MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR: Merry Christmas! I love Christmastide, and I always try to get as much out of it as possible. I think it’s fair to say that for most Christians Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mark the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but I invite you this year to consider expanding you celebration of Emmanuel, “God with us”, beyond one night and day to a celebration that spans the entire calendar year.
You have probably heard that there are Twelve Days of Christmas. Christmastide begins at the setting of the sun the night before Christmas Day and concludes each year on January 6, the Epiphany of Jesus Christ. There is one other major Holy Day in the Twelve Days of Christmas: on New Year’s Day the church celebrates the Holy Name of Jesus.
At Good Shepherd on Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24, the Family Service will be celebrated at 5:00 PM. That service will be a Sung Holy Eucharist and will include a procession of the children with Christmas figurines and stuffed animals to the Crèche and the traditional proclamation of the birth of Christ. Child care will be provided from 4:45 until the conclusion of the Family Service. Later that evening the annual Christmas Concert & Midnight Mass will begin at 10:30 PM & 11:00 PM, respectively. Our Music Director Cecilia Sparacio promises wonderful a great variety of international carols accompanied by a mixed quartet at the Christmas Concert this year, it should be fabulous! The Midnight Mass, a Sung Holy Eucharist, will begin at 11:00 PM, and will also feature the traditional proclamation of the birth of Christ and accompaniment by a mixed quartet. Both the Family Service and the Midnight Mass will last about an hour and will be followed by a fireside reception of cookies and hot chocolate! Both services will also feature the traditional Gospel account of Jesus’ birth, narrated by Saint Luke.
On Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25, Sung Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 10:00 AM. There is nothing wrong with waiting until Christmas Day to celebrate Christmas – the Christmas Day service is actually more ancient than the Christmas Eve services, though certainly Christmas Eve services are now much more popular. There’s also nothing wrong with coming back to church on Christmas Day if you have already been on Christmas Eve – I’ve been doing it for years and I heartily recommend it. There are three great reasons to come to church on Christmas Day. The first is that the Christmas Day Gospel account is different from the Christmas Eve Gospel. On Christmas Day the church proclaims the Incarnation (the mystery of God made human) by reading the prologue of Saint John, which begins “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” My father, who is also an Episcopal priest, sums up the reason for this by stating that “On Christmas Eve the Saint Luke narrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and on Christmas Day Saint John explains the birth of Jesus Christ.” The second reason for coming to church on Christmas Day is the hymns and carols. With one exception, every hymn sung this year on Christmas Day will not repeat what was sung the evening before. If you want to sing, Once In Royal David’s City, Joy To The World, and Go Tell It On The Mountain, you don’t want to miss Christmas Day at Good Shepherd. The final reason to come to church on Christmas Day is to celebrate Christmas after the service concludes by raising a glass of champagne or sparkling cider to our Lord’s birth.
There are several other opportunities to sing other Christmas Carols throughout the Christmas Season. On the First Sunday after Christmas, December 26, we will observe our normal Sunday service schedule: 7:40 AM Morning Prayer, 8:00 AM Said Holy Eucharist, 10:00 AM Sung Holy Eucharist. On Saturday, January 1, 2011, the church celebrates the naming of Jesus. Holy Eucharist with Christmas Carols will be celebrated at 10:00 AM on New Year’s Day. The service will be followed by the annual Open House at the Rectory, hosted by my wife Nicole and I: All are invited! On the Second Sunday after Christmas, January 2, 2011, the transition to Epiphany has begun. The Gospel reading that Sunday will look ahead to the arrival of the Magi on Epiphany – The Magi are commonly called the Three Kings, and in Saint Matthew’s Gospel account they can be viewed as representatives of all the nations of the world coming to honor the King of kings, Jesus Christ, who has been revealed to them by the heavens and the Scriptures. Likewise, hymns that Sunday will feel equal parts Christmas and equal parts Epiphany… when we next sing The First Nowell and What Child Is This, ask yourself if the hymns are more appropriate for the Birth of Christ or the child being revealed as the King of kings. On Thursday, January 6, we will celebrate the day of Epiphany with Said Holy Eucharist with hymns. After the service there will be a pleasant fireside reception with wine and cheese. If you haven’t ever done Christmastide from start to finish, I recommend it. The readings and hymns provided throughout the season say a great deal more than most preachers will ever say about who Jesus is. I hope that you will join me for these wonderful services!
There are three other very important events at Good Shepherd that are related to Christmas, but technically fall outside of the Twelve Days of Christmas. The first is the Pageant and Twelfth Night Celebration which will take place on Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 6:00 PM. So that as many families can be present as possible, the Pageant and Twelfth Night celebration was moved years ago to the first convenient Saturday after New Year’s Day. Last year, which was my first at Good Shepherd, we had over 100 people present for the festivities. The children and teachers of the Sunday School work very hard throughout November and December to prepare for this wonderful pageant. After the pageant, everyone moves to the parish hall for a potluck dinner and the arrival of the Magi – three mystery guests who will bring gifts to every member of the Body of Christ present (everyone in the room)! It is a fitting end to the Christmas season, and I hope you will make every effort to experience and be a part of Twelfth Night at Good Shepherd!
The second important event that is related to Christmas is the commemoration of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, commonly called Candlemas, celebrated on February 2 forty days after Christmas, which is the last event narrated by Saint Luke in his narrative of Jesus’ birth. Candlemas services are beloved by the many Christians who have celebrated them. The service, a Sung Holy Eucharist, begins in near darkness with the lighting and blessing of candles. Like the rites of Holy Week, the Feast of the Presentation and its candle lighting rite seem to have evolved in the fourth century Church in Jerusalem, when it first became legal in the Roman Empire for the Church to be public in its witness. The Church links the prophecy of the coming of the Lord to his temple with the Gospel account of Jesus being presented in the temple. This year, so that we do not have to move or cancel our weekly AA groups, we will celebrate the Eve (or night before) of Candlemas, on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. After the service concludes the Brotherhood, our Men’s Group, will host the annual Chili and Chowder competition. All are invited to attend and bring a pot of either a Chili or a Chowder (or both if you are very ambitious!). Beverages, sides and other dishes are also welcome and will be pot luck. I must most humbly admit that I am the reigning Chili Champion, though one could make the argument that everyone was just being nice by voting for the new rector last year. This year I intend to defend my crown, and I guarantee this year’s Matt’s Mild Chili will be hotter than the flames of . . . well, it will be hot! Candlemas at Good Shepherd is awesome! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, February 1, at 6:00 PM… and bring your appetite! Child care will be provided during the service and until 8:30 PM.
The final important event that is related to Christmas is the annual commemoration of the Annunciation of Jesus to Mary by the angel Gabriel, celebrated every year nine months before Christmas, on March 25. On Friday, March 25, we will celebrate the Annunciation with Sung Holy Eucharist. The service will be followed by our second annual Charity Wine Tasting & Potluck dinner, hosted by the Outreach Committee. All are invited to attend, we ask for a minimum donation of $30 per adult at the door. Any wine that is offered for tasting may be purchased at the event at a discounted rate by the bottle, half case or case. The church receives a percentage of every bottle of wine that is sold, so if you plan to come and you like wine, this is a fabulous day to stock up your wine cellar for charity. Last year we had over 70 people at the Wine Tasting and we raised funds for the parish, for Keon Center and for Northern Westchester Food Pantry. Our goal for the event this year is 100 people and $4000. Please mark your calendars for this wonderful event, which will be Friday, March 25, 2011, beginning at 6:00 PM, and remember that you can purchase wine at this event and a percentage of the proceeds go to the church! Child care will be provided during the service and until 8:30 PM.
All of that in a Christmas message! Living into the church year, whether it be the Christmas cycle, the Easter cycle, or the annual commemorations of the many saints, forms Christians in ways that are difficult to explain. The entire Christmas cycle, beginning with the Annunciation and concluding nearly a year later with Candlemas, has deepened my faith and allowed me time and space to grow closer to my brothers and sisters in Christ. Hearing not only the story of Jesus’ birth, but also the entirety of the Infancy Narratives and how they play out across the entire year puts the birth of Jesus into something I can easily understand… the annual cycles of life. As I grow and time passes God is made present to me in many amazing ways; likewise Jesus was revealed to Mary and Joseph and all who knew him, before his birth, at his birth, as a boy, as a man, as the One who called all of us to follow him and who was crucified and died and rose from the dead, Jesus was revealed in so many different ways through the years of his life and after his resurrection. Through the Christmas cycle, celebrated across the course of the year, I have come to a fuller realization that God is truly with us, not just in a manger at Christmas, but in every aspect of our lives.
Celebrating these feast days is something that I treasure for those reasons, but also because the “weeknight feasts” that seem to pop up randomly throughout the year offer some of the best opportunities for Christian fellowship. I know it isn’t always possible for everyone to carve out a Tuesday or Friday evening, but for those people who are able to and who have been able to make it to some of the Holy Days that we celebrated this past year, I know it’s worth it. Looking back, we wouldn’t have had an Oktoberfest without Saint Michael. We wouldn’t have had a Steak and Wine Dinner for fifty people without Ascension Day. This year, I invite you to live deeper into one or more of the cycles of the church. I have enjoyed the Holy Days and the church and fellowship celebrations that accompany them so much that I learned the church calendar. So, with that in mind, scan back through this article and mark your calendars. You will be happy that you carved the time out now.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thought #2
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: And now, delving a bit deeper into the history and traditions of the worldwide church… Today Roman Catholic Christians celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The term Immaculate Conception refers to the Roman Catholic theological dogma that Mary was “from the first moment of her conception the Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of mankind, kept free from all stain of original sin” (Papal Bull of Pius IX from 1854). Immaculate in this context simply means without sin. The church (all denominations) has always taught that Mary was conceived naturally by her parents, and the reasons for celebrating Mary’s conception (immaculate or otherwise) are quite different from the Annunciation to Mary by the angel Gabriel when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (i.e. not natural conception) (celebrated on March 25).
A liturgical celebration of Mary’s natural conception dates from at least 700AD; a celebration of her birth on September 8 dates from at least 500AD. It is believed that September 8 was the date that Saint Anne’s Church in Jerusalem was dedicated in the early fifth century. The church was believed to have been built on the traditional site of the home of Mary’s and her parents, Joachim and Anne. The anniversary of this dedication and celebration of the birth of Mary, Anne’s daughter, soon spread to other churches.
It is believed that a celebration of Mary’s conception originally was established to underscore the tradition that Mary’s conception, like that of other important Biblical figures, was natural but special. The tradition that names Mary’s parents as Anne and Joachim (found in the ProtoGospel of James, one of a number of a non-biblical books of late origin which provide expanded background info on Mary, her family, and on Jesus as a child) also notes that they were old and that Anne was barren. The conception of Mary, therefore, is seen as in line with the natural, yet special, conceptions of Isaac (Abraham and Sarah were old and Sarah was barren – Genesis 17 & 21), Jacob (Isaac’s wife Rebecca was barren – Genesis 25), Joseph (Jacob’s wife Rachel was barren – Genesis 30) Sampson (whose father Manoah had a barren wife – Judges 13), and Samuel (Hannah, his mother, was barren – 1Samuel 1).
The feast of Mary’s conception spread from the Eastern church to the West. By the time it reached England and France the specialness surrounding Mary’s conception had increased: Mary had not only been conceived from an aged and previously barren mother, her conception, by the grace of God, had occurred without original sin, making her the new Eve.
The concept of original sin is a western Christian concept that dates at least back to St. Cyprian and St. Ambrose who taught that the whole human race shared not only the consequences of Adam’s sin, but also shared the sin itself which is transmitted through natural generation. St. Augustine, following this, taught specifically that this sin enfeebled free will (though it did not disable it) and that it was passed to Adam’s descendants through concupiscence (defined most simply as lust, but taken broadly to mean any unexplainable desire to do evil – the mystery of why we do things we know we should not do, why do those things we feel guilty for doing). The idea of original sin was soon firmly established in the Western Church (though not in the Eastern Church) and by the middle ages, Western theologians had become concerned with the nature and transmission of original sin, rather than its existence which they took for granted. One strand, but certainly not the only strand, of thought attached the transmission of original sin to the conjugal act: (natural conception). Another strand of thought simply attached original sin to fallen human nature shared by all humans. Controversies with the reformers over many issues, including the definitions of original sin, had the double edged result of more and more precise definitions offered by Roman Catholic theologians (though not necessarily Roman Catholic official teaching), on the one hand, and extreme mischaracterizations of Roman Catholic teaching by Protestant theologians, on the other hand. It’s important to note that the reformers rarely rejected the existence of original sin, as Western Christians, they too looked back to Augustine and Ambrose for guidance, they simply rejected Roman Catholic definitions and teaching on original sin that stemmed from Medieval Scholasticism. Discussions and debates on original sin have continued over the centuries. Both the Enlightenment and the rise of Biblical Critical Scholarship has resulted in significantly less precise though no less vigorous discussions on the issue by theologians and philosophers on all sides – many Roman Catholic theologians, many philosophers including Kant, Schleiermacher, and Hagel, as well as protestant scholars including Karl Barth, the godfather of 20th century Protestant theology, have much to say on the topic.
Bearing all this in mind, it makes sense that a feast celebrating Mary’s conception would get caught up in the theological discussions surrounding original sin. Since the time that “original sin” and “Mary’s conception” were discussed in the same breath, theologians have discussed and debated whether or not Mary’s conception was immaculate or not. They have also discussed whether or not it mattered at all to define it in any way or simply to celebrate the event and move on. As noted above, in 1854 the Roman Catholic church officially declared that Mary was conceived without original sin. The actual declaration accepts the traditional Western teaching that original sin exists and states simply that Mary was preserved from original sin when she was conceived, and the declaration, and for that matter then entire proclamation, is less concerned with unpacking that mystery than it is proclaiming the mystery itself: "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful." An official English translation of the entire proclamation can be found here: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm
Neither the Conception nor the Immaculate Conception is listed in the Holy Day calendar of the Episcopal Church, though some churches that are dedicated to St. Mary (or who hold Mary in very high regard) celebrate the day (there is no rule that says you can’t, especially when the feast day goes back 1500 years). The Bishop of New York will celebrate and preach tonight at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Times Square (my old church) at their annual celebration of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Saint Mary’s first service was 140 years ago on December 8). Over the years the day has been celebrated variously as “The Immaculate Conception” or “The Conception”, depending on the mood and theological leanings of the rector at the time. Tonight several hundred people will gather at Saint Mary’s to celebrate the marvelous and mysterious work of the Holy Spirit seen in Mary and in our own loves as well – and I doubt they will spend much time pondering original sin. I ask your prayers for the continued mission and ministry of Saint Mary’s in Times Square. If you are in New York City on December 8, stop by Saint Mary's!
A liturgical celebration of Mary’s natural conception dates from at least 700AD; a celebration of her birth on September 8 dates from at least 500AD. It is believed that September 8 was the date that Saint Anne’s Church in Jerusalem was dedicated in the early fifth century. The church was believed to have been built on the traditional site of the home of Mary’s and her parents, Joachim and Anne. The anniversary of this dedication and celebration of the birth of Mary, Anne’s daughter, soon spread to other churches.
It is believed that a celebration of Mary’s conception originally was established to underscore the tradition that Mary’s conception, like that of other important Biblical figures, was natural but special. The tradition that names Mary’s parents as Anne and Joachim (found in the ProtoGospel of James, one of a number of a non-biblical books of late origin which provide expanded background info on Mary, her family, and on Jesus as a child) also notes that they were old and that Anne was barren. The conception of Mary, therefore, is seen as in line with the natural, yet special, conceptions of Isaac (Abraham and Sarah were old and Sarah was barren – Genesis 17 & 21), Jacob (Isaac’s wife Rebecca was barren – Genesis 25), Joseph (Jacob’s wife Rachel was barren – Genesis 30) Sampson (whose father Manoah had a barren wife – Judges 13), and Samuel (Hannah, his mother, was barren – 1Samuel 1).
The feast of Mary’s conception spread from the Eastern church to the West. By the time it reached England and France the specialness surrounding Mary’s conception had increased: Mary had not only been conceived from an aged and previously barren mother, her conception, by the grace of God, had occurred without original sin, making her the new Eve.
The concept of original sin is a western Christian concept that dates at least back to St. Cyprian and St. Ambrose who taught that the whole human race shared not only the consequences of Adam’s sin, but also shared the sin itself which is transmitted through natural generation. St. Augustine, following this, taught specifically that this sin enfeebled free will (though it did not disable it) and that it was passed to Adam’s descendants through concupiscence (defined most simply as lust, but taken broadly to mean any unexplainable desire to do evil – the mystery of why we do things we know we should not do, why do those things we feel guilty for doing). The idea of original sin was soon firmly established in the Western Church (though not in the Eastern Church) and by the middle ages, Western theologians had become concerned with the nature and transmission of original sin, rather than its existence which they took for granted. One strand, but certainly not the only strand, of thought attached the transmission of original sin to the conjugal act: (natural conception). Another strand of thought simply attached original sin to fallen human nature shared by all humans. Controversies with the reformers over many issues, including the definitions of original sin, had the double edged result of more and more precise definitions offered by Roman Catholic theologians (though not necessarily Roman Catholic official teaching), on the one hand, and extreme mischaracterizations of Roman Catholic teaching by Protestant theologians, on the other hand. It’s important to note that the reformers rarely rejected the existence of original sin, as Western Christians, they too looked back to Augustine and Ambrose for guidance, they simply rejected Roman Catholic definitions and teaching on original sin that stemmed from Medieval Scholasticism. Discussions and debates on original sin have continued over the centuries. Both the Enlightenment and the rise of Biblical Critical Scholarship has resulted in significantly less precise though no less vigorous discussions on the issue by theologians and philosophers on all sides – many Roman Catholic theologians, many philosophers including Kant, Schleiermacher, and Hagel, as well as protestant scholars including Karl Barth, the godfather of 20th century Protestant theology, have much to say on the topic.
Bearing all this in mind, it makes sense that a feast celebrating Mary’s conception would get caught up in the theological discussions surrounding original sin. Since the time that “original sin” and “Mary’s conception” were discussed in the same breath, theologians have discussed and debated whether or not Mary’s conception was immaculate or not. They have also discussed whether or not it mattered at all to define it in any way or simply to celebrate the event and move on. As noted above, in 1854 the Roman Catholic church officially declared that Mary was conceived without original sin. The actual declaration accepts the traditional Western teaching that original sin exists and states simply that Mary was preserved from original sin when she was conceived, and the declaration, and for that matter then entire proclamation, is less concerned with unpacking that mystery than it is proclaiming the mystery itself: "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful." An official English translation of the entire proclamation can be found here: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm
Neither the Conception nor the Immaculate Conception is listed in the Holy Day calendar of the Episcopal Church, though some churches that are dedicated to St. Mary (or who hold Mary in very high regard) celebrate the day (there is no rule that says you can’t, especially when the feast day goes back 1500 years). The Bishop of New York will celebrate and preach tonight at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Times Square (my old church) at their annual celebration of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Saint Mary’s first service was 140 years ago on December 8). Over the years the day has been celebrated variously as “The Immaculate Conception” or “The Conception”, depending on the mood and theological leanings of the rector at the time. Tonight several hundred people will gather at Saint Mary’s to celebrate the marvelous and mysterious work of the Holy Spirit seen in Mary and in our own loves as well – and I doubt they will spend much time pondering original sin. I ask your prayers for the continued mission and ministry of Saint Mary’s in Times Square. If you are in New York City on December 8, stop by Saint Mary's!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Shepherd's Voice: From the Rector #14
ADVENT: I am a huge fan of Advent! Advent leads to Christmas. Advent begins a new year in the Church calendar. Advent has some of the greatest hymns that have ever been written. And did I mention that Advent leads to Christmas!
The liturgical year of the church begins on the First Sunday of Advent. Throughout the church year there are two major cycles that determine when the Seasons and Major Holy Days of the year are observed: the first cycle revolves around the movable date of Easter Sunday (in 2010 Easter was April 4, in 2011 Easter is April 24), the second cycle revolves around the fixed date of Christmas Day (Christmas is always December 25). The date of Easter determines when the church observes or celebrates Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent; Holy Week including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday; Eastertide including Ascension Day, the fortieth day of Eastertide, and Pentecost the fiftieth and final day of Eastertide; and the Sundays of the Season after Pentecost, including Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost. The rest of the church year is determined by the fixed date of Christmas. The four Sundays before Christmas Day are always the four Sundays of Advent – in fact, Christmas Eve can be celebrated on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Christmastide is twelve days and includes several Biblical Holy Days. The Holy Name of Jesus, commemorating the Biblical naming of Jesus on the eighth day after his birth, is celebrated on New Year’s Day every year. The Epiphany, commemorating the revelation to the Magi as the King of Kings, the first of many ways that Jesus is revealed to the world, is always celebrated twelve days after Christmas on January 6. There are a few other Holy Days that are also determined by Christmas Day. The Presentation (commonly called Candlemas), commemorating the presentation of Jesus in the temple forty days after his birth, is celebrated each year on February 2. The Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel announces that the Virgin Mary will conceive and bear a child by the power of the Holy Spirit, is always celebrated on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas Day. The birth of John the Baptist (who we are told must decrease, while Jesus increases) is celebrated on June 24, six months before Christmas Day: the dark winter days begin to get longer around Christmas, the long summer days begin to get shorter after the Summer solstice at the end of June. All of that starts with Christmas and Easter, the great celebrations of “God with us” and the celebration of the resurrection of the Son of God from the dead. There is a fascinating history behind how these two great Holy Days are chosen, and I invite you to delve into the history and meaning of the liturgical year. One of my favorite books on that subject is The Liturgical Year by Adolph Adam. It’s a wonderful resource to own, and it will answer many of the questions you might have about why the church does what it does during the year.
The liturgical year begins with Advent. Advent is the season of preparation for Christmas, a time of waiting, watching and preparing, but also a time for great joy and celebration. Sometimes, I think, Advent gets confused with Lent, the season of penitence and preparation before Eastertide. Both Advent and Lent share the same liturgical color, both seasons drop “Glory to God in the highest” as the opening Song of Praise, and there is a long history of penance and fasting attached in parts of the church to both seasons. But the similarities really end there. Alleluia is still sung in Advent, and a constant theme of joy peppers the entire season. The hymns of Advent, in particular, stand in sharp contrast to the hymns of Lent. Throughout Advent we will sing the most well known favorite “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” There are eight verses (each originally assigned for the 8 days before Christmas) and they divide up nicely for the four Sunday of Advent (two verses each week). Recall the refrain at the end of each verse: “Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” Not particularly penitential, is it? Other hymns in Advent, such as “Sleeper’s wake, a voice is sounding” and “Lo! he comes, with clouds descending” contain the phrases: “Alleluia! Therefore we sing to greet our King, forever let our praises ring.” and “Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ the Lord returns to reign!” These are songs of joy! And the music for the hymns of Advent reflects this theme of joy. Advent hymns are either downright beautiful or they are upbeat barnburners that blow the doors of the church. Compare Advent hymns to those of Lent, and you will quickly discover that Lent is dominated by deep penitence and somberness, in word and music.
As we move toward Christmas the Advent hymns become more and more overtly about the birth of Jesus, and the lines blur between Advent and Christmas more and more. I admit that I am writing this note in my office with Christmas Carols (sung by two other kings, Benny King and Elvis Presley) blaring. If my back weren’t bothering me (long story – threw it out a month ago and it’s slowly improving), I’d probably be outside putting up Christmas lights in front of my house so the church can start keeping up with the neighbors who are really beginning to amp up their celebration of the Christmas with more and more decorations. I’m looking forward to putting up our Christmas Tree before Christmas Eve; I want to setup my electric trains; I want to have a proper eggnog. The fact is that it will take me a few weeks to get all of those things done, and as each day moves us closer to Christmas, the more prepared for Christmas I will be.
I hope that everyone has a fantastic and joyful Advent. The church offers a great variety of ways to prepare for Christmas in a festive and joyful way. The Sundays of Advent have great hymns and, let’s be honest, purple vestments are wild! The always fun and quite delicious annual Christmas Bazaar will take place on December 11 and 12. There is time to decorate your house, time to buy gifts and stocking stuffers, and most importantly there is time to figure out which family members, friends or co-workers, you hope to bring to Good Shepherd for Christmas. The Christmas Eve Family Service (with Child Care) is at 5PM. The Christmas Concert begins at 10:30PM and is followed by the Midnight Mass as 11PM. Christmas Day Sung Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 10AM (different hymns and carols from Christmas Eve).
