A Prayer in the form of Dr. Seuss, or "Save Me, Jesus, from the Christmas Crap"

This is something I posted on my own blog, as light and goofy in style as Bill's and Lois' are deep.  It's my reaction to watching "What Would Jesus Buy?" last night.  Did anyone see Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir at Busboys & Poets yesterday by any chance?  I sadly missed them. Check out the movie if you haven't.  Cary

We wander through the malls and the 'logues

to find the things that will end up as clogs

for houses that are already quite stuffed

with junk and crap and lots of fluff.

Our souls cry out for connection and love

and things that don't come from the push and the shove

of hanging at malls and wishing for more

while digging through piles in a shop or a store.

I sound like the Grinch and to him I relate

but usually my tolerance is rather sedate.

That demeanor is finished; I just can't pretend

when Wal-Mart stampeding caused life to end.

Some days on this planet, I want to cry "uncle"

and end the ridiculous, exhausting debacle

but Jesus has come, and he'll come once again,

and for now we are called to stay and to love

and to bear witness to kingdom on earth as above.

We labor with his strength; we are never alone,

e'en while shopping and striving, we hear ourselves groan

'til we rest and reflect on what God has done

and look upward, not mall-ward, where true peace is won.

God With Us

Posted by Lois Hansen

The following blog thoughts were written for Thanksgiving, but they seem appropriate for Advent as well. After all, without God's presence, what have we got?

A Serving of Ambivalence with My Thanksgiving Turkey

The article below caught my attention. As a middle-aged, single woman, I am learning about the joys of the "improvised family." It's still a little scary, though, as I will soon be living alone for the first time in my life.

Single D.C. women spend holiday with "improvised family"

This Thanksgiving, I will have the pleasure of spending the day with my four young adult children. We also will host my soon-to-be single friend, Nancy, and her elderly mother. Nancy's three children will spend Thanksgiving with their father (it's his turn); and, only five miles away, my children will spend the holiday with Nancy's children's grandmother. It's not that I'm not grateful for this improvised family, but traditional holidays always seem to shine light on thwarted or broken relationships.

I wonder if the Puritans, while thanking God for their community, shelter, and food, simultaneously grieved the loss of loved ones left behind in England and Holland and the death of relatives and friends who had succumbed to starvation and disease during the harsh Massachusetts' winters. Among them were children who would never hug their grandparents and parents who would never hold their children. They had been through innumerable hardships and had learned of God's deep, abiding care in the midst of them. They had much for which to be thankful. But, I have to believe their thankfulness was mixed with mourning. As mine will be.

Acknowledgment of Dependence

The good news is that thankfulness is not an emotion. Thankfulness is an acknowledgment of our dependence--our total lack of control. Life is filled with blessings and loss. Every physical blessing will someday be a loss. Truly, the only thing that remains is "God with us." I'm sure the Puritans knew this. Somehow, with all that stripping of the temporal, they clung to that which was most important--God's presence with them.

So, this Thanksgiving when I sit at the table and look with joy on my semi-improvised family and partake in the communal meal, I will be most grateful that God is there with us. And that is enough.

On Life and Advent from India

Some dear friends of ours, Brent and Melinda Snader, recently started a longer-term assignment with Word Made Flesh in Kolkata, India. Here's what Brent has been thinking about, particularly relevant during Advent....BH



Through the book Life with God, Richard Foster emphasizes the difference between bios (the Greek word for physical life, as I understand it) and zoe, (the Greek word that signifies original, uncreated, divine life that is from God and in God). Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect fellowship with God in Eden initially and following their sin they faced their punishment—death. God had told them that “in the day you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17). Yet on that day they did not cease to breathe or exist, but they were removed from the presence of God and their relationship with Him was broken, and in a real sense full life ended. In spite of our rebellion and persistent sin, God continued to be gracious and allow his chosen people to experience his presence in limited ways until he gave the greatest gift the world has ever received, Jesus. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means, “God with us.”” (Matthew 1:23) Jesus came to reverse our curse and separation from God that we might once again “have life and have it to the full.” John says about Jesus that “in him was life and that life was the light of men.” Through him we now look forward with longing to the day foretold in Revelation 21:3 when “the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.” What does it mean to be alive? I believe it means to live each moment in the intimacy of God’s loving presence from which place all else becomes secondary. The “life that is truly life,” “life to the full” is about recognizing and opening ourselves up to the One who says to us, “I am with you. Are you willing to be with me?” This is what I seem to hear God saying more clearly to me lately, and I hope and pray that in this season of relatively increased freedom and time I will learn to say, “yes” to his invitation for intimacy.

