Back to Reality - but not before a short side trip down memory lane

Well, and it was "hit the ground running" today.

Tonight is the first chance I've had to put the events of the last two weeks into perspective. Images are still emerging and thoughts are coming together.

I'll be writing more on this later, no doubt. Right now, I'm enjoying the memory of the one morning I played 'hookie' and went to The Getty in LA with two friends who were visiting from NY.

It was wonderful. What an amazing place!

There was a sacredness about it - the architecture, the reverence for the creative art in a variety of forms: sculpture, bronze, paint, landscape.

It was one way to hallow the gift of creativity and imagination that has its source in The Holy One.

It was just the right antidote to the craziness of the schedule of General Convention. But, we had no idea of the Balm in The City of Angels that was awaiting us.

This is the Roman Catholic Cathedral in LA. Interestingly enough, it's one of the top five tourist attractions in this amazing city.

I'm no fan of modern architecture, but this one had so much integrity, it was astounding. It is not hyperbole to say that I was awed.

Clearly, this is a holy, sacred place.

The above is a picture of the walk-in baptistry which was near the narthex.

There is a beautiful progression of a tapestry of saints - ancient and modern - which the artist created from photographs of 'real' people.

You can see the altar in the distance.

All around the walls were these angel sconces - all in various poses and with different facial expressions.

Some were dancing. Others were frowning. One was in a full belly-laugh. (The picture I took of it was too blurry to reproduce.)

I LOVED them - especially the one in full belly-laugh. I even went to the Gift Shop, specifically looking for him. Alas, none were on sale.

This is the Paschal Candle in front of the baptistry, with a picture on the back wall of Jesus being baptized.

I found it a very compelling rendition.

This is a reproduction which hung in one of the alcoves of the church. I sat before it and had a lovely meditation.

The altar is also very compelling. I couldn't get the shot I wanted - the one from the altar straight back to the baptistry. It was breathtaking to see the baptismal font and the picture of John the Baptist and Jesus.

Interestingly enough, there was no outward and visible sign of the Incarnation - no manger scene. Not even a statue of Blessed Mary. Not in the sanctuary, anyway.

I know. I know. It was a Roman Catholic Cathedral. Why didn't I go to "our" Cathedral? Because I wanted to see THIS Cathedral, is why.

Never mind. It was a wonderful couple of hours away from the church as institution to visit a sacred space for art and the church as holy space.

It's one memory I'll treasure whenever I remember the 'blur' of exhaustion and politics that was General Convention 2009.

". . .and he had compassion on them . . ."

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Pentecost VIII – July 18, 2009
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul, Chatham
(the Rev’d Dr.) Elizabeth Kaeton, rector and pastor

It is so good to be home.

Having slept in my own bed.

Eating sensible meals at sensible hours.

Being back again with those who know me well and love me still, including furry, four legged creatures whose only requirement is that I return their unconditional love.

I am realizing, more acutely now more than ever, that they, as lesser creatures of God, do that far better at unconditional love than the supposed higher, more intelligent life forms of God’s creation.

For those of you who may not know, for the past two weeks, I have been attending the triennial legislative gathering of the institutional Episcopal Church known as General Convention.

On any given day, there were 5 – 7,000 people here, including over 800 deputies, more than 200 bishops and, as Jonah once said of the people of Tarshish, “many who do not know their right hand from their left.”

The days are long – beginning at 5:30 AM to start with the first legislative team meeting at 6:30, to be at legislative committee sessions or hearings at 7:30 AM, to be at the media briefings at 8:45, to be at the legislative sessions at 9:30, to be at the daily Eucharist at 11:30, followed by various presentations and caucuses, before the legislative sessions begin again at 2 PM and end at 6 PM.

But wait – there’s more!

The evenings were often filled with more hearings, more programs, more caucuses, lots of lobbying and activism and various debriefings.

