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Tags:church advertisementI do not know if it is exactly accurate for me to say I “enjoy” Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter. I appreciate and need Lent. It is an important time for introspection. Lent invites me to re-focus my time, my priorities – my life. I feel like we, in the United States, have been experiencing a communal Lent. Faced with the economic crisis and general anxiety about the state of our world, many of us are stepping away from unconscious shopping and rethinking our priorities. There are also many of us who are facing personal financial loss.
In scary times like these it is helpful to remember that Lent is a season that leads somewhere. The Christian calendar never stays on Lent. Nor do our lives. We are moving quickly toward the festival of Easter when we remember that all things, even death, lead to life. For me the message of Easter is “Do Not Be Afraid.” There is no tragedy or crisis that will ultimately have the last word. God is in the business of bringing life out of what looks like death.
I am reminded each Easter of the words of Julian of Norwich, the 14th century mystic, who wrote after the time of the Black Death in England and in the midst of her own personal crisis, “All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
She received these words in a vision as she meditated on Christ’s crucifixion and she struggled to believe them. How, given the pain and suffering she saw around her, could this be possible? Here is how she wrote about the reply she received:
And so our good Lord answered all the questions and doubts which I could raise, saying most comfortingly: I make all things well, and I can make all things well, and I shall make all things well, and I will make all things well; and you will see for yourself that every kind of thing will be well. …And in these words God wishes us to be enclosed in rest and peace. (Showings, p. 229)
Yes these are scary times. But the causes of our fear and anxiety will not have the last word. Resurrection will happen. And not just after we die. If we are open to the possibility and open to the movement of God’s Spirit, we will be raised to new and deeper life – as individuals and as a community. All will be well.
To help us experience the mystery of the Resurrection in our lives, Trinity Cathedral offers a series of services during Holy Week – the week leading up to Easter. This is a time of heightened focus and expectation. If you want to experience some of the best stories and rituals in Christianity, I encourage you to attend Holy Week services. They are:
Palm/Passion Sunday, April 5, 7:30am, 9:00am, 11:15am, remembers Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with great fanfare as well as his crucifixion.
Tenabrae, Tuesday, April 7, 7:30pm, features readings from Isaiah and the Lamentations of Jeremiah as well as solemn chanting by a chamber choir. Think of medieval monks in a candlelit monastery.
Maundy Thursday, April 9, 5:45pm, remembers Jesus’ last supper with his friends where he washed their feet as a sacrament of love.
Good Friday Meditations, April 10, noon – 3:00pm honors the three hours Jesus hung on the cross through meditations on the important people in this drama and periods of silent prayer. People come and go as their schedules allow.
Good Friday Evening Service, April 10, 7:30, remembers the crucifixion through the lens of John’s gospel.
Holy Saturday Service, April 11, 9:00am, focuses on the tradition that Jesus descended to Hell to release all who were trapped in death.
The Easter Vigil, April 11, 7:30pm. This service begins in darkness as we listen to stories about the spiritual history of humanity and culminates with a celebration of resurrection through communion and baptism.
Easter Morning, April 12, 7:30am, 9:00am, 11:15am, festive services celebrating the Resurrection.
First, changing the constitution will not stop, or even slow down, the witness of loving gay and lesbian couples and parents. Gay and lesbian couples will continue to pledge their love for one another. They will continue to be great parents. That will not go away. You can’t legislate against love. Love will always win.
Second, the marriage of gay and lesbian couples is now a reality. That genie is not going back in the bottle. It may take a few years for the right to be restored, but there is no way that it is gone. Now if someone asks they ask me, “Do you believe in Gay marriage?” I can say, “Believe in it, I’ve seen it!”
But the biggest reason for hope came from the rally yesterday at the state capital. It was breathtaking. I was so energized and excited and hopeful. The passing of Prop 8 and its consequent denial of the right to be legally married has given us a reason to continue to fight for justice. It is a galvanizing force, a rallying cry that is uniting us even more. I could imagine that if prop 8 failed, we would have had a big party, but then we might have gone our separate ways and faded into the woodwork of normal society. But not now. There is no fading into the woodwork. Instead we will be all up in their grill. And whatnot.