Education in Uganda

Posted by Kate Rehberg

I originally wrote this a few weeks ago for my own blog while studying abroad in Uganda. As I continue to process the semester, one of the recurring themes is how often government policy and practices differ, and how often that inconsistency messes up many attempts at development. After some encouragement, here's the entry for your consideration.

--

Uganda's president Museveni has gotten international praise for his “Universal Primary Education” system which debuted in 1997. Because of its supposed success, Museveni also launched “Universal Secondary Education” in 2003.

In the book Globalization and its Discontents which some people in our group have been reading on-and-off, we came across this praise of the program: “Most countries, facing severe budgetary constraints, have followed the Washington Consensus advice that fees should be charged. Their reasoning: statistical studies showed that small fees had little impact on school enrollment. But Uganda's President Museveni thought otherwise. He knew that he had to create a culture in which the expectation was that everyone went to school. And he knew he couldn't do that so long as there were nay fees charged. So he ignored the advice of the outside experts and simply abolished all school fees. Enrollments soared. As each family saw others sending all of their children to school, it too decided to send its girls to school. What the simplistic statistical studies ignored is the power of systemic change.”

Not so sure about that.

One of my close friends here, Gwen, is studying education in Uganda for her independent research project. She set out to look at parents' investment in their children's education (why they choose the schools they do, what they expect to get from their children after their schooling, etc)...and discovered instead that Uganda's claim of “free education for all” is basically crap.

There are two kinds of schools in Uganda: public and private. You can choose to go wherever you want as long as you can pay. Historically, families had to pay fees to both types of schools to at least cover operating costs, etc. But, with UPE, the government claims (to the public, other governments, and its international donors) to have eliminated all school fees at government schools. Parents are not supposed to have to pay anything to government schools for their children's educations. According to the government policy, schools are given 5,000 Ushs/term for P1-P3 and 8,000 Ushs/term for P4-P7. That's about $3 for each 1st - 3rd grader each term (there are 3 terms/year), and $5 for each 4th - 7th grader per term. That money from the government should mean that students don't have to pay for enrollement (they may still have to pay food and uniform costs, but that's all).

Expecting to verify this information, Gwen went to a government school and asked the head teacher how much it costs for each child's education. She said 12,900 Ushs per student per term, and that all government school fees were the same. The conversation below followed:

Gwen: “So the government pays those fees?”
Teacher: “Oh no, that's the parents”
Gwen: “But isn't this a government school?
Teacher: “Well, yes”
Gwen: “Well then what qualifies you as a government school? What does that status get you from the government?”
Teacher: “Oh, well, they give us 800 Ushs/student/term. Although...we often don't get what they say they will give us. So it's very hard for us to budget. Also, 800 Ushs is not very much. It's very difficult to make that stretch for 3 months.”

[Note: 800 Shillings is less than 40 cents].

To be fair, this conversation happened at a school in Kampala city. Apparently in rural areas the fees are a little less, because there aren't extra costs like electricity, etc. Regardless, though, across the country, students are paying to go to school at government schools. And Museveni is being praised by everyone as an educational innovator.

Which presents a problem for the international community that is currently funding Uganda and, by extension, UPE. To donors, Museveni's claims of free education are quite appealing. If it were true, the Globalization and its Discontents quote would be spot on. But giving schools 800 Shillings per child per term doesn't cover the cost of their education.

What Gwen's seen at the policy and implementation level, I've also seen at the local level during my own research. One of the questions I ask during interviews of IDPs living in Kampala is, “do your children go to school?” The vast majority of the time, the answer is “no” or “only one of my children does.” The answer to my follow up “Why not?” question is always, “I can't pay school fees.” Education as it currently stands is not an escape from poverty as Museveni pretends (and we donors believe) that it is.

A Calling to Create

Posted by Shelly Habecker

One of the things I love about living in Washington is meeting and being friends with people here who are doing all kinds of amazing things to change the world. Many people come to this city to improve policies, shape legislation, and create programs to help people both domestically and internationally to have a better quality of life. Along these lines, last Sunday at church, I was encouraged and inspired to learn more about what so many in our own community are doing in their jobs as international development workers. The projects they are working on tangibly seek to enable God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

As I listened, though, I found myself asking where I fit in God’s kingdom work. Actually, I have been asking this question for a long time. When I first came to Washington, I, too, sought out employment that focused on projects designed to help people to get better jobs, better housing, and better opportunities. Later I found myself drawn back to research and writing in an academic context, and ever since, I have been searching for language to help me make sense of this vocation.

