St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
Tidings from St. Matthew's
                       March 16, 2014 
                      A Reflection on Prayer  
 

By John Lawyer

 

Like a good many folks at St. Matthew's my Christian life is a mish-mash.  I was brought up Presbyterian in the U.S. and Episcopalian in Europe, where I spent much of my childhood. When we were at home in the States I was Episcopalian in the summer and Presbyterian the rest of the year, as we lived in Washington D.C. but spent the hot summer weekends in the Shenandoah Valley.  It might be added that in those days of the 1928 Prayer Book, when morning prayer with sermon was the standard three times a month with Holy Communion on the fourth Sunday, the difference between the two denominations was hardly more than the difference between any two congregations of the same brand, especially to a child, and I drifted seamlessly back and forth.

           

When I reached college I confirmed a strong evangelical bent by attending Park Street Church in Boston on Sundays and making my main spiritual home in the campus Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship chapter, which met daily for prayer in our rooms and weekly for Bible study in various locations.  I spent most of the 1960's with my family in the Air Force, usually active in the generic Protestant base chapel program supplemented by a variety of informal prayer, Bible study and fellowship groups, often with an Officers' Christian Union connection. 

         

Lyn was a cradle Episcopalian, flavored by the Navy life in which she was raised.  It was not until we moved to Minnesota in 1976 that I was actually confirmed in the Episcopal Church, which we made the center of our growing family's Sunday worship.  Lyn was ordained to the diaconate in 1984, and served at St. Matthew's for some 18 years, from 1985 to 2004.   She was the first ordained woman to hold a positioon at St. Matthew's, but that's another adventure. 

            

We had come to Minnesota to take up a teaching position at Bethel College, which thrust me deeply into the Swedish pietist tradition.  I soon discovered that "Swedish" was the operative word. At the same time I was quite at home in the commitment to prayer, Bible study, church attendance, and a focus on one's personal walk with the Lord that remain the defining practices of Bethel's spirituality.

           

A third strand was added in 1984-85, when I spent a sabbatical year at the Ecumenical Institute at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville.  As a result of deep and fruitful involvement with the monastic community over that year I became an oblate of St. Benedict when we left, and have kept up the connection for near thirty years since.   As with the earlier Presbyterian/Episcopalian distinction, it may help to remember that the Anglican Church is historically Benedictine to the core.

           

So I wind up an evangelical Scandinavian-pietist Benedictine Episcopalian, which on paper sounds quite confusing, but in practice they all seem to blend happily together.  I can't break them into separate compartments, I only know that I would be woefully impoverished were any one of them to be taken away.

          

My thoughts on prayer boil down to two precepts, or rather one precept and a story.  The precept is simple:  "Pray as you can, don't pray as you can't."  The story concerns a wise old monk who was quietly listening one day as an eager young novice discussed his prayer life.  "I just got back from this great workshop on Celtic prayer," the novice enthused. "Oh, and I'm reading a great book on Ignatian prayer, which I really like.  My novice director says we should all try the Jesus Prayer for a month, which is a great help when I'm going about my daily duties.  And of course we have the Daily Office five times a day, which really speaks to my heart .  .  . "  Then he paused for a minute (at last), nearly out of breath: "Tell me, Father, how do you pray?" 

 

          Faith Forum Features Stories of Lent  
 

     By Judy Johnson

Dan & Judy Johnson
                           Dan and Judy Johnson

 

At the heart of our faith is forgiveness and reconciliation.  During the season of Lent we hear some of the most powerful stories of the Gospels, the last supper, the agony in the garden and the crucifixion. Yet we often don't take the time to sit and reflect on those stories, looking deeply at these moments in Jesus' life and death.

 

What is unique about this series is the time spent noticing forgiveness and reconciliation emerging in stories steeped in good-byes, angst, and utter loss. What makes these stories so powerful that we recall them every Sunday morning in our worship? How do these move from being just theological doctrine, historical moments in the faith, to an intimate connection with God?

 

The three Sundays before Easter we will explore these stories, using an Ignatian process of reflection.  Come join us March 30, April 6 and 13 during the Faith Forum as we
reflect
and share our thoughts on these powerful stories.  By delving deeply into these scriptures it is our hope that the celebration of Easter will be all the richer.  Dan and Judy Johnson will facilitate the conversation.
                              
                   5 Questions for Liam Kiehne

 

 

You've grown up at St. Matthew's - are there any memories of our church you'd like to share?

It's hard for me to think of any one memory that stands out from the rest. I'd have to say I remember the J2A lock-ins best, when us youth had nearly free reign over the church.

 

Tell us about playing John the Baptist recently during the 10:30 service (a masterpiece of a performance, I might add) - did it take a long time to prepare?

I was a little nervous about barging in on the congregation for the John the Baptist performance. The lines weren't too hard to memorize, it was just timing my entrance so that I didn't interrupt the introduction of the Gospel or arrive too late. Playing Mayor Shinn in The Music Man helped me focus my "public speaking" side.

 

As the youth representative for the Vestry, you have listened in on major leadership discussions over the past few years.  What stands out in your opinion about this role and your time spent with these folks?

I never really participated in the discussions. I listened and voted, but I rarely had to express my personal opinion. The Vestry did, however, allow me to get some experience with being on a committee, weighing the pros and cons of every decision, and learning more about the spirituality of the other members.

 

What is the best thing about being a senior and your last days in high school?

My Senior year has been a little more stressful than my previous ones. I've had to deal with college applications and scholarships, while tackling classes that are tougher than what I'm used to. There are the benefits of Senior activities, though, so I'm managing.

 

Do you have any favorite books you would recommend?

I would have to recommend "A Contract With God" by Will Eisner. It's a collection of comics about the people who live in a fictional New York City neighborhood in the early 20th century, and how they overcome or give in to their life's struggles. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking, and certainly not for kids. 

  Storyteller & Author at East Metro Soup Supper

 

 

 Julia Dinsmore, the featured speaker for the March 17 Lenten soup supper, is a noted storyteller and author of My Name is Child of God...Not "Those People"  As a child she lived in poverty and as an adult she has found herself living below the poverty line. Her riveting stories, songs, and poems reveal what it is like to be poor in America. Articulate, clear-visioned, and endowed with a marvelous sense of justice and humor, she makes frequent presentations to college classes, church groups, & civic organizations. She lives in Minneapolis.

 

Julia describes her storytelling as truth-telling. It is giving voice to "the realities of life in America's underclass instead of what people read in books or in the popular media," she  says. Through stories and poems, her goal is to educate people about poverty, assist them in creating change, and inspire others who have known poverty to reclaim their own stories.
 
The Monday evening soup suppers take place at King's Crossing, 500 N. Dale St. (at University Ave) beginning at 6:00pm. We are partnering with other Episcopal churches and faith communities in the St. Paul area to focus greater attention on how to participate in God's work to address homelessness.
      Last Sunday's Living Faith: Reconciliation
 
Liam Kiehne, Svein Johnson, Alaric Johnson, Zoe Johnson,
Eleanor Craig, Luke Zscheile and Jack Kiehne 

 

          

 

 By Terese Lewis

 

Last Sunday, March 9, adults gathered with children and youth to explore the Christian practice of reconciliation. The 5th & 6th grade class presented a dramatic re-telling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, directed by Sarah Larsen.  Phil Boelter led us in an Ignatian contemplative prayer exercise, guiding us as we imagined ourselves in the story.  In response, we visited interactive prayer stations, praying with newspapers and maps of the world and the metro area, practicing conflict resolution through role-playing, making prayer necklaces, praying at the cross, and exploring the Sea of Hands reconciliation project in Australia. Please join us for our next Living Faith gathering on April 13 (Palm Sunday), when Blair Pogue will tell us about Holy Week traditions in Guatemala and share pictures from her travels.  

             Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • March 17 & 24, East Metro Lenten Soup Supper Series, 7:00pm at King's Crossing, 500 N. Dale St.  St. Paul 
  • March 22: Lenten Half Day Retreat, 9:00am
  • March 23: Social Justice Meeting, noon in the library
  • March 30: Stories of Lent, Faith Forum at 9:15am
  • March 30: Celebration of Community Art Show Opening, 6:00pm
  • March 31: Lenten Taize Candlelight Prayer, 7:00pm
  • April 5: Film Screening of "Get Low" facilitated by Barrett Fisher

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