Three Men and a Baby

I have been reflecting on the deaths of three famous men over the past few days: James Brown, Gerald Ford, and Saddam Hussein.





My grandmother always said, "Death comes in three's," and we always held our breath until that third person had died.

I once asked her why this was so, and why this was important. I thought she might say something scary, like "Well, you never know if YOUR life will be next."

Her answer was nothing like that. Perhaps that is why it has always haunted me.

She said that within this phenomenon of three deaths in a row there is always an important message about life. The challenge God gives us is to try and make the connection between those three lives in search of that message.

"There are no coincidences," she would say.

And so, ever since, I have always carefully considered the deaths that come in three's in search of that important message about life.

These three deaths have not been an exception - especially in terms of a message it might have about the Incarnation.

Gerald Ford was a former Vice President and President who was not elected to either office, and yet his record shows that he was able to accomplish a great deal in the short period of time while in office. He helped to heal a nation that had been deeply torn by the corruption of his predecessor and ended the American involvement in the Viet Nam War. His record, however, is not without controversy. His pardon of Richard Nixon undoubtedly cost him his bid for a second term in office.

Saddam Hussein was, without a doubt, among the worst of the worst tyrants in modern history, including Ugandan Idi Amin, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, Chairman Mao Zedong of China, Russia's Iosif Stalin, Benito Mussolini of Italy, and Adolph Hitler of Germany, to name just a few.

Hussein's record of terror and torture and mass murder cause even the emotionally callous to shudder. And yet, he went to the gallows with the Koran, the scripture that is holy to his religious tradition, singing the praises of God and praying for death to America and prosperity to the Muslims in Palestine.

When James Brown died on Christmas morning, the man who was known as The Godfather of Soul left a record of his life that was complicated by domestic violence, drugs and alcohol abuse. Born in poverty in rural South Carolina, his family moved to Georgia when he was a young child, where he had to leave school at the age of 16 to pick cotton and shine shoes in order to help his family.

Music was the tool he used to dig himself out of abject poverty made even worse by racism. He was a singer, songwriter, musician and dancer. His musical style has been cited as planting the seeds of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, hip-hop and rap and launched an entire new branch of the musical industry.

I have discovered that you can hurt yourself trying to find a thread that connects the lives of these three vastly different men. And yet, I believe my grandmother was absolutely right: there is an important message for us in the deaths of these three men, and the birth of a Baby.

In this Season of the Incarnation, we are able to pause and reflect, in the lives of these three men, about the gift of our humanity.

In the life of Gerald Ford, we consider again the age-old chicken-and-egg theory and ask: Is it history that makes the person, or does the person make history?

Saddam Hussein provides us with the opportunity to consider how it is we use that which we know to be holy, especially Holy Scripture, for good or for evil, and how our faith is lived out in the world with authenticity and integrity.

Finally, in the life of James Brown, we pause to consider how it is we use the gifts God has given us to overcome the adversity of the world, and live fully into the life which God has given us.

These three men - their lives and their deaths - offer powerful lessons about the gift of being human.

In these last few days of Christmastide, the cosmos has provided three very important messages about the human enterprise.

We would do well to consider these messages as we approach the Epiphany - the various ways in which God is made manifest in our lives.

There are no coincidences.

"Hanged by the neck until dead"

There is something illogical - if not completely absurd - about the death by hanging of Saddam Hussein. His execution was, we are told, an antidote to the despicable, horrendous violence and torture visited upon innocent Iraqi citizens by his administration.

I listened, aghast and in horror, as the BBC televised an interview with an Iraqi woman, now living in Dearborn, Michigan, who proclaimed today as a day of "great celebration" in her displaced Iraqi community.

"Oh, there will be great rejoicing," she said, her head covered, as was her entire body, in the modest black cloth prescribed for women by her religion.

"We will dance and sing and rejoice," she said, seemingly completely unaware of the oppression her religion continues to visit upon her merely for being born female - even though she now speaks English fluently and lives in America - the "land of the free and the home of the brave."

I was, I confess, morbidly fascinated to watch the video clips of the last moments of Saddam's life.

I understand that there were those in the observer galley of the death chamber who were calling out insults and taunts to Saddam, as he, ankles and wrists shackled, made his way to the gallows prepared for his hanging.

Saddam carried the Koran in his hand - the Holy Scripture, as he understood it, by which he lived his life - as he shuffled his way to his death.

We are told that he refused to wear a black hood over his head and face. Somehow, I understand that decision, which seems to me to be clearly designed to give greater protection and consolation to his executioners than whatever human pride Saddam might have left.

He was surrounded by four masked men, two of whom held him firmly under his arms, to avoid, I assume, the final humilation of stumbling and falling before his death by hanging. The masked man to his left seemed to be calmly giving him instructions as to what was about to happen to him.

Saddam seemed distracted by the hecklers. Indeed, who wouldn't be?

Finally, he fixed his attention on the hooded man who was telling him what was about to happen to him in the last few moments of his life. He seemed in a macabre and defiant way to immediately understand and comply.

I found it touching, in the most human way, that Saddam was assured that a black cloth would cover and surround his neck before the noose was applied - a way to guarantee, I am told, that the skin on his neck would not be unnecessarily bruised or torn by the noose of rope as his neck was broken and the air prohibited from entering his lungs or brain.

He received some assurance, at the end of his life, of the promises of his faith to be received into heaven a martyr, perfect in body in eternity as he had been given by God on earth.

"Hanged by the neck until dead."

It is a sobering verdict to consider for the wages of one who is undeniably one of the most heinous of mass murderers in our history.

The questions remain to be answered:

Is it enough?

Will it be enough to restore peace in Iraq?

Was the man a monster of humanity or a martyr of his faith?

Can one be both a martyr and a monster?

Does violence always beget violence, or does the violent death of one evil man absolve the violent deaths of thousands of innocent people?

Will we know the answers to these questions in our life and time, or will history claim the final, definitive answer?

God only knows.

"Full, free and absolute pardon"

In 1974, we didn't need a firebrand, or a hero, or star. We needed a leader who was solid and good and trustworthy.

In that moment of history, we needed Gerald Rudolph Ford, "the gentleman from Michigan."

Thanks be to God, that is the leader we received.

A man of deep civility and sound judgement, he came to the presidency unelected to lead a nation divided - called upon to bind our nation's wounds, inflicted by the double-edged sword of Viet Nam and Watergate.

He was an honest and decent man, a man of dignity and grace.

And yet . . .and yet . . .

I am not ashamed to admit that I am old enough to clearly remember the day the newly appointed (but not elected) President of the United States, Gerald Ford, accorded his predecessor, Richard Millhouse Nixon, a "full, free and absolute pardon" for the part he played in the Watergate Conspiracy.

I remember yelling at the television set words that should never be repeated in public.

I was outraged!

I was appalled!

I was thoroughtly, completely, absolutely disgusted!

And yet . . .and yet . . .

Gerald Ford knew then what I thought I knew at that time, indeed, thought I have always know, but what I have only just come to understand in the deepest level of my soul: that forgiveness is essential if healing is to occur.

I have come to know that this is an important, essential, critical lesson to learn in these days of tumult in our church and in the Anglican Communion.

Is our beloved church, our communion, distressed by heresies and by schism torn asunder?

Depsite those who wait for an "official declaration," of this as a fact of our common life of faith, there is no doubt.

Are there those in our church, in our communion, who are equally as corrupt and self-serving as those involved in the Watergate scandle?

Indeed. To our shame and consternation, indeed.

Are there those in our church, in our communion, who covet honor and praise and glory for themselves more and less for God?

Their actions are a more powerful testimony than their protests are to the contrary.

And yet . . .and yet . . .

When this time in the days of our lives is over, when all is said and done and the Anglican Communion becomes what God has had in mind for Her since its inception, and The Episcopal Church becomes more of what She has always been, it will come to this:

We need to be able to provide a "full, free and absolute pardon" to those who have done whatever they have done - no matter how misguided - for the love of God and their understanding of the good of the Church.

It will be what is needed - desperately needed - for the healing of our Church and the Communion.

Turns out, it takes the sort of "Anglican pragmatism," embodied in Gerald R. Ford's politics, which healed our nation then to heal our church now.

May we, like President Ford, live into the common, ordinary stuff of our humanity to become extraordinary vehicles of the love and healing and forgiveness and peace of God, which passes all human understanding.

Dial-A-Deity

Sent to me as a Christmas card by a friend with the following note:

"Because in these post-modern, diverse, pluraform days of our lives, it's important to keep all your options open."

Christmas Eve: Be not afraid!

“Be not afraid.” Luke 2:1-14 [15-20]
The Eve of the Nativity of our Lord – 11 PM Service – December 24, 2006
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul – Chatham, NJ
(the Rev’d) Elizabeth Kaeton, rector and pastor

It’s a curious thing.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but whenever something amazing is about to happen – or has happened – in scripture, the voice of God, or that of an angel usually shows up and says, the approximate same thing, in equal variation.

“Fear not!” Or: “Be not afraid.” Or: “Do not be afraid.”

God spoke to Abram in a vision and said, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield.” (Genesis 15:1). God spoke to Hagar, banished in the desert and weeping that her son Ishmael was about to die, and said to her, “Fear not, for God has heard the cry of your child.” (Genesis 21:17). Angels assured Zechariah (Luke 1:13), and Joseph (Matthew 1:17) and Mary (Luke 1:30), with these words: “Be not afraid.”

Tonight we hear that an angel appeared to the shepherds who watched their flock in a field the night Jesus was born and said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.” (Luke 2:10).

“Be not afraid.” With these words, Jesus constantly exhorted or comforted his disciples as he walked on water, or calmed the seas, or appeared to them after the resurrection.

Here’s what I want to ask you tonight: What are you afraid of? What are your “worst fears?” What are your “nightmares?” What keeps you up at night? Or, wakes you up from a sound sleep in a cold sweat? What are the demons that haunt and torment or terrorize you? What makes you anxious? Or apprehensive? Or, distressed?

It may seem a strange thing to consider fear on this night when we anticipate the Birth of the Savior, but I assure you it is not. Indeed, fear and anxiety are precisely why we are able to celebrate this night. Or, at least, we celebrate the reason to “be not afraid.”

I fear that, in this postmodern, well educated, highly intellectual technological world in which we live, we don’t acknowledge our fears and anxieties. We live in a very rational world. Got a problem? Read up on it. Study it. Master it. We have come to believe that whatever you can understand, you can master – control – explain – and, therefore, no longer fear.

And yet . . .and yet. . . this time in which we live, these days of our lives, are filled to overflowing with anxiety and fear. Some would have us believe that we live, in this time post 9/11, in The Age of Terrorism.

If you have traveled anywhere by air or rail you know that you must add 45-60 minutes to your travel plans in order to go through something we routinely and blithely call “security.”

As if surrendering up our underwear or lingerie for close inspection or carrying less than 3 ounces of cosmetics or shampoo or perfume will actually keep us safe.

I saw an announcement for a lecture scheduled in February at a near-by university that was entitled, “Does observing human rights standards impede the war on terrorism?”

Another was entitled: “Diplomacy in the Age of Terrorism: What is the State Department’s strategy?” Hmmm . . . What’s that old saying? If you have to ask the question . . .

There’s even an exhibit making the rounds of museums entitled “Art in the Age of Terrorism” which, it says, “explores various ways in which art can help articulate the zone of gray that lies behind the back and white term ‘terrorism.’”

I believe that it’s not so much the living in the ‘black and white’ of the world that is so scary. I believe that it’s the shades of gray that lie behind the black and white that terrify us. We can set aside our fears of terrorists if we all just give up a few of our civil rights for the cause.

I mean, what are a few ounces of shampoo among friends, right? You’d gladly take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the cold floor of an airport if it keeps us safe from ‘those’ terrorists.

Right? No problem.

That’s the black and white of our fear. We can deal with that – and we do – by giving up a few rights and making up more rules. I am convinced that this is the appeal of the current wave of evangelicalism that is sweeping religious denominations of every order, from Roman Catholicism, to Traditional Protestantism to non-denominational mega-churches whose pastors masquerade as self-help “Answer-Men.”

Got a problem or a question? Just like that advertisement for Radio Shack – “they got an answer.”

The message of this night is not that easy. Indeed, the message of the Nativity of our Lord raises as many questions as it answers. Yes, for one bright moment a star shone brightly over the ancient city of Bethlehem and the Wise – from lowly shepherds to sage men of affluence – followed that light.

But, what they found was not a solution to the fears that followed them by day. What they found was much more complex than that. What they found in seeing that newborn babe, wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a manger, was not an answer to calm the terror that stalked them by night. What they found was much more compelling than that, which is why, I’m convinced, the story of the Nativity endures.

Look past the easy answers, the glib explanations, and the slick responses. Look deep into that manger – past the nostalgia and the romanticism and see for yourself. What is really lying there is this: possibility.

Hope is what was born this night. That’s what those shepherds saw. That is what the Magi were seeking. Hope. And, my sisters and brothers, somewhere deep in your heart you know that the only way to deal with the fears and anxieties of our daily life is not to look for the answers but rater, to seek out possibility. To look for hope.

Here’s the truth of it: Hope is the only antidote to fear. ‘Blessed hope’ is how it is described in the reading from Titus. Not structure. Not rules. Not easy answers. Those things provide an illusion of security – an illusion of safety. That’s what Rome offered. It’s what most institutions offer: mediocrity, and mediocrity never provides hope because it never risks vulnerability, or authenticity or integrity.

Hope is born this night.

A most excellent hope is born this night.

Tonight, an angel of the Lord is speaking a word of hope to an anxious world, weary of terror and war – where 3,000 American soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as untold Iraqi and Afghani men, women and children.

A fearful world, plagued by famine and disaster where young children the world over die of malaria – a completely curable disease.

A world that trembles under the threat of nuclear annihilation at the hands of a mad despot in North Korea.

A people who quiver in the face of unspeakable acts of violence in Ireland and Palestine and Israel and Iraq and Iran and Africa – all performed in the name of God.

Hope is born this night.

Possibility wrapped in bands of the stuff of our human existence and lying in the most unexpected place.

Potential lying hidden in plain view.

This is the good news brought to us on the wings of an angel. It is the great joy whispered into our hearts. It is the music we hear as a multitude of heavenly hosts who are praising God are saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

The question this night is not whether or not you will follow the light, but will you live in the shades of gray?

How is it that we live in the ambiguities of our lives of faith?

How do we, in this Post-modern age of reason coexist with mystery?

For this is why God chose to come among us – to be beside us in the midst of our humanity and call us to be our best selves, to redeem us from our fears and guide us into hope.

This is why we, like Mary, must treasure these words of scripture and ponder them in our hearts.

Hush the noise of the terror in your heart. Hush the anxieties that prey upon your soul. The gift of this night is to hush the sound of our human fears and for one night, just this one night, let the angels of the Lord greet you where you are, in the shades of gray of your lives, and hear the angels say to unto you and yours,

“Be not afraid.”

For, if we do, then we, like the shepherds of old, will glorify and praise God for all we have seen and heard this night.

Amen.

Advent IV: It's Absurd!

The Visitation and the Magnificat (Luke 1:39-44, 46-55)
Advent IV – December 24, 2006
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul
The Rev’d Elizabeth Kaeton, rector and pastor

One of the real miracles of Christmas is happening even as I speak.

Sometime, somewhere, right after this 10 AM service and before 5 PM this very afternoon, in the midst of this afternoon’s last minute flurry of activity, we will look up and it will no longer be the Fourth Sunday in Advent and – schazam! – it will be Christmas Eve!

Don’t ask me how that is done. It’s a deep mystery to me. The closest I can come to it is remembering the days of Diocesan Conventions over which Bishop Jack Spong would preside. The official Order of Business for Convention would declare that, at 3 PM, we would hear from the Commission on Ministry and at 4 PM we would approve the diocesan budget for the next year. Bishop Spong would note, with just a whisper of mischief in his voice, that since the Commission on Ministry was not yet ready and the diocesan budget was ready, in fact, had been ready for some time, that he, therefore, officially declared it to be 4 PM.

And, indeed, it was.

So, with all of the power invested in my by absolutely no one at all, I declare it now to be Advent IV and will, at 5 PM, declare it to be Christmas Eve. And, indeed, so it will be.

This is, of course, in keeping with the absurdity of the Nativity Story, anyway. I mean, this morning, we hear of the Visitation of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, wherein Mary tells Elizabeth of her pregnancy and sings the glory of God in the Magnificat. And then, this afternoon at 5 PM, 9 months will have simply whizzed by and she will be giving birth.

I’ll admit: it’s probably easier for us to believe in the story of Santa Claus than the story of the Nativity of our Lord. Only two of the evangelists report on it at all.

Oh, you didn’t know that? ( I admit that I do take delight when folks are surprised by that.)

The story of the Nativity only appears in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. John’s gospel tells the story in lyrical poetic form: “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1). But, there are no details of the birth of Jesus. There’s no mention of the Nativity at all in Mark’s gospel. He starts out with Isaiah’s prophecy of John and then jumps right into the baptism of Jesus by John.

Never mind that neither Luke nor Matthew tell a credible story. I mean, what with Virgin Births and Wise Men who come from afar to bring presents to the infant. Add to that the way Western European Christians have completely westernized the story: In the bleak midwinter, indeed! The snow may be on the ground in London or Berlin or Vienna, but it rarely snows in Bethlehem, which is to the SOUTH of even Jerusalem.

Some of the best biblical scholars agree that Jesus was probably born in late spring, not “the bleak” midwinter, but the early Church took over the pagan celebration of The Solstice, which had been taken over by Chanukah. For the early Christians, many of whom had been Jew or pagan, Jesus became the light in the midst of the longest day. Jesus became the miraculous light that never goes out. And, indeed, for Christians, he is the light of the world.

Does that mean that none of the story is true? What are we, as intelligent, post modern but none the less faithful Christians living in the third millennium after the birth of Christ, really supposed to believe about the Nativity of our Lord?

I mean, the gospel stories – especially those of the Nativity – are absurd, aren’t they? And, that’s precisely the point, I think.

The Absurd.

There is, in fact, an entire philosophical thought called ‘Absurdism’ Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail because no such meaning exists – at least in relation to humanity. Some famous Absurists are Danish philosopher Soren Kierkigaard and French philosopher Albert Camus who wrote the ‘Myth of Sisyphus’, which you probably read in Sr. High School.

Absurdism is related to existentialist philosophy, a philosophical movement that rejects the belief that life has an inherent meaning, but instead requires each individual to posit his or her own subjective values. Famous existentialists include people whose works you have probably read – people like Dostoevsky, Sartre, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Simone de Beauvoir.

Here’s my point: if you are feeling lost in the logic of the story of the Nativity, you are not alone. Indeed, you are in quite good company – faithful, intelligent company.

The story of the Nativity is absurd, isn’t it?

Then again, how is it possible for the human mind to take in the miracle of the birth of God in the person of Jesus? How is it possible to consider that God chose to take on our human, mortal flesh and live among us, to suffer like us and know our human foibles and frailties? And, if God would, in fact, do that, God would do so without benefit of any “Escape Plan” – other than the horrendous suffering of the crucifixion?

It doesn’t make any sense, does it? Not any sense at all.

Which is precisely the point.

It is why, I suspect, Mary went running, just as fast as she could, to her cousin Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea, to tell her the news. This is why the Visitation – despite the particulars (or lack thereof) of the narrative – makes perfect sense.

This is also precisely why the Magnificat makes perfect sense. When faced with the unlikely and illogical reality that one has become a ‘theotokos’ – a ‘God-bearer’ – what other reasonable response is there except to sing?

And, what else might one sing, in the midst of the Great Abusurdity of bearing the Holy Child of God, except these words: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of God’s servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty has done great things for me, and holy is God’s name.”

Asking people to believe in things like the Immaculate Conception and the Visitation, the Magnificat and the Incarnation of God is all the evidence you really need that the closer you move to God, the nearer you get to the heart of The Absurd.As you consider The Absurd, reflect for a moment on this quote from Barbara Brown Taylor in her book, MIXED BLESSINGS:

"Mary was smart enough or naive enough to believe what was said to her in what seemed like a dream and believed in her Holy Child even before he was more than a dollop of cells in her womb. Which only goes to show that once you let God in - there's no telling, no telling at all - what will come out. Amen.

O Holy Night

The first-ever Blue Christmas Service at The Episcopal Church of St. Paul was, indeed, a most holy night. Only 10 people came, but two of them were not members of the church and one was a member who had not attended church in over a year.

Everyone stayed after the 40 minute service, and we ate homemade braided bread filled with preserves made by Betty Gallagher, Bishop Carol Gallagher's mom who gave it to me two years ago when my daughter was seriously ill. She said it was a "Jar of Love."

Indeed, it was.

The silence in the church was not just the absence of sound but the fullness of a shared experience of loss and longing for hope and light.

I especially loved the sound of our voices as we sang, "O come, O come Emmanuel" - a response to the bidding prayers, as one by one, the candles in the Yule Log were lit. You can see that eight-candle Yule Log below.
I apologize for the quality of the pictures - I took them with my cell phone - not the best, but you get the idea.
I am appending the entire liturgy below. Take what you want or need that might be helpful to you and adapt it as necessary or appropriate to your need.

While credit is given where credit is due, I do not believe that there is an exclusive ownership of the liturgy. It's a work of the people of God to honor and worship God.

I believe this will become a lasting tradition at St. Paul's. I commend this wonderful ministry to you. Thank you all for your prayers. In my moments of anxiety (especially during the long moments of silence), it gave me strength and confidence as I felt lifted and held before God.

A Blue Christmas SERVICE
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul Chatham, NJ
December 23, 2006 four o'clock in the afternoon

THE GATHERING OF THE PEOPLE

Musical prelude

Words of Welcome

Welcome to this Blue Christmas, a time when we can, with others, acknowledge the "blue" feelings we have at Christmas time, the reasons for them, and offer them to God. This time has been called the "long dark night of the soul" and "the winter of our discontent" in which memories of past experiences and the pain of present experiences can become overwhelming. For some, Christmas Day is the most difficult. For others, Christmas Eve, or New Years Eve, or the beginning of another lonely New Year. In this service, we'll have some singing appropriate to the Christmas Season, recognizing that this is not a season of joy for everyone. We will invite you to reflect on the pain, the loneliness, and the sadness you may feel and offer it to God for healing and transformation. We pray that you will find hope and comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Always remember that God knows your pain and loves you unconditionally.

One: +For you, O God, our souls in silence wait.
All: Truly our hope is in you.

Opening Prayer

One: God of abundant mercy, you have given us grace to pray with one heart and one voice, even though our hearts are broken and our voices tremble with grief and sorrow. Comfort, comfort, Lord, your Holy people. Comfort those of us who sit in darkness, mourning 'neath our sorrow'ss load. Speak to us of the peace that awaits us, of the balm of healing for our weary and wounded souls. We ask all this, trusting in the promise you have made to hear the prayers of two or three who have gathered in the Name of your Holy Child, Jesus.
All: Amen.

Hymn# 79: "O Little Town of Bethlehem" verses 1 & 2


THE PROCLAMATION OF GOD'S WORD

A reading from Hebrew Scripture: Selected verses from Isaiah 40


"Comfort, comfort my people" says your God. "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that the time of service is ended ... Look up to the heavens! Who made the stars, if not the One who drills them like an army, calling each one by its own name? So mighty is God's power and strength that not one fails to answer. Israel, why then do you complain that our God does not know your troubles or care if you suffer injustice? Our God, the everlasting God, the creator of the farthest parts of the each, never grows tired or weary. No one can fathom the depths of God's understanding. God gives power to the faint and strength to the powerless. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength."

Hymn# 79: O Little Town of Bethlehem, vs. 3 & 4

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 22 as follows

ONE: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, so far from the words of my groaning?

ALL: O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but I find no rest.

ONE: In you, our ancestors trusted. They trusted and you delivered them.

ALL: It was you who took me from the womb, you who kept me safe upon my mother's breast; since my mother bore me, you have been my God.

ONE: Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

ALL: God does not despise the affliction of the afflicted; God does not hide from me. When I cry to God, God hears me. Thanks be to God!

A Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:28-29

"Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Hymn# 79 - O Little Town of Bethlehem, vs. 5

There follows a time for silent reflection. During this time, baskets with pencils and The Christmas Stars of Remembrance; are distributed. You are invited to print the name(s) of those who have died or those with whom you are no longer in relationship whom you would like to be remembered this Christmas. They will be gathered in a basket and placed near the candles for blessing.

CANDLE LIGHTING LITANY OF REMEMBRANCE

Reader: God who is with us, in this season of looking forward; of anticipating the celebration of your Son's birth and return in glory; we often find ourselves uncomfortable, uneasy, worried and sad. The lights and gaiety, the music, the bright joy around us, often make us more unquiet, more out of step, feeling even more disconnected and different.

All: Come, holy Child of Bethlehem

Reader: Some of these feelings come from false expectations. Others come from real situations and issues that face us or those we love. Some are from events we may influence and some are beyond our control. Trusting in your grace and provision, we name these situations and face the pain and dislocation they cause us. We claim your promise to companion us in bearing them. We claim your steadfast love for us, knowing you will help us find peace for our troubled spirits. We claim your wise and merciful power, that you will meet each need as is best for us. (Silent reflection follows)

All: Hymn # 56: O come, o come Emmanuel, vs. 1

Reader: God of Light and Life, we light this candle for all those who are struggling with issues involving physical or mental health. We especially remember those struggling with cancer, depression, or thoughts of suicide. May its light remind us all of the healing available to us in Christ Jesus. Hear our prayers that anguish be minimized and your good plan fulfilled for each who suffer. (Silent reflection follows)

All: Hymn # 56: O come, o come Emmanuel, vs. 2

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are struggling with issues involving financial concerns, job loss, seemingly insurmountable debt. May its light remind us all that you are the Great Provider, you will give us our daily bread. Empower us to take the steps we need to solve these problems. Draw us to the right people and programs to help us. (Silent reflection follows)

All: Hymn # 56: O come, o come Emmanuel, vs. 3

Reader: We light this candle for all those who grieve. You know our deepest need, you understand our pain- lost dreams, lost opportunities, the separation of death. May its light remind us that we are not orphaned, we are not alone. Grant us grace that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, and in death resurrection. (Silent reflection follows)

All: Hymn # 56: O come, o come Emmanuel, vs. 4

Reader: We light this candle for all those who wrestle with the chains of addiction. Help us to name that which enslaves us and face it: food, alcohol, drugs, pornography, shopping, escapism, self medication, and self abuse in all its forms. May this candle bring your light to those secret, and not so secret, activities of imprisonment. Hear our prayers for deliverance and freedom; help us and those we love break the hold of these evils. (Silent reflection follows)

All: Hymn # 56: O come, o come Emmanuel, vs. 5

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are victims of violence in any of its forms. May its light lead us to peace, safety, and truth. Pour forth encouragement to claim your help in healing physically and spiritually, to trust in your justice, to find assistance, to resist blaming ourselves, to be confident in the future you have planned for us, a future full of hope. (Silent reflection follows)

All: Hymn # 56: O come, o come Emmanuel, vs. 6

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are experiencing the pain of broken relationships with family, children, spouses, and friends. May its light remind us of the pure communion you desire for all your creation. Our desire for this same communion makes estrangement so painful. Lead us to relinquish the hold broken relationships have on us, to forgive ourselves for our contribution to the breach, to forgive those who have hurt us, to take the steps to mend that relationship, if possible. Lord, we know that sometimes we suffer from a broken relationship with someone who is now dead. Help us to prayerfully examine, receive and extend forgiveness in that situation, that we may live again. (Silent reflection follows)

All: Hymn 56: O come, o come Emmanuel, vs. 7

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are suffering the consequences of war, famine and unbridled disease. May its light remind us of your holy calling to every one who believes you are the light of the world. Change the hearts of all who resort to violence, who seek revenge. Protect those who find themselves far from home serving their nations or the needy. We know you are in the midst of those in anguish and pray that your healing presence will be seen, felt, and embraced. Reveal to us how to join in your saving work- to make tangible gifts to alleviate suffering, to support those on the front lines of natural and manmade disasters, to pray unceasingly for peace in our families, our neighborhoods, our world. (Silent reflection follows)

All: Hymn # 56: O come, O come Emmanuel, vs. 8

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are estranged from you, who are besieged with doubts, who are overwhelmed by the world and do not claim your presence in their lives. We pray for them, and therefore ourselves, for we confess that each of us knows this condition. Lord, may the light of your love lead us all home to you. (Silent reflection follows)

We ask all these things in the strong name of Jesus.

Amen.

We will now gather around the candles, forming a circle and holding hands as together, we say

Our father/mother, who art in heaven . . . ...

Hymn #111: "Silent Night"

The Blessing:

My friends, life is short, and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who make this earthly pilgrimage with us, so be swift to love, and make haste to do kindness, and the blessing of God, who comes to us as +Creative Presence, Saving Grace and Lifegiving Spirit be upon you and all whom you love and pray for this day, and forever more.

All: Amen.

Dismissal:

One: Let us bless the Lord
All: Thanks be to God


As you leave the sanctuary, you are invited to come and pick up your Christmas Star of Remembrance and hang it on the Crismon Tree.

Light refreshments will be served in the foyer. Please come and stay for the solace known to those who gather in the name and community of Christ Jesus.

This service is a compilation of prayers and litanies from various sources arranged by the rector and pastor of St. Paul's Church, the Rev'd Elizabeth Kaeton, who is deeply grateful for the work of the Rev'd Jane Maffin, Anglican priest in the Church of Ottawa, and Jeanine Locicero, an Episcopalian who earns a living as Director of Worship Arts and Youth, Allendale United Methodist Church, Saint Petersburg, FL
Please feel free to share or adapt this liturgy with others who may be comforted.

When Christmas Hurts . . .

Our Blue Christmas Service will be held at 4 PM this afternoon. It will be our first. Later on today, after I return from my morning rounds, I will post the liturgy here. Please feel free to take whatever you need for your own use.

While I fashioned it from a variety of sources, the liturgy is not mine. I am deeply in debt to many on the House of Bishops and Deputies (HOB/D) listserv and around the Anglican Communion (Canada and England) who sent me samples of their services. It gave me the resources as well as the courage to try and pull this off with less than a week's notice.

We have sent out over 100 invitations to members of the congregation known to me or the staff who have had some significant loss: job, sobriety, relationship, death, debt, bankruptcy, etc., in the past five years.

We have flyers which say, "WHEN CHRISTMAS HURTS. . . " in the grocery stores and sandwich shops. Unlike other church events, every shop owner I approached immediately posted it on their window. I left a few flyers with a few of the counselors at the large Counseling Center in the nearby town. The service was also advertised in two of our local papers.

I understand a reporter from each of these papers will be attending the service - for themselves as well as to get a bit of a story. That ought to help with next year's attendance.

Simplicity is my liturgical theme. I have set up a simple table at the crossing, the main focus of which is a very large basket of greens with white Shasta daisies and white carnation with eight white candles. I have moved my chancel chair and prayer desk to the side of that table.

Since this service hopes to include anyone in the community of Chatham and surrounding areas for whom Christmas hurts, I decided not to do Eucharist. It was a tough call, but I think it was the right one - at least for this year.

The focus of the service is on saying specially written prayers and lighting the candles, one by one, followed by a time of significant silence. When the moment feels right, I will break the silence of our prayer and meditation by leading us in singing progressive verse of "O come, O come, Emmanuel" until all eight verses are sung.

The service ends with the Lord's payer and singing "Silent Night."

Taking a cue and some courage from my beloved Sisters of St. Helena in Vale's Gate, NY (where I am privileged to be an associate) who have no organ or musical instrument (save a harpsichord which is rarely used) in the convent Chapel, there will be no musical instrument at this service, just our frail human voices.

The Sisters of St. John Baptist in Mendam, NJ, who are also inspirations for me and very dear to my heart, rarely use instruments in their weekly chapel.

In some of my darkest hours, the sound of the voices of my sisters in prayer, psalmody and hymn carried me toward the light of Christ. Indeed, when I'm feeling overwhelmed by an unexpected wave of grief, it is the memory of their voices which leads me to safer shores.

I really want to create the sense of each voice holding and carrying the other. I want us to hear the emotion in our voices, and not shy away from hearing that as we lift our voices in prayer and song. I believe there is healing in the music and healing in the sharing of our voices. I don't know how to do that if we rely on instruments.

I may be persuaded next year to have a flute, or perhaps a "quiet piano" but for now I'm remembering a poem written by the Rev'd Pauli Murray, first Negro woman (her preferred description of herself) to be ordained a priest in the church, who wrote: "Hope is a song in a weary throat."

I'm going for hope. I'm going for simplicity in the midst of the complexity of human grief and sorrow. I'm going for solace and healing in community, trusting that Jesus will show up when two or more are gathered together in his Name.

Of your kindness and mercy, I would be deeply grateful if you shot an "arrow prayer" over toward Chatham, NJ this afternoon 'round about 4 PM.

I'll do my part to do my best. I'll let you know how it went.

Madpriest: Rowan's Christmas Message

Please visit MADPRIEST'S website "Of course, I could be wrong."

He's a Brit. He has a brilliant wit.

And, like all brilliant British wits, his ego is very fragile.

Go on, now. Jack up his sitemeter count. It'll make his day.

How did this happen?????

Well, it's a dubious distinction, to be sure.

Over at that terrible, horrid neo-puritan, quasi-orthodox, conservative evangelical, mean-spirited, hateful, but positively squirrely blogsite "Stand Firm in Faith," they are holding something they call the "Anglican Blog of the Year Awards" and, well, I've just learned (and I'm deeply, deeply embarrassed to admit) that I have been nominated in the category of "Best Reappraising Blogger" - along with such luminaries as the Lesbian Diva of The Episcopal Church, the Rev'd (but mostly silly) Susan Russell, the enormously gifted and talented Jim Naughton of the Episcopal Diocese of DC, the Rev'd (but amazingly articulate and astute) Terry Martin of "Father Jake Stops the World", one of my heroes in the church, long-time buddies and fellow jail cell mate (it's a long story), the Rev'd (but mostly incredibly intelligent) Mark Harris of Preludium, and the incredible, awesome, amazing Simon Sarmiento of "Thinking Anglicans."

Someone just tipped me off to the vote results thus far:

Best Reappraising Blogger
(269 votes cast)
An Inch at a Time (Susan Russell): 16
Telling Secrets (Elizabeth Kaeton): 18
Daily Episcopalian (Jim Naughton): 26
Fr. Jake Stops the World (Terry Martin): 67
Preludium (Mark Harris): 13
Thinking Anglicans (Simon Sarmiento): 129

Now, hear me clearly: I am NOT ... NOT... DECIDELY, POSITIVELY NOT encouraging your vote - in any category - for anyone.

You will notice that I have not posted their URL. If you really want to visit that site, you'll have to find them on your own.

Please, please, please . . . stay AWAY . . . stay FAR, FAR AWAY from this poisonous toxicity.

Besides, it will only encourage them.

But, if you simply can't resist, do heed Quean Lutebelle"s (Louie Crew) advice: Be sure to wear your best asbestos, high heeled tennis shoes as you walk among those flames of Hades. A Kevlar (bullet proof) vest, as dey say in parts of Noth Joisey and most parts of Brooklyn, "voidn't hoit."

This is only to confess to you, my friends and readers, my failings as a blogger. I have - quite obviously - sinned.

Mea culpa, Mea culpa, Mea Maxima Nissan Stanza.

My "secrets" have been, apparently, quite "telling". To paraphrase Sally Fields, of "The Flying Nun" fame, "They hate me, they really, really hate me!"

Oh, they'll deny it - and, in fact, protest quite strenuously that they don't, but if you were (and again, I'm NOT encouraging this) to go to that heinous web site and 'google' my name, you'd be able to tell, in less than a nanno second, that they doth protest too much.

Their hatred of anything that does not fit neatly into their wee, teeny-tiny little boxes of faith or definition of God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit or the Church is a putrid stench that disturbs the nostrils of God and insults the vast intelligence of the Almighty Creator.

I really don't know what to say. I'm deeply, deeply ashamed of this nomination and, at the same time, I confess, profoundly curious about what this really means.

Clearly, they don't know about Lisa and "My Manner of Life." Or, "Episcopal Majority." Neither do they know about MadPriest across the pond. Or, Katie Sherrod's brilliant, "Desert's Child." Or, Michael Hopkins'"From Glory Into Glory." Or, Ann Fontaine's "Sea Shell Seller" Or, Tobias Hollar's "In A Godwardly Direction." Or, "Thinking Anglicans" Or, "Anglicans Online." Or, the ever entertaining and stimulating "Louie Crew's Current Natter." Or, for that matter the always brilliant Dylan Bruler's amazing blog, "Sarah Laughed."

I've only begun to list some of the bright and challenging and incredible stars in the Progressive Anglican Skyline. There are so many more - and you won't find a shred, not one iota, of venom in any one of them.

Ah, more's the pity.

If those nasty "Bottom Feeders" (You know what? Calling the kettle beige, as it were, and naming that truth is what REALLY earned me this nomination. Think about THAT for a second, boys and girls!) stopped reading me for two and a half seconds and spent more time with the intelligentsia and cognoscenti of the Progressive Movement, they might not be so nasty.

Oh, we are such a broken, wounded Body of Christ - as naked and vulnerable as the Babe in the Manger whose saving grace we yet await to come into the very heart of the enterprise of being The Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion.

Ora pro nobis.

A short, sweet Christmas Story

This just in from my Sr. Warden, from a conversation he was having with his just-this-week-turned three year old daughter:

Olivia and I were just talking about Christmas. I said, "We're going to be going to Church alot."

And she said sweetly, "I love Church."

Life is good.

Quote of the Day

I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.

Og Mandino


NB: Many thanks to my beloved sister, Ann Fontaine, for sending this:

"Progressive pilgrims" and "Emergent conservatives"

NOTE: This is probably the most helpful, insightful analysis of the current situation in The Episcopal Church today. I'm not certain, yet, if it finds application in the world-wide Anglican Communion, or if it is unique to The Episcopal Church. In any event, it is the most intelligent, hopeful thing I've read to date. God knows, we could use a little more intelligence and hope right about now. A lovely Christmas present, Ms. Butler-Bass. Thank you.


Thursday, December 14, 2006
Diana Butler Bass: Beyond Two Party Paradigms

Last week, I participated in a Washington Post real-time online chat about divisions in the Episcopal Church around issues of church politics, sexual identity, and biblical interpretation - a combustible combination that I typically try to avoid. But the Post offered me a chance to explain contemporary change in religious communities and I saw it as an opportunity to help people see some important shifts that are happening around us.

Many people - including most of last week's questioners - assume that the Episcopal Church is engaged in an argument between two religious parties: liberals and conservatives. I have long doubted the wisdom of two-party paradigms, believing that two-party analyses primarily serve the interest of partisanship. In the chat, I responded to one participant with the following:

I do not believe that there are only two sides in this dispute - I can identify five distinct groups.

Yes, there are two parties in tension: Old-line liberals and radicalized conservatives. This is the fight we most often read about in the media. However, you point out a third possibility, a centrist party that is trying to navigate between the two extremes. The extremes aren't the whole story.

However, there are two additional groups, and these two are far less noticed. I refer to these groups (they don't have a clear "party" identity) as "progressive pilgrims" and "emergent conservatives." These two groups tend to see "issues" like this one as secondary concerns to the practice of Christian faith and are more concerned with things like hospitality, living forgiveness, practicing reconciliation, learning to pray, feeding the hungry, caring for the environment, and maintaining the Anglican practice of comprehensiveness (being a church of the "middle way"). They may lean slightly left or slightly right on "issues," but reject partisan solutions to theological problems. Both progressive pilgrims and emergent conservatives are far more interested in unity than uniformity, and they appreciate diversity in their congregations as a sign of God's dream for humanity to live in peace.

These comments are about much more than the Episcopal Church or any single issue. They are observations about the emergence of new tendencies and groupings in American religion. These groups are not some mushy middle of conflict-avoidant people. Rather, they are new positive expressions of religious identity going beyond the old definitions of liberal and conservative.

Centrists exist as a moderating group between the old partisan divides, seeking to find healthy, creative space for the common good. The two relatively new groups, the "progressive pilgrims" and "emergent conservatives" represent post-liberal and post-conservative alternatives to the older parties. These groups are not identical, but they share some common tendencies. All three attempt to resist the radical politicization that has marked American denominations since World War II while trying to reground the church on spiritual practice, serious engagement with scripture, and generous Christian tradition. They reject old arguments, old policies, old stereotypes, and old ways of doing business.

As I said in the Post chat:

If the centrists, the progressive pilgrims, and emergent conservatives can come together and offer their distinctive spiritual gifts in the midst of this conflict, I think the Episcopal Church may be able to move forward.

If these groups forge friendships, finding fellow walkers on other paths, it would do more than change the Episcopal Church - it could change both our national religious and political conversations.

In the last year, it has become increasingly clear that Sojourners is serving as one of the places where these three groups come together around practicing justice - and learning to appreciate and hear one another's perspectives. Opening space for new conversation changes conversation. And offering new paradigms for seeing what is happening in the world around us opens our imaginations to creative solutions and new possibilities as we seek to enact God's dream for humankind.

Diana Butler Bass (www.dianabutlerbass.com) is the author of "Christianity for the Rest of Us," recently named one of the best books of the year by both Publishers Weekly and The Christian Century.

Santa Responds to Critics of Creationism and The Need for Christmas Silliness and Absurdity

Okay, here's the thing: I have shamelessly stolen this cartoon from MADPRIEST's blog (he's graciously given permission to take whatever we want/need while ungraciously insisting that we give him credit, so there you are, Jonathan, darling) because, for many, many people, this is decidedly NOT "the most wonderful time of the year."

I suspect it's very much the same for pastors everywhere. We hear more heartbreaking stories per day during the last week in Advent, Christmastide and during Holy Week, than at any other time in the year.

There hasn't been a morning this week, for example, when I've been coming into my office, key in the door, when someone "just drops by" and ends up weeping in my arms.

"I've been downsized."

"My mother has been diagnosed with Cancer."

"My uncle had a heart attack and is in the hospital. My aunt died three years ago this week. Gee, do you think there's any connection there?"

"My father's last remaining relative just died - we're flying out for the funeral on Christmas Eve so we won't be home for any of the services. I'm so sorry . . . . I'd so much rather be here . . . ."

And so it goes.

This results in what I call the "Pastoral Silliness Impulse." Now, more than ever, pastors and those of the Baptized who are in positions of pastoral leadership and trust whom I know and love and have any health within them have an almost uncontrollable impulse for that which is silly.

Personally, it will not be much longer before I move past the impulse for the silly and begin to crave the absurd. You know, the kind of stuff that makes you laugh right out loud at that which, at least on the surface, may seem totally lacking in any humor whatsoever.

Believe it or not, it gives me some balance.

Now, admittedly, there is a fine line between "silly" and "absurd." The line is even thinner between good taste and bad, and much of what is silly and abusurd Christmas humor dwells in that space.

An example? Sure!

There is a house on King's Road, right over the Chatham line and into Madison (of course!) which has been decorated with more "holiday kitsch" than is aboslutley necessary.

I used the term "holiday kitsch" intentionally. This is obviously a home of a mixed marriage - Christian and Jew - with an obvious sense of the silly and absurd - which places their sense of 'good taste' in serious jeopardy.

There is a lovely electical Menorah which is mounted on the house, just to the left of the large picture window which boasts a well-decorated Christmas tree inside the living room. I've driven by and watched as every day, another blue light is lit on the Menorah, marking the Eight Days of Chanukah.

That's neither silly nor absurd. This is:

Yesterday, there appeared on the Menorah an image of the backside of Santa who has seemingly run smack-dab into the side of the house and hangs there, in the middle of the Menorah, by his fingertips.

This has not interferred with either the progression of lighting of the Menorah or the presence of the Christmas tree in the window.

Wouldn't you just LOVE to know the story behind that one?

I was laughing so hard, I had to pull over to the side of the road.

Thank goodness this has come into my life at this time. For the past three Christmases, a man on my street has had a lovely, tasteful (this is Chatham, of course) display of two white reindeer mounted on his front lawn. One looks as if she is eating grass, head bowed and front feet down, with the other, obviously proud male, stands tall, looking in the other direction, to protect his mate. A lovely little Christmas tableau. I've suspected it is also giving an unintended message about the nature of this "holy family" - or, at least, how someone in that household sees itself.

Except, in the middle of the night, every day with astonishing regularity, someone comes by and rearranges the tableau. Instead of being mounted on the lawn in pastoral family-values delight, the morning's light reveals another image: the front end of male reindeer is mounted on the back end of the female reindeer, providing yet another message about what at least one of the neighbors thinks is the nature of this "holy family."

That display has not gone up in front of that house this year. Gee, do you think this has anything to do with the fact that the husband was caught in a torrid affair with one of our neighbors and the wife has filed for divorce?

Nah! That's absurd!

Precisely.

And so, I laugh. "Ho Ho Ho" is not necessarily "Ha Ha Ha" - if you know what I mean.

So, if you or the pastor you know and love seems a bit off base this year, please try to understand. The best remedy I know is to dish up a healthy serving of the silly. Move to the absurd as needed. It will be a mercy and a blessing.

After all, asking people to believe in things like the Immaculate Conception and Incarnation of God is all the evidence you really need that the closer you move to God, the nearer you get to the heart of The Absurd.

As you consider The Absurd, reflect for a moment on this quote from Barbara Brown Taylor in her book, MIXED BLESSINGS:

"Mary was smart enough or naive enough to believe what was said to her in what seemed like a dream and believed in her Holy Child even before he was more than a dollop of cells in her womb. Which only goes to show that once you let God in - there's no telling, no telling at all - what will come out."


Somebody in the church give me an, "Amen."

Note: Apparently, I did not adhere strictly to the requesst by MADPRIEST. If the link above does not work, visit his site at http://revjph.blogspot.com before he trips the light fantastic and becomes completely insane.

Two Cartoons From 'CartoonChurch.Com' That Made Me Giggle

The Wages of War (to date)

2956

The Associated Press count of “members of the U.S. military” who have died in Iraq since March 2003


295

The Associated Press count of “members of the U.S. military” who have died in “Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan and surrounding areas.

This does not include numbers of “collateral damage” – innocent Iraqi and Afghani men women and children who have also died.

Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison

Looking at Advent through Rose Colored Vestments

(Because it's true, you know: Mary really wanted a girl!)

As I was looking at the picture of this wonderful little church which I placed on this blog, I realized that I had missed an opportunity to show off our new Rose Colored Vestments.

They were made last year by Colleen Hintz (CLHintz@aol.com) and commissioned by our Altar Guild in memory and honor of Ruth Prinz, who left a very handsome bequest to their ministry.

What you see on the left is a Holly sprig, often associated with the Nativity of our Lord as a foreshadow of his Most Holy Passion.

On the right is a Glastonberry Rose, a bowl of which, even as we speak, sits on the Queen's dining room table. (That would be the Queen of England, darlings.) There is great mythology about the Glastonberry Rose - the bloom of which reportedly sprung from the staff of St. Peter who, upon landing in the Faire Isle of Britian to establish Christianity, stuck his staff in the ground. A splinter from his staff nestled itself in the ground and, lo, how a rose 'ere blooming!

There is also a monastery there in Glastonberry, the most delicious rumor about which is that the bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere were/are buried there.

Here's the really lovely thing about this set. It, like the woman it honors, is not only beautiful and cool, it is very, very practical.

It reverses to a brick red theme for Palm Sunday and Holy Week. You can see the Jerusalem Palm which adorns the stole on both sides. Cool, eh?

The material is a lovely, light-weight duplioni silk.

I'm told that the silk is made by forcing two silk worms to inhabit the same "cell," which results in the irregular but beautiful and original pattern to the 'bumps' in this raw silk material.

This chasubel and stole are complimented by a fully reversible frontal, lectern and pulpit hangings, as well as a burse, veil and offertory plate centers.

So, not only is this set beautiful, it is practical.

We use the Rose Vestments, of course, on Advent III and Lent IV, and the Brick Red Vestments for Palm Sunday and Holy Week.

There, now, I feel much, much better having told you all of that.

Expecting Thomas

A Homily Preached at the 7 AM Eucharistic Service of Healing
Week of Advent III – December 20, 2006
the Rev'd Elizabeth Kaeton, rector and pastor

Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Thomas, perhaps more widely known as “Doubting Thomas.”

I love it that he makes a predictable appearance in our lectionary for one holiday and then is a complete surprise for another.

We have come to expect Thomas to show up right after the Resurrection. He’s the one who insists on placing his hands into the wounds of Jesus before he will believe in the resurrection of Christ.

We don’t expect him now – just before the Nativity of our Lord.

If Thomas must place his hands in the wounds of Christ, it appears he must place himself in the womb with Christ before his actual birth, as if to raise for us once again the possibility of doubt as a part of the life of faith.

While I don’t think a belief in the classical definitions of the Atonement is necessary to be a Christian, and I believe that confidence and trust in the power of the Resurrection is an essential element of the Christian faith, I can’t imagine claiming to be a follower of Jesus without belief in the Incarnation.

I mean, what would be the point? How would that make Jesus different from, say, belief in the Buddha, or for that matter, Joan of Arc, or Gandhi, or Martin Luther King, Jr., or any one of the saints who were holy men and women whose teachings were godly and whose deaths were sacrificial?

This past Sunday, we heard John the Baptist (Luke 3:7-18) say, “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” If you have any doubt about that, or about the Incarnation of God in Christ Jesus, then not to worry.

‘Doubting Thomas’ will make his appearance, at least on the Calendar of Saints, to keep you company as we travel these last few days of Advent. His presence reminds us that, in the miraculous way of our God, doubt is often as essential to our faith as is wonder and awe.

How, then, is the human mind to take in and comprehend the miracle of the Incarnation?

As we finish all the last minute details of the holiday festivities and begin to make our annual spiritual pilgrimage to Bethlehem to bear witness to the miracle which happened there, perhaps it would be good to take along these adult words of Jesus which he spoke to Thomas at his resurrection: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (John 20:29)

Better yet, perhaps we will need these words of Thomas as we behold the Christ Child, laying in the manger, “My Lord and my God.”

Amen.

Getting ready for Christmas at St. Paul's

A lovely little story to tell when the conversation at the next Christmas party gets boring . . . .

(. . . . Okay, it's not lovely at all and some will revile you for telling it, but the 'groan factor' in this one is so bad you won't be able to resist. This one is worthy enough even for my bishop Jack Croneberger, the King of Punography and Reigning Monarch of Groansville. . . .)


Far away in the tropical waters of the Caribbean, two prawns were swimming around in the sea - one called Justin and the other called Christian.

The prawns were constantly being harassed and threatened by sharks that inhabited the area.

Finally one day Justin said to Christian, "I'm fed up with being a prawn, I wish I was a shark, then I wouldn't have any worries about being eaten."

A large mysterious cod appeared and said, "Your wish is granted" and lo and behold, Justin turned into a shark. Horrified, Christian immediately swam away, afraid of being eaten by his old mate.

Time passed (as it invariably does) and Justin found life as a shark boring and lonely. All his old mates simply swam away whenever he came close to them. Justin didn't realise that this new menacing appearance was the cause of his sad plight.

While swimming alone one day he saw the mysterious cod again and he thought perhaps the mysterious fish could change him back into a prawn.

He approached the cod & begged to be changed back, and lo and behold, he found himself turned back into a prawn.

With tears of joy in his tiny little eyes Justin swam back to his friends and bought them all a cocktail. (The punch line does not involve a prawn cocktail - it's much, much worse).

Looking around the gathering at the reef he realised he couldn't see his old pal. "Where's Christian?" he asked.

"He's at home, still distraught that his best friend changed sides to the enemy & became a shark", came the reply.

Eager to put things right again and end the mutual pain and torture, he set off to Christian's abode.

As he opened the coral gate memories came flooding back. He banged on the door and shouted, "It's me, Justin, your old friend, come out and see me again."

Christian replied, "No way man, you'll eat me. You're now a shark, the enemy, and I'll not be tricked into being your dinner." Justin cried back "No, I'm not. That was the old me. I've changed...."


Ready????


Okay, here goes . . . . (but don't say I didn't warn you) . .. . .


Justin said,


"I've found Cod. I'm a Prawn again, Christian"

My favorite Christmas Card to date

Smile! It's the "Holiday Season"

A Canadian friend sent me this fictious series of Inter-office Memoranda which made me laugh right out loud. Navigating the dangerous waters of political correctness in a diverse, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, religiously pluraform world can sometimes be dangerous to your health.

FROM: Pauline Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: 4th November 2006

RE: Christmas Party

I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols...please feel free to sing along. And don't be surprised if the MD shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit at 1.00 p.m. Exchange of gifts among employees can be done at that time, however, no gift should be over £10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone's pockets. This gathering is only for employees! The MD will make a special announcement at the Party.

Merry Christmas to you and your Family.

Pauline


FROM: Pauline Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: 5th November 2006

RE: Holiday Party

In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Chanukah is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on we're calling it our 'Holiday Party'. The same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians. There will be no Christmas tree or Christmas carols sung. We will have other types of music for your enjoyment. Happy now?

Happy Holidays to you and your family,

Pauline.



FROM; Pauline Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: 6th November 2006

RE: Holiday Party

Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table.......you didn't sign your name. I'm happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads "AA Only", you wouldn't be anonymous anymore!!!! How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody? Forget about the gift exchange, no gift exchange allowed now since the union officials feel that £10.00 is too much money and Management believe £10.00 is a little cheap. NO GIFT EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.

Pauline.




FROM: Pauline Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: 7th November 2006

RE: Holiday Party

What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees' beliefs - perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party - or else package everything up for you to take home in a little foil doggy bag. Will that work?

Meanwhile, I've arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet and pregnant women will get the table closest to the toilets, Gays are allowed to sit with each other, lesbians do not have to sit with gay men - each will have their own table. Yes, there will be flower arrangements for the gay men's table too. To the person asking permission to cross dress - no cross dressing allowed. We will have booster seats for short people. Low fat food will be available for those on a diet. We cannot control the salt used in the food so we suggest those people with high blood pressure taste the food first.. There will be fresh fruits as dessert for diabetics as the restaurant cannot supply "No Sugar" desserts. Sorry! Did I miss anything?!?!?!?!?!

Pauline.



FROM: Pauline Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All F****** Employees

DATE: 8 November 2006

RE: The F****** Holiday Party!

Vegetarian pricks I've had it with you people !!! We're going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the "Grill of Death", as you so quaintly put it; you'll get your f****** salad bar, including organic tomatoes, but you know tomatoes have feeling too. They scream when you slice them. I've heard them scream. I'm hearing them scream right NOW!! I hope you all have a rotten holiday, drink drive and die.

The B* tch from HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




FROM: John Bishop - Acting Human Resources Director

DATE: 9th November 2006

RE: Pauline Lewis and Holiday Party

I'm sure I speak for all of us in wishing Pauline Lewis a speedy recovery, and I'll continue to forward your cards to her. In the meantime, the Management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and instead, give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd December off with full pay

'Not-Yet-Ready-for-Prime-Time' Christmas Pageant

Ask any pastor with the courage to give an honest answer: The coordination of the Annual Christmas Pageant is a task best assigned to curates, the newly ordained and/or members of the congregation with an indomitable spirit, invincible determination and the unmitigated chutzpah known primarily (although not exclusively) by the young and inexperienced.

“Organized chaos” is a term too mild to be applicable.

Yesterday's pageant at St. Paul’s, however, was not like your ordinary Christmas Pageant. It’s more like a Tableau by Rembrandt. There is only one speaking part: The Narrator – which is shared by three children. There are, however, lots and lots and LOTS of parts for kids to play: Angels, Stars, Sheep, Cows, Donkeys, Camels and Horses; Roosters, Chickens, and Ducks. This year we even had a Frog and a puppet Mouse who kept squeaking whenever one of the narrators spoke.

There are, of course, Shepherds in striped bath robes, three Wise Men with long beards of cotton held on by an elastic around their heads, Mary, all wrapped up in a blue sheet, Joseph, looking suspiciously like one of the Shepherds, and the Infant Jesus, this year, played by an infant girl I recently baptized. (Well, we do know why there’s a pink candle in the Advent wreath – because Mary really wanted a girl!)

At the appointed time announced by the Narrator, the appropriate characters come forward and take their place in the tableau in front of the altar. That’s it. All they have to do is make an entrance on cue.

It’s brilliant, really. No lines to memorize. No undue stress during the already stressful holiday season. Just a few rehearsals and lots of coaching from the sidelines and you’re home free. Well, that is if the cow doesn’t bellow because the horse stepped on her foot and one of the angels doesn’t announce in a very loud whisper that she has to go potty – RIGHT NOW!

The play is accompanied by the Youth Choir and a hearty band of Church Minstrels: five violists and one cello, a French horn, a bassoon, three flutists, four clarinets, one trombone, one trumpet, one tenor sax and, of course, a piano. The sound is not exactly heavenly, except upon the ears of the parents and very proud grandparents who have the uncanny ability to hear only their child’s instrument, anyway.

I’m sad to note that there were no guitars this year. I sort of liked last year’s version of ‘Silent Night’. It was performed by several young adolescent men with extraordinarily high levels of testosterone, matched only by the length of their hair that mostly covered their eyes. They strummed away, guitar resting on a hip thrust out just so. ‘Posers,’ the girls called them. It was ‘Silent Night’ as it has never before been played. With attitude. Tons of attitude. Just the way I suspect the Teen Jesus would have loved it.

Second only to this experience is the Children’s Sermon at Christmas Eve, wherein the pastor sits on the chancel steps, surrounded by children who would much rather be at home, shaking and jiggling the Christmas presents to guess the contents, or snitching one more piece of candy off the plate left out for company. One of my clergy friends described this experience as akin to diving into a bucket of live bait.

Last year, the children helped me put the crèche together, identifying the different characters as I told the Nativity story. They correctly guessed the names of two of the three wise men, Melchor and Balthazar, but got stumped on the third. Just as I was about to reveal the name, one of the children excitedly raised his hand. “I know, I know!” he said. “It was Eisenhower!”

You have to give the young child credit. It does go better than ‘Gaspar.’

Organized chaos. I imagine that’s exactly what the First Noel was like. An indomitable spirit, invincible determination and the unmitigated chutzpah known primarily (although not exclusively) by the young and inexperienced. Feeling awkward and vulnerable but surrounded by those who love you unconditionally and are rooting for you to do well. Everyone having a part to play – no matter how small – in the unfolding drama of God’s incarnation. Listening for the holy amidst the cacophony of human life.

Come to think of it, life doesn’t get much better than that! For that matter, neither does church.

May your Christmas be filled with unexpected but long-awaited joy and delight!

Naughton's Finest: "Dining while gay, and other crimes"

FROM The Daily Episcopalian: Faith, culture, politics and The Episcopal Church, brought to you by the Diocese of Washington

Dining while gay, and other crimes

The members of Truro and the Falls Church have now declared that belonging to a church that permits gays and lesbians to become bishops is too great a tax on their conscience, while belonging to a church that believes gay people should be imprisoned for eating together in public is not.

I can suggest three reasons that Bishop Martyn Minns and his flock may have taken this decision. The first is naked bigotry. The second is a willingness to trade the human rights of innocent Africans for a more advantageous position in the battle for control of the Anglican Communion. The third is a profoundly distorted understanding of who Jesus was and what he taught.