Then this week I stumbled upon Madeleine L’Engle’s book Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, and I find myself encouraged and inspired by what she has to say about a calling to create.

All of us who have given birth to a baby, to a story, know that it is ultimately mystery, closely knit to God’s own creative activities which did not stop at the beginning of the universe. God is constantly creating, in us, through us, with us, and to co-create with God is our human calling. It is the calling for all of us, his creatures, but it is perhaps more conscious with the artist – or should I say the Christian artist? (p 81).

The work I spend my days doing is not art in the traditional sense of the word. I don’t paint or sculpt or write poetry or play an instrument. I am a social scientist, an anthropologist – I listen to people’s stories and try to make sense of the particulars of their lives in order to understand broader truths, the larger story, of how cultures and communities change and what that means about who we are and who we are becoming. This is my art. And I love what Madeleine L’Engle has to say about this:

To serve any discipline of art … is to affirm meaning, despite all the ambiguities and tragedies and misunderstanding which surround us (p 27).
Stories, no matter how simple, can be vehicles of truth; can be, in fact icons. It’s no coincidence that Jesus taught almost entirely by telling stories, simple stories dealing with the stuff of life familiar to the Jesus of his day. Stories are able to help us to become more whole, to become Named. And Naming is one of the impulses behind all art; to give a name to the cosmos we see despite all the chaos (p 46).

I love this notion of serving the discipline of art – that somehow by getting up every day and working on my research and writing that I am serving the work of art, telling the stories, God has given me to Name.

I know that there are other artists (however defined) in our community, and I would love to hear some of your thoughts on this calling to create. In addition, I would love to hear about other types of callings. I am delighted by the diversity of the body of Christ and want to know more about what the different parts are doing as we pray “your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Highly Recommended

Hi all,
Wanted to share a couple of things that I've enjoyed this week. IF anyone's in NYC in the next 10 days or so, head up to Columbus Circle to the Museum of Biblical Art and see the exhibit there on the prodigal son. Really powerful. Works from medieval tapestries to modern sculpture and an incredible collage of the prodigal son story set in Texas. Worth a trip.

Also, the book Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity, by Barna Group president David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons is really enlightening (or at least the first 2/3, which I have read, is). I think all Christians would benefit from reading this and reflecting on the authors' exhortation to repent of ways we each contribute to denigrating or muddying Jesus' core message of love. Thought-provoking. Ultimately encouraging.

Posted by Cary

Singing Tomorrow’s Song. . . Today in Bangladesh

posted by Lauren Sable

Our community has been reflecting intensely on Sunday nights for some time now on the coming of the Kingdom and how it is not just a future reality, but something that is occurring now in the present. Our Sunday series has enabled us to not only be reminded of this truth, but to develop stronger theological underpinnings to enable us to live more consistently into this truth in our own lives and with our vocations. We know that we have a role to play in this ongoing work and can be agents of change.

As I walked out of the Dhaka airport on Monday and took in my first sights of Bangladesh, I was instantly reminded of an environment I have only experienced once before. People – everywhere. For those that have not had a chance to travel to this part of the world, the volume of people around you that your eyes can take in within one view is really quite amazing. With every sense, you are reminded that this is a land where people scratch out an existence. Of all the countries I have had the privilege of traveling to in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, - India and Bangladesh are completely unique in this regard.

As we slowly drove from the hotel to the office crawling through the congestion, there were incessant knocks at the car window from beggars. One little girl about nine or ten years of age was considerably persistent. She knocked with her face pressed against the glass, calling out to me at one red light for five or ten minutes and following along to repeat her persistence at the next one. For anyone that has ever traveled overseas, we know that begging is the norm and part of the fabric. It’s typically an issue first timers overseas struggle with and then soon adapt to it. Sadly, I am usually immune to it. Of course the begging makes me sad, but I accept it as a reality. This day, however, whether due to this child’s persistence, the length of time she knocked at the window, or a sensitivity of the Spirit, my analytical brain kicked in as she knocked, returning me to fundamental questions.

What am I supposed to do in this moment? Right now, what does transformation and service look like for this child? How can the Kingdom be brought to her, here and now, given the nature and short circumstances of the moment? My primary lens for supporting transformation is through the work I contribute to in international development. If this child lived in one of our programming areas, addressing her poverty, whether physical or spiritual, would have a framework. Under this framework, there is hope for transformation of systems and structures, changed relationships, income generation possibilities, education and health care. But this was one child in need on a corner, knocking at a window. Her need was evident and there was no chance to address her poverty through my daily work.

