Category: Stewardship

Seedtime in Mississippi

Last week on a beautiful Mississippi spring day, I drove to Amite and Jefferson counties to do some family history research. On my return to Jackson, I drove through rich farmland where the soil has recently been prepared for planting of the seeds that will result in a bountiful harvest for the farmers who work those fields.

I also drove on the Natchez Trace where the pine trees on either side of the road were pollinating. It was an amazing sight to see all that pollen swirling in the breeze like smoke. I noticed that all of last year’s cones, which were so numerous just a short time ago, have fallen to the ground. All that pollen and all those seedpods, the warmth of the sun, the rising of the sap, and the wind are some of the instruments the Creator has provided for the continuation of this species of tree. I know it’s about the same for other trees, but observing the pollination of these pine trees provided me with an epiphany on that day.

Those seedpods speak of abundance in nature. These trees produce far more seeds than are needed to ensure the continuation of the species. That’s the way it is with the natural world. The Creator has provided more than enough!

Speaking of trees and seeds, I’m reminded of Johnny Appleseed. He was a real person, not just a Disney character. I have visited his grave in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. His real name was John Chapman. The inscription on his headstone reads, “He lived for others.” This humble nurseryman went around sowing seeds, planting nurseries and orchards, and preaching. He sowed a lot of seed in his lifetime. His life had meaning and hope because he relied on the principle that “Anybody can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed.” He had a theology of abundance.

Oh, there are plenty of people in our world who don’t have free access to the abundance God intends for them. Their condition can almost always be attributed to other human beings who have inhibited their access to abundance. How can they help living their lives from a perspective of scarcity when that’s the kind of world others have presented to them? Others for whom plenty is never enough. Others who hoard, control, and withhold. Others who value “mine” over “ours.” These are the ones Jesus to whom Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did not do it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

Our Christian teaching tells us that God created an amazing universe that is chock full of everything a human being could ever need. Then, God created the human being and gave the human being something that has been given to no other creature, the vocation of stewardship. Loosely translated, God said, “Welcome to my world! Everything you’ll ever need is here. It will sustain your life and give you joy. I’ve created you with godlike qualities so that you can be partners with me in the ongoing process of creation. Now use your special gifts and your unique place as my personal representatives to care for it, manage it, and be sure that nobody is ever deprived of the life-giving abundance of my creation.”

Episcopal Relief and Development is an agency of our Church that is representing us in efforts to open access to God’s abundance in some very impoverished places around the world. In some of those places, Episcopal Relief and Development uses a kind of micro-financing program that is based on a bartering system. A farmer borrows a bag of seeds, plants them, and returns two bags of seed after the program. Obviously, the crop produces so many more seeds that the farmer is able to pay 100% interest and still have more than enough for food and market. Only God can count that high!

Equipped with an abundance of seeds, human intelligence and ingenuity, a theology of abundance, and the vocation to be stewards of everything God has provided, just imagine what God can accomplish through us!

Where is the abundance in your life? Where are the seeds God wants to place in your hands so you can steward them to fruition? Do you have a fear of scarcity that needs to be healed so your eyes can be opened to see how generously God has provided?

God, who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. -II Corinthians 9:10

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

April 12, 2018
Creation Has Been Given Into Our Care
During the next few weeks, we will be hearing a lot about faithful stewardship in preparation for Consecration Sunday, October 8. I thought it might be helpful at the outset to share my perspective on what I believe to be the foundation of Christian stewardship.

Creation Has Been Given Into Our Care.

In the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible, we read that God created human beings in God’s own image. God blessed our species, entrusted the rest of creation into our hands, and gave us all the gifts we will need to fulfill our unique purpose.

This ancient passage is the basis for our Christian theology of stewardship.
- To be created in the “image” of God means to be a living witness to the Creator and to be an official representative of the Creator on planet earth.
- To “subdue” the earth means to bring things under control and to manage them according to God’s purposes.
- To have “dominion” means that human beings have been appointed as the rulers and protectors of all living things, serving under the ultimate sovereignty of God, their Creator.
So, human beings have been entrusted with the vocation of stewardship, the call and commission to represent our Creator in caring for everything in the amazing universe that has been given to us to sustain all life.

God doesn’t expect such things from other creatures nor has God equipped other creatures for such a role. Birds, for example, build essentially the same kind of nest every year. A robin builds a robin’s nest. A cardinal builds a cardinal’s nest. A hummingbird builds a hummingbird’s nest. From one generation to another, each kind of bird builds the kind of nest into which it came into this world.

Humans, on the other hand, have the capacity to build an infinite variety of buildings for an infinite variety of purposes. We build houses, schools, hospitals, office buildings, convention centers, and churches. Every one of them can be different from the others and from those that we built a generation or a year ago.

The vocation of stewardship is given uniquely to human beings. Therefore, it is one of the chief attributes that makes us human.

Everything we have, whether spent, saved, or given away, is a sacred trust from God. We are stewards of all of it.

Nothing pleases God more than for us to consciously live our lives as God envisioned. To understand ourselves as stewards of God’s bounty is the perfect way to do that. When we deliberately surrender to God a portion of our time, talent, gifts, and service, as a spiritual practice, we consecrate all the rest of our resources and declare our intention, with God’s help, to manage the rest in ways that please God. In that way, we become fully alive children of God.

What a remarkable way to honor and glorify God.

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

SAVE THE DATE
CONSECRATION SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8

A complimentary catered lunch for all will be served in the Parish Hall following the one 10:00 a.m. service. Since lunch will be provided, reservations are important. Please make your reservation online at standrews.ms/register.
September 7, 2017
Strategies for Summertime Spirituality

Summertime signals opening of swimming pools, buzz cuts for boys, weekday outings to museums and zoos, homemade ice cream, watermelon season, an upswing in agricultural enterprises, and the beginning of summer vacations. We also start the summer slump in churches across America, with a decline in attendance and anxious messages from church treasurers about cash flow because offerings go down when the people are not there.

Our culture has declared how things are supposed to work between Memorial Day and Labor Day and that’s that. The Church tends to conform to the culture. Whatever happens during the rest of the year, in the summer, we are both in and of the world.

On several occasions, I have tried to counteract the summer slump and had little success. Call me a die hard, but I’m going to try again. Any success at all is better than none when it comes to reminding God’s Holy People what our relationship with the world is supposed to be.

St. Paul put it this way, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Jesus called his followers to be light and salt and leaven in the world (Matthew 5 and 13). Light, salt, and leaven are agents of transformation – light dispels darkness, salt adds flavor, and leaven causes the dough to rise. When the agents of transformation are present, things are no longer the same. Through our prayers and our lifestyle, we are God’s change agents.

With that in mind, I have a few suggestions for how to enjoy summertime while still fulfilling our sacred purpose.

Maintain the spiritual discipline of worship. If you are in town on Sunday morning, your presence in worship with your community of faith helps keep the emphasis on God, both for you and for your fellow worshipers. When you are there, you are making a statement – a witness – that God’s reign in your life is not suspended just because it is summertime. Vacationers may be visiting your church while you are out of town. You may also use the time in worship to contemplate the different things you are doing/seeing/experiencing during the summer. What about those mountain majesties where you hiked? What might God have had in mind when creating the orangutan you saw when you took the children to the zoo? What kind of divine purpose is being worked out in the harvesting of hay, which kept you working from sunrise to sunset yesterday?

Find a church in which to worship while traveling. In addition to maintaining the discipline of worship while you are in a different place, you may discover new friends, new ideas, and elements of diversity you have not known before. Maybe you can bring something back that will enrich the life of your own community of faith. The churches you visit will have an opportunity to extend their hospitality to you and hear about the church you love back home. If you have children or youth who will be traveling with you, ask them to get on the internet and find a church where your family can worship “wherever you may be.

Don’t send your pledge on vacation. The operational costs of your church continue even when you are not there. In warmer locations, the costs increase significantly because of the need for air conditioning and watering. There is no legitimate reason why church leaders should have to experience anxiety over cash shortfalls in the summer (or anytime of year for that matter). Make it a matter of faithful stewardship to bring or send your contribution before you leave on vacation. Or, if you forget, you may still mail a check or use online banking to get your gift to the altar while you are away.

Get involved in ministries you don’t normally have time for. If summertime affords you a little extra free time or a slower pace, use some of that time to serve Christ and the Church. Maybe there’s a need for Sunday School leaders, workers for a home repair ministry, or someone to do some maintenance around the church. Is there a mission trip, retreat, summertime conference, or bible study you would otherwise decline due to the busyness of your life? Does your summer schedule allow you to attend a weekday service that you can’t attend at other times of the year? God would like to spend more time with us and have more of our attention. Summertime may open up some possibilities for that to happen and blessings will flow into our lives.

Whatever you do, think God! Be intentional about your spiritual journey. Begin and end your days with prayer, so that, in all the cares and occupations of our life, we may not forget God, but remember that we are ever walking in God’s sight. Look for signs of God’s hand at work in the world around you. Habits that affect the rest of your life can be formed during a three-month period. Don’t let a hiatus become a habit!

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Dean
Saint John’s Cathedral
Denver, Colorado

June 8, 2017
Membership is About Belonging
At a conference in San Diego a few years ago, I was privileged to hear a talk by research professor Brené Brown. After the talk, she took questions from the audience via a moderator. One of the questions had to do with declining church membership, attendance, and giving. Her response was very interesting. She said, “I suppose the decline is a systemic problem that needs to be addressed by church leaders. However, all of my research clearly shows that the need for belonging is increasing.”

I’ve been thinking about that response during the last few days because members of the Cathedral staff and I are working on updating our membership rolls. Auditing and verifying the rolls is one of the projects often undertaken during a transition in leadership.

One of my colleagues mentioned reports suggesting that people – especially young adults – no longer consider church membership important. Those reports appear to stand in contrast to Brené Browns findings about belonging. I’m banking on Dr. Brown’s conclusions. And that’s why it is so important to make sure our membership rolls are up to date and accurate. These rolls document the level of interest in belonging to this community of Christians.

We have sent a letter to over 700 individuals for whom we have no record of a contribution for at least twelve months. In that letter, we asked several questions inviting them to tell us how they would like to be recorded in our rolls: Have any of those 700+ people joined another church? How many of them do not want to remain on our rolls? Which ones want to be considered “active” members and which ones prefer to be “inactive” members? Does someone have a pastoral concern that needs the attention of one of our clergy? Would any of them like to simply be listed as a “Friend of the Cathedral?” Not everyone received that letter!

I also sent out emails to our entire email list last Friday regarding this project and including the canonical description of membership in The Episcopal Church. That email was to alert the entire Cathedral community to the membership audit. Just because you received that email does not mean that there is any problem with your record.

This process has brought to my attention that we have a significant number of active people in the Cathedral community who are counted as members although they have never officially “joined.” If you may be one of those, I would like nothing better than to assist you with the process. Here’s how it works:
- If you have never been Baptized, we can prepare you for Baptism, then present you to the Bishop for Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant.
- If you have received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, with water and in the Name of the Trinity, in any Christian denomination, we can record your Baptism. Then, as soon as possible, we would like for you to be prepared to be Confirmed by the Bishop.
- If you have been Baptized and Confirmed in another denomination, we can record you as a Baptized member and prepare you to be presented to the Bishop to be Received into The Episcopal Church.
- If you have been a member of another Episcopal Church, we can write for the transfer of your membership.
The process of belonging in any of those ways involves completing a couple of forms that provide us with information for our database and serving as your commitment to “work, pray, and give for the spread of the Kingdom of God.”

If you are uncertain about your member status, please contact Michelle Vieria, the Assistant Cathedral Administrator, either by email or by telephone (303 577-7721). She will look up your record and let you know if there is something that needs to be done. The fact that you have taken the time to read this message is an indication of your desire to participate, belong, and support the mission of Saint John’s Cathedral. Thank you for that!

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Dean
Saint John’s Cathedral
Denver, Colorado
January 24, 2017
It’s 2017! Let’s get started.

Dear ,

Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were a blessed time and that you are ready to start 2017 with optimism and faith.

Saint John’s Cathedral is entering the final stages of the transition that began two years ago with the election of Peter Eaton as Bishop of Southeast Florida. The Interview Committee will present two or three names for the Vestry’s final consideration this month. The Vestry will then bring the final candidates and their families to Denver for interviews and, after a period of discernment, will meet to elect one of them as your next Dean.

In The Episcopal Church, the discernment process is a mutual one. That simply means that the candidates are looking at this Cathedral community just as the Interview Committee and Vestry are looking at them. What will they see?

It is my sincere hope that they will see the People of God in active pursuit of the Mission of God. There are many signs of that happening. I invite you to do your part in three specific initiatives that we launched at the end of last year:

Be One in a Thousand – Let us know how you are engaged in direct ministry with those who are living in poverty. Whether it is something you will do once, monthly, weekly, daily, or occasionally during 2017, we would like to record what you will be doing. That information will be shared with the final candidates and we will publish stories from those who are willing to share them. Use a One in a Thousand response card or go online to share how you are involved.

Balance the Budget – I will never ask a Christian to give to a budget. Tithes and offerings are gifts to God and for God’s mission. However, a church budget is a mission plan, the intent of which is to identify the work to be done and the resources that are necessary to do that work in a specific community of Christ’s followers. After months of discernment and hard work, your clergy and lay leadership have determined that we must stop deficit spending and that the new Dean should be handed a balanced budget. We’ve cut expenses and reduced the size of the staff and are still $353,000 out of balance. Six families have joined together to offer challenge gifts that will encourage the rest of us to increase the pledges we have made or to make a pledge in order to balance this budget. All of your clergy have increased our pledges in response to this appeal. We invite you to do likewise. Use a pledge card, send an email to Canon Charles LaFond, or go online to join this effort.

Invite a Friend – The fact that you are taking the time to read this message indicates that Saint John’s Cathedral meets important spiritual needs for you and your household. Why not share it with others? Seventy-five percent of those who visit a church for the first time do so at the invitation of someone they know – a friend, colleague, neighbor, or family member. People are more receptive to an invitation to a church in January, mostly because it is a new year. So, make a list of people in your life who may not have a spiritual home. Then, invite them to start the new year with us at Saint John’s Cathedral. Pick them up, meet them in the Welcome Center, take them out for a meal afterwards. It doesn’t have to be a worship service; it can be a concert, a fellowship event, or an educational opportunity. Just invite a friend!

Your participation in these three initiatives will strengthen our life together and help demonstrate how this Cathedral community is making the best use of this time of transition.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
Saint John’s Cathedral
Denver, Colorado

January 3, 2017
What Does My Pledge Mean?

For the past eight weeks, we have been engaged in a campaign to teach about stewardship. A key element in that campaign has been an appeal for members of the Cathedral community to make a pledge of financial support for 2017. Why?

First of all, a pledge of faithful stewardship of our money is a practice we recommend as one of the spiritual disciplines of our lives. According to the biblical story, human beings are created in the image of God and called by God to be stewards, managers of everything God gives us to sustain and enrich life on planet Earth. Along with that vocation, God has given human beings gifts and abilities that no other creature posses. A pledge of financial support is a tangible profession of our belief that our Creator has called and equipped us to be stewards of God’s bounty. Outward, tangible signs of our beliefs are woven into the fabric of the community of faith: Holy Baptism, Holy Eucharist, works of mercy, standing or kneeling for prayer, going to church, and reading the Bible are some of the other outward and tangible signs of our spiritual life.

In addition, our pledge is more about the giver’s need to give than about the Church’s need to receive. Certainly, as we grow in generosity toward God, the work of the Church benefits as a result of our giving. There are many worthy non-profit organizations. Christians are encouraged to get involved in those organizations and to support them financially. But the Church is not just another non-profit; the Church is of God and is God’s primary instrument for carrying out God’s work in the world. So, we give to God through God’s Church and we make that gift the first priority in all our charitable giving.

Also, our pledge is a reminder that everything we have, whether saved, spent, or given away is a sacred trust from God. When we make contributions to fulfill our pledge, we are mindful that we are stewards over what remains. It causes us to be more intentional about how we use our resources and helps us have a healthy relationship with our possessions so that we don’t rely on them more than we rely on God.

And, our Cathedral community, like the entire Church, is a covenant community. The God we worship has welcomed us into a covenant and calls us to live in covenant with one another. So, when I make any kind of pledge, promise, vow, in the context of my faith community, it is a tangible expression of my desire to participate in and be accountable to my sisters and brothers in Christ. All people are welcome to be consumers of the ministries of the Church. But the ministries of the Church are carried out by those who consider themselves members. The members are the delivery system. Our Vestry, Staff, and Finance Committee develop a mission plan each year. Our pledges give them a reliable estimate of the amount of funding available to carry out that plan. Therefore we have to be committed to one another in Christ’s mission. A pledge of financial support is one of the ways we are expected to demonstrate that commitment. Our pledge says to God and to God's covenant people, “You can count on me!”

Some have expressed concern that there are those who are waiting until the new Dean arrives before making a pledge. In truth, very few people are doing that. Most of our members at Saint John's Cathedral understand that faithful stewardship is about giving to God for the mission of God's Church, not giving to the Dean. And they understand that a pledge is not a bargaining tool for getting their way or a means of expressing satisfaction or dissatisfaction. In fact, if our people respond as generously as I believe they will, those who are discerning a call to be the new Dean will be impressed by this sign of spiritual vitality and maturity.

If you have made your pledge of faithful stewardship, thank you! I hope this reflection strengthens your resolve. If you have not made a pledge, please do so very soon and join us in growing in generosity in the coming year. If you have never made a pledge, please give it prayerful consideration. You may find, as so many of us have found, that the discipline can have a transforming effect in your spiritual journey.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
Saint John's Cathedral
Denver, Colorado

November 8, 2016
Our Legacy of Faithful Stewardship

When studying a congregation, there are several aspects of the life of the congregation that are symptomatic of the spiritual health of the community and its members: hospitality, worship attendance, faith development, outreach to others, and stewardship. Those who are discerning a call to become the next spiritual leader of a congregation are especially interested in examining these practices in light of their own priestly gifts and vocational emphases. What will the candidates find when they look at us?

During the short time I have been with you, we have been exploring these practices and other areas of congregational health in a variety of settings and one thing has emerged as urgent. Saint John’s Cathedral is now at a crossroads when Christian stewardship must have our full attention. In many ways, how God's people relate to their possessions and how they express their generosity toward God touches every other aspect of personal spirituality and the common life of the congregation. When we practice the spiritual discipline of stewardship we become more generous. Generosity changes both the giver and the Church.

This is nothing new. St. Paul addressed this relationship with the members of the Corinthian Church: “You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God” (2 Cor. 9:10-12). Jesus said it this way, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and God's righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt. 6:33).

I have been in conversation with leaders and staff regarding the pattern of giving in the Cathedral community. What I have learned convinces me that this is the perfect time for a transformation in the culture of giving at Saint John’s Cathedral.

The essence of the change that is needed is for parishioners to be less focused on the church's need to receive and more focused on the giver's need to give. It is possible that many members have not taken full responsibility for their own personal stewardship because the parish leans too heavily on the generous endowments of past benefactors.

Emphasizing the church's need to receive is a fund raising strategy. In contrast, emphasizing the giver's need to give fosters Christian stewardship. One is based on need; the other is based on God's bountiful generosity toward us. One is consumer-oriented, the other is God-oriented. One anticipates receiving something in return; the other is our response to something already received. Certainly, fund raising is necessary from time to time when an extraordinary need or opportunity arises. But in the Church, faithful stewardship of God’s bounty must be the foundation.

Your Vestry and Stewardship Commission have provided you with sound explanations and compelling reasons for the congregation's need to receive your contributions. They have offered you statistical information, budgets, audit reports, and comparisons of average levels of giving with other area congregations and with congregations of The Episcopal Church. Everybody knows it takes money to operate this Cathedral and you will continue to receive such reports.

These reports are useful indicators of spiritual health and they provide assurances about the fiscal management of resources. But they are not an adequate basis for Christian stewardship, have provided very little motivation for greater generosity, and certainly should never be an excuse for a Christian to withhold what belongs to God.

