Here is the final reflection offered with love and gratitude to my St. John Fisher Faith Family on Pentecost a week before leaving to begin my new job at Christ the Redeemer.
If you would rather view and listen to the video, click this link. The Gospel reading begins at minute 19:10 and the reflection starts at minute 20:30: https://www.dropbox.com/s/apsht9dyb0002yi/Pentecost%20homily%20a2014%20Opening%20Song%20to%20Prayers%20of%20the%20Faithful.MPG?dl=0
From time to time we all experience big events in our lives that change things…that change everything. We might call them “Before and After” moments. They are the experiences that we refer to like “Before we had children” (that’s a big one) or “After Mom died." "Before the illness" or "after graduation." It’s a way in which we pinpoint a certain era of our lives. When I was a little kid it was always “Before and after the divorce of my parents." I’ve often heard Fr. Jerry talk about “before and after” his brother…. “Big John” died.
These moments are the game changers in our lives that make us reevaluate everything we have known up to this point through the lens of this one, new, BIG, life event.
From our readings today, I imagine the apostles talked among themselves about how much life changed not only before and after Jesus’ death, but also “before and after that really wild, weird experience in the upper room.” Before this really wild and weird experience in the upper room, we read often in the scriptures that the few remaining followers of Jesus were always hanging out together “behind locked doors”….
For the 50 days following Jesus’ death they locked themselves in remote, hard to find places and spoke in whispered tones, scared of being discovered and connected to their former rabbi and leader Jesus, who was now of course the condemned and executed criminal Jesus…and fearful of suffering a similar fate for their association with him.
After Jesus’ death, the apostles laid very low and felt very confused and frightened about the future. But After this really wild and weird upper room experience this same handful of people leave the upper room full of courage and zeal to establish what remains the most prevalent belief systems and spirituality in the world, even now over 2000 years later.
This experience of Pentecost was indeed a very big game changer. So big that all but one of the apostles leave this upper room to die martyrs deaths due to their tireless preaching of the gospel. And the preaching took hold…and that is why we call this feast day the “Birthday of the Church.” We may never be sure what actually happened in that upper room, but one thing is for sure…something very, very significant happened…..Something crucial to our being here in this place, breaking bread and talking about Jesus centuries later.
My most recent Before/After life event is what my family simply calls “the fire.” We had a defective dryer that had an electrical short that sparked a fire in our basement and in the blink of an eye we found ourselves in a hotel room two days before Christmas, smelling of smoke without a change of clothes, a toothbrush or a single wrapped gift for our girls, at the time ages 8, 5, & 1. We left our soot covered, flooded house in such haste, my Lauren had on only one boot. Our entire world was flipped upside down and we were displaced for over 8 months.
Like a mighty rushing wind you blew into my family’s life at this time of crisis and fear and gave us hope. The Christmas gifts for the kids poured in. Endless bags of clothes. All the prayers, hugs and kind words of support in the cards, emails and facebook messages were an outpouring of the Spirit that genuinely healed us. Our agape young adult community sprang into action and within 24 hours we had a decorated tree and a hotel room full of wrapped Christmas presents for the girls to open on Christmas morning.
You all did for us what no one person, no one family, could have ever done. What no insurance company could ever provide. Every word, every gift, every hug embodied God for us. Embodied love for us. For me this experience is not only Before/After the Fire….but Before/After I realized the real power and significance of being church.
It’s like your parent is a doctor or a nurse, and you know this your whole life, but then one day a real emergency happens and you see your parent do some amazing and very impressive things to save the patient. And you are simply blown away! You always knew your parent was a great doctor or nurse, but you had never seen them in action! This is how I feel about the fire and your care of my family. For me it was the “Before and After” of knowing what the church could be.
I knew in theory that we - as the body of Christ, the church - was the healing, generous, restorative presence of God…I had spoken about it right here many times, but I had never seen it in action….at least not from the receiving end. It was for me a great moment of clarity of the great power we hold and wield. My kids may not know the creed quite yet, but they will never forget that experience of church….and I thank you for that…
Pentecost lies at the intersection of mysticism and mission and the result is community. This wild, weird experience that the disciples are trying to explain in our scriptures today was certainly a mystical experience of God. Difficult to explain, but nonetheless real. (One of our great theologians Karl Rahner once said that “the Christian of the future will be a mystic or nothing at all”)
In the wake of Pentecost, a community of genuine sharing was born. The early church did as a collective what no one person or one family could do and they understood that a non-negotiable, essential aspect of the gospel was insuring that everyone had enough food, clothing, and medical care….all their basic needs met.
