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St. James - Westwood Weekly Epistle
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Approaching the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.
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"Fix it!" "Make the ouch go away!" These are two statements that little children make to their parents when they have hurt themselves on the playground. They are two statements that community members state to their leaders. We elected you. Fix our problems.
I hear these emotions as a I strive to sit in Nazareth's synagogue listening to Jesus proclaim his message of Good News. "Terrific, he's going to run the Romans out of town." "He's a miracle worker. Did you hear what he did over in the next village. He's certainly going to take care of us; he's a Nazarene!"
Not too much later, those same friends were ready to throw their hometown boy off of a cliff. His miraculous work wasn't intentionally directed toward them. It wasn't going to get "fixed" that easily.
One of the principles of Parker Palmer's Circles of Trust is this:
"Committing to no fixing, advising, "saving" or correcting one another"
Palmer bases his principles of "wholeness" upon the foundation that all of us as persons and communities possess 'inner teachers." We are nonetheless afraid of exposing our faults and fears to one another. We have integral work to accomplish but we often avoid it through a process of "inviting" (aka. expecting) other people (friends, leaders, politicians, parents, heroes) to resolve our anxieties and heal our wounds.
Conversely, there's a part of us within our humanity righteously prompting us to help one another when we can. In Luke Chapter 6, Jesus specifically directs his disciples to practice the Golden Rule and to "Give to Everyone Who Begs From You." (Luke 6: 30). Paradoxes upon paradoxes.  | |
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I wrote last week that I
feel a yearning to assist people when I can. Why? When is my help truly helping people and when is my help impeding them from maturing as God intends for them to mature. When is my "help" more about me relieving my own anxieties rather than me assisting the other person's needs? When does my help impede them from re-connecting with their inner teachers and with God?
There's another piece here. Entitlement. How often do we "expect" God's preference or one another's immediate attention? I believe that the numerous sorts of divisions we witness between religious communities is based upon our "rightness" and their "wrongness." We therefore become rather displeased with God and our religious communities when, like Jesus did in Nazareth, God incarnationally rejects our assumptions about our Divine privilege.
"Fixing it" isn't apparently always our Divine parent's or our Lord's principle responsibility. It may be that we shouldn't always expect to be in one of those roles either. Figuring out when, how, and why we collaborate with Jesus the Christ and one another even as we wrestle with not throwing him or another off of the cliffs around us seems to be yet another aspect of this challenging yet transformational way of being Christian.
Blessings Along The Way, Jim+
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Open Space & our Hallmarks of Health
St. James' vestry has begun a process of evaluating our church's "Hallmarks of Health." Their discernment and action will become a basis for opening up our series of Open Space Gatherings at our Annual Meeting on Feb. 17th. You are important; so join the process to so that we will revitalize St. James in 2013
The Diocese of Southern Ohio's Mission Priorities are defined by
Five Hallmarks of Health. The third hallmark of health is offering Inspiring Worship. Does our worship nourish and feed us a Christ's Church? What opportunities exist for us at other times on Sunday mornings and/or Saturday/Sunday evenings? What types of worship would speak to people in ways that our traditional style of worship on Sunday morning doesn't. What might be "new" but also authentic to who were are. How might we understand and share communion in imaginative, challenging, and faithful ways. What has worked in the past @ St. James that's worth doing again? What ideas got pushed aside before that might be worth doing now?
Alternative worship takes all sorts of styles and forms around the Episcopal Church. One of the most "popular" services is Compline @ St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle.
Please send Kathy Schaeffer your completed annual meeting report. Kathy has an updated list of the outstanding reports and their authors. Thanks!
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What's Happening @ St. James and Nearby
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Thelma Hughes and her great-grandson Christopher
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Friday - Feb. 1 @ 6:00 - 8:00 PM - Thelma Hughes Visitation - Dalbert, Woodruff and Isenogle Funeral Home (2880 Boudinot Ave.)
Saturday - Feb. 2 @ 11:00 AM - Thelma Hughes Burial Service
Sunday - Feb. 3 @ 9:00 AM
Adult Education - Here are some meditations and questions we may begin to discuss. You can use this resource as a weekly devotional too Rite II Eucharist (Communion) @ 10:00 AM Children's Sunday School
Later On in FebruarySaturday Feb. 9 @ 5 PM Youth Group Contemporary Worship and Meal
Tuesday Feb. 12 - Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper and Festivities  Wednesday Feb. 13 @ 12 Noon and 7 PM - Ash Wednesday w/ Imposition of Ashes.  | |
Soul Revolution by John Burke
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It's time for a Soul Revolution - Are you willing to accept the challenge? Our longings. What shallow strategies do we use to get our deepest longings met? What are God's deepest longings for us?
Loving God minute by minute. How do we follow God's lead to experience a growing love for God? Growing in character. How does God grow our character as we make ourselves willing? Moving toward others. How will God lead us into new, life-giving ways of relating to one another as we follow Jesus moment by moment? Impacting the world. What unique contributions did God create you to make? How might you and your friends impact the world as you follow God's lead? Learn more here and on Facebook You can also sign up and/or support someone in our Lenten Mustache and Goatee Contest
(Here are The Rules!!!)
1.) Contestants will enter the contest on Shrove Tuesday by entering their name, a $10.00 entry fee, and the charity of their choice they are sponsoring with their facial hair.
2.) Contestants, Parishioners, friends, and family members may support themselves or other "entrants" by offering ($2.00 minimum) contributions throughout the Lenten period.
3.) Contestants may use hair trimming and shaping devices to groom their facial hair. All other types of hair and beautician care products are prohibited (highlighters, mascara, hair coloring, etc).
4.) The "winner" will be chosen by a panel of objective judges at the Easter Vigil. The "winner" will receive an award and the winner's charity will benefit from all of the entrant fee and other charitable donations collected throughout Lent.
5.) Fun is encouraged! Invite non-St. James people to join in the festivities as contestants or supporters, or both.
The judges' decision is final.
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 | | Alexander Tsiaras: Conception to Birth Visualized |
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Last Sunday I mentioned this video about the birthing process. I invite you to listen to Alexander Tsiaras as well as watching this fascinating story about life and its beginnings. |
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