According to World Vision’s (and St. Brendan’s) biblical understanding, the harsh reality of social and physical poverty calls for "justice, generosity, and acts of conviction and compassion." But what do these look like in a given moment. How can we discern how to act in a sea of infinite need?

Jesus himself must have encountered this sea of need as he walked the roads of Palestine. He urged people to “knock at the door”. Perhaps there were not car windows, but the multitudes did:
o push into him
o touch the hem of his robe
o cry out beside pools of water and open gates
o send servants with urgent requests to come
o scrape at the roof

We can read the stories of the specific moments in which he responded, but there must have been countless other requests. Palestine was a poor and oppressed land where like Bangladesh, people also scratched out an existence. In the midst of his longer-term mission, as he was confronted with endless needs, what did faithfulness look like in each of those moments?

The next morning, I joined with some Bengali colleagues around a table for devotions. World Vision staff around the world share the same devotional book, though we all progress through it at different paces and use the book differently. The title of our book from last year is something like Making the Most of the Rest of Our Lives and the title of the day’s devotion was “Singing Tomorrow’s Song . . . Today.” The devotion focused on the subject of hope. Participating with National Office staff in devotions is always a privilege as I hear them interpret scripture and make sense of God’s call in light of their social and cultural settings. In particular, we spent much time on the phrase, “Hope is tangibly practical.”

“Hoping boldly in the midst of present problems. Hope is tangibly practical. Rather than distracting us from the pains of the present, hope motivates us to deal with them. It is our privilege to lift up the signs of tomorrow’s certainties in the midst of today’s uncertainties. Followers of Christ are empowered by the Spirit towards what is good, and they can be found at the center of today’s solutions.”

We know it is true, but making hope tangibly practical in given moments is a challenge. How do we possibly make a future reality (i.e. God's Kingdom coming) a present reality? How do I answer a call to "justice, generosity, and acts of conviction and compassion" and make the future hope a present reality to a little girl I encounter for 10 minutes who is following my car in traffic? I know we can all rattle off appropriate theological and practical responses. “It was too short of a time span to do anything. You have no local currency yet. You don’t want to perpetuate a dangerous situation where children beg in traffic. She probably works for a mafia boss who will take what I would give her anyway.” These statements let me off the hook and build immunity to the areas in which I think we are called to wrestle and groan as Christ’s body in the midst of a hurting world. The bottom line is: Although it should be possible to bring the Kingdom in the moment at hand, none of my analysis in those minutes of knocking revealed something that would actually work.

I offer no solutions here. The purpose of this blog is to say to my community that I want us and need us to keep wrestling with questions like these as we explore the Kingdom and focus this year on its practical application. Let’s not conversationally apply easy, thematic spiritual truths to contexts without wrestling with what it means to make them a reality. Personally, I need folks to strive with me and submit with me before God, asking him in his mercy to show us how we can sing tomorrow’s song today. To show us how to be people of justice, mercy, generosity, compassion, and conviction in the world’s most broken places so that we can truly be signs of the Kingdom and sources of hope in the midst of pain.

God, lead us that we may stand firm in faith for justice. Teach us love, teach us compassion. Above all, out of love and compassion, teach us to act. Amen. -St. Brendan’s Common Prayer Liturgy (prayer from the Iona Community)

Epiphany and TS Eliot

On this day, January 6, we celebrate Epiphany. What better way (besides corporate worship and Eucharist (bread for the journey)) than to settle down with a warm coffee or hot tea, and take a slow read of "The Journey of the Magi" by TS Eliot. It begins

"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey..."

The rest is here http://www.blight.com/~sparkle/poems/magi.html

posted by Bill

Not necessarily belligerent but great nonetheless

In the spirit of Bill's list of co-belligerents and Laura's suggestion of the conference, I have a few favorites of late to share:

http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/ (often provocative, which is a compliment!)
http://www.theotherjournal.com/ (out of Mars Hill Grad School)
http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/ (my friend Penny is social justice editor, and I like what they're doing)
http://www.zoecarnate.com/ (amazingly long and good list of "Jesus-infused" sites)

I'm too new at St. Brendan's to assume that all will be interested but I think you'll find some nuggets here.

Also, I attended two conferences at Mars Hill Grad School in 2007. They were life-changing, and I could not recommend them more highly. Learn more at: http://www.mhgs.edu/conference/schedule.asp

(Brief testimony -- "Leadership Crucible" is a chance to "lead" in a very creative, cyber-world, in Seattle, for several days and be critiqued and encouraged, in real time, about your leadership style. Based on Dan Allender's book LEADING WITH A LIMP.

"Story Workshop" is based on Dan Allender's book TO BE TOLD and is about learning to love all the aspects of your life story and thus making all of it available for God's purposes in your life --"grieving your losses in the company of those who will help you reframe them."

Finally, just watch this for goosebumps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA
I love the idea of how often we fail to see our own glory even when it's there! Watch this as a metaphor for how we see ourselves vs. how God sees us. I'm taking liberties here but in any event, you will be introduced to Paul Potts. I like his story.

Cary

Stereotypes Straining Because of Integration

This from one of John Stott's study assistants....

Two global conferences I attended in the last couple years exemplify this division. In July 2004 I attended the “Global Institute of Theology” in Accra, Ghana, sponsored by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. While the Institute had the appearance of being directed by non-Western leadership, the content and teaching of the Institute was driven almost entirely by one ideological concern: trade, development and globalization. Even as a concern to discuss evangelism, personal conversion, or spiritual warfare was expressed by participants, these concerns were sidelined by the overwhelming focus on issues of trade and development.

At the Younger Leaders Gathering, there was again the impression of non-Western participation in the planning and leading of the event. But this time, rather than being driven by a concern for trade and development issues, there was an almost exclusive focus on world evangelization and personal conversion. While the conferences were vastly different in their agendas, they both suffered from being far too influenced by the Western ideological division that has so profoundly shaped the Western missiological project over the last 100 years.

But the most remarkable thing of all was that at each of the conferences I encountered non-Western Christians who could have easily been a part of either. Again and again these non-Western Christians defied my ability to categorize them. Were they evangelical or liberal in their priorities? I discovered that they were both and neither. They had a deep concern for many of the things that American evangelicals care about: biblical faithfulness, evangelism and conversion, sexual and moral standards and purity, the centrality of Jesus, spiritual warfare and the activity of the Holy Spirit. Yet they also had concerns about things which are not often discussed at a typical American evangelical conference: fair trade, the environment and conservation, rights for women, a deep aversion towards war, even resistance to global capitalism. Was this a case of confused priorities? To the contrary, it appears that as Christianity flourishes in environments beyond the historical baggage of Western Christianity, our non-Western brothers and sisters are re-discovering a more balanced form of “evangelical” Christianity that we have neglected.

From http://theotherjournal.com/article.php?id=207
posted by Bill (h/t Cary)

The Artist & The City

St. B's community,

I'd like to invite you to consider attending Image Journal's July 2008 Glen Workshop, the foremost meeting place of creative thinkers (artists, musicians, readers, moviegoers, etc.) of faith. Last year's conference was covered by PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, so this year's spots are bound to go fast. The Image staff and community are outstanding. I'm really hoping I'll be able to go this year, and it would be great if others might join me!

Here is some information, plus a link to the website:

The theme for the week, “The Artist and the City,” will provide a focal point for discussion. What is the relationship between the believing artist and the public square? This question raises fundamental issues about the way faith and culture interact. In North America believers have often felt that they must address the world through proclamation, the assertion that others should acquire what we already have. But art works differently, involving both its creator and audience in an act of common discovery. As the theologian Henri de Lubac once said: “Truth is not a good that I possess.... It is such that in giving it I must still receive it; in discovering it I still have to search for it....” How might the artist's quest to understand what it means to be human influence the way church and society address one another?

http://www.imagejournal.org/glen/08/index.asp

Thanks!

Laura

Friends of StBs, and co-belligerents!

There’s great joy in introducing good friends to good friends. One way or the other, these are some of the folks St. Brendan’s is connected to or whose work we want to further by highlighting them. It’s hardly an exhaustive list, but it sure is encouraging when taken together.

Google away!

St. Brendan’s in the City is a grateful daughter community of The Falls Church in Northern Virginia, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and gladly submitted to Christians in the 'majority world' through the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. Some of us had a part in founding the Kairos community, and are glad to be a sister to that community. We find deep theological roots in the work of Bishop NT Wright and the Reverend John Stott and Pope John Paul the Great, and increasingly Dalls Willard.

We find deep spiritual nurture through the contemplative website offered by the Irish Jesuits at Sacred Space, the Henri Nouwen Society, Jean Vanier and L’Arche, Ruth Haley Barton’s ministry of The Transforming Center, and Renovare.

We’re grateful to redemptively engage this hurting world with Word Made Flesh, a sort of Missionaries of Charity for young Protestants, and especially their communities in Bolivia, Calcutta, and Sierra Leone. A very important servant of justice is our dear friend and long partner, the International Justice Mission. We continue to share in the labor of loving Washington DC through the Southeast DC Partners and Central Union Mission among others, including deeply appreciating the ministries of L’Arche in Washington, Christ House and Columbia Road Heath Services, and the Servant Leadership School of the Church of the Saviour.

St. Brendan’s is deeply committed to relief and transformational development, manifested in our support and partnerships with the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, World Vision, and Five Talents International.

It’s a crazy American culture we live in, and Andy Crouch at Culture Makers, Catapult Magazine, the Center for Public Justice, and the Washington Institute help us make sense of it and learn how to engage it.

As best as we’re able given the strangeness of our metro Washington DC context, St. Brendan’s is all about intentional community among the poor for the sake of Jesus. So we count as friends and inspiration Circle of Hope in Philly, the Simple Way, Urban Neighbors of Hope, and Rutba House and their identification of the New Monasticism. It’s not particularly urban (!), but L’Abri has had a huge impact on us.

We're glad for these friends, and co-belligerents for the Kingdom. We look to God to lead us to our unique contribution to this wonderful list of his agents.

I'd love some responses to this post, sharing more people and ministries and communities we should be aware of, inspired by, or are already connected to that I left out.

posted by Bill

A Template of Meaning

I’m big on “the day after” as opposed to the anticipated holiday or the big event. I’ll take a random Tuesday over a holiday anytime, and I particularly love December 26 and January 1.

Traditionally I spend time on New Year’s Day looking back at journal and calendar and checkbook to see where the year went and what it all meant, with the hope of “doing better.” And sometimes I do (better); sometimes not.

But this morning I chanced upon the “praise” section of my 2007 journal and reread it, meditating on some of the names of God I had clung to this year and some of the ways He had manifested Himself in my life. I have renewed gratitude for those (and awe that He meets me so specifically). And in the names, I saw patterns.

There is a book of “Then and Now Bible Maps” in which there is a printed page and then a clear page that goes over it to show changing boundaries, new place names and how the maps reflect history. Today I was able to look at my year with an overlay of God’s names and roles in my life as the template that made sense of the reality, the lens through which it should be properly viewed. And that brings comfort and hope… that the disparate events, people, crises, joys, challenges, travels, encounters, readings, prayers and hopes of 2007 were not random or haphazard but, instead, functions of God’s movement and will in my life.

A major highlight of 2007 was healing in some key relationships, and I see that a Wonderful Counselor, Healer, Great Physician was responsible.

The River of Delights provided road trips, adventures, epiphanies, tears over beauty, moments of joy, feasts and reunions this last year.

I see that I faced specific instances of adversity, fear, worry, and uncertainty with one who trains me for battle and provides armor. He was a Shield where I can take refuge, a Rock, a Fortress, and Deliverer.

At times when I was lonely (stunned from having been hurt by or having hurt others, or just longing for deeper companionship than earth always provides), I had a Friend, although I rarely welcomed Him as “Sufficiency.” At other times I see how God sent specific books, thoughts, verses, experiences or even people (closely connected or one-time messengers) as manna that got me through a day, sufficient indeed.

Paths were made smooth so my ankles wouldn’t turn; my way was flooded in light and guidance. Discipline and rebuke sought to save me the trouble of wandering into minefields or digging my own, ultimately empty cisterns.

I see where the Holy Spirit was Librarian and Tutor, where God’s presence was an Abba’s lap, where Jesus was Guide in ways that surprised and intrigued and, yes, even irritated in the call to follow. But mostly I see that 2007 was from Him, and He was present – as opposed to the year being some random, haphazard series of events on the way to a someday, somewhere, somehow experience of finding God and His will.

Posted by Cary Umhau

St. Stephen's Day

The day after Christmas, St. Stephen's, has an easy way to remember the first Christian martyr, and more importantly, connect with God in light of the example of Stephen's life and death. Take a a long slow read of Acts 7, meditate on it, then offer this prayer from the Book of Common Worship....

Gracious Father, who gave the first martyr Stephen grace to pray for those who took up stones against him: grant that in all our sufferings for the truth we may learn to love even our enemies and to seek forgiveness for those who desire our hurt, looking up to heaven to him who was crucified for us, Jesus Christ, our mediator and advocate,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Prayer and a Poem on Christmas

From the BCP

Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born this day of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

"Second Advent" from WRLH

The hour is near, be not afraid
Though the final moment seems long delayed
Though tears and blood in oceans shed
Be not afraidThe one who in truth already dead
Is Satan, staggering still with heel crushed head
The world waits for this apocalypse, the new revelation
The second advent of the risen Son
When we with angels and demons both
Look back and proclaim that “God has won!”

More than just Lessons & Carols

Tonight those of us who remain around DC will gather, focus on the Advent of Christ, and retell the "meta-narrative" through Hymns and Scripture. We will use the old English Lessons and Carols Service, whose main them is the development of the loving purposes of God seen through the windows and words of the Bible.

The opening (or "bidding") prayer follows.

Beloved in Christ, in this season of Advent our care and delight is to prepare ourselves to hear again the message of the angels: in heart and mind to go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, and the Babe lying in a manger.

Let us read and mark in Holy Scripture the tale of the loving purposes of God from the first days of our disobedience unto the glorious Redemption brought us by this Holy Child; and let us make this Chapel, glad with our carols of praise:

But first let us pray for the needs of his whole world; for peace and goodwill over all the earth; for unity within the Church he came to build:

And because this of all things would rejoice his heart, let us at this time remember in his name the poor and the helpless, the cold, the hungry and the oppressed; the sick in body and in mind and them that mourn; the lonely and the unloved; the aged and the little children; all who know not the Lord Jesus, or who love him not, or who by sin have grieved his heart of love.

Lastly let us remember before God all those who rejoice with us, but upon another shore and in a greater light, that multitude which no human can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and with whom, in this Lord Jesus, we for evermore are one.

Individuals may offer up other prayers and request to God at this point.

These prayers and praises let us humbly offer up to the throne of heaven, in the words which Christ himself hath taught us:

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Almighty God bless us with his grace: Christ give us the joys of everlasting life: and unto the fellowship of the citizens above may the King of Angels bring us all.

If you're away this week and want to take in the full liturgy, shoot me a note and I will send it along.
~Royster Wright

periphery

Greetings, St. B's friends...below, from the Bauman clan, an advent offering. God be with you all.


Three days journey more
This City of Bread
We ascend.
Our nourishment,
Your soul,
Stretched fragile
Against blue collar sky;
Our sojourn,
Your will,
Rhythmed
By weary breath,
Burdened
By Middle Eastern sweat.

All the while
History exhales
Its last gasp
And waits
Your holy
Resuscitation.

Yahweh,
Respire these lungs
Blanket this shiver
And kindle this revelation
But stay not your advent:
Undress Your glory
Slip on human skin
And pitch your tent
Among us—

We who hunger
Who thirst
Who dwell
On the periphery

Come.

simplicity & etc.

hi all,

i had an intriguing/challenging conversation this weekend with Glasses Off (www.glassesoff.org) a religious liberty blogger. it brought into question my own ideas about simplicity, beauty, and celebrating the both of them at once. i would be interested in your thoughts -- as, i'm assuming, many of us here in DC ponder these issues. here is most of the resultant post from my blog:

... over our wedding shower tea & scones, ms. glasses & i discussed her penchants for freedom of worship and luxe design, as well as a reader’s rant regarding one of her fashion posts. the reader’s contention: no one who trumpets justice for the poor should buy prada shoes, even if they’re 3 seasons old and purchased on the mega-sale rack.

it was a good issue to ponder together, and it was especially germane because the bride-of-the-hour was a woman whom both ms. glasses and i marvel over, thanks to her ability not to let the transient/low-wage twenties keep her from collecting a few exquisite shoes, perfumes, and paintings (and not much else). in other words, the bride eschews target binges and, instead, awaits with baited breath the marc jacobs samples sale.

i’ll be honest: the bride’s shopping philosophy has sometimes left me a little befuddled — who needs a cashmere sweater when kmart’s cotton/paper-towel blend cardigan can keep you cozy?! i’m not too proud to endure a little chafing, if it’s all in the name of cheapskatery, which, as i’ve mentioned before, is pretty much in my top 10 family values. but the beauty of the bride’s philosophy has dawned on me once or twice — especially in those moments when i’ve had to borrow one of her soft sweaters and, as i toss it over my shoulders, my whole body says: ahhhhh.

ultimately, ms. glasses & i came around to pondering: what is simplicity? what is beauty? what are the most conscientious, green, and/or obedient choices when it comes to stewardship of resources? and how can a cheap person avoid smug self-righteousness and a bitter inability to celebrate beauty, and a person who loves finery keep from finery lust?

ms. glasses and i agreed that one of the most important things for cheapskates and finery-lovers alike is to temper consumption with giving. our conversation reminded me that tithing has been one of the most challenging and significant spiritual commitments of my adult life: taking 10% off the top of every paycheck is a great way to be utterly humbled before God. tithing is also a good reminder that every job is a gift and that i am always able to financially support ministries of mercy, even when i’m making $15K a year. and it may sound strange, but tithing has struck me as a discipline whose bodily impact is as powerful as that of chastity. perhaps that’s why these disciplines are two of the most difficult ones to undertake...