The early disciples knew that church wasn’t set of beliefs that you talked AT people but a community of believers propelled by the vision that Jesus entrusted to us, believers in his promise that compassion can change the world and who know that our togetherness is the greatest remedy for all that fills us with fear. What brings us here each week is that we all share this vision of all that could be! Of all we can be for one another. And it propels us. It missions us. It forms us as disciples.
The heart of the good news is that we are not alone. This is the good news that everyone heard in their own language as the disciples preached it – because it is our universal human dream. The vision of a world where God is present, love wins, everyone has what they need and no one dies alone or is left out in the cold full of fear.
Ron Rolheiser writes “Community is not, first of all, nor necessarily at all, a shared roof, a shared city, a shared task, or even an explicitly shared friendship. It’s a shared spirit, a shared way of life.
Before Pentecost, the disciples were physically together under one roof, clinging to each other, but they were not living in real community. After receiving the spirit, they were never together again under one roof or in one city, but they now were in community.
Community, family, intimacy, these are constituted first of all by living in the same spirit, Christ’s spirit…charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness….When we (do our best to) live within these, we are in deep intimacy with all others who are also (striving to live) within them, irrespective of the separation that distance and time can cause.” (Rolheiser)
T.S. Eliot once said that home is where we start from. For the last 16 years, I have not just worked here….this has not been just a job, but a true home. And as I leave, I recognize that I have received infinity more than I have given.
You all prayed with us at our wedding, celebrated the birth and baptisms of each of our three daughters, fed us at this table and ministered powerfully to us in our pain. We have shared deeply, and I suspect that all the other staff members who are leaving, especially Augie and his family after 34 years of service here, sense that underneath all the smiles and hugs and lovely words of gratitude and encouragement there is, nonetheless, a sincere sadness.
Though we will all be around from time to time, we will never have THIS time again…we are saying goodbye to this shared experience….we will never be together quite like this again….
“But we also know that true community, is first and foremost a shared spirit that need not be lost when death, distance, and commitments break us apart.”
Anyone who has asked me lately how I’m feeling about going to this new job at the new place, I’ve replied that there really should be a word for feeling both elated and terrified. The feeling I’m having is what I imagine jumping out of a plane would feel like…And I imagine as the disciples left that upper room, though filled with the Spirit and sure of their mission and calling, I like to think they felt a little elated and terrified too. You all have probably had this feeling too, because all of us in some way or another is being missioned and sent from this place and leaving through the servants entrance to take the Spirit of this beautiful community with us where ever we go.
And I bet that the disciples knew as they left that upper room that though they would never share this time or space with their friends again, that they would always be church…
WE will always be church…..
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Crazy Catholic Question #36: First Year
How was your first year of ministry here at Christ the Redeemer?
With Confirmation last week and all our Faith Formation classes having drawn to a close lots of folks are asking me, “So, how was your first year?” In a word – Spectacular! You all have built a remarkable church here over the past 35 years and I am deeply grateful to be a part of it! Thank you SO much for your sincere and affectionate welcome – and your understanding and patience while I’ve been learning “on-the-job” this year.
My family and I have been spiritually refreshed and edified by the extraordinarily kind and loving community here at CTR and by the stunningly beautiful and moving liturgies that are so thoughtfully prepared. (Holy Thursday! Wowza! My kids were terribly behaved that night, but I was so prayerfully mesmerized I hardly noticed…my apologies for those who sat near us).
It has been a true honor and joy to work alongside the absolutely incredible CTR Staff – I could not have dreamed up a more compassionate, dedicated and supportive group of colleagues….not to mention exceptionally talented and flippin’ fantastic at the work they do! Thanks to Nancy, Marilyn & Crissy for getting all us "newbies" off to such a terrific start AND a HUGE shout out to our Office of Family Ministry staff: Maryalice, Ann, Karen, Michele, Deb & Lisa – I can’t count the number of times you pitched in and bailed me out this year when my kids were sick or I didn’t have a clue of all that needed to be done given my naiveté, or because I simply bit off more than I could chew. A million thanks….make it a trillion.
