A Blessing and a Blessed People - Christmas Eve 2012

Doesn’t the church look lovely today?  I would like to thank everyone who helped decorate.  You are a blessing to us all.

Blessing … what does that mean?

How does the Bible talk about blessing.

Do any of you say grace before you eat?

NRSV Matthew 26:26  While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."

Does God bless us?

NRSV 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

Do we bless God?

^NRSV Psalm 115:18 But we will bless the LORD from this time on and forevermore. Praise the LORD!

Is there any other way we use the word bless?

^NRSV Psalm 37:26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing. ²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever.

This is the most important.  What does it mean to be a blessing?

A Welcoming People - Advent IV 2012

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

          Wasn’t the carol service wonderful?

          Thank you to our lay leaders who made it possible.  And thank you to all of the youth who read and made such incredible music.  What a blessing to have so many young people here in our church.  It was such a joy to see so many kids join us in our worship.

          (pause)

          What was wrong with what I just said?

          It was very unwelcoming.  Did it sound that way to you?  Well, let me say it again and listen for it.

          Wasn’t the carol service wonderful?

          Thank you to our lay leaders who made it possible.  And thank you to all of the youth who read and made such incredible music.  What a blessing to have so many young people here in our church.  It was such a joy to see so many kids join us in our worship.

          (pause)

          Did you hear it this time?

          Whose church is it?  Ours – not theirs, but we are glad they are here.  Whose worship is it?  Ours – not theirs, but we are happy to see them.  Who made the service possible?  Our lay leaders – not the kids, but we thank them for doing what we asked them to do.

          It is so easy to think we are being welcoming while what we are doing is exactly the opposite.  When I wrote that “thank you” for the carol service I meant every word of it.  I meant for everyone who was involved to feel appreciated and welcome.  I failed.

          There are lots of things we do in church that make this an unwelcoming place even though that is not what we are trying to do.

          I would like everyone to look around them for a moment.  If someone new were to come to church, where would they have to sit?  Up near the front.  Is that a place you would be comfortable sitting?  How do you think someone who is nervous about being in church in the first place would feel?  What if someone came into church late?  They have a few choices.  They could look inside, turn around and leave.  They could stand at the back.  Or they could walk past everyone and find a seat.  If you didn’t know anyone here which would you do?

          Thinking back to the carol services, I was so happy to see all the children who came.  But I got very confused as the service went on.  We call this a family service.  We say that we are welcoming and open.  I saw a bunch of little people sitting quietly next to their parents or grandparents.  I didn’t see children.  It wasn’t because of anything that anyone was doing during the service.  It was because of something that has been done for a long time.  Those small people were not allowed to be children because their parents were taught that it is not okay to be a child in church even if you are one.  Church is where you are on your best behaviour.  You aren’t supposed to do anything that will call attention to yourself even if you don’t understand what is going on or even worse if you do understand and you’re bored.

          Whose church is this?

          It’s not yours.  It’s not mine.  It’s not theirs.

It is God’s church and we have been called to look after it.

Our feeling welcome and comfortable here should not come at the expense of someone else’s welcome.

So what can we do be more welcoming?

Some things should be easy but they may be a bit uncomfortable.  Earlier I asked you to look at where everyone was sitting.  How could we change that just a bit and make this a much more welcoming place?  How about this: reserve the last one or two pews for latecomers and visitors who may be uncomfortable sitting up near the front.  Don’t worry.  This will still leave you well towards the back of the church.  I’m not asking you to move right up front.

          Another way we can be more welcoming is to choose our words more carefully.  I’m going to go back to the beginning and try to fix what I said.

Wasn’t the carol service wonderful?

Thank you to everyone who helped to make it possible.  What a blessing to have such a beautiful service take place here in this church.  It was such a joy to be able to join in worship with all of our younger members.

Did you hear how that was different?  The service was for and by everyone.  There was no talk of theirs and ours.  There were no hosts and no guests.  This is God’s church.  And in God’s church, there really are no visitors and members.  There may be regulars and people who come less often or even only once, but as the regulars it is our job to make it understood that we don’t guard the door.  We don’t choose who gets to come in and who should stay out.  Everyone has as much of a right and a calling to be here as we do.

And now if you would join me in the Advent Prayer.  I pray that God will help us all during this Advent to hear his call in our lives.  I pray that God will send his spirit upon us so that we may heal the hurts that we have caused and be healed of those hurts that we have received.  I pray that God will open our eyes so that we can see clearly the effects that our actions have upon ourselves, upon those around us, and upon our community.  I pray that we can become a people who look for God’s blessings in our lives and in the lives of those around us and that we can celebrate those blessings as a gift to us all.  And most of all, I pray that all can feel welcome here, surrounded by our love and the love of God.  Amen.