And I think this continued, high-energy activism will have collateral benefits that we can’t even imagine yet. The energy and organization will reap benefits that are larger than California and broader than marriage equality. I don’t know what they will be, but I know they will come.
God is good!
Tags:glbt, lgbt, marriage equality, Proposition 8A group of members of the congregation at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Sacramento brought out some rainbow—what? banners? No, just pretty swirly things—to welcome couples arriving at the clerk’s office.Trinity Cathedral is a welcoming congregation for GLBT people. Church members have marched in a number of pride parades.
Several of the church members reminded me to let everyone know that they’ll be hosting Bishop Gene Robinson of the diocese of New Hampshire, the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop, for a visit in Sacramento from June 30 to July 2.
::posted by Kel Munger @ 2008-06-17 3:05 PM
How would you describe the brokenness of our world? In what ways are we living lives too small for us? One way Christianity answers these questions is through language of separation. We are estranged, or separated from God, from one another and from our true selves. Separation within the human family is obvious when watching the news or listening to political rhetoric. Whether it’s Sunni vs. Shia, Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative, pro-life vs. pro-choice, people are estranged from one another in endless ways. And this separation is not usually benign. We all too often consider ourselves superior to those in the other group. This superiority allows us to demonize and belittle the other. And the world becomes more fractured.
I do not believe this is how God intends us to live our lives. We are created to be interdependent, not independent. We are designed to be in communion and community with one another, which is one reason why hospitality is such an important spiritual discipline. We exercise hospitality when we make room in our lives, in our homes, in our social circles for others, particularly those who are different.
One reason Trinity Cathedral hosted the Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala and the monks who created it was to model radical hospitality. We wanted to show the world how two different religious traditions could come together, not simply to have a discussion, but to share intimate worship space and spiritual practices. And the willingness of the Buddhists to bring their spiritual practice into a Christian cathedral modeled the same hospitality.
The results were spectacular. The mandala alone was radiant and the monks were gracious and spirit-filled. But the context, the mandala within the Christian cathedral, made it even more remarkable. I was enthralled. I found it difficult to focus on anything else. It felt like God’s Kingdom of Love was blossoming right there.
But the hosting of the mandala was not problem-free. Hostpitality can be messy. We often have to make accommodations for others. People have different ways of living, different cultural expectations. The Cathedral can be a very busy place and people have different expectations of what will go on in a church (talking/laughing vs. silence, eating vs. not eating.) Worship services and music rehearsals took place while the monks were working and visitors were passing through. There were collisions of sound and space.
One such collision happened at 9am on Friday. We celebrate communion every day at Trinity Cathedral. On Fridays, the communion is at 9 a.m., which is also when the monks began their work with prayer and chanting. On Friday, Canon Carey, an 80-year-old priest, was at the high altar blessing the bread and wine (a particularly holy moment in the service) when the monks began chanting in the East Transept, about 15 feet away.
Some people might have taken offense. After all, shouldn’t the guests be more sensitive to services that are happening in the Cathedral? When Canon Cary recounted this experience for me, he was not offended at all. In fact, he said he was so moved by the beauty of the chanting happening at such a holy moment in his service, that he was moved to tears. He told the small congregation gathered for communion that this was a communion they would never forget.
Isn’t that beautiful? Christian communion enriched by Buddhist chanting. Such beauty can become manifest when we open our lives to those who are different from us. And God’s Kingdom of Love draws nearer.
-Dean Baker
Several years ago, while serving as a priest in Sun Valley, Idaho, a young woman visited me. She was to be married and she wondered if I would officiate at an Episcopal wedding service that included Tibetan Buddhist prayers. I was a little skeptical. Not because I didn’t think Buddhist prayers should be said at a Christian wedding. Rather I wanted to make sure Pilar, the young woman, was serious about her Buddhist practice. In my community Tibetan Buddhism had an exotic mystique and I wanted to make sure the prayers would be said with integrity rather than simply added to be chic.
As it turned out, Pilar was a devout Tibetan Buddhist and was very intentional in her spiritual practice. I did officiate at her wedding and she and I became good friends. She taught me Yoga. We began meditating together and after we prayed, we would teach each other about our different religious traditions. We opened our conversations to the wider community. Because of my friendship with Pilar, I took my own spiritual disciplines more seriously. I became a better Christian because of my friendship with a Buddhist.
