Sending Communion to the Homebound.

A lot of questions go unanswered; because a lot of questions are never asked.  That's why I'm glad that recently someone asked a vestry member about why the Eucharistic Visitors don't go out as often anymore.

It's a good question and one that we can answer easily.  But there's a lot of background information that goes along with it.

The rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer allow for licensed Lay Eucharistic Visitors (LEVs) to bring communion to people who for extended amounts of time are not able to come for regularly scheduled worship.  The license is given by the bishop with the approval of the rector of a congregation.  These ministers are specially trained because they hold the sacred elements of the sacrament as well as have a unique relationship to the people they visit.  Often they are given the opportunity to minister in other pastoral ways by listening to the people they serve.

At All Saints we coordinate these visits through Judy Skillern and the team of LEVs.  If someone is ill for an extended amount of time they communicate in various ways that they would like a visit.  Sometimes they call the church office.  Sometimes we meet during a pastoral visit or phone call.

Once they have communicated their desire, then the team of LEVs will call them the week before a visit and confirm that they would like to receive communion that Sunday.  Sometimes they're not up for a visit.  And so we wait for another date.  If they would like Home Communion, then it is communicated to the Altar Guild and celebrant that the Communion Kit will be going out that Sunday.

During the Eucharist on Sunday we use bread that has been blessed during worship, and we place it in the Communion Kit. We bless the wine that is in the Communion Kit and then the Celebrant charges the LEVs to proclaim the Unity that our brother or sister share with us through the sacrament.

Sometimes before or during the service our communications get mixed up.  And we're ready to conclude communion with the post communion prayer.  In those situations  it is the celebrant's prerogative to continue the liturgy and send the LEVs out immediately following the service.  We try not to let that happen, but sometimes it does happen.

Some Sundays we have more requests for a visit than other Sundays.  Eucharistic Visitors' are important because their ministry signifies the unity of the church and the love we share.  Thanks for asking the question!

Praying Together and Preparing for our Future.

Over the last few weeks I've had the opportunity to answer some questions with some of you about my upcoming pilgrimage and time of renewal.  After Easter Sunday I'll be stepping away from ministry for three months as I respond to a call to pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago Compostela.   By Easter Sunday we will have fulfilled the most emotionally and spiritually exhaustive season of the Christian year which is Holy Week.  Paradoxically, Holy Week is the most fulfilling.  But on that afternoon of April 20th I will crash and hopefully sleep for a day or two.  I can't really explain the spiritual and emotional drain of preparing new sermons for the holy season.  I can't really explain what it takes out of me to do that.  What I know is that at the end of it all I will be drained.

April 21st is the beginning of my sabbatical; some anxieties and other emotions about my absence have started percolating.  It's something I have sensed, and I naively assumed you all understood why I need this time away.  But I realize that in the secular world sabbaticals don't appear to be common place.  And so the question arises, "Why do you need spiritual renewal?"

I've been on the same side of this question as you.  Years ago I was serving on the vestry of my home church when our rector came to us requesting time away.  I loved and respected my priest.  I saw that he cared for us and, along with the time he spent in the office he also set aside personal time to teach or be up at the church for stewardship days.  He gave up what we would consider personal time with his family to counsel couples, visit hospitals, and attend meetings on weeknights away from his family.

Being young and trusting I saw his request as analogous to Jesus needing time away from the disciples.  Jesus modeled sabbath for us.  The gospels record frequent times when Jesus steps away from his disciples in order to renew himself.  Albeit, Jesus didn't appear to take three months away; I just assumed our rector needed more time because he wasn't Jesus.

While my perspective was one of support for my priest I listened as other church members offered resistance to the plan and request for sabbatical.  Phrases like, "I don't get to take a sabbatical, and I work just as hard." or "Who's going to pay for this?" were the most frequent challenges.  Resentment bubbled up through those voices and at times I remember thinking how these normally very kind people were acting so out of character.

What was needed was perspective.  The priestly vocation is unlike a vocation and calling in secular business.  The closest analogy I can conceive of is teaching; although it is not exactly the same.

Every academic year good teachers pour themselves into their vocation.  Teachers try to expand the minds of young children, some of whom thirst for knowledge, others do not.  Regardless, she teaches both types.  A teacher balances the emotional, educational, and disciplinary responsibilities of diverse groups of young people. Each of her students learns in a different way and each of her students has a different personality that she engages in order to teach.  Each of her students come to her from different home situations.  It matters to a teacher because she loves the children in her care.  She invests a lot of emotion in the lives of her students.

Teachers deal with diverse parents who don't understand why you can't break the rules just for them.  Parents are not always kind or respectful to teachers.  But teachers are always expected to be respectful back, especially if you want the parents' support in helping the children.  Teachers are professionals who balance the administrative requirements that at times have nothing to do with teaching.  The emotional and psychological stress of balancing these multifaceted expectations is released at the end of the academic year through time away during the summer.

Teachers need the sabbatical time each summer in order to renew their passion for teaching, tolerance for administration, and love for the children in their care.  They need that time away in order to come back ready and refreshed for a new group of students.

As I struggle to communicate how a priestly vocation requires sabbatical time away I think of the things that I share in common with the teaching profession.  Teaching is of course more intense in that teachers engage students on a daily basis.  But similarly there is a great deal of emotional and spiritual investment in the lives of the people I serve.  There is rarely a time when I don't have someone I love who is not life threateningly sick.  There is rarely a time when there are no activities that I am not expected to participate.  Mentally and emotionally I carry with me the personal struggles of my parishioners as well as the corporate struggles of the church institutions.   The burdens are not laid down when I leave the office.  All of these aspects of my calling take their toll on my effectiveness as a leader.

And like a teacher at the end of a semester we look forward to that time when the mental stress can be laid down.  But not just for the sake of putting the past behind.  Like a teacher the sabbatical is intended to give the rector much needed rest in order to renew and regenerate excitement for the coming work.  In August teachers go back to work and pour themselves into the lives of the people they love and serve.  With new vigor, vision, and enthusiasm I want to bring new perspective in my own ministry to help nurture and teach the people in my spiritual care.  I have that calling from God and this time away will help me be my best for you.

As I spend this time away I hope you'll follow my updates on the blog.  I ask you to pray for my strength and safety as I travel the 500 mile Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) pilgrimage in northern Spain.  I'll be staying in old monastery and pilgrimage hostels along the way.  I'll be praying each of the hours of the Daily Office in the Book of Common Prayer.  Pick up your prayer books and pray with me.  I'll continue to study leadership development through June and July and I'll be ready then to dive back into God's work with you.

"Suffer the little children to come."--Jesus

 January 16, 2014

I am so excited about what is happening here at All Saints.  Before our parish meeting on Sunday, I wasn't sure about what you all were thinking, and I've wrestled with how to implement the things I sense God is calling me to do as your rector.

What I heard you say is that you want for All Saints to grow. I believe that growth is the expectation of the gospel of Jesus, and that God wants that growth for his Kingdom here in the All Saints family.

Right now, we are not growing with people.  And because we are not growing, I have sensed that there must be some things that we are doing that are blocking that growth.  Like a dammed up river, we have to remove the barriers to that growth that God wants for his Kingdom. 

On Sunday, I heard you say that we need to minister to families with young children.  I agree!  Wholeheartedly, I agree.  In order to do that, we have created programs and staffed the church in ways to facilitate that vision.  In terms of a staff, that means we should have full-time and part-time program ministers, like our family life minister and perhaps a children & youth supplemental intern who have the know-how to create and implement program that engages the faith of children and youth.  I must support those ministries through my role to teach parents.

This means we have to support ministry events like Vacation Bible School, the St. Nicholas Craft Day, and others, that are specifically designed to reach out to families to invite them to All Saints.  By support, I mean, you have to participate in them.

What is keeping us from fulfilling this emphasis on children and families?  The short answer is "funding."  I have not asked for more funding for these ministries for two reasons.  The first reason is that I know many of you, in this parish, tithe.  And I've been hesitant to ask you all for more than your 10%.

But more so, the second reason I've not asked for special funding is because we already have the money.  What I have come to understand and share with your elected leaders and ministry heads is that we have the financial resources; we're just spending them in the wrong place.  We are a church of 113 average attendance.  We have an infrastructure of 30,000 sq. ft., and we staff a sexton to help maintain that infrastructure.

We have a full-time sexton, yet we do not have a full-time children's minister or youth intern.  Let me ask you, if you want to grow a church:  Do you think that families would be drawn to the church because you have a full-time sexton?  Or do you think they would be drawn to a place that creates programs for their children to learn more about Jesus?

That's why I am excited about what you said on Sunday.  You want for there to be children and youth programs.  You stated clearly that you know that is the path we must take in order to bring more people into God's family, here at All Saints.  Pray for me, and for your vestry, as we begin to make our church budget and staff reflect those core values.  Pray for yourself that God will help you embrace the changes that we will make in order to fulfill his plan for All Saints.

God bless you,
Fr. Stephen

Cats and Dogs in God's House

Like cats and dogs the rain pours down this morning.  The kids already dropped off  at school I drive to work  Along my way heavy rain creates swamps and pools of water along the ditches and fields.  The water slowly creeps into the storm sewers.  And immediately, my mind is on the church building.  Every time it rains I know what's coming.  Plip, plip, plip, plip...

I would be more shocked today if there were not leaks after every rain.  It doesn't matter where in the building.  There will be water penetrating and finding its way passed  layers of deteriorated roof decking, through insulation, and down the lines of metal joists.

Patch after patch after patch of new materials to repair existing leaks only to push the water somewhere else.


The guy that fixes the roof gives us a successful final product; his patches always work.  But the water moves along and finds a new place to penetrate through the ceiling. I can't help but laugh at our feeble efforts as gravity pulls and the water finds its way down.

So I arrive at church and begin listening for leaks.  You see, you can't see them at first, the leaks.  It takes time for the paint to bubble and sag.  When the water passes through the drywall and paint layers it comes through one droplet at a time.  So I listen for the sound.

The concrete floor covered by a thin layer of worn Berber carpet stops the water from penetrating any further. Plip, plip, plip, plip.

My frustration?  I'm trying to get over it, but it's hard.

You see, my degree from A&M was a Bachelor of Environmental Design. It's a bit of a misnomer.  Today we say "environmental;" we typically think about green things, hybrid cars, stewardship of natural resources, or solar power.  But in this case "environmental" means the human environment.  It means human spaces that we play in, sleep in, eat in, work in, these environments that we live in.

 I don't expect you to fully understand my dilemma and frustration about the roof.  You don't work here everyday.  And even if you did we each value environment differently.

We've talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and discussed.

And each time we talk, it becomes clearer and clearer that we are afraid.  Talking about it is easy.  When it comes to taking the risks for radical infrastructure change at All Saints, fear governs our thoughts and actions (really our inaction.)  More specifically, fear of failure traps our imaginations of what God is calling us to do.

What if we take this action and no one supports us?  What if we take that action and we spend a lot of money?  Where will this money come from?


And I stand here asking the question, "What if we do nothing?"

You see I don't know the answers to those other questions.  But I do know the answer to the question that I ask.  If we do nothing, then God's house will become desolate and uninhabitable.  We will reach a point in which we will have no resources to even patch anymore.  And the future state will be worse than the current one.


When will we do something?  When will God's house be important enough for us to break through our fear of cost?  Why aren't we more afraid of paralysis and of doing nothing than doing somethin?  Like the Parable of the Talents are we more afraid of taking a risk than burying our treasure in the dirt.  Go back and look at the Lord's judgement of that servant who buried his talent in the dirt.  (Matthew 25.14-30)

We are not that Wicked Servant.

We are All Saints Episcopal Church.  We have a history of Resurrection.  We are the heirs of pioneering Christians who landed at 605 Dulles Avenue and said, "God wants a church right here."

God still wants a church right here!  And he has commissioned you to take the risks forward.  He has given you the talents that you need to invest in the future for All Saints.

On November 12 we are meeting to talk again about the future of All Saints.  No more talking! Let's make decisions. Let's make a plan and timeline for what we know God is calling us to do.  If that idea makes you afraid, don't be afraid.  For the one who has given us the vision for God's House is faithful.  He will walk us through every step of the way.   And at the end we'll hear those words we long to hear:

Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.

Great Thanksgiving!

All things come of thee O Lord,
And of thine own have we given thee.

http://graceslo.org/site/post.aspx?li=More-on-Gods-Providence

These words from the Book of Chronicles have shaped our understanding of stewardship for generations. To slow down and listen to the words is a great experience.
All---things---come---of---thee--O Lord!  It means that we are entirely reliant, our very existence is dependent, on God.  Without him we would not breath. Our hearts would not beat.  We would not have our children, our jobs, our homes, food to eat, or possessions to own.

Pick up that favorite souvenir from your last vacation, or treasured possession, and ponder what it means: God has allowed you to have it.  Think on your children or siblings.  Think on your relationships with those you love, friends and family.  God has indeed given them to you.  And they are irreplaceable.

Many people will say to themselves that through their own hard work they have earned their position and possessions.  We have a mentality in our country that says work hard and your dreams will come true.  There is of course some truth to working hard.  But there is a contrary narrative to that truism. There are other people out there, just like you, that worked equally as hard, but did not receive the same reward.  They even may have received or earned less than what you have.  How do you account for those people who worked equally as hard or faithfully but did not receive the same accolades?

There are other people out there who didn't work at all, and they have received more of a reward than those who worked.  These are the ones mentioned so frequently in the psalms.  These are the ones we are warned: Do not envy or follow their examples.

Why is there this disparity?  I believe it is because all things come from God.  And we are each challenged to do the work he has given us to do and to accept his graceful reward no matter what it is.  It does not mean we should stop working harder or less.  It means simply that we live faithfully.  Doing the things he has called us to do.  And our response is the next phrase in Chronicles:

And---of---thine---own---have---we---given---thee.
In return we speak of giving all these things back to God.  Everything that we have and everything that we are is his.  The breath and blood of life are his.  If we believe that everything comes from him, then we also trust that the portion we return to him is our faithful and obedient response to his generosity.

The reason God teaches us to give back is not so that we can run the church, pay the utilities or salaries of staff.  It is not solely for the purpose of benevolent causes.  The reason God teaches us to give back is a reminder that we are dependent upon him and we are the benefactors of his generosity.  We cannot account for the riches of his blessing based on our own works or efforts.  Even if those works and efforts are very noble.

He makes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on both the righteous and the unrighteous.  So either way we respond to his generosity with our faithfulness that he has cared for us and will continue to do so.

Let us all give great thanks to him for the blessings that he has bestowed upon us!

Blessings,
Fr. Stephen+

Committment to All Saints

We've been talking about it over a month.  I hope all of you know that our theme for this year is Commitment to All Saints.  The genesis for this theme came from a heartfelt conversation in our vestry retreat.  That is, we really want to see every family of our church declare "God has called me here, and I am committed to my All Saints Family."  And we want to help discover each person's gift and how to put it to use in the life of All Saints.

Out in the world I hear a general mood from people saying that commitment in our culture is a thing of the past.  But I actually believe that commitment has not disappeared; it's just become fragmented.  We become committed to this organization or that organization.  We become committed to our school first or our sports team first.  We become committed to our jobs before family.  We become committed to everything else first and our commitment to God and his church falls somewhere after all that.

Commitment isn't the problem in our culture; it's prioritizing.   In the Book of Genesis when Cain and Abel brought their offerings to God Cain (a tiller of the ground) brought fruit of the ground for an offering; Abel (a shepherd) brought the first-ling of his sheep.  We are told that God looked favorably on Abel's offering but not Cain's offering.  There is debate about why God was pleased with Abel and not Cain.  But many scholars infer that Cain's offering was somehow less than Abel's because Abel brought his first (best) fruit and Cain simply brought an offering.  The New Testament also tells us that Abel's gift was given in faith while Cain's works were evil.

When God sent his Son into the world he was committed to us.  The Father sent his best and first fruit to reconcile us to him.  Jesus' birth, life, suffering, and death sums up the Father's total commitment to make you his child.  God did not offer just some sacrifice; he offered his best.  And he has faith in us to respond to him that his sacrifice would not be in vain. 

Likewise our Commitment to God is an act of faith.  We give every bit of ourselves to him and the furtherance of his Kingdom here at All Saints.  That means committing to God first.  It means giving your best to the Kingdom and to each other.  And it means that all of the other things you struggle to keep up with then find a backseat to the ideal of the Kingdom.

In our culture the reason so many people feel like they are pulled in so many directions is because they have not committed their best talents to God instead they commit to worldly things that pass away.  In order to put God first, you have to be willing to say "yes" to him and "no" to the world.  You have to be willing to make yourself a sacrifice to him.  And when you do that you'll find much of what you're distracted by was not important at all. 

Since our ministry leaders have been making their announcements we've already seen an increase (even before our Commitment Harvest Day Oct. 27) in participation and willingness to help in ministry.  If you haven't already decided what ministry you will give your time, that's okay. Keep coming and listening to the ministry leaders.  Some ministry will call your heart.

And then, knowing your commitment will help your leaders organize our resources in ways that will build on the foundations of our core values of Worship, Love, and Service.

As our facilities continue to need repair and maintenance, knowing your commitment to this Family will help your elected leadership know better where to put resources to help ministry grow not just maintain a building.

We would like to organize all aspects of the church to reflect God's calling in your life.  Our ministries, staff, budget, and campus should all reflect that values that emerge from your collective gifts.  God endows us with many gifts and he allows us to use them here.  Make sure as we approach the Oct. 26th Harvest Dinner and 27th Harvest Commitment dates that you have taken your commitment card and made your declaration and commitment to the All Saints Family.

God bless you,
Fr. Stephen+

Christ is our light and beacon for the future!

Along the white sterile walls of Methodist Hospital in Houston my mother walked side-by-side with me on a rolling gurney.  Wishing us well the nurses waved a sad “see you soon” dressed in white knee length skirts, stockings, and what I called the fortune cookie hats.  The orderlies pushed on through doorways and endless halls on the way to the operating room.  Holding my hand along-the-way, my mother cried. 

It was the summer of 1978; we had reached the conclusion of a five year struggle of what to do about my birth defect.  After years of wearing leg braces, plaster body casts, a bone graft and a partial amputation surgery we had reached a fork in the road.  We could decide to spend my adolescent years in surgery after surgery missing school and socialization trying to fix my deformed leg.  Or we could amputate the lower part of the leg, be fitted with a prosthetic leg, and be on our merry way.

Faithfully walking by my side, tears rolling down her face, I offered a question:

“Mom? Why are you crying?  They’re just going to cut off my leg.”

Words from a five-year-old boy intended to comfort probably cut deeper into the pain.  I’m so thankful that I have not had to make a similar decision for my own children.  God allowed my mother to make that difficult choice and she made it as faithfully as she could. 

Since the time I was very young, I’ve been aware that when it comes to crisis situations I frequently have had a positive outlook.  My attitude tends to reflect the old saying, “Things could be worse.”  And even though I tend to stress over change I know that God’s blessings always follow the storm.

In many ways I’ve tried to tackle problems with the idea that we can conquer anything that the world throws at us.  But our abilities are so small when compared to the power of God.

When we know Jesus that power and optimism is amplified infinitely.  When he spoke to his disciples saying, how hard it would be for a rich man to enter heaven they didn’t understand what he meant.  They believed wealth was a sign of God’s favor toward someone.  They believed that someone who was poor or sick had received divine punishment, and therefore was less likely to enter heaven.  They were confused and asked how this is possible.  And he said to them, “with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

St. Paul shares a similar sentiment after suffering through arrests, stoning, floggings, shipwrecks, snake bites, and all manner of perils for the sake of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus, he wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I like to apply this way of thinking to our life together in the All Saints family.  As we continue to focus on knowing our gifts and encouraging each other to live the Good News of Jesus in the world we can be confronted with set backs.  There will be things that discourage you at work or at home.  People can rub you the wrong way, you can get sick, there are so many ways that the world can try to distract you from believing that you overcome and conquer with the Love of Christ.

But really I want you to think differently.  Indeed it is not you who conquers.  But it is Christ living in you that conquers these struggles.  And because of that we have nothing to fear.  Looking to him for strength in each moment of the day will help you to overcome those hurdles and live fully into the Kingdom that he is preparing us for.

As All Saints continue to discover how we are called to bring more people into our fellowship we will be confronted with barriers that keep us from fulfilling God’s will for us.  There will be hiccups, difficulties, struggles, tension because our selves will get in the way of his plan.  But he wants for us to be a thriving branch that bears much fruit in his Kingdom.  And to do that we must look to Jesus.  Jesus is our lighthouse on a rocky shore, shining light in the dangerous areas and guiding our way saying to us, “Do not cry; do not be afraid. I am with you.”