"THE CLOUDS ARE REALLY CLOSE"

No, this isn't some punchline to a forgotten Farside cartoon, but rather a comment made by The Kid's friend who came back to Montana with us from our vacation in Chicago.

Mrs. Ref asked her what she thought about Montana and she gave the above answer. "They make shadows on the ground -- wow."

Now that's something I've never noticed before. I mean, I've seen clouds shadows and stuff, but I've never thought about them being "close" before. Maybe, as Mrs. Ref pointed out, when you're 5200 feet up in the air they do seem closer. Who knows?

It's funny what you notice when you are somewhere new.

SAY WHAT???

Like every other parish, we are trying to draw people into our midst. The first point of our mission statement is to "Invite." Like my last sermon pointed out, we aren't in the business of clubbing people over the head and dragging them into the nave by their hair. We are working at inviting people to join us. And I'm working at changing the mindset of my parishioners that it is their job to do the inviting.

It's a slow process.

But I also know that I have some share in that business of inviting. With that in mind, I hijacked a term I heard in Chicago -- Theology on Tap. In Chicago, this was a specific church program that took place in various bars throughout the city. Out here, it just means that I go hang out in the various bars in Sheridan and Virginia City talking with whomever will talk. Sometimes about church, sometimes about fishing, sometimes about cribbage and sometimes about snake hunting. The point is (I think and I hope) that people will see me willing to be in places not normally associated with clergy, and that might get some of them into church, at least for curiosity's sake.

And now, St. Paul's has decided that we want to try a Thursday night Eucharist. This was mainly done for the parishioners who have shops in Virginia City and need to be open on Sundays so that they can enjoy the finer things in life -- like food. The thought was that an evening service after most places have closed would be a way to include my regular parishioners as well as maybe draw in some new people.

I was asked last night at the vestry meeting how I envisioned this service. "This will not be a full-fledged Sunday service. It'll be low key and I'll draw the readings and a short homily from Lesser Feasts and Fasts."

Have I mentioned that even the majority of the vestry members aren't fully aware of the ins-and-outs of the Episcopal Church? "The what?"

I explained LFF and how that would work into the Thursday night Eucharist. And then, in my own wacked out style, I mentioned that this service would highlight "the Dude or Dudette of the day."

So now I give you "Thursday Night Dude/Dudette of the Day at St. Paul's."

The Vicar has a screw loose somewhere.

Sermon
4 Pentecost
Proper 6 A

The beginning of today’s gospel passage, you may recall, was read at my ordination. My friend and NT professor preached at that service and said something to the effect of, "Todd is one of the few who are called to labor in the role of priest."

That same passage was read just over a week ago as SWTS celebrated its 147th commencement. I know most of the people in that class, and some of them have become very close and dear friends. Although I am not part of that class, they are part of my life, and the tears shed were only slightly fewer than a year ago at this time.

They also were admonished to remember that their ranks are few but the harvest is plentiful. They too are being called to labor as priests in a world of great potential, but limited results.
My classmates, my friends, 145 other graduating classes from SWTS, along with others from VTS, General, Nashotah House, Sewanee, CDSP and others are the few of the few. Note, however, that we are not the best of the best, but the few of the few. And this gets back to the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter of two weeks ago when he said that priests are no better or worse than anyone else, and that we are all called to live out our baptismal covenant.

All of us here have been called by God in some capacity. We all have gifts and talents to use in building up the body. For some of us, we are crystal clear as to what that gift is; others may need to spend some time discerning what that gift is. And God will use that gift for the benefit of the harvest.

We are all called. We are all invited. We are all sent. Today’s gospel bears that out. Jesus called the 12 disciples and invited them to participate in his ministry. That group included Peter, the Rock, Judas, the betrayer, and everyone in-between.

All of us who proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior, all who claim to be Christians, have a job to do. What that particular job is, I can’t tell you. But I can tell you that the ultimate goal is to bring in the harvest. That harvest is the people of the world, and the laborers are you and me.

All of this is pretty basic stuff. What’s important here is that we all recognize that we have a share in the labor. It’s not just the bishop, or me, or Jan, or the people who have maintained this place through the lean years. It’s everybody. All of us need to participate in the labor to which God has called us.

But there’s another important point here that may get overlooked, and that is the issue of invitation and place. The disciples are instructed to go from town to town proclaiming the good news. But notice that the onus of acceptance is on the people of the town. "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town."

Jesus is asking us to proclaim the good news and invite other people into the fellowship of the kingdom. We invite people to join us because we know there is a better way than the popular myths of the world. People will rarely join something to which they haven’t been invited; and isn’t it nice to be in a place where people want you?

But remember, we invite others to join us; we don’t kidnap or coerce.

The second part of this point is place. As in, it is not our place to determine the consequences of those who refuse to listen. As in, it is not our place to judge people for ignoring the invitation. As I look around at what’s going on in our society, it seems to me that there is a growing number of fundamental groups who are, for lack of a better term, hell-bent on shaping both this country and Christianity in their image. They have a specific, tightly defined, black and white view of the way things should be, and if you disagree or choose not to follow their path, then you are treated and judged as the scourge of Christianity.

It is not our place to judge others on their own faith walk; that is God’s job.

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. But this isn’t like any harvest that you’ve seen before. It’s not a matter of simply gathering up the fruit or the grain and placing it in storage. Instead, we need to focus our efforts on inviting people into our midst. And we are the laborers charged with making that happen.

Make no mistake about it, though, this is hard work. It’s hard work because not everybody you meet will believe you. It’s hard work because some people need more than one invitation. It’s hard work because not everybody sees things exactly like you see them. It’s hard work because you have to be willing to accept people where they are. It’s hard work because reaping this harvest is based on love.

It’s easy to threaten, and coerce, and judge, and belittle, and use tightly defined rules, and play to people’s emotions. Love, however, takes a lot of work; just ask anyone who’s been married for awhile.

Our challenge then is to not only be counted among the few laborers, but to work in that harvest with love, compassion and acceptance while letting God determine who’s in and who’s out.

TAG??

Oh man -- I hate this stuff. But, since I had a nice chat with Susie, I'll play along. So apparently there's this blog game thing about making lists and then forcing other people to list their favorites. This particular one involves books. So, here goes:

How many books do you own? All of them.

What is the last book you bought? Um ..... I bought a new BCP for The Kid while in Chicago.

What is the last book you read? To be honest, I haven't actually read an entire book cover to cover since ..... geez ..... since probably 1996. That was the year I went back to school with the intention of ending up in seminary. Three degrees and seven years later, I'm not the least bit interested in reading at the moment. Although, Mrs. Ref currently has me working on "Pope Joan."

Name five books that mean alot:
How about The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Book of Common Prayer.

Okay, so I cheated. Sue me. Oh, and I won't bother tagging people since everyone I probably know has already seen and done this. However, if you happen to be passing through, feel free to play.

HOMEWARD BOUND

Tonight is our last night in Chicago-land (for this trip anyway). We are all saying, "Thanks be to God." There is plenty in this place that I do not, nor will not miss.

The vast swarm of humanity; people who think stop lights, speed limits and turn signals are merely suggested activities; humidity; flat; non-friendly eye contact. I could go on, but that's enough.

However, there is plenty in this place that I will miss, or miss all over again. Heather and her go-get-em style; Susie and her laughing smile; Liz and her hospitality; David and his just-left-of-dry streak of humor; Tripp and Trish and their companionship; Ann and her ability to play mother to The Kid; faculty and staff at SWTS and their desire and curiosity; Jane and Bruce for allowing us to slow down for a minute; and all of the Juniors-who-have-become-Seniors almost overnight and the realization that I have ties to more of them than I thought.

This has been a very good vacation. It's too bad I have to part company with you again, but I'm not sad about getting back to my mountains.

And, above all, I'm glad to have had this experience and I'm only sorry it didn't last longer. Thank you for sharing yourself.

BACK TO CHICAGO

Have I mentioned that this trip has been lots of fun? If not, I have been remiss . . . this trip has been lots of fun.

Beginning with our arrival Tuesday night and notifying the motherly type that we all arrived in one piece; to Wednesday morning seeing old friends on campus, hearing Rev. Jane preach (nicely done), having lunch with Mrs. Ref's former co-workers and spending the evening with Rev. Heather;

to Thursday when Mrs. Ref roamed around with our host, me taking The Kid to see her former school, teachers and friends (the kids were shocked -- SHOCKED!! -- to learn that our home town only has 100 more people in it than the middle school they will attend next year . . . LOL), hanging out and watch the seniors rehearse graduation, to dinner with a lovely friend, to conversation and the chance to be silly and serious all at the same time;

to Friday with the actual graduation, reasurring words spoken and heard, the reception, the bbq in Frank & AKMA's back yard, the movie "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" with my wife, our hostess, The Kid and The Kid's friend (making me the only male in that group and, as it turns out, one of only two men in the entire theater);

to Saturday when Mrs. Ref and our hostess went shopping at an Outlet Mall (I'm sure there's a litany for that somewhere, but I only know the response right now, "Lord have mercy"), a little sermon work, laundry, and dinner with Tripp and Trish;

to today with church on the beach (Sandy Mass) and at the building itself as a former member of St. Augustine's, Wilmette, visiting with more old friends and taking Mrs. Ref down to SWTS to meet up with a group of scrapbooking fiends ("Lord have mercy").

Yes, it has been a wunderbar vacation so far. Obviously, the highlight has been seeing old friends, and that's as it should be; however, the Honest to God Truth is that I am SO glad to be out of this area in general and town in particular. It's been hot and humid and muggy and traffic and . . . . Well, I thank God every day that I now call SW Montana home.

But I have enjoyed myself immensely. And now it is time to wake up Mrs. Ref from her nap so she can go scrapbooking -- Lord Have Mercy.

"Way down there in Chicago . . . "

We made it to Chicago; well, Evanston and Wilmette to be exact. I had told the non-morning members of my household that we were leaving at 6 am Monday morning. We left at 6:15. I'm very proud of them for the effort.

From Sheridan we drove to Mitchell, SD. With rest stops and lunch and dinner stops, we rolled into Mitchell just after 10 pm local time. For the math impaired, that's about 15 hours on the road. We managed to leave Mitchell about 7:30 local time, and got to our destination just before 7 pm. It's a two day trip made easier with two drivers; but, honestly, I recommend taking three days to enjoy it.

So far, we have managed to hook up with almost all of our old friends from the seminary days. The only people we haven't seen are many of those in my graduating class who are either a) not coming back for graduation, or b) actually have jobs and will be at the ceremony today.

Yesterday, Mrs. Ref and Mark went into downtown Chicago and had a great time from the sounds of it. I hung out at SWTS and caught up with some old professors (or maybe I should say "former" professors), then hung out at St. Luke's while the seniors rehearsed the service. After that, Rev. Jane and I went to dinner at Dave's Italian Kitchen (a place she had never been to in her time here, so this was a must). After that, we did dessert that involved chocolate and then headed back to SWTS for some conversation with old friends and new friends.

It was a good night.

Today is the commencement. I smell breakfast as I'm typing this, so I'm about to close out. We'll head down to commencement in about an hour, pick up the aforementioned Mark, do the service and see friends end this phase of their adventure to the priesthood. The reception will follow, and that will be a good time, I'm sure. Hopefully it won't rain on us.

Saturday I'm on my own, which means a laundry day. Sunday is back at our old parish of St. A's to see people there, then dinner with another SWTS alum. Monday and Tuesday will be spent in Indiana with Rev. Jane and her family. Wednesday back up in Chicago for the final night. Thursday we leave bookoo early again, with The Kid and A Friend in tow for home. We should hit home Friday evening.

Then it's time to recoup and get back into the swing of things. It's been an amazing trip so far, and I hope it continues to be so.

Peace.