SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE SIGNS

If you've been paying attention at all, you'll remember that CC got a new sign a week or so ago. It's nice, but I do wish there was a way to see a draft of the full sign before it was finished. While you can see it from quite a distance, you need to be somewhat closer to pickup my name and phone number. I'm wishing we had used a slightly larger font. Oh well. I have, however, received numerous positive comments on it. So, between the new sign and the killer wedding sermon, we'll see if anyone drops by for Sunday service.

In the meantime, VC ordered a new Episcopal welcome sign. You know, those blue & white metal things that hang on street corners in towns. The one that is up in VC now is so faded and beat up that it looks like the rest of the towns signs -- like it was hung in1867. I told the vestry that we needed a new one and got it ordered. It came today.

I am SO EXCITED. I used the new design (that slanted EC shield) with the traditional words (The Episcopal Church Welcomes You).

It's bright!
It's readable!
It might make people think we're alive!

The funny thing is that St. Paul's received an award a couple of weeks ago from the Virginia City Preservation Alliance for "keeping the building in its original condition." For those who are wondering, this is code for "not making any changes at all." Or, "doing nothing." I find it interesting that St. P's got the award now, after I arrived. The people in VC are very protective and proud of their heritage. They want to make sure that nobody messes up the historical look of VC. And, to some extent, I understand where they're coming from. It's a small town (pop. 130 during the winter), and they derive the vast majority of their income during the summer months. Tourist season. People want to come and experience the "Old West," and if someone puts up a modern structure, that could be trouble. So this award, I think, is a way for the VCPA to politely tell me, "Don't mess with our building."

There's at least one problem with that: It ain't their building. I'm walking this line between the people of VC who see the building as a beautiful museum and the people of St. Paul's who see it as a thing to be worshipped. During the centennial celebration back in July, I preached that the building, while beautiful, was nothing more than bricks and stone and glass and wood, and that IT was not the church. Then later in the year, I preached at both CC & VC that I was not called to preside over the funeral of the congregation but its life.

So, back to the new sign. I imagine I'll get a few comments about it, but I'll probably get more "he said she said" negative feedback about how I'm messing with the authenticity of VC. Oh well. Like I said, I'm not a museum caretaker. I'm going to make this thing live.

YEAR A - ADVENT I

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Maybe you’re wondering what’s going on; but if you were here last week, you know. Last Sunday was the last of the year – Christ the King. Today is the first one of the new year, Advent I. So again, Happy New Year!!

Now, you may be asking yourselves, "Why are we wearing these funny hats and blowing noisemakers?" I mean, that’s not really dignified attire or actions for church, is it? I’ve mentioned before that this isn’t simply a place to come and sit on Sundays. This place, your faith, our religion, is life. And life is full of celebrations. If people can go and scream and yell while Montana whups their first round opponent in a playoff game, and if people can act silly on New Year's out there, then why not here? And New Year’s is part of our life.

As I talked about last week, today we begin the cycle from expectation to proclamation, through temptation, repentance, death and new life, and finally living that new life every day in an old world.

New Year’s is an exciting time, isn’t it? Everything seems to be abuzz with promise, potential, dreams and challenges. New Year’s resolutions run rampant – become more assertive, quit smoking, lose weight, eat better, go to the gym, find a better job, travel more. The list is endless. Most of the time it’s about making changes for the better. Rarely do you hear someone resolve to eat more dessert and drink more beer. But how long do those resolutions last? Like trying to read the bible all the way through and never making it past Leviticus or Numbers, resolutions rarely seem to get through February or March. What happens? Why are all of these good intentions so short lived? I think it’s because we have to deal with the same stuff day in and day out. Our intention to change is tempered by a world that requires the same thing every single day.

Let’s take a little poetic license here. Pretend for a moment that all of those rumors about Jesus and Mary Magdalene are true. You know the ones. And if you've read "The DaVinci Codes," well, first I'm sorry, and second, he says they aren't rumors at all, they are true. Anyway, pretend for a moment that Mary and Jesus were in fact married. Can you see this conversation happening:

It’s the end of the day. Jesus walks into their house. Mary say, "Hi honey! How was your day?"
Jesus replies: "Same as always: get up, eat, heal a few lepers, argue with the Committee on Ethical Standards, feed a bunch of hungry people, come home, eat, read the Torah, go to bed. Mary, do you think I’m in a rut?"

Granted, it’s a stretch. But over his three year ministry, Jesus exhibited a trend of living life on the edge. On the edge between this world and God’s kingdom. On the edge between living in the sameness of this world and living into the newness of God’s kingdom. How would this world be different if he had simply looked at each day as if he were in a rut?

More than anything, I think that it isn’t willful disobedience that gets us into trouble, although there is enough of that to go around. No, rather than willful disobedience, it’s the repetitive monotony of everyday life that leads us to ask, "What difference does it make?" We are lulled into a false sense of security. Our senses are numbed by everyday life and we are unable to see each new day as just that, a new day.

Know this: we can make a difference. What we do does make a difference to somebody, even if we don’t see it. A difference in the lives of the hungry by donating to the food bank. A difference in the lives of someone in the Third World by sending a shoe box. A difference in our families by saying, "I love you." A difference in our parish by volunteering time and/or tithing. But doing the same thing every day, over and over and over and over – get up, eat, go to work, come home, eat, go to bed – lulls us into a sense that nothing will change, nor will anything be different.

But things will change. According to the gospel, they were about to change in the days of Noah, but only he recognized the change coming. Everyone else was stuck in their rut. They were too busy with their lives to pay attention to God. And they will change in the future, when the Son of Man comes to take away the faithful workers. Those who recognize that there is something else to work for than a weekly paycheck.

And they will change here, this year. Things are different in the Diocese of Montana. The bishop has called this "a new day." Things are different in this parish. We will make a difference.