Sue, thanks for your generous encouragement and for putting up with my delinquent bulletin articles (BTW, I think this one is going to be late too) and Dawn & Christi for their steadfast care and support. Karen & Lisa, gratitude for your inspiring and faithful hard work to keep what is most important – caring for the poor – before all of us in such creative and meaningful ways. I promise, next year my family will volunteer more often! Mari, thank you for your gentle, “sisterly” guidance and beautiful music! Thanks to Derek, Brian, Mike, and Andrew who are so agreeable even in the face of the most ridiculous, last-minute maintenance requests and to our Education Commission chair Dave Zande for his humor and care!
Deep thanks to Fr. Joe for giving a rookie a chance, being forgiving of my blunders and bad memory and for being supportive of virtually every crazy idea I brought into your office this year. It is such a tremendous gift to work for such a creative, brilliant intellect and “artist-in-every-medium” (including liturgy) Renaissance man like you. God was indeed very lavish in pouring out the gifts on you…thanks for sharing them so freely.
Another word for this year would be “BUSY!” Lord have mercy, I am READY for a vacation! I’ve been joking with our staff that I am officially “Jesused-out!” but Jesus knows that like most humorous comments of this nature, it’s only half a joke. I’m desperately in need of a light-hearted beach read, some bad television AND some very intentional and focused FAMILY TIME! My deepest gratitude to my husband Kip, and my daughters Lauren, Audrey & Vivienne who have tolerated my late nights, disorganized mornings, lousy slap-dash meals, and my distracted and more often than not cranky-momma-self this year. Thank you for understanding how important this year was to me and for all your love and support.
The song “Good to Me” by Audrey Assad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKosVfAEUPE) expresses exactly how I’m feeling about this grace-filled first-year here at CTR. I heartily thank God for such great people to “be church” with….and if God wills and you’ll have me, I’d like to stay for many years to come.
With Confirmation last week and all our Faith Formation classes having drawn to a close lots of folks are asking me, “So, how was your first year?” In a word – Spectacular! You all have built a remarkable church here over the past 35 years and I am deeply grateful to be a part of it! Thank you SO much for your sincere and affectionate welcome – and your understanding and patience while I’ve been learning “on-the-job” this year.
My family and I have been spiritually refreshed and edified by the extraordinarily kind and loving community here at CTR and by the stunningly beautiful and moving liturgies that are so thoughtfully prepared. (Holy Thursday! Wowza! My kids were terribly behaved that night, but I was so prayerfully mesmerized I hardly noticed…my apologies for those who sat near us).
It has been a true honor and joy to work alongside the absolutely incredible CTR Staff – I could not have dreamed up a more compassionate, dedicated and supportive group of colleagues….not to mention exceptionally talented and flippin’ fantastic at the work they do! Thanks to Nancy, Marilyn & Crissy for getting all us "newbies" off to such a terrific start AND a HUGE shout out to our Office of Family Ministry staff: Maryalice, Ann, Karen, Michele, Deb & Lisa – I can’t count the number of times you pitched in and bailed me out this year when my kids were sick or I didn’t have a clue of all that needed to be done given my naiveté, or because I simply bit off more than I could chew. A million thanks….make it a trillion.
Sue, thanks for your generous encouragement and for putting up with my delinquent bulletin articles (BTW, I think this one is going to be late too) and Dawn & Christi for their steadfast care and support. Karen & Lisa, gratitude for your inspiring and faithful hard work to keep what is most important – caring for the poor – before all of us in such creative and meaningful ways. I promise, next year my family will volunteer more often! Mari, thank you for your gentle, “sisterly” guidance and beautiful music! Thanks to Derek, Brian, Mike, and Andrew who are so agreeable even in the face of the most ridiculous, last-minute maintenance requests and to our Education Commission chair Dave Zande for his humor and care!
