Peace be with you.
If you have been following the activities of the Vestry over the past year or so, it’s likely you would have noticed or at least heard the words, the Church Cracked Open. That’s the title of the book we in the Vestry and some parishioners have been studying.
I’m thankful to have a “spiritual practice,” in these meetings so that the entire event isn’t comprised of the mathematical minutiae and operational mundanities of running an organization, but Lord give me strength, this has been a difficult read – in spite of the fact that it’s a pretty easy read… in terms of its length and author Stephanie Spellers’ flowing prose style.
The difficult part has been the presentation of the naked truth about the history of our church. Many times, I found myself getting defensive and wanting to say, “Wait! What about that time that…” It was particularly difficult to read, having come to the Episcopal Church late in life, and thinking at long last I had found a bit of Heaven on Earth, only to have that illusion casually snatched away.
If you ever find yourself feeling smug about being an Episcopalian, crack open this book. The feeling will pass. However, perseverance pays off. This week we looked at Chapter 8 (Really? Only 8? Seems like more!), titled “Walk In Love – Discipleship.” It was a breath of fresh air, addressing the reasons we come to church, the reasons why we need to come to church.
Whenever I hear phrases like spiritual path”, “faith journey,” or in this case “Walk in Love,” I think of one of my favorite Bible stories – the one about the Road to Emmaus. After the Crucifixion, the two protagonists undertake a long, dismal journey out of Jerusalem, only to find at the end of their day’s travel they are, and have been, in the company of the resurrected Christ.
In a way, the study of this book has been like a journey to Emmaus. It’s been a tough and depressing slog, but as we come to end, we find it’s not the end, but rather a joyful sojourn after which we will again face dark times and difficult challenges. For now, we can walk in love.
Spellers offers, in Chapter 8, seven tips on how to walk in love. At last, something positive and concrete. They are so important that I’d like to share them now:
- TURN again and again to God. (My favorite on the list. It’s simple and works in all circumstances even when things are confusing and seem impossible.)
- LEARN Jesus’s ways through scripture and holy reading.
- PRAY and dwell intentionally with God every day.
- WORSHIP God weekly through community praise, thanksgiving and petition.
- BLESS one another by giving our lives away in love.
- GO across borders to join in solidarity and heal brokenness.
- REST in God’s grace because the revolution is ultimately not up to us.
I love all of these. They were worth journey to get to them.
When we finished our spiritual practice for the evening, we turned to business. There was the usual sorting through finances. I will leave explanation of this to others with a greater facility for such matters than I have.
After the numbers, there was discussion of new ways to connect, not only amongst ourselves, but with others outside of our insular community. The vestry is searching for ways to expand its ministry and to help others engage in ministry and continue building our “Beloved Community.”
We discussed the return of Coffee hour and the reinstitution of the Vestry Listening Table, a newcomers’ brunch, a table at the Farmers’ Market, adult formation, the possibility of the vestry meeting in person and more. The themes in the chapter we had been discussing earlier seemed to resonate in the conversations we are now having about how to connect with another and our communities in deeper ways than before.
In a way, this moment in our history is a little like the ending of the Road to Emmaus story. We feel like we’ve been walking alone for a while now, and it’s been difficult. In reality, although it may have felt desolate, we weren’t alone. We were with each other the whole time. Now we have a chance realize that and to plan the next phase of the Journey.
As in the Emmaus story, there is no ending, just a time of transition to a new forward movement.
-David Martin,
Vestry Member
