Lifestyle

Here’s another reflection from sabbatical: When something becomes a lifestyle, you don’t stop thinking that way when you’re not doing that thing.  It becomes the way you think in all things.  Here’s what I mean.  Back in a previous life, my crew and I used to paddle open boats (canoes, as opposed to “decked” boats like kayaks - or worse, rubber boats like rafts) on whitewater.  I was class III competent, class IV challenged.  In class III, especially in an open boat, you really should know what you’re doing; in class IV, you had better have some pretty serious skills.  A couple of things whitewater teaches you: 1. Your ego will get you hurt or worse.  You have to be completely honest with yourself about what you can handle and what you can’t.  If you can’t, then portage around the rapid and live to paddle another day.  (The rule was “If you can’t spit, don’t run it!”)  2. No matter what happens, never stop thinking, meaning don’t freeze up if you find yourself heading somewhere you’d rather not be.  Just use your skills and experience to maneuver into a better position and trust the people you’re paddling with.  Once that becomes the norm of your thought process, it generalizes even when you’re off the river.  I’m absolutely sure that’s what kept me out of a wreck when I was about to be sandwiched by two people coming in opposite directions with me between them.  I put my vehicle in the only one-inch margin of error there was between the two and we were all able to drive away unscathed.

That’s the way of it for a life of faith.  It’s like the Lenten disciplines that aren’t only for that short period of time between the end of Epiphany and the beginning of the Easter season.  Ideally, you shouldn’t focus on the Lenten disciplines - self-examination and repentance; prayer, fasting, self-denial; reading and meditating on God’s holy word - only during Lent, like “I’ll do Bible study (or not have martinis) for four weeks or so, but then I’m off the hook for the rest of the year.”  They should be the way of deepening your faith that lasts through the whole year so that whatever it is - deepening faith, compassion, self-giving, grace - becomes a lifestyle, the way you think and pray and act whether it’s Lent or not. 

We have quite a while before Lent begins again (March 5, 2025), but that gives us a lot of time for self-examination, i.e. to be completely honest with ourselves about the degree that faith plays in our actual day-to-day life in work, family, and community, and not just on Sundays.  And if we find ourselves heading somewhere we’d rather not be, rather than letting that taunting voice of doubt keep us frozen in a rut, we can use our skills and experience to maneuver into a better position (i.e. repentance) and trust the people with whom we are all paddling along when the class level gets challenging.  Then it becomes a matter of lifestyle, not just when we’re in church mode, but in all things.
 
- Marc Vance

Beloved Community

Dear friends,

In my late 20s, I joined a parish in Greenfield, Massachusetts.  After arriving, I asked a priest if they had a young adult group, and she said, “No; but you could start one.”  (Clever priest!)  So I sent out a survey:  What ages do you think should be included?  Single folks only or couples, or families with children?  Should our activities be outreach, fellowship, or Bible study? 

To my amusement, when the results came back, people wanted everything.  So I ended up starting The Get-Togethers, a group for folks of all ages that cycled through different kinds of activities so that everyone could participate in whatever most interested them.

Only one survey-taker indicated an interest in Bible study—a young mom a few years older than I was.  We decided to tackle the book of James together.  Every week Lisa would climb the steps to my second-floor apartment with a baby basket in one hand and a Bible in the other.

Since that study, I have always loved the book of James, and I greatly enjoyed our foray through it in September.  During the bishop’s visit we heard James 5:13-20, which begins, Are any among you suffering?  They should pray.  Are any cheerful?  They should sing songs of praise…  James gives practical instruction to the Christian community, telling them how members are to care for one another:  praying for the suffering, rejoicing with the cheerful, anointing the sick, confessing their sins to one another, and forgiving each other.

I thought about this passage while attending a recent diocesan event called Gathering on Sacred Ground.  The conference was offered to help participants think about next steps on the journey of Becoming Beloved Community, our work together to respond to racial injustice.  The keynote speaker, author Canon Stephanie Spellers from the Presiding Bishop’s office, gave a description of beloved community that I want to hang onto:

Beloved Community:

The community where your suffering pains me,

your hope becomes my hope,

and your flourishing makes my heart sing.

The community where I am willing to take risks

and to give up some preference or comfort,

if it means we will all finally become whole.

I think Beloved Community was what James had in mind for the church.  More importantly, I think it’s what Jesus has in mind for the church.  I look forward to continuing our work together to become Beloved Community here at St. Andrew’s and beyond our doors, and I am so grateful that I get to participate in this crucial practice with each of you.

- Blessings.  -Anne

Stewardship

One retired minister offered a stewardship perspective in this way, “The question is not, how much of what is mine do I give to others? The question is, how much of what is God’s do I reserve for myself? The answer we give is a faith issue, a stewardship issue.”

My family believes that God calls us to be stewards of His abundance, and I see it as an opportunity. Shouldn’t we be giving God back some of the time, talents, and treasures He has given us in a spirit of joy? Just as we pay for the foundation in which we live (our home), as well as its “supporting characters” (electric, water, sewage, etc.) that combine to make our house a warm, inviting place, we believe that our pledge to St. Andrew’s supports our church foundation (a 100-year-old building needs a lot of care) and its many, many other supporting characters (overhead, staff, mission, outreach, community), with every belief that the time, talents, and treasures we all bring to the table help ensure St. A’s is seen as a warm, inviting house of worship. 

A quote attributed to Aristotle, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” comes to mind here, and I contend that when each of us pledges, we are (1) honoring God’s call for us to be caretakers of all He has entrusted to us and, (2) Although two of the four specific goals for next year’s pledges may first appear miles apart, I feel that maintaining our beautiful, historically rich building and expanding our children’s ministry work hand-in-hand; we want our children to see St. Andrew’s as a safe haven, not just a place to learn about, and serve, a loving and gracious God, but also a SAFE building in every sense of the word.  

We have always faithfully honored our annual pledge, even if that pledge only covers a week of salaries, or necessary maintenance and upkeep repairs that are not “exciting” (like when we must pay a plumber on the weekend—hardly exciting, but necessary). We see St. Andrew’s as our “church home,” and its parishioners become extended family members. When all of us “family members” pledge, it creates what Aristotle said--a combined effect of different elements, which are more valuable, or impactful, than the sum of each of our individual contributions.

It’s a nice thought for me that when I hear the proverb, “it takes a village,” perhaps our collective pledges are doing just that—providing a community of people to support each other, with emphasis on our youth, and ensuring a safe and healthy environment for them to grow in. With St. Andrew’s meeting its stewardship goal, it will be able to do just that, as well as invest in innovative technologies, strengthen our outreach ministries support, and take care of our Centenarian Building that holds so many memories—past, present, and future.

1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”  May we all see this time of stewardship as an opportunity to continue serving a generous and loving God.

- Debi Nicolai