From the Vicar...
An invitation to flourish
The theme of this year's Diocesan Convention will be "to flourish on the vine that is Jesus Christ," and Bishop Rob's "Invitation to Flourish" is well worth reading during this time of growth and change. Bishop Rob writes:
Jesus wants us to have life, and to have life in abundance, shaken down, pressed together, and running over. In other words, he wants us to flourish. This will be the theme of our time together this year at Convention: to flourish on the Vine that is Jesus Christ.
We flourish when we are living in the knowledge that, baptized by water into Jesus' triumph over death, we are free to live without fear or shame. We flourish when we are bold to bear witness to the news that God's power of love expels us from places of isolation into the world with our arms outstretched and our hands open to serve.
Flourishing is not about cowering from the pain of the world, rather, flourishing is a flowing out from the depths of God's heart to heal a broken and pain-filled world....
I see three qualities in congregations and people who are flourishing:
1. They are open to sacrifice. They loosen their grip on what they hold most precious - money, buildings, even their lives - to make way for the new thing God is doing in their lives and communities. Like Jesus' arms, their arms are extended, open to God's infinite possibility.
2. They are concerned about what's real: life and death, flesh and blood, stuff. They don't fret over parochial minutiae. They are careful about liturgy without fussing over things that seem like secret
handshakes. And, they are passionate about making God's love real to the communities in which God has called them. Upholding the dignity of every person leads us into conflict as we contend against so much that is unjust, cruel, and violent in our world. And so...
3. They have heart: they love their God, God's people, God's creation, like crazy, even if and when it hurts. They lean on the power of God to heal, to forgive, and to rise....
This year's Convention will be a time for us to share stories of our flourishing. Where are the places in our personal lives where it's obvious that the Vine we tend is bearing abundant fruit? Where do we need to do some pruning, or even transplanting, to bear more fruit? Who in our communities are not flourishing because of the scourge of addiction, exploitation, lack of opportunity, violence? These questions apply to our all lives as ministers of Jesus, lay and ordained, individually and congregationally.
Here in our Shared Ministry, in preparation for that conversation, we are gathering a Task Force to examine our own life and ministry to see how we are doing at cultivating the qualities Bishop Rob enumerates. Using the insights gained in our Bishop's Committee retreat in June as a starting place, this group will meet over the next five months to look at what we can do to enhance our vitality, and what changes we may need to make to keep our Shared Ministry moving forward.
For me, the touchstone for this conversation will be the qualities we name in our Shared Ministry Collect. The specific phrases I will ask us to reflect on are in bold:
O Almighty God, we humbly ask that you bless our Shared Ministry of Trinity, Hampton and Christ Church, Portsmouth with spiritual and financial health, that together we find new ways of being a community of the body of Christ; that together and separately as parishes and individuals we may be guided by the Holy Spirit to bring that community modeled by Jesus into our world today. Amen.
Be watching for progress reports on this group's work, which begins with an organizational meeting Sunday, Aug. 7 at noon at Christ Church. Together, let us enjoy this opportunity, this invitation to flourish!
Fr. Chip
Outdoor Eucharist and cookout at Trinity
This Sunday, July 31 at 11 a.m.
This Sunday, July 31, Trinity Church will host an outdoor Eucharist and cookout (members of both churches invited). The service will be at 11:00 a.m. in the shaded courtyard beside the church. The cookout will follow on the lawn. Bring your lawn chair and a side dish or dessert to share. Hot dogs, hamburgers and beverages will be provided. As for a rain date...we won't need one. It never rains on our cookouts! (If, ahem, it a shower does come along, we'll come inside.)
For those of you who cannot (or prefer not) to come to the outdoor service, there will be a brief celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Trinity Church at the usual 8:45; Morning Prayer will be offered in the Christ Church chapel at 10:30.