palms

'Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" Mark 11:8-11

this church will stand

On a stormy Sunday night my wife and I visited St Aidan's San Francisco, where the parish hosted the recent documentary Love Free or Die. Its about the Right Reverend Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire. For those who don't know, Bishop Robinson is the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church. In very brief, it follows Bishop Robinson from his trip to England as the only American Bishop not invited to the the decennial 2008 Lambeth Conference, to the 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, which passed resolutions allowing openly gay clergy as deacons, priests, and bishops and the the blessing of same sex couples where civil marriages and civil partnerships are law. It also includes interviews with Bishops Bob Duncan (Pittsburgh), Tom Shaw (Massachusetts), Barbara Harris (Massachusetts), Jon Bruno (Los Angeles), Otis Charles (Utah) and Ed Little (Northern Indiana), and other clergy and laypersons who share their opinions on Bp Robinson, the issue of gay clergy, same sex blessings, and the Church's response.

There are incredible moments in this film, some stand out in particular. One is Bishop Robinson, preaching in London. The Archbishop of Canterbury inhibited him from preaching in the Church of England, yet one parish offered him a pulpit. Despite a heckler interrupting his sermon, Bishop Robinson asked the gathered faithful to pray for him. There are touching moments where interviewees describe how they met their partners, their blessings and hoped for weddings, and the responses from their parishes – some hopeful, some incredibly cruel. What particularly stands it are the scenes from General Convention 2009. Witnesses spoke at the hearings on whether same sex blessings should be authorized and whether gay clergy can become bishops. The film showed speakers in favor, and, against the question; one person, speaking in tears, explained why she understood how same sex blessings could heal the church yet she could not agree with the motion, and asked for prayers. When the vote was made, on the last day of convention, the motions passed, and the room was silent for several minutes – not a person moved, not a person spoke.

There are many ways to interpret that scene; what did the Holy Spirit, working in our world today, say to the Church gathered as the Body of Christ? I believe what I saw in that moment was the best of Anglicanism was present – our belief that no matter where we are on our theological spectrum, how we understand God working in our lives – we are all welcome to God's table.

We are friends and strangers gathered at the table; we agree, we disagree, we talk through our issues and remain committed that we gather together at the God's table.

All of us – no exceptions.

The Body of Christ is one.

Thank you, the people of St Aidan's, for bringing the film to San Francisco and thanks to Rev Tommy Dillon and Bishop Otis Charles for speaking with us afterward.

At St Cyprian's we talk about our faith everyone is welcome, wherever we are in our spiritual life, to share at God's table. We invite you – and you – and you, to St Cyprian's and experience our open table, know what it means to be where everyone matters.

See you at Turk and Lyon

peace

eric

inside / outside

Over the past couple of weeks I've read a couple of books* on the history of African Americans in the Episcopal Church; I was asked to comment about that history for the St Cyprian's Oral History project. There were two consistent themes which caught my attention – The Church always saw the African American population as a mission field for evangelicalism yet not quite comfortable bringing them into the fold of the Church, and, the African American response of we are all equal in the eyes of God, we will not be kept to the side. These two issues played out not only in the obvious way of separating whites from black in the church, either the same building with whites in pews and blacks in the upstairs galleries or totally separate congregations but also Afro Am congregations did not / have limited voice in the diocesan and national conventions that govern Church life. This behavior created a narrative, a story of who was inside and who was outside as members of the Body of Christ. To the credit of the Church, it was (and remains) an issue debated in conventions from the start, for as many voices believed the Church shouldn't involve in changing society (that's politics) there are the faithful who said the Christian prophetic mission requires challenging society's norms and all are equal and welcome in our congregations, the insider and outsider.

You may have read about the Cyprian's Lenten Book Series on Radical Welcome (S Spellers). Spellers directly addresses the issue of inside / outside in the congregation of which we are part; as people we gather the like minded together, however, the outsider is not given the same welcome. The point is we are called to welcome everyone to our fold, our congregation; and not just strangers but the strangers who make us uncomfortable. What struck me is that uncomfortable stranger may be the homeless or addicted but also outside of our own culture norms – and how we react to their presence speaks volumes on our commitment to bringing the outsider inside, into the Body of Christ which we belong.

I ask we think about how the stranger is treated when they appear at the door. Are they welcomed inside, and yet kept outside our conversations, from the peace in the pews to the conversation at fellowship following service? Let us bring the outsider into the fold, into our conversations and our congregational life so they to will feel the joy of being one with the Body of Christ.

Come visit Turk and Lyon, we'll welcome in from the outside.

peace

eric

*Yet With a Steady Beat, Harold Lewis

Episcopalians and Race, Gardiner Shattuck Jr

letter from atlanta, 2

Bishop Barbara Harris and Marcus Halley, of the Absalom Jones Center, Atlanta University singing at the opening plenary of the Episcopal Urban Caucus

Nell Braxton Gibson, coordinator of the Episcopal Urban Caucus, receives the President of the House of Deputies Medallion for Exemplary Service from Bonnie Anderson, president of the Episcopal Church’s House of Deputies.


