Exile And Return

Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, October 28, 2007
Year C, Proper 25: Jeremiah 14: (1-6) 7-10, 19-22
Grace Episcopal Church, Norwalk, CT

by Jeffri Harre

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

It has been a few years since I last stood before you in this place. Although I made the painful decision to leave Grace Church, you were often on my mind and always in my prayers. I kept up with the goings on of the parish through my mother and a handful of friends. Over and over again I was asked, most often relayed by Mom, “When are you coming back?”

Again and again I would say, “This was an Exodus and not a Babylonian Exile.” I guess I was wrong, wasn’t I. And so, like a handful of others, the exile has returned. It seems appropriate that Jeremiah, who lived through the time of the Babylonian Exile, is one of the lectionary readings for my first sermon after my return.

When I first read the passage from Jeremiah in preparation for this morning, one of the first things that popped into my head was the demented Greek chorus from Edward Gorey’s “Inanimate Tragedy:”

"Death and Distraction!" said the Pins and Needles. "Destruction and Debauchery!"
"Duplicity and Desolation!" said the Needles and Pins. "Dissolution and Despair!"

Well, you get the idea. They go on like this throughout the entire poem. Jeremiah’s lamentations, judgments against the nations of the region, and oracles of destruction run through most of his book. As with the pins and needles, I find myself wanting to shout at Jeremiah, “Enough already! Shut up!”

Yet there are days when I walk into this church and feel like those who went to the well and found it dry. There are days when I gather with others of this parish and hear that many of us feel like those who covered their heads because the ground was parched and cracked. It is easy to fall into despair, to wail and gnash our teeth.

Which brings me to the second thing that came to mind as I read the lectionary for today—a verse from the 31st chapter of Jeremiah that was one of two scripture passages used as the foundation for the work of a conference I helped plan and implement not long after I began working in the Office of Children’s Ministries and Christian Education at the Episcopal Church Center:

Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.
(Jeremiah 31:15)

More lamentations from the exiles and those left behind. At which point not only do I want to tell Jeremiah, “Enough already!” but myself as well. Weeping and mourning are necessary, and even healthy, but at some point we have to move on. In Education for Ministry we use a call and response after each person has shared their Spiritual Autobiography:

For what has been,
Thanks be to God.
For what is,
Thanks be to God.
And for what will be,
Thanks be to God.

Remember where we have been, acknowledge where we are, and look forward to where we are going. For us here at Grace Church, we need to remember where we have been, because our experiences have changed us. And all of us have been changed—those who went into exile and returned and those who remained. We must acknowledge where we are, because if we do not, we cannot move forward, we will get mired in our lamentations over what has been. We absolutely must look forward to where we are going, because without a vision, we cannot build something new and different.

Jeremiah, for all his ranting and mourning, knows this. He works on the assumption that things will get better—he even buys a field while the Babylonians are besieging Jerusalem. If that isn’t optimism in the face of destruction, I don’t know what is! You can also see this hope if you continue reading past Rachel weeping for her children in Chapter 31. In the next verses God, through Jeremiah, offers hope to the people:

Thus says the Lord:
Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears;
for there is reward for your work,
says the Lord:
they shall come back from the land of the enemy;
there is hope for your future,
says the Lord;
your children shall come back to their own country.
(Jeremiah 31:16-17)

And some of us have returned. This is just one of the first steps in building something new. If we want Grace Church not only to survive, but to flourish, then we need a vision. I know some of you have been working diligently with Lois on a new vision. I want to encourage all of us to participate in that work. Part of my own vision for the church, and not just Grace Church, but the whole church, comes from the second piece of scripture that we used at the “Will Our Faith Have Children?” conference--the opening of the 54th chapter of Isaiah, which is also addressed to the people at the time of the Exile:

Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in travail:
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her that is married, says the Lord.
Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
hold not back, lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your descendants will posses the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
(Isaiah 54:1-3)

Enlarge the place of your tent. What an image. Make room for those who are coming and be ready to welcome them when they arrive.

Enlarging the tent takes resources. (You didn’t think I was going to get to Stewardship, did you?) You need to be able to buy new canvas, ropes, poles and tent pegs. You need to make a pattern for the new sections of the tent, cut them from the canvas and sew them to the existing tent. You need to erect the new poles, pound in the new pegs and make sure the original pegs are firmly in place, and you need to string and tighten the ropes to hold the tent up. That’s not just money, but people power as well. And as hard as that may be to envision given our financial situation, that’s the easy part.

We must be ready, willing, and able to welcome folks when they arrive. As much as possible, treat them as if they are already members of our community. Greet them, sit with them, make sure they have everything they need to participate in the service, share the peace with them, and let them know you look forward to seeing them again. When they come a second time, treat them the same way. If fact, treat them, and each other, that way every time they come. Those who decide to join us will bring new gifts to the community, and we must be open and willing to accept those new gifts. Just as all of us have been changed by our experiences together and apart, so will we and they be changed by our experiences together.

Change is not easy, and we will often find ourselves turning to Jeremiah and his lamentations. But I hope that we will also turn to the words of hope and encouragement found in Jeremiah. Remember where we have been, acknowledge where we are, and look forward to where we are going.

For what has been,
Thanks be to God.
For what is,
Thanks be to God.
And for what will be,
Thanks be to God.

Let all God’s people say, “Amen!”

The Bishops Talk About Their September Meeting

This post consists primarily of statements made by bishops of the Epsicopal Church reflecting on their September meeting in New Orleans. I have also included some statements from other bishops around the Anglican Communion. I have moved all of my comments and update notices to the bottom.

Peace,
Jeffri

Province I
Andrew Smith, Connecticut, in his Convention Address (see pages 5-6)
Childton Knudson, Maine
Gene Robinson, New Hampshire, posted on Susan Russell's An Inch At A Time
Geralyn Wolf, Rhode Island
Thomas Ely, Vermont

Province II
William Love, Albany
Mark Sisk, New York, has sent an email to his clergy, but it has not yet appeared on the diocesan web site (as of 6:30 p.m. October 3)
Mark Beckwith, Newark
Jack McKelvey, Rochester, posted on Walking with Integrity
Michael Garrison, Western New York

Province III
Paul Marshall, Bethlehem (see Section II, pages 5-7)
Nathan Baxter, Central Pennsylvania, and in this article on Pennlive.com
Wayne Wright, Delaware
James Shand, Easton
John Rabb, Maryland
Charles Bennison, Pennsylvania
Neff Powell, Southwestern Virginia
Peter Lee (Diocesan), Shannon Johnston (Coadjutor) and David Jones (Suffragan), Virginia

Province IV
Henry Parsley, Alabama; the link on the diocesan web site is broken, but as of now (9/30), it is the first thing on the bishop's pages
Neil Alexander, Atlanta
John Howe, Central Florida; Bishop Howe revised his letter, and both versions are posted on Stand Firm
Philip Duncan, Central Gulf Coast
Clifton Daniel, East Carolina
Charles vonRosenberg, East Tennessee, has posted nothing, but the diocesan web site has a "Windsor Process" page that gives a good overview--with links--of what has transpired since the release of the Windsor Report
John Howard, Florida
Ted Gulick and David Reed (retired), Kentucky
Charles Jenkins, Louisiana, coming soon, but in the meantime, his Canon to the Ordinary has posted his refelctions on The Bishop's Blog
Duncan Gray, Mississippi
Michael Curry, North Carolina,
Edward Salmon, Acting South Carolina, posted on TitusOneNine
Leo Frade, Southeast Florida
Dabney Smith, Southwest Florida
John Bauerscmidt, Tennessee
Dorsey Henderson, Upper South Carolina

Province V
William Persell, Chicago
Todd Ousley, Eastern Michigan
Cate Waynick, Indianaoplis, posted her response on the House of Bishops & Deputies listserv with permission to share. I've added it below under "October 5." There is also a Pastoral Letter posted on the diocesan website (for reading on Sunday October 20 [sic])--you may have to page down to find the link.
George Wayne Smith, Missouri
Edward Little, Northern Indiana
Mark Hollingsworth, Ohio
Thomas Breidenthal, Southern Ohio
Robert Gepert, Western Michigan

Province VI
Alan Scarfe, Iowa, posted on TitusOneNine
James Jelinek, Minnesota
Joe Burnett, Nebraska, posted on TitusOneNine
Michael Smith, North Dakota

Province VII
Larry Benfield, Arkansas, posted on Stand Firm
James Stanton, Dallas
Jack Iker, Fort Worth, posted on Katie Sherwood's Desert's Child
Dean Wolfe, Kansas
Edward Konieczny, Oklahoma
Don Wimberely, Texas
Barry Howe, West Missouri
Gary Lillibridge (Diocesan) and David Reed (Suffragan),West Texas; Bishop Lillibridge has a series of reports from the bishops' meeting here
Bruce MacPherson, Western Louisiana

Province VIII
Kirk Smith, Arizona, in an email posted on Nick Knisely's Entangled States
Robert Fitzpatrick, Hawaii
Barry Beisner, Northern California
Edward Konieczny, Oklahoma, click on the "News and Ministry" link
Greg Rickel, Olympia
Johncy Itty, Oregon
San Joaquin (the "Diocese" responds)
Carolyn Tanner Irish, Utah, in the Desert Morning News

Other TEC Bishops
Chris Epting, Eccumenical Officer for The Episcopal Church

Other "Interested Parties"
Statement by the Secretary General on behalf of the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council
Report of the Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates of the Anglican Communion to the Archbishop of Canterbury
Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), posted on Global South Anglican, see particularly items #4 - 7
Phillip Aspinall, Archbishop of Brisbane, Primate of Australia
Susan Russell, President of Integrity, posted on Walking with Integrity
Alan Harper, Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of Ireland
Robin Eames, Retired Archbishop of Armagh, chair of the Eames Commission, which authored the Windsor Report, posted on The Episcopal Cafe
Mouneer Anis, Primate of Jerusalem and the Middle East, posted on Global South Anglican and as reported in Ruth Gledhill's blog
Benjamin Nzimbi, Archbishop of Kenya, reported in BBC News
Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria, posted on TitusOneNine
Benjamin Kwashi, archbishop-elect of Jos province in Nigeria, orgininally reported on IC Publications, but only an excerpt of the report is now posted on Stand Firm
Njongonkulu Ndungane, South Africa, in The Christian Post online, and in a statment posted by ENS on Episcopal Life Online
Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney
Henry Orombi, Primate of the Anglican Church of Uganda, posted on TitusOneNine, and also in an article posted on The Living Church's website
David Zac Niringiye, Kampala, Uganda, reported in BBC News
Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales, in the Church Times
The American Anglican Council, The Anglican Communion Network, and Forward in Faith North America, in a joint statement posted on the Anglican Communion Network site

October 26

Added links to: Andrew Smith's comments,

October 24

Added links to: Dean Wolfe's reflections.

October 23

Added links to: interview with Ted Gulik and David Reed, Peter Jensen's response, Catherine Waynick's pastoral letter, James Shand's pastoral letter, Philip Duncan's notes, Clifton Daniel's reflections, Diocese of East Tennessee's "Windsor Process" page.

October 17

Added links to: Njongonkulu Ndungane's interview

October 15

Added links to: Paul Marshall's Convention Address, an interview with Nathan Baxter

October 12 (From San Diego, where I am visiting friends)

Added links to: William Love's letter, Gene Robinson's "Open Letter to the Letter to the LGBT Community," Joe Burnett's reflection, Alan Scarfe's comments, John Howard's letter, Chilton Knudson's letter, William Persell's letter.

October 7

Added links to: Leo Frade's reflection.

October 6

Added links to: CAPA Statement, Susan Russell's statement on behalf of Integrity

October 5

Added links to: George Wayne Smith's impressions (thanks, Lisa!) , Henry Orombi's response, Charles Bennison's column, Barry Morgan's report. Posted Cate Waynick's letter, (below--thanks, Ann!).

==========
Dear Friends,

What an amazing turn of events!

The overall response of the Joint Committee to the House of Bishops message is positive – yet the Evangelicals in theChurch of England demand that the ABC denounce the church in the US over thepossibility of consecrating a partnered gay to the episcopate - and ourblessing of same sex unions! They threaten to divide the English church overthis - just as TEC is threatened.We simply have to be more vocal about this....the C of E blesses same-sexunions. The partnered homosexual clergy in the C of E are entitled, underBritish law, to register their relationships in order to gain the legal benefits accorded them. The C or E House of Bishops issued a statement to that effect in November or December of 2005. Following that C of E HOB statement a condemnatory letter issued fromNigeria - reminding the English church that TEC and others were being ostracized for that sort of thing. But outrage at the C of E does not seem to have anystaying power -- either in other parts of the Communion or in TEC. When Bishop Mark Sisk and I asked the ABC about same-sex blessings - aboutwhat the difference is between what happens in the Cof E and what happens insome places here he answered, "They ( in England) are not public."

They may not be public events, but they are certainly not secret. Our own Bp. Duncan was recently interviewed about the tensions within TEC and was asked if his decision to urge separation from TEC was a new thing. He said it was not - that during the Civil War several dioceses separated for atime over the issue of slavery - which he described as a social issue, not asalvation issue!!But the very fact that he would urge separation from TEC but not from the Cof E - where same sex blessings (non-public as they may be in nature) also take place - certainly raises questions. That C of E evangelicals wouldthreaten a split in their own church over what is happening here rather than overwhat is happening there -- again raises questions.

I can only say what I have said before. The issue is not really homosexuality. It is not about what is "repugnant to Scripture." If it were, Bp Duncan would be calling for his followers to disassociate themselves from the C of E because of its permissive stance about same sex blessings even among their ownclergy! It is rather about what has become repugnant to some of the clergy and members of this church who have become willing to use sex as a wedge to gain support from others around the Communion. The issue is about the dramatic shift in power and authority over the lastforty years within TEC. We have a catechism which clearly states that theministers of the church are lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons. We began admitting all baptised persons to the sacred eucharistic meal - including children. Women began serving on Vestries and Bishop's Committees, as chalice bearers, as convention delegates and Deputies. And we began ordaining women as priests and bishops. The C of E has gone through similar changes, and with new conversations about women in the episcopate...well, something must be done.

The list of offenses has become intolerable, but none of those issues would provide the frenzy of support our dissenters require to gain their ends. But for churches in places where there are very few cracks in the solid patriarchy of social, political or religious life, homosexuality provides the wedge. Even the notion of homosexuality is emasculating in some cultures - we heardthis very clearly from the Chancellor of Ghana - a woman who described herself as having learned to work within their system, and who has no intention of making the waves required to push her province into a "listening process" about homosexuality.

As a member of the writing group I will confess that I am not satisfied with the statement from the House of Bishops. I was also not satisfied with B033. We said nothing new in that portion of our NOLA statement. There simply cannot have been anyone in this church who didn't already know that B033 includes non-celibate gay and lesbian persons. About the blessing of same sex unions we repeated ourselves. They keep asking for a guarantee that we will not provide public liturgies, and we keep telling them that we have no public liturgies. We have agreed not to produce them until a "consensus emerges around the Communion" OR until the GC acts. One might happen far sooner than the other.....and we remain adamant that responses to individual pastoral situations is a local matter. Of course the last paragraph of our statement speaks of where our hearts arer ather than the reality of our common life. I can only imagine what St.Paul was thinking when he wrote that "when anyone is in Christ there is a newcreation...." clearly not completely true, but certainly the hope of faithful hearts. We included it because we simply had to reiterate our desire to come to that place, and to make it clear to others that it is where we know we ought to be.