The liturgical year of the church begins on the First Sunday of Advent. Throughout the church year there are two major cycles that determine when the Seasons and Major Holy Days of the year are observed: the first cycle revolves around the movable date of Easter Sunday (in 2010 Easter was April 4, in 2011 Easter is April 24), the second cycle revolves around the fixed date of Christmas Day (Christmas is always December 25). The date of Easter determines when the church observes or celebrates Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent; Holy Week including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday; Eastertide including Ascension Day, the fortieth day of Eastertide, and Pentecost the fiftieth and final day of Eastertide; and the Sundays of the Season after Pentecost, including Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost. The rest of the church year is determined by the fixed date of Christmas. The four Sundays before Christmas Day are always the four Sundays of Advent – in fact, Christmas Eve can be celebrated on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Christmastide is twelve days and includes several Biblical Holy Days. The Holy Name of Jesus, commemorating the Biblical naming of Jesus on the eighth day after his birth, is celebrated on New Year’s Day every year. The Epiphany, commemorating the revelation to the Magi as the King of Kings, the first of many ways that Jesus is revealed to the world, is always celebrated twelve days after Christmas on January 6. There are a few other Holy Days that are also determined by Christmas Day. The Presentation (commonly called Candlemas), commemorating the presentation of Jesus in the temple forty days after his birth, is celebrated each year on February 2. The Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel announces that the Virgin Mary will conceive and bear a child by the power of the Holy Spirit, is always celebrated on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas Day. The birth of John the Baptist (who we are told must decrease, while Jesus increases) is celebrated on June 24, six months before Christmas Day: the dark winter days begin to get longer around Christmas, the long summer days begin to get shorter after the Summer solstice at the end of June. All of that starts with Christmas and Easter, the great celebrations of “God with us” and the celebration of the resurrection of the Son of God from the dead. There is a fascinating history behind how these two great Holy Days are chosen, and I invite you to delve into the history and meaning of the liturgical year. One of my favorite books on that subject is The Liturgical Year by Adolph Adam. It’s a wonderful resource to own, and it will answer many of the questions you might have about why the church does what it does during the year.
The liturgical year begins with Advent. Advent is the season of preparation for Christmas, a time of waiting, watching and preparing, but also a time for great joy and celebration. Sometimes, I think, Advent gets confused with Lent, the season of penitence and preparation before Eastertide. Both Advent and Lent share the same liturgical color, both seasons drop “Glory to God in the highest” as the opening Song of Praise, and there is a long history of penance and fasting attached in parts of the church to both seasons. But the similarities really end there. Alleluia is still sung in Advent, and a constant theme of joy peppers the entire season. The hymns of Advent, in particular, stand in sharp contrast to the hymns of Lent. Throughout Advent we will sing the most well known favorite “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” There are eight verses (each originally assigned for the 8 days before Christmas) and they divide up nicely for the four Sunday of Advent (two verses each week). Recall the refrain at the end of each verse: “Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” Not particularly penitential, is it? Other hymns in Advent, such as “Sleeper’s wake, a voice is sounding” and “Lo! he comes, with clouds descending” contain the phrases: “Alleluia! Therefore we sing to greet our King, forever let our praises ring.” and “Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ the Lord returns to reign!” These are songs of joy! And the music for the hymns of Advent reflects this theme of joy. Advent hymns are either downright beautiful or they are upbeat barnburners that blow the doors of the church. Compare Advent hymns to those of Lent, and you will quickly discover that Lent is dominated by deep penitence and somberness, in word and music.
As we move toward Christmas the Advent hymns become more and more overtly about the birth of Jesus, and the lines blur between Advent and Christmas more and more. I admit that I am writing this note in my office with Christmas Carols (sung by two other kings, Benny King and Elvis Presley) blaring. If my back weren’t bothering me (long story – threw it out a month ago and it’s slowly improving), I’d probably be outside putting up Christmas lights in front of my house so the church can start keeping up with the neighbors who are really beginning to amp up their celebration of the Christmas with more and more decorations. I’m looking forward to putting up our Christmas Tree before Christmas Eve; I want to setup my electric trains; I want to have a proper eggnog. The fact is that it will take me a few weeks to get all of those things done, and as each day moves us closer to Christmas, the more prepared for Christmas I will be.
I hope that everyone has a fantastic and joyful Advent. The church offers a great variety of ways to prepare for Christmas in a festive and joyful way. The Sundays of Advent have great hymns and, let’s be honest, purple vestments are wild! The always fun and quite delicious annual Christmas Bazaar will take place on December 11 and 12. There is time to decorate your house, time to buy gifts and stocking stuffers, and most importantly there is time to figure out which family members, friends or co-workers, you hope to bring to Good Shepherd for Christmas. The Christmas Eve Family Service (with Child Care) is at 5PM. The Christmas Concert begins at 10:30PM and is followed by the Midnight Mass as 11PM. Christmas Day Sung Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 10AM (different hymns and carols from Christmas Eve).
Why I Love Good Shepherd #9
WHY I LOVE GOOD SHEPHERD
This article is the second in a series presented by the 2011 Stewardship Committee. If you are interested in submitting an article for the series, please contact Father Matt, we’d love to print your submission! This month we continue the series with a note from Cindy Rubino:
When asked why I love Good Shepherd, my immediate answer is “Because of the people, of course.” But I’m guessing that Father Matt is looking for a slightly more elaborate answer to the question for purposes of this article, so let me elaborate.
My family has a long history within this church. My parents were married here and even had their reception in the church hall. My sister and I were both baptized here, attended Sunday school and got all the pins, attended Youth Group and were confirmed here. We were both married here and all our kids were baptized here as well. Now I watch as my children go through Sunday school and I realize how life does indeed come full circle. And as I sit here and reflect on all these celebrations that have taken place in the church, I remember all of the warm, loving, familiar faces that we were surrounded by—our fellow parishioners. To be a part of the “flock” at Good Shepherd is like having a huge extended family. And for anyone who is new to the Church, or just visiting even, this is so evident at that moment on Sunday when we greet each other with the Peace.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Shepherd's Voice: From the Rector #13
STEWARDSHIP 2011: Covenant Sunday at Good Shepherd is November 14, 2011. There are several important events that weekend. The first event is a 24-hour prayer vigil beginning at 8:00 AM on Saturday, November 13, and concluding with at 8:00 AM on Sunday November 14. At both celebrations of the Holy Eucharist that Sunday, signed 2011 pledge cards are brought to the altar and blessed. Finally, after the 10:00 AM service the Stewardship Committee will offer a festive brunch. Covenant Sunday begins the 2011 Stewardship Campaign at Good Shepherd, and it is a celebration of the wonderful and amazing growth experienced in the last year.
Last year was a fabulous success in many tangible and intangible ways. Two of the most important metrics of growth that can be measured are regular involvement and giving. Last year, we grew a miraculous 31% in Sunday worship attendance and also 31% in financial pledging. These numbers are nothing short of astounding and on November 14, we can look back with pride and celebrate. We will also look ahead as stewards of the Church of the Good Shepherd. 2011 holds similar challenges to 2010, but they are challenges that we have already met head on, and we will meet them again with the knowledge that our faith in this church is built on the rock solid foundation of Jesus Christ and the experience of knowing what fruit can be born when we have trust and take the leap of faith needed to be a Christian Steward.
I believe that there are two aspects to Christian Stewardship. I refer to the first is what I refer to as “cold, hard facts”. I think that the second is faith.
I think it is important to know some of the “cold, hard, facts”. Details may be boring, but I always want to know where my money is going and I want to know specifically what is being asked of me; so I will try to share with you briefly what it takes to make Good Shepherd go for a year. In order for Good Shepherd to do what it does, to look as beautiful as it does, to be staffed as it is, and to have a priest with a family as its rector, the parish needs to support itself financially by balancing a budget in 2011 of about $168,000. Diocesan assessment, office and program supplies, utilities, capital repairs and improvements, staff salaries, and the expenses of a full time rector account for most of our expenses, and there is very little fat that can be trimmed without letting go of staff.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a magical money tree on the front lawn or in the woods somewhere that we can pick dollars from to pay bills or salaries. Realistically, there are four sources of money that allow us to remain open and operational.
The first, and smallest, is the annual interest and dividends from our modest endowment (the entire endowment is about $275,000): we currently budget about $15,000 each year which happily ensures that the endowment is not depleted but also ensures that it never really grows or even retains its value when compared to inflation.
The second source of real income is from the outside groups who use our space: AA, Bright Beginnings Nursery School, local elections, etc. We count on about $20,000 each year from these groups, but realistically, our commitment to any outside group is less a financial benefit than it is a form of community outreach; we do not rent out church space to anyone and everyone because at the start, middle, and end of each day we are a church and not a commercial property.
The third real source of income is the offerings and gifts from members and friends in the form of loose cash in the collection plate (commonly called loose plate) from every service of the year, and Christmas and Easter offerings. We estimate those occasional gifts for the budget at about $6,000.
The final source of income, from which the bulk of our annual expenses are paid, is pledged donations. The portion of our total $168,000 budget for 2011 that needs to be supported directly by pledges is $125,000. If we don’t make up the difference in 2011 the only way to keep the lights on, maintain the tree limbs on the property and pay staff salaries is once again to draw down on the endowment (in early 2010 we drew down $15,000 from the endowment to cover outstanding bills) or to undergo severe retrenchment in staff and activities. I am quite confident that we will increase our pledges in 2011 to $125,000. That increase would be a 15% increase, which is far more manageable than the increase we experienced in 2010. What that means in the most basic terms is that our average pledge increases from $36 a week to $41 a week.
I mentioned that I though there were two aspects of Christian Stewardship. The second is faith, and I hope to illustrate how faith enters into Stewardship by way of an example. It doesn’t take faith to buy a cup or two of coffee each morning. For about $3 each day, or about $20 each week, I can get my morning coffee. I know that I can afford a cup of coffee and so it doesn’t take a leap of faith to make the decision to grab that daily a cup of coffee. A pledge is different from a cup of coffee because it involves making a leap of faith to support something above and beyond the simple things of daily life. My personal pledge is $100 a week, which is a lot more coffee than I could ever hope to drink in a week, and in all honesty, I grind my own beans and make coffee at home 95% of the time, so $100 of coffee is probably an entire year’s worth for me. My pledge is a budget line item that looks quite similar to my student loans from college and seminary or to my car loan payments.
The faith behind making a pledge, whatever the amount, is faith in the church and its mission to spread the Good News of Christ to others. My pledge does not pay to keep the church open or staffed. It does not pay for the mission and outreach efforts done throughout the year. It doesn’t even pay for the regular maintenance done to the church and grounds each year. No, it doesn’t pay for any of those, but it does pay for a small part of each of those, and I have faith that my money isn’t being poured down the drain because I know that the love that I have for Jesus Christ is shared by the people that I see and worship with at Good Shepherd every week. That group of worshippers averaged nearly 60 people in 2009. In 2010 that group has grown to 90 people. When the Gospel is being spread with joy and enthusiasm, it is obvious. That joy and enthusiasm makes it easy to see the outward signs of faith, they are tangible, and they present themselves in myriad ways in the daily life of the parish.
One outward sign of faith is time. The involvement of people is directly proportional to their Sunday attendance. I want to be in church on Sunday because I can see and feel the presence of the risen Lord all around me and it is awesome! Any of us could use our time in other ways, but I have faith that my time is being spent doing the Lord’s work by being in church on Sunday whether I am the preacher or whether I am on vacation, spreading the Gospel to someone else.
Another sign of faith is treasure. I want to support the church because I have faith that my dollars are not alone, and that they are a fraction of the whole that it takes to make a church go. Think about that for a second. My contribution is essential to making sure this wonderful place hums and thrives and grows. That is incredible! My God, when you consider it, it really is an amazing thing.