There were some aspects of Pilar’s faith, like emptiness and compassion, that connected readily with my own perspective. There were other aspects of her beliefs that will probably always feel foreign to me. It was not necessary for us to be the same (as in “all religions are basically the same”) in order for us to respect one another and to learn from one another.
Toward the end of my time in Sun Valley, I was asked to organize and facilitate a meeting between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and local religious leaders. It was one of the highlights of my ministry and a lovely culmination of my relationship with the Buddhists in Sun Valley.
When I arrived in Sacramento, one of the first people to see me was Lama Jinpa, the leader of the local Tibetan Buddhist community. Pilar had asked him to visit me. Lama Jinpa and I have met a few times and have discussed how we might be able to work together. Because of this new friendship, Trinity Cathedral has been invited to host two Tibetan monks who are coming to build a sand mandala in early December.
I think it is important that the mandala will be created in a Christian church. In our world with so much conflict and division, religious groups should model hospitality and inclusion. Not only is this an opportunity for hospitality, it is a chance for mutual enrichment. The mandala will depict the Medicine (or healing) Buddha. At Trinity Cathedral, we take praying for healing seriously. We have people at every Sunday service that pray for those who need special prayers. These prayers take place in the same part of the Cathedral where the Medicine Buddha mandala will be. The mandala , which is a kind of icon, will be placed next to a beautiful icon of the Trinity at the Cathedral. These are just a couple of obvious connections. Others will become manifest as we spend time together.
The mandala will be open to the public and it is my hope that many people will come to visit the Buddhist monks as they create their beautiful and deeply spiritual artwork.
It’s an odd thing being a priest. It’s pretty much a cocktail-party-conversation killer.
“So what do you do?”
“Well, I’m an Episcopal priest.”
Long pause. Then the inevitable, “I used to go to church but . . .”
I think that’s so strange. When I’m introduced to a dentist, I don’t have the urge to confess my poor flossing habits.
Besides, I think there are great reasons for not going to church. Most notably, many Christians have done such a poor job representing Jesus. Jesus’ life and teachings were intended to give us life, to connect us with God, one another and our true selves, to free us from fear, free us from judging one another and free us from oppressive social structures (including religious structures.) One could argue that Jesus came to do away with religion, insofar as religions are organizations that treat God’s love as a commodity that is controlled by the religion.
On the other hand, “religions” are necessary for two reasons. First, spirituality needs community. We need to explore our beliefs with other people. Unless one has reached enlightenment, one needs the wisdom of others. We also need others with whom to strive for justice and peace, and others to love. In church, I’m required to love a wide variety of people, some of whom drive me crazy. It’s like spiritual boot camp.
Second, humanity needs the teachings of the great spiritual traditions to be passed on. We need communities of people to record these teachings and to teach them to later generations. The Bible, the Koran, the Buddhist Sutras are religious texts. We would not know about Mohammed, Jesus or the Buddha if it wasn’t for religions.
Religions are simply communities of spiritual people who want to journey and serve together.
Yes, some religious groups are homogeneous clubs who believe they have a corner on Truth or God’s love. And yes, I think people are wise to not be “religious” in that sense.
But beware of limiting your spiritual options because of these bad examples of spiritual community.
I believe people are hungry for authentic community. People are hungry for a way to encounter
God and deepen their spiritual lives. And people are hungry for a way to make a difference in the world. I know there are many different ways to feed these hungers. For me, these deep spiritual hungers are fed by being a part of a spiritual community that has Jesus as its guide. Trinity Cathedral is a welcoming community where people are passionate about their spiritual lives and serving others. If you are interested in encountering the teachings of Jesus in such a community, please join us. If you want more information, email me. I would love to hear from you. Or if you have a different path, I would enjoy hearing about it. Blessings!
Between December 6th and 9th, Tibetan Buddhist monks will be at Trinity Cathedral to create a sand mandala of the medicine (healing) Buddha. The Cathedral will be open to see the work in progress on Thursday and Friday from noon to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The monks will do a medicine Buddha healing ceremony Saturday night at 7 p.m. The monks will participate in our Sunday morning services at 9:00 and 11:15. The Dissolution Ceremony will be Sunday at 1 p.m. where the sand will be swept into a big pile and then placed in little bags that will be available for people to take.
I first learned to pray when I was 11 years old. My nonreligious, Air Force colonel father came home one day and declared that the family needed to learn to meditate. The six of us piled into the family car and drove to the Transcendental Meditation center in nearby Amherst, Massachusetts. (This was in the early 70’s.) Each member of the family received private instruction and was given a mantra. For the following two years, meditation was part of our family routine. Before dinner Mom would remind us, “Have you meditated yet?” If we hadn’t, we would trot down to the basement and sit in silence for the prescribed 20 minutes.
While the practice didn’t last longer than the two years we lived in Massachusetts, it did open a quiet place in my soul. Years later, when I entered seminary to become an Episcopal priest, I became very grateful for the gift of meditation. Seminary was hard for me. My undergraduate work at West Point focused on engineering mechanics and computer science. I then spent 5 years in the left-brained world of the Army. In seminary I was completely out of my element. My classmates had all majored in philosophy and religion. I remember trying to read a theology text and having to look up every third word in a dictionary.
Then one day, at noonday prayers, I came across this prayer: O God, you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are fixed on you; for in returning and rest we shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be our strength. (Isaiah 26.3 30.15) I wrote the words on a post-it and stuck it on my mirror. I returned to my practice of sitting in silence. I regained my center as I listened to the still, small voice of God.
While I have never been consistent in my spiritual disciplines, prayer has been an important part of my spiritual life. Prayer for me is much more than sharing my concerns with God. Prayer is a way of shaping the way I see the world—of being open to the way God sees the world. In addition to silent prayer, one of my favorite ways of praying is to recite words written by other, more spiritually mature people. In the Episcopal Church, much of our worship consists of reciting, as a community, beautiful enlightening prayers.
One of my favorite prayers comes from a nighttime service. Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
I have this prayer memorized and recite it as I am going to sleep. It helps me realize my deep connection with those who “work, or watch, or weep this night.” Prayer invites me into a world that is bigger and more whole than my day-to-day existence.
I’m sure I thought my father was crazy back in 1973. But he introduced me to a priceless gift. Let us pray.
Why be fine, when I could be blessed? I woke up this morning. Today didn’t have to happen for me. But it did. I get to breathe air, eat food. I have people in my life who love me, whom I get to love. And I’m just fine? No, I am Blessed!!!
One of the problems for me is I take the many blessings in my life for granted. The gift of life and the gift of people to love simply become normal. They are the status quo; I no longer notice them.
What I do notice is what I don’t have. I don’t have a digital SLR camera. I don’t have a motorcycle. I know my life would be so much better if only I had these things.
I also notice what I have that I might lose. I bought my house 1 ½ years ago. I’m sure it has lost value. My financial security feels like it is slipping away. And of course, so will my health – if not now, then eventually. It’s hard to feel fine, let alone blessed, when life is so precarious.
I get to choose, of course, whether I want to look at my life through the lens of scarcity or abundance. I get to choose to be fine or blessed. But it is difficult in our culture to live in abundance. So many of the messages we receive tell us we either need to buy something new for fulfillment or we need to worry about our health or prosperity slipping away.
I find two spiritual practices helpful in realizing that I am blessed. First is the simple act of gratitude. I am reminded of this whenever Thomas tells me he is blessed. He often adds, “I got out of bed this morning.” He reminds me it could have been otherwise. I too got out of bed. I was given the gift of this day. This little nudge from Thomas helps me remember that I’m blessed in many other ways as well. I thank God for this remarkable gift of life.
The other spiritual practice that helps me realize I’m blessed is generosity. For some mystical reason, giving things away, things that I care about, gives me life. It is strange, because our culture tells us we need more to be happy. But living as if my life was abundant, and sharing this abundance with others somehow makes my life more abundant. In being generous, I become more alive. And the voice in my head that tells me I can’t be happy unless I have more, is weakened. My blessings increase.
I don’t want to be fine anymore. I want to be BLESSED! I’m going to start by changing my response when greeted by others. So if you see me around town, please ask, “How are you?”
