Friday, April 27, 2012
Opening Prayer for Discussion Group
Dear Lord, as we gather together
To better understand Your Word,
Help us to keep our minds open
During our discussions.
Remove the barriers of ingrained assumption.
Make us listen to all who contribute insight,
And thereby appreciate how Your love
Permeates diverse points of view.
We meet to expand our knowledge of You,
To find pathways by which we may exercise faith in action,
And spread your Good News to those
Outside our circle of faith in this room.
We are scholars, we are sinners, we are neighbors.
Shine your light upon us
As we seek to become fuller Christian
In thought, word, and deed. Amen
Closing Prayer for Discussion Group
Almighty God, today we studied your Word.
Today, and tomorrow, and all the days thereafter,
We must practice what it means to be Christian
In a troubled and difficult world.
We must love God with all our heart,
We must love our neighbors as ourselves,
Jesus tell us to do so in our daily lives,
By following the directions He has given us.
To be an example, to be a witness
To the revealed truth that makes us free.
To tell the good news to all who will listen,
That his grace makes us pure in heart.
So that we can bear any burden, endure any suffering,
Obtain the strength to carry on in life's tests,
And celebrate the joys we have on earth,
Until we achieve eternal joy in his kingdom. Amen.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Where Are the Easter Eggs?
Our little Episcopal church
Has a Christmas pageant every year
Featuring members of the Sunday school
Costumed as the nativity characters.
This being a pageant,
They do not speak.
Instead a narrator reads
The gospel story according to Luke.
The church is filled
With a capacity crowd of 200.
Many young families attend
Whom we have not seen before.
Everyone oohs and aahs
As the participants troop down the aisle.
Mary is often a head taller than Joseph;
The cute little angels steal the show.
A communion service followed
The pageant this past Christmas Eve
Which was a mystery to some in the pews
Who did not understand what was happening.
At one point in the service
People turn to shake hands
With all around, saying,
"The peace of the Lord be with you."
When I turned to face
The family standing behind me,
I shook hands with a little fellow
Who was licking a candy cane.
His hands were sticky, of course,
But I decided to grin and bear it.
Then I heard him ask his father,
"Where are the Easter eggs?"
There, my friends, is a great mystery.
Why did the parents bring him,
When his only church experience
Will be Christmas and Easter?
Are the parents themselves
Nostalgic for childhood holiday events?
Do they feel that showing up twice yearly
Will suffice for including God in their lives?
We are to judge not, saith the bible.
Yet if we could reach such families,
The church would be filled each Sunday
And the children would hear the Good News.
Has a Christmas pageant every year
Featuring members of the Sunday school
Costumed as the nativity characters.
This being a pageant,
They do not speak.
Instead a narrator reads
The gospel story according to Luke.
The church is filled
With a capacity crowd of 200.
Many young families attend
Whom we have not seen before.
Everyone oohs and aahs
As the participants troop down the aisle.
Mary is often a head taller than Joseph;
The cute little angels steal the show.
A communion service followed
The pageant this past Christmas Eve
Which was a mystery to some in the pews
Who did not understand what was happening.
At one point in the service
People turn to shake hands
With all around, saying,
"The peace of the Lord be with you."
When I turned to face
The family standing behind me,
I shook hands with a little fellow
Who was licking a candy cane.
His hands were sticky, of course,
But I decided to grin and bear it.
Then I heard him ask his father,
"Where are the Easter eggs?"
There, my friends, is a great mystery.
Why did the parents bring him,
When his only church experience
Will be Christmas and Easter?
Are the parents themselves
Nostalgic for childhood holiday events?
Do they feel that showing up twice yearly
Will suffice for including God in their lives?
We are to judge not, saith the bible.
Yet if we could reach such families,
The church would be filled each Sunday
And the children would hear the Good News.
Friday, March 23, 2012
St. Mark's in Venice II
The city of Venice has about 20,000 inhabitants,
The surrounding area about 90,000.
Its churches are characterized more by size than by number;
Each major denomination has a magnificent edifice.
Thus worshippers tend to concentrate in one house
Of a particular flavor of Christianity
Rather than scatter to a number of small
Buildings in close proximity.
This spring, The Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida
Will share $175,000 with its member congregations,
A result of nearly 100 percent parish giving to the Diocese in 2011,
Paid in full monthly by each parish
This in spite of a 23 percent decline in Sunday attendance
From 2001 to 2010, from 17,938 to 13,802 worshippers.
St. Mark's must be doing something right,
As the church is filled in the main service on Sunday.