I know it takes faith to give time and treasure to the church. The amount doesn’t matter, as long as the commitment is honest. I invite you this year to join me and every member of the vestry and every parish officer, and take a leap of faith by making a pledge to support the Church of the Good Shepherd. It’s a scary thing to make a leap of faith, but once you have jumped… its awesome!
Last year was a fabulous success in many tangible and intangible ways. Two of the most important metrics of growth that can be measured are regular involvement and giving. Last year, we grew a miraculous 31% in Sunday worship attendance and also 31% in financial pledging. These numbers are nothing short of astounding and on November 14, we can look back with pride and celebrate. We will also look ahead as stewards of the Church of the Good Shepherd. 2011 holds similar challenges to 2010, but they are challenges that we have already met head on, and we will meet them again with the knowledge that our faith in this church is built on the rock solid foundation of Jesus Christ and the experience of knowing what fruit can be born when we have trust and take the leap of faith needed to be a Christian Steward.
I believe that there are two aspects to Christian Stewardship. I refer to the first is what I refer to as “cold, hard facts”. I think that the second is faith.
I think it is important to know some of the “cold, hard, facts”. Details may be boring, but I always want to know where my money is going and I want to know specifically what is being asked of me; so I will try to share with you briefly what it takes to make Good Shepherd go for a year. In order for Good Shepherd to do what it does, to look as beautiful as it does, to be staffed as it is, and to have a priest with a family as its rector, the parish needs to support itself financially by balancing a budget in 2011 of about $168,000. Diocesan assessment, office and program supplies, utilities, capital repairs and improvements, staff salaries, and the expenses of a full time rector account for most of our expenses, and there is very little fat that can be trimmed without letting go of staff.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a magical money tree on the front lawn or in the woods somewhere that we can pick dollars from to pay bills or salaries. Realistically, there are four sources of money that allow us to remain open and operational.
The first, and smallest, is the annual interest and dividends from our modest endowment (the entire endowment is about $275,000): we currently budget about $15,000 each year which happily ensures that the endowment is not depleted but also ensures that it never really grows or even retains its value when compared to inflation.
The second source of real income is from the outside groups who use our space: AA, Bright Beginnings Nursery School, local elections, etc. We count on about $20,000 each year from these groups, but realistically, our commitment to any outside group is less a financial benefit than it is a form of community outreach; we do not rent out church space to anyone and everyone because at the start, middle, and end of each day we are a church and not a commercial property.
The third real source of income is the offerings and gifts from members and friends in the form of loose cash in the collection plate (commonly called loose plate) from every service of the year, and Christmas and Easter offerings. We estimate those occasional gifts for the budget at about $6,000.
The final source of income, from which the bulk of our annual expenses are paid, is pledged donations. The portion of our total $168,000 budget for 2011 that needs to be supported directly by pledges is $125,000. If we don’t make up the difference in 2011 the only way to keep the lights on, maintain the tree limbs on the property and pay staff salaries is once again to draw down on the endowment (in early 2010 we drew down $15,000 from the endowment to cover outstanding bills) or to undergo severe retrenchment in staff and activities. I am quite confident that we will increase our pledges in 2011 to $125,000. That increase would be a 15% increase, which is far more manageable than the increase we experienced in 2010. What that means in the most basic terms is that our average pledge increases from $36 a week to $41 a week.
I mentioned that I though there were two aspects of Christian Stewardship. The second is faith, and I hope to illustrate how faith enters into Stewardship by way of an example. It doesn’t take faith to buy a cup or two of coffee each morning. For about $3 each day, or about $20 each week, I can get my morning coffee. I know that I can afford a cup of coffee and so it doesn’t take a leap of faith to make the decision to grab that daily a cup of coffee. A pledge is different from a cup of coffee because it involves making a leap of faith to support something above and beyond the simple things of daily life. My personal pledge is $100 a week, which is a lot more coffee than I could ever hope to drink in a week, and in all honesty, I grind my own beans and make coffee at home 95% of the time, so $100 of coffee is probably an entire year’s worth for me. My pledge is a budget line item that looks quite similar to my student loans from college and seminary or to my car loan payments.
The faith behind making a pledge, whatever the amount, is faith in the church and its mission to spread the Good News of Christ to others. My pledge does not pay to keep the church open or staffed. It does not pay for the mission and outreach efforts done throughout the year. It doesn’t even pay for the regular maintenance done to the church and grounds each year. No, it doesn’t pay for any of those, but it does pay for a small part of each of those, and I have faith that my money isn’t being poured down the drain because I know that the love that I have for Jesus Christ is shared by the people that I see and worship with at Good Shepherd every week. That group of worshippers averaged nearly 60 people in 2009. In 2010 that group has grown to 90 people. When the Gospel is being spread with joy and enthusiasm, it is obvious. That joy and enthusiasm makes it easy to see the outward signs of faith, they are tangible, and they present themselves in myriad ways in the daily life of the parish.
One outward sign of faith is time. The involvement of people is directly proportional to their Sunday attendance. I want to be in church on Sunday because I can see and feel the presence of the risen Lord all around me and it is awesome! Any of us could use our time in other ways, but I have faith that my time is being spent doing the Lord’s work by being in church on Sunday whether I am the preacher or whether I am on vacation, spreading the Gospel to someone else.
Another sign of faith is treasure. I want to support the church because I have faith that my dollars are not alone, and that they are a fraction of the whole that it takes to make a church go. Think about that for a second. My contribution is essential to making sure this wonderful place hums and thrives and grows. That is incredible! My God, when you consider it, it really is an amazing thing.
I know it takes faith to give time and treasure to the church. The amount doesn’t matter, as long as the commitment is honest. I invite you this year to join me and every member of the vestry and every parish officer, and take a leap of faith by making a pledge to support the Church of the Good Shepherd. It’s a scary thing to make a leap of faith, but once you have jumped… its awesome!
Why I Love Good Shepherd #8
This article is the first in a series presented by the 2011 Stewardship Committee. If you are interested in submitting an article for the series, please contact Father Matt, we’d love to print your submission! This month we continue the series with a note from Diane Buschel:
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so….” Remember that song? The moment I step into the Church of the Good Shepherd, I experience that feeling of love and belonging which we all need. We show that love by our outreach programs such as Carpenter’s Kids, Shoeboxes for Kids and many other ways. We reach out to each other in times of trouble and lend a hand when needed. The camaraderie is fantastic and everyone is very supportive of you whatever you might be going through. I look forward to Sunday mornings and any other opportunity to get together with our church family and friends.
Another reason I love Good Shepherd is that I have such fond memories of my three children in church. They served as acolytes of the church, they were part of the Christmas pageants and attended Sunday School classes. I derived a great deal of pleasure and have great memories years of teaching Sunday School and watching children become excited as they learned about God. In addition, all three of my own children were baptized at our church. I also had the pleasure of seeing my two grandchildren baptized in the Church of the Good Shepherd. (My granddaughter, Callie, was just baptized at the end of September!).
I also love the music which is very moving and warms my heart. I’ll never forget one Christmas Eve Midnight service and the pews were filled to capacity. I sang with the choir and the music just resounded through the church and filled my heart with joy! I also got that feeling when we installed Fr. Matt when the choir pews filled with clergy and we sang opposite them. Again, the church was filled with joyous music ~ what an awesome feeling!
So I know that “Jesus loves me” as he led me to the Church of the Good Shepherd and this wonderful church family of ours. I hope I can spread the word of this awesome feeling to many generations to come!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thought #1
THE PROPHET AMOS: The Wednesday Morning Bible Study resumed this past week – please note we will not meet on September 29. We read the Book of Amos, one of the Twelve Minor Prophetic Books.
Amos was a shepherd from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. His book is a collection of oracles that were delivered in and to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reigns of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jereboam II, King of Israel, sometime between 760 and 750 BC. (Recall that King Saul, King David and King Solomon presided over a united kingdom, but after Solomon’s death the kingdom split into two: northern Israel and southern Judah – the Biblical account of the united and divided monarchies can be found in the Old Testament Books 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.) Amos’ oracles were delivered to Israel at a time when the Northern Kingdom was in the midst of a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity, yet only one or two generations away from being overrun and destroyed by Assyria (in the 720s BC).
The Book of Amos begins with a series of oracles (chapters 1-2) indicting Israel’s neighbors for their various sins and crimes: if you look at a map you can see that Amos first points far north to Damascus, then far south to Gaza, then north again, though not as far, to Tyre, then south once more, again not as far south, to Edom, gradually and continually naming neighbors closer and closer to Israel and Judah. The penultimate oracle in this section lambasts Judah for rejecting the Law and being “led astray by the same lies after which their ancestors walked” – precisely what 1 & 2 Kings states the leaders of Judah and Israel did. Finally, Amos looks at Israel and indicts them on a far greater scale than the rest. Israel is guilty of defrauding and oppressing the poor and making a mockery of their religion by letting it be swallowed up in the cultic practices of their neighbors. One assumes that a resident of the Northern Kingdom hearing this first part of the oracle would almost cheer as God’s wrath is made known about the sinful neighbors, one after the other, not noticing that the neighbors in question seem to be getting closer and closer. However, at the mention of the sister Kingdom Judah, that same resident’s ears might prick up and an audible gulp might escape his or her lips. I find Amos’ rhetorical skill quite impressive in this opening sequence.
The second part of the book (chapters 3-6) lists in great detail Israel’s shortcomings and the punishment that God is most certain to bring. The people have “trampled on the poor” and “turned justice into poison”. Amos is blunt about what the Lord will do: “I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground”. And he is clear that the “notables” who “lounge on their couches”, “sing idle songs”, “drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils” will “be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.”
The third and final part of the book (chapters 7-9) details several visions of Amos. Amos sees locusts devouring the king’s fields, he sees fire devouring the deep and the land, and is shown a plumb line, symbolizing the fact that Israel does not measure up. After being confronted by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, who tells Amos to go home and prophecy somewhere else, Amos compares Israel to summer fruit… which will rot in short order. To many Christian ears, one of the last few oracles echoes forward to Good Friday: “On that day says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.” In the final vision of Amos, the Lord appears next to Amos at the altar and commands him to “strike the capitals [of the altar]”, and “I will shatter the heads of the people”.
A theme running through the book is that the Day of the Lord is coming. Amos corrects the presumption that the day of the Lord will be far off, or that it will be a good thing… but in fact the day of the Lord is unexpected, near, and severe. “[The Day of the Lord] is darkness and not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear, or went into a house and rested a hand against a wall, and was bitten by a serpent.” Amos is clear that the Day of the Lord will come, but it will be followed by resurrection and new life: “I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen”, and “restore the fortunes of my people Israel.” “I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God.”
The Book of Amos is probably the earliest of the written prophetic books. Amos’ language is stark and at times very violent, and sometimes people have difficulty with the idea of God’s wrath. But that wrath is spoken of in the context of extreme injustice in the midst of prosperity. Amos sees Israelites who are wealthy, peaceful, and happy, but who are also very unjust, immoral, and practicers of religious abominations (temple prostitutes and so forth), and so he indicts them for their injustice and treatment of the poor and for their false religious practices. Amos may not have known that his oracles would come true soon, but that luxury and prosperity was gone quickly when Israel was overrun by the Assyrian Empire, and everything that Amos said was going to happen, happened. For Christians the book has served as a preview of the events of the Passion, when both the Day of the Lord and the restoration of the people would truly come with the death and resurrection of the Son of God. The book also serves as a reminder that we are called by God to use all the gifts that we have been given in this life to love God and our neighbor. Amos might say there is no time like the present to act.
Amos was a shepherd from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. His book is a collection of oracles that were delivered in and to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reigns of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jereboam II, King of Israel, sometime between 760 and 750 BC. (Recall that King Saul, King David and King Solomon presided over a united kingdom, but after Solomon’s death the kingdom split into two: northern Israel and southern Judah – the Biblical account of the united and divided monarchies can be found in the Old Testament Books 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.) Amos’ oracles were delivered to Israel at a time when the Northern Kingdom was in the midst of a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity, yet only one or two generations away from being overrun and destroyed by Assyria (in the 720s BC).
The Book of Amos begins with a series of oracles (chapters 1-2) indicting Israel’s neighbors for their various sins and crimes: if you look at a map you can see that Amos first points far north to Damascus, then far south to Gaza, then north again, though not as far, to Tyre, then south once more, again not as far south, to Edom, gradually and continually naming neighbors closer and closer to Israel and Judah. The penultimate oracle in this section lambasts Judah for rejecting the Law and being “led astray by the same lies after which their ancestors walked” – precisely what 1 & 2 Kings states the leaders of Judah and Israel did. Finally, Amos looks at Israel and indicts them on a far greater scale than the rest. Israel is guilty of defrauding and oppressing the poor and making a mockery of their religion by letting it be swallowed up in the cultic practices of their neighbors. One assumes that a resident of the Northern Kingdom hearing this first part of the oracle would almost cheer as God’s wrath is made known about the sinful neighbors, one after the other, not noticing that the neighbors in question seem to be getting closer and closer. However, at the mention of the sister Kingdom Judah, that same resident’s ears might prick up and an audible gulp might escape his or her lips. I find Amos’ rhetorical skill quite impressive in this opening sequence.
The second part of the book (chapters 3-6) lists in great detail Israel’s shortcomings and the punishment that God is most certain to bring. The people have “trampled on the poor” and “turned justice into poison”. Amos is blunt about what the Lord will do: “I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground”. And he is clear that the “notables” who “lounge on their couches”, “sing idle songs”, “drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils” will “be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.”
The third and final part of the book (chapters 7-9) details several visions of Amos. Amos sees locusts devouring the king’s fields, he sees fire devouring the deep and the land, and is shown a plumb line, symbolizing the fact that Israel does not measure up. After being confronted by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, who tells Amos to go home and prophecy somewhere else, Amos compares Israel to summer fruit… which will rot in short order. To many Christian ears, one of the last few oracles echoes forward to Good Friday: “On that day says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.” In the final vision of Amos, the Lord appears next to Amos at the altar and commands him to “strike the capitals [of the altar]”, and “I will shatter the heads of the people”.
A theme running through the book is that the Day of the Lord is coming. Amos corrects the presumption that the day of the Lord will be far off, or that it will be a good thing… but in fact the day of the Lord is unexpected, near, and severe. “[The Day of the Lord] is darkness and not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear, or went into a house and rested a hand against a wall, and was bitten by a serpent.” Amos is clear that the Day of the Lord will come, but it will be followed by resurrection and new life: “I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen”, and “restore the fortunes of my people Israel.” “I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God.”
The Book of Amos is probably the earliest of the written prophetic books. Amos’ language is stark and at times very violent, and sometimes people have difficulty with the idea of God’s wrath. But that wrath is spoken of in the context of extreme injustice in the midst of prosperity. Amos sees Israelites who are wealthy, peaceful, and happy, but who are also very unjust, immoral, and practicers of religious abominations (temple prostitutes and so forth), and so he indicts them for their injustice and treatment of the poor and for their false religious practices. Amos may not have known that his oracles would come true soon, but that luxury and prosperity was gone quickly when Israel was overrun by the Assyrian Empire, and everything that Amos said was going to happen, happened. For Christians the book has served as a preview of the events of the Passion, when both the Day of the Lord and the restoration of the people would truly come with the death and resurrection of the Son of God. The book also serves as a reminder that we are called by God to use all the gifts that we have been given in this life to love God and our neighbor. Amos might say there is no time like the present to act.
Shepherd's Voice: From the Rector #12
A GREAT YEAR: I have been rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd for one year. My wife, Nicole, our sons, Liam and Nicholas, and I moved to Granite Springs at the start of September one year ago. We have had a wonderful year, we love Granite Springs and Good Shepherd, and I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to every member and friend of Good Shepherd for making our first year a great one: thank you very, very much!
In particular, I would like to thank all of the members of the vestry, those who currently serve, and those who served in 2009. The lay leadership of the parish gives so much time and hard work to Good Shepherd. We are blessed with great lay leadership, and it is an honor to be the rector of a church with such a devoted and hard working vestry. Thanks so much!
The Wardens, Jim Corning, Bruce Barber, and last year’s Property Warden, Phil Levy, have been absolutely fabulous. We are blessed to have the wardens that we have. They have worked for the church constantly, and the fruit of their work is everywhere. Thanks so much!
The other parish officers, Sally Stevens, Jan Corning, and Bob Bubeck, have put in countless hours during the day, at night, and after church as our treasurer, clerk, and financial officer, respectively. They are, to a great degree, the three people who make sure all of the details and numbers add up. Thanks so much!
I would also like to thank the staff of the parish who ensure that Good Shepherd remains open and operational. We have a small staff, but that does not diminish the wonderful work they do. I would like to thank Ann Siemerling, our sexton, who has worked tirelessly keeping the church open and clean every day of the year. I would like to thank Cecilia Sparacio, our organist and choir director, who has ensured that we have a great variety of lovely music at church services on Sunday, during the week, and at special events. I would like to thank Sharen McKenna, our child care provider, who has made sure that our Nursery is open and full of children every Sunday of the year. Finally, I would like to thank our parish secretary, Cindy Sotter, who died this past June after many hard months of illness, and her husband Bernie, for his behind the scene secretarial assistance. Cindy did all of the little things that needed to be done during the week at a church, and her loss in the office and parish community has been great, but I am thankful for the time that she worked here, and that I was able to work with here. God bless you Cindy, and rest in peace. Thanks so much to all of you!
I would be remiss if I did not also offer thanks and congratulations to you all for a year of amazing growth at Good Shepherd. Good Shepherd averaged 58 people each Sunday from September 2008 to September 2009, and that number grew to 86 people from September 2009 to last September 2010 – so far our average attendance for 2010 is even higher at 88. That is an increase of 31%! A church does not grow unless everyone is involved in some part of welcoming visitors and newcomers. I am so happy that we have such a friendly welcome at the door before and after church, that we always have hearty and fun coffee hours and events, that we have so many people who are involved in supporting and organizing out thriving Sunday School (especially Glenn Hintze and the Sunday School Committee), and that joy is one of the defining features of the worship and everyday life at Good Shepherd. The honest and warm welcome that Good Shepherd parishioners always offer to newcomers, children, friends, and members has been a primary source of growth over the past year. It’s a thrill being a part of that!
The 2010 Stewardship Campaign saw nearly identical growth in pledging this past year. Our pledge total for 2010 was $104,539, nearly $25,000 higher than in any previous year: that also is an increase of 31%! Thanks to Maria Kaprielian and Leslie Fulton for their organization and work on the Stewardship Committee. Growth like that is commendable, and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support of Good Shepherd this past year. I also think every single friend and member of Good Shepherd deserves hearty congratulations for growing the church: Congratulations and well done!
I would also like to offer thanks for all of the time and effort put into beautifying the parish grounds in the last year. A great source of parish pride is our attractive property. Before my family arrived at Good Shepherd a great amount of work was done renovating and repairing the rectory and the grounds. Over the past year a number of work days have continued and built on that work. The woods have mostly been cleaned out and cut back between Granite Springs Road (the front) and Richard Somers Road (in back). Flowers and plants have been carefully planted and maintained all summer long. All of the exterior doors have been painted. Several enormous dumpsters have been filled with garbage. The rectory has a cleared back yard (grass is growing in right now!). The list of those who have worked on various work days is far too long to name everyone, but in particular, I would like to thank Bruce Barber, Phil Levy, Lorne Robbins, and Pat Mulholland, who have taken time this past year to organize work days and work on large and small projects. Thanks so much to you and to all who have done so much to make our grounds so eye pleasing.
I am overjoyed to be a part of a happy and growing church. Thank you so much for making our first year at Good Shepherd fabulous. I look forward to many more years to come, and I pray that Almighty God fills us with the Holy Spirit so that the Good News of the Risen Lord Jesus continues to be spread with such joy and enthusiasm by the people of Good Shepherd!
In particular, I would like to thank all of the members of the vestry, those who currently serve, and those who served in 2009. The lay leadership of the parish gives so much time and hard work to Good Shepherd. We are blessed with great lay leadership, and it is an honor to be the rector of a church with such a devoted and hard working vestry. Thanks so much!
The Wardens, Jim Corning, Bruce Barber, and last year’s Property Warden, Phil Levy, have been absolutely fabulous. We are blessed to have the wardens that we have. They have worked for the church constantly, and the fruit of their work is everywhere. Thanks so much!
The other parish officers, Sally Stevens, Jan Corning, and Bob Bubeck, have put in countless hours during the day, at night, and after church as our treasurer, clerk, and financial officer, respectively. They are, to a great degree, the three people who make sure all of the details and numbers add up. Thanks so much!
I would also like to thank the staff of the parish who ensure that Good Shepherd remains open and operational. We have a small staff, but that does not diminish the wonderful work they do. I would like to thank Ann Siemerling, our sexton, who has worked tirelessly keeping the church open and clean every day of the year. I would like to thank Cecilia Sparacio, our organist and choir director, who has ensured that we have a great variety of lovely music at church services on Sunday, during the week, and at special events. I would like to thank Sharen McKenna, our child care provider, who has made sure that our Nursery is open and full of children every Sunday of the year. Finally, I would like to thank our parish secretary, Cindy Sotter, who died this past June after many hard months of illness, and her husband Bernie, for his behind the scene secretarial assistance. Cindy did all of the little things that needed to be done during the week at a church, and her loss in the office and parish community has been great, but I am thankful for the time that she worked here, and that I was able to work with here. God bless you Cindy, and rest in peace. Thanks so much to all of you!
I would be remiss if I did not also offer thanks and congratulations to you all for a year of amazing growth at Good Shepherd. Good Shepherd averaged 58 people each Sunday from September 2008 to September 2009, and that number grew to 86 people from September 2009 to last September 2010 – so far our average attendance for 2010 is even higher at 88. That is an increase of 31%! A church does not grow unless everyone is involved in some part of welcoming visitors and newcomers. I am so happy that we have such a friendly welcome at the door before and after church, that we always have hearty and fun coffee hours and events, that we have so many people who are involved in supporting and organizing out thriving Sunday School (especially Glenn Hintze and the Sunday School Committee), and that joy is one of the defining features of the worship and everyday life at Good Shepherd. The honest and warm welcome that Good Shepherd parishioners always offer to newcomers, children, friends, and members has been a primary source of growth over the past year. It’s a thrill being a part of that!
The 2010 Stewardship Campaign saw nearly identical growth in pledging this past year. Our pledge total for 2010 was $104,539, nearly $25,000 higher than in any previous year: that also is an increase of 31%! Thanks to Maria Kaprielian and Leslie Fulton for their organization and work on the Stewardship Committee. Growth like that is commendable, and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support of Good Shepherd this past year. I also think every single friend and member of Good Shepherd deserves hearty congratulations for growing the church: Congratulations and well done!
I would also like to offer thanks for all of the time and effort put into beautifying the parish grounds in the last year. A great source of parish pride is our attractive property. Before my family arrived at Good Shepherd a great amount of work was done renovating and repairing the rectory and the grounds. Over the past year a number of work days have continued and built on that work. The woods have mostly been cleaned out and cut back between Granite Springs Road (the front) and Richard Somers Road (in back). Flowers and plants have been carefully planted and maintained all summer long. All of the exterior doors have been painted. Several enormous dumpsters have been filled with garbage. The rectory has a cleared back yard (grass is growing in right now!). The list of those who have worked on various work days is far too long to name everyone, but in particular, I would like to thank Bruce Barber, Phil Levy, Lorne Robbins, and Pat Mulholland, who have taken time this past year to organize work days and work on large and small projects. Thanks so much to you and to all who have done so much to make our grounds so eye pleasing.
I am overjoyed to be a part of a happy and growing church. Thank you so much for making our first year at Good Shepherd fabulous. I look forward to many more years to come, and I pray that Almighty God fills us with the Holy Spirit so that the Good News of the Risen Lord Jesus continues to be spread with such joy and enthusiasm by the people of Good Shepherd!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Shepherd's Voice: From the Rector #11
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: This autumn there will be a variety of opportunities for Christian Education at Good Shepherd.
Sunday School for children resumes in September. Registration will take place on Sunday, September 12, after the 10AM service. The ever-popular Blessing of Backpacks will also be offered that Sunday at the 10AM Sung Holy Eucharist and (due to special request) at the 8AM Rite I Holy Eucharist as well. Following the 10AM service there will be a special Pancake, Egg, and Sausage breakfast. Sunday School classes begin on Sunday, September 19, at 10AM. More information on Sunday School is available below.
Adult Christian Formation also resumes in September. Classes will be offered on Tuesday evenings at 6PM. Each class will be about 45 minutes followed by time for questions and comments.
On Tuesdays, September 7 and 21, I will teach a class entitled: The Gospel according to Saint John : A Crash Course in the 4th Gospel. The Gospel according to Saint John is quite distinct from the other Gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke (commonly grouped together as the Synoptic Gospels). It contains events in Jesus’ life that are not narrated elsewhere, it contains teachings and sayings, such as “The Good Shepherd”, “The Way, the Truth, and the Life”, and “The Word” which are uniquely Johanine, and the timeline of events is difficult to match with the timeline in the Synoptic Gospels. Whether you have never read the Gospel of John or you have read it many times, this class is for you. The class will offer participants a starting point if they are new to the 4th Gospel, and it will offer those who are familiar with it the opportunity to move ever deeper. A list of suggested reading is available on the parish website calendar or from the rector.
On Tuesday nights, October 5, 12, 19 & 26, at 6PM, I will offer a class entitled Liturgics & Worship: Why we do what we do (and we don’t do some things other Christians do) in church. The class is designed to offer answers to any and all questions you have ever had about why we do certain things on Sunday (and also why we don’t). “Why do we kneel?” “Why do we have seasons?” “Why does Easter move around?” “Why is Christmas in December?” “What is incense and why don’t we use it all the time?” “Why does the priest wear such an extravagant poncho?” “Why can’t we skip certain parts of the service?” “Why do we do the Confession sometimes and not other times.” “Why do we use water in Baptism?” “Why can’t we always sing hymns everyone knows?”… You can find the answer to these and many more questions you might have… but only if you come to the Tuesday evening class in October!
On Tuesday nights, November 9, 16 & 23, at 6PM, we will have Tuesday Night Dinner & Movie Series: The Gospel of John (2003) (uncut and unedited). Join a jovial group of Bible Watchers on Tuesdays in November to watch a complete cinematic take on the Gospel according to John, narrated by Christopher Plummer, on the big screen in the Parish Hall. The movie is approximately 3 hours long, so we will divide it into three parts, each about one hour long. Food and beverages are potluck. A signup sheet for food and beverages is available in the hallway.
Breakfast Bible Study returns Wednesday mornings at 8:00 AM in September, October, and November. We will study the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament. This class is the second part of last year’s breakfast Bible Study, when we studied the prophets found in the Old Testament histories. You do not need to have completed last year’s class to participate in this year’s class. All are invited, breakfast is BYOD (Bring Your Own Donuts!). Coffee is provided by the rector!
I am pleased to announce that Good Shepherd will host an EFM (Education For Ministry) Group. Participants study the entire sweep of Christian tradition from the earliest period to the present, covering biblical exegesis and interpretation, systematic theology, church history, ethics and liturgics. The group will meet at the Church on Monday evenings from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Participants in EFM commit to the class for the entire academic year. The enrollment fee for this year is $460. For more information please speak to Wilfried Haensch in church or at 914-945-3913.
Finally, I’d like to give brief advertisement for the Saint Gabriel’s Conference. Though it will not be an official parish retreat, I hope that we can send a group of parishioners to the Conference at the end of October at which I have been asked to be this visiting priest. Saint Gabriel’s is a conference/retreat for adults located in Massachusetts that began as an offshoot of the Saint Michael’s Conference for high school and college age young people; my wife Nicole and I both attended Saint Michael’s Conference, as did a number of my best friends. Saint Gabriel’s will take place over two nights and two days, beginning on Friday evening, October 29, and concluding Sunday, October 31 – I will be back for Sunday services at Good Shepherd, but the Conference doesn’t end until around noon on Sunday. The Conference will feature two class periods (with a selection of classes for each period) and a discussion group period (also with different options for discussion), Evensong on Friday and Saturday nights, and Sung Holy Eucharist, on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Registration forms are available in the church office and the enrolment fee is $225. Enrollment before September 10 is discounted by $10.
I invite you to take one or more of these opportunities for education this autumn. Some of my favorite memories are the Christian education classes I have taken at Conferences, Churches, and of course, in Seminary. I have also enjoyed teaching many different classes as a priest, classes that I may have led, but classes I also learned a great deal in. Learning about what I believe in has strengthened my faith and made it possible for me to do more every-day evangelism. I hope that these classes will be opportunities for everyone at Good Shepherd to grow in Christian faith and knowledge. If you are interested in any of these classes, but you cannot be present when they are offered, please speak to me and we can work something out (I am willing to double up on when the classes are offered if need be).
Sunday School for children resumes in September. Registration will take place on Sunday, September 12, after the 10AM service. The ever-popular Blessing of Backpacks will also be offered that Sunday at the 10AM Sung Holy Eucharist and (due to special request) at the 8AM Rite I Holy Eucharist as well. Following the 10AM service there will be a special Pancake, Egg, and Sausage breakfast. Sunday School classes begin on Sunday, September 19, at 10AM. More information on Sunday School is available below.
Adult Christian Formation also resumes in September. Classes will be offered on Tuesday evenings at 6PM. Each class will be about 45 minutes followed by time for questions and comments.
On Tuesdays, September 7 and 21, I will teach a class entitled: The Gospel according to Saint John : A Crash Course in the 4th Gospel. The Gospel according to Saint John is quite distinct from the other Gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke (commonly grouped together as the Synoptic Gospels). It contains events in Jesus’ life that are not narrated elsewhere, it contains teachings and sayings, such as “The Good Shepherd”, “The Way, the Truth, and the Life”, and “The Word” which are uniquely Johanine, and the timeline of events is difficult to match with the timeline in the Synoptic Gospels. Whether you have never read the Gospel of John or you have read it many times, this class is for you. The class will offer participants a starting point if they are new to the 4th Gospel, and it will offer those who are familiar with it the opportunity to move ever deeper. A list of suggested reading is available on the parish website calendar or from the rector.
On Tuesday nights, October 5, 12, 19 & 26, at 6PM, I will offer a class entitled Liturgics & Worship: Why we do what we do (and we don’t do some things other Christians do) in church. The class is designed to offer answers to any and all questions you have ever had about why we do certain things on Sunday (and also why we don’t). “Why do we kneel?” “Why do we have seasons?” “Why does Easter move around?” “Why is Christmas in December?” “What is incense and why don’t we use it all the time?” “Why does the priest wear such an extravagant poncho?” “Why can’t we skip certain parts of the service?” “Why do we do the Confession sometimes and not other times.” “Why do we use water in Baptism?” “Why can’t we always sing hymns everyone knows?”… You can find the answer to these and many more questions you might have… but only if you come to the Tuesday evening class in October!
On Tuesday nights, November 9, 16 & 23, at 6PM, we will have Tuesday Night Dinner & Movie Series: The Gospel of John (2003) (uncut and unedited). Join a jovial group of Bible Watchers on Tuesdays in November to watch a complete cinematic take on the Gospel according to John, narrated by Christopher Plummer, on the big screen in the Parish Hall. The movie is approximately 3 hours long, so we will divide it into three parts, each about one hour long. Food and beverages are potluck. A signup sheet for food and beverages is available in the hallway.
Breakfast Bible Study returns Wednesday mornings at 8:00 AM in September, October, and November. We will study the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament. This class is the second part of last year’s breakfast Bible Study, when we studied the prophets found in the Old Testament histories. You do not need to have completed last year’s class to participate in this year’s class. All are invited, breakfast is BYOD (Bring Your Own Donuts!). Coffee is provided by the rector!
I am pleased to announce that Good Shepherd will host an EFM (Education For Ministry) Group. Participants study the entire sweep of Christian tradition from the earliest period to the present, covering biblical exegesis and interpretation, systematic theology, church history, ethics and liturgics. The group will meet at the Church on Monday evenings from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Participants in EFM commit to the class for the entire academic year. The enrollment fee for this year is $460. For more information please speak to Wilfried Haensch in church or at 914-945-3913.
Finally, I’d like to give brief advertisement for the Saint Gabriel’s Conference. Though it will not be an official parish retreat, I hope that we can send a group of parishioners to the Conference at the end of October at which I have been asked to be this visiting priest. Saint Gabriel’s is a conference/retreat for adults located in Massachusetts that began as an offshoot of the Saint Michael’s Conference for high school and college age young people; my wife Nicole and I both attended Saint Michael’s Conference, as did a number of my best friends. Saint Gabriel’s will take place over two nights and two days, beginning on Friday evening, October 29, and concluding Sunday, October 31 – I will be back for Sunday services at Good Shepherd, but the Conference doesn’t end until around noon on Sunday. The Conference will feature two class periods (with a selection of classes for each period) and a discussion group period (also with different options for discussion), Evensong on Friday and Saturday nights, and Sung Holy Eucharist, on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Registration forms are available in the church office and the enrolment fee is $225. Enrollment before September 10 is discounted by $10.
I invite you to take one or more of these opportunities for education this autumn. Some of my favorite memories are the Christian education classes I have taken at Conferences, Churches, and of course, in Seminary. I have also enjoyed teaching many different classes as a priest, classes that I may have led, but classes I also learned a great deal in. Learning about what I believe in has strengthened my faith and made it possible for me to do more every-day evangelism. I hope that these classes will be opportunities for everyone at Good Shepherd to grow in Christian faith and knowledge. If you are interested in any of these classes, but you cannot be present when they are offered, please speak to me and we can work something out (I am willing to double up on when the classes are offered if need be).
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Shepherd's Voice: From the Rector #10
OUR GREATEST RESOURCE: A topic of discussion at the most recent Vestry Meeting was the future of a Youth Group at Good Shepherd. It seems obvious that we have enough kids to have a youth group: we had 8 young people, ranging between thirteen and sixteen years of age, Confirmed by the Bishop on Sunday, June 20. Those eight do not exist in a vacuum; there are a good number both of slightly younger children and older teenagers. Beyond that, our Sunday School and Nursery are both booming… a Youth Group begun now would be built on a solid foundation and would be able to continue and grow for years to come.
The Vestry has made the formation of a Youth Group a priority for this Autumn, but the Youth Group is only one of several groups that we hope to support, form or reconstitute in 2010. The agenda of the August meeting of the Vestry will feature a discussion of a Youth Group, a Twenty-Thirties Group, the Men’s Group, the Women’s Group, and a Seniors Group. Some of these groups have existed in the past, some exist and thrive now. The plan for the August meeting is to see what can be done to jumpstart groups like the Youth Group and the Seniors Group that are already viable but not yet organized in any way and also to find ways to support current groups, like the Men’s Group, whose members successfully took on the all-night Smoked Pork Vigil, and the Women’s Group, whose members are already planning for the Annual Christmas Bazaar and who meet regularly for a book club. I don’t know where the discussion will lead us, and I don’t know what the future hold for groups that currently do not exist at Good Shepherd, but I am thrilled that the Vestry is taking this on. I would like to share a few ideas that I will throw into the discussion at next month’s meeting, based on conversations I have had with parishioners and members of the Vestry this past year. These are by no means all that we could do, but they might serve as food for thought. If you have more ideas, please let me or someone on the Vestry know before our mid August meeting.
I would love to start a Youth Group with a trip because I think that in terms of bonding there isn’t much like a long car ride (especially if the rector has banned IPods and cell phones in the car), a day and night spent in a new and unfamiliar place. I have lots of connections at churches from Boston to Washington, DC, and at least one church in Boston is willing to host us for an overnight; maybe, if all works out, we can have a Youth Group trip this fall or winter. We could travel to the location (Boston or maybe somewhere else), sightsee, worship together, sleep in sleeping bags on the floor of a church hall, and then come home the next day. An event like that can often serve as the foundation for other events. The group has been formed and solidified by the trip, after that, it’s much easier to plan smaller events, like a morning volunteering at a local soup kitchen or an afternoon hiking, because everyone already knows everyone else. When I grew up, the memorable Youth Group events were the overnight events. What I most remember was getting to know everyone else, and from there our friendships developed and grew.
My father is an Episcopal priest and rector in a parish in New York City. This past year he started a Seniors Group which meets monthly at the church. They meet for lunch, and each month there is a different program or speaker (the programs vary from a simple “introduce yourself to the group” to a formal speaker talking about an number of issues relevant to the group). The meetings regularly have fifty or more people in attendance. The only problem that they encountered was figuring out what age a person had to be to receive an invitation. I think that eventually they decided that anyone who was interested in being a part of the Senior Group, was welcome to come. I think something similar to that would work at Good Shepherd, and I know that there is interest for such an event. I hope that this fall Good Shepherd will host its first Senior Group event.
There are more than a handful of Twenties and Thirties at Good Shepherd – I am thirty-three – and I think we also need a group. I have the feeling that simply putting a date on the calendar and asking “Who is up for pool or bowling?” would probably work for this group.
The point of these groups is not to create cliques. The point is to facilitate fellowship and friendship at church. Our greatest resource is the people who worship at, are friends with, and are members of Good Shepherd. There are lots and lots of us, and we don’t all know each other. We have different tastes and different needs, but we all share the common desire and need for fellowship, community and friendship. Most of my best friends were made at church; I even first met Nicole, my wife, years ago at the Saint Michael’s Conference (a retreat for high school and college age youth). The friendships that were started by a church event being penciled into my calendar are too many too count. I spent this past year getting to know the people at Good Shepherd. After almost a year here, I can say that I love Good Shepherd because of the people I have gotten to know. It’s my hope that supporting some more groups will allow for everyone to be able to say the same thing!
The Vestry has made the formation of a Youth Group a priority for this Autumn, but the Youth Group is only one of several groups that we hope to support, form or reconstitute in 2010. The agenda of the August meeting of the Vestry will feature a discussion of a Youth Group, a Twenty-Thirties Group, the Men’s Group, the Women’s Group, and a Seniors Group. Some of these groups have existed in the past, some exist and thrive now. The plan for the August meeting is to see what can be done to jumpstart groups like the Youth Group and the Seniors Group that are already viable but not yet organized in any way and also to find ways to support current groups, like the Men’s Group, whose members successfully took on the all-night Smoked Pork Vigil, and the Women’s Group, whose members are already planning for the Annual Christmas Bazaar and who meet regularly for a book club. I don’t know where the discussion will lead us, and I don’t know what the future hold for groups that currently do not exist at Good Shepherd, but I am thrilled that the Vestry is taking this on. I would like to share a few ideas that I will throw into the discussion at next month’s meeting, based on conversations I have had with parishioners and members of the Vestry this past year. These are by no means all that we could do, but they might serve as food for thought. If you have more ideas, please let me or someone on the Vestry know before our mid August meeting.
I would love to start a Youth Group with a trip because I think that in terms of bonding there isn’t much like a long car ride (especially if the rector has banned IPods and cell phones in the car), a day and night spent in a new and unfamiliar place. I have lots of connections at churches from Boston to Washington, DC, and at least one church in Boston is willing to host us for an overnight; maybe, if all works out, we can have a Youth Group trip this fall or winter. We could travel to the location (Boston or maybe somewhere else), sightsee, worship together, sleep in sleeping bags on the floor of a church hall, and then come home the next day. An event like that can often serve as the foundation for other events. The group has been formed and solidified by the trip, after that, it’s much easier to plan smaller events, like a morning volunteering at a local soup kitchen or an afternoon hiking, because everyone already knows everyone else. When I grew up, the memorable Youth Group events were the overnight events. What I most remember was getting to know everyone else, and from there our friendships developed and grew.
My father is an Episcopal priest and rector in a parish in New York City. This past year he started a Seniors Group which meets monthly at the church. They meet for lunch, and each month there is a different program or speaker (the programs vary from a simple “introduce yourself to the group” to a formal speaker talking about an number of issues relevant to the group). The meetings regularly have fifty or more people in attendance. The only problem that they encountered was figuring out what age a person had to be to receive an invitation. I think that eventually they decided that anyone who was interested in being a part of the Senior Group, was welcome to come. I think something similar to that would work at Good Shepherd, and I know that there is interest for such an event. I hope that this fall Good Shepherd will host its first Senior Group event.
There are more than a handful of Twenties and Thirties at Good Shepherd – I am thirty-three – and I think we also need a group. I have the feeling that simply putting a date on the calendar and asking “Who is up for pool or bowling?” would probably work for this group.
The point of these groups is not to create cliques. The point is to facilitate fellowship and friendship at church. Our greatest resource is the people who worship at, are friends with, and are members of Good Shepherd. There are lots and lots of us, and we don’t all know each other. We have different tastes and different needs, but we all share the common desire and need for fellowship, community and friendship. Most of my best friends were made at church; I even first met Nicole, my wife, years ago at the Saint Michael’s Conference (a retreat for high school and college age youth). The friendships that were started by a church event being penciled into my calendar are too many too count. I spent this past year getting to know the people at Good Shepherd. After almost a year here, I can say that I love Good Shepherd because of the people I have gotten to know. It’s my hope that supporting some more groups will allow for everyone to be able to say the same thing!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Shepherd's Voice: From the Rector #9
CHILDREN IN CHURCH: Stuck on my fridge are two of my favorite pictures, both from All Saints’ Day 2010, the day that my younger son Nicholas was baptized at Good Shepherd. One is from the Baptism; the other is from Communion. In the latter photo my older son Liam is alone at the Communion Rail, kneeling and waiting to receive Communion. He is alone because he simply came up to the rail before everyone else (he even ignored the ushers!), knelt down and waited for Communion to be given to him. Liam has been receiving Communion since he was baptized and apparently no one is going to get in his way when it comes to Communion. I love the photo because it gets to the heart of what I believe Sunday morning is all about: all Christians, adults and children, should feel that nothing is hindering us from being involved in the service and we should always feel that our very presence in church is not only appreciated but essential.
For those readers who can’t be at Good Shepherd every Sunday, you might not know that there are many, many children and families at Good Shepherd – getting a group photo of them all for the newsletter has proven difficult so I hope that some facts will serve as an illustration. At Sunday School Graduation we gave out certificates recognizing the completion of Sunday School to over 20 children. We had two baptisms last Sunday. We will have another baptism this Sunday. We will have 8 young people confirmed when Bishop Sisk makes his Visitation. Our nursery regularly has between 4 and 10 children in it. This past month alone I can recall two times when we had about 40 children present in church at 10:00 AM: the first was Mother’s Day, the Sixth Sunday after Easter, May 9, when there were 94 total in church at 10:00 AM; the second was Pentecost, Sunday, May 23, when there were 106 people at the 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist.
I am thrilled that my children and my family are included among the many children and families at Good Shepherd. I hope that these children and families experience Sunday as a time when they are not just at church but a time when they are the church. Ideally Christian worship is active, not passive. Christians tend not to speak about the Holy Spirit as something that passes through them and keeps on going, but rather as something that fills them. The presence of the Spirit is no different at the Holy Eucharist. You and I (no matter our age) are filled with the Spirit, participate as members of the Body of Christ and actively partake in the risen Lord Jesus’ Body and Blood. On a good day, the parish church does everything that it can to facilitate this activity: One of my jobs as rector is to make it as easy as possible for everyone in the room to worship and have fun.
One of the first things I did when I arrived last autumn was introduce service bulletins with every word, piece of music, hymn and rubric in them. I call them all-inclusive bulletins for two reasons. The first is that they include everything we are saying or singing or doing in the service. The second is that they allow everyone in the room to be included. A comment that I have heard over and over about the service bulletins came from parents who appreciate that they can finally take part in the service and keep an eye on their children without switching between leaflets, inserts and books. I hope that those parents felt included in a way they hadn’t felt before, and I recommend going one step further: make sure all the children have bulletins too.
Children like to make noise and they like to sing. Our offertory anthem last Sunday consisted of about 20 children singing songs. After witnessing some of the rehearsals, it appeared to me that the challenge was less motivating the children to sing than reining in the volume of the singing. A few weeks ago I noticed that the acolyte next to me had a bulletin in her hand and was singing loudly. Most Sundays I hear improvised descants on “Holy, holy, holy” sung by some of the children. The children at Good Shepherd already know many of the tunes we sing each week and the ones they don’t know are pretty easy to learn, and they know or are learning how to read. The all-inclusive bulletin is designed to make it really easy for everyone, including children, to pray, sing, and take part in the service. There are enough bulletins to give on to the children too; if they end up being used as coloring book, that’s great too!
I don’t want to experience Good Shepherd without the presence and participation of children, and thankfully, I haven’t had to. That doesn’t mean church has to be chaotic or a circus: we offer childcare every single Sunday of the year for those parents who want it (my one-year-old and three-and-half-year-old are in childcare during most of the service each Sunday, and they come in for Communion); our Sunday School meets during the Liturgy of the Word most Sundays, and the children come into church for Holy Communion; when I now that all of the children will be in church for the entire service I try to shorten readings as much as possible and preach a much shorter homily, and I do my best to make sure the hymns we sing all have tunes from the “greatest hits” section of the hymnal. I hope that everyone understands that the Body of Christ has no age limit, and the worship of the church, on a good day, makes that fact a reality.
You are never too old or too young to be baptized. All baptized persons, including children, are full members of the Body of Christ and are invited to participate in every aspect of the service and receive Communion. Everyone can have a bulletin: if we run out, we’ll make more. A great place for children to see, hear and participate is the front pews of the church.
For those readers who can’t be at Good Shepherd every Sunday, you might not know that there are many, many children and families at Good Shepherd – getting a group photo of them all for the newsletter has proven difficult so I hope that some facts will serve as an illustration. At Sunday School Graduation we gave out certificates recognizing the completion of Sunday School to over 20 children. We had two baptisms last Sunday. We will have another baptism this Sunday. We will have 8 young people confirmed when Bishop Sisk makes his Visitation. Our nursery regularly has between 4 and 10 children in it. This past month alone I can recall two times when we had about 40 children present in church at 10:00 AM: the first was Mother’s Day, the Sixth Sunday after Easter, May 9, when there were 94 total in church at 10:00 AM; the second was Pentecost, Sunday, May 23, when there were 106 people at the 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist.
I am thrilled that my children and my family are included among the many children and families at Good Shepherd. I hope that these children and families experience Sunday as a time when they are not just at church but a time when they are the church. Ideally Christian worship is active, not passive. Christians tend not to speak about the Holy Spirit as something that passes through them and keeps on going, but rather as something that fills them. The presence of the Spirit is no different at the Holy Eucharist. You and I (no matter our age) are filled with the Spirit, participate as members of the Body of Christ and actively partake in the risen Lord Jesus’ Body and Blood. On a good day, the parish church does everything that it can to facilitate this activity: One of my jobs as rector is to make it as easy as possible for everyone in the room to worship and have fun.
One of the first things I did when I arrived last autumn was introduce service bulletins with every word, piece of music, hymn and rubric in them. I call them all-inclusive bulletins for two reasons. The first is that they include everything we are saying or singing or doing in the service. The second is that they allow everyone in the room to be included. A comment that I have heard over and over about the service bulletins came from parents who appreciate that they can finally take part in the service and keep an eye on their children without switching between leaflets, inserts and books. I hope that those parents felt included in a way they hadn’t felt before, and I recommend going one step further: make sure all the children have bulletins too.
Children like to make noise and they like to sing. Our offertory anthem last Sunday consisted of about 20 children singing songs. After witnessing some of the rehearsals, it appeared to me that the challenge was less motivating the children to sing than reining in the volume of the singing. A few weeks ago I noticed that the acolyte next to me had a bulletin in her hand and was singing loudly. Most Sundays I hear improvised descants on “Holy, holy, holy” sung by some of the children. The children at Good Shepherd already know many of the tunes we sing each week and the ones they don’t know are pretty easy to learn, and they know or are learning how to read. The all-inclusive bulletin is designed to make it really easy for everyone, including children, to pray, sing, and take part in the service. There are enough bulletins to give on to the children too; if they end up being used as coloring book, that’s great too!
