Observation, Realization and AcquisitionLent is a time of abstinence and prayer, self-denial and fasting, devotion and focus; it is a time that we retreat from the routine to re-discover our spiritual center. Often this image is a depressing one in which we imagine self-denial akin to shame and ‘giving-up’ as punishment, this is an unfortunate and incorrect image that gets in the way of true reflection and growth.
Our spiritual journey mirrors the via dolorosa -- The Way of Grief (The Way of the Cross), through which we enter into a state of self-assessment in which we honestly address the true motivations and actions of our lives. In this we recognize and name the obstructions to our faith journey, grieve over our participation in them, and appeal to God for comfort in and renewal. But, while The Way of the Grief delivers us to the Tomb where we are buried in our sin and self-awareness, the via aevum --The Way of Life (The Way of Eternity) resurrects us to live anew a life free from the sins of the past. This freedom, while it is a gift from God, requires a process through which we are voluntarily transformed; Lent is not just a time to realize the past/present, it is time to prepare for the present/future. Our Lenten Series this year is a quick, but deep dive into observation, realization and acquisition. We live in a media culture where film and video serve as a retreat from the hectic and pressured lives that we live. These films, both secular and religious, can provide us with valuable insights and the opportunity for renewal. In our Lenten Series we are watching Risen, the story of a Roman Tribune searching for the body of Jesus to disprove the resurrection, only to find the very much alive Jesus who calls him to account. We are learning a bit about Roman history, a bit about geography and tradition, and lot about belief and skepticism. Our Lenten Series is skipping this week, but that does not mean you have to. If you were not able to join us for the first meeting, you could rent, buy, or check out from the library, the movie and watch it. Or, you could watch small bits of it on YouTube; they will be “highlights,” but there are a few that focus on the first half of the film and are useful for reflection. If you are watching for the first time or you were with us last Wednesday night, we stopped at the 25-minute mark, and asked ourselves some questions. If you were there, these are worth going through again, and if you are watching now, these will get you started:
I hope to see you next Wednesday night as we continue to observe (watch), realize (become aware), and acquire (own) ourselves on our Lenten journey. Oh Most Holy God! Enable me to understand! For to truly embrace the New Dawn of Easter morning--I must know myself to be truly different from who I was on Friday night! Observing, being aware, and taking responsibility in Christ, Fr. Bill+
0 Comments
Dear Creator Family,
As we continue to roll into 2024, we are already planning for major events in our Parish Calander. Looking ahead, we are currently planning for the 53rd Annual Arts in the Park, Richmond VA Saturday, May 5th, 11am – 6pm Sunday, May 6th, 11am – 5pm Held in Byrd Park – 1301 Blanton Avenue, Richmond, VA We have been blessed to participate in Arts-in-the-Park, Richmond’s “award winning…nationally-rated juried art show…showcasing more than 350 exhibitors from around the country who will be offering their work for sale” as custodians of all things parking for over 25 years. The Creator Parking Crew has been a constant and confidence-building presence at the show for over two decades and we are recognized by vendors and visitors alike. In addition to the fun and comradery of the event, the opportunity to interact with hundreds of people, and the fact that we all get to play with walkie-talkies, Creator receives $4,500 as a gratuity for our service. Because of this last part (the $$ part) other organizations are always nipping at our heels trying to steal our position away. Our Vestry has been calling each of you this week to establish a solid number of volunteers to confirm our service with the Arts-in-the-Park Association this Thursday! Don Lafoon, our illustrious Creator Parking Crew leader and liaison to the Association, needs right away the count of the number we have that are going to serve. There are several ways to notify Don of your commitment or your questions, you may email or call Don directly (804-347-3680) or contact your Vestry Person, email or call the Church Office, or come by the Office and leave us a note. Shifts at Arts-in-the-Park include 4-hour blocks morning and afternoon on Saturday and Sunday. You can volunteer for one or all shifts as you feel called. Shift work includes: Directing cars to the parking areas, directing cars to parking spots, managing traffic flow and general community interaction (a smile and kind word witnessing to the love of God!) There are two locations for parking, Dogwood Dell--at the Carillon, and at City Stadium--a satellite parking lot. There are positions where you can sit, stand, point, walk or run, and all in the company of your Creator Brothers and Sisters. It is imperative that we affirm this Thursday our willingness and ability to staff this function. Please reach out to everyone you know, family members, friends, next door neighbors, perhaps members of an organization you belong to or a club you attend, teenagers and young adults are welcome! Remember, we need to band together to affirm our participation and secure our historic place in this event. Based on your response, we will fill in our sign-up boards which will be posted in the Church Narthex. We look forward to hearing from you and preparing for our service at the “largest event in Richmond!” I’ll be Parking in May at the… 53rd Annual Arts in the Park, Richmond VA Saturday, May 5th, 11am – 6pm Sunday, May 6th, 11am – 5pm Held in Byrd Park – 1301 Blanton Avenue, Richmond, VA Fr. Bill† Dear Creator Family,
