Yr. A, Wk. 32: New Beginnings and Old Dishes

Worship and Check-in
Christine found for all of us some scriptures with themes of spring or new beginnings, and then composed or adapted prayers that went with each one, tailored to our personalities. She asked us about any new beginnings in our lives: The end of a semester is also a much-desired new beginning... starting a bee colony ... a new battery for the car ... an improvement in mood now that diabetes has been diagnosed and treated.

Christine offers the photograph of clematis from her garden to go with her theme.

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: Pete.

Discussion of the Readings
Variously, we were "Delighted" by aspects of the readings. Christine got more deeply involved with the readings of My Neighbor's Faith than she'd expected. Marilyn found beauty and reassurance in passages about how we all feel like exiles on this earth -- life is supposed to be hard, and we can follow Christ through it, especially by listening. Nuno was delighted to notice puns on the name "Peter" in many stone-and-rock references. Scott was delighted that Collins, after a survey of scholarly wrangling over the political intentions behind the book of Ruth, dismissed a lot of it by observing that they don't do justice to the "gentleness" of the story. He was also delighted by the theme of providence in Esther, e.g. the idea that Esther, in a difficult position, was the right person in the right place to save her people.

Susan was bothered and challenged by the reactions of Protestant and Catholic churches to their diminished authority beginning with the Englightenment: both retreat into individualistic religion and a defiant doubling down on institutional authority. Susan noted that this was also the start of a scientific approach to Biblical scholarship. Scott (and Collins) were bothered by the Jews' slaughter of their enemies at the end of Esther's story. Christine was appalled to read how Canadian institutions beat indigenous culture out of students in recent decades. Nuno confessed that an overused passage about a beast roaring for its prey got a new meaning when he was out west hearing a cougar howling as it prowled around his cabin.

Theological Reflection
Marilyn brought photos of two serving dishes from two centuries of her family. After we admired the designs, we focused on what those plates said about hospitality. They do more than just serve the food, and the food is more than just nourishment. We were reminded of the vessels used in communion, and many meals in the Bible, some with bounty at the table, some with just a morsel or two that somehow satisfies.

Nuno offered to write a collect from the notes we made during our discussion. Here it is:

Collect for HospitalityLord of Hosts, who we sit before united at your heavenly banquet table, may we be imitators of your self-giving love, considering the nourishment of others rather than ourselves, in your service holding back no good thing, that all may partake in your bountiful providence. Amen.

For Next Week
Marilyn will lead worship; Christine will bring a source for the TR.

Yr. A, Wk. 31: Wisdom and Other Gifts

Worship and Check-in
Susan brought worship from the Northumbrian community. Observing that she was glad to see a lot of people at the Easter service whom we haven't seen in a long time, she asked us to share our impressions of Easter. Pete, with his sore back, stayed home to cook the dinner was grateful for the family time. Marilyn had to zig-zag across the apse because she participated in every aspect of the service, and loved it. Christine was glad that she and her father were able to take food to her mom in the library. Nuno really enjoyed ushering for such an abundant congregation.

We are praying for members who have had to endure physical and emotional pain this past week, and for some family stress over homework.

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings
We all read a short essay in the RRG about gifts. What's "mission" for the church is "gifts" for individuals. Our personal comments all included surprise and joy at discovering the intersection of our (secular) gifts with the Church's mission.

The Epistle of James dovetailed nicely with the first year readings in wisdom literature. Here are some of our observations:

• Do not listen to the spirits not from God ...James seems to know a lot about temptation from within… not from God…
• In fact, not a whole lot of Israel God or story in Proverbs or Ecclesiastes – controversy about letting these books in
• The tongue is a restless evil – tongue of fire. Compare tongues of flame at Pentecost – quite different
• “Proverbs” seems common sense, where James is talking of God-given wisdom
• Being “worldly” is NOT a good thing in James, compared to our culture’s idea of worldly sophistication Lots of "secular" imagery in James -- we decided to call it imagery from God’s creation
• James is kind of mystical text – it has more levels. Powell tells us about 12 tribes having double meaning – Christians as the tribes in metaphor.

Scott recommended the new translation of Job by Hebrew philologist Edward Greenstein. Reading it, Scott got a stronger sense of Job's personal development over the course of the book. For instance, Job develops empathy for his tormentors: "I'd say the same things if I were in your place."

There was an important thread of the conversation that had to do with how much or how little we do to help our communities. Christine told about “Neighbor’s Faith” experience she read by a young woman who was so emotional about her own faith experience, but closed-minded (at first) to have her Christian experienced compared to a Muslim woman's. Nuno talked about St. James’s property that the Zone is using so well. Question: "Do I affect my community much? I don’t feel like I do." We discussed.

We discussed another line of James that stands out: Faith without works is dead. When Powell helps us to see that Paul and James have different meanings of faith, their “faith v works” debate goes away. Right faith is really more like right relation with God and neighbor as reflection of Christ in the world, with love, by love, through love.

Theological Reflection
Nuno shared with us some clips from a Disney movie he has seen many times recently, Encanto. In the story, Mirabelle is the one member of her extended family who does not have a supernatural gift. When crisis hits, Mirabelle emerges as the one person who can pull all the others together.

We naturally focused on this cultural example of the "gifts" we've been reading about in Scripture and essays. Mirabelle's gift was variously described as "glue" and a "basket."

We thought of people in Scripture who appeared to be less exalted than others, who had a gift for pulling people together: Paul, Jesus, Moses, David, Joseph. When we put their stories in dialogue with Encanto, these figures in Scripture all put their confidence in God when they may have lacked confidence in themselves; the Disney movie takes God out of the picture and tells us to believe in ourselves. [Could we reconcile those by identifying the best parts of ourselves as expressions of God's working in us?]

Insights included Marilyn's thought that gifts show most "beautifully" in times of difficulty. Marilyn also observed that time is a gift when we give it to others (e.g., sitting with patient). Christine observed that the character Mirabelle seems to be able to recognize the gifts in others -- as Jesus did when he gathered his disciples from among society's lowest and least popular, and when he told stories about those despised by Judean men of his time. Nuno observed (from the rest of the movie) that gifts can become a handicap, a distraction from what's important. Mirabelle is a kind of "medium," both in the sense of someone who channels other spirits and in the artistic sense of a means by which others express themselves.

Scott drew on our discussion and Ephesians 4 to create a collect:

Collect for the Use of GiftsGiver of all good gifts, you lifted up your humble servants Moses and David to draw your people together; teach us we may use our own gifts to build up our church and bring your love to our larger communities, through Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Amen.

For Next Week
Christine will lead worship. Marilyn will provide a source for our theological reflection.

Link to EfM Tuition and Textbook info for 2022-2023

Video about EfM at St. James Episcopal Church, Marietta

At the end of last year, participants recorded this video about what the program has meant to them. We are accepting applications for 2022-2023. Here's a link to the video. If you've already participated in EfM, consider sharing this with your favorite social media (links below).

Yr. A, Wk. 30: "Mission, Vocation, and Gifts"

This week, we're reading a short essay in the Reading and Reflection Guide (RRG) by John De Beer.

We'll meet asynchronously here during Holy Week by adding comments to this posting.

In your comment, please address two questions:

1. What jumped out at you from the essay as something you needed to hear, or that you needed to be reminded of? Why?

2. There's a great quotation from Frederick Buechner, a favorite of Susan and me both: "The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep need meet" (RRG p. 175). What is that place for you? Share as much as you are comfortable doing. It's okay to have no idea.

We'll do the readings for Wk. 31 and meet again next Tuesday. Susan's doing worship; Nuno's bringing a source for the TR. [For more on Buechner, see My Favorite Fiction or a much shorter article, Conversations with the Dead.]

[Images by Susan - stages of a work-in-progress.]

Yr. A, Wk. 29: Ministry in the Star Wars Universe

Worship and Check-in
With Maundy Thursday coming up next week, Scott's worship included readings from Exodus and 1 Corinthians about the institution of Passover and Eucharist. The prayers were taken from this week's interlude book. We shared causes for celebration: working in the dirt again (and seeing a payoff from last year's gardening)... a beloved animal's recovery... parents' weekend at the university, coming up... rewarding advisory sessions with students... the celebration of an old friend's life... seeing a connection between loved ones very young and very old.

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of The Church Cracked Open, Pt. II
Comments on the first part of the book were so thoughtful and interconnected! This time, we focused on one question, how might the EfM program relate to the ideas in this book?

Pete agreed that the church needs shaking up but found not much encouragement. Christine suggested that EfM is doing a good job of opening eyes and minds, and she shared some experiences she had working in the inner city: "Spellers' idea to lay your privilege at your feet" was "tantalyzing." Marilyn and Nuno each spoke of personal connections to the book.

Nuno commented that Spellers' survey of our church's white supremacist/colonialist history was very different from his own experience of the church in recent times. He was encouraged by the dialogue that the book represents. Scott echoed him. [See Scott's blogpost Episcopalians and Race: One Slice of a Complex Story.]

In the end, Pete felt that the human tendency to find our identity in exclusive groups will continue to be a huge obstacle to reconciliation. We agreed to keep thinking about this as we do our readings this last unit of Yr. A.

Theological Reflection
Scott offered a slide show of modern cultural icons, i.e., celebrities and characters whom we all "know" independently of any particular movie, episode, or event. We chose to focus on the Star Wars universe.

When we put this cultural source in dialogue with our tradition, we heard these thoughts: Scripture, too makes a big deal of genealogy and a reiteration of patterns... For other cultural relations, think of Westerns... The heroes are the outsiders who invert the typical power structure… similar to the Gospel… (Jesus, desert, small town).

We had these insights and positions:

• There’s a lightness in the STAR WARS stories that could be brought into our imagining of Scriptures
• I can think of the Force as an interconnecting tissue – and love is also that, and we can interact with it, without having to be in academy… That force can turn inward to exclusion of others and be warped, but the love itself is accessible to everyone. We exist in it, like air.
• The Gospel itself is a “force” that can be used in good ways and bad ways. – Pete (can be warped, turned self-centered)

Finally, we considered which character represents the personal attributes that we bring to our own ministry. We said:

• The Mandalorian, a tough mercenary, a bit of a rebel, who yet takes care of baby Yoda
• R2D2 and C3PO as a duo: one easygoing and capable, the other anxious but eager to help
• Chewbacca, loud, big, hard to understand, "but I aspire to be Obi-Wan!"
• Yoda for wisdom, Han for courage to help others find freedom
• Leia, who cuts through the arguments to make a decision
• Obi-Wan, because "I've learned to close my eyes and let the Force" do its thing -- at least sometimes

For Next Week
I will post a short blog for Week 30, and we'll all add a comment to the short essay that introduces the last unit in the RRG. Check the blog closer to Tuesday. This will be our meeting.

For the week following that, we'll be doing the readings for wk. 31. Susan will lead worship, and Nuno will bring a source for the TR.