A Wild Goose Chase Into The Woods

The Anamchara Fellowship, June 15, 2012

A sermon for the installation of Abbess Barbara Clare, AF

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Wayne, PA

June 15, 2012 – The Rev’d Dr. Elizabeth Kaeton, preacher

Please pray with me: (sung) Into the woods / It's time to go, / I hate to leave, / I have to, though. Into the woods / It's time, and so / I must begin my journey. In the Name of the Triune God, who is Beloved, who is Love, and who Loves unconditionally. Amen.

It is a somewhat daunting task to preach for the Installation of an Abbess, especially when said Abbess has been your partner in life for more than half your life. Oh, the stories I could tell – but, won’t. (Well, I promised I wouldn’t.)

What I do want you to know is that your Abbess is a huge Disney fan. So, be warned: If you ever have community movie night and she is in charge of the film selection, be prepared to watch one of the Disney classics like Old Yeller, Mary Poppins or The Parent Trap.  Failing that, she may also try to convince you to watch The Bells of St. Mary or The Song of Bernadette or even, God help us, It’s a Wonderful Life – even when it’s not Christmas. 

Consider yourselves warned.

I am not a great fan of Disney (I don’t like the way he treats the women characters), but I do love Broadway plays. Musicals are a favorite. Your new Abbess, of course, does not. Except for one. It’s the Steven Sondheim, James Lapine work known as Into the Woods.

In fact, she loves it so much that she asked me if I could work it in somehow into this sermon. In the more than 26 years I've been ordained, she’s never made any request of any sermon I’ve ever written. So, given the occasion, how could I refuse? The thing of it is, she’s right. 

She often is, but please don’t let her know that I said that.  (She’s so nervous, she’s only half listening to what I’m saying. Shhhh….)

Sr. BJ - co-founder of Anamchara Fellowship

BJ and Julian, have set this community on a firm foundation. It was their dream, their vision which led us here today and we are all joyful, grateful debtors of their servant leadership. 

And now, a new phase of the life of this community has begun, with new leadership, building on the vision of what has - intended or not - become part of the emergent monastic movement.

There are many, many of these groups of rag-tag Christians, who are deeply hungry to find a way to live a life of prayer and service in community in ways they cannot find in church. 

Some embrace the Benedictine idea of stability, building neighborhoods of people who live with others or, perhaps, in their own homes with their own spouses/partners and children, but who share resources and help each other while providing service to the community.

This community called Anachara Fellowship is unique in that you are not as concerned with stability of location as stability of life.  Your energies are not centered around a church building, or monastery or convent; rather, you constellate your energies around being, as you say, “bound to each other by common ideals and a commitment to prayer and service".

The Pathologist and the Abbess

How will you do this with new leadership? How will you do this with an ever-increasing membership base? Make no mistake: the one certain thing in life is change. 

I’m sure both BJ and Julian could not have asked for or imagined the changes that surround them today – imagined all these faces sitting around the ever-widening circle of membership – imagined ever not being in the driver’s seat of this incredible, mystical journey into a new, emerging form of monasticism.

And yet, here you are, grown and growing and with a new leader. It can all feel a bit like a fairy tale, complete with a Bishop and Priests and Deacons, an Abbess and some religious men and women in modern versions and various stages of medieval clothing. 

All we need is a little girl in a red riding hood, a big bad wolf, a witch and a giant and maybe some magic beans. Where will this new chapter in this journey take us? God knows.

(Sing) The way is clear / The light is good / I have no fear / Nor no one should / The woods are just trees / The trees are just wood / No need to be afraid there— (there’s something in the glade, there). / Into the woods / Without delay / But careful not / To lose the way / Into the woods / Who knows what may / Be lurking on the journey?

This is where I think your new Abbess may be right (Did I just admit that for a second time? Shhhh….). Into the Woods may give us some insights into this event and what is about to unfold and it may even shed some light on the gospel appointed for today (Mt. 20:-20-30).

Into the Woods covers multiple themes: growing up, parents and children, accepting responsibility, morality, and finally, wish fulfillment and its consequences. William A. Henry III wrote that the play's "basic insight ... is that at heart, most fairy tales are about the loving yet embattled relationship between parents and children. Almost everything that goes wrong — which is to say that almost everything that can — arises from a failure of parental or filial duty, despite the best intentions."

In today’s Gospel, the mother of the Sons of Zebedee comes up to Jesus, and, kneeling before him, asks that her sons sit, one at his right hand and one at his left, in his kingdom. Jesus looks at her and says, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” And they say to him, “We are able”.

Fools! They have no idea what they are saying, do they? Then again, it’s easy for us to say. We know how the story ends. Neither James and John nor their mother had any idea – in their wildest imaginings – what was to happen to Jesus and what would happen to them. If they knew, they never would have asked.

We have no idea how this new chapter of your life will end – much less where it will lead. All we can do is to step out together in faith.   

Bishop Brookhart laying hands on Barbara Clare

I want to be clear: There’s great mystery in that, but there is no magic. 

In a few moments, the Bishop will lay his hands on Barbara and she will emerge your new Abbess. Your bishop is wise enough to know that he doesn’t do that by himself. His action only confirms what you and she have heard as a vocational call from God.

I have come to understand that Bishops are called to their role because, while they are supposed to be visionaries, they are also called to have a firm grasp on the obvious. 

Indeed, I think all of us who are called to ministry - lay and ordained - need to have a wee bit of all three: vision and mystery and reality.

The truth is that there is no magic in the habit – much less the veil – any more than there’s magic in the collar I wear around my neck or the mitre the bishop wears on his head. These are just outward and visible signs of the deep mystery of vocation. 

And while titles like ‘the Rt. Rev’d’ and ‘the Rev’d Dr. ‘ and ‘Abbess’ sound important, they are no more important than the fact that our baptism makes us brothers and sisters in Christ.  There is no magic in that but there is a great mystery to our faith. 

Magic and mystery. It’s important not to confuse the two. Grace can look like magic but its real power lies deep in the mystery of faith.

It’s like the song Little Red Riding Hood sings after she emerges from the belly of the wolf:

(Sung) And I know things now, many valuable things / That I hadn't known before. / Do not put your faith in a cape and a hood / They will not protect you the way that they should. / And take extra care with strangers, /  even flowers have their dangers, / And though scary is exciting, /Nice is different than good. / Now I know, don't be scared. / Granny is right, just be prepared. / Isn't it nice to know a lot? / ..And a little bit.. not.

Sr. B.J handing her staff to Abbess Barbara Clare

If your new Abbess is wise – and I believe she is and you were wise to call her – she will understand this and live into it and out of it. And, if she doesn’t, I believe you will be wise enough to let her know.

The thing about leadership in community is that there are as many blessings as there are curses – and sometimes blessings can come disguised as curses and curses can be reversed and become blessings.   

Sometimes, leaders can seem like witches or giants to those who as we like to say in the church, have “issues with authority”.

Truth be told we ALL have issues with authority. We’re Episcopalians, for goodness sake! We broke off from the Church of England in the Anglican Communion to which we both now belong, and we’ve been squabbling with her – and she with us – ever since! 

That’s really what this so-called Anglican Covenant is about. ‘Mother Church” is angry with us for upsetting the so-called “orthodox” members of the family and so she has set out to tell us who we are and the ‘relational consequences” if we are ever naughty again – even though we are a federation of mutually interdependent churches. 

Talk about your ‘issues with authority’!

Bishop Brookhart and Sr. Sheila Brigid, Deacon

The thing about authority is that it comes, part and parcel, with leadership. The thing to keep in mind about servant leadership is that authority comes to the servant leader from Jesus which is always in tension with the authority inherent in the Body of Christ.   

It’s a balancing act – a thing worked out between the vision of the leader and the firm grasp she has on the reality of the community she is called to serve.

When Barbara called me to tell me that she had been elected, I, of course, was thrilled and congratulated her. 

She asked if I had any advice. I thought for a minute and responded, “Well, it’s like the old prostitute once said, ‘It’s not the work. It’s the stairs.’”.

Elevation to a position of authority can bring about resentment, not because the person is inherently bad or good but because sometimes, you have to make decisions that are not popular. Sometimes, a leader will take you places you hadn’t considered before and it makes you anxious or scared and you don’t want to go but the leader presses on and everyone else is joining so you figure you might as well but really don't want to. 

The resentment you harbor in the secret recesses of your heart can help you to turn her into “a witch” – someone you think is not very good and not very nice. She becomes the object of our passive-aggression and/or scapegoating  Except, somewhere inside your knowing, you know she’s right. It can be infuriating and oh, so easy to take it all out on the servant leader. 

I love what the Sondheim witch sings in the song ‘The Last Midnight’: “I’m the witch. I’m not good. I’m not nice. I’m just right. I’m the witch.”

Which is why Jesus teaches his disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many.”

Abbess receiving the obedience of Br. William Morgan

In order to accomplish this, you will have to rely heavily on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

I love the Celtic understanding of the third person of the Trinity. She is a Geadh-Glas - the Wild Goose. Celtic spirituality teaches that the Holy Spirit is the representative of God’s femininity. 

It provides a wonderful balance, I think, to the traditional male-dominated understanding of God.

In many ways, emergent monastic communities like Anamchara Fellowship are on a "wild goose chase" - in search of the Holy Spirit to renew and revitalize their souls and, in so doing, rediscover the radical roots of Christianity in community.

Oh, to be sure, the world sees you as sillies and fools. Those who chase after wild geese - or tilt at windmills or dream the dreams of God for a 'beloved community' – are of’t seen as such.

I can't imagine a better endeavor for those who follow Jesus - nor a new Abbess to lead them in their quest.

Off you go then, into the woods on a wild goose chase.  Here’s my four-fold wish for you: 

May the winds of the Holy Spirit be always at your back. 

May Ruach dance on the chaos of this newly emerging creation. 

May Shekinah take you through the pathos, into ethos, and lead you to Theos. 

And may your ears always be tuned to hear the honking of a Geadh-Glas - a Wild Goose - calling you ever closer to home.

Now, in order to get your wish, you must go (sung): 

 Into the woods/  Where nothing's clear / Where witches, ghosts / And wolves appear.

 Into the woods / And through the fear / You have to take the journey.

  Into the woods / And down the dell, / In vain perhaps / But who can tell?

  Into the woods to lift the spell . . . .

  Into the woods to lose the longing.. . . .

  Into the woods to have the child,

       To wed the Prince / To get the money / To save the house, / To kill the wolf,

       To find the father / To conquer the kingdom /  To have, to wed / To get, to save,

       To kill, to keep, / To go to the Festival!

  Into the woods,

  Into the woods,

  Into the woods,

  Then out of the woods--

And happy ever after! (I wish).                           

Amen.

Emergent Monastic Communities

Tomorrow, at 11 AM, I will be at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA to preach for the Installation of Sr. Barbara Clare (AKA "Ms Conroy") as Abbess of the Anamchara Fellowship.

It's a fairly daunting task, this business of preaching for an Abbess - my first one in 26 years of ordained ministry - but made even more especially so by the fact that I'm preaching for someone I've known and with whom I've shared more than half my life.

My sermon is done but more than three-quarters of what I've written is crumpled up in balls of yellow lined paper and in the trash bin.

Part of what's there is some research I did on monastic communities in general and what I'm calling "emergent monastic communities" in particular, as well as the whole "emergent church movement".

From all that I've read, most of the communities that are popping up, here and there all over the map, are based on the Benedictine idea of stability.  It seems to be in response to the great hunger for community. The need for community is felt all the more deeply because it's lacking.  There is a perception that some have been starved by American individualism into a desperate hunger.

Community is something that churches profess to offer but, for some, either do not go deep enough or fail miserably. The longing - hunger, desire - is for a sense of "neighborhood" where people (the ones Jesus called "neighbors") live in close proximity to each other and share resources, care for one another, and pray together.

It's an ancient form of communal living which has found its way into a modern application without the monastery or convent or even habit or vows of celibacy. Indeed, most of the members of emergent monastic communities are married with children.

But, there's more than just "spiritual hunger" involved in this rise of emergent monasticism. Perhaps the most decidedly unflattering and unflinchingly honest and bold statement about this comes from Elaine A. Heath in her book, The Mystic Way of Evangelism: A Contemplative Vision for Christian Outreach.

". . …there are other, deeper indicators of a loss of vitality in the American church. The accommodation of the church to the consumerism, competitiveness, and individualism of postmodern culture is pervasive, from the opulent lifestyle of prosperity gospel preachers to the ubiquitous “worship wars” to pseudoevangelistic “transfer growth” as churches cater to Christians who shop around for a better deal.

The fruitlessness is experienced by renewal-minded pastors who are appointed to dysfunctional congregations, where they experience abuse and contempt; by evangelistic and prophetic lay people who are stifled by insecure clergy; by pathological church board members who think that because they are “big givers” they own the church and the pastor; by a frenetic grab for every new church-growth program and strategy that comes along because [everyone] knows that if the trend continues their church will not survive; by broken women and men who long to find a spiritual community and come home to God, only to be rejected for the unforgivable sin of divorce; by women who are called and gifted by God for pastoral ministry, only to be silenced or driven out because of gender.

Aridity and fruitlessness are found in the consumeristic objectification of prayer, as if prayer were something that should be “tried” because it “works.”

In the midst of this desert we find ourselves face-to-face with our attachments, with the pantheon of religious idols, large and small, that have supplanted the God we claim to worship. "

Some are walking away from "organized religion" because of this. Others are not convinced that "there is no health" in the institutional church and find refuge and support and nourishment in emergent monastic communities which allows them to continue to be members of congregations.

The Anamchara Fellowship is one of these. Based in Celtic Spirituality (Anamchara is a Gaelic word for "soulfriend"), professed members take three vows:

Simplicity of Life: seeking to live without a spirit of accumulation and using all things with gentleness and respect.
Fidelity: living with integrity and faithfulness in the state of life in which God has placed you, striving for peace and mercy for all.
Obedience: being under the authority of the ecclesial jurisdiction of one's denomination and following the guidelines, customary and constitution of the Fellowship.

The thing is that a few of the members live in small community but they are scattered all over the map and in all four directions. In a way, they are a "fellowship" of small communities who gather several times a year regionally and once a year in one place (this year, it's PA, next year, it's MI).

They take full advantage of technology - praying Compline together via Skype once a week, "chatting" online via a listserv, and doing evangelism on their web page.

Everyone must be self-supporting, a member of a church (some are ordained deacons and priests but the great majority are members of the laity) and have a ministry they practice where they are. Some are teachers and nurses and social workers, others are catechists and spiritual directors and pastoral counselors. They are, as they say, " bound to each other by common ideals and a commitment to prayer and service".

Rev'd M. Sterchi and Bp. Brookhart

Anamchara fellowship has received canonical recognition by the House of Bishops' Committee on the Religious Life.

Their Bishop Visitor is The Rt. Rev. C. Frank Brookhart, Diocese of Montana. Their Anamchara is the Rev'd Margaret Sterchi of New Jersey.

There are many "emergent Christians" who share the same affectionate bonds: Phyllis Tickle, Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren, Shane Clairborne, Tony Jones, Diana Butler Bass, Carl McColman, John O'Donohue, Doug Paqitt, Jay Bakker, Richard Rohr, and Jim Wallis of the Sojourners Community - to name just a few of the more contemporary ones. 

Some even include Rob Bell, the evangelical 'upstart' who has openly and publicly suggested that non-Christians like Gandhi and Buddha are, in fact, in heaven.  Imagine!

They have their critics - especially those who find ideas like Celtic or Thomas Merton's spirituality failing in the orthodoxy known to many churches and monastic communities. 

"Squishy evanjellyfish" is one term applied to Tony Campolo and they criticize emergent Christianity as a "perversion of the Christian faith", a "postmodern progressive de-formation of the Christian faith" - as if that were a bad thing - and "a spiritual free fall out into the delusion of creating your own Christianity with a mystic mush god made in your own image".

It's endlessly entertaining to me that, whenever I hear "orthodox Evangelicals" criticize the ideas of others about God and gasp breathlessly that these "neo-pagans" have created a god in their own image, they seem to lack the insight that no one "owns" an image or understanding of God.  Not even them.

Their objections unintentionally reveal a transparent idolatry to an image or understanding of God whose only real credential is that it is ancient. Never mind that Jesus, Himself, shattered ancient images and understandings of God as an angry, punitive, god of retribution. If you want to know God, He said, look at me. Look through me. See that God is love.

One of the ideas of Celtic spirituality that I'm especially fond of is their expression of the Trinity.  "Friendship is the nature of God. The Christian concept of God as Trinity is the most sublime articulation of otherness and intimacy, an eternal interflow of friendship. Jesus is the secret Anamchara of every individual," writes Celtic spirituality author John O'Donohue.

The 'triquetre' or Celtic trinity knot is prominent in all the Anamchara Fellowship literature. Their profession cross, in fact, has a triquetre.

I love the Celtic imagery for the Holy Spirit - a Geadh-Glas - the Wild Goose. Celtic spirituality teaches that the Holy Spirit is the representative of God’s femininity. It provides a wonderful balance, I think, to the heavily male-dominated understanding of God.

In many ways, emergent monastic communities like Anamchara Fellowship are on a "wild goose chase" - in search of the Holy Spirit to renew and revitalize their souls and, in so doing, rediscover the radical roots of Christianity in community.

Oh, to be sure, they are sillies and fools, as those who chase after wild geese - or tilt at windmills or dream the dreams of God for a 'beloved community' - often are.

I can't imagine a better endeavor for those who follow Jesus - nor a new Abbess to lead them in their quest.

"Shift" Did Not Happen

The Diocese of Newark met in Special Convention in East Orange, NJ, on Saturday, beginning with registration at 8 AM and ending at approximately 12:30 PM to

(1) Consider a canonical amendment to our diocesan canons to incorporate the canonical changes required by A177,
(2) consider policy changes recommended by the Bishop's Advisory Commission on Human Resources (BACHR) and
(3) hear an initial report from the Mission Strategy Committee. 

First, we had Eucharist. The opening words of the processional hymn were from Jeffery Rowthorn's hymn (to the Abbot's Leigh tune) "Lord, you give the great commission, heal the sick and preach the word," providing one moment in the day when many people were smiling broadly.

The bishop preached a fine sermon (he almost always does) until he got to the part about the A177 debate. My gracious! Listening to him, one would have been prepared for the storming of the barricades. Turns out, his fears and anxieties may have had some grounding in his perception of reality, but he was wrong. I'm sure even he was happy about at least that part.

I must say that I couldn't have been more disappointed with the presentation from the Mission Strategy Committee. In my experience, mission is one of the most exhilarating, exciting aspects of the church. It's one part creatively entrepreneurial, one part gospel zeal, and many small parts of cheer leading disguised as education, sermons, and unexpected, illuminating - and, indeed, transformative - conversations.

This is all infused with a deep, abiding joy which helps to carry one over the momentary occasions of doubt and anxiety. Mission, in my experience, can be a bit like finishing the building of an airplane while you're still in flight. 

The presentation from the Mission Strategy Committee was, unfortunately, about as dry as burnt toast.  I heard several people - clergy and laity - ask, "Where's the joy?" Good question. Important question. If we are "doing mission" as an assignment or a necessary evil so more churches won't close, we are going to fail. Miserably.

I think this video of a remix of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood - In The Garden of Your Mind - ought to be mandatory viewing for the Mission Strategy Committee as well as everyone in the Diocese of Newark.  C'mon people! We can do this! We can even want to do this!

Curiosity and creativity are the basic tools for plowing the gospel fields of mission and ministry.

After that presentation, we got down to the reason that we all had to sacrifice a Saturday morning in June to sit in church and make changes to canon law and enact policy changes in clergy compensation packages.

More than 70 clergy and laity in the Diocese of Newark had signed a letter written by the (Newark Episcopal Clergy Association) outlining why we thought A177 was, in general, a bad idea and "cost-sharing" a particularly bad idea.

The basic appeal was one to honesty and transparency: "Cost sharing" is, in fact "cost shifting".

"Sharing" is something one does - willingly or begrudgingly - for the greater good.

"Shifting" is something the institution does to protect itself from what it perceives, at least, as a negative financial impact.

It is usually the institution which determines who will share what, often pitting one group against the other to fight for crumbs while it still holds onto the major portion of the pie (AKA "brokering").

One of the concerns was that A177 is pragmatic to a fault. In striving for "parity and justice", the Church Pension Group - the proponent of A177 in general and DHP (Denominational Health Plan) in particular - did not take into consideration the vast differences in qualifications, requirements, job descriptions and scope of work, nor the foundational theological differences and integrity of the sacred orders of the laity ad the ordained.

Of major concern, however, is that everyone understands that family health coverage could cost congregations thousands of dollars a year; yet, in requiring "single coverage only," clergy spouses/partners and children could be at risk for not having any health insurance coverage.

"That is why it's broken everybody's hearts," said Rev'd Janet Broderick, rector of St. Peter's in Morristown and President of NECA. "It's not that everybody is a penny-pincher. It's 'How do you do this kind of work and not injure your family'". (That, by the way, is a direct quote from an article in the Wall Street Journal. You can find it here - behind the pay wall, unfortunately.)

We tried, long before Convention, to argue on a logical basis: A177 strives for Universal Health Care but that is a concept that is being challenged in our government - right now in the Supreme Court.

Whether or not the establishment of a Denominational Health Care Plan (DHP) is a step in the right direction to achieving Universal Health care - which is to be desired - is still being hotly debated. The Church Pension Group (CPG) has not clearly defined "parity" and can not promise to deliver it across the board from diocese to diocese, much less Episcopal institution to Episcopal institution.

What happens in the "Diocese of Brigadoon" when "St. Swithins in The Swamp" can just barely afford to pay for single insurance for its three employees and yet "St. Aloysius in the Heights" provides its eight employees with full family coverage? Is that justice? Is that really diocesan parity?

Furthermore, the question arises, if the standard of The Episcopal Church is parity and justice to which dioceses and congregations must adhere, but CPG can not deliver on it on a national level in terms of standard premiums throughout the church, then is it a fair claim that justice and parity really are the standards of the whole church?

If you call it a Denominational Health Plan and not everyone in the denomination is treated equally or uniformly, is it still a denominational health plan?

Finally, there are some financial transparency issues which need to be addressed.  That is not a call to questions ethical business practices. As people have considered the deeper questions of this very complex issue, questions have arisen about such things as "management fees" and the projected health of the pension fund after this crop of Boomers retire, and the diminishing crop of people who contribute to the pension because jobs dry up and churches close.

We need more time - as 14 dioceses (eight of which are in Province VI), including the Diocese of Newark, and six bishops have called for in asking General Convention to delay implementation of A177 to 2015 or 2018. One diocese (Ohio) has called for the elimination of DHP.

We also tried to have conversations with the bishop who felt torn between his role as President of the Assembly (Convention) and that of Chief Pastor.

He therefore delegated those conversations to BACHR, who seemed to take the stand that they had listened and heard (a point hotly disputed by) clergy but were unconvinced and resolute in the policy changes they were recommending.

Exhausting all other approaches, we therefore decided on a strategy of defeating the canonical changes which would then collapse the BACHR recommended policy changes.

We were confident that this was low risk, since we believe that the implementation of A177 will be delayed in three weeks by General Convention.  If not, then it would be "our fault" that we were out of compliance with national canon for 25 days (the date of implementation is January 1, 2013. Our diocesan convention is January 24-25, 2013. We thought it was worth the risk.

Our strategy was to appeal on legislative procedures - avoiding the more emotional aspects of the debate on both sides.  Many of our legislative procedural challenges failed, as we thought they would, but it allowed us to surface the important issues without either the emotional drama or theological pontification that are often part of diocesan debates.

Don't you just hate it when "Father A" or "Mother Z" gets up to the microphone and blathers on and on, dressing up a political speech in theological language? Most often, their points are not cogent anyway (if they actually have a point, other than hearing the sound of their own voice) and detract from valuable time.

We only had an hour and a half for the business section of the agenda, which included the presentation of the Mission Strategy Committee. We wanted to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves" as Jesus taught.

Ultimately, the canonical change was defeated 58 to 57 in the clergy order.

It was 62/119 in the lay order.

There were four clergy who decided to abstain based on theological ground. I also noted that a few clergy remained sitting for both the 'aye' and 'nay' vote. And, there were lots of clergy - and laity - who simply didn't attend this Special Convention.

I understand. Been on that high ground myself on one or two occasions in my life.  I was haunted, then - as I am now - by the statement in Matthew 5:37  in which Jesus teaches "Simply say yes or no. Anything more than that comes from the evil one". I'm always hesitant to abstain on a vote unless it really feels like I am not prepared and uninformed to take a stand.  I'm confident that was the case with my sisters and brothers. It's a very complex issue - socially and theologically.

I noticed that many supply and interim and part time clergy also voted for the amendment. I spoke with a few of them who said that while they may have wanted to stand with us, they also wanted to continue to work in the Diocese of Newark.

Many laity came up to me afterward to say that they simply did not understand what was going on. They stood or sat because that's what their clergy were doing. Most everyone expressed to me that they were grateful that we now have more time to be more intentional about studying how Universal Health Care will impact the church and being more informed when the debate surfaces again.

And, it will. Of this, I have no doubt. This is just the first round.

There was one very low point in the debate. Someone raised the point that the lay employees the church has today will not necessarily be the same number/constituency of lay employees that the churches will have tomorrow.  The Chair of the BACHR responded, "Well, 'shift' happens" - an obvious jab at the distinction between "cost sharing" and "cost shifting".

Some applauded, but many voices booed what felt like a very inappropriate, exceedingly unhelpful and snarky remark. I heard several people call out, "Bad form!" It was not the best moment of Special Convention or, in fact, any convention of the Diocese of Newark, and I've been attending since 1991.

We are usually above that sort of snarkiness.

The high point, for me, was not winning. I knew it would be close but I just knew we would prevail. I've learned that you don't call for a vote unless you know you're going to win. Otherwise, you delay.

It was a quiet moment that, perhaps, went unnoticed by many in the room.  One of the members of NECA, a young clergy person, rector of a small rural congregation and father of two young children whom he obviously adores, moved to object to the amendment to Canon 14.

The bishop was taken aback by the movement. He thought it was just a statement of personal objection and not a legislative procedure. The chancellor - who is used to being one of the smartest people in the room and most often is - couldn't seem to find it in Robert's Rules.

The room was respectfully but quizzically hushed. Was this a trick by the clergy? Some kind of devious plot? Why can't the chancellor find it in Robert's Rules of Order? What is going on here?

The person who moved the objection, moved to the microphone with the citation from Robert's Rules. He saw that the chancellor was frustrated. Instead of calling out to her "It's on page ____," or gloating, or snarking, he quietly and respectfully and gently moved to the podium to show her the information. She was visibly grateful.

Such grace and style! Such good form! Such a gentleman! I was so very proud of him in that moment. Leaders set the tone for leadership. That's exactly what this young clergy person did.

I think that's precisely what NECA tried to do - demonstrate that we are intelligent, compassionate leaders who have done our homework and studied the issues and understand some of the implications. We can agree to disagree without drama. We don't need to be heavy-handed or devious or snarky. We just need to be the leaders that we are.

There are many complex aspects of health care reform and the movement to Universal Health Care. For example, while I, personally, do not have a "Cadillac" health plan, I am blessed to have a very good one. Ms. Conroy has Rheumatiod Arthritis and will, no doubt, need to have both knees replaced, eventually. She is in pain a great deal of the time.

In order to work, she uses Lidocaine Patches on both knees. A box of them, which will last her the month, costs $493.31. Celebrex is $261.89.

Because of our Medco insurance - which allows you to buy a three month supply at a reduced rate - she has a copay of $30 each, which we can afford. If I had a lower level insurance, we'd have to pay at least $250 a month for the Lidocaine and another $130 a month for the Celebrex, which we couldn't afford. And, of course, if we had no insurance, that would be almost $800 per month.

If we couldn't afford it, she would begin to miss many work days or not do her job adequately and risk being fired.  If she lost her job.....well.....you know the story. It is being repeated in homes like ours all over this country.

Some people need insurance so they can go to work so they can get insurance so they can work.

Seniors are deciding whether or not to purchase the medication they need or pay the heat or grocery bill. Parents live in fear that if one of their kids falls from a tree and breaks an arm, they could be looking at credit card debt or bankruptcy.

What I want to know is, why are we talking about Health Care Reform and only dealing with the cost of health insurance? Why aren't we talking about the cost of hospitalizations and the corruption of Big Pharma? Why aren't we regulating health care costs at the institutional level instead of shifting the cost onto employers and employees?

When are we going to stop talking about restructuring and start doing it? If mission is best done at the local level, why do we need diocesan staffs and old, expensive diocesan office buildings that are, essentially, money pits? Why not have lots of satellite offices around the diocese?

Why not have the bishop be a rector of a church or dean of the cathedral and be, in that way, "bivocational" the way some bishops are saying all priests will need to be?

Something must be done. The Health Care Reform Act begins to attempt to do that. So does the Denominational Health Plan. However, it makes no sense to rush into put a Band aid on a festering wound. Careful analysis takes time.  We need to know the full effects of our policy changes before we enact them.

Part of The Great Commission is to 'heal the sick and preach the word'.

The Episcopal Church is trying to live into the commission.

"With the Spirit's gifts empower us for the work of ministry."

Moves like Jagger

Proud Nana Alert.

Warning: The following may prove to be so sickening sweet, it may cause nausea and/or vomiting, rot your teeth or induce a severe case of MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over).

On Thursday night, we went drove to NJ to see our granddaughters, Mackie and Abbi, in their dance recital. Mackie is a certifiable "tween" (that's her - last one in the back row) and Abbi is in early elementary school (a video is posted below).

I'm so proud of them, I could just burst. I'm even more proud of their parents who are simply terrific and the reason our granddaughters are such amazing human beings.

Okay, so they're not perfect. They can be bratty and whiny, just like every other kid.

Or, so I've heard. I've never actually seen either one be anything other than perfect in my presence, so I have to take their parents at their word.  In my eyes, they are surpassing sublime perfection.

I've been trying to upload a video I took but Blogger is being difficult. You'll just have to know that Mackie totally rocked it out to "Move like Jagger".  The concentration on her face made me chuckle as I recalled her mother's same expression when she is focused.

Abbi had two performances. The first was a ballet version of "I Hope You Dance". Oh. My. Soul. She smiled brightly and watched the young girl who was leading her dance troop. She did so well! Like a little angel.

The second was based on Katie's Perry's "Fireworks", which she was. A firecracker that is. I loved the mischievous smile on her face. Her father smiles the same way.

I must say, being a Nana is an indescribably delicious experience.

It's a bit like peeking into a special corner of heaven.

It's like watching on rotation of the circle complete itself, even as another rotation is forming.

It's like being in a place where peace and justice meet and embrace - a truly good and right thing which warms the heart and stirs the soul.

It is exhilarating to watch facial expressions and personality traits and phrases of words come together in such as way as to know that you are kin in ways that are beyond mere bloodlines.

It is profoundly hopeful to watch past and present come together and embrace the future in this new creation.

It redeems all those moments when you knew you were the worst parent in the universe - ever - and look to your children and say, "What an incredible human being! I must have done something good."

The thing about being a Nana is that it's a real gift. You can't make it happen. There's no sense waiting around for it to happen. It's totally and completely out of your control.

But, like grace, when it comes, it's freely available and undeniably undeserved.

I don't know if I've ever been able to "move like Jagger". I certainly can't now and I'm younger than Mick Jagger. God bless him. He's still got the moves.

I don't have the moves. Never have. Well, I think I might have once, but the last time I remember moving like Jagger, I got pregnant.

I'm a Nana. I have the grandchildren.

No one will ever write a song about that. Well they might, but it won't get any radio play much less make the Top 50 and it certainly won't be danced to by young 'tweens'.

That's okay. I have the better portion.