Often, I would crawl into my bed at 11, eat a bowl of cold cereal – sometimes with the luxury of milk, sometimes not – and turn the lights off at midnight, to dream, perchance to sleep. (Jon Richardson’s schedule was not much different from my own. He knows only too well of what I speak.)

As my sainted grandmother would say, “Oh, the things we do for Jesus.”

Perhaps you won’t be surprised, then, to learn that I hear the words of Jesus, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while,” as a real ‘welcome home’ to this little church in the heart of suburbia.

And while Chatham is not exactly deserted, I am suddenly glad for the normally low attendance of the summer.

It might also not be surprising to learn that, of the various themes in this gospel passage, I am compelled by the image of Jesus, who, coming ashore from the boat he was in with his disciples, and, in the words of scripture, “saw a great crowd; and he had compassion.”

Please hear me clearly: for all of the foolishness of the institutional church, all the word games and political strategy, all the fleeting moments of glorious clarity and the magnificent messiness that is General Convention, it is, at its core, important, holy work.

And . .and. . .and . . .there was a moment in Anaheim where The Episcopal Church was never more magnificently messy, more gloriously clear, more important, relevant and holy as it embraced and embodied the compassion that is at the core of the mission of Christ Jesus which did not take place inside Convention Hall but took place because of what was happening within it.

Through the organizing efforts of the local chapter of the Episcopal Economic Justice Network, we joined together with local folks to stage a Prayer Vigil and March with those who carry luggage, clean the hotel rooms, do the laundry and serve meals at Disney World in Anaheim, “the happiest place on earth,” who have been working for the last year without a contract and under the threat of having their positions cut to part time or having the health insurance benefit of their full time jobs claim $500 per month of their frozen salaries.

The Episcopal Church was out in force on Harbor Blvd in Anaheim in our march toward the entrance of Disney World, which, for the first time in the history of this city, closed down one side of the street in order to accommodate the March.

We, as a church, had gotten out of the safety of our ‘boat’ and were in the streets and with the people. We were there to march for justice, but it was our compassion for the people which compelled us there.

The demonstration ended with the clergy anointing the workers for the work of justice. I took my place in the line of clergy who stood waiting for the workers to come forward.

That didn’t happen.

Interesting how our arrogance can inform our posture.

So I asked a sister priest, Altagracia Perez to anoint me, which she graciously did. In that sacramental moment, I found the courage and grace to move forward into the mass of people whose faces were filled with a mixture of faith and fear.

It didn’t take long before I was surrounded by people – men, women and children – who suddenly seemed to be everywhere: tugging at my blouse and pulling at my skirt. I cannot put into words what it felt like to have people call to me, "Madre, Madre. Unteme! Unteme!"

I could feel people pressing in on my back and sides. I hardly knew where to turn next, but I took my time, looking deep into the eyes of each person - adult women, men and little children - and anointed them, in my faulting Spanish: “En nombre de Dios, de Jesuchristo y de Espirito Santo”.

"Gracias a dios," they said softly, thankfully. Funny how that works. I anointed them, but I was the one who was blessed. And, transformed. And, will never be the same.

I was instantly overcome with a variety of emotions and feelings – humility, privilege, foolishness, and profound awe – all of which sprang from an increasing awareness that the source of these human feelings came from a deep well of the compassion of Christ.

I am convinced, now more than ever, that mission is not only the best form of evangelism, it is the incarnation of compassion.

Mission is what you do to bring an anointing of the spirit of Jesus to those who need it most. And compassion is the holy oil of the spirit of Jesus.

Compassion begins with being moved by our own sense of being ‘other’ to be present to our own sense of need for healing.

Compassion for those who are hungry or thirsty, those who are in danger of losing their jobs begins by first recognizing our own hunger and thirst, and being aware of the great fragility of life.

Compassion begins with a passion to be certain that whatever we have suffered – or, whatever suffering is unimaginable to us – is not experienced by others, even total strangers.