St. Mark's was named an "excellent church"
In a two-year study funded by Lilly Endowment.
Identified churches "nurtured the spirit, welcomed,
Challenged, preached, and lived the good news."
The sermons preached by the two full-time priests
Are realistic applications of the gospel to
The everyday lives of the parishoners, free of
Cant and controversy, eloquent in simplicity.
Social activities of organizations at St. Mark's
Fill up the weekly calendar, almost all featuring
Meals cooked (or catered?) by a full-time chef,
With dozens of volunteers setting and serving.
The prayer list for the sick numbers 129 persons
In a recent posting to the service bulletin.
No doubt the bequests of departed parisioners
Play a significant role in the church's budget.
The surrounding area about 90,000.
Its churches are characterized more by size than by number;
Each major denomination has a magnificent edifice.
Thus worshippers tend to concentrate in one house
Of a particular flavor of Christianity
Rather than scatter to a number of small
Buildings in close proximity.
This spring, The Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida
Will share $175,000 with its member congregations,
A result of nearly 100 percent parish giving to the Diocese in 2011,
Paid in full monthly by each parish
This in spite of a 23 percent decline in Sunday attendance
From 2001 to 2010, from 17,938 to 13,802 worshippers.
St. Mark's must be doing something right,
As the church is filled in the main service on Sunday.
St. Mark's was named an "excellent church"
In a two-year study funded by Lilly Endowment.
Identified churches "nurtured the spirit, welcomed,
Challenged, preached, and lived the good news."
The sermons preached by the two full-time priests
Are realistic applications of the gospel to
The everyday lives of the parishoners, free of
Cant and controversy, eloquent in simplicity.
Social activities of organizations at St. Mark's
Fill up the weekly calendar, almost all featuring
Meals cooked (or catered?) by a full-time chef,
With dozens of volunteers setting and serving.
The prayer list for the sick numbers 129 persons
In a recent posting to the service bulletin.
No doubt the bequests of departed parisioners
Play a significant role in the church's budget.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
St. Mark's in Venice I
No, not Basilica San Marco in Venezia, Italia,
St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Venice, Florida.
This will be the first of several assessments
Of what makes this church successful.
At present, we have only grasped one leg of the elephant;
Further forays in its activities will tell us more.
To begin with, the church has two full-time priests
And three visible deacons whose status is unknown.
One Saturday service in the early evening is followed
By three scheduled services on Sunday.
We have attended the principal service at 9:30
With a counted attendance of over 200 worshippers.
The church building is just spacious enough
To hold 300 in a modest configuration.
It is a replacement of a structure built
Sometime in the 20s when Venice was founded.
Out buildings include a large parish hall,
A pre-school and Sunday School addition,
A separate office and an after school
On a campus of about four to five acres.
A weekly sit-down dinner attracts 125
Which in Lent becomes a simple soup supper.
Numerous activities and outreach efforts are
Posted and announced from the pulpit.
St. Mark's advertizes weekly in local papers
And is featured in all the guides for the area.
Small signs of their own devising are at
Critical junctions around the town.
The church is situated on Venice island,
Created by the intracoastal waterway.
That is now the "old town," containing
Cultural institutions for the surrounding community.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Venice, Florida.
This will be the first of several assessments
Of what makes this church successful.
At present, we have only grasped one leg of the elephant;
Further forays in its activities will tell us more.
To begin with, the church has two full-time priests
And three visible deacons whose status is unknown.
One Saturday service in the early evening is followed
By three scheduled services on Sunday.
We have attended the principal service at 9:30
With a counted attendance of over 200 worshippers.
The church building is just spacious enough
To hold 300 in a modest configuration.
It is a replacement of a structure built
Sometime in the 20s when Venice was founded.
Out buildings include a large parish hall,
A pre-school and Sunday School addition,
A separate office and an after school
On a campus of about four to five acres.
A weekly sit-down dinner attracts 125
Which in Lent becomes a simple soup supper.
Numerous activities and outreach efforts are
Posted and announced from the pulpit.
St. Mark's advertizes weekly in local papers
And is featured in all the guides for the area.
Small signs of their own devising are at
Critical junctions around the town.
The church is situated on Venice island,
Created by the intracoastal waterway.
That is now the "old town," containing
Cultural institutions for the surrounding community.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Road to Ruin
In case you're wondering
Whence my excessive concern
For a small, nondescript Episopal parish,
Lost in the middle of Cape Cod:
It is a microcosm of the condition of
The (formerly) Protestant Episcopal
Church in the U.S.A, and of its
Member Diocese of Massachusetts.