Deep thanks to Fr. Joe for giving a rookie a chance, being forgiving of my blunders and bad memory and for being supportive of virtually every crazy idea I brought into your office this year. It is such a tremendous gift to work for such a creative, brilliant intellect and “artist-in-every-medium” (including liturgy) Renaissance man like you. God was indeed very lavish in pouring out the gifts on you…thanks for sharing them so freely.
Another word for this year would be “BUSY!” Lord have mercy, I am READY for a vacation! I’ve been joking with our staff that I am officially “Jesused-out!” but Jesus knows that like most humorous comments of this nature, it’s only half a joke. I’m desperately in need of a light-hearted beach read, some bad television AND some very intentional and focused FAMILY TIME! My deepest gratitude to my husband Kip, and my daughters Lauren, Audrey & Vivienne who have tolerated my late nights, disorganized mornings, lousy slap-dash meals, and my distracted and more often than not cranky-momma-self this year. Thank you for understanding how important this year was to me and for all your love and support.
The song “Good to Me” by Audrey Assad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKosVfAEUPE) expresses exactly how I’m feeling about this grace-filled first-year here at CTR. I heartily thank God for such great people to “be church” with….and if God wills and you’ll have me, I’d like to stay for many years to come.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Crazy Catholic Question #35: Authenticity
How can we support and encourage our young people to engage more deeply in our faith?
There was a terrific opinion piece in the Washington Post this past week entitled “Want Millennials back in the pews? Stop trying to make church ‘cool.’ Here are some highlights:
“In the U.S, 59% of people ages 18 to 29 with a Christian background have stopped attending church. Asked why, 87% say they see Christians as judgmental, and 85% see them as hypocritical. A similar study found that “only 8% say they don’t attend because church is ‘out of date,’ undercutting the notion that all churches need to do for Millennials is to make worship ‘cooler.’ For a generation bombarded with advertising and sales pitches, young people can sense when there is more emphasis on marketing Jesus than actually following Him. Millennials are not disillusioned with tradition; they are frustrated with inauthentic, slick or shallow expressions of religion.”
The author of this op-ed piece, a millennial herself, closes with this quote “What finally brought me back, wasn’t lattes or skinny jeans; it was the sacraments. Baptism, confession, Communion, preaching the Word, anointing the sick — you know, those strange rituals and traditions Christians have been practicing for the past 2,000 years. The sacraments are what make the church relevant, no matter the culture or era. They don’t need to be repackaged or rebranded; they just need to be practiced, offered and explained in the context of a loving, authentic and inclusive community.”
This past Monday we had our final evening of formation for the 67 teens from our community who will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend with Bishop Cepeda. Long time CTR parishioners John & Maggie Williams came in to share a bit about their story – how they listened in prayer and journeyed with God in founding “Bakhita Village” – a shelter and school for young girls in South Africa.
With just a simple power point and some photos of the girls who live and learn at Bakhita, they had our teens full attention. They explained how these girls were living in the most dire of circumstances – no food, no shelter, no education or opportunities whatsoever, some girls were only 12 years of age and taking care of 4 or more siblings because their parents died of AIDS (which 1/3 of the adult population suffers from in that region) and left them orphaned. John & Maggie encouraged our teens at this important time of decision making in their young lives to think on these realities. They invited them to dream a bit about how they might help to alleviate the suffering of others and make the world a more just and equitable place...to really listen to where the Holy Spirit is leading them to share their gifts and charisms as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Pope Francis writes “Performing acts of love towards our neighbor is the most perfect external manifestation of the Spirit’s inner grace. Mercy, bearing the misfortunes of others, is the greatest of all the virtues in terms of moral action. Mercy IS God’s justice.”
John & Maggie shared with humility and great joy how they heard God in the suffering of the children in this small village and discerned through prayer and trial and error how they could help. They said “We aren’t saving the world...we are just doing our small part to make the lives of at least these 28 girls better.”
Authenticity does not need to be “marketed.” The Gospel of Jesus speaks for itself, more through our loving actions than our words. John & Maggie witnessed the Gospel to our teens on Monday and closed with two simple ways we all can live a more just life: 1. Share. 2. Don’t waste. Among our teens listening intently, you could have heard a pin drop.
There was a terrific opinion piece in the Washington Post this past week entitled “Want Millennials back in the pews? Stop trying to make church ‘cool.’ Here are some highlights:
“In the U.S, 59% of people ages 18 to 29 with a Christian background have stopped attending church. Asked why, 87% say they see Christians as judgmental, and 85% see them as hypocritical. A similar study found that “only 8% say they don’t attend because church is ‘out of date,’ undercutting the notion that all churches need to do for Millennials is to make worship ‘cooler.’ For a generation bombarded with advertising and sales pitches, young people can sense when there is more emphasis on marketing Jesus than actually following Him. Millennials are not disillusioned with tradition; they are frustrated with inauthentic, slick or shallow expressions of religion.”
The author of this op-ed piece, a millennial herself, closes with this quote “What finally brought me back, wasn’t lattes or skinny jeans; it was the sacraments. Baptism, confession, Communion, preaching the Word, anointing the sick — you know, those strange rituals and traditions Christians have been practicing for the past 2,000 years. The sacraments are what make the church relevant, no matter the culture or era. They don’t need to be repackaged or rebranded; they just need to be practiced, offered and explained in the context of a loving, authentic and inclusive community.”
This past Monday we had our final evening of formation for the 67 teens from our community who will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend with Bishop Cepeda. Long time CTR parishioners John & Maggie Williams came in to share a bit about their story – how they listened in prayer and journeyed with God in founding “Bakhita Village” – a shelter and school for young girls in South Africa.
With just a simple power point and some photos of the girls who live and learn at Bakhita, they had our teens full attention. They explained how these girls were living in the most dire of circumstances – no food, no shelter, no education or opportunities whatsoever, some girls were only 12 years of age and taking care of 4 or more siblings because their parents died of AIDS (which 1/3 of the adult population suffers from in that region) and left them orphaned. John & Maggie encouraged our teens at this important time of decision making in their young lives to think on these realities. They invited them to dream a bit about how they might help to alleviate the suffering of others and make the world a more just and equitable place...to really listen to where the Holy Spirit is leading them to share their gifts and charisms as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Pope Francis writes “Performing acts of love towards our neighbor is the most perfect external manifestation of the Spirit’s inner grace. Mercy, bearing the misfortunes of others, is the greatest of all the virtues in terms of moral action. Mercy IS God’s justice.”
John & Maggie shared with humility and great joy how they heard God in the suffering of the children in this small village and discerned through prayer and trial and error how they could help. They said “We aren’t saving the world...we are just doing our small part to make the lives of at least these 28 girls better.”
Authenticity does not need to be “marketed.” The Gospel of Jesus speaks for itself, more through our loving actions than our words. John & Maggie witnessed the Gospel to our teens on Monday and closed with two simple ways we all can live a more just life: 1. Share. 2. Don’t waste. Among our teens listening intently, you could have heard a pin drop.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Crazy Catholic Question #34: What is Essential?
What is this “Essentials” Course I’ve been hearing about?
There are three major challenges with our Adult Formation, including our Confirmation Preparation:
First, we have people wanting to become Catholic in the middle of winter. Traditionally they would have to wait until September for the RCIA process to begin. That's a long wait. And some are not available Sunday mornings.
Second, our Confirmation teens really have it going on. They are busy and this is good! Some are training to become superstar athletes; others are very committed to their academic goals. Who among us would not support our young people in this important time of self-discovery and youthful engagement? A handful of our Confirmation teens are genuinely interested in spiritual formation, but, for most at this time in their young lives, we, as church are a peripheral concern….like it or lump it. We don't want to make things overly difficult or frustrating for busy families. Rather, we want to offer more choice and options for our teens to engage in timely and meaningful faith formation.
Third, most of us - even the cradle Catholics among us - find it difficult to articulate the best of our theology. We have a hard time putting into words the essential core theological beliefs that make us who we are. How many of us have found ourselves in discussion with someone and knew at a gut level that they were deeply misrepresenting our tradition but yet didn’t feel confident to respond?
So here's the pitch. Pope Francis is calling us to return to the “Essentials.” He says “we are not to be obsessed with the disjointed transmission of a multitude of doctrines to be insistently imposed….the message has to concentrate on the ESSENTIALS, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary. The message is simplified, while losing none of its depth and truth, and thus becomes all the more forceful and convincing.”
