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From the Vicar...
Getting it exactly backwards
It is so tempting to get it exactly backwards.
And the temptation is to think that in the relationship between church and people, it is the job of people to support the Church - out of a sense of duty, family tradition, taking on an adult role, or because we value the various "products" the Church offers. Along with other socially useful nonprofits, community service organizations, or institutions that seek contributions and then distribute those gifts to worthy recipients, the Church, this view suggests, has an honorable place.
And, within the Church, it is tempting to think that our job (or at least mine, as your priest!) is to give people what they want. Take polls or surveys, maybe even have a focus group, or in some other way make up a list of what people want, and then devise programs to meet the articulated desires of the market, with something like total customer satisfaction as our goal.
Asking people what they want, giving it to them, and calling it God's will, is exactly the opposite of what God created the Church to do. The late Steve Jobs of Apple operated on a similar principle. When asked about what market research he had done to develop the iPad, he replied, "None. It isn't the consumers' job to know what they want." I wonder what it would take for the Realm of God to be as "popular" as an iPad. And yet something like that happened in the first century when the word about Jesus went "viral" in the eastern Mediterranean - and with no supporting infrastructure! No one was asking for repentance, but Jesus knew everybody needed it.
Jesus knew that, no matter what people thought they wanted, if lives were to actually improve, they would need to give up many of the reasonable, common, and generally held attitudes, practices, and behaviors on which they had based their lives. Jesus' basic point is that, to get different lives, we need to live our lives differently; to get a new result, we need a new way of doing things. Doing the same old things the same old way isn't going to cut it.
Which brings me back to the premise with which I began this meditation: I think the temptation is to get things exactly backwards. We want God to give us what we want, when seeking what we want has put us in the very place from which we seek to be delivered.
And from what do we seek to be delivered? Lots of things, to be sure, but here is the one I would like to hone in on this week as our Bishop's Committee gathers in retreat: We need to be delivered from the belief that what we are building here is "ours," subject to our control, our definitions, our desires, our perceptions of what it is to be "church." And to the extent we don't surrender control of "our" ministry to God and where God is leading us, we will continue to be mired in the "same old, same old" with the same old results.
Asking God to bless and empower us for our agenda is to get it exactly backwards. To get it right, we need to come together around scripture, using our God-given reason, listening to our sacred tradition, and seeking the full experience of God in Word and Sacraments. We need to repent and thereby take our first step towards the Realm which is not just at hand, but being offered to us in the outstretched hand of the One who desires nothing more than to lead us to the life we most desire.
Our Shared Ministry Cycle of Prayer for February
Each week, in both of our churches, we pray for one ministry we share and one or two households in each church. About once every six weeks, we will instead using the Shared Ministry Collect we prayed throughout the opening months of our Shared Ministry..
In our prayers the next two weeks, we give God thanks for...
Feb 9 (concluding collect for shared ministry)
Feb. 16 Come and See (both congregations); Terry Corringham of
Christ Church; Bob Busch of Trinity
Bishop's Committees to meet in retreat this Saturday
This Saturday, our Bishop's Committee retreat will be held at St. George's Church, York Harbor, Maine. Building on the foundation of the work we did together last year, we will be spending time praying about and considering goals and objectives for our ongoing work together as it blossoms and grows under our new Covenant for Shared Ministry. Our time together will be based on the pioneering work of the Rev. Dr. William Easum, whose book on the subject has a wonderfully witty, but astonishingly accurate title: Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers. By setting goals that are realistic, instead of the perpetuation of what may be unrealistic "sacred cows," I have confidence God will work within us to open new possibilities as 2014 unfolds. I ask your prayers for your congregational leaders as they gather to do this important work this Saturday.
- Fr. Chip
Looking beyond "Come and See" - "Via Media" Lenten program to orient newcomers - and long-timers - to our churches
On the last three Sundays of the Epiphany season, we are welcoming guests at both our churches as we offer our first "Come and See" program. But what's next for those who accept our invitation and come?
We invite any guests who come on any of our "Come and See" Sundays to join us, should they so desire, for our Lenten program, "Via Media," which will be held Wednesday evenings in Hampton; and Sundays after church in Portsmouth.
This general introduction to an Episcopal way of understanding basic tenets of our faith should serve as a good introduction for newcomers, and would give them a chance to meet parishioners outside the Sunday worship setting. For those who are already members of our two churches, it will serve as a good refresher course in the basics of our faith, and an opportunity to share our experiences and insights with our newcomers.
Here is our schedule of sessions:
Wed. at 6 p.m. in Hampton and Sun. at 12 noon in Portsmouth
Wed Sun
Mar. 5 and Mar. 9 - Session 1: Anglican Way of Being Christian
Mar. 12 and Mar. 16 - Session 2: God & Creation: The Abundance of God's Goodness
Mar. 19 and Mar. 23 - Session 3: God in Jesus: An Incarnational Faith
Mar. 26 and Mar.30 - Session 4: God the Holy Spirit: The Breath of New Life
April 2 and April 6 - Session 5: The Word of God for the People of God
(The Bible)
April 9 and April 28* - Session 6: So What? What does it mean to be a
Christian today?
* skips Palm Sunday/Easter at Christ Church
Be watching for further details later this month.
Making our churches ready for our "Come and See" guests
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 16th, 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
Upcoming Weeks' Calendar
| 8-Feb | | | 9:00-3:00 | | Bishop's Committee Retreat - St. George's Church, York, ME | | 5:00 p.m. | | Holy Eucharist, Rite One, at Trinity Church | | 9-Feb | | | 8:45 a.m. | | Holy Eucharist, Rite Two, at Trinity Church | | 10:30 a.m. | | Holy Eucharist, Rite Two, at Christ Church | |
| February 15/16, February 22/23, March 1/2 | | | Come and See Weekends in Both Churches |
Save the Date!
Planning for the March 4th Shrove Tuesday dinner is under way! Bob Main (Trinity) is planning to host the annual 'pancake dinner' - with a twist. A New Orleans twist, that is! Gumbo and jambalaya have been added to the menu AND the music of the Episco-cats will fill the hall! Watch for more details!
Fundraising Committee
There will be a fundraising meeting at Christ Church on Sunday, February 9th, directly after the service at Christ Church. This is our first meeting for the new year so please plan to attend.
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