The church, both local and national
Is experiencing gradual demise.
Its leaders at all levels
Are in a classic state of denial.
Average Sunday Attendance
Cascades downward.
Parishes merge, parishes close --
All blamed on exogenous factors.
The truth is that growth
Is not sought; it is resisted
Because a flood of new worshippers
Might threaten the existing consensus.
Few people are attracted
To a radical rewriting of Scripture,
And its concomitant policy of
Acceptance of bizarre practices.
The Episcopal Church survives
On bequests, i.e., "dead peoples' money,"
As does St. David's, which can only
Hope for largess from someone else's will.
Otherwise this parish will sink
Quietly out of sight, leaving
The Diocese of Massachusetts with
A few more buildings to sell.
Whence my excessive concern
For a small, nondescript Episopal parish,
Lost in the middle of Cape Cod:
It is a microcosm of the condition of
The (formerly) Protestant Episcopal
Church in the U.S.A, and of its
Member Diocese of Massachusetts.
The church, both local and national
Is experiencing gradual demise.
Its leaders at all levels
Are in a classic state of denial.
Average Sunday Attendance
Cascades downward.
Parishes merge, parishes close --
All blamed on exogenous factors.
The truth is that growth
Is not sought; it is resisted
Because a flood of new worshippers
Might threaten the existing consensus.
Few people are attracted
To a radical rewriting of Scripture,
And its concomitant policy of
Acceptance of bizarre practices.
The Episcopal Church survives
On bequests, i.e., "dead peoples' money,"
As does St. David's, which can only
Hope for largess from someone else's will.
Otherwise this parish will sink
Quietly out of sight, leaving
The Diocese of Massachusetts with
A few more buildings to sell.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Separation Anxiety at St. David's -- Part II
Two more slights occurred:
Our offer to donate portable air conditioners
Was accepted, then carelessly dismissed
Without a word of acknowledgment.
My offer to guide the planning process
For determining the future of St. David's
Was dismissed out of hand as a threat
To the views of the people in charge.
Or at least that is my deduction
From the confusion of emails
That greeted my assessment of
The financial crisis the parish is in.
The powers that be, see no change
Possible in the position of St. David's
Relative to that of the diocese and
The (national) Episcopal Church.
Growth, i.e., a concerted effort
To attract a large number of new members
Is not looked upon as a means to
Attain financial stability.
A few people drift in the doors;
Some remain who find attitudes
Comparable to their own, and
An outlet for their energies.
Average Sunday Attendance varies
Somewhere between 110 to 130 for
The two services, which is not nearly
Enough to finance operations.
St. David's has no wealthy members,
Like Chatham or Osterville,
Who could be counted on to shoulder
The burden for the rest of the parish.
At present, an unrestricted bequest
Plugs the hole in the annual budger.
At the continuing rate of consumption,
It will be gone by the end of 2013.
I am now simply accompanying
My beloved spouse to book discussion
On Friday and worship on Sunday,
And fellowship with nice people.
Who knows when and how it will end.
The parish may go out of business.
Leaving us to look in our vicinity,
For somewhere else where the gospel
is preached.
Our offer to donate portable air conditioners
Was accepted, then carelessly dismissed
Without a word of acknowledgment.
My offer to guide the planning process
For determining the future of St. David's
Was dismissed out of hand as a threat
To the views of the people in charge.
Or at least that is my deduction
From the confusion of emails
That greeted my assessment of
The financial crisis the parish is in.
The powers that be, see no change
Possible in the position of St. David's
Relative to that of the diocese and
The (national) Episcopal Church.
Growth, i.e., a concerted effort
To attract a large number of new members
Is not looked upon as a means to
Attain financial stability.
A few people drift in the doors;
Some remain who find attitudes
Comparable to their own, and
An outlet for their energies.
Average Sunday Attendance varies
Somewhere between 110 to 130 for
The two services, which is not nearly
Enough to finance operations.
St. David's has no wealthy members,
Like Chatham or Osterville,
Who could be counted on to shoulder
The burden for the rest of the parish.
At present, an unrestricted bequest
Plugs the hole in the annual budger.
At the continuing rate of consumption,
It will be gone by the end of 2013.
I am now simply accompanying
My beloved spouse to book discussion
On Friday and worship on Sunday,
And fellowship with nice people.
Who knows when and how it will end.
The parish may go out of business.
Leaving us to look in our vicinity,
For somewhere else where the gospel
is preached.
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