We give to God because of God’s central place in the stories of our lives. We give to God because God first gives to us. We give to God because we believe that all that we have, whether spent, saved, or given away is a sacred trust from God. We give to God because of our consciousness that we are the only creatures that are created in God's image and entrusted with the divine vocation to be stewards of everything God has provided. Giving to God is our birthright, privilege, and legacy!

Today's generation of worshipers at Saint John's Cathedral have inherited a legacy of generosity and stewardship from those who came before us. But I wonder if we have lost touch with the vision of being a leading parish of The Episcopal Church in our time? Is it possible that this legacy has somehow become a stumbling block instead of a steppingstone? Are we leaning on the endowment to balance our annual budget instead of allowing it to inspire us to new and more generous levels of stewardship?

A common question that is asked by candidates for the role of leadership in endowed congregations is, “How heavily do you depend upon your endowment to balance the budget for the ongoing mission of the parish?” The correct answer is, “ZERO.” At the present time the answer at Saint John's Cathedral would have to be, “Forty percent,” and that's too much.

Now, during this period of transition, this Cathedral community has the opportunity to take the step that will change the answer! The spiritual readiness is here. The resources are here. All that is needed is for the willingness to be stirred up.

That is the reason our Stewardship Commission is inviting us to increase our pledges by at least one percent of our household income. If every member will take this step as a matter of spiritual growth, it will make a remarkable difference in your life and also allow the Cathedral of The Episcopal Church in Colorado to reclaim the vision of leadership entrusted to this generation. Gay and I have accepted that invitation and made our increased pledge. So have others. Won’t you join us?

A great lay leader of another generation said,

The only way to have is to give,
The only way to keep is to share,
And the only thing worth finding is opportunity.

I recognize that some people find that talk in Church about possessions makes them feel uncomfortable. I understand that. But I hope that you will pray for the grace to live with that discomfort long enough to find in this challenge a priceless opportunity for spiritual growth, both for you and for the Church you love.

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:16).

Click HERE to make your pledge today.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
Saint John's Cathedral
Denver, Colorado

October 18, 2016
Claim the High Calling…

To have a vocation is to be called by God to do something. Some vocations are rather specific, such as a call to Holy Orders, a call to teach the Christian faith, a call to work for peace and justice from a religious perspective. All believers share a call to serve God and our neighbors as stewards of what God has provided to sustain and enrich creation. Each time we renew the Baptismal Covenant we promise to live by the implications of our Baptism.

In the biblical stories of creation, the vocation of stewardship is given to human beings alone. I think it is fair to say that the vocation of stewardship is one of the things that makes us human. No other creature is given such responsibility nor the ability to exercise such responsibility. Along with the call to be faithful stewards of God's creation, human beings possess the ability to act with purpose, to create, to communicate in complex ways through many languages, and to live in a conscious relationship with the Creator. Because the story of our faith says this vocation was given to humans by the Creator "in the beginning," I sometimes say that stewardship is in our DNA.

Last Sunday, I was reminded twice of the call to faithful stewardship.

At the principal service, our retiring hymn was "Come, Labor On." It's a hymn that stresses divine call and human response. The first part of one stanza got my attention; "Come, labor on. Claim the high calling angels cannot share." Not even the Holy Angels are expected to do what humans are called to do. To each order of creation is given certain roles that are not given to other orders of creation. Among the roles human beings are given is the vocation to serve God as stewards of creation. That responsibility does not belong to angels or any other creature. As beautiful, mysterious, powerful, and wondrous angels are, their vocation is different from that of humanity.

Later in the day, the Cathedral was full of the creatures with which we share the planet earth – dogs, cats, fish, snakes, ferrets, and other pets – that their human protectors had brought for our annual blessing of the animals. People have a special relationship with their pets. Pets bring a lot of joy to our lives. But as wonderful as these creatures are, they do not share the calling entrusted to their protectors. The Creator did not call them to do the things humans are called to do and they are not endowed with the same abilities and responsibilities as humans.

All this is to say that our annual emphasis on stewardship, which happens in many Christian churches in the fall of the year, is more than a fund raising campaign. It is an opportunity to celebrate God's call to be faithful stewards of God's bounty. It is an opportunity to take a closer look at our relationship with our possessions, our neighbors, and our planet. It is an opportunity to see how we can grow in generosity. It is an opportunity to invite God to use us more and more as instruments who move the world toward the vision God has for it. It is an opportunity to address our need to give as a central aspect of our humanity. It is an opportunity to celebrate the life God gives us through a new covenant to give to God in gratitude for what God has given us and to share our life and treasure with God's people.

Over half of the teachings and proclamations of Jesus have to do with possessions. I believe that is because he realized how easy it is for us to be possessed by our possessions. I believe he also understood that possessions are those things that are most likely to come between us and God, us and our neighbors, us and creation, and even to come between our selves and the selves we are meant to be, our spiritual identity. And, I believe Jesus wanted all people to be liberated from whatever enslaves us. The story of Jesus' encounter with the rich man who came to him seeking eternal life is recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Jesus told the man that the only thing he needed to do was to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow him. Mark's version of the story is slightly different. Mark's version of the story reads, "Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). Jesus said what he did out of love. He knew the man was enslaved by his wealth and true liberty for him would not be possible until he ceased relying on his stuff more than he relied on God. He was inviting the man to be a faithful steward of God's bounty, to become fully human.

And that is the invitation that is annually extended to each follower of Jesus during the fall stewardship emphasis. That is why I look forward to this time of year. Every year, I hear from people who took the next step in pursuit of "the high calling angels cannot share." I hope you will be one of them this year!

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
Saint John’s Cathedral
Denver, Colorado

October 4, 2016
Follow the example of the bees…

Labor Day, observed on the first Monday in September, celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. We pause to remember and give thanks for those whose labor contributes to the quality of our common life. So many of the products we enjoy in this country are presented to us in final form in markets, stores, and showrooms that it is easy to take granted those who produced them. It is also easy to forget how our own work impacts the lives of others.

Our Book of Common Prayer provides us with fitting words of gratitude and intercession to God on this day:

Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We can also apply the petition, "…not for self alone, but for the common good" to our Cathedral community. During this time of transition, everyone is called to work for the common good so that the mission of the Cathedral remains strong and vibrant. The ongoing life and work of any community of faith is not about who's in charge; it's about remaining faithful and steadfast in the work to which God is calling us. When I think of an image of work “for the common good,” I think of bees. I have been observing the bees that live on the Cathedral campus. Every one of them buzzes about doing its part on behalf of the hive.

Throughout history, bees have served as a reminder to humans of how important it is for humans to work for the common good. Bees are helpful not only to their own kind, they are helpful to humans and other creatures that depend upon food that requires pollination. For example, did you know that one in every three bites you eat and 70% of America's food sources are pollinated by bees? That is one reason we should be concerned about and seeking solutions to the worldwide decline in the bee population.

The bee and the beehive have often been used in Christian art and architecture as metaphors for the Church and its members. St. John Chrysostom wrote: “The bee is more honored than other animals, not because it labors, but because it labors for others” (12th Homily). The honey produced by the bee is agreeable to the palate and symbolic of spiritual sweetness and religious eloquence. For this reason, the beehive is emblematic of St. Ambrose and of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, two Doctors whom the Church calls mellifluus and mellificuus, that is, with an eloquence as suave and sweet as honey.

Honeybee Democracy is a book written by Thomas D. Seeley, a professor of biology at Cornell University. He has devoted his career to the study of these amazing creatures and the way they work together for the common good. In the prologue, the author writes, “The story of how honeybees make a democratic decision based on a face-to-face, consensus-seeking assembly is certainly important to behavioral biologists interested in how social animals make group decisions.”

The more we contemplate the energetic work, cooperative nature, and fruitfulness of bees, the better we understand why others have seen in them an example of how Christians might work, pray, and give in unity. We can follow the example of the bees!

There is a place for healthy competition in the secular environments where so many people work. There is even a place for a little friendly competition within Christian communities. In attempting to inspire the Corinthian Christians to greater generosity, St. Paul introduces a little competition when he tells them how generous the poor Macedonians when they insisted on sending aid to the Church in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8:1-7).

Perhaps we are doing the same thing when we compare the giving patterns of this Cathedral community with the giving patterns of the wider Church and other congregations nearby. It doesn't take a mathematician to recognize in these comparisons that there is room for improvement and lots of it.

But the key to a more generous spirit, I think, is not to be found in comparing ourselves with others or competing with them. God is not calling us to be some other church. Nor is God calling us to aspire to the average contribution level of Episcopalians across the country. (I would be a poor priest indeed if all I did was try to inspire the people of this parish to be average!) The key is to hear the call of God to each of us to be the generous creatures we were designed to be and to all of us to work together more energetically so that we can share God's bounty with others. When we do that, people are uplifted, transformed, and healed, and God is glorified.

St. Paul went on to tell the Corinthians, “You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God” (2 Cor. 9:11, 12).

Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, is our greatest example of generosity. St. Paul referred to him as God's “indescribable gift.” Jesus’ method was to form a community and teach them by word and example. You and I are the descendants of that first community and now the message of Jesus and its meaning for our world today is entrusted to us.

Where are the places in the life of Saint John’s Cathedral in which you can work more energetically, pray more fervently, and give more generously for the spread of the God's reign on earth? Please pray about that.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
Saint John’s Cathedral
Denver, Colorado

September 5, 2016
Let Us Pray!

Several years ago, my vocational journey took me into interim ministry. This is a specialized form of ordained ministry in which I devote my priestly and prophetic gifts and experience to aid congregations during times of transition between settled or permanent spiritual leaders. Faithful stewardship of these transitions is vital to the health of the congregation and to its future mission under new leadership.

As I have focused more intentionally on transition and the attendant change and transformation, I have become more conscious of the importance of prayer in helping us to be creative agents of the changes God is calling us to make instead of victims of the march of time. I don’t pretend to understand how prayer works in God’s administrative policy, but I do believe prayer matters. And I believe that prayer matters in the faithful stewardship of times of transition.

For example, the Collect of the Day for Proper 12:

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

And, the Collect of the Day for Proper 13:

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Both of those prayers presuppose the movement of the Church through change and transition and uncertain times. With God’s help, we can be agents of the changes God wants to see in our individual lives and in the life of our faith community.

The first Sunday service in my current appointment as Interim Dean of Saint John’s Cathedral in Denver was July 10. In our lectionary, the Sunday closest to July 13 each year is always known as “Proper 10.” The Collect of the Day is a one-sentence prayer we pray near the beginning of the Eucharistic liturgy and before the reading of Scripture. The Collect of the Day for Proper 10 is one of my favorite collects in the Book of Common Prayer.

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Perhaps I like it so much because it is a prayer for discernment. To discern is to divide, separate, or sort things out. In our ongoing spiritual journey, each of us is called to sort out God’s yearning for us and then ask God to supply the resources we need to make the decisions and live our lives in line with God’s hopes for us. I’ve asked the Saint John’s Cathedral Community to pray this prayer daily during this time of transition because we have important transition work to do together. Times of transition are opportunities for amazing, purposeful, creative change and we want to be sure those changes advance God’s reign. So, we pray for divine guidance.

The other prayer I’ve asked the Cathedral community to pray is this:

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a Dean for this Cathedral, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This prayer helps us be mindful that there are members of our faith community who have been charged with the specific moving through a mutual process of discernment that will result in the calling of a new spiritual leader with whom they will enter a new era of mission and ministry. As we pray, we ask for divine guidance for these representatives of God’s people in this place.

So, whether you are trying to be a faithful steward of a time of transition in your life and the life of your household, the life of your organization, the life of your business, the life of your political party, or the life of your faith community, I invite you to be persistent in prayer. After all, the changes God is hoping to see are humanly impossible. Without God’s help, we cannot accomplish what God has in mind. There are plenty of things we can do on our own. The holy work that issues from our vocation as God’s Holy Church can only be accomplished with God’s help.

I’ll see you in Church!

P.S. If you have a copy of The Book of Common Prayer, take some time to look through it and notice how many prayers refer to transition and change. You'll be surprised!

August 2, 2016