I’d like to believe that the last of these reasons explains the majority of the votes, because I recognize that my own salvation may depend on God showing mercy to those of us who are sincere in our misapprehensions.

But, if Bishop Minns and his followers do, indeed, believe that gay Nigerians should be imprisoned for visiting a restaurant together, they need to inform us whether they believe gay Americans should be imprisoned for similar activities. And if they do not support the criminalization of such behavior in the United States, they need to explain why they favor--or, at the very least, acquiesce--in depriving Nigerians of rights that Americans enjoy.

Jim Naughton
http://blog.edow.org/weblog/2006/12/dining_while_gay_and_other_cri.html

See also: Truro and Falls Church Vote in Favor of Bigotry
at Fr. Jake Stops The World (Actually, the title says it all)

http://frjakestopstheworld.blogspot.com/2006/12/falls-and-truro-vote.html

Then again, maybe not . . .Just in on AOL News

Updated:2006-12-17 17:01:29
Two Parishes Bolt From Episcopal Church
More May Follow in Fight Over Gay Relationships
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
AP

FAIRFAX, Va. (Dec. 17) - Two of the largest Episcopal parishes in Virginia voted overwhelmingly Sunday to break from The Episcopal Church and join fellow Anglican conservatives forming a rival U.S. denomination.

Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church plan to place themselves under the leadership of Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who has called the growing acceptance of gay relationships a "satanic attack" on the church.


The archbishop hopes to create a U.S. alliance of disaffected parishes called the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. Truro rector Martyn Minns was consecrated a bishop in the Church of Nigeria earlier this year to lead Akinola's American outreach.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is saddened by any split from the church and will consult her advisers on how the denomination should respond, said Bob Williams, the national Episcopal spokesman.

Ninety percent of Falls Church parishioners and 92 percent of Truro members who cast ballots in the last week supported cutting ties with The Episcopal Church, parish leaders said Sunday.

Six other Virginia parishes are voting this month whether to leave.

The Truro and Falls Church break is likely to spark a lengthy, expensive legal fight over the historic properties, which are worth millions of dollars.

The Episcopal Church, the U.S. wing of global Anglicanism, has been under pressure from traditionalists at home and abroad since the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Theological conservatives are a minority within the 2.2 million-member U.S. denomination, but their protests have had an impact.

Episcopal researchers estimate that at least one-third of the nearly 115,000 people who left the denomination from 2003 to 2005 did so because of parish conflicts over Robinson.

Seven of 100 U.S. Episcopal dioceses have threatened to break from the denomination, but have so far stayed put. The closest any have come to leaving was a vote earlier this month in the Diocese of San Joaquin, in Fresno, Calif., endorsing a first step toward seceding. But the diocese must take a second vote next year before they can formalize a split.

The state of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion is far worse.

Most overseas Anglicans believe gay relationships violate Scripture and contend liberal interpretation of the Bible should not be accepted.

Struggling to hold the communion together, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, has said that the communion may have to create a two-tier system of membership, with branches that ordain partnered gays given a lesser status.

Akinola is among the conservatives who aren't waiting for a negotiated solution.

Under Anglican tradition, his move into Episcopal territory amounts to an invasion. Archbishops agree not to plant churches outside the borders of their own regional churches.

In a statement Friday, Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, said that the archbishop of Canterbury has not "indicated any support" for the mission.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 2006-12-17 15:26:20

Wetback Mountain

Suddenly, it's hip to be FABULOUS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTpvdiM0aGo&eurl=

CAUTION: Please do not view this video while eating food or drinking liquid as it may cause damage to your computer screen.

A Blue Christmas

Well, we at The Episcopal Church of St. Paul in Chatham, NJ are about to embark on a liturgical experiment. We are about to observe our first Blue Christmas.

Don't know about Blue Christmas?

Let me tell you.

Blue Christmas is for those who are facing the joy of Christmas with the pain of loss. This is a service for those who have suffered loss - the death of a loved one, the gut-wrenching loss of a child, the loss of a job or chronic unemployment or underemployment, the loss of a friend due to estrangement, the loss of sobriety, the loss of a dream or a goal or a hope or a vision.

It is for the broken-hearted and the grief-stricken. It is for those whose souls are weary and in need of a word of hope.

We are holding our first Blue Christmas Service at The Episcopal Church of St. Paul, Chatham, NJ on Saturday, December 23 at 4 PM.

Some scripture reading (Isaiah 40, Psalm 22, Matthew 11:28-29). Some Christmas hymns (O Little Town of Bethlehem. Silent Night. O Come, O Come Emmanuel). Lots of silence for prayer. Candle lighting. An opportunity to put a loved one's name on a "Christmas Star of Remembrance." A Christmas Remembrance Tree in the Narthex, by the window which overlooks our Columbarium and Memorial Garden. A reception with following the service with some conversation.

All in all about an hour or so. One need not be an Episcopalian to attend. The best hour's worth of investment I can think of in the Season of Advent.

I just got this litany from a woman in FL which I think is astounding. It was sent to me by Jeanie Locicero, an Episcopalian who earns a living as Director of Worship Arts and Youth, Allendale United Methodist Chruch, Saint Petersburg FL.

I'm happy to share it with you.

If any of you have had experience with a Blue Christmas please do share what you've learned. It's a daunting task to deal with grief at Christmastide - my own and that of others. It will be our second Christmas without our beloved Jaime. In some ways, this is harder than the first.

Your suggestions, guidance and advice are greatly appreciated.


Litany for Blue Christmas Service

Reader: God who is with us, in this season of looking forward; of anticipating the celebration of your Son's birth and return in glory; we often find ourselves uncomfortable, uneasy, worried and sad. The lights and gaiety, the music, the bright joy around us, often make us more unquiet, more out of step, feeling even more disconnected and different.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: Some of these feelings come from false expectations. Others come from real situations and issues that face us or those we love. Some are from events we may influence and some are beyond our control. Trusting in your grace and provision, we name these situations and face the pain and dislocation they cause us. We claim your promise to companion us in bearing them. We claim your steadfast love for us, knowing you will help us find peace for our troubled spirits. We claim your wise and merciful power, that you will meet each need as is best for us.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: God of Light and Life, we light this candle for all those who are struggling with issues involving physical or mental health. We especially remember those struggling with cancer, depression, or thoughts of suicide. May its light remind us all of the healing available to us in Christ Jesus. Hear our prayers that anguish be minimized and your good plan fulfilled for each who suffer.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are struggling with issues involving financial concerns, job loss, seemingly insurmountable debt. May its light remind us all that you are the Great Provider, you will give us our daily bread. Empower us to take the steps we need to solve these problems. Draw us to the right people and programs to help us.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: We light this candle for all those who grieve. You know our deepest need, you understand our pain- lost dreams, lost opportunities, the separation of death. May its light remind us that we are not orphaned, we are not alone. Grant us grace that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, and in death resurrection.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: We light this candle for all those who wrestle with the chains of addiction. Help us to name that which enslaves us and face it: food, alcohol, drugs, pornography, shopping, escapism, self medication, and self abuse in all its forms. May this candle bring your light to those secret, and not so secret, activities of imprisonment. Hear our prayers for deliverance and freedom; help us and those we love break the hold of these evils.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are victims of violence in any of its forms. May its light lead us to peace, safety, and truth. Pour forth encouragement to claim your help in healing physically and spiritually, to trust in your justice, to find assistance, to resist blaming ourselves, to be confident in the future you have planned for us, a future full of hope.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are experiencing the pain of broken relationships with family, children, spouses, and friends. May its light remind us of the pure communion you desire for all your creation. Our desire for this same communion makes estrangement so painful. Lead us to relinquish the hold broken relationships have on us, to forgive ourselves for our contribution to the breach, to forgive those who have hurt us, to take the steps to mend that relationship, if possible. Lord, we know that sometimes we suffer from a broken relationship with someone who is now dead. Help us to prayerfully examine, receive and extend forgiveness in that situation, that we may live again.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are suffering the consequences of war, famine and unbridled disease. May its light remind us of your holy calling to every believerÂ… you are the light of the world. Change the hearts of all who resort to violence, who seek revenge. Protect those who find themselves far from home serving their nations or the needy. We know you are in the midst of those in anguish and pray that your healing presence will be seen, felt, and embraced. Reveal to us how to join in your saving work- to make tangible gifts to alleviate suffering, to support those on the front lines of natural and manmade disasters, to pray unceasingly for peace in our families, our neighborhoods, our world.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Reader: We light this candle for all those who are estranged from you, who are besieged with doubts, who are overwhelmed by the world and do not claim your presence in their lives. We pray for them, and therefore ourselves, for we confess that each of us knows this condition. Lord, may the light of your love lead us all home to you.

We ask all these things in the strong name of Jesus.

All: Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.

Amen.