This March & April St. Cyprian's is intentionally sharing our Lenten journey with our neighbors. We're inviting representatives from various groups working to make the city a more livable place to share their story over a simple meal, followed by a time of prayer and meditation. Tonight, we heard from one of congregation's newest members, Dale Danley of the Panhandle Park Stewards who was interviewed by long-time Cyprian member and Panhandle native Robyn Amos. Our meal and conversation takes place in the sanctuary, by candlelight. At the end of the evening guests are invited to participate in an adapted form of Night Prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book, and a few poems. Tonight's poems were from Langston Hughes, which you'll find below:
Litany
Gather up
In the arms of your pity
The sick, the depraved,
The desperate, the tired,
All the scum
Of our weary city
Gather up
In the arms of your pity.
Gather up
In the arms of your love ---
Those who expect
No love from above.
Spirituals
Rocks and the firm roots of trees.
The rising shafts of mountains.
Something strong to put my hands on.
Sing, O Lord Jesus!
Song is a strong thing.
I heard my mother singing
When life hurt her:
Gonna ride in my chariot some day!
The branches rise
From the firm roots of trees.
The mountains rise
From the solid lap of earth.
The waves rise
From the dead weight of sea.
Sing, O black mother!
Song is a strong thing.
Heaven
Heaven is
The place where
Happiness is
Everywhere.
Animals
And birds sing ---
As does
Everything.
To each stone,
"How-do-you-do?"
Stone answers back,
"Well! And you?"
From "Selected Poems of Langston Hughes"
Vintage Classic Edition, September 1990
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Equal in God's Eyes
Gee, have you ever noticed that the great religious thinkers and doers throughout history have been men? I know, not a super original observation. Yes, in honor of International Women’s Day, March 8, I have some rather curmudgeonly thoughts that, nevertheless, lead me to celebrate God’s grace.
Historically significant religious women have tended to be nuns or otherwise unmarried, childless women. Jesus and the apostles may sometimes have been above certain human needs, but when they were shown hospitality, well, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the man of the house doing the cooking and serving.
The historical Buddha? Ran away from home to escape the family life imposed upon him. I tell you, if a woman had done the same thing and eventually discovered the path to enlightenment, she might have her own worldwide religious following, but there would always be a dark side to the tale, a whispered “you know she abandoned her family...” Somehow, the dark edge gets lost in the retelling of the Buddha story.
Don’t get me wrong—I don’t begrudge what these and male other religious thinkers came up with, but the life of quiet contemplation is a luxury that was simply unavailable to any average woman living in those times. They were busy doing everything else.
A different age offers us different challenges, and a life of quiet contemplation is a luxury that seems unavailable to most parents, male or female, these days (at least where I live). This is why I am doubly grateful for the open doors of St. Cyprian’s on a Sunday: First because I am there to listen, to think, to be quiet—and it may be the only time during the week I get that gift; second, because I love being part of an institution that honors women’s talents. The Episcopal Church has brought forward many female priests and bishops. Our primate, Katherine Jefferts Schori, is a woman of great learning, sensitive intelligence, and bravery. St. Cyprian’s was honored years ago by a visit from the first female bishop in the Anglican Communion, Barbara Harris, and the church’s House of Deputies is also led by a woman, Bonnie Anderson. (It must be noted that my husband, raised a Methodist, likes to remind me that Episcopalians have not cornered the market on female leadership!)
If Jesus had started a “church,” I doubt very much he would have sidelined women in the way the early church did. Jesus certainly honored the women he encountered. In this, as in many other things, let’s keep his example in mind. —Jennifer Wolfe
Thursday, March 3, 2011
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