I'm on a Grand Jury (sort of).

Dear Ones,

Yesterday, I was impaneled as an alternate on a Grand Jury for St. Louis City. We talked about this possibility at the last Chapter meeting and it has come to pass -- at least in part.

The basics are that for the next two weeks (beginning Tuesday, Nov. 13), I will be at the courthouse from 9 am - 5 pm hearing testimony. From that point on, I will be on call every Tuesday and Thursday ... as well as the last two Wednesdays of the month - through the first week in February. 

On call means that I can be called at any time and with very little notice to report to the courthouse on one of those days to serve for the day. That means I can get a call at 8:30 am saying "be here in 30 minutes." 

I am not anxious about this in the least and, in fact, I see this as a great opportunity for all of us. First off, as a Cathedral in the city with a long and deep presence in the city, the experience of the parade of murder, assault, drug, domestic violence, etc. cases that will come before me on the days I serve cannot help but give me (and all of us as I share the experiences) a deeper sense of the opportunity of God's call to us as an urban congregation. I am viewing this impanelment not just as my civic duty but as a call to ministry ... and one not just for me but for the entire Cathedral community.

Second, it will mean that I will have fewer hours -- and we really don't know how MANY fewer hours -- to devote explicitly to my job as dean. As a chronic overfunctioner, I think this can also be a great opportunity for all of us! This really is about shared leadership ... and the opportunity for things that I have too readily just taken on myself to be shared with you all and others. 

I have already had an initial conversation with Annette and Amy about this and we wil be having a conversation about this at Chapter next Thursday. A real gift in this for us is an invitation for us to be grace-filled and flexible. Things literally may change at a moment's notice in terms of what I am able to do. I have been already advised not to schedule meetings on days I could be called to serve ... or to have them be meetings that can easily work without me. 

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to email or call me. 

Love you all and see you Sunday.

in Christ's love,

Opening Prayer - Board of Aldermen Meeting -- Friday, Nov. 9, 2012

Here is the prayer I led to open this morning's session of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. Many thanks to President Reed for honoring Christ Church Cathedral with this opportunity.

God, you are a God who implants vision in your people. And the vision you have implanted in all your people of every tradition throughout time is a vision of a promised land, a land where none of us are natives but all of us call it home. A land without power or privilege of the few but of a people working together for the common good. A heavenly city that makes glad your heart.

That city is not a place we reach all at once or a place that magically appears by itself. We know that we can only reach it through your leadership, but even as you lead us there, you have given us the charge to build it here in this City of St. Louis.

And because we know we will never build it out of despair, give us the gift of hope.
Because we will never build it out of fear, give us the gift of courage.
Because we will never build it out of division, give us the spirit of reconciliation.
Because we will never build it out of narrowness of mind, give us the gift of broadness and generosity of spirit.
Because we will never build it out of arrogance and hard-heartedness, give us the gifts of humility and compassion.

Holy God, if we are to pick up the tools to build this city, we need to lay down some other things we are holding onto pretty tightly. So I invite us here to lay down and release those things that keep us from picking up the tools to build this city that makes glad God's heart.

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts, I invite us to lay down the grudges that we might hold against one another. (Silence)

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts, I invite us to lay down the certainties in our own agendas that might prevent us from listening deeply and hearing God's voice in one another. (Silence)

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts, I invite us to lay down the pain and burdens we carry from all corners of our life and to let God carry those burdens and to seek ways we can help carry them for one another. (Silence)

God, we ask your blessing on this session. Implant in us a wisdom for the common good that is beyond us each individually but which we can reach together. Ignite in us a passion for the common good that will overwhelm any temptations to a personal good.

Finally, bind us together in the quest for the common good, the promised land, the heavenly city, for we know that the only way we will reach it is if we travel together.

Let the people say ... Amen.

Faith knows no party II -- How people of faith can choose either side.

Last week, I asked several people of deep faith -- some Republican, some Democrat, all St. Louis Episcopalians -- to write no more than 2 paragraphs telling about what core principles of their Christian faith lead them to embrace what they see as the core principles of their party.

I asked them to
DO speak openly and passionately about both your faith and your party affiliation.
DO speak clearly about how your faith is expressed in your political views and affiliation.
DO NOT talk at all about "the other party."
DO NOT talk about a specific candidate for office.

My goal is to demonstrate what has been my personal experience ... which is that while both parties have at times claimed a corner on faithfulness, neither has it. This is about showing that people can be faithful Republicans and faithful Democrats ... and that the Episcopal Church (I hope) is big enough to hold both.

I will be posting the responses here -- two a day until the election (or until they stop coming in). PLEASE continue the conversation in the comments but also abide by the DOs and DONTs above and use "I statements."
-----

Katie Des Prez - A Faithful Democrat
Some people might consider what I’m about to say to be paradoxical: Among the central tenets of my religious beliefs is reason. In my estimation, faith is impossible without a willingness to ask questions and challenge paradigms. It is important to me to be a part of a church community that embraces change and accepts how evolving knowledge can also transform how we approach certain issues (such as homosexuality and our ideas about creation and science, for example).It is also important to me to be a part of a political party that supports scientific progress, as I believe that God gave us the gift of scientific insight in order to see what is truly miraculous about Nature and to put creation to its most just use.

On the other hand, some things should not change even as the world around us does: our dedication to helping those less fortunate, our willingness to engage different faiths (or those who are not religious) in open and honest dialogue, and rejecting prejudice. Government’s most important role is reducing inequalities among people. I believe in reducing disparities among Americans and around the world, and that is why I am a Democrat. It makes me sad to say that I feel one party would support these principles more than another, as I feel that they are truly human — not political — values. But meeting the needs of the poor, continued openness with other cultures around the world, and support of the rights of all people are also the main reasons why I identify as an Episcopalian and a Democrat.

Becky Davidson - A Faithful Republican
When i was asked to do this, I was humbled and a bit terrified. I wanted to make sure that I touched on what the most important thing for me to say and how do I say it succinctly. After praying about it and talking with my family, it came to me. I would say the two aspects of my Christian faith that have had the greatest influence in my political decisions are life and choices. The life aspect is easy to explain. I value life. This past week I had the opportunity to hold my niece for the first time. When she smiled and reached out to me it was the best gift anyone could give me. My niece, nephew and God children are a most wonderful gift from God. I don't understand how anyone see a child as anything other then that wonderful gift. As a woman, I have had to work through where my body ends and where a baby begins. I won't say it was easy because regardless of what anyone says life begins within the woman's body and is nurtured by her body. Yet regardless of where the life begins it is still a life. The Republican Party shares my belief that this life should be protected. This leads to my second part of choices. Other than in the instances of rape, a woman has the choice of whether to try to conceive or not. I understand birth control is not 100% fail safe but abstinence is.

Your life is a series of choices, some good and some not so good. God gave us free choice. We are responsible for accepting the consequences of those choices - good or bad. The Government is not a replacement for God. Loving my neighbor does not mean that my hard earned money should go to the government to take care of someone else. My observation has been that providing welfare as a solution predominantly breeds dependence on welfare not independence. I miss the days when someone had a need and the local churches and community helped, instead of everyone relying on the Federal Government to provide the primary support. There are times when people need a hand up. The east coast after storm Sandy last week is a perfect example. People across the country - if not across the world - are pitching in to help. When the tornado struck Joplin, people from across Missouri sent truck loads of food, water and clothing. Others traveled down to offer a hand. Jesus never asked Caesar to help, he asked his children to love their neighbor. The Republican Party shares my belief that the role of government is not to replace God. It should be up to people to help people and when given the opportunity, they do.

Faith knows no party -- How people of faith can choose either side.