Farewell to 27 - Rest In Peace

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

          “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!  The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies.”  (Zephaniah 3:14-15 NRSV)

          I have something to say to everyone who made it to the candlelight walk yesterday ….  You are a blessing to this community.

          We all need to support each other in the communities North of Smokey.  Every job lost to our local economy affects us all.  And it is not just here.  Our current government is moving many jobs away from small communities and eliminating others.  What they are telling us is that we don't matter.  Well, it isn't true.  We do matter.  You matter.  Our communities matter.  And the more we do to tell them that what they are doing is NOT OKAY the greater the chance that they will listen to us.  Yesterday’s walk was one way to do that.  The petition that we had here in church on Thanksgiving was another way.  Can anyone think of some other ways to let the government know how we feel?  What we think matters to our community?

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.”  (Isaiah 12:2 NRSV)

Have courage.  Governments can be changed.  Jobs can be brought back.  This is a strong community.  I have faith that whatever comes you will support each other through this and other difficulties.  Remember that you are here because you want to make this community a better place.  You are here to bring God’s blessing to this community!

I would like you to remember also that no matter how bad things seem sometimes for our community here, there are others that need our prayers and support.  Two days ago in Connecticut twenty-seven people died.  Twenty of them were children.  What kind of response can we make to this tragedy?  How can we even make sense of it in our own lives?  And how does God fit in to what happened?

God is Love.  I believe that God calls us but God does not direct our lives.  At times like this I take great comfort in this belief.  If God is love and God does not direct our lives, then I have to believe that God did not cause this to happen or even want it to happen.  Instead, God shares the pain of everyone affected by the shooting.  I’m sure there are lots of things that led to this happening but God wasn’t one of them!

How do we respond in our own community?  Our schools already have lockdown procedures.  Our children are taught what to do if there is a threat at school.  This saddens me.  We are teaching a whole generation (and maybe even a second one) that it is not okay to trust.  We are teaching our children to be afraid of anyone they don’t know.  And yet here in church we talk about having faith in God and in our fellow human beings.  Which is it supposed to be?

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.”  (Philippians 4:4-5 NRSV)

Since the shooting, I have seen people suggesting that we should turn our schools into fortresses to protect our children.  I have seen people saying that this happened because this particular school was “Godless.”  Living our lives in fear or hatred is not living the Gospel.

So how do we respond when something like this happens?  We show our sadness.  We show our anger.  We say this is NOT okay!

And we pray.  Today we will not be sharing my advent prayer.  Instead as we light the advent candles I will read the names of the twenty-seven dead and I ask you to hold them and their loved ones in your hearts.

Charlotte Bacon, 6. 
Daniel Barden, 7. 
Rachel Davino, 29. 
Olivia Engel, 6. 
Josephine Gay, 7. 

Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 6.
Dylan Hockley, 6.
Dawn Hochsprung, 47.
Madeleine F. Hsu, 6.
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6.
Chase Kowalski, 7.
Nancy Lanza, 52.
Jesse Lewis, 6.
James Mattioli, 6.
Grace McDonnell, 7.
Anne Marie Murphy, 52.
Emilie Parker, 6.
Jack Pinto, 6.
Noah Pozner, 6.
Caroline Previdi, 6.
Jessica Rekos, 6.
Avielle Richman, 6.
Lauren Rousseau, 30.
Mary Sherlach, 56.
Victoria Soto, 27.
Benjamin Wheeler, 6.
Allison N. Wyatt, 6.

(Silence)

Called to Bless

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

“Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction … and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.”  (from Baruch 5:1 NRSV)

As I said last week, during Advent we explore the reasons that we come to church.  We ask what it is that God is doing in our lives and how we are called to respond.  We are called to look at what we are doing well and what we could do better.  We are called to explore our mission in this place and what resources we have to accomplish that mission.

          Each year I during Advent I look back to my ordination and think about the vows that I made.  This year I am focussing on my vow to pronounce God’s blessing.  This vow sits at the centre of much of the controversy that we can find in our Anglican Church today.  The most obvious case is with the blessing of same sex unions.  When I first came here, clergy were being asked to let the bishops know where we sat on this issue and why.

          The first part was not hard for me to answer.  I grew up in Vancouver and we have been talking about this for many years.  I had long since come a clear understanding of my position.  The second part was harder to put into words.  It was the first time I was being asked to think about this as a priest, and that meant that my reason had to be theologically grounded and it had to fit with my vows.  In the end this is what I said.

