Thirty-two years ago, when Sue-z and I first came to the Emmanuel, things were a bit different, or maybe not. The Episcopal Church was just beginning to figure out impact of women deacons and priests, General Convention had recently affirmed the ministry of vocational deacons, and congregations were beginning to find their way into the “new prayer book.” Change was in the air and with it: conflict.
The congregation, this may sound familiar to many in the church, avoided a lot of the conflict. I sometimes think conflict avoidance is our secret doctrine! Oh we knew there were, “lady priests.” But they did not appear, and they were not mentioned. The rector and choir master spent considerable time pouring over the rubrics and came up with an order of service that used Right One to model the 1928 liturgy. It was not a 100% match, but it was very close. Right Two was not discussed.
Eventually, slowly, some of the changes seeped in. Our served communities have traditionally had a fairly high turnover as residents come, advance their careers and move on to other areas of the country. This is where the term, "Mac mansion" was coined, in the area around Oak Brook and Hamburger University. Over time, that meant new people, and new ideas. Today if still behind the curve, we are nowhere near 1980. Some conflicts we faced in 1979 still have not been discussed much. But we have changed.
What has not changed is that scent of change in the air. America and the world are changing, we are not what we were, nor are we staying where we are. No one knew about the internet in 1980. I think only one other member and I owned computers when we joined, today, we have a lesbian bishop in California, a gay bishop on the East Coast. Legal gay marriage, or as I prefer, "marriage equality" has come to a growing number of jurisdictions, and new technologies change how we all work, live and believe. Changes come to us will he - nil he. Always, with change comes conflict.
The church and the congregation need to find ways to converse and adapt. Some things are unchanging – the message of a loving God who calls us to be the salt of the world, to love one another, and to bring others to join us in living into the kingdom, will not change. The complete victory achieved on Easter morning is final. But much can and should change, adapt, and be learned in the new world we are constantly finding. Some things necessarily will be ended, other new things begun.
I have accepted nomination to be (I hope) elected to a term on the vestry. I want to help us all look at ourselves, learn from our weakness, and understand our strengths. As we seek a new rector, I want to help the parish experience transformation that leads us to a confident ministry, now and in the future. I want us to as a warden put it to me recently, “learn to disagree agreeably.” I think after over 140 years, it is time we grew up and achieved that level of maturity. The Anglican Communion is about fifteen years older. The Communion too needs to grow up.
2013, may it be a year of growth and confidence for Episcopalians across the communion and in our parish. Let us proclaim the good news and answer the bible-idolaters' fundamentalism.
Yes there is both joy and sadness, unity and conflict, comfort and change. The kingdom of the Lord is peopled with humans and that is the way we are built. This is the year of the Lord's favor. Come let us go to Bethlehem and see that which is done this day as Emmanuel, God with us, comes.
As the "OH!" antiphons of Advent give way to the joy of Christmas, Oh Come Let Us Adore Him!
The congregation, this may sound familiar to many in the church, avoided a lot of the conflict. I sometimes think conflict avoidance is our secret doctrine! Oh we knew there were, “lady priests.” But they did not appear, and they were not mentioned. The rector and choir master spent considerable time pouring over the rubrics and came up with an order of service that used Right One to model the 1928 liturgy. It was not a 100% match, but it was very close. Right Two was not discussed.
Eventually, slowly, some of the changes seeped in. Our served communities have traditionally had a fairly high turnover as residents come, advance their careers and move on to other areas of the country. This is where the term, "Mac mansion" was coined, in the area around Oak Brook and Hamburger University. Over time, that meant new people, and new ideas. Today if still behind the curve, we are nowhere near 1980. Some conflicts we faced in 1979 still have not been discussed much. But we have changed.
What has not changed is that scent of change in the air. America and the world are changing, we are not what we were, nor are we staying where we are. No one knew about the internet in 1980. I think only one other member and I owned computers when we joined, today, we have a lesbian bishop in California, a gay bishop on the East Coast. Legal gay marriage, or as I prefer, "marriage equality" has come to a growing number of jurisdictions, and new technologies change how we all work, live and believe. Changes come to us will he - nil he. Always, with change comes conflict.
The church and the congregation need to find ways to converse and adapt. Some things are unchanging – the message of a loving God who calls us to be the salt of the world, to love one another, and to bring others to join us in living into the kingdom, will not change. The complete victory achieved on Easter morning is final. But much can and should change, adapt, and be learned in the new world we are constantly finding. Some things necessarily will be ended, other new things begun.
I have accepted nomination to be (I hope) elected to a term on the vestry. I want to help us all look at ourselves, learn from our weakness, and understand our strengths. As we seek a new rector, I want to help the parish experience transformation that leads us to a confident ministry, now and in the future. I want us to as a warden put it to me recently, “learn to disagree agreeably.” I think after over 140 years, it is time we grew up and achieved that level of maturity. The Anglican Communion is about fifteen years older. The Communion too needs to grow up.
2013, may it be a year of growth and confidence for Episcopalians across the communion and in our parish. Let us proclaim the good news and answer the bible-idolaters' fundamentalism.
Yes there is both joy and sadness, unity and conflict, comfort and change. The kingdom of the Lord is peopled with humans and that is the way we are built. This is the year of the Lord's favor. Come let us go to Bethlehem and see that which is done this day as Emmanuel, God with us, comes.
As the "OH!" antiphons of Advent give way to the joy of Christmas, Oh Come Let Us Adore Him!
