Tag: Diocese of Kansas

Raising the Profile of the Church

Recently, I was asked how I would go about raising the profile of the Episcopal Church. It was a brief conversation and there was much I could have said that the time and context did not permit. There is much that can and should be said about the topic and I am certain much of it will apply to other churches just as well as the Episcopal Church. For starters…

Focus on the Mission. ~ This will require overcoming the tendency to dwell too much on internal issues. Differences over race, war, human sexuality, and the language of worship have consumed enormous amounts of time and spiritual energy for the last half-century. When those outside our Church think of us, what do you suppose comes to mind. If they are honest, they might tell us things that reflect an inward focus and a preoccupation with differences. What if, instead, they were to tell us about where they have seen us reaching out to others with the love of Christ? I encourage my congregation to turn facing the doors of the church at the end of the service. When the Deacon gives the dismissal near the Baptismal Font and the doors that lead out into the world, we are reminded of the Great Commission to "Go into all the world…" We came here today to be fed in Word and Sacrament so that we would be equipped and nourished to return to the good works God "has prepared for us to walk in." Those red doors we are so proud of open outward!

Stop apologizing, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. ~ Who wants to come to a Church whose members talk about how we don't have much Bible study, don't all look and think alike, or don't have many children or youth. We have much to offer! Our Church is grounded in a tradition that embraces diversity, exults in artistic expression, loves beautiful liturgy and music, encourages people to think and wonder, and regularly asks God to "make us faithful stewards of thy bounty." I once got so tired of hearing people apologize for being Episcopalians that I considered a campaign with bumper stickers and buttons that read "Unapologetically Episcopalian." Remember the Johnny Mercer song?

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

Learn to live with change. ~ Here's how some people think of us. Q: How many Episcopalians does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Four. One to change the bulb and three to sit around talking about how much we liked the old one. We are a Church that has high anxiety about and strong resistance to change. That is difficult to reconcile with a faith whose founder's core message was metanoeite! – repent! Turn your life around! Change! Inability to change interferes with life in the kingdom of God. We also live in an era of rapid change. Organizations and individuals who lack agility and are slow to change are left behind. The needs and opportunities around us change daily and if our response does not change we will fail in our mission.

Tell the story. ~ Don't be shy about it! It is the greatest story ever told and it must find expression in your life and mine "wherever we may be." We had a Discovery Class last weekend to prepare several people for the Laying on of Hands when the Bishop comes to visit. One man was raised in Nigeria near the border with Cameroon. When he came to America, he gave up on Christianity because the he felt that the missionaries had lied to him by not telling him about racism in this country. When he came to Lawrence, he felt called back to Christianity but was not able to find a community of faith that was right for him. So, one day, he was thinking about his friend, Garth. He said, "I want a faith like Garth's. So, I asked Garth where he went to Church and he told me about Trinity Episcopal Church. I've been coming here ever since and now I want to belong." How did Garth tell the story? He lived it! Perhaps his approach is an illustration of St. Francis' admonition, "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

Be redundant. ~ In carrying out the mission and telling the story, we have to be redundant. That's not so hard to do when you realize the media available to us. Social networking, electronic newsletters, interactive blogs and websites, video recording, public appearances, interviews with broadcast and print media, and innovative use of our physical locations are but a few ways to spread the word. Some congregations with active environmental stewardship teams put the church emblem on reusable shopping bags with a message such as "Caring for God's Creation." We have to be more assertive about getting the message across. Jesus promised that we would do even greater works than he did. When we think of the abundance of resources at our disposal to do his work and deliver his redemptive and life giving message, we can see the truth of his promise.

Here's a video about "The Missional Church" that may help tie these thoughts together as we consider how to raise the profile of the Church.

One thing is for sure: no one of us can do it alone! The first thing Jesus did was to form a community and the last thing he did before his Ascension was to commission that community to continue his work in the world by involving others in it.

April 22, 2010
One Voice!

I just returned from the Diocese of Kansas Gathering of Presbyters. We met at a very nice Roman Catholic retreat center in Wichita from noon Monday until noon Thursday. Shortly after we convened on Monday afternoon, one of our presbyters told us that she and her husband were observing their wedding anniversary. She asked us to sing a stanza of I Can't Help Falling In Love With You into her mobile phone as their home answering device was recording her call. The idea was that her husband would receive the message with our singing when he arrived home after work.

Today, she told us the result of that call. It seems her husband was very tired when he arrived home and he'd listened to the message with the singing but didn't think too much about it. She had left another message explaining that the singers were her fellow presbyters. He did not hear the second message. Later in the evening, after he rested awhile, he returned to the voicemail and listened to the explanatory message. He called her and told her that, not having had the explanation before he heard the song, he thought she had held her mobile phone near a CD player with the music playing on it. He was very touched and amazed when he learned it was actually about fifty presbyters singing the song. He said, "I thought it was one voice."

One Voice! A metaphor for Christian unity! An affirmation of the unity and collegiality we share! A testimony to the tether of the Spirit drawing us together. A sign of promise for our Church when her priests are able to join their voices into one! A relief from the discordant tones we've heard so often! Distinctly different voices wondrously joined into one!

One Voice! May our song continue and may many others join the chorus! I am grateful for the experience of collegiality of these priests and Bishop Dean Wolfe who shepherds us.

November 5, 2009
Getting Started in Lawrence

Today was my first Sunday as Interim at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lawrence, Kansas. The Rev. Canon Mary Siegmund, Canon to Bishop Dean E. Wolfe, and Ellen Tracy, Senior Warden, introduced me to the congregation during both morning services.

In addition to the usual parish duties of a rector, an interim is trained to help the congregation clarify its history, discover its present identity, equip its leadership, strengthen its ties to the wider church, and prepare to make a commitment to a new day in mission when the next rector is called. There will be numerous opportunities for members to tell their stories and I've already heard several remarkable ones. People have told me about how they were invited to be a part of Trinity sixty years ago, how they came to be married here, how they raised their family here, how they provided leadership after the edifice was destroyed by fire, and how the congregation shepherded them through a difficult time.

And, speaking of stories, our organist and friend in Galveston, Ron Wyatt, is a remarkable musician. But his musicianship is exceeded by his senses of humor and irony. We've visited about this assignment numerous times over the past couple of months. Yet he never told me that his childhood piano teacher in Victoria, Texas is the longtime organist here, Elizabeth Stephens. Nor did he tell me that her husband, William J. Stephens, who is deceased, was his first organ teacher. I learned about that this morning. That rascall! He knows how to pull off a big surprise better than just about anybody I've ever known. He sat on that piece of information for over two months and enjoyed a big laugh when I called to tell him all about it this afternoon.

Members of the parish and staff have given us a very generous welcome. Trinity is fortunate to have several priests who are engaged in other work but affiliated with the parish. Four of them vested and shared with me in the celebration this morning. Deacons, the curate, members of the vestry and others came on Wednesday to help us move into our new apartment. We are grateful for the hospitality!

There will be a lot of work to do during this year of transition. In light of that, I've appointed a group of people to be in charge of fun. They will remind us from time to time that the Christian life is characterized by joy and help us avoid taking ourselves too seriously.

The top priority of my ministry here is to provