To DST or Not to DST - That is the Question

Twice a year we see a flurry of commenting and humorous memes on the subject of the time change. Forgive me for thinking more deeply about this than it's worth, but I see something interesting this time. Analyzing this as "a problem to be solved", it looks like the simplest one in our very deep catalog of problems. There are only 3 possible outcomes, and each has clear advantages and disadvantages. And yet, we will not solve this problem. Why? Because we have surgically removed the key feature in our minds for problem-solving: EMPATHY. Every single comment I see this time around is a demand for a change to the system that the commenter wants without any respect for what other people need. If we step back a little, we will see that this is the truth behind ALL of our unsolvable problems. And it is the truth behind our Bishop Curry's message that "Love is the Way!". Unless we (Christians AND non-Christians) learn to behave toward each other with respect and concern, we will never solve another problem. Even a problem as trivial as setting our clocks.

Notes on a Sermon, St. Martin of Tours Episcopal, Kalamazoo, MI

Preached by the Rev. Mary Perrin on July 14, 2019
Gospel for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Luke 10: 25-37

The Parable of the Samaritan

This is one of the two most well-known of the parables. Mother Mary hit all the usual necessary points, but she added a couple. The word that the lawyer uses in his final response to Jesus' story is "mercy". The neighbor is "the one who showed mercy". Drilling down into the Greek and Aramaic languages for the meaning "mercy" we get "generous healing love". The expansiveness of this leads to an important conclusion about all law. When viewed in a top-down fashion through all the Scriptures, we can see that all the rules start with mercy. The two who passed the wounded man by were thinking that they were living by "the rules", but their narrow understanding of those rules would lead to death. The despised outsider was the one whose actions were life-giving.

Then Mother Mary Perrin added a little idea that may have been (unknowingly) just for me. Since I first understood this parable in a mature way, I have always felt a bit repelled by "the lawyer". I have some personal experience with a lawyer that forced me to take a fast from lawyer jokes for more than a year. I was unable to tell them without meaning them. (What is the definition of "a damn shame"? It's when a busload of lawyers goes over a cliff -- and there was an empty seat). Now it is entirely possible that the lawyer in this Gospel scene was a nefarious schemer whose intention was to discredit the Lord. That's not necessarily the case. First of all, the lawyer did understand the central demands of the Law: "Love God. Love neighbor". But the key point here is the phrase "wanting to justify himself" when he asks "who is my neighbor?" We could see this as an ego in search of validation, but then again that isn't the only choice. It is even more likely that the lawyer recognized this as a critical issue that he needed to get exactly right. The person he asked for a deeper understanding is the same person that we ask for a deeper understanding. I'm going to have to give this lawyer the benefit of the doubt the next time I hear his story.

A Benediction - by Nadia Boltz-Webber

The Benediction that will be read at Rachel Held Evans’ funeral tomorrow (June 1, 2019):

Blessed are the agnostics. Blessed are they who doubt. Blessed are those who have nothing to offer. Blessed are the preschoolers who cut in line at communion. Blessed are the poor in spirit. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.

Blessed are those whom no one else notices. The kids who sit alone at middle-school lunch tables. The laundry guys at the hospital. The sex workers and the night-shift street sweepers. The closeted. The teens who have to figure out ways to hide the new cuts on their arms. Blessed are the meek. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.

Blessed are they who have loved enough to know what loss feels like. Blessed are the mothers of the miscarried. Blessed are they who can’t fall apart because they have to keep it together for everyone else. Blessed are those who “still aren’t over it yet.” Blessed are those who mourn. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.

I imagine Jesus standing here blessing us because that is our Lord’s nature. This Jesus cried at his friend’s tomb, turned the other cheek, and forgave those who hung him on a cross. He was God’s Beatitude— God’s blessing to the weak in a world that admires only the strong.

Jesus invites us into a story bigger than ourselves and our imaginations, yet we all get to tell that story with the scandalous particularity of this moment and this place. We are storytelling creatures because we are fashioned in the image of a storytelling God. May we never neglect that gift. May we never lose our love for telling the story. Amen

- by Nadia Boltz-Webber

Should we use the recognition the Episcopal Church is getting from political figures? Yes!

One of our roadblocks to evangelism (that dreaded word) is our almost neurotic reluctance to explain our Episcopal faith and the enjoyment we get from it. Yes: enjoyment! We have something special to share with the world in this "Way of Love" that our Church is teaching now. It's a way of living the Jesus Movement, loving our neighbors as our selves, that we can each carry in our pockets. (If you don't have a wallet card of this, get one. Your priest probably has a bundle of them). The name recognition that Bishop Curry, John McCain, and Pete Buttigieg are giving is the proverbial "foot in the door". We need to use it.

General Rule on Discussions of Race

The prime motivation of most white commentators is self-justification: "I'm not racist because ...". They need this in order to excuse themselves from the REAL work of racial justice. Our SYSTEMS of white privilege and non-white limitation have built up out of sight for 400 years. Those systems cannot be unmade until we (the white makers of those systems) grow up enough to recognize and dismantle them.

Welcome sign at Coventry Cathedral, England

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, straight, gay, confused, well-heeled or down-at-heel. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers. We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You're welcome here if you're just browsing, just woken up or just got out of prison. We don't care if you're more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury or haven't been to church since Christmas 10 years ago. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet and to teenagers who are growing up too fast.

We welcome keep-fit moms, football dads, starving artists, tree huggers, latte sippers, vegetarians, junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you're having problems, are down in the dumps or don't like organized religion. We're not that keen on it either. We offer welcome to those who think the Earth is flat, work too hard, don't work, can't spell, or are here because Granny is visiting and wanted to come to the cathedral. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, both or neither.

We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throats as kids or got lost on the Ring Road and wound up here by mistake. We welcome pilgrims, tourists, seekers, doubters and you.
— Welcome sign at Coventry Cathedral, England

Facebook Group (Episcopalians on Facebook) Complaint Re: Politics

To all those who want to wash "politics" out of our expressions of faith (like our sermons and our organized witness to OUR government): How do you imagine a sermon set on "Love your neighbor as yourself" and the parable of "The Samaritan" (Luke 10:25-37) could be preached without being "political"? First of all, this is one of the central teachings of Jesus' Gospel. Second, the initial target was a lawyer. A LAWYER! Hard to get more political than that. Third, the Samaritan, according to the culture of first-century Jews, was an illegal alien. Literally. Look it up. Fourth, Episcopalians, along with all American citizens of faith, inhabit and operate within the culture of our citizenship. That means our faith informs our lives in the 167 hours every week that we are NOT in a pew, listening to a sermon. I recently heard of a priest who preached a sermon on dismantling racism and had four members leave the Church. Too much politics, they said. Wrong! There hasn't been enough of the Gospel preached in a way that actually changes the lives of the most comfortable among us. If you disagree with the way the Gospel is being applied to our everyday (168 hours per week) lives by this Church, speak with your clergy, your bishop, your convention deputies. They may be able to give you an insight into our positions and theology that you haven't considered - and vice versa