Category: Current Affairs

How is it with your soul?

A friend said to me the other day, “Maybe it’s just me, but 2021 is beginning to look a lot like 2020.” He’s right; it kind of is, isn’t it? An impeachment trial in the Senate, more pandemic, challenges of trying to get everybody vaccinated, brutally cold weather, a breakdown in the Texas power grid, loss of water pressure, and more. Surprises, disappointments, inconvenience, unfamiliar emotional terrain, and rising anxiety levels as we wonder what’s next. It’s enough to try one’s soul.

How is it with your soul? The Season of Lent calls us to grapple with that question every year, but this year it has a different intensity. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Maybe the mounting pressures can move us to seek the help we need for the care of our souls. Maybe we will be more intentional in taking advantage of the spiritual disciplines of self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, self-denial, and reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. Maybe we’ll read the daily Lenten Reflections that members of our parish have shared with us.

If our faith teaches us anything, it teaches us that our God is the gracious Lover of our souls who will never leave or forsake us. In fact, that is the one thing that can never be taken away from us, no matter how bad things may be. In Baptism, we are “marked as Christ’s own for ever.”

The familiar hymn It is Well With My Soul was written after traumatic events in the life of Horatio Spafford. The first two were the death of his four-year-old son and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which ruined him financially. His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873, at which time he had planned to travel to England with his family on the SS Ville du Havre. In a late change of plan, he sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn. All four of Spafford's daughters perished. His wife Anna survived. Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words when his ship passed near where his daughters had died. Phillip Bliss composed the tune for the hymn and called it Ville du Havre, from the name of the stricken vessel.

The series of tragedies could have broken Spafford. By God's grace, he dealt with the question, "How is it with your soul." The outcome was his echo of the response of the Shunammite woman in her encounter with the prophet Elijah, "It is well." Moreover, the hymn he wrote about the experience has brought reassurance and peace to countless souls for a century and a half.

So, I ask again, how is it with your soul? Seize the opportunity Lent provides to grapple with that question. Observe the Lenten disciplines. Your clergy are always available to help, as are members of the parish who have emerged from their own experiences with renewed spiritual health.

Blessings,

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

February 18, 2021
Seeking Wisdom and Understanding

On Sunday, we will have our Annual Parish Meeting at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. We will do so against the backdrop of the lectionary readings for the Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany, which focus on the wisdom that comes to us when we have reverence for divine authority in our lives and in our world.

The Psalm appointed for the day is Psalm 111. The first and last verses serve as bookends for the Psalm's description of the majesty and reign of God:

Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, *
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; *
those who act accordingly have a good understanding;
his praise endures for ever.

As we assemble virtually for our meeting on Sunday, we will indeed give thanks to God with our whole heart. Through our oral and written reports, we will recount the mighty works of God in our life during the past year, and there are many. We will also ask God to help us see into the future and discern what are the next steps in the mission entrusted specifically to us. We will acknowledge that God rules all things both in heaven and on earth. Such reverence for God, as the psalmist says, is the beginning of wisdom. This is the true agenda for our assembly!

Let us prepare ourselves for this annual event with this prayer from The Book of Common Prayer.

Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel in this Annual Parish Meeting for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessings,

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

January 29, 2021
An Epiphany From Seed Corn

I came across this story today. It's been around a while, but I had not seen it before. It speaks beautifully about our need to care for one another and seek each others' welfare.

There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

So is with our lives… Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all…

Blessings,

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

(Author Unknown)

January 21, 2021
The Least We Can Do

With each passing day, the picture of events in our Nation’s Capitol last week grows darker. Federal prosecutors are saying that rioters intended to capture and assassinate elected officials. Capitol Police were beaten, one was bludgeoned to death, and another took his own life following the incident. The office of the Speaker of the House and other offices were entered. Items were stolen, including documents containing sensitive information. Artwork was damaged. Windows were shattered. Law and order were replaced by violence and chaos. Over 20,000 National Guard troops have been dispatched to Washington DC to ensure order during the coming week and the Inauguration.

Among those encouraging and inciting the rioters were so-called evangelical Christian clergy. There was nothing evangelical and nothing Christian about what happened and there won’t be if this kind of deplorable behavior continues in our land. It’s come to this.

We are not yet sure how or when this dire situation will be resolved. So, while we watch from afar, let us pray for our nation and for ourselves. And let our prayers guide our actions. It's the least we can do.

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth.
Lord, keep this nation under your care.

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties.

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name.
For yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, page 821)

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

January 15, 2021
A Response to a Lawless Mob

Yesterday, the United States Capitol building, a symbol of our nation’s covenant to live together as one people governed and protected by laws, was assaulted by a lawless mob, urged on by reckless and violent political rhetoric. While we are relieved that order was restored in the Capitol, we can’t ignore the fact that a national symbol was violated and desecrated. It’s going to take some time for the soul of America to recover.

This event ceased to be about politics when the boundaries that protect our common life were breached. The work of Congress was interrupted by violence and intimidation. It was an assault on democracy itself and calls for a united response in asserting the shared values that bind us together. We need to remember that our liberty is upheld by those shared values, those objective standards that bring order to the way we live together.

Many of those values are enshrined in the Constitution, which is itself an objective basis for law and order in our land. I want to emphasize three that are essential for the restoration of our national life.

Truth – One value that is necessary for our life together is a commitment to truth. Lies and conspiracy theories have become so common that in recent days I’ve found myself wondering if, in addition to an epidemic of COVID-19, we might also be experiencing an epidemic of psychosis, with millions of people believing hallucinations are true. When a lie brings harm to the life or reputation of another, it is bearing false witness. That’s an objective standard that we believe to be given to us by God.

Justice – Then there’s justice. The classic symbol of justice is a blindfolded figure holding a balanced scale in one hand and sword in the other. The scale is for weighing the evidence with the truth. The sword represents the concept that justice can be swift and final. The blindfold symbolizes the philosophy that justice should be rendered “without passion or prejudice.” Considering only the facts on scale, justice does not let emotional impressions of the accused enter into the implicit equation. When our legal system is misused, when the evidence is lacking or false, when justice is delayed, our life together is deprived of confidence of fairness before the facts of the case and the judgment of Justice.

Trust – We also have to be able to trust our leaders and one another. Betrayal of trust wounds the ones betrayed and erodes something essential in our ability to work together and promote the common good. Trust begins with each one of us being trustworthy. If I want to be trusted, I must be trustworthy. Maybe that’s why in the Scout Law the first law is “A Scout is trustworthy.”

None of these objective standards requires a belief in God. However, those of us who do profess that belief bear the responsibility of the conviction that such standards are in harmony with God’s will. Living faithfully in accordance with the will of God is a way we honor God because in so doing we honor our neighbor. If you turn to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21) you will notice that the first four pertain to how we are to honor God and the next six are about how we honor people. Jesus summed up the entire Law of God when he said, “The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31). St. John took explained it this way, “Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen” (I John 4:20).

For Christians, love is not essentially a feeling. Love is how we act regardless of how we feel. Love is how we behave toward God and our neighbor because it is the right thing to do even if we don't feel like it. There is an objectivity about such love. Love is real not because of how I feel but because love is of God. Love transcends my subjective experience and will continue with or without me. For my part, I'll hang on to that love. And, when I fail in love and let go, I'll grab hold again.

We can’t change the unloving behavior that occurred at our nation’s Capitol yesterday. But we can have an influence on the response. We can love God and our fellow citizens by seeking truth, pursuing justice, and fostering trust. And we can expect the same from those we elect to public office.

Let us pray.

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(The Book of Common Prayer, page 824)

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

January 7, 2021
Will the New Year Really be New?

As I reflect on the past year, with enormous help from the media, I'm faced with these questions: Will the new year really be new? Are we going to be in for more of the same with the Coronavirus Pandemic? Will we make any progress in healing the racism, wealth inequality, and political divisions in our nation? What's the difference between December 31 and January 1? Really? Will January 1 be any different from December 31? Why is it we make such a fuss over the changing of the year?

The fact of the matter is that even those among us who are most committed to following COVID protocols will be engaged in some degree of revelry on New Year’s Eve. I suspect even many of the “stay the course” brigade will have a list of resolutions. Our lists might include things like losing weight, getting more exercise, having a healthier diet, doing a better job of recycling, gaining discipline in attending worship and saying our prayers, spending more time with the family, reading more books, wearing a face covering in public, and being a generally all-around-nicer person.

I have friends who are opposed to new year's resolutions. They believe having resolutions only sets one up for failure. That may be so, but then any resolutions, goals, or objectives do the same thing, don't they? Any attempt at change, growth, or progress involves some risk of failure. I happen to like resolutions because I believe it is better to fail at trying to do something worthy than to succeed at doing nothing.

With or without resolutions, I ask again, how will January 1 be any different than December 31 or any other day?

If there is a difference, maybe it is one of perception. The slate is not really going to be wiped clean, but we like to try to see it that way. And, in so doing, perhaps there is at least some extra room for something new to emerge in our consciousness, in our pattern of behavior, or in our way of life. Maybe, just maybe, looking at this particular tomorrow opens up room for something new and different. If that happens, we may understand God's words to the Prophet Isaiah, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it” (Isa. 43:19)?

So, I'm going make some resolutions. And, I'm going to look at January 1 as a different kind of day and as the start of something new – a transition – and pray with all my might that God will have something to do with it so that it will not just be up to me. When I am forced by circumstances to spend more time alone, I can use that time to open up to God and God’s new thing. Maybe my first step, or yours, will create space for grace to see things through. Let’s do it together!

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

December 30, 2020
The Wondrous Gift

While visiting the Holy Land in 1865, The Rev. Phillips Brooks rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to assist in the Christmas Eve midnight service. That blessed moment in his life inspired him to write one of the most cherished of all Christmas carols, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

God in the flesh IS the “wondrous gift” that is given to those whose hearts are meek enough and trusting enough for the gift to make a difference. So, come. Together, in our hearts, let us go to Bethlehem to receive this wondrous gift so the world of need at our doorstep will become a better place when we step into it.

Have a Merry Christmas!

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

December 22, 2020
The Feast of St. Martin of Tours

The Patron Saint of our church is Martin of Tours (330-397). His feast day is November 11. It has long been the custom in this parish to observe his feast day on the Sunday nearest to November 11. So, this year’s patronal feast day is November 8.

As a young man, Martin was a soldier in the Roman army and stationed in Gaul, which is modern-day France. One day as he was approaching the gates of the city of Amiens, he met a scantily clad beggar. He impulsively cut his military cloak in half to share with the man. That night, Martin dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak he had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels: "Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe." (Sulpicius, ch 2). Soon thereafter, he was Baptized. Martin was ordained, started a monastery, became a Bishop, and was a great leader of the Church. But that act of compassion and the vision that followed became the most-repeated story about his life.

For fifty years, that story has inspired the people of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church to reach out to those in need. One way we do that is with our annual Coat Drive, organized by the Outreach Commission, which begins on the day of our patronal feast.

November 8 – 28, we are collecting new and gently used coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and other cold weather clothing for homeless neighbors served by Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County.

You can drop off your coats and other items on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. in the bin at the church red doors, or hand your donations to an usher during Drive-In Worship on Sundays. If you aren't able to drop off during those times, please call the church office at 817-431-2396 or email stmartin@stmartininthefields.org to arrange a time.

St. Martin shared his cloak with a poor man who was cold. Do you have a few spare cold weather clothes you can share with our neighbors to help keep them warm this winter? "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40 NRSV).

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

November 5, 2020
The Greatest Benchmark

Not far from wherever you are is a benchmark. You may have never seen it. If you have seen it, you may have paid it little attention. It is a round metal plate, about four inches in diameter, embedded in concrete or rock or in the ground so that it cannot move even a fraction of an inch. Benchmarks are essential to civil engineers as reliable reference points for their surveying instruments. They can go back to the benchmarks again and again to check all their work.

I find it helpful to think of the commandments, ordinances, and precepts of Scripture as the benchmarks of our faith, rather than merely orders from on high. Our Creator has provided them to help us align our lives with God’s divine intentions for our own well being and to help us live abundantly. To ignore them or forget them is to construct an inadequate or incomplete life, just as an engineer or contractor builds poorly when neglecting the benchmark. We can return to the divine benchmarks again and again to check the alignment of our lives.

A Pharisee asked Jesus, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

Jesus, is the embodiment of the Great Commandment. Jesus was Love Incarnate, Love-in-the-Flesh. To look at Jesus is to look at the fullest expression of Love Divine. To look like Jesus is to live life to the fullest, as God desires. To trust Jesus is to persistently turn to him and align one’s life to him. All of the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in him. A favorite saying of our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, is “If it’s not about love, it’s not about Jesus.”

Turning to Jesus Christ week by week for Word and Sacrament is our communal act of aligning our lives with his life, the benchmark of the Way of Love. It is difficult in this age of COVID and we’ve had to find extraordinary means in these extraordinary times. No matter what life throws at us, we persist in the practice of seeking the grace to be the ordinary and normal way God’s love is expressed in the world around us.

Bishop Curry’s latest book, “Love Is the Way,” was released on Sept. 22, and like his 2018 book, “The Power of Love,” it emphasizes Christian teachings, particularly Jesus’ command to love one’s neighbor, as a powerful force for unity and healing in a hurting world. We will be reading the book and having virtual conversations about it during the Season of Advent. Watch for details for signing up.

In the meantime, let us be reminded that our Creator has provided us with a benchmark for abundant living to which we can return week by week, day by day, hour by hour.

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

October 22, 2020
A Sign of the Times

Road signs are put there to advise and warn motorists of conditions for which they should be alert in that particular area – a winding road, a curve, wildlife crossing, an intersection.

While driving on the Ohio Pass Road near Gunnison, Colorado, I saw a road sign I’d never seen before. It looks sort of like a domino. It is a rectangle composed of two squares. The bottom square is a black box with a stripe down the middle. The top square is filled with static. Here’s a photo of it.

The sign is meant to advise motorists that the pavement ends, but the road continues. After the pavement ends, there will be bumps, potholes, dust, and other challenges. The transition can be abrupt if you don’t slow down and pay attention.

That’s a fitting metaphor for the journey of faith, isn’t it? The pavement represents the progress and accomplishments grace has helped us reach thus far. The unpaved road represents the uncertain, hazardous, and often bumpy road conditions that lie ahead. God is constantly calling us to continue moving forward and to trust in the divine guidance that will be available to us in an uncertain future. When we make the transition from the familiar to the unfamiliar, we need to pay attention and be open to guidance as we travel through new challenges. The Son of God, who is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, has already blazed the trail for us.

It’s also a fitting metaphor for transition ministry in the Church. Transition ministers enter the community during the time between settled pastors. Our task involves helping the members of the community slow down, pay attention, and prepare for future transformation for themselves and the mission field at their doorstep. After all, with God's help, we paved the road we've been on. The same God will be there to help us pave the continuing road that lies ahead.

This is just one more sign that life is a series of transitions. Transitions are normal and necessary. What we make of them is the key to transformation. The pavement ends, but the road continues.

Oh, and by the way, sometimes there is another sign down the road, signaling that the rough road is coming to an end. Someone has been there before us and paved the way!

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

October 16, 2020