Emmaus House, a social service agency of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, in Peopletown, Atlanta.


Pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta.
Here Rev Dr Martin Luther King preached.

The Episcopal Urban Caucus (http://episcopalurbancaucus.org/purpose.html) connect workers in social justice ministries from around the church, meeting annually for shared fellowship, education, service and ministry working on behalf of the unseen and voiceless of our church.

The incredible thing of the Urban Caucus meeting is the sharing of stories amongst church workers involved in social justice work, especially whilst they work on their own in parishes, dioceses, local community networks. The social justice work is a broad term for the many ways we build the kin-dom of God on earth: human rights, civil rights, economic rights, immigration, workers, education, and on and on. The work takes place in parish buildings, schools, storefronts, and is part of our call to serve God and her Church. I'm particularly remembering viewing a social services office, Emmaus House: they don’t provide social services directly but provide services they need – computer lessons, job training, prayer, birth certificates and state ID's. They were open for drop in services without bars or steel doors or thermopane glass windows keeping people out. 'You're always open' a client remarked: 'yes, we are' was the reply. That's ministry at it's best, that we are available to help one another.

Union of Black Episcopalians Western Region Conference, March 23 - 25, 2012 in Berkeley, CA.
This year's theme is Preparing Leaders for the 21st Century Church, and will take place at Easton Hall, Church Divinity School of the Pacific.
The Union of Black Episcopalians are laypeople and clergy working hard to uplift all peoples to justice in the Church and the World http://www.ube.org/. Contact UBE Chapter President Brenda Paulin (ashpau AT aol.com) for registration information and details, registration forms are in the narthex of St Cyprians)

ashes part 2

our witness to the world

Let me be very very clear, I am not risking our 501c3 status on this election cycle supporting a party. Let me be also clear that the example of Jesus remains the same over two thousand years: the Son of Man who dined with tax collectors, social outcasts, healed the sick, and preached that the love of God was available to everyone, every - one of us, has a message valid then and equally valid now.

With a son's great pride I link this blog piece:

http://www.barackobama.com/news/entry/liking-what-she-never-thought-shed-see

The writer tells the story of my mother' Marie's work for their campaign as a continuation of her work in human rights. It doesn't mention her service to the state of New Hampshire nor her receipt of the Martin Luther King Jr Civil Rights award (note my mother is a truly humble woman and you'd not hear her mention these accolades).

What strikes me most about this photo is the cross on her forehead – faint, but visible. A good churchwoman, I know she attended Mass early that morning for the imposition of ashes and she wore those ashes throughout the day. Those ashes formed in the cross that is the symbol of belief in Jesus born, crucified and risen; those ashes that are the reminder of our own life and death is in the service of God, the cross of ashes the external sign of our inner grace received from God.

I write this epistle from day one of the annual meeting of the Episcopal Urban Caucus, the gathering of the reconciliation, social justice and peace ministry workers of the Church. We are in Atlanta, where 1960's Episcopalians picketed the Episcopal Cathedral and School because of their segregationist practices, a city where the Episcopal Diocese today supports incredibly active social justice ministries in undeserved and poor neighborhoods and fights for the voiceless to have a seat at the table of redevelopment. We visited Emmaus House in Peopletown, where anyone can walk off the street, without appointment, and get help connecting with social services, and Holy Comforter which for decades has been a haven for the mentally ill.

This morning a panel of civil rights workers from the 1960's and reconciliation justice workers of this decade discussed their experiences of what it meant to fight for civil rights / human rights then and now. I heard brothers and sisters describe being arrested trying to register voters in the early 60's and others the challenges of working in prisons and continuing human rights work in the inner cities Two quotes I heard:

I am demonstrating for justice now so my country's ways won't change me later.

and

Ignorance is the best indicator of original sin.

The prophet Isiah warns Israel to 'cease to do evil; learn to do well, seek justice, relieve the oppressed'. In Mark's Gospel Jesus tells his disciples: If you want to be my followers let them deny themselves, , take up the Cross and follow me'

I think of these faithful Christians in Atlanta sharing their stories fighting for justice in the name of God. I think of the ashes on mother's forehead in this photograph, symbol of her faithful witness whilst working to change the world. God's love is for all of us, and oppression is not tolerated. I think of the ashes on our foreheads last week, long faded now, which remind us to take up the Cross and work for justice, building the Kingdom of God in our world.

If you have ideas about outreach to change the world, talk to me, I want to hear them: and then, let's get to work. Here, at Turk and Lyon - and beyond.

See you at the corner --- from Atlanta --- peace, eric