I don’t want to experience Good Shepherd without the presence and participation of children, and thankfully, I haven’t had to. That doesn’t mean church has to be chaotic or a circus: we offer childcare every single Sunday of the year for those parents who want it (my one-year-old and three-and-half-year-old are in childcare during most of the service each Sunday, and they come in for Communion); our Sunday School meets during the Liturgy of the Word most Sundays, and the children come into church for Holy Communion; when I now that all of the children will be in church for the entire service I try to shorten readings as much as possible and preach a much shorter homily, and I do my best to make sure the hymns we sing all have tunes from the “greatest hits” section of the hymnal. I hope that everyone understands that the Body of Christ has no age limit, and the worship of the church, on a good day, makes that fact a reality.
You are never too old or too young to be baptized. All baptized persons, including children, are full members of the Body of Christ and are invited to participate in every aspect of the service and receive Communion. Everyone can have a bulletin: if we run out, we’ll make more. A great place for children to see, hear and participate is the front pews of the church.
Why I Love Good Shepherd #7
“WHY I LOVE GOOD SHEPHERD” (June 2010)
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Shepherd's Voice: From the Rector #8
GROWING THE CHURCH: It is a pleasure and honor to be rector at a church that is growing – and growing rapidly! Total attendance for Easter services was 213. Average Sunday attendance for 2010 is 93 people. My goal for 2010 is an average Sunday attendance of over 100. We are almost there! Our pledge drive for 2010 has surpassed $100,000. Our goal for stewardship is $120, 000. Again, we are almost there! These are obvious outward signs of church growth that have happened, and it is growth that, God willing, will continue this year. Other signs of growth might not be as obvious, but they are equally important.
The food basket at the back of the church has been regularly filled to capacity about every six weeks. When it is full, the donations are brought to the Katonah Food Pantry. The outreach efforts of the church grow when more people – new or old – are in church each Sunday, and for that reason the basket has been filling up faster and faster in recent months. My goal is a full basket every month. If you are interested in offering a donation, there are take-home refrigerator magnets next to the basket indicating what supplies are needed. Thanks so much to all who have contributed to this effort!
Weekday services are not counted with Sunday attendance, but over the last few months they have grown to become part of the worship and fellowship life of the church. Morning Prayer is offered at 7:40 AM every day that I am officially at the church (Tuesday-Friday and Sunday). I have found the daily office to be a great way to keep up my own daily prayer life, learn the Psalter that is read over the course of each month, and encounter the Word of God in the Scriptures that are read each day. My knowledge of Scripture and my prayer life have grown immensely after six years of saying the daily office. I believe it will make a difference in your prayer life too. All are welcome to say the office at Good Shepherd.
In addition to the regular morning services offered each week, some of the greater festivals and feast days of the church year are celebrated during the week. It has been thrilling to see so many people in the church for these services. The services of the Triduum, celebrated in Holy Week on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were attended by an average of over thirty people. Special services on Candlemas and Annunciation, celebrated on a Tuesday and on a Thursday, respectively, each were attended by nearly forty people. At my Institution & Induction, celebrated on a Friday night, the church was full to capacity, chairs were setup in back, people were standing in the foyer, and the official count was “over 200”! There is nothing like an active and full church on a week night to promote a feeling that “this place is really alive”. It says a great deal about how active and lively a parish is when parishioners are having a great time in church on a random weeknight! On Thursday, May 13, 2010, we will celebrate Ascension Day. The Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 6:00 PM. The service will be followed by a steak and wine dinner – a sign for potluck sides, salads, appetizers, and deserts is up in the hallway. Mark your calendars and tell your friends. It should be a fantastic night and a wonderful celebration; I hope you can be here!
The most obvious time that the church grows is when there is a baptism – a new Christian is born of water and the Holy Spirit! On Sunday May 23, the Easter Season concludes with the Day of Pentecost (fifty days after Easter Day). There will probably be many visitors in church on Pentecost this year since we are likely to have three infants baptized! If you haven’t been to a Baptism at Good Shepherd since I arrived as rector, fear not: I keep the service short and sweet! Pentecost is always a joyous day, but this year we will all get to be a part of growing the church – not only Good Shepherd, but the adding in new members to the Body of Christ in the world! Please mark your calendars for this great celebration!
Finally, the growth of the church is often seen in individuals. Our Confirmation Class this year studied the Gospel passion narratives in depth. It is very difficult to grow as a Christian if you do not understand your faith, and I am confident that those who participated in the class learned a great deal about who Jesus is and what the four evangelists wrote about his death and resurrection. On Sunday, June 20, 2010, Bishop Sisk will return to Good Shepherd to confirm the young people of the Confirmation Class and make his official visitation for 2010. June 20 is also Father’s Day. In celebration of the Confirmations, the Visitation, and Father’s Day, the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew (the men’s group) is planning to serve REAL BBQ – we hope to have a Wood Smoker with Pork Shoulder cooking in front of the church when the Bishop arrives! Many people will probably have plans for lunch with their families on this special day, but not everyone will. Whether you have plans later in the day or not, please save some time and some room in your stomach for the reception after church.
The Church grows when you and I tell the people around us that we love our church and what it is doing. Sunday morning is an obvious place to start when we want to begin telling our own stories of why we love Good Shepherd, but that often is only the beginning of the story. Telling people about the outreach efforts – including but not limited to the food basket – helps them see that the church practices both active love of God in worship and love of neighbor through charity. Telling people about the regular worship of the church that occurs outside of Sunday helps them understand that having faith is a something that Christians have and cherish every day at every moment, and that faith isn’t a switch that gets turned on Sunday mornings and turned off a few hour late. Telling people about the fun festive events (be honest – what other church do you is having a steak and wine dinner to celebrate Ascension Day or plans to welcome the Bishop of New York with a cloud of BBQ smoke!) that are happening at Good Shepherd helps them appreciate that church can be a blast. In my experience the church grows when CHURCH=OUTREACH&WORSHIP&FUN.
Saint John the Evangelist concludes his Gospel with one of my favorite passages: “There are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” I love this passage because it reminds me that everyone has a wonderful story to tell about Jesus Christ and the church. I have listed a few things going on at Good Shepherd because I am really excited about what we are doing and what is happening here this spring. You might say it’s my story about why I love Good Shepherd. Lots of people want to hear the story that you have to tell too!
The food basket at the back of the church has been regularly filled to capacity about every six weeks. When it is full, the donations are brought to the Katonah Food Pantry. The outreach efforts of the church grow when more people – new or old – are in church each Sunday, and for that reason the basket has been filling up faster and faster in recent months. My goal is a full basket every month. If you are interested in offering a donation, there are take-home refrigerator magnets next to the basket indicating what supplies are needed. Thanks so much to all who have contributed to this effort!
Weekday services are not counted with Sunday attendance, but over the last few months they have grown to become part of the worship and fellowship life of the church. Morning Prayer is offered at 7:40 AM every day that I am officially at the church (Tuesday-Friday and Sunday). I have found the daily office to be a great way to keep up my own daily prayer life, learn the Psalter that is read over the course of each month, and encounter the Word of God in the Scriptures that are read each day. My knowledge of Scripture and my prayer life have grown immensely after six years of saying the daily office. I believe it will make a difference in your prayer life too. All are welcome to say the office at Good Shepherd.
In addition to the regular morning services offered each week, some of the greater festivals and feast days of the church year are celebrated during the week. It has been thrilling to see so many people in the church for these services. The services of the Triduum, celebrated in Holy Week on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were attended by an average of over thirty people. Special services on Candlemas and Annunciation, celebrated on a Tuesday and on a Thursday, respectively, each were attended by nearly forty people. At my Institution & Induction, celebrated on a Friday night, the church was full to capacity, chairs were setup in back, people were standing in the foyer, and the official count was “over 200”! There is nothing like an active and full church on a week night to promote a feeling that “this place is really alive”. It says a great deal about how active and lively a parish is when parishioners are having a great time in church on a random weeknight! On Thursday, May 13, 2010, we will celebrate Ascension Day. The Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 6:00 PM. The service will be followed by a steak and wine dinner – a sign for potluck sides, salads, appetizers, and deserts is up in the hallway. Mark your calendars and tell your friends. It should be a fantastic night and a wonderful celebration; I hope you can be here!
The most obvious time that the church grows is when there is a baptism – a new Christian is born of water and the Holy Spirit! On Sunday May 23, the Easter Season concludes with the Day of Pentecost (fifty days after Easter Day). There will probably be many visitors in church on Pentecost this year since we are likely to have three infants baptized! If you haven’t been to a Baptism at Good Shepherd since I arrived as rector, fear not: I keep the service short and sweet! Pentecost is always a joyous day, but this year we will all get to be a part of growing the church – not only Good Shepherd, but the adding in new members to the Body of Christ in the world! Please mark your calendars for this great celebration!
Finally, the growth of the church is often seen in individuals. Our Confirmation Class this year studied the Gospel passion narratives in depth. It is very difficult to grow as a Christian if you do not understand your faith, and I am confident that those who participated in the class learned a great deal about who Jesus is and what the four evangelists wrote about his death and resurrection. On Sunday, June 20, 2010, Bishop Sisk will return to Good Shepherd to confirm the young people of the Confirmation Class and make his official visitation for 2010. June 20 is also Father’s Day. In celebration of the Confirmations, the Visitation, and Father’s Day, the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew (the men’s group) is planning to serve REAL BBQ – we hope to have a Wood Smoker with Pork Shoulder cooking in front of the church when the Bishop arrives! Many people will probably have plans for lunch with their families on this special day, but not everyone will. Whether you have plans later in the day or not, please save some time and some room in your stomach for the reception after church.
The Church grows when you and I tell the people around us that we love our church and what it is doing. Sunday morning is an obvious place to start when we want to begin telling our own stories of why we love Good Shepherd, but that often is only the beginning of the story. Telling people about the outreach efforts – including but not limited to the food basket – helps them see that the church practices both active love of God in worship and love of neighbor through charity. Telling people about the regular worship of the church that occurs outside of Sunday helps them understand that having faith is a something that Christians have and cherish every day at every moment, and that faith isn’t a switch that gets turned on Sunday mornings and turned off a few hour late. Telling people about the fun festive events (be honest – what other church do you is having a steak and wine dinner to celebrate Ascension Day or plans to welcome the Bishop of New York with a cloud of BBQ smoke!) that are happening at Good Shepherd helps them appreciate that church can be a blast. In my experience the church grows when CHURCH=OUTREACH&WORSHIP&FUN.
Saint John the Evangelist concludes his Gospel with one of my favorite passages: “There are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” I love this passage because it reminds me that everyone has a wonderful story to tell about Jesus Christ and the church. I have listed a few things going on at Good Shepherd because I am really excited about what we are doing and what is happening here this spring. You might say it’s my story about why I love Good Shepherd. Lots of people want to hear the story that you have to tell too!
Why I Love Good Shepherd #6
“WHY I LOVE GOOD SHEPHERD” (May 2010)
This article is the sixth in a series presented by the 2010 Stewardship Committee. If you are interested in submitting an article for the series, please contact Father Matt, we’d love to print your submission! This month we continue the series with a note from Jackie Ringer:
When Father Matt asked me to write about why I love Good Shepherd I have to admit my first, tongue-in-cheek response was “you mean more than because ‘it’s right next door to my house?’” But, of course, Good Shepherd, the church, and faith are far more meaningful in my life than simple location – just convenience wouldn’t have kept me an active member for more than 34 years.
Faith makes a difference in my life in so many ways. I find so much comfort in knowing I have a community of friends who are praying for me in good times and bad. I find Good Shepherd a calming sanctuary – a quiet, comforting place – to meditate and pray about my family and my life. I come to celebrate and be thankful when things are going well and to seek guidance and comfort when troubles arise. It is the steadiness of Good Shepherd and it’s stewardship that has always made me feel at home.
I am inspired by Good Shepherd and its continual outreach efforts, which are always on the forefront: the work with Carpenters Kids, our community work with the food pantries, and our involvement with community groups like the Boy Scouts and Alcoholics Anonymous. I believe our influence is felt on a broader level than just within our walls, and I am proud to be a part of it.
And yes, I love Good Shepherd because I live next door. There, I’ve said it. I love hearing the church bell calling everyone to worship on Sunday morning and as a reminder that God is present in my life. I love being able to see the glorious stained glass window, virtually each and every day as I pass by on my way to and from the activities in my life, feeling that God is watching over us. Good Shepherd is my constant, and my peace, and I’m thankful to have it, the wonderful parishioners and now, Father Matt, in my life.
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