A177 - Part Deux

The Diocese of Newark will be meeting in Special Convention on Saturday, to talk about - and decide - whether or not to accept A177 or delay a decision on accepting it until after General Convention in July.

In preparing for that gathering, I have done some research in preparation for Special Convention, I have done a little research. Here's what I've found
 

There are on file, as of this date, 10 resolutions before  General Convention to either delay or suspend the implementation date of A177 until either 2015 or 2018.

Two of these resolutions are from bishops.

B001 A procedural resolution but a necessary canonical change if A177 is to stand. May not make it out of committee if there is an extension or suspension of A177

B002 states: (General Convention) did not, in passing these resolutions, take sufficient time to consider the impact these changes would have on parishes and institutions subject to the authority of this church. Nor did it consider the difference in scale and impact between parishes and said institutions. It required schools, for example, to make rapid adjustments for a comparatively large number of employees, resulting in yearly budget adjustments, on the average, of $200,000-500,000.

This resolution calls for an extension of the deadline for compliance, a simplification of the decision-making process for diocese (rather than have to make one decision for one benefit based on a determination of what institutions are “subject to the authority of this church”, and another based on different criteria, these resolutions would call for a similar decision-making process with both benefits), and an opportunity for parishes and church-affiliated institutions to initiate a phase-in process over a period of years for the lay employee pension program.

Seven of these resolutions are from dioceses, including the Diocese of Newark which passed Annual Convention in January 2112. .

C022 (Diocese of MO) asking for "suspension" of A177

C027 (Diocese of CNY) asking for "deferral" of implementation to January 2016

C031 (Diocese of NC) asking for the establishment of a special commission to study the effects of A177

C034 (Diocese of OH) asking for removal of the mandate of DHP.

C042 (Diocese of Louisiana) asking for amending canon to delay implementation to January 2018

C047 (Diocese of Olympia) - Asking for suspension of 2013 deadline for implementation and asking that each diocese determine what is fair and just.

C0?? (Diocese of Newark) RESOLVED, That this 138th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark call upon the 77th General Convention to delay the January 1, 2013 deadline for the implementation of Resolution A177.

One entire Province (VI – all 8 dioceses in that Province) asked for suspension

 

            C068 (Province VI) - Suspend implementation of the DHP

 

So, here's the thing: Since the convention of the Diocese of Newark voted unanimously in January to join all these other dioceses and bishops and all eight dioceses in Province VI in asking General Convention to delay the implementation of A177, why are we discussing it in June - BEFORE General Convention acts? 

 

Why didn't we have a Special Convention, say, in September?

 

Well, your guess is as good as mine. 

I suspect someone gave someone else some bad advice. Seems to happen a lot in the church.

Nevertheless, we find ourselves in Special Convention and, in addition to the difficult decisions required of A177 and its implementation, we now have to determine the effects of these two proposals and determine when and how to make those decisions, in addition to determining how to implement its requirements and mandates that make sense for our diocese.

We must consider the risks of a decision to postpone acting on A177 until after General Convention in July with the risks of rushing into a decision that has been neither well thought out by CPG nor carefully considered by the “stakeholders” in the diocese (i.e. clergy and lay employees, Wardens, Vestry, Treasurers and congregations).

Here's what I know: Universal Health Care and Denominational Health Plan are major sea-changes in our culture and in our church.  Even as we are gathering, the Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to the present administration’s proposed Health Care Reform Act.   

We, as a church, need to enter into this decision advisedly and not lightly, but reverently, and deliberately in accordance with our deep commitment for justice and peace.

Please keep the Diocese of Newark, it's clergy and elected deputies, in your prayers. 

There Are Giants Among Us

Dr. Willie J. Parker (photo courtesy of Dr. Parker)

If there are any heroes in the struggle for Reproductive Justice, Dr. Willie J. Parker is one of the Giants of Justice.

I met Dr. Parker in April at my first meeting of the national board of RCRC (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice). He and I are part of the 'incoming class' of board members.

I had a chance to speak with him only briefly, but that impression continues to affect me deeply.

Dr. Parker was born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised a strict fundamentalist Christian in the Pentecostal tradition. He told me that he had a conversion experience about his fundamentalism after he read Harry Emerson Fosdick's 1922 influential sermon, "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" which called for an open-minded, intellectual and tolerant "Christian fellowship".

Parker said that he was deeply impressed that Fosdick lost his post at the First Presbyterian Church in NYC because of that sermon. I would also note that, because of that sermon John D. Rockefeller built Riverside Church so Fosdick's voice would have a pulpit, but that's another story for another time.

Parker was also deeply influenced by the preaching of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which gave him, he says, a deeper understanding of his own spirituality, which places a higher value on compassion.

He was particularly influenced by a sermon Dr. King preached about the "Good Samaritan" who was 'good', said Dr. King, because "instead of focusing on would happen to him by stopping to help the traveler, he was more concerned about what would happen to the traveler if he didn’t stop to help. I became more concerned about what would happen to these women if I, as an obstetrician, did not help them."

Dr. Parker is an obstetrician-gynecologist with over twenty years experience.  Because of his religious childhood training, he initially refused to even consider abortion as a procedure he would provide. Now, he’s one of those rare doctors who is willing to push the limits and provide abortions at 24 weeks of pregnancy. That places him among only about 11 percent of all abortion providers who will do the procedure that late in the second trimester.

I heard Dr. Parker say that less than 10% of women have abortions beyond 13 weeks. Less than 1% of women have abortions at 21 weeks or later.

The overwhelming majority of second-trimester patients say they would have preferred to have had their abortion earlier. These women are more likely to be:

• Age 19 or younger
• Poor
• Black or Hispanic
• Without a high school degree (among women 20 and older)
• Paying for abortions with health insurance
• Those who have suffered three or more disruptive events in the past year (such as falling behind on rent, separating from a partner, having a family member with a serious medical problem or being the victim of a crime)

Source: Guttmacher Institute, based on a national sample of more than 9,000 women who had abortions in 2008

Dr. Parker says that the reality is that unplanned, unwanted pregnancies occur to women in all walks of life and all demographics. One in three women will terminate a pregnancy in her lifetime. He says:

"I had a patient who was a 32-year-old attorney, senior staff for a prominent U.S. senator. She and her husband had their first pregnancy and were very excited about it, only to find out in the 21st week that there was a lethal, severe developmental abnormality. They waited until the 23rd week because it was a rare disorder and they didn’t want to have an abortion unless that rare condition was absolutely confirmed.

Another patient of mine was a 13-year-old girl with a very quiet demeanor, which her parents perceived as model behavior. But an uncle who was staying with the family had been sexually molesting her and she kept quiet about it for months until he left. She concealed that pregnancy until she was 19 weeks along, and ended up having a termination at 20 weeks.

These are typical circumstances for second-trimester abortions."

Even so, there are those who are desperate to stop him.  Congress is considering a ban on all abortions after 20 weeks in DC. Six other states already have one, passed within the last two years. A record number of new restrictions on abortions were enacted last year, including bans, waiting periods and limiting insurance coverage.

It troubles Parker that abortion supporters and opponents are increasingly willing to bargain about second-trimester abortions in the interest of finding common ground. While this may create a more civil discourse, he says, in the end, it’s dangerous to the health interests of women.

What changed his mind? The individual stories of the women who came to him. He now views the abortion debate through the prism of their particular realities. Ironically, says Dr. Parker, it’s the lack of access to abortion care that often pushes women to have abortions later in pregnancy.

Which is why Dr. Parker leaves his OB-GYN practice several times a month to travel to rural places, especially in the Deep South, to provide abortions. Yes, even late-term abortions.  He says,

"About 85 percent of women live in a county where there’s no abortion provider. The distribution is even more dire in rural areas, where 90 percent of women have no provider. Many women have to travel long distances just to get to a provider.
That could easily help you understand why laws that impose waiting limits and notifications further distort the reality of women’s access to abortion care." 

By the time a young woman, living in poverty and/or in an abusive, violent relationship realizes that she is pregnant and finds the courage to take responsibility for her own life, she is often living in a state where she discovers there is a 24 hour waiting period before she can have the abortion.

She therefore has to not only afford the round trip bus fare to the abortion center, she must also find accommodations for the night - possibly two, depending on her recovery time. Many women who live in poverty can barely scrape together the bus fare. A hotel room for a night or two is absolutely out of her abilities.

Dr. Parker travels to where these women are to provide the services he says are a part of reproductive health care and a basic human right. Presently, it is not.

I am not alone in being concerned about the health and basic human rights of Dr. Parker. He is a Giant of Justice living among us but there are desperate people who do desperate things who also live among us.

Yes, I fear for his life.  Of this, Dr. Parker says:

I’m aware of the risks. There are people who feel strongly about the work that I do. I exercise judgment and discretion, but to be overly concerned about the fact that someone might hurt me for trying to live out my conscience and provide care for women would be a distraction. I think my work is honorable and important, and I won’t be distracted. It’s what I believe in my heart is the right thing to do.

What is at the heart of Dr. Parker's convictions about the right thing to do is the same compassion he understands is at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Anti-abortion people also believe that their position is at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps it is my own blindness, but I don't see in their stance the compassion of Jesus who said of the woman accused of adultery, "Let the one who is without sin caste the first stone." (John 8:7)

In 1922, Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote a few powerful words during the time this country was in turmoil over the issues of evolution in particular (raised by the Scopes Trial) and religious fundamentalism in general.

Fosdick used as his text the scene depicted in the fifth chapter of the Book of the Acts, where the Jewish leaders hale before them Peter and other of the apostles because they had been preaching Jesus as the Messiah. Moreover, the Jewish leaders propose to slay them, when in opposition Gamaliel speaks “Refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against God.” . . . Fosdick wrote:

Here in the Christian churches are these two groups of people and the question which the Fundamentalists raise is this—Shall one of them throw the other out? Has intolerance any contribution to make to this situation? Will it persuade anybody of anything? Is not the Christian Church large enough to hold within her hospitable fellowship people who differ on points like this and agree to differ until the fuller truth be manifested? The Fundamentalists say not. They say the liberals must go. Well, if the Fundamentalists should succeed, then out of the Christian Church would go some of the best Christian life and consecration of this generation—multitudes of men and women, devout and reverent Christians, who need the church and whom the church needs......

........The present world situation smells to heaven! And now, in the presence of colossal problems, which must be solved in Christ’s name and for Christ’s sake, the Fundamentalists propose to drive out from the Christian churches all the consecrated souls who do not agree with their theory of inspiration. What immeasurable folly!

Well, they are not going to do it; certainly not in this vicinity. I do not even know in this congregation whether anybody has been tempted to be a Fundamentalist. Never in this church have I caught one accent of intolerance. God keep us always so and ever increasing areas of the Christian fellowship; intellectually hospitable, open-minded, liberty-loving, fair, tolerant, not with the tolerance of indifference, as though we did not care about the faith, but because always our major emphasis is upon the weightier matters of the law.

I find myself praying that last sentence of Fosdick's sermon as my own, fervent prayer.

I pray especially for Dr Willie J. Parker. I hope you will join me in that prayer.

Little people with little minds have always tried to slay giants. Some think it is sport. Others think they are ridding the world of a potential danger. Still others do in ignorance what they do not know they are doing. It was so in ancient Calvary. It continues today.

May God keep this particular giant safe, that he may continue to emulate for us the compassion of Christ and inspire us to seek the deeper wisdom of God, which surpasses all human understanding.

A Celebration for Quean

HRH Quean Lutibelle (Photo by Cynthia Black)

The Queen of England may be having her own celebrations but last Friday night's celebration at the Bishop's manse for HRH Quean Lutibelle would have made HRH Elizabeth of England just a tad emerald green with envy.

It was, in fact, splendid.

Like most Episcopal events, it was part reunion of the "Old Newark Radicals" (there's Marge Christie there on the right, standing next to the bishop's wife), part celebration and honoring of Louie's ministry, part empowering future leaders for the work of ministry.

Oh, and another large part great conversation, wonderful food and, of course, great drinks.

You can read about the award recipients in the press release below. I'm simply thrilled that Louie's legacy will live on in the enabling and empowering of new LGBT leadership for The Episcopal Church.

Louie was thrilled and honored and moved to tears. I've rarely seen Louie at a loss for words. He was simply overwhelmed with emotion. And, rightly so. I think it's wonderful when we can honor one of our own while they are still alive to see how their lives touched so many so deeply and to know that so many others recognize and celebrate that work.

Congratulations, Louie. Thank you, Earnest. Well done, The Oasis. Mazel Tov, Diocese of Newark.

You make us all proud and inspire us to "keep on, keeping on".

P R E S S   R E L E A S E

The OASIS, the LGBT ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, honored Dr. Louie Crew for a lifetime of justice ministry at a reception Friday, and presented its first annual scholarship and grant awards.

The Right Rev.  Mark Beckwith, Bishop of Newark, and OASIS Commission Chair John Simonelli presented Dr. Crew with a hand-illumined certificate of appreciation and announced the first recipients of the scholarship and grant created in his honor.

Bishop Beckwith, Ernest Clay and Louie Crew (Cynthia Black Photo)

Dr. Crew founded Integrity, the national organization for LGBT Episcopalians, in 1974. A retired professor of English (most recently at Rutgers University) he served on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church from 2000-2006 and represented the Diocese of Newark as a member of the House of Deputies  from 1993-2011, among many other acts of service to the church.  He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Alabama, Doctorates of Divinity from the Episcopal Divinity School and General Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Human Letters from the Divinity School of the Pacific. Dr. Crew is extensively published, on matters of English composition, social justice, faith, and poetry.  Dr. Crew is a three-time recipient of the National Endowment for Humanities, was honored by the Ragdale Foundation and the Wurlitzer Foundation, and received the Bishop’s Cross from the Diocese of Newark.

The first Louie Crew scholarship was presented to Darnell L. Moore, a writer and activist who is currently the Associate Director of the Newark Schools Research Collaborative (NSRC) and an Affiliate of the Institute on Education Law and Policy (IELP) both at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-Newark. He holds a BA in Social & Behavioral Sciences (Seton Hall University), MA in Counseling (Eastern University) and MA in Theological Studies (Princeton Theological Seminary).  

He also serves as the Chair of Mayor Cory Booker of Newark’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Concerns and Education Chair of the Newark Pride Alliance, and has served appointments as a Visiting Fellow at Yale Divinity School and Lecturer in the Women & Gender Studies Department at Rutgers-New Brunswick, as well as Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality at New York University.

Moore plans to use the scholarship money to participate in two writing retreats to further his first book, tentatively titled To be Black, Queer and Christian: Essays on the Black church and Sexuality.

Diana Wilcox, Louie, Darnell Moore, Louie Crew, Members of The Oasis Commission, (C. Black)

The first OASIS Grant was awarded to the Montclair Protestant Chaplaincy, an ecumenical collaborative, to support the work of the Rev. Deacon Diana Wilcox as chaplain at Montclair State University.  A recent graduate of Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, Wilcox provides a progressive Christian presence at the university with weekly prayer services, spiritual counseling and other programming.  Wilcox studied at Montclair State University and Fairleigh Dickinson University before pursuing her Master of Divinity at Drew. Her campus group, the Web of Life Christian Community, became a Believe Out Loud Congregation in 2011, and took part in the response to bias incidents on campus this fall and winter.

The OASIS, founded in 1989, is a justice ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. Once providing “safe space” worship and spiritual counseling, the organization has evolved into an educational and advocacy role.  The Louie Crew Scholarship and Oasis Grant, which were first announced at the 2012 Diocesan Convention, will be awarded annually at the Oasis anniversary in June to individuals and groups working “at the intersection of sexuality and faith.”

 

John Simonelli, Oasis Commission Chair
Episcopal Diocese of Newark
31 Mulberry Street
Newark, NJ 07102chair@oasisnewark.org
http://oasisnewark.org

HRH Quean Lutibelle

I am presently in NJ, getting ready to head off tonight for a Gay-La celebration in honor of Louie Crew. AKA, Her Royal Highness, Quean Lutibelle, of the House of the Alabama Belles.

I've known Louie since June of 1990. Robert Williams had just resigned as the first Executive Director of The Oasis, a ministry of the Diocese of Newark with LGBT people. Well, except then, we had neither the "B" nor the "T" - well, that we knew of, and even if we didn't we wouldn't admit it - and no one ever put lesbians first in anything, especially Robert. It was, after all, 1990.

I was in NJ to be interviewed for the position of Executive Director. Louie called me and offered hospitality for Ms. Conroy and me in the small Newark apartment he and his beloved Ernest shared.

So, here was this absolutely flaming quean on the other end of the phone, breathlessly enthusiastic that we should stay with him. He apologized as he explained that Ernest would be away. "My husband is a 'Sky Muffin'," Louie explained.

I thought, "Husband? What?" (This was 1990, remember. Louie was always way ahead of his time.) But I said, "Sky Muffin?".

Louie and Ernest

Louie giggled. "Oh, I mean, you know. He's a flight attendant - they don't call them stewardess anymore - for a MAJOR airlines. Flies all over the world. And, he's SUCH a stud muffin that I call him a 'Sky Muffin'." Giggle, giggle, snort, giggle.

I love people who finds themselves amusing, and I didn't want to be rude, but truth be told, I knew I was going to be alone during the interview and I'd rather have stayed in a hotel than with this ditsy quean. I am, after all, an Episcopalian so I thanked him profusely, packed my bags, took a deep breath, and off I went.

He met me at the airport. I fell in love. Instantly.

That hasn't changed since June of 1990. Well, that's not entirely true. I love him so much more today than I did way back then, if that's even possible.

Turns out, I withdrew from the process for The Oasis in 1990 and David Noregard went on to be the second Executive Director. In 1991, I became Executive Director of the AIDS Resource Center and Vicar of St. Barnabas Church. I also worked on the Board of The Oasis.

In June of 1996, I was elected by The Oasis Board to be the Canon Missioner to The Oasis, a position I held for five years. I worked closely with Bishop Jack Spong and Quean Lutibelle, traveling all over God's green earth - including Lambeth 1998 and a five year stint on the New Commandment Task Force - to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It was exhilarating but exhausting work. I have no idea how Bishop Spong and Louie Crew have done it for almost their whole lives. I could only take it for five years. I happily retired my dyke tiara to Susan Russell, who now reins as the Archlesbian of The Episcopal Church.

Long may she reign. She may be Archlesbian but Louie will always be Queen.

Ernest and Louie on their 38th Anniversary

Louie has officially 'retired' as a deputy to General Convention three years ago. He hasn't posted on the HOB/D (House of Bishops/Deputies Listserv) since. He still maintains the birthday/anniversary mailing list and he's very active on FaceBook, but that's pretty much it.

He's been traveling a great deal with his beloved Ernest. You know. The "Sky Muffin".

As the spouse of a flight attendant, he flies either for free or greatly reduced cost, depending on whether it's a domestic or international flight. He takes full advantage of that benefit, as well he should.

We'll catch up tonight and I'll learn of all of his recent "adventures in retirement". I'll be sure to post pictures tomorrow. 

Tonight, please raise your glass in celebration and honor of Louie Crew, fearless leader of God's Rainbow Tribe, Quean of our Hearts, and one of the truest Christians I know.

The Episcopal Church would not be where it is today were it not for his leadership.

We'll never be the same without him.