Last week, I asked several people of deep faith -- some Republican, some Democrat, all St. Louis Episcopalians -- to write no more than 2 paragraphs telling about what core principles of their Christian faith lead them to embrace what they see as the core principles of their party.

I asked them to
DO speak openly and passionately about both your faith and your party affiliation.
DO speak clearly about how your faith is expressed in your political views and affiliation.
DO NOT talk at all about "the other party."
DO NOT talk about a specific candidate for office.

My goal is to demonstrate what has been my personal experience ... which is that while both parties have at times claimed a corner on faithfulness, neither has it. This is about showing that people can be faithful Republicans and faithful Democrats ... and that the Episcopal Church (I hope) is big enough to hold both.

I will be posting the responses here -- two a day until the election (or until they stop coming in). PLEASE continue the conversation in the comments but also abide by the DOs and DONTs above and use "I statements."
-----
Mark Klamer -- A Faithful Republican
Helping the poor is nonnegotiable for Christians. How best to help them is the tougher issue. Those in desperate need should be protected by a robust safety net, certainly, but the far better result is for the poor to earn their own living. Why? Some reasons are obvious. Almost every job confers dignity and self worth, and the self-sufficiency of some allows us to help more people. Welfare, on the other hand, risks creating a culture of dependency and having unintended adverse consequences (for example by damaging family structures). But perhaps the most important reason to favor jobs over welfare is that God created humans to do work; we participate in His creative nature when we do our jobs imbued with Christian principles. Human being’s deepest and best nature is to honor God with the work we do. The Republican Party, at its best, fundamentally embraces the primary importance of jobs and the health of the economy.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us". This applies to every single business person and every single person who works for the government. It applies to every single person, period. Although businesses are run by sinners, market forces provide checks on their behavior. A business with shoddy products, for example, loses its reputation and can go broke; competitors will seek by their self interest to do better. The problem with government is there are no natural forces to check the sinful nature of its workers. Bureaucracies, for example, have no competitors to run them out of business. Therefore, at their best, bureaucracies tend to inefficiency and wasteful activity. At their worst, they get corrupted to favor the rich, the powerful and the connected. I don’t argue for a moment in favor of the straw man of laissez-faire economics, but the larger the government, the more resources that are wasted, and the larger unchecked power that is created. The Republican party, at its best, recognizes the societal implications of our sinful nature, and seeks to restrain the size, scope and nature of government accordingly.


Celeste Smith -- A Faithful Democrat
I am a Christian. I believe that our responsibility on earth is to learn about God's love though our relationships with others. I believe this means that my relationship with my parents teaches me about aspects of God's love, my relationship with my husband teaches me about aspects of God's love, and my relationship with my daughter another mirror of God's love for us. But my Christianity is not just personal, it is political. I believe that God expects us to build our communities based on love, too. I believe it is our responsibility to make decisions focused on compassion, mutuality, and speaking up for those who need our support. I am a Democrat because our party stands up for these values on a political level. Our party wants a government that balances corporate and individual interests, invested in maintaining a safety net, and truly respects diversity.

Tomorrow -- two more faithful people (one Republican/one Democrat) share how their faith informs their politics.

Justice and Jesus -- An Anglican Approach

At tomorrow's Adult Christian Formation session (9 - 9:50 am in Schuyler Hall), I'll be leading us through a conversation on "Justice and Jesus." As Anglicans, we have a particular way of "doing theology" that places authority first in scripture then in tradition (which, as Jaroslav Pelikan notes is "the living faith of the dead not the dead faith of the living!") and in reason (our own thought, conversation and lots of room for the Holy Spirit). I hope you can be there, but if you can't (or in preparation for being there) ... here are our guiding prayers, vows, scriptures and wisdom from tradition ... as well as the questions we will be grappling with (that's the reason piece).

Go ahead and start the conversation in the comments section! All thoughts welcome!