This past Sunday we successfully concluded the Annual Meeting for 2023. Keeping the treasurer’s report in mind, perhaps the most significant action we took during the meeting was the election of your Vestry for 2024. The Vestry is an invaluable part of our life as a parish. So important, in fact, that the establishment of the Vestry is required by church canon. As administrators of parish business and overseers of parish finances, the Vestry provides continuity from year to year as the parish strives to live into God’s call. If these were the sole responsibilities of the Vestry, they would surely be enough; but they are not. The Vestry is so much more than the canon requires and of greater importance than most realize. The roots of the title “Vestry” date back to the Middle Ages. Before there were grand parish halls, classrooms, and conference rooms, simple parish churches consisted of a nave, a chancel, and a vestry. The vestry was a simple room that often doubled as the sacristy where sacred vessels, robes, and altar hangings were stored. Weekly, in the room, priests would vest for services, and from this room, the chancel would be prepared for worship. The vestry was a sacred space unto itself where prayers were made in thanksgiving to God for the provisions to serve God and petitions were made to make the unworthy clean to lead the congregation in worship. The vestry, due to the lack of other spaces, was also a place often used by the clergy for meetings and counseling. During this time, based on the ancient model, men were elected from the brethren to the sacred duty of care and oversight of the church, God’s house of worship. The actions of this committee were, as they are today, a mixture of the secular and the sacred. Over time, the committee that met in the vestry to safeguard the house of God began to be referred to by the title of the room in which they met. The committee, now the Vestry, continued in its sacred duty bearing the name of a place of sacred action. The role of the Vestry was much more far-reaching than it is today in one area: community care. Since the church and state were merged in England, the Vestry was also in charge of municipal health and they were tasked with maintaining roads and providing for the common good. Perhaps it was here, where the church and state merged, that the sacred call to church governance began the long dilution process. Now responsible for actions outside the specific arena of the worship and adulation of God, the role of the Vestry began to be regarded as more of a job than a calling. It is not so today. In the USA, where church and state are separate (thank God), the church has striven to recapture the image and understanding of the Vestry as a call to ministry and a sacred responsibility. All too often I hear the horror stories of corrupt vestries and the wounds they inflict on congregants and fellow vestry members alike: members served for selfish reasons and brought their own agenda to the vestry along with their quest for power. With this type of experience in the memory of many and these stories heard by all, it is no wonder that parishioners fear serving on vestries. Thanks be to God; at Creator, we have been all but spared the kind of debasement so many parishes suffer. Aside from a short period many years ago, our parish has been blessed by members whose service is truly dedicated to God and who seek to answer the call to this sacred ministry. This is the Vestry God has raised up here at Creator. Many a year I have been told by an outgoing Vestry person that their prior bad experience of Vestry service had been redeemed by their service here. Our Vestry meetings have been more like family gatherings than business meetings. Laughter has been our expression and good humor and godly presence, our focus. The Vestry is integral to our life as a parish family and a faithful answer to God’s call towards our mission and ministry. In recent years, we have had fewer and fewer seek to serve God on the Vestry. This year we have only four parishioners answering the call to serve God on the Vestry. While we will persevere in our sacred duties, how much more might be possible if we were joined by additional godly hearts and voices? If you were wounded in the past by your service on a Vestry, consider serving again so that God may redeem your experience and replace your horror story with one of love and filial devotion. It’s never too late. Serving with the Vestry, Fr. Bill+ In the past several years I have taken to telling people that they are kind, as in “Thank you, you’re very kind.” Of course, I say this, not frivolously, but as an observation of kindness. But often I receive a shocked or surprised look in return.