          I have made a vow to pronounce God’s blessing.  I was not given the option of withholding it.  In fact, as Christians we are told in Matthew and in Luke that we should not judge one another.  Instead we are to love all of God’s creation.  If I were asked to bless a same sex union, I would be put in a very bad spot.  I do not believe that I have the right not to bless.  And this is not only about same sex unions.  I am called to pronounce God’s blessing to all who ask for it, whether they are a common law couple or married by a JP, whether they want their relationship blessed or their ship blessed, or their cat, or their house, or their lawn-mower ….  You get the idea.  I made a vow to pronounce God’s blessing, not to bless what or who I believe is worthy of being blessed.

          You might be wondering why I am brining this up now.  Well, as I said before, Christmas is a special time to celebrate God’s blessings in our lives.  During Advent, we think about our blessings and prepare to offer them back to God.  We think about the blessings we have in our families.  We think about the blessings we have in this community.  We think about the blessings we have in our church family.  And on Christmas we give thanks for these blessings.

          As many of you know, I have been asked to offer up the marriage of Adrianne and Michael to God and ask his blessing on them.  I am so happy for them that they want God to be a part of their marriage.  I think that it is wonderful that they see this as an expression of their life in this, their church family.  While it may not be common, it is fully within our tradition as Anglicans to celebrate this type of blessing as part of our regular gatherings as a congregation.  I hope that you will find as much joy as I will to be able to share this blessing with them just before we share Christ’s peace with one another on Christmas Eve at St. John’s.  And if you are worshiping at St. Andrew’s this Christmas Eve, I ask that you keep them in your prayers and think of their blessing in our lives as we share the peace.

          And now if you would join me in the Advent Prayer.  I pray that God will help us all during this Advent to hear his call in our lives.  I pray that God will send his spirit upon us so that we may heal the hurts that we have caused and be healed of those hurts that we have received.  I pray that God will open our eyes so that we can see clearly the effects that our actions have upon ourselves, upon those around us, and upon our community.  I pray that we can become a people who look for God’s blessings in our lives and in the lives of those around us and that we can celebrate those blessings as a gift to us all.  And most of all, I pray that all can feel welcome here, surrounded by our love and the love of God.  Amen.

Advent Message (extended version) 2012

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Happy New Year!

Today we start a new year in the church calendar.  We start Advent.  But what is Advent all about.

Advent is a time of preparation.  Advent is a time for looking within ourselves and finding a new way forward.  It is a time for new beginnings.  It is a time to challenge ourselves, to push ourselves, to make demands of ourselves which may not be comfortable or easy.

          Each year at Advent, we are called to look deeply at our traditions and practices as members of the Christian family.  What does it mean to be Christians in a world that is no longer dominated by those of our faith?

We are called to look as faithful people who belong to the worldwide Anglican Church.  We are part of a denomination that spreads around the world.  We are a denomination that is currently divided against itself on many issues.  …

We are called to look as part of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.  We are part of a diocese that is spread wide over two provinces.  We have to travel nearly six hours to visit our cathedral and close to two hours to visit our nearest neighbours within the diocese, Sydney Mines or North Sydney.  What does it mean to be part of a family whom we almost never see?

We are called to look as people seeking to improve our own community here North of Smokey.  We are asked to look at what we do and decide whether or not it serves us and those who look to us and to the church for care.  What do we have to offer to the community?  And what should we be asking from the community in return?

During Advent we explore the reasons that we come to church.  We ask what it is that God is doing in our lives and how we are called to respond.  We are called to look at what we are doing well and what we could do better.  We are called to explore our mission in this place and what resources we have to accomplish that mission.

          In the time I have been here, I have seen some great things.  I have seen two churches grow together in their ministry.  I have seen a willingness to work together towards a future as a united parish.  I have seen congregations who have come from talking about needing to attract more people, to congregations that have looked at ways to be more welcoming to those who do come, and finally to a parish that is ready to go out and bring news of its ministry directly to those in the community who are affected and ask them if there is more that you could do.  I am so proud of where we have come together.

          There is still work to be done.  I ask you to think this Advent about what it means to be a people who celebrate God’s blessing in our personal lives and in our life as a church.

I ask you to think about what it means to be truly welcoming to the point where it is more important for someone to feel welcome than for you to feel comfortable yourself.

I ask you to think about how having someone share their experience of God’s blessing in their lives could possibly take away from anything that we do together in church in this parish.

And so I ask you to join me this Advent in prayer.  I pray that God will help us all during this Advent to hear his call in our lives.  I pray that God will send his spirit upon us so that we may heal the hurts that we have caused and be healed of those hurts that we have received.  I pray that God will open our eyes so that we can see clearly the effects that our actions have upon ourselves, upon those around us, and upon our community.  I pray that we can become a people who look for God’s blessings in our lives and in the lives of those around us and that we can celebrate those blessings as a gift to us all.  And most of all, I pray that all can feel welcome here, surrounded by our love and the love of God.  Amen.