The new year is upon us. Don’t let this one lull you to sleep. Stay awake and be watchful. Look forward to the new year. But instead of making a resolution for the year, make a resolution that lasts for a week, or a weekend, or a day, or a few hours. Use whatever increment you need in order to keep it fresh and new. Because if it can’t stay fresh and new in your mind, then it runs the risk of being pushed to the back of your mind and we end up being lulled to sleep by doing the same thing every day.

What will this New Year bring. I don't know. But I know it will be exciting.

Happy New Year.

THE MARRIAGE

The wedding went off without a hitch. Well, I should say that it went off without a "major" hitch. There was a bit of poor planning on the photographers part -- she ran out of film just as the bride was ready to walk down the aisle. Mrs. Ref, Church Wedding Coordinator Extraordiniarre, was not a happy camper. Luckily though, the bride was walking in to "Ave Maria," a song done in Latin. The organist and soloist did a quick "Let's do it again," and nobody was the wiser. Except the priest, who was about ready to go into apoplectic shock because this is NOT the way to start my first wedding. But it worked out.

The service was great, and the sermon wasn't too shabby either (see below). I did alot of play between the congregation, bridesmaids, groomsmen, and the couple. It worked, and I received many compliments on both the service and the sermon at the reception. Hopefully this will be one of those events that people remember and might think about coming to church. Whenever someone told me how much they liked it, I told them that I was playing every Sunday in Sheridan and VC. Hey, a little humor doesn't hurt.

I also got into a conversation with the soloist and her boyfriend (or fiancee, not quite sure, but they were definitely together). I managed to impress them so much that they decided to come to church in Sheridan this morning.

But I'm just doing my thing, using my talents that God has given me, and trying to turn these two congregations around. We'll see what the future holds.

FIRST WEDDING SERMON

Weddings. What comes to mind when I say that word? Celebration. New life. Music. Bad dresses (although, not today). Family. Friends. All of these are part of weddings. In the church, weddings, baptisms, and funerals are the big events that make up the fabric of our lives; to borrow a phrase from an old commercial. But these are not the whole story. In the long run, they are but a small part of our lives.

After the ceremony, after the party, after the tuxes have been returned, what's left? What is left is the marriage. And that is what we are celebrating here today: the marriage of Ryan and Dena. From here on out, your marrige will determine the rest of your life together. Whether it be career choices or vacations, children or cars, everything you do will be dtermined by what your marrige needs or can handle. And if the load is too great, there's the possibility that the marrige will break. So you need to work on balance.

There's a big uproar over marriage right now. A battle over who can and who cannot be married. "What happens if we let 'those' people get married?" or "The sanctity of marriage is being threatend." And on and on it goes. Well, with all due respect, none of those arguments hold water. Marriage isn't being threatened. If anything, people are taking a closer look at what marriage is all about. And that's just what Ryan, Dena, and I have done over the last few months.

"Why do you want to get married?"
"Because I'm better off with this person than without them."

"Why do you want to get married in the church?"
"Because we want to invite God to be part of our lives."

This is the wrong time to ask these two what they remember from those sessions. But if they remember even a little bit of what we talked about, they will have a good foundation from which to build their marriage.

We talked about money and goals, and kids and careers. We talked about math, because every married person understands that 1+1 = 3. We talked about the role of the church in their lives. We talked about talking. And if they can remember all, or even some of that, then, indeed, like our gospel for today said, no one will be able to separate them.

This isn't only about Dena and Ryan, though. Everyone here today has a stake in this marriage. A few minutes ago, I asked if you would support them in their marriage, and you all answered, "We will." I don't know what the contractual obligations are for that, but it is your responsibility to help them out. Those who have not been married long can share stories of joy and frustration that a new marriage brings. Those who have been married for a long time can offer snippets of marital wisdom -- but only if they ask for it. And you all can remind them of why they got married in the first place.

So, Dena . . . Ryan. The wedding is here, but it's only a small part of your marriage. And marriage, remember, is good work to do. It will take effort. There will be good days and there will be bad days. When you run across one of the bad days, remember that you are better off with each other than without. And when you have a good day, remember that those are better celebrated together than apart.

Now . . . are the two of you ready to do this? Then let's go get you married.

IT TAKES LOVE

Today is my first marriage ceremony as an ordained type person. We had the rehearsal yesterday evening. For the most part, it went well.

One of the things that was asked of Mrs. Ref during the interview process was, "How active are you going to be in the parish?"

Now, that can be a minefield-type question. But the answer that both she and I gave was something along the lines of, "I will do whatever I feel I'm called to do. I will not do what people expect a priest's wife to do simply because I'm married to him."

One of the things that she has decided she wants to do is help with weddings. That's a great relief for me. I can handle the liturgy part of the service, but it's very nice to have a partner-in-crime who can help organize the wedding party, get them lined up, and handle all of those little things that really make a wedding a success. And, like I said, we did our first one last night.

We make a good team, Mrs. Ref and I. She can see things that I can't, and I can run things by her to make sure that everything goes smoothly. After 14 years we complement each other rather nicely.

With all of the talk about marriage right now, hopefully this one will stick. I'd like to know that people I work with on this can make it over the long haul.

So, we're off to go get a couple married. I'm not sure that this is the best time to agree to a marriage -- Thanksgiving, wedding, Advent I. All of which require sermons. Thanksgiving's was off the cuff. The other two are written, but not necessarily practiced like I like to do. I'll do a crash review when I get to the church this afternoon.

And on another tangent, we found out this past week that neither CC or VC has a purple stole. Oops. So Mrs. Ref is busy whipping one together for me. She does a very nice job, and is sufficiently pleased with herself for how nicely this one came together in such a short time.

And most of my ordination announcements are in the mail. I'm simply waiting for one list from this diocese to complete the Mandatory Mailings. And then if there are any extras I'll get them off to my supplementary list. Hopefully I have enough left over to get out to some new friends in town.

Hope you are all having a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend.
Peace.

THANKSGIVING DAY SERMON

So . . . what are you thankful for today?

I think the lectionary readings for today are especially good. We hear about thanking God for the good things we have, while trying to remember that they come from God, not from anything we've done. The OT lesson is especially good, especially for this area. This lesson is given just before the Israelites cross over into the promised land. God tells them about all of the good things there -- fruit, rivers, plentiful land, hills with iron. What better reading can you have for this area that was built on mining?

And it's true, this is the Promised Land for me. One of the things that commissions on ministry are concerned with are where their aspirants, postulants and candidates see God. I guess they want to make sure that their charges have the proper amount of spirituality. Anyway, my last meeting was a phone conference with them this past summer. One of them asked, "Where do you see God."

"Can I say, 'Everywhere'? I see God in the mountains, and in the people of this community, and in the energy of knowing that we will accomplish something here."

Yes, I have alot to be thankful for. I'm thankful for a wife who has put up with this little adventure over the past eight years. I'm thankful for a daughter who has done remarkably well through it all. I'm thankful for Cynthia who changed the altar hangings to purple this week, even though I forgot that today is white. I'll change them back after service. I'm thankful for Jan who worked to keep this community going during the hard times and offers me little pieces of local wisdom. I'm thankful for Bobby who plays the organ on Sunday. I'm thankful for George who is helping me with many of the ins and outs of this job. I'm thankful for old friends and new friends. And I'm thankful for being here.

Thank you for having me.

WELL, HERE IT IS

God Willing,

The Right Reverend C. Franklin Brookhart, Jr.

Bishop of Montana

will ordain

Reverend Ref

to the Sacred Order of Priests

in Christ's One Holy Catholic and

Apostolic Church

Saturday, the 18th of December, 2004

at Noon

at

St. Peter's Cathedral

511 N. Park Ave.

Helena, MT

Your prayers and presence are requested

Festal Color: Red Reception to follow

RSVP to Reverend Ref if you need accommodations

RECAP

So, how was your rivalry weekend? The Cougs beat the Dawgs. I guess I'm happy about that. It's hard to get excited when neither team has anything riding on the game. The Beavers pounded the Ducks, Ohio upset Michigan (Susie is really upset), Iowa upset Wisconsin (Susie can smile again), and Florida upset Florida State. Nothing like rivalry weekend.

And speaking of upsets, the Dolphins almost pulled it out against the Seahawks, but a timely interception prevented that. Seattle was the only NFC West team to win this weekend, so, despite being 0-4 in the division, are in first place in the West.

Today was semi-eventful. I wrote my first wedding sermon. I received the proof for my ordination ordo and announcements. I made the necessary corrections. I looked at a program for teaching a baptism/confirmation class. I had a marriage prep session. And I almost double-booked myself through Advent.

This is a busy week. I've got a Thanksgiving day service at 9 am, a wedding rehearsal Friday at 5, the wedding Saturday at 5, and Advent I service at church. Everyone needs a bit of grace, and I got mine when I discovered a Year A - Advent I sermon that I preached at SWTS. That was a good discovery because it meant that I had "insto-sermon." Just add a little bit of color to make it Sunday long.

I guess that's about it for now (Isn't that enough?) For some reason I'm extremely tired and just want to mentally shut down. Oh well. Maybe I'll play some solitaire.

YEAR C - PENTECOST 25 - PROPER 29 - CHRIST THE KING

Today is the last Sunday of the church year. Next week we begin anew. We begin with Advent. We begin by looking forward to the coming of Jesus. We begin by looking forward to God being manifest in human form.

A lot can happen in a year. This time last year I was more than halfway through the first term of my senior year. I was trying to get answers from my COM. I was looking for Children’s Chapel replacements. What were you doing last year?

The church year begins with Advent, the time of looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. We move to Epiphany, when God’s manifestation in Jesus is made know to the Gentiles, symbolized by the wise men. From there it’s Lent. God has come down to walk among us, and we recognize our own shortcoming through penitence and forgiveness. After those days of self-examination and denial, we celebrate a new beginning with Easter. The old has passed away and we are made new.

Pentecost follows. The time when our new life is infused with the Holy Spirit. We spend the rest of the year living out our faith, proclaiming the good news and inviting others to join us.

All of this culminates in today, the last Sunday of the year. All of our preparation and celebration and study and worship leads us to proclaim, "Christ is King!" We are like the disciples who said, "We have forsaken all to follow you. To whom else can we go?" Today all of our differences are cast aside as we shout, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"

But Jesus is no ordinary king. He rides into town on an unbroken colt. He will tell Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world. He will be reviled by all and he will die on a cross.

When we think about kings, what comes to mind? A royal dynasty? A conqueror? Someone whose every wish becomes your command? But that’s not Jesus, is it? Well, maybe with the exception of the royal lineage as found over in Matthew.

Jesus as conqueror? Not really. He had the power to defeat Rome, but he used it to heal instead. He had a following who would have gladly become freedom fighters. They would have gladly laid down their own lives for . . . oh, shall we say "jihad." But rather than attack the enemy, he asked his followers to love them. The only thing Jesus conquered was death.

What about the wish/command thing? As standard understanding goes, this isn’t the case. Visions of the Queen of Hearts, "Off with her head!" or the extravagances of Louis XIV, or the power mad George III come to mind. What also comes to mind is the plight of their subjects. Very few people chose to be subject to the king. That was the way it was, or you were conquered.

But not our king. Jesus asks us to follow him. He asks us to be his subjects. He asks us to forsake all. And in that subjection, in that following, in that bondage, as Paul says, we are given perfect freedom. In that freedom, we recognize that Jesus doesn’t take, he gives. We recognize that without him we’d be lost. We recognize that death is no more, and we have been given life – and given life abundantly.

It is through this newfound abundance in God that allows and encourages us to give to the food bank, to donate our time to the church, to tithe to the best of our ability, and to help reconcile the world with God.

Kings of the world are normally bad news. But our king isn’t of this world. Our king offers hope and freedom. Our king bases his rule on love. Our king allows us to choose. We should be excited about that. We should be willing to say, "Christ is my king.’ And, like the crowd in Jerusalem, we should be willing to shout, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"

It’s the end of the year. How did this one change you? How will you proclaim Christ as your King in the next one?

RIVALRY WEEKEND

Here we are -- what most college fans look forward to every year. This is the weekend of the Iron Bowl, The Old Oaken Bucket, Ohio/Michigan (does this one have a name?), Montana/Montana State (another one with an unknown cool name) The Civil War, The Game, and The Apple Cup.

Most disappointing game this year: The Apple Cup. The Huskies are pathetic this year. It's like the whole team contracted kennel cough and worms. But before you think I'm letting my Cougar Pride show, the 'Cougs aren't much better. I never thought I'd see the day when BOTH teams were Pac-10 bottom feeders. But hey, it's still the Apple Cup, and it's even being televised on ABC on the West Coast. Unfortunately, I'm not on the West Coast. Or, maybe, fortunately. The Seattle P-I has dubbed this game the Rotten Apple Cup. Apparently nobody is getting excited about this game.

However, I will probably get to see the UM-MSU game because local stations always carry the Griz and the Cats. UM is looking to get into the Div. I-AA playoffs with a win. The Bobcats, however, blew their chances at a playoff bid with two straight losses. Yes, Div. I-AA has a playoff (hear that BCS??).

Best game of the day? Could be Michigan-Ohio, but with Michigan at 9-1, and Ohio at 6-4, I think Michigan will roll over the Buckeyes. But then again, this is a rivalry. And as I'm fond of pointing out, in 1982 something funny happened on the way to the Rose Bowl. Michigan needs to be careful. However, I think the best game of the day will be The Civil War, Oregon-Oregon State. Both teams are 5-5. Both teams have a bowl bid riding on this game. This is THE game in the PNW this year. It's only too bad that they both aren't 6-4 and both assured of a bowl game. It's gotta break your heart.

So, enjoy whatever game you are going to watch. Scream your lungs out. Have fun. Just be sure to stay in the stands.

And then, tomorrow, go to church and cheer for Christ the King.

THANKS

Thanks to those of you who commented on my last post. Like Jane said, "It's not just a new job, it's a new life." So true. I just need to settle down, relax, and enjoy the ride. I'll keep doing what I'm doing -- trying to get people involved, preaching passable sermons, and staying visible. Maybe adding in a little small-town eccentricities might also help. Too bad I don't have my security boots anymore.

IN OTHER NEWS

Wednesday and Thursday, and to some extent today, were very productive days at both CC & VC. On Wednesday, I dug two postholes for our new sign. I don't recall a class on manual labor at SWTS; although, when the president of the alumni association gave all the seniors toilet plungers that came close. CC authorized the purchase of a new sign. This thing is double sided, 4' x 6'. It's got the church's name, my name, the Episcopal shield, office hours, phone number, service time, and a "You Are Welcome Here." It's white with black lettering.

Yesterday I apparently had "Too Much Time On My Hands" while at VC. I finished my sermon early, then I did some redecorating. We have this huge brass eagle lectern; I'd guess it's about 5' tall. It got moved up towards the sanctuary and out of the way some time ago. The right-front pew (maybe I should say the front gospel side pew) was taken out and stuck in the sacristy. And a very Protestant looking lectern was placed over an electrical outlet where the pew used to be.

Sometime ago I found a "thing" that was made to sit on the steps and support either the eagle or an Advent wreath. I put the thing on the steps, and very carefully moved the giant eagle from where it was to the choir steps. It wasn't too bad, actually, and dropping it down one stair went better than expected. It didn't even almost fall over. Then I moved the Protestant Pulpit into the sacristy. Now that was heavy! Finally I moved the pew out of the sacristy and back to its rightful place in the church.

I decided that that was enough manual labor for one day, so I wrote an article for the weekly paper about Advent activities at both places.

And today, my Senior Warden at CC and I had the sign delivered and we dropped it in the holes I dug. They were really nice holes. We got it level and plumb and, hopefully, packed in tight enough for it to last a long time. It runs perpendicular to Main street, and you can see it from the other side of town (granted, town isn't that big, but still). And you can actually read the information as you drive by. Which is a bonus because the only signage we had before was the traditional "Episcopal Church Welcomes You" with the church name misspelled, and a sign by the front door with the service time in those small black & gold mailbox number things. So very inviting. But the new sign is cool, and should be the talk of the town in about 20 minutes.

That's about it for today. I think I'll go roam about the blogiverse now.

I'M OK

I think. Maybe that's more of a question that a statement. I've been here since July, and in that time it feels like things have been moving so fast that I don't have time to just "be." But now things are slowing down. Well, maybe "slowing down" isn't the right choice of words. In reality, I'm busier than I've been since I got here. I'm planning the Thanksgiving Day service, a wedding, a St. Nick party in VC, Advent Lessons & Carols at CC, my ordination, Lessons and Carols at VC, Christmas Eve in VC, Christmas Day in Sheridan and working towards the bishop's visitation in February. So yes, I'm busy.

But there's a really weird thing going on inside. In my former life, any new job required about four months to really get comfortable with it -- to really learn how to "do" the job competently. You know, stop asking questions all the time, know how A affects F, know what information is needed to make certain decsions, etc.

Now, however, I'm in a totally different scenario. Some of what I do I have down, such as writing sermons, planning liturgies, presiding at service, etc. All that was the easy part, and I knew it going in. But then there's all this other stuff that I'm not so familiar, or so good at. Such as planning budgets, figuring out the best way to revamp our record system, what exactly is pertinent to the job, in other words, all of the administrative stuff that doesn't get covered in seminary. It's been four months and I don't feel like I have that part of my job down.

And that worries me. I'm an admin kind of guy. I like things organized and to know what happens to F when I do A. And for whatever reason, IT AIN'T COMING -- or it ain't coming fast enough to my liking. Reports and budgets and committees and . . . did I really sign up for this?

I had a chat about it with my mentor last week. His basic response was, "Good. It tells me that you care about what you do." Not sure if that was the answer I was looking for, but I guess I just need to not worry about that end of the job as much as my analytical/admin genetic makeup wants me to.

I know I'll get there -- after all, this IS something unlike I've ever done before. I just need to keep telling myself that, yes, this is where I need to be. At least when I mess up on the admin end here it doesn't cost my clients a whole bunch of money (I think -- there's still making sure the pledge stuff is done properly).

So, any other priests out there go through this during your first few years? I'd love to hear from you.

HALLELUJAH CHORUS

Sunday was a busy day at the office for this Montana vicar. Did the usual services at CC & VC, and then jetted out of VC early. Mrs. Ref and I drove up to Helena for the seating of the bishop and the rededication of the cathedral. The Kid didn't want to go; she said, "I've already seen one of those services." Which is true. Before we left Spokane, she and I were at the seating of Spokane's new bishop. That was about four years ago, so I'm almost surprised that she remembered being there. So Mrs. Ref and I went to Helena, and we left The Kid at home with a whole list of chores to accomplish before we returned.

It's a two hour drive to Helena. Sometime last week, one of my parishioners informed me that another parishioner was in the hospital in Helena and asked if I would be able to stop in and see her. Of course I said I would. We left VC early, drove to Helena and managed to find the VA hospital where she had been admitted. Why is it that VA hospitals always seem to be way way out of town in some obscure location?

Anyway, I was told she was in Room 412. Turns out that Room 412 is the staff utility toilet. I went up to the nurses station and asked where B was staying. The nurse asked if I was an Episcopalian. I said yes. So she said that she had another patient that she wanted me to see. I managed to get in two bedside visits in about 25 minutes. Then it was off to the service.

The fact that we made it to the cathedral without getting lost was a major miracle. But we did make it, even had time to eat a sandwich in the car before going in. The service was grand. One of those things that makes you enjoy being an Episcopalian. Good music, good liturgy, and lots and lots of smiles. The bishop knocked at the main doors of the cathedral and the dean let him in. (In talking about the service at home, The Kid asked, "Do you have to let him in?" Hmmm. Since we elected him, I think it would be a good idea.)

The bishop was seated in the cathedra, and he presented the rector of St. Peter's, now the Dean of the Cathedral, with a dean's cross. The bishop gave a good sermon, referenced Annie Dillard's quote about crash helmets and seatbelts, one of my personal favorites; and he reiterated that things are different and we are working at becoming healthy and restoring relationships again.

Finally, I chatted with several people at the reception about my own ordination service there on December 18. I also met several people who said, "Oh, you're the new guy in Sheridan and VC. I've heard LOTS about you." I guess that's good, because everybody said that they were happy to see things happening down there.

The only bummer to the whole event was the reception. Service started at 4, the reception was from 5:30 to however long people stayed, and most of us travelled from a 2 hour radius. The only thing served was brownies and other sugary treats. I was counting on maybe some sandwich-type stuff to get me home. Oh well. Did I mention that the service was GRAND?

Got home about 8:30. The Kid actually managed to get through the chore list we gave her (she's a good kid). And then went to bed. It was a long day at the office, but a good time was had by all.

YEAR C - PENTECOST 24 - PROPER 28

Why do we do this? Why do we come to church to hear stories of ancient peoples, sit through a sermon that may or many not be any good, pray to a God we can't see, eat stale wafers and drink wine that you probably wouldn't serve to your worst relative? Don't you ever want to say, "What's the point?"

Especially when we can look around and see evildoers prosper. Illegal drugs are a huge problem; but it seems like those who traffic in drugs have all the best things. Legal drug companies appear to put profit before people and price their products so high that people either run to Canada or must choose between eating and medicating. The national trend is for companies to hire only part-time workers so they don't have to pay benefits, thereby furthering their own profits. So why do we do what we do?

Well, as our reading from Malachi pointed out, we do it because God notices. In the grand scheme of things, God does notice. The oracle given to Malachi points out that we will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked. It says that when God acts, the righteous will be spared from that awful day and the arrogant will be burned up as if in an oven. The day of the Lord, says the oracle, will be a great and terrible day.

Combine Malachi with today's Gospel -- earthquakes, fires, wars, famines -- and there's great potential for a real hellfire and brimstone sermon. And maybe one of these days I'll let loose with one, but not today. The Malachi passage isn't all fire and brimstone. This isn't about "scaring the hell" out of people. This is really about loving God into people's lives. It's about reconciliation.

Malachi and the oracle are pushing for reconciliation. Parents will return to children and children will return to parents. And isn't that what the church is all about? Isn't that why we do what we do? To restore relationships. The history of the world is full of failed relationships -- Jesus and Judas, Jacob and Esau, Cain and Abel, God and humanity. This is why we do what we do, because we are trying to help heal the world's relationship with God. Malachi isn't hellfire and condemnation, Malachi is wholeness and healing.

People, though, are obsessed with the end times. The eschaton. "When is it?" "What will happen?" "Who will survive?" Is it just me or does it seem that people want a specific time-frame so they know exactly when to quit screwing around?

Jesus addressed this concern in the Gospel, but he didn't give a specific time-frame. Basically he said, "Be prepared now." Things will happen: earthquakes, floods, famines, plagues, wars and other calamities. Kind of like today. But life goes on. We aren't supposed to be concerned with the signs. We are supposed to be following Jesus. Which means feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless. It means taking care of those people affect by the events I just named. All of these terrible things happen, and people will try to use them as an indicator of the end times.

The biggest indicator of the eschaton, though, is that before it happens followers of Jesus Christ will be persecuted. You will be arrested. You will be betrayed by friends and family. All will hate you on account of your belief in Jesus.

Here's something to think about. When the believers are arrested and persecuted, to whom are they handed over? Synagogues and prisons. Synagogues. Churches. The leaders of the church are going to persecute those who claim to follow Jesus. The leaders of the church are going to persecute those who don't follow the party line. This also sounds like today when one group, claiming to be the true church, seems to be persecuting those people who don't agree with their doctrine. Well, maybe "persecuting" isn't the right word. But we are sure making it difficult on each other.

I don't know what's going on, but it seems like people are overly concerned with the Second Coming. Maybe it's always been that way, a concern with the end of the world, but today seems different. The problem today, I think, is that people are trying to force God's hand. Either people think it's their job to convert everyone on the planet -- "Convert now or burn in hell" -- or they are just waiting to gloat over the evildoers being burned to stubble while they watch, or they are fed up with everything and want God to come and take the problem away. They spend their time running these events through some kind of giant algorithm to come up with the specific time of the Second Coming. And if they aren't doing that, they are working to try to get the government to do things that will, in turn, get Israel to do something that is supposed to be the lynchpin for Jesus' return. If we do X, then Israel will do Y, and God will do Z. The problem with that is that it puts God on our schedule. It forces God to act based on our understanding. And that kind of limits God, don't you think?

Instead of focusing all of our energy on making Jesus return with a two-edged sword and flames spewing from his mouth, maybe we need to be focusing on reconciliation. We need to be following Malachi's oracle -- children returning to parents, parents returning to children, people returning to God. Instead of praying for the Second Coming so the righteous can be saved and the evildoers can get their just desserts, we need to be praying that everyone returns to God; like the prodigal son returned to his father.

Rather than praying for the Second Coming, we need to realize that we are already living in the end times, in the last days. The EVENTS that make up God's overall plan are not our concern. How we deal with them is. But be warned: this is dangerous business. Be prepared to be persecuted, ridiculed and maybe martyred. But also be reassured that what we do in the name of Jesus does, indeed, make a difference. And pray that everyone will return to the Father before that great and terrible day.

RANT RESULTS

I've been following the comments on my Rant Post (see below) off an on for several days now. The general consensus is that I should remove the particular site in question. However, I think that that "solution" is akin to sticking your/my head in the sand and hope the problem will go away. It reminds me of the passage about the light shining on the darkness and exposing what is there. If I don't link to the site(s), then they have the opportunity to grow unchecked. Do you see where I'm going with this?

The most recent comment on that post was left by J. Freeman -- who, unfortunately, has decided to quit blogging; with any luck this will simply be a hiatus and she will give us more of her unique insights. Anyway, she posted that, as a gay person, her return to the church was a big risk on her part and that she is still skittish. That skittishness is enhanced in the blogiverse when she visits a site that seems to be "safe" but links to a site that is anything but that. She makes sense.

I am working very hard out here in MT to repair past damage and regain the trust of the people in my communities. I want them to know that, regardless of your politics, the Episcopal Church is a safe place. I also want that to carry through on my blog. So if someone like J. Freeman writes that she thought my blog was safe, but discovered otherwise because of my links, then I need to take that into consideration.

The end result is that I made some link changes. Regular readers, and maybe some irregular but observant readers, may have noticed a change in that I moved Taylor's blog into the Small God category. Today, I made some more obvious changes. It is now clear that the small god links are, shall we say, less than friendly. I've also listed their names so anyone feeling curious should know exactly what they are getting into.

I don't agree with them. I do think they should have an opportunity to be heard. And sometimes they say something we need to hear. But, now, hopefully, people will be aware of what is behind Door #3.

Peace

QUICK IS THE BEAT OF MY HEART

So my last several posts haven't lived up to Tripp's challenge of using Styx lyrics or song titles to head up my post. But today is different.

As Mrs. Ref indicated on her blog last week, the windows have arrived. Today, they not only arrived, they are being installed as I type this. How cool is that. Makes my little heart go pitter patter all that much quicker.

I'm hoping for a few things as a result of this: 1) A warmer house. The draft in the bathroom, the Kid's broken window, and all the others that simply ventilated when pushed on should all be taken care of. Which means better insulation and lower heating costs. 2) A vast reduction in flies. I know, it's gross. But hey, we live in cattle country and flies are part of the deal. But with the old windows, they were able to easily walk into the place. A better sealed window means flies live where they belong -- outside. 3) Curtains. We've been avoiding curtains and dressing in the closet because we were told that the dimensions of the frames might change.

This is really the final step in upgrading the house. From here on out, it's Mrs. Ref and her paint brush.

A BIT OF EVERYTHING

The spiders have hatched. One of the "joys" of moving to a new place is discovering what kind of critters infest your particular corner of the world. For the most part, it's pretty normal here. Normal as in not many critters can kill you and most of the critters are of appropriate size. However, there have been a few incidents. The first came in mid-August. All of a sudden there were millions of itty-bitty flying things. They didn't bite, they didn't sting, it seemed their only purpose in life is to serve as food for larger critters. Kind of like flying plankton. But there were so many of these things that you needed to keep your mouth closed -- some type of eye protection was also helpful. But I digress.

The current spate of critters is the eight-legged variety. Not millions, but lots. Apparently it is hatching season, and these things are everywhere. I walked through a web going into our living room and into my closet, into the sacristy and into my office. Killed a half dozen in my office so far. Maybe I'll make a spiderweb thingy to notch my kills on since I'm out in the West.

And speaking of killing things, my daughter, the self-proclaimed non-nature city girl, is taking bow lessons. She wants to learn to shoot, and she wants to go hunting next season. I don't have a problem with that, I just find it funny. Or maybe it's ironic, I sometimes get funny and ironic mixed up. She's already figured out where she wants to display the buck's head in the house.

Okay, besides the bugs and the very slim possibility that I'll have an animal head in my house this time next year, I really do love it here. It's great to be back west, in a time zone that's not too far out of sync from friends and family, surrounded by mountains (which are especially beautiful with their new snow against the blue sky). It would be nice to be closer to some things, like big grocery stores, a movie theater, a pizza delivery place. But it does have its charms. Like remembering on Monday that the treasurer wasn't at church on Sunday and going into the church building to pull the offering out of the collection plates.

And finally, I'm working on my ordo for the ordination service. Okay, let me just say that that is driving me nuts. Note to anyone in seminary -- Start your ordo NOW and save it to disk (in case you have to change a name or something). I should've been working on it over the summer, but it escaped my mind until I actually had to get ready for the service. I'm taking Thursday off -- it's Veteran's Day -- and hopefully I'll get it finished then. Then it's up to Butte to have a printer make it look pretty. After that, I need to mail out something like 150 invitations to people in both dioceses. Maybe I'll just mail a select few to my home diocese since the possibility of people coming over from are about as good as having a dead animal head in my entryway.

ALL SAINTS SUNDAY

There are seven Principal Feasts observed by the Episcopal Church. Can anyone name them?
(This went over better in VC than in Sheridan -- oh well, everything is a teaching moment.)

They are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity and All Saints. Today we celebrate All Saints Day. It's the day when we honor those who have gone before us. It's the one day of the year specifically set aside to pay tribute to those who have died, as well as offer reassurance of our eternal life in Christ.

Who exactly are the saints? Or maybe I should ask, "Who IS a saint?" We have, I think, this ideal of what a saint is. They are patient and kind, honorable, moral, holy, caring, selfless, slow to anger and quick to forgive. They feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, proclaim the gospel and live by faith. And all before lunch. Do you honestly know anyone like that?

How many saints can you name? (Actually, they named quite a few) Here are a few: Augustine, Bartholomew, Celestine, David, Edmund, Felicity, Gertrude, Hippolytus, Ignatius, Joan, Laurence, Luke, Mark, Neot, Oda, Paul, Raymond, Samson, Teresa, Ursula, Valentine, Werburg, Yvo and Zito.

Some of these folks are well known, others less so. For the most part they are people of whom you have never heard. Some died young, some died old. Some died of natural causes, and some were martyred. Alot like today, don't you think?

So, what makes a saint? The qualities I just listed? Holy and pious living? Well, maybe. But more often than not those who have been dubbed saints are similar to everyday people. Take Augustine of Hippo, for instance, one of the most influential people in the history of the western church. He never married, but had a long-time girlfriend with whom he had a child. Eventually his mother convinced him to get rid of both her and the child. He did so, never seeing them again. A prayer attributed to St. Augustine goes something like this: Lord, grant me chastity; but not too soon.

In today's gospel we hear Luke's version of the beatitudes. In a sense, the second part of those read like a litany of sainthood. Love your enemies, do good to those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Love your enemies, do good and be merciful.

I had a conversation this past week with a guy and we talked about this very issue. To him, the central core of Christianity was to love your enemies and do unto others as you would have done unto you. He said, "We say it all the time, love your enemies. We can intellectualize it and preach it, but rarely do we put it into practice. I'm a conservative and I voted for Bush on Tuesday; but I've gotta say, if Bush really lived out this belief of loving your enemies, we never would have gone to Iraq."

It takes courage to love your enemies. I had a chance to make a profound statement this past week, but I wimped out. St. Paul's is the polling place in VC, and I knew that on Tuesday we would have the entire population show up at the church. On the sign out front, I put "Pray for those who abuse you." Had I been braver, I would have put, "Pray for Osama."

Love and pray for your enemies. Do good. Be merciful. But it's more than that, because even sinners do as much. Ultimately what sets saints apart from the rest of us is their tendency to always put God first. Everything else is framed within the context of our relationship to Jesus. If we can do that, then we too are saints.

You see, saints lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still. The world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus' will. You can meet them in school, or in lanes or at sea. In church, or in trains. Or in shops. Or at tea. For the saints of God are just folk like . . . You.

So during this All Saints Day, let's remember those who have gone before us and deserve that honor. But let's also celebrate and acknowledge those saints who are here in our midst.

DIAL UP SUCKS

First, the good news: We finally got our internet connection established from home.

Now, the bad news: Shouldn't be too hard to guess from the title of this post. From the time I connected until I got to the posting screen only took 30 minutes. I can walk to the library and post before the system even loads at home.

This is going to be a lesson in patience. But, this is also life in small town Montana. I could get a DSL; it is available. But the phone company that rules this corner of the world charges an arm and a leg for it. Oh well, hopefully some day . . .

But hey, looking at the bright side -- I can log on, go downstairs and watch a football game, come back at the end of the quarter, log onto e-mail, back downstairs, come back at half time and check a message or two. I can surf and watch a game at the same time. It's like multi-tasking in molasses.

Speaking of games, did anyone see Louisville v. Memphis last night? Man, that was fun! I would've loved to be on the field for that one.

Gotta run. If I don't post this now it won't be done before dinner. Peace.

WHAT HAPPENED??

I went over to Mrs. Ref's blog site, only to be greeted by a pink screen of nothing. Hmmm. Anyone else have this problem? Anyone know how to make it better? Afterall, I get paid for my preaching, not my technical advice.

'JUST' A CONVERSATION

I went to the weekly prayer meeting yesterday (for more info, see my post JUST). I've missed the last two weeks, basically because Mrs. Ref happened to be working at the clinic the last two Wednesdays and came home for lunch. I like having lunch with my wife.

Anyway, I wandered in to "Bob's" office where we hold this event. Turns out that he and I were the only ones attending. I asked, "Are we on for today?"

"Well, you're hear, so yeah, we're on."

"How's it going?" I asked.

"Well, to be honest, I'm getting frustrated. I mean, I send out these e-mails to something like 70 men about various things -- the prayer meetings, the simulcast of Promise Keepers, and other events -- and I continually get little to no response. This prayer meeting, for instance, hasn't generated much interest, and I get fewer and fewer guys here every time. What do I need to do to light a fire under these guys? What do I need to do to get these guys to take Christianity seriously?"

Wow, I thought. This could be fun. "First of all, Bob, you need to remember that nowhere in scripture does it say to go out and convert people. Scripture tells us to preach the gospel -- and like St. Francis said, 'Preach the gospel always, and sometimes use words.' And scripture tells us to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It's our job to preach and baptize. It's not our job to convert people. That's the job of the Holy Spirit."

Our conversation went from there and touched on scripture, theology, homosexuality, the Episcopal Church, liberalism v. conservatism, and expectations. It was a good conversation. It surprised me a little in that Bob isn't as Fundagelical conservative as I had first thought. But it proved my point that we won't get anywhere if we don't talk and listen to each other. I even invited him to take in a service and listen to a heretical Episcopalian sermon.

We ended the hour by recognizing that we don't agree on every issue, but it's important to listen to each other and entertain the thought that I might be wrong. Sounds like something I preached on recently. He might even show up at CC for a service sometime.

Yep, it was a good prayer meeting.

NEW SIGN

Christ Church is getting a new sign! That's exciting. It will give our name, my name, office hours and phone number, and the time of the service (which we will be able to change for certain events). But I need something that says, "Everyone welcome," or something like that. I don't want to be boring, so here are some thoughts:

Everyone Welcome
Come Join Us
Join Us For Worship
Celebrate With Us
All Are Welcome
We Invite You To Join Us
Everyone Is Welcome
You Are Welcome
Always Open
Sinners Only

Any thoughts? Any other ideas?

PENTECOST 22 - PROPER 26 - YEAR C

A friend in seminary said, "Rambling is good for the soul." So with that in mind, this sermon entails a little bit of rambling. I hope you can follow it.

One of the things I miss most about seminary is sitting around with a bunch of my colleagues and breaking down a biblical text. I suppose it could be classified as "bible study," but it's more than that. To hear what other people see and understand about a text, and to hear what they are planning to preach on is a valuable tool that I miss.

We had a deanery meeting this past week and the bishop led us through the gospel text for today. It was great to hear what everyone pulled from this lesson. There is alot of stuff in this text, and it hits on so many different areas that it's hard to know where to begin. First, we have Zacchaeus, a tax collector. He's also a chief tax collector. And he's rich. So there are three reasons right off the bat to hate this guy. The text implies that he is also short, so he probably suffers from a Napolean complex as well. The bishop pointed out though, that you could read this as saying that Jesus was short. Anyway, it's pretty clear that Zacchaeus rubbed everybody the wrong way.

And then Zacchaeus climbs a tree. When was the last time you climbed a tree? This line tells us that Zacchaeus got a different view, a different perspective of things. He saw things in a new way. But it was also risky business. He was probably dressed like I am, in a robe. But he probably didn't have this on (pulling up my robe) underneath. So he was also exposed; he was vulnerable. See, this is why I love doing this stuff.

Anyway, it's clear that he annoys those around him. Who's like that in your life? A liberal candidate for president? A conservative candidate for president? ANYONE who runs for political office? The person in the pew next to you? Zacchaeus is that guy.

I could go on through the whole text, but I want to focus on the bit about everyone in the crowd grumbling that Jesus was going to stay at Zacchaeus' house. This has been an interesting week for me personally. Last Saturday, my alma mater played another seminary, Nashotah House, in their annual football game. For a bunch of people attending seminary, I gotta tell you that this thing gets nasty. And this year appeared to be one of the worst.

I'm on the internet often, and one of the Nashotah players wrote about it. He talked about the "priestess" who officiated at a "black mass" before the game; and when the thurible broke at the field took it as a proof that God would not accept "their strange fire." Debate is one thing, but derogatory remarks about those with other views is something else. The Pharisee and the tax collector.

Last week Jesus told the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. The Pharisee did all the right things, but he used that to exalt himself in his own prayers. He used his actions to justify himself as being righeous before God. Today, Jesus invites himself into the sinner's house, much to the disappointment of the surrounding self-righteous crowd. "And all who saw it began to grumble." Not the Pharisees. Not the Saduccees. Everyone. A literal interpretation could also imply that even the disciples grumbled.

Why? The crowd and the Pharisee have developed their own set of tightly defined holiness codes that they require everyone to live within. The only problem with that is that when you create a box of holiness codes defined by you that require "true" worshippers to live within, you also force God to live within those same set of rules that you have created.

These two lessons strike me as especially important today. There is a struggle between conservatives and liberals within our church today. Conservatives are extremely upset about the decision to ordain Gene Robinson to the episcopate. A splinter group has been created to create a "safe place" for conservatives. And they are trying to get themselves established as the "true" Anglican church in the U.S.

All of this because they have decided that the actions of ECUSA are heretical and not within the bounds of traditional Christianity as they define it. In short, they have created their own set of holiness codes that "true believers" must ascribe to in order to be saved. And, apparently, the people who argue in favor of women's ordination and for the full inclusion of homosexuals are not allowed into this box.

And before you think that I'm being one-sided, the liberals have caused their fair share of grief also. Contrary to canon law and the Prayer Book, individual parishes are allowing unbaptized persons to receive communion. Some dioceses are allowing the blessing of same-sex unions, going against the will of the vast majority in the Anglican communion. And then there's Bishop Robinson.

The liberals have stated their case for full inclusion. The conservatives don't agree with it and are threatening to walk out of the church. The liberals, I think, are about ready to say, "Fine. Take your self-righteous attitude and leave." And that is just as problematic as forcing people into a tiny little box. Because, like Paul said, we are a body; we need each other, whether you agree with the other side or not.

You don't have to agree with me. You don't have to agree with the person sitting behing you. But you do have to understand that we are all in this together. We should be able to say, "I don't agree with you, but in the name of Jesus Christ I will not persecute you. I will attempt to understand you. And I will be willing to share a meal with you." Anything less and we have become the Pharisee in the temple putting down those not like us. Anything less, and we become the ones who grumble at Jesus for visiting with a sinner.

We are all sinners. We are all tax collectors. We should be spending our time rejoicing that other tax collectors have been saved along with us, rather than trying to define who can and who can't join the club.