You don’t have to be a Christian to be kind. In fact, “kindness” was culturally popular a few years ago. “Be kind!” was on bumper stickers and t-shirts and I heard it more than once proclaimed in public. Kindness evokes images of tolerance, affirmation, and peace and seems to supersede “good deeds” or simple “help.” Still, as popular as that slogan was (is?), our culture seems to be moving farther and farther away from kindness and civility. St. Paul, in his Letter to the Galatians, identifies attributes of the flesh from which behaviors are born; cultural kindness is one such behavior. Lacking in depth, it pretends to do and be good while unable to produce any real change. Flowing from a purely subjective source (the flesh) cultural kindness is subject to our cultural trajectory of individual sovereignty and personal rights. Sadly, as we all have experienced, when we disagree with someone it is no longer seen as an opportunity for dialogue and mutual understanding, but as a threat to personal worth. The best cultural kindness can offer is bland tolerance, and at its worst is hatred with a smile. Perhaps the blank stares and shocked expressions I receive betray cultural kindness at its core: kindness fueled by individual perspective and defined by personal opinion. As people of faith, Christian Kindness is at odds with cultural kindness. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word chesed, which means loving-kindness, is used to describe how God relates to his people. It’s also this loving-kindness that God expects from his people in response to his own. God proclaims through the Prophet Hosea, “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Burnt offerings, as a cultural practice in response to God, and sacrifices that go through the motions of devotion without love—were rejected. Chesed captures the steadfast and sacrificial love of God who refuses to abandon a people who are radically different from him; who anger him and who fail him again and again. Christian Kindness must be rooted in this kind of covenantal love that endures at all costs. Our kind God doesn’t merely tolerate us or endure us with distaste. He loves us with a fierce kindness that’s more committed to our own well-being than we are. Christian Kindness is not based on personal opinion, ideas of self-worth, or observations of likeness (or difference). It is founded on God’s faith in us and call for us to be like him. Through the sacrifice of Christ, God has forgiven our sins even though we do not deserve to be forgiven. We have been given much as “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The light of Jesus’ sacrifice for us and his gift to us shines through his command to “love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35). To empower us, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). To guide us to a deeper understanding of Christian Kindness, St. Paul lists Kindness as the fifth of the nine attributes of Christian life inspired by the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control. Christian Kindness flows supernaturally within the soul of someone who is saved, redeemed, born again, justified, and forgiven. God has “put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (1 Corinthians 1:22) to be the foundation of how we live our earthly life. It is from this foundation of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit that true Kindness flows. God the Father sent Jesus Christ to extend to us the ultimate kindness: our salvation (Titus 3:4). And in Christ, we are set apart to be transformed into his likeness through the Holy Spirit who produces godly fruit in our lives--fruit like Kindness (Gal. 5:22). This is the calling placed on God’s chosen people: to put on godly Kindness that we might be filled with love in all our interactions, caring about the well-being of others, and speaking the truth in love in the same manner that our heavenly Father does. In our culture, we all encounter those who care nothing of our forgiveness or our kindness. But God calls us to extend mercy and Kindness just the same. We are able to do this because Christian Kindness is a gift from God, not our own product. Perhaps our witness of true Kindness will help others to seek the source of such radical behavior and make shocked or surprised looks a thing of the past. Kindly encountering culture, Fr. Bill+ |
AuthorFather Bill Burk† Archives
October 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly