Exiting the Institute

I'll never forget a brief conversation I had with a couple of members of my parish when we were in the midst of planning a Celebration of New Ministry (or Institution, as some call it). They were talking about the fact that they were looking forward to my being institutionalized! While parish ministry can sometimes seem a little insane, I doubt I was that far gone then, nor now for that matter.

All of this is a long and sort of quirky way of saying that my first two weeks of the Church Development Institute in Seattle (CDI-Seattle) are completed. Now begins a year of study and work around church development, including readings and two church development projects. This year is essentially a time in which CDI-Seattle class members are committed deepening our learning as well as beginning to apply what we have learned in a parish context. My first project will likely be centered around Benedictine Spirituality and its three-fold disciplines of stability, obedience, and conversion of life. This is also the part of the Rule for the Order of the Ascension, a group affiliated with CDI and committed to church development. Most of us will return to Seattle at this time next year to complete our four-week course of study.

It has been a long, at times frustrating, but very worthwhile experience for me to be here. While I miss my family, I have gained many skills and much knowledge that will hopefully help me be a better parish priest. I anticipate that the learning will continue.

Culture and Congregations

I've spent the last week navigating my way through the first week of a four week program (two weeks per year for two years) of the Church Development Institute (CDI). After some time in which we were invited and encouraged to notice and analyze our interactions in a small group context, the latter part of the week has been taken up with visiting three different parishes: St. Mark's Cathedral, Trinity, and St. Paul's, our host parish. My own group was assigned to return to St. Paul's this morning to experience the worship and the other Sunday morning activities. Tomorrow, we will meet in teams to further discuss and analyze our experiences. The point of all this was to take note of the culture of each parish: the ways they work, the named things that are important in their life together, and underlying assumptions. All this, presumably, is in preparation for doing this work in our own parishes and/or in those with whom we consult.

I think my biggest learning from this week is summarized in the words of The Rev. Melissa Skelton, Rector of St. Paul's. When referring to several items in the parish's worship space, she talked about "loving it, and wanting more." As we talked in CDI about the fact that it is nearly impossible to change the culture of a parish, it became quite clear to me that whatever my Congregational Development Project is for St. Alban's, it will need to first involve loving what already is good about the parish, and only then wanting more. My enthusiasm often makes me want to push for immediate solutions or changes. I am learning that such solutions or changes, even if needed, take years rather than months.

A bonus to this weekend was that I was able to visit Church of the Apostles (COTA), an emergent church in Seattle led by Pastor Karen Ward, who I met many years ago. I attended the service with both some folks from my CDI program and some old and new friends in town for a college chaplains conference. Turns out it was one of COTA's "alt" services, an alternative service format that in this case focused around the theme of process or journey being more important than product or destination. The elements of the of the service were prayer, Eucharist, "open space" (where we were invited to visit several stations for prayer, walking the labyrinth taped on the floor or other creative efforts), songs, and stories. They were done in a completely random order which illustrated the process theme. I loved the songs, and enjoyed the experience, though it is not overall something that would regularly feed me spiritually.

Now, onto another week. We'll continue to debrief our parish visits analyze the cultures of the various parishes we visited, then go on to lay the groundwork for an eventual Congregational Development Project. It will be interesting to see how that dovetails with the Mission Plan that has already been put in place and is in the process of being implemented at St. Alban's.

Thomas Has Left The Building

Well, I'm officially on my sabbatical. It isn't quite as wild or far-ranging as my friend Malcolm Young's sabbatical--he went to Africa. I'm confining my travels to Seattle, Washington (at the Church Development Institute and visiting Church of the Apostles), Honolulu, Hawaii (at St. George's Episcopal Church), California with family, and Southern California (at the PERCEPT Group and visiting Saddleback Church). A little learning, a lot of relaxing, and hopefully a lot of recharging after more than eleven years of ordained ministry. This is my first sabbatical and, frankly, I'm not really sure what to expect. I spent Friday rushing around and, at 9 p.m., had my office relatively clean, my desk cleared, and walked out of the church building, not to return for three months. A very strange feeling indeed.

So, it is now Sunday morning, the service at the church I pastor has likely just ended, and folks are probably wandering around the social hall wondering how Fr. Tom is doing and what exactly I'm doing this morning. Well, oddly enough, I've been watching some of Fr. Matthew's YouTube creations, perhaps a 21st century twist on television evangelists! The place I'm staying has wireless Internet access, so I'm rejoicing in being set free from my normal dial-up existence. For today, I have some reading to do, a little exploring, and getting ready for my first real foray into the study of congregational development tomorrow.

While I won't promise daily blogs, I hope to post periodic reflections on my learnings during my sabbatical, if for no other reason than to remind myself what I actually learned when I'm back to the daily challenges of church life. Until the next entry, then...

Of Thresholds and Welcomes

Fr. Jake's blog always makes me think. A prime example is his latest post, discussing a book by Sara Miles entitled Take This Bread. While this is obviously yet one more book that I need to add to my "to read" stack (and actually get to reading it!), it also brings to mind a tension in my own life which challenges me. Sara's initial moment of conversion was when she received the Eucharist at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, California. Having grown up in the Diocese of California, I know St. Gregory's is a decidedly non-traditional Episcopal church. However, the non-traditional part of this story for me was that Sara was both offered and received the Eucharist prior to being baptized, which is both a rubrical and canonical no-no in the Episcopal Church. Not that it isn't done, it just isn't supposed to be done! Yet, this non-rubrical, non-canonical reception of the Eucharist was the occasion for a person's conversion.

Now I'm not planning on sparking a conversation about who should and should not receive the Eucharist (unless someone would like to do so). However, the tension this brings up in me is that I am, by personality, a rule-keeper. I don't generally break the rules and am acutely uncomfortable in the current ecclesiastical environment where some people and congregations seem to think they can do their own thing in a whole variety of areas (ecclesiastical, theological, liturgical, etc...) and yet remain part of the Body of Christ. On the other hand, I'm living, preaching, and pastoring in a church with many, many rules and lots of people who seem to like the letter of the law far better than the spirit of Christ. I guess the question for me is, how can we maintain some sort of identity, some sort of boundaries, and yet make those boundaries porous enough that they don't become high walls that close people out?

I want the church to be a place of conversation. I want the Eucharist to be an instrument of conversion. I also want Baptism to matter and the basic creeds and formularies of our faith to mean something and not just be window dressing or frosting on the cake. Perhaps I'm both too ancient and too future and uncomfortable with both!

Ecclesiastical Wrangling and Time Away

It has been several weeks since I've posted, and the ecclesiastical wrangling in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion continues on unabated. Invitations to the Lambeth Conference 2008 went out and neither The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson nor the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns were included on the guest list. This has evoked a plethora of reactions on both sides, with some calling for the entire House of Bishops to boycott the meeting if Bishop Robinson is not invited, and the Archbishop of Nigeria saying that if Bishop Minns is not invited, there is the strong possibility that the delegation from Nigeria will not attend.

Now, I'm not a child of divorced parents, but the above seems to mirror the experience of a vast majority of my generation--two parents, who are equally loved, wrangling about who gets the house (read: church buildings) and who gets the children (read: title of "true Anglican") while the aforementioned children simply watch their world disintegrate. I know I should be concerned about the state of gay rights in Nigeria. I know I should be concerned about Bishop Robinson not being invited to Lambeth 2008. I know I should be concerned about a lot of things. Right now, though, all I am is tired of the fight.

It has gotten so bad that I am routinely NOT visiting various blogs and informational web sites because I'm simply tired of seeing the same old people post the same old things and the same old reactions to them. I'm due to go on Sabbatical for three months less than a month from now. Though it will be difficult, I am going to try very hard to impose a "news sabbath" on myself and disconnect from news of the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion for the time I am away. I'm sure I'll miss many items of news. I'm also sure that my blood pressure and general state of mental and physical health will be the better for it. So, this will be the last post to reference such things. In the coming weeks I hope to post about Sabbatical preparations and then will post periodically about what I am learning and doing (or not doing) on my sabbatical time. Stay tuned!

The Die Is Cast, at least for a few...

As those who have been tracking such things are aware, on Saturday, May 5 Archbishop Peter Akinola, Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, Installed The Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns as a Missionary Bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). Numerous articles have been written and blog entries have been made (on PRELUDIUM, Episcopal Cafe, etc..), and no doubt the buzz will continue for some time to come.

My particular favorite quote of all of this is from Archbishop Akinola himself: "'The Church of Nigeria itself has almost nothing to offer,' he said, although the church is the largest in the global communion. 'We are doing this on behalf of the Communion. If we had not done this many of you would be lost to other churches, maybe to nothing at all.'" That would be well and good if not for the fact that the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the aforementioned Anglican Communion "on behalf" of which this act was done, specifically told Archbishop Akinola not to do this. The word "lost," especially in regards to other churches sounds like a very fundamentalist, narrow, and decidedly un-Anglican version of Christianity. Heck, if people can find life in Christ in the Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, or other Christian church, more power to them! The point is life in Christ, not which color your jersey is!

Archbishop Akinola, in presuming to speak and act for the Anglican Communion, is setting himself up as an alternative to Archbishop Rowan Williams as head of the Communion. What, now are we going to have the Abuja Conference rather than the Lambeth Conference? In any case, it appears that the die is cast and that some disaffected members of The Episcopal Church will now move to the new "missionary diocese" and attempt to take their church buildings, documents, and names with them. Let the games begin (wait, they already have...)! Now I'm waiting for someone from the Episcopal Church to found a missionary diocese in Nigeria...

Seriously, folks, I need to remind myself constantly that all of this affects but a tiny percentage of churches, most of which are quietly, without fanfare, doing what God has called them to do, as our Presiding Bishop pointed out recently. I still plan to visit the homebound this week, preach on Sunday, and administer communion, regardless of convulsions of the wider church. Christ is STILL risen!

Gloom or Gospel?

As I troll the various blogs (including the always informative Fr. Jake) whose authors opine about the state of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, and as I keep up with the various news stories (via the episCope blog), I am hardly encouraged. Yet, I find myself wondering if the current state of dis-ease and anxiety is simply a symptom of a larger problem: We have forgotten the good news! Unlike more evangelical churches, a sizable majority of the Episcopal Church does not subscribe to the idea that folks that do not declare faith in Christ are "lost", much less destined for hell. Because of this, we do not have the evangelistic fervor of people on a divine rescue mission. Rather, we seem often to be more like a server at a buffet or, at most, a street vendor hawking our wares. Our favorite quote is the one widely attributed to St. Francis: "Preach the Gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words." The caveat to this is that, at least in the Episcopalians I've met, the necessity for using words is rare!

My point in this is that I have for a long time felt that the greatest threat to the health and wellbeing of the Episcopal Church is not schism or even heresy, but silence. Most people I know are not even able to begin to articulate their own faith story, have little concept of God's ongoing work in their lives, and often come to church "because that's what you do on Sunday morning!" Even if they do have a healthy, vibrant faith and story, they are reluctant to share it, as if doing so would somehow be rude, gauche, or intrusive.

The question I have posed, and which I have never really received a satisfactory answer, is "What is our motivation for evangelism?" If we do not see ourselves on a divine rescue mission, if the concept of Jesus as Savior, much less Lord, is not something with which we are entirely comfortable, then what is the driving force behind Episcopal evangelism? Regardless of what happens in the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion, if we cannot answer that question with something compelling, then we risk sliding into moving from being the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (the legal name of the Episcopal Church) to the Society for the Preservation of Nice Buildings.

Risen Lord, be known to us

As I watch the various bloggers and their responders discuss the fact that the Archbishop of Canterbury will be visiting with the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops in September, it strikes me that I and my fellow clergy continue to be burdened by strife in the wider church. With e-mailed news releases, blogs, and a host of other information outlets available online, it is very easy to get sucked into a maelstrom of despair regarding the current state of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

Yet, I must keep reminding myself, the things going on at the highest levels of both the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion are not the whole story, not even close. Thousands of churches continue to proclaim the Kingdom of God in word and deed, thousands pulse with resurrection life, and thousands of my fellow clergy continue to celebrate the Eucharist week after week, month after month, year after year. By God's grace, I am not thinking about the current conflicts in the wider church when I stand at the altar and begin "The Lord be with you...".

It is wise for me and my fellow clergy to recall, as we read of the encounter on the road to Emmaus between Jesus and two disciples, and that Jesus was known to them in the breaking of the bread, that ultimately we are simply called to faithfulness in Word and Sacrament and, by the grace of God, the rest will take care of itself.

Walking the Way of the Cross

As I mentioned yesterday in my sermon in the church I serve (St. Alban's, Albany, Oregon), I had the opportunity in college (1988) to visit the Holy Land, including Jerusalem and Mount Siani. While in Jerusalem, we were able to literally walk in Jesus' footsteps along the Way of the Cross. Since few people have the opportunity to do so, the church has created the commemorations of Holy Week, and more specifically, the Stations of the Cross, in order to give people the opportunity of going on a pilgrimage without leaving home. In light of the current difficulties besetting the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, the image of a difficult pilgrimage seems particularly apt.

Bishop Pierre Whalon, Bishop of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe, sets out a fairly exhaustive "Estimate of the Situation" in the wake of the recent meeting of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church. I've been a fan of Bishop Whalon ever since he articulated my own thoughts as as centerist in "The Centerist Movement" in March 2002. Then, as now, Bishop Whalon seems to have a keen grasp of both history and the need for theological and ecclesiastical balance. In his Estimate, he rightly points out that the House of Bishops has chosen to erect few boundaries around what its members say and do, since only sexual misconduct seems to merit any sort of disciplinary action. On the flip side, he notes the false choice between ecclesiastical structures on the one hand and missionary zeal on the other. Structures exist to support mission and mission is simply a brushfire (my analogy) without the boundaries and sustaining help of structures.

To bring the above thoughts together, Bishop Whalon suggests that it is the task of the church to look beyond the current presenting issue of homosexuality and deal with some very basic theological and ecclesiastical assumptions inherited from our history as various daughter churches of the Church of England. He ends with this statement:

"This is the hard road in which we are all called together to walk. It lies in no broad plain. This road is rather a narrow mountain pass that leads from an old creation to a new one. There is none other, and there are precipices all around. Whether we take it or not will determine not only the present situation, but also the future of Anglicanism, and in some small measure, the future of the Christian Church."

I couldn't agree more. We shall see in this age of sound bytes, instant answers, and public wrangling whether the Anglican Communion can do the theological heavy lifting to keep itself together. The church has the unfortunate habit of either becoming fixated on Good Friday to the exclusion of any sort of resurrection life or to fast-forward through Holy Week to get to Easter, without making the journey that would make such an Easter celebration meaningful. May we all, this Holy Week, both keep our leaders in prayer and make our pilgrimage with Jesus together.

Blogging, blogging, blogging...

For some time now I've been thinking of doing some writing, and I certainly have plenty of thoughts about what is going on just now in the Episcopal Church USA, the church in which I serve as pastor and priest. So, for no specific person's entertainment and education but my own, I'm starting a web log, or blog. I'm going to commit to posting something at least once a week, hopefully something worth reading. I'm also due to go on Sabbatical in a little less than three months, so I'm also hoping to use this blog to let people keep track of what I'm doing and where I am doing it. So, read, mark, inwardly digest, and enjoy!