We hear St. Paul’s words this morning to the ancient church in Ephesis:

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the corner stone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.”

That is the vision which General Convention calls us to embrace. It is the difference between being an institution and the corporate Body of Christ.

There is an urgency, a ‘now’ to our mission. The world has never been more dark or broken or hurting a place. The compassion of Christ has never been more needed. Now, more than ever, we need to be Christ’s representatives, Christ’s anointing, Christ’s healing presence in the world.

Now, more than ever, we need to be fed from the sacraments so that we might be sacramental presence in the world.

That work requires us to move past our own zones of comfort – to get out of the safety of our own little boats of home or church or national conventions – and make our way onto the shores of discomfort to be among the people of God.

This is the important work of the church. The frenetic work schedule of General Convention is designed to make us think that THAT is the most important work.

It is not.

This church building is often confused with being the center of important work.

It is not.

For me, compassion that finds its way into mission and ministry is the only work of the church that brings us any authenticity with the central importance of One whose Sacred Body we claim to be.

The mystery of compassion is that, in the process of trying to change the world for the better, it is we who are changed and transformed and will never again be the same.

As my sainted grandmother would say, “Oh, the things we do for Jesus.”

And I would add, “Oh, the things He does for us.” Amen.

Money, money, money

Hands down, the winner in the category "The most stunning thing to have happened at GC" is the Budget.

Thirty seven positions (of 180, including 7 retirements that won't be filled), evaporated in front of our very eyes, leaving no support staff and no program development at the national level for mission, evangelism, stewardship, education, anti-racism training, etc., etc., etc.

Additionally, the face-to-face meetings of the CCAB's has been reduced to one per year, and the PHOD's expenses have been sharply reduced. (I was shocked to see how many deputies were shocked to discover that the PHOD is not a paid, salaried position.)

At least there was consistency between the message of the budget and the message of the rest of our resolutions.

Not only is the budget a descriptive statement of our (painful economic) reality, General Convention put things like discernment of vocation to the episcopacy and the 'design" of liturgical rites for marriage equality right along side mission, evangelism, stewardship, education, anti-racism training, etc., in the very same place: directly at the responsibility of the local level.

It will now be the challenge of churches, dioceses and, hopefully, provinces, to work collaboratively on those things which we previously had depended on national staff.

We will have to take the resources already developed by competent national staff and tailor them for our own uses. It will be a difficult challenge in many places, but one that I trust we will prove we are capable of meeting.

We will become, more and more, 'one, holy, catholic and apostolic church' that works best at the local level. Besides, the best evangelism I know is mission. And, as the old adage goes, "Money follows mission." I have never seen that to fail.

There was, however, a shocking inconsistency between the resolutions and the budget.

While many of the resolutions revealed a church which is focused on the prophetic nature of the Body of Christ, the budget revealed a decidedly different image: We are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a hierarchical institutional church.

Last November, as I sat with the budget committee and my staff to develop the 2009 budget, we were anticipating the worst from the financial crisis. We were all very concerned about the fact that, before the program year was out, someone might lose their job.

So, we crunched some numbers and came to a community decision as a staff to voluntarily freeze our salaries for 6 months, and reevaluate our situation once the pledges were all in and counted and we had a better handle on the financial forecast of our global economy. Three of us who were able offered to cut our salaries, if need be, so that everyone could keep their full or part time jobs.

Thankfully, none of that was necessary, but we did it as an exercise and demonstration of our theological understanding of the gospel imperatives of doing ministry together in community, in the Name of Jesus.

As deeply saddened as I am about all of the lost jobs at 815, I am even more distressed that the very ones who have called "the least of these" to "stand in a crucified place for a season" could not have exemplified the same standard for themselves.

We will survive. The next few years will be lean (and probably even mean), but we will survive. And, I suspect, thrive. When the currency of the world fails us (as it often does), Jesus gives us the currency of heaven: our intellect and our religious imagination.

The truly good news is that we are blessed with an abundance of both. Already, I am told that one deputy figured out that if each deputation gave $1,000 each (8 deputies = $125 each, or responsible for raising that amount from 'back home') we would have more than enough to restore a few line items (read: positions) to the budget.

Imagine what we'll be able to imagine when we're not sleep deprived and have actually had a few days of good nutrition to sustain and fuel the gray matter of our brains!

At times like these, I remember Parker Palmer's sermon on the Feeding of the Five Thousand - the only miracle story told in all four gospels. He said that gospel story was the first recorded evidence of community organizing.

Jesus actually got people to sit down - Palmer imagined in small circles - and got people to begin talking to one another. Jesus said to his disciples, who were anxious to know how they were going to get enough money to even go the local White Castle and get a 'Bag of Burgers' to feed everyone, "What do you have? Go and see."

The disciples pooled their resources and came up with five loaves and two fish. At that, Palmer imagines, seeing the leadership of the disciples, people began to open their travel bags. And then, wonder of wonder and miracles of miracles, Jesus blessed them and they began to share what little they had brought so that, not only was there enough for everyone, there were leftovers in abundance.

We need a time to lament and grieve the loss of so many wonderful talented people who have meant so very much to so many of us in the church.

We also would do well to hear the ancient words of Jesus to those of us who are his modern day disciples: "What do you have? Go and see."

Coming 'round the home stretch

Despite the mind-numbing legislative and budgetary processes that frame General Convention, I have, in fact, retained a firm grasp on the obvious.

Today is the last day of General Convention.

See, I have been paying attention. Indeed, I can't tell you how much I've been waiting for this day.

I, for one, am really glad General Convention will be shorter by two days next time. Yes, it's a great deal of work to be done in a very short period of time. But, I do think we can use technology to be more efficient, and ultimately, be better stewards not only of our financial resources, but more efficient managers of our time as well as employ a more effective application of our talent.

I'm also glad General Convention has been forced to limit national committees and standing commissions to have a 'face to face' meeting once a year. For far too long, many of those meetings have been seen as 'political junkets'.

This does place the bishops in an even greater, albeit 'unfair' advantage as they already meet much more than the 'Senior House'. Perhaps they will take the lead from clergy and laity on this issue as they have on other issues of justice and cut down their expensive junkets in the name of Jesus.

Today will be an opportunity for attempted 'end runs' by those who are unhappy with how General Convention has turned out. Back in the day (oh, less than 10 years ago) when most conservatives were known as 'conservatives' and not 'orthodox', the folks from N.O.E.L. (National Organization of Episcopalians for Life - which is now A.F.L. = Anglicans for Life) would submit last minute resolutions about reproductive choice, hoping that many from the more liberal or moderate deputations would have already gone home (many of them already had) and they could 'squeak' something by.

Not too many people go home early any more, but then again, not too many people try too many end-runs any more. It will be interesting to see what happens today.

The budget is probably the most disappointing development thus far. I'll have more to say on that later, but I'll say this (because while many are muttering it, I haven't seen it in print):

I think it is unconscionable for a church that purports to stand for justice to have cut 37 positions from the national church staff (7 retirements that will not be replaced and 30 positions eliminated) while not even considering lowering the salaries of those at the top in order to keep a few key positions.

You know. Like Evangelism. And, Mission. And, Anti-Racism. How are we supposed to accomplish our "Budget Priorities" without national staff to bring these programs to the congregational level?

Well, I suppose that question with all of its inherent "creative tension" will be one we learn to live into over the next three years.

Another thing: I think it's really, really important for our Presiding Bishop to be seen as a Global Religious Figure, but in this economy, perhaps her travel could have been cut back just a tad. You know, for the good of the whole.

We are a church which purports to 'do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God'. Alas, that begins to ring shallow when our budget reveals that we value hierarchy more than a full incarnational embrace of that prophetic imperative.

Well, according to my little illustration at the top of this entry, the above was part of the 'vast cognitive waste land' of this blog post.

Time to bring this 'think piece', such as it is, to a merciful end.

Just like General Convention.

Off I go then, into the home stretch. Your prayers and comments have been a blessing through these grueling, impossibly long days. Thank you. More later.

Dateline General Convention, Anaheim: Quote of the Day

The quote of the day from the House of Bishops (I swear to God this is true but I won't identify the source. Oh, okay, buy me a martini and I just may spill):

"What we need to do in this resolution is to give a sense of movement without actually doing something."

As the British would say, "Well, and there it is, then."

To quote George Burns, "Say Goodnight, Gracie."

As I have often said about the church, "You just can't make this stuff up."

Or, to quote my then feisty but now sainted grandmother, "Ah, the things we do for Jesus."

Sí, se puede!

There have been many important things which have happened at this General Convention in Anaheim: Resolutions, Committee meetings, Hearings, Legislative Debates, Eucharists, Conferences, Relationships, Community building, Reunions - even Def Poetry Slams.

Even so, none has been as important as today's Prayer Vigil and March in support of the workers at Disney.

We gathered at the plaza at the Katella Ave. entrance to the Convention Center where we waited for some of the marchers who were protesting at one of the nearby Disney hotels before joining us.

While we waited, some of the bishops of the church also gathered with us, including Bishops Doug Theuner, Gene Robinson, Mark Beckwith, Barbara Harris, Jon Bruno, Chet Talton, Greg Rickel, and several others.

Before the march began, Bishop Barbara addressed the crowd, encouraging them in their struggle. Then, Bishop Gene got up and the crowd roared its approval.

Turns out, EVERYONE knows Bishop Gene. His words were translated by Alma, the event organizer, who spoke beautifully in Spanish and flawlessly in English.

Bishop Gene spoke about "America the Beautiful," how much work it takes takes to make her beautiful and how unfairly the workers who make her beautiful are treated.

He said as beautiful as America is, there is a great deal of ugliness and corruption in her closets, and that it was time to open the closet doors and clean them out.

The crowd applauded its agreement.

We said some prayers (BTW, that man in the blue shirt standing next to Bishop Barbara, also in blue is MY bishop, Mark Beckwith. I was so proud of him and his commitment to and passion for justice, I could have just burst) and then it was off to Katella Ave and onto Harbor Blvd to deliver thousands of signed petitions to the Disney officials who were waiting for us.

Here's the thing: In the history of Anaheim, no street has EVER been blocked off for a Protest March.

Ever, that is, until today.

One entire side of Harbor Blvd. was filled with marchers.

We were, as Alma had instructed us to be - dignified and beautiful.

And, noisy.

I wish I had taken a picture of the man who had a drum but had, apparently, forgotten his drum sticks. So, he used two empty plastic water bottles and pounded out the rhythm as we chanted:

Sí, se puede!
(Yes, it can be done.)

It is, of course, the chant used by Cesar Chavez during his protest rallies and marches which was 'borrowed' by the Obama campaign, translated instead to "Yes, we can."

We marched for about two blocks to the entrance at Disney World, where a handful of those of us who were clergy were invited to walk into the gate to meet with "Jim" an official representative of Disney.

A local clergy woman who was part of the Episcopal Economic Justice Network handed the thousands of signed protests to him and Bishop Gene told him that if the demands of the workers were not met and they planned a boycott of Disney, that we would use our religious networks to assist them in their boycott until the event organizers told us to stop.

Jim was very somber and respectful, thanking us for our concern and promising to take the petitions to the Disney executive officers.

It was a very powerful moment. There was the church - speaking truth to power in the name of the people.

Yes. I wept. Again. At least this time, Louise Brooks wasn't around to catch me being all girly-burbly on video.

There were a few more rousing speeches from Bishops Barbara and Gene and then a local priest (I'm so sorry I didn't get his name), retold the story of David and Goliath to the eager crowd, who listened attentively.

He compared Disney to Goliath and the workers to David and told the people that God would chose the least among them to lead them to justice.

He got them to chant "The people. United. Will never be defeated."

And then he told them about David's anointing for God's calling and announced to them that the clergy would pass among them to anoint them for their calling to do justice.

Then, they chanted, "The people. Anointed. Will never be defeated."

Can I just say? Wow! I mean, Wow!

At first, the clergy stood into lines, waiting for people to come. It felt awkward and wrong to me, so I asked a sister clergy, Altagracia Perez, to anoint me.

After she anointed my forehead, I felt empowered to venture out into the crowd with my little plastic cup filled with cotton balls that had been saturated with Holy Oil.

I can not put into words what it felt like to have people call to me, "Madre, Madre. Unteme! Unteme!"

People were pulling on my blouse. I hardly knew where to turn next, but I took my time, looking deep into the eyes of each person - adult women, men and little children - and anointed them in the name of the One who created them, the One who sustains them and the One who guides their feet into the path of justice and peace.

"Gracias estan a dios," they said softly, thankfully.

Funny how that works. I anointed them, but I was the one who was blessed.

And, transformed.

And, will never be the same.

That's what happens whenever I encounter the living Christ in others.

Clearly, this church has moved beyond B033 and into a fuller understanding of our mission and ministry.

Suddenly, I can't wait to get home, roll up my sleeves, and get to work. Even in the oh-so comfortable affluent suburban Mayberry USA town where I live and move and make my being.

I think things are going to get just a little less comfortable - all in the name of the mission and ministry of The Living Christ.

Sí, se puede!

Anointed for the work of justice

This afternoon at 4:30, I will join hundreds of other Episcopalians here at Convention as well as other religious leaders from the area in supporting the Prayer Vigil and March organized by the group "Disney Be Faithful," representing 2150 employees of the three Disneyland Hotels: Paradise Pier, Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel.

These workers clean the rooms, cook and serve the food, wash the dishes, and carry the luggage.

Disney wants to take away from its employees union family health insurance. They also want to take away full-time jobs, forcing many into positions with no health insurance at all, no vacation and less than full rights.

Disney's net income in the first half of the Fiscal Year 2009 was nearly $1.46 billion. In Fiscal Year 2008, Disney CEO Robert Iger made $30.6 million.

When I signed up to march last Monday, I was approached by one of the organizers with a request I agreed to but I'm still processing.

"Mother," he said (as I winced), "would you stay with us at the end of the march? We're asking some of the clergy to anoint the workers, and it would be wonderful to have you with us."

I was initially taken aback. 'Anoint' he said. What did he mean, really? Did he mean anoint with holy oils or just extend a hand in blessing?

I wanted to make certain I had a correct translation from his Hispanic, Roman Catholic culture to my progressive Western European, Anglo-Catholic understanding.

So, I asked.

"While we are marching," he said softly, "some of the people from Disney will be standing along the sidelines, filming us as we pass by. They will use that film as evidence to get us fired or to have our positions eliminated or downsized."

"You may not be aware, Mother," he said politely, "that for the workers, this Prayer Vigil and March is a big risk. We need to be anointed for the work of justice, after this event, so that we will find the strength to go back to our jobs. Just a little sign from God that He will continue to be with us after the support of this event."

"We know you have probably not brought your oils with you to this place, so we will have some for you. Will you help us? It would mean so much to some of us for a woman to anoint us for the work of justice."

"Anointed for justice."

I continue to find myself deeply moved by that request. There is something that strikes a cord of authenticity with the core values of what the church professes to be, but often is not.

I ask you, wherever you are, to pray with me and for me, that I may be a worthy vehicle of an anointing of God's healing and enabling power upon these workers.

Pray that we may catch a glimmer of God's justice promised of the Realm of God for these workers and their families.