Guiding Prayer
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were being cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Guiding Vows
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
I will with God’s help.
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will with God’s help.

Guiding Scriptures
Matthew 6:25-33
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Questions for discussion (reason)
*What is God’s righteousness? How does it differ from self-righteousness?

*What is the choice that is being presented to us in this reading?

Gnaw on This ... The Gospel for This Sunday

The Gospel isn't meant to be gulped down on a Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us.

You've got to work at it ... like a dog with a good bone!

Here's the Gospel for this Sunday ... with some notes and more "food for thought"

15th Sunday After Pentecost - Mark 7:24-37

From there Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

Thanks to the blog "Momma Said What a Waste" for the pic.

The Backstory - What's Going On Here?

This section of Mark sees Jesus breaking barrier after barrier -- from the feeding of the 4,000 and walking on water to healings and casting out demons. Last week we saw Jesus tangle with the Pharisees about the barriers set up by the Law ... and reframe them in terms of what honors God best.

Immediately, we see Jesus take the conversation with the Pharisees and put it into action. And he keeps upping the ante. Not only does he go straight to Gentile territory. He has a conversation with a Gentile. And it's a woman. And he lets her touch him! And it's a woman with a demon-possessed daughter! And he is open to her changing his mind! And he heals the girl! And then with the deaf man, he even puts his fingers in his ears and touches his tongue. Jesus continues to break barrier after barrier. The reader must wonder ... where will it end?

A few things to chew on:

*The Syrophoenician woman argues with Jesus, comes back at him even after he insults her (he calls her a dog!). Sparring with God is nothing new in scripture - think of Jacob wrestling with the angel and Abraham bargaining with God in Genesis. All three examples lead to closer relationship with

Souls to the Polls and Voter Registration -- What, Why, and How

One of the things your Chapter and clergy staff are trying to do is remove the mystery about how things work and how things happen at Christ Church Cathedral. Last week, I wrote this post (What is *Christian* Outreach at Christ Church Cathedral) and updated you on the work of our Outreach Visioning Team ... which (among other things) will be proposing to Chapter a process for discerning which outreach ministries we should embrace as an entire congregation.

In the meantime, I was approached by the Rev. Traci Blackmon of Christ the King United Church of Christ to see if Christ Church Cathedral would be a part of Souls to the Polls, an ecumenical movement afoot among 31 churches (so far) in the St. Louis metro area to help get out the vote on Election Day, Nov. 6.

Christ Church Cathedral is now a "Souls to the Polls" congregation. But I want to be clear how we got there ... and invite conversation and feedback as much about the process as the outcome. Remember, we're all in this together.

First, what is Souls to the Polls?
Souls to the Polls is Rev. Blackmon's idea (I know Traci from our work together on Magdalene St. Louis). It is a nonpartisan effort that I believe comes from two common principles:

1) As Christians, we believe faithful exercise of the vote for the greater good is part of loving one another as Christ has loved us (John 13:34)

2)As Americans, we believe nobody should have his or her right to vote taken away or discouraged.

Many of us (myself included), believe that voter suppression ... particularly among the poor, elderly and minorities ... is alive and well. But you do not have to share that opinion to be part of Souls to the Polls. You just have to recognize that the poor, homeless, disabled and elderly face many challenges accessing the vote ... and be willing to help.

For a congregation to participate, all they need is a congregational coordinator who can rally volunteers in the congregation and act as a liaison between the church and the citywide effort. All volunteers need is a vehicle (theirs or the church's), driver's license and valid insurance.

Second, how did Christ Church Cathedral become a "Souls to the Polls" congregation?
When Pastor Blackmon invited us to join, I asked her to put us in the "maybe" category and I attended an organizational breakfast at her church. There, I became convinced that this was truly a nonpartisan effort, and that the two principles above (which are my distillation of their mission) were ones that the vast majority of people not just in our Cathedral congregation but in the diocese whose cathedral we are could embrace.