looking forward to your thoughts!

be well,

laura

Waiting For God by Henri Nouwen

Waiting is not a very popular attitude. Waiting is not something that people think about with great sympathy. In fact, most people consider waiting a waste of time. Perhaps this is because the culture in which we live is basically saying, “Get going! Do something! Show you are able to make a difference! Don’t just sit there and wait!” For many people, waiting is an awful desert between where they are and where they want to go. And people do not like such a place. They want to get out of it by doing something…

It impresses me, therefore, that all the figures who appear in the first pages of Luke’s Gospel are waiting. Elizabeth and Zechariah are waiting. Mary is waiting. Simeon and Anna, who were there at the temple when Jesus was brought in, are waiting. The whole opening of the good news is filled with waiting people. And right at the beginning all those people in someway or another hear the words, “Do not be afraid. I have something good to say to you.” These words set the tone and the context. Now Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary, Simeon and Anna are waiting for something new and good to happen to them…

Waiting, as we see it in the people on the first pages of the Gospel, is waiting with a sense of promise. “Zechariah,…your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son.” “Mary,…Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son” (Luke 1:13, 31). People who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. They have received something that is at work in them, like a seed that has started to grow. This is very important. We can only really wait if what we are waiting for has already begun for us. So waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to something more. Zechariah, Mary, and Elizabeth were living with a promise that nurtured them, that fed them, and that made them able to stay where they were…

Second, waiting is active. Most of us think of waiting as something very passive, a hopeless state determined by events totally out of our hands…But there is none of this passivity in scripture. Those who are waiting are waiting very actively. They know that what they are waiting for is growing from the ground on which they are standing…Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it…

Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not an empty waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we are waiting for. We wait during Advent for the birth of Jesus. We wait after Easter for the coming of the Spirit, and after the ascension of Jesus we wait for his coming again in glory. We are always waiting, but it is awaiting in the conviction that we have already seen God’s footsteps.Waiting for God is an active, alert - yes, joyful -waiting. As we wait we remember him for whom we are waiting, and as we remember him we create a community ready to welcome him when he comes.

Great insight from John Michael Talbot

We come to the beginning of another Advent. We have done it many times before, and will probably do so again. Only God knows the future. And we come to the beginning of another liturgical Church year. We come again to a time of penance and conversion; "Lent with a little sugar on top," as I have often said. There is not necessarily anything new to be said. Most of what we would say has been said before by many others. But "repetition is the mother of learning."

What strikes me with this is our notion of moving through time. In the west we usually think of time as having a beginning and an end. It can be seen as a line that starts in one place, and goes to another. In the east people think of time as a circle without beginning or end. There are strengths and weaknesses with both. The weakness of linear time is that it gets so goal oriented that it can fail to live in the present moment. The problem with cyclic time is that it can lull us into a state of sluggishness.

Pope Benedict XVI has put these two concepts together in a kind of "corkscrew" approach to time. It is both cyclic in that it goes round and round, and linear in that it begins and ends someplace. I really like this description. It is typically brilliant and insightful of Pope Benedict XVI.For many years I have proposed a similar model; that of a spiral staircase that goes up or down when viewed from the side, but seems to go round and round in the same space when viewed from below or above. This model emphasizes that ordinary life tends to go round and round with the same mundane issues over and over again. What makes our progress good or bad is which direction we are going.

St. Peter Damien of the 11th century semi eremitical reform of western monasticism, and a leading cardinal of the Church of his day, says that you either go up or down every day of your life. If you try to stand still you begin a downward spiral. Life is a decision. Love is a decision. The question is what we will do as the same issues of life come around again and again. Will we choose to follow Jesus this Advent, and continue our journey upward to heaven? Or will we just stop trying and begin a slow downward spiral?

Chances are we elder members of the Church will not hear much new this Advent. Chances are that we have heard it all pretty much before. But the challenge of what we do with the message of Jesus for us this Advent remains a matter of life or death for us all. We can choose to follow Jesus, or we can just give up, or block it all out once more.

This Advent, rise to the challenge. Though the issues might seem to get old, the challenge never gets old. It is always new because every day of our life is new. Let's convert, let's do penance, let's rise and walk up the spiral staircase with the help of the grace of God. Let's not get lulled into to a sense of the all too familiar and try to stand still. It only leads to falling back down the stairs. It leads to sin, sadness, and spiritual death. Jesus wants us to have life and have it abundantly. This Advent let's choose life, and live. God grant you a most blessed Advent this year!

In Jesus,
John Michael Talbot
Founder and Spiritual Father
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage