SWAMPED

The play is over, so you'd think my life would settle down. HA.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was one of two male chaperones for the 5th & 6th grade class trip to the Birch Creek Educational Center. This is an old CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) center that was used in the 30's and 40's. It's up in the mountains (but as Mrs. Ref says, "What isn't in the mountains in SW Montana??"), so the weather can change in an instant. We had everything from sunny blue skies and 65 degrees, to some snow and overnight lows of about 20.

The first day there, the chaperones weren't immediately needed, so the other male chaperone, Chuck, and I went mountain climbing. Not "mountain climbing" like ice axes, spikes, ropes and such, more like a day hike up Thunderhead Mountain. We climbed up over rocks as big as houses in an attempt to get to the top. But you know what? The peak is deceptively far away, so we called it quits after about 2 hours. We'd crest one hill, and that damn mountain keep backing up. Oh well.

We survived the night with a bunch of rowdy boys, and got through the next day. Made it home by 3:30, showered, unpacked and took a nap. Then I went to bed early.

On Thursday, we had a deanery meeting in Dillon. So Thursday was toast.

Today I did some work around the house, chatted with a friend about desserts (we agreed that anything with strawberries can't be bad), then went with Mrs. Ref to Bozeman for some needed household necesseties and other things that the housesitter might need while we are gone. Like Guinnea pig food.

Stopped at Subway on the way home, got in around 8, had dinner, and put stuff away. Tomorrow I need to work on the checkbook, paying bills before we leave town, dishes and laundry. And that's before I go to VC for a funeral and the Opening Day Parade.

Sunday is Sunday, with more prep-to-leave stuff to do after the two services. Then we'll pack the car and hit the road at 6 on Monday for destinations east.

Oh, that reminds me .... sermon? What sermon. I've got the first paragraph finished. This may be a totally off-the cuff thing. The one thing I have going for me is that I have thought about it a great deal, so even if I have to wing it, it should be presentable. But that will also mean that it may take me awhile to post it on this blog.

So, with all that in mind, it's time for bed so I can get an early start tomorrow.

I CONFESS

I did it. I killed them. They deserved it after what they did to my wife and daughter.

Okay -- yes, it turns out that I played the character who was ultimately the murderer.

On another note, I've also played Judas Iscariot in two productions of "The Last Supper."

How is it that I get these parts? I'm a good guy ..... really. Ask anyone.

Oh well, bad guys are always more fun to play anyhow.

TRINITY SUNDAY
YEAR A

Good news bad news, depending on your POV. Good news, I didn't have to preach today. The Bishop sent a Pastoral Letter out to all of the parishes that was to be read today.

Bad news, if you came here looking for deep and inspiring thoughts about the Trinity (yeah, right), sorry to disappoint you.

We had a good turnout at both parishes, a couple of visitors at VC, and generally good music all the way around. The Kid had a friend spend the night, so they both went with us up to VC. While we did "Church Take 2," they wandered around town and spent money in the candy store. Then we did lunch at Domenics (great food, I'll be taking Rev. Jane and her family there when they come to town), came home and took a nap.

And now I'm off to the final night of the play. Opening night was good -- lots of people came, they had good desserts, and they laughed (always a good thing). We even managed to surprise many of them in figuring out who the murderer really was.

The second show was, well, a little lackluster. Lots of people, but not nearly as easily entertained apparently. Much less laughter. But I think more of them were surprised as to who the murder was.

Tonight is the dinner theater. People are gathering right now to be fed (hopefully) good food. And hopefully they will enjoy the play. And hopefully we will surpise many of them (providing that nobody gives it away).

"Who is the murderer," you ask? It's none other than . . .

LONG DISTANCE FRIENDS

Here are two stereotypes that I fit into: I'm an introvert, and I'm a guy. Which means that dealing with people wears me out, and I usually only speak when I have something to say. Mrs. Ref, for instance, talks with her mom at least once a week, oftentimes more. I talk to my mom on Mother's Day or when one of us makes a visit.

I have had friends with whom I have drifted apart after one of us has moved. It's hard for me to maintain contact when the person isn't actively in my life in some capacity. Which makes maintaining friendships difficult for me.

To some extent, instant messaging has alleviated that. When I'm on the internet at home, I have a list of buddies who pop up whenever they are on; this makes it easier to stay in touch, and I have learned much more about some of my friends through this medium. Nevertheless, long distance friendships still have their downsides.

Like when a friend called me this morning worried about some physical tests and what those tests might show. Cancerous? Benign? Easily dealt with? Life threatening? It's so much easier to have long pauses in the conversation when you can hold a hand, give a hug, or simply look into the eyes. Being physically present is a most valuable asset in some circumstances.

I wasn't able to do that today. All I could do was to reiterate that I would be thinking/praying for my friend. That I would always be available should they wish to, or need to, talk. That I would be with them through this walk, no matter how far away I am.

I hope I helped. I hope they heard me. I hope it was enough.

PENTECOST A

Today is the Feast of Pentecost, and is the second greatest festival in the Church (Easter being the first); although you wouldn't know it by the attendance. This is the only major Christian feast day that hasn't been taken over by Madison Avenue and Hallmark. Just try to find a Happy Pentecost card. For those of you who don't know about this day, or need a refresher, let me give you some background material.

"Pentecost" is Greek for 50th Day; "Pente" for 50, and "cost" for . . . day. Okay, I'm kidding about about "cost." But it does mean 50th day, so-called because this ancient Jewish festival fell on the 50th day after Passover. The first-fruits of the corn harvest were presented to God as an offering. The Church recognizes this day as the 50th day after Easter when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, as we heard in the lesson from Acts.

For those who have been in the Church for a long time, you may recall that this day is also referred to as Whitsunday. Now, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is a modified version of White Sunday; but have you ever wondered why it was called Whitsunday when the color of the day is red? It's because this day became the second date, after Easter, on which a person could be baptized. Ancient tradition was to clothe the newly baptized in white robes symbolizing their new life in Christ and being washed clean. That is why I asked Tori and Dena to wear white when they were baptized during the Bishop's visitation. If you have a bunch of people being baptized and wearing white, it stands to reason that the name of the day would become Whitsunday.

Okay, enough of the history lesson. Last week, remember, Jesus ordered the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they were baptized by the Holy Spirit. Today is the day when that promise was fulfilled. The Spirit came down from Heaven like the rush of a wind and appeared as tongues of fire resting on each of the disciples, after which they began to preach in such a way that people from many different countries could understand them in their own native language.

Where else do we get this same kind of dynamic -- where everybody understands everybody else? Back in Genesis 11, after the flood. After the flood, Noah and his family were (supposedly) the only people left alive on earth. God told them to go out and do what humans do best, and pretty soon we had a civilization that had one language. It wasn't too long afterwards that the people came to the plain of Shinar. While there, they decided to make a name for themselves by building a great city and a tower that would reach to heaven. God saw this, confused their language, and the tower of Babel was left unfinished.

The similarity between Acts and Genesis is obvious: many people, one language or voice. But that's where the similarity ends. It's the difference that is important.

In Genesis, it was the idea of the people to make a tower that reached to the heavens and to make a name for themselves. It was the people who had ideas of grandeur. It was the people who wanted to put their name above all names, including God.

In Acts, however, it's all God's idea. Even though there are many different countries and languages represented, it is God who causes the people to understand what is being said. The Holy Spirit descends on the disciples enabling them to preach the story of God's deeds of power. The Holy Spirit is the mediator through which everyone understands this story.

It was by the hand of God that the people were dispersed because they wanted to make a name for themselves; and it is by the hand of God that the people are brought together to hear the story of the One whose name is above all names.

Which brings me to today. We need to be watchful and wary of people, especially Christians, who claim to do great things on their own. People who talk about how many people they have brought to the Lord; clergy who talk about how they have built up the church or increased attendance; people who stress that their denomination is the one, true expression of faith; if you hear this, you might want to think about running away. This is the same sort of thing, the same effort to make a name for themselves, that got the descendents of Noah into trouble when they started building that tower.

On the other hand, we need to pay attention to Acts. The Apostles did nothing that day but pray and preach the story of God's deeds of power. They didn't bring people into the church. They didn't convert people to Christianity. What they did do was to allow the Holy Spirit to work through them. It was the Holy Spirit who caused the people to hear, and it was the Holy Spirit that caused the Church to be built up.

On this day of Pentecost, remember that it is your job to live out your faith honestly and tell the story truthfully. The hearing of that story, the conversion of people to Christianity, the building up of the Church -- all of that -- is the work of the Holy Spirit. Live your faith and tell your story; but live it with sincerity and tell it with the intensity and boldness of fire. Remember back to Easter: "Be not afraid."

If we do that, then God will cause people to hear you and God will build up the Church; and it will be a better thing than we could ever build by ourselves.

CLEANING DAY

Today was the big cleaning day here in Sheridan. Not as many people showed up as I had originally hoped for; but we had a core of good people, and that was great. Trees were pruned, leaves were raked, the inside of the church building was dusted and removed of all flies (they'll be back, it's a daily battle out here in cattle country), flower beds were taken care of, the lawn was mowed, I edged the grass that had grown out 6" or more over the sidewalk, Mrs. Ref cleaned out the bbq pit, The Kid hauled unneeded bricks around, two trees were cut down and one tree/bush-thing that looked like it belonged in Hades was removed, the lower limbs on a pine tree were cut back, and multiple trips in multiple rigs were made to the dump.

Then lunch was served. We cooked hotdogs on the newly cleaned grill (according to one long-time parishioner, this was the first time in 30 years it had been used), also had chili (chili dogs -- yummmm), salad, pop, chocolate milk, and ice cream bars for dessert. After which, everyone loaded up their shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed home.

I took a nap while Mrs. Ref continued to trim some bush-type things to her liking. Then she and The Kid went down to Denny's Gun Shop to rent a couple of movies (small town Montana, remember . . .). When they got back, I cleaned up the kitchen while Mrs. Ref took my place on the couch where she remains at the moment.

And now, friends, I must go do my official Man Of The House duty and find some leftovers to eat. Maybe another chili dog . . .

QUOTA SYSTEMS?

I got a call from the nursing home this morning. "Reverend Ref, Kay asked us to call you about her father. He's in the last stages and she wanted you to see him."

So I donned my shirt and collar (today being my day off), and hitched a ride to the nursing home with Mrs. Ref. Dad was not doing well at all. Major liver failure and skin about the color of that little yellow AIM icon dude on your computer screen.

He was still relatively coherent and acknowledged my presence, but didn't really care to have me there. Did what I could, helped make him a little more comfortable, etc. etc. Just about then, a relative walks in.

"Hi, I'm Craig. How's he doing?"

"Not so well. Uncomfortable, difficulty breathing -- but he does appear to be coherent."

"Has he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior?"

Um . . . What???? Where did this come from? I wanted to say, "Why? Do you need to baptize him to meet your monthly quota?"

I mean, the guy's dying for heaven's sake, and your more interested in whether or not he's made a personal confession of faith? Give me a break.

I looked at him and said, "That's between him and God, and I don't know the answer to that."

FIELD DAY

Do you remember Field Day at school? Did you have Field Day?? I experienced several Field Days in several schools during my elementary career. Things like the 50 yard dash, the 1/4 mile run, three-legged races, sack races and tug-of-war ruled the day.

Field Day in SW Montana is . . . . different.

The Kid told us about seeing demonstrations and learning activities on wetlands, forest fire fighting, and rock/mineral hunting. Mrs. Ref laughed at this, because her experience of Field Day was pretty much like mine.

The Kid, a pre-teen and easily offended, said, "Don't laugh! It's not funny!"

Um . . . yes it was. But I'm glad she had a good time, learned some stuff, and came back with some kind of pretty rock -- or mineral -- or crystal -- or something that she found fascinating.

So, what does Field Day mean for you?

Easter 7A

I remember the good ol’ days. Crime was lower. Trust was higher. Music was better. Mom stayed home and dad was home by 5:30. Do you remember those days? And sometimes, don’t you want to say, "I wish we could go back"?

I think that that is what is happening today in the second half of Luke’s gospel, otherwise known as Acts. The disciples ask Jesus, "Is this the time you will restore Israel?" They want to go back. They want to go back to the good ol’ days of King David. They want to go back to the time when God fought for Israel. They want to go back to when Israel was a respected and independent nation.

And you know what? I want to go back to when I was five again.

Looking back to the good ol’ days can be a fun bit of nostalgia, think "Happy Days" for instance. Sometimes though, the problem with looking back is that we get stuck there. We end up "Living in the Past," as Jethro Tull once sang, or as Bruce Springsteen sang, continually reliving our "Glory Days." Those days gone by, to us, have become some sort of Camelot or Xanadu, a place where all was and is right with the world. But we often forget the trials and tribulations that went along with those times.

What we really want, I think, is to give up our responsibility. We want to live in the glory. We want to continually be provided for. We want the king to take care of everything. But that’s not the way it works.

This lesson from Acts isn’t about looking back, it’s about moving forward. The Ascension of Jesus is that seminal moment between his time on earth and our time as apostles. The time when Jesus’ earthly ministry has come to an end, and the time when our earthly ministry begins.

The disciples ask, "Are you going to restore . . ." Jesus, in effect, says, "No, I have other things in mind. From now on, you will move forward. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

In other words, it’s okay to remember the good ol’ days, but don’t live there. Live in the present and tell people how you experienced Jesus and how that experience is relevant to today. Start in your local community. That will expand to your country. And it will expand to include foreigners and outsiders and those who you think are different or unworthy.

Now, obviously, we can’t do it all – we can’t go everywhere and proclaim the gospel. However, the story can. What we do here will have a ripple effect that we may not even begin to comprehend. This story and how we live it out will be seen by others in this town. Which may generate interest which may then be carried to the ends of the earth.

The disciples have a new edict – go forward and proclaim the Good News. And then Jesus ascended to heaven. And then . . . And then there was a little pause while they stood staring up into the sky. Unbelief? Disbelief? Complete amazement? We’ll never know, but probably all of the above.

And while they were staring up into the sky, two men in white robes came and said, "Why are you staring into heaven?" I think that this is significant.

Think back to Luke’s gospel when Mary went to the tomb. Do you remember who she saw? Two men dressed in white. And do you remember what they told her? "Why do you look for the living among the dead?"

"Why do you look for the living among the dead?
"Why are you staring into heaven?"

It’s the same question. Things are moving forward, God is doing a new thing – why are you just standing here? There is too much to do in this world. There are hungry to feed, homeless to shelter, lost to be found, and the list goes on and on. And at the very least, there are people who need to hear the story.

Coming to church is all fine and dandy, as well as necessary, don’t get me wrong, but we need to spend less time staring up to heaven and more time working and struggling with this thing we call Christianity. We need to not live in the past, but remember the past as a way to inform our present and future. The Holy Spirit will be upon us in a few days; are you ready to move forward?

BEST OF TIMES

I was torn as to which Styx song I would use as the title of this post. "Fanfare for the Common Man," "Born for Adventure," "Great Expectations," and "Quick is the Beat of My Heart" were all contenders. But then, so was Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water."

I finally decided on "Best of Times," because last night was certainly one of those. I attended the ordination to the priesthood of John, the Deacon-in-Charge of the Pintler Group -- Anaconda, Deer Lodge and Philipsburg. The service was held in Anaconda at St. Mark's. And for those of you who are wondering: yes, the school nickname is The Copperheads. Anyway . . .

The service was held at 7 pm, and I saw that rehearsal would be at 4 pm. Being a clergy-type myself (not to mention a little OCD), I thought it would be a good idea for me to be there at 4. Turns out -- I didn't really need to be there. But it worked out rather well.

John had some last minute things that he needed done during the service, and since I was there, I was asked to help out. I became the official "clergy herder," which could have been a problem (since this is often like herding cats), but it worked out okay. I was also in charge of the declaration that the ordinand signs; as in, take care of this, don't lose it, and make sure it gets back to the right person. Then I was put in charge of delivering the gifts to the bishop to present to the ordinand. This entailed handing the oil stock to the bishop so he could sign the cross on John's hands, giving the bishop the rope-cord to bind John's hands, as well as giving the bishop the Bible, chalice and paten that were then presented to John.

The service was great. His wife made his chasuble, stole and maniple. They were gorgeous, and looked like something that came from the Whipple catalog (I can't find a link, but trust me -- this is good stuff). She also writes icons, and had two icons on the altar that were blessed by the bishop. There were smells and bells and an ordination litany that included the saints from Mary down to the Doctors of the Church. His preacher was one of his classmates from Nashotah House. Her name is Heidi.

Yes, you heard right -- SHE graduated from NH. The rumor is that her bishop sent her to NH because she's an ex-Marine (seven years in the USMC), and if anyone could survive that environment, she could. I first met her when SWTS went up to NH for the football game. I told her I was the ref for that and then she remembered me. We had a good chat talking about being a new priest in a small parish, and how she was terribly nervous about delivering an ordination sermon. She did a great job.

Afterwards, we went to the reception at the Anaconda Country Club. (Hey! None of that. Anaconda, I will have you know, has a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus). That was a good time. I got to chat with several people from the Pintler Cluster that were on the search committee when I came out and interviewed. They are nice people and genuinely happy that I'm doing well where I am, and they are happy to have John.

I left the party at 10, which put me home at 11:30. It was a good drive back. Weather was good, saw a few deer on the other side of the road, and drove passed a few places that looked good for a picnic. All in all, it was a good drive, only hard in spots, and I managed to stay awake.

It was, in its own way, The Best of Times. And now, I'm not the newest priest in the diocese.

I READ THE NEWS TODAY, OH BOY . . . .

The Diocese of Montana has a website, and it is becoming more useful all the time. One of the things that the Diocese did was to eliminate a paper production of church news (due to cost) and put everything on their website. The paper used to be called The Evangel. Someone had a brilliant idea, and it is now called The e-Vangel (get it???).

Anyway . . . . You would know about the website if you've ever actually perused all of my links over there on the right. Why am I going on about this? Because Christ Church in Sheridan has made the front page of The e-Vangel. I believe that my little church is the first one to be featured here. The photo isn't great, but you'll get a good idea of what it looks like if you visit. So, go to the diocesan website and click on e-Vangel. You'll need Adobe Acrobat to read it.

Oh, and by the way, that pickup truck on the right side of the picture is NOT mine.

And now I'm off to Anaconda for an ordination; which, I believe, you might also be able to read about somewhere on the diocesan website.

Peace.

SECRETS

I came across this site while perusing Peripatetic Polar Bear. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I put it on my blogroll anyway. It shows all kinds of human conditions. Some of which are funny, some of which almost made me cry, and some of which I found wondering if I had sent one in while not looking. At the very least, it might make you think.

"I WAS ONLY KIDDING . . ."

I'm a generally nice guy. Fairly relaxed and easy-going (or, as relaxed as a Type A, OCD personality can get). I try not to get too excited about anything -- shoot for that whole "even keel" thing. And I also try not to have my overall leadership be based on position power. However, there are times . . .

I had a meeting with Dave yesterday. He is the visiting musician that is playing for the Opera House this summer, and he wandered into church on Sunday. He offered to play the organ on the days when my "regular" organist isn't there. I say "regular" because he plays every 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays. We discussed the liturgy and some other aspects of the church in general, and he's all set to start this Sunday. Maybe having music every Sunday will draw some people in, who knows.

Anyway, last Sunday (when Dave first showed up), I offered to let him play the organ. He spent some time with Bob playing after service. It was then during coffee hour that we originally discussed Dave playing. Just about then, Bob pipes up, "Oh no -- I won't allow you to let anyone play that's better than I am; and he is most certainly better than me."

I turned and looked at him and said, very calmly and politely, "Bob, do I need to play my trump card?"

"What trump card?"

"I'm the Vicar."

Just about then, another parishioner said, "Don't go there Bob."

"Oh -- well, I was only kidding."

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

EASTER 6A

No sermon today. For those of you following this blog (yeah, riiight), you'll remember that a member of the Gideons dropped by the office about 3 or 4 weeks ago and wanted to know if I would allow him to speak to the congregation. Looking at my calendar, it seemed that the week before May 1 would provide precious little sermon-writing time, so I signed him up for then.

I was right. Last week was very busy and it turned out that that was a good call. He was, shall we say, less than dynamic, but we all survived. My two parishes also managed to collect about $150 for the Gideons, not a bad showing at all.

The Kid has a new friend. Actually, they've been working on becoming friends for several months. Now we have instances where he will come over after school, stay for dinner, play catch, etc etc etc. This isn't "boyfriend" material at the moment (thank God). I am, however, thrilled that she has found a good friend in Sheridan, something she was lacking until now.

Why bring that up? Because said friend showed up at church yesterday. All by himself. Wow. I'm not sure I would've gone to a strange church on my own for a friend at that age. He's a good kid. I asked my Kid if she invited him to come back next week. She told me she'd do that at school. And then, in a moment that made my head swell two sizes too big, she said, "I need to tell him that he has to come back to hear my dad preach, because you're really good."

How about that? High praise for the preacher from his pre-teen daughter.

Something else exciting happened yesterday also. Actually two somethings. First, for the first time since I've been here, VC had a higher attendance than Sheridan. We were missing two families at Sheridan, and everyone (including the busy little Gideon) showed up at VC. Not a bad day in the Ruby Valley.

Second, a new guy showed up in VC. Turns out that he is an organist and will be playing the contraption (you really have to see this thing) at the Opera House this summer. He's interested in playing the organ for Sunday services on the days when my regular organist doesn't play. We have a meeting tomorrow to discuss that possibility. Way Cool!! Regular music at VC all summer long. We might even draw people in with that -- who knows.

And finally, there's the play. Um . . . well . . . yeah. Everything will come together by Dress Rehearsal. I'm positive. Really, I am. Honest.