual things...I do not want you to be ignorant." It is unfortunate that most translations render this, "...concerning spiritual gifts." The word used in the first verse is not the word for gifts, and Paul's theme is larger than spiritual gifts. He is addressing spirituality as a whole. Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians that before they became Christians they had been enticed by various forms of idolatry. Many of them had probably been involved in the Mystery Religions, and may have had some deeply "spiritual" experiences, but they were not the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us in this passage that a truly Christian spirituality moves us beyond our reliance on our own abilities. This is probably one of the most difficult steps of faith that we can take. Notice that Paul writes, "It is God who activates all of the gift s in everyone." Too often we allow our own limitations to shape our view of what is possible.

When we stay entirely within the parameters of our own ability, we fail to receive the gifts that God wants to activate in us. If we want to live a truly Christian life, we must come to understand that it is the Spirit of God who gives us true enlightenment. If we want to live a truly Christian life we must allow the Spirit of God to work through us for the good of the Church and God's Realm. If we want to live a truly Christian life, we must be open to moving beyond our own strength, to allow God to activate in us something that we could never do under our own power.

In Christ,

Fr. Chip

This year, the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple falls on a Sunday. This gives us a rare opportunity to celebrate as a community. Traditionally known as Candlemas, the feast marks the Holy Family's visit to the Temple forty days after Jesus' birth to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth and to perform the redemption of the firstborn, in obedience to the Law of Moses. We will mark the occasion with some special liturgies:

Candlemas Procession and Choral Evensong - On Saturday evening, Feb. 1 at Trinity Church, our 5:00 service will begin in a darkened church, and the congregation will receive unlighted candles as they enter. The service starts with an opening acclamation, followed by a lucernarium (a responsorial prayer for light) based on the Nunc dimittis. Following a prayer, the candles are lit, and the procession begins. As the procession reaches the altar, the altar candles and the church lights are lit, the Collect of the Day prayed, and the candles carried by the congregation extinguished. An Evensong service, similar to the one with the Epiphany Feast of Lights begins, follows. We will have music and choir that night and encourage people from both churches to come.

Candlemas Procession and Holy Eucharist - Our celebration at Christ Church on Sunday, Feb. 2 will be the opening portion of our 10:30 Eucharistic liturgy, and while we cannot do it in a darkened church as will be the case the night before at Trinity, we will let the liturgical actions and texts of the Candlemas Procession speak for themselves as we make our way from a darkened chapel (where the procession will begin) around the church to the tune of some of the most beautiful music in our Hymnal.

Finally a word as to "Why Candlemas?" The custom of blessing candles on this day stems from an old reading for this festival, which contains the line (Zephaniah 1:12), "I will search Jerusalem with candles." Many churches, particularly in the middle ages, blessed all the candles to be lighted for the remainder of the year on this day. While it is a custom rarely observed today, the theme of light stemming from Simeon's song, "a light to lighten the nations..." resonates for us as we seek to radiate Christ's light in our own time.

Our three "Come and See" Sundays are just around the corner: Feb. 16, Feb. 23 and Mar. 2. But inviting people to come on those three Sundays is only part of the campaign. Another important part is getting our churches ready for our guests to show up. A key part of the program is a "behind-the-scenes" effort to make sure our churches' buildings are visitor friendly - and be sure those who come can easily follow and participate in the service. The Come and See campaign manual encourages local churches to pay attention to small details-like clean and clutter-free entryways and clean bathrooms - that are important to visitors.

"When people come to church for the first time, or come back after a long absence, they notice everything," says the Rev. Jason Wells, chair of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire's Evangelism Commission. "In fact, most of them form innate judgments about the environment within seven seconds of walking through the door."

To make ourselves ready for the 16^th, we are asking folks to come down on Saturday, Feb. 15 for a cleaning and de-cluttering in each of our churches. Work will begin at 9:00, and, if enough folks show up, we should be done in short order. Quick "retouches" may be needed each of the following weekends, but with perhaps only one or two persons just making sure all is ready for Sunday.

- Fr. Chip

On Sunday, Jan. 26, Christ Church held its Annual Meeting, and several new members were added to our Bishop's Committee and diocesan delegation:

• Linda Seward was elected to a two-year term, and will serve as Clerk, succeeding David Burke.

• Lynda Swartz was elected to a second two-year term as an at-large member.

• Melanie Harden and Sarah Wolf Boyd were elected to fulfill unexpired terms for one year each.

• Peter Monte and Gary Dozier were elected for two-year terms as delegates to Diocesan Convention and Seacoast Convocation.

• Kris Ebbeson was elected for a two-year term as alternate.

Our congratulations to all who were elected.