I sincerely hope that someone will call the evangelicals in the C of E on their hypocrisy, and that many more of us here at home will start calling our own struggle what it is - a fight to regain power and control in order to return TEC to its even more deeply flawed past..... though even “back in the day” we came to recognize slavery as a moral evil.

Sorry this posting is so long -- I don't chime in that often.

A bit of good news; I look forward to a diocesan convention at which a group of folks are petitioning to become a mission congregation of this diocese. They want to be Episcopalians!

Peace to you,
+Cate Waynick
==========

October 4

Added the following links: Mouneer Anis' response, Edward Konieczny's reflections, Neff Powell's update, reflections by Louisiana's Canon to the Ordinary

October 3

Added the following links: Report of the Joint Standing Committee, Ruth Gledhill's report on reactions to the Committee's report

October 2

Added links to statements by the following: Robin Eames, Michael Garrison, and Nathan Baxter.

October 1

Updates Added links to new statements.

September 30

I spent four days at a conference with no internet access, and I return to find not much has really happened. Well, other than that the "usual suspects" took one step closer to attempting to move their shadow church forward--like we didn't know that was coming! My favorite comment on the ongoing reactions to and spin of the bishops' statement is this one, which appeared on epiScope:

...and behold, how many competing interpretations can be made of one document that is only one day old and written in the contemporary language of those reporting on it, with the authors nearby for clarification! Now do you see why the interpretation of a set of 66 books in several different languages at several thousand years' remove is such a challenge for mere human beings?

I have added a few more statements from bishops. Now I think I will go finish my mystery novel.

Peace,
Jeffri

September 26

Well, it did not take long. Statements started appearing yesterday when Gene Robinson and Bruce McPherson were quoted in this Reuters article. As I did with their March meeting, I'll try and find as many of their statements and reports as I can. They will be listed by province. After tonight, I will not have computer access until Sunday evening, so there will be no updates until then. By then I also hope to have been able to gather my own thoughts and put them in some sort of coherent form for a separate post. Until then, pray for the Church.

Peace,
Jeffri

In The Path Of The Fires

Around 10:00 yesterday morning my friend Joe called me. It was a little early for him to be in his office, but his wife Trudy was on her way to a meeting in Seattle, and he had taken her to the airport even earlier. He wanted my boss' phone number for Trudy so she could get a hold of my boss if needed when they all arrived in Seattle. He also wanted my fax number so he could send me a "cut and paste" (literally, not in a word processor) document Trudy had been working on for us. Oh, and by the way, he and Trudy had to leave the house.

What is so startling about this simple statement was the context in which it was made, and Joe's saying it as if it was perfectly ordinary. Joe and Trudy live in San Marcos, just north of San Diego. I stayed with them for a long weekend after a meeting less than two weeks ago. Their neighborhood received evacuation orders early that morning. Joe told me that they'd woken up in the wee hours because they smelled smoke. They woke the neighbors next door, who have an infant child, and then proceeded to pack all their important papers, computer, clothing, and a few other things in the car before they left for the airport. The neighbors called Joe during the airport trip and said the mandatory evacuation notice had come, so he should not come home.

During lunch I looked at news reports online. Everyplace we had been during my visit was under fire watch, being evacuated, already evacuated, burning, or burned. I called Joe just before I left the office last evening. He was in the middle of packing a truck at the church where he and Trudy both work. Del Mar was threatened, and they were packing up the irreplaceable things. He told me he had a place to stay for the night, and he would call me later. This morning my boss called and passed along news from Trudy. They received notice that they could return home, but then another evacuation order went out. Joe had not even bothered to go home because the traffic was so bad.

It is very different watching and reading news of a disaster when people you know are involved--or places you have been. It makes it much more personal. On the train ride home last evening I found myself pondering my own preparedness for a disaster. What if I was given 30 minutes or less to get out of my home? What would I take? What do I consider important or irreplaceable? What could I realistically grab and load into my small car?

There are advantages to living in a small apartment. I do not have many places to stash things, so most of what I own is readily accessible. And with the recent purge, there is a lot less "stuff" to sort through if I had to leave. All of my important papers, files, and family records and pictures are in the three remaining plastic file drawers that sit by the back door of my apartment. My journals are in two archive boxes in the back closet--also close to the back door of my apartment. All of the clothes in my closet could be taken out to the car in two armloads, and those in my dresser could probably be stuffed in one or two of the small suitcases. My flute is usually out because I play it frequently. After that, it would be whatever else I had time to grab and fit in my car.

What I did realize is that I don't have a lot of my important information in one central place. Insurance policy numbers, group medical numbers, bank account numbers, emergency contact numbers, inventory of what is in my safe deposit box, etc. So today I stopped at a local Borders and bought a Moleskine Memo Pockets. I will be transcribing all that information onto index cards to go in the pockets, and it will stay with me.

Tomorrow I will try to call Joe and see what the latest news is. And I will probably again be amazed at his--and Trudy's--matter of fact, almost cheerful, demeanor in the face of the fires. In the meantime, I will pray for him and Trudy, and for all those in the path of the fires.

Peace,
Jeffri

Engaging Scripture

When I packed for last week's trip to California, I pulled a couple of books off my "to read" pile and slipped them into the suitcase. I actually finished two of them, mostly on the flights to and from Orange County. It was during the flight back that I read Judith Kunst's The Burning Word: A Christian Encounter with Jewish Midrash. For a book of 150 pages, it is packed with lots of good information, ideas and exercises.

Midrash, writes Kunst in her first chapter, is "a Hebrew word meaning 'to search out.' " She continues

The Holy Scriptures abound with gaps, abrupt shifts, and odd syntax that puzzles, even confounds, any reader of scripture. Jewish Midrash views these troubling irregularities not as accidents or errors or cultural disparities to be passed over, but rather as deliberate invitations to grapple with God's revealed word--and by extension, to grapple with God himself.

Later she writes, "In Judaism, intimacy cannot be separated from argument, nor can reading or study be separated from community." This passage brought to mind a lecture I attended at a local synagogue a few years ago. The guest speaker was Dr. Burton Visotzky who had been one of the collaborators on Bill Moyers' Genesis series on PBS. During his lecture he said similar things.

It's not a received text unless it's debated. You have to go back and read the book with a partner, or two, or three... When we discuss it in community--that's when the revelatory process happens. The ability to hear God happens in the discussion and debate... When I pray, I talk to God; when I discuss, God talks to me.

Visotzky also said to us, "We read the Torah every year, but we are different every year, so we approach it differently; interpret it differently." And so are the commentators down through the ages. As Kunst points out

This intense communal conversation, anchored in Torah, isn't bounded by time or space. It spreads across generations, ethnicities, and languages: The dialogue between two hevrutot is mirrored on the page in front of them in blocks of Hebrew text arranged around each portion of Scripture, presenting commentary by rabbis from many different centuries.

Nor does everyone agree. Nor are answers found for every question. And every story and interpretation can raise even more questions.

"When the Torah was given at Sinai," says the Talmud, "it came with thirteen methods of interpretation, and forty-nine arguments proving that each item is correct and forty-nine arguments proving that it is not." These arguments and more have been carefully recorded down through the ages, but the Talmud rarely if ever declared one interpretation the right one.

Throughout the book Kunst also provides exercises, which she calls "Toward A Personal Practice." These are opportunities for the reader to engage in the process of midrash. Here is the first one:

Find the eighth chapter of Nehemiah in your Bible and read it out loud. Then consider three questions: What in the language seems strange to you? How might God be hiding in these words? If the verse is imagined to be the first comment in a two-way (or more) conversation, what response from you will keep it going?

I found the book challenging, affirming, humorous, and easy to read. The process of reading it helped me look a bit differently at the readings for a sermon I'm working on. It has also given me ideas for working with small groups around scripture.

Go. Read. Enjoy. Discuss. Debate. Argue. Listen. Engage.

Peace,
Jeffri

The Irish Are Coming! The Irish Are Coming!

It was a beautiful day for a faire in Caer Leon, home of King Arthur and his court. It felt more like late summer than mid-Fall, but there was plenty of lemonade and limeade to slake our thirst.

Arthur's and Guenevere's wedding is still a year away, but there was plenty of action because a delegation from Eire is in Britain to negotiate a treaty. As always seems to happen, today's session of the King's Court was filled with intrigue, arguments, and fights. But no chess match, because Arthur decided to accept the challenge under "Irish Rules." The fighters for each individual contest were selected by pulling names out of hats.

Not only was there an abundance of Irish nobles and fighters, but Caer Leon was overrun by pirates, who were there for Pirate Weekend at the faire. No one was safe! And the Sheriff was no help, because he was too busy making his quota of Official Writs of Justice. He had a very small stop sign which he would place flat on the street. When an unsuspecting visitor passed the stop sign, he would issue a Writ for failure to stop at a stop sign. He did it once quite near to us, and I went over and stood on the sign, covering it completely with my feet. “What sign?” I asked him as he attempted to issue a writ to a group of visiting dignitaries. And what did I get for my trouble? A Writ for disturbing the peace, obstructing justice and/or annoyance of a public official; excessive jubilation or other acts of frivolity; failure to stop at a stop sign (my toes extended over the edge of the sign); and, just for the heck of it, treason. Meanwhile, just across the street, a couple of pirates were distributing stolen goods!

It was also Deaf Awareness Day at the faire, and ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters, or “Finger Dancers,” were everywhere. It gave me a chance to use my very rusty ASL.

It is always fun to see the variety of costumes on the cast and visitors alike. A couple of years ago at the New York faire, our group was stopped by a purveyor of rental costumes. “Get thee garb,” he shouted at those not in costume. Then he proceeded to point at each of us, saying,

"Garb,

Garb,

Garb,

Garb,

Garb,

Wrong,

Wrong!"

(Note: All of these pictures are from today's visit to Caer Leon, used to illustrate the story of what happened in Sterling.)

And so, after a great day at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, we returned to the mundane world to treasure our memories as we wait for next year's season.

Peace,
Jeffri

They'll Bless Almost Anything

As some of you know, I am a great fan of the BBC comedy series The Vicar of Dibley. I anxiously await the DVD of the last two episodes I pre-ordered after catching the very last one on one of our local public television stations last month. One of my favorite episodes is "Service for the Animals" where the vicar holds a service for the animals, which actually means for their human companions. Although it is not a celebration of St. Francis Day and the Blessing of the Animals, it does bring such services to mind.

This week churches celebrate St. Francis Day with a service of Blessing of the Animals. One of the parishes I am involved with held their service last Sunday. I happened to be out of town for a conference, but I would not have attended anyway. Actually, I have not attended a St. Francis Day Blessing of the Animals in several years.

The church will bless a dog, cat, gerbil, iguana, camel, elephant, tarantula, and many more common and exotic pets. The church will bless a car, boat, motorcycle, apartment, furniture, computer, and many other everyday, and not so everyday, objects. The church will not bless a committed relationship between two people of the same gender, even in states where such unions are legal.

Until such time as the church gets its act together and allows same-sex marriage, I will not be attending any blessings of animals, boats, buildings, cars, computers, etc. From time to time I consider boycotting weddings as well, but there are a host of relational issues when dealing with family and friends. It may seem silly, and it really does not accomplish much of anything, except that it does give me an opportunity to talk about an important issue with people of all opinions within the church. You would be surprised at how much I learn from folks who are at the conservative end of the spectrum.

Frankly, we would do better to remember Francis' other work with the poor and the downtrodden and pray together the prayer attributed to him.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

--The Book of Common Prayer, p. 833.

Peace,
Jeffri