So our idea is to offer 10 “Essential” topics on what it means to be a Catholic Christian – the big central ideas that are at the very core of our faith, i.e.: Prayer, Incarnation, Sacraments, Grace, Eucharist, Scripture, Church, Trinity, Suffering, Mercy and Forgiveness.
Our goal is to identify 15 of the best adult catechists from our community (not necessarily schooled theologians, but good communicators and leaders of prayer). We would provide all the resources needed to put together an hour of instruction in the context of prayer on each of these “Essential” topics and to facilitate a subsequent 30-minute potentially intergenerational round-table discussion.
Here’s the UNIQUE PART: These 15 catechists would offer one or two classes each month on the topic of their choice at the time and day of their choice. For some of our catechists maybe 10:30AM on Friday mornings is best for them, or Tuesdays at 3PM. Odds are that their weird day and time would be good for someone else in our community too!
With 15 catechists, this model could offer up to 30 “Essential” topics EACH MONTH at all different times and days which would form the backbone of both our Confirmation Prep and RCIA program. This model would allow our Confirmation teens to begin their formation early and take two years to finish if they like OR they could kick out the lion’s share in as little as three months if they needed to. Our RCIA folks could begin anytime ….the very week that they inquire! The wider community could connect anytime.
So, that’s the idea. Interested in getting involved? Shoot me an email! And/or send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to dre@ctredeemer.org
There are three major challenges with our Adult Formation, including our Confirmation Preparation:
First, we have people wanting to become Catholic in the middle of winter. Traditionally they would have to wait until September for the RCIA process to begin. That's a long wait. And some are not available Sunday mornings.
Second, our Confirmation teens really have it going on. They are busy and this is good! Some are training to become superstar athletes; others are very committed to their academic goals. Who among us would not support our young people in this important time of self-discovery and youthful engagement? A handful of our Confirmation teens are genuinely interested in spiritual formation, but, for most at this time in their young lives, we, as church are a peripheral concern….like it or lump it. We don't want to make things overly difficult or frustrating for busy families. Rather, we want to offer more choice and options for our teens to engage in timely and meaningful faith formation.
Third, most of us - even the cradle Catholics among us - find it difficult to articulate the best of our theology. We have a hard time putting into words the essential core theological beliefs that make us who we are. How many of us have found ourselves in discussion with someone and knew at a gut level that they were deeply misrepresenting our tradition but yet didn’t feel confident to respond?
So here's the pitch. Pope Francis is calling us to return to the “Essentials.” He says “we are not to be obsessed with the disjointed transmission of a multitude of doctrines to be insistently imposed….the message has to concentrate on the ESSENTIALS, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary. The message is simplified, while losing none of its depth and truth, and thus becomes all the more forceful and convincing.”
So our idea is to offer 10 “Essential” topics on what it means to be a Catholic Christian – the big central ideas that are at the very core of our faith, i.e.: Prayer, Incarnation, Sacraments, Grace, Eucharist, Scripture, Church, Trinity, Suffering, Mercy and Forgiveness.
Our goal is to identify 15 of the best adult catechists from our community (not necessarily schooled theologians, but good communicators and leaders of prayer). We would provide all the resources needed to put together an hour of instruction in the context of prayer on each of these “Essential” topics and to facilitate a subsequent 30-minute potentially intergenerational round-table discussion.
Here’s the UNIQUE PART: These 15 catechists would offer one or two classes each month on the topic of their choice at the time and day of their choice. For some of our catechists maybe 10:30AM on Friday mornings is best for them, or Tuesdays at 3PM. Odds are that their weird day and time would be good for someone else in our community too!
With 15 catechists, this model could offer up to 30 “Essential” topics EACH MONTH at all different times and days which would form the backbone of both our Confirmation Prep and RCIA program. This model would allow our Confirmation teens to begin their formation early and take two years to finish if they like OR they could kick out the lion’s share in as little as three months if they needed to. Our RCIA folks could begin anytime ….the very week that they inquire! The wider community could connect anytime.
So, that’s the idea. Interested in getting involved? Shoot me an email! And/or send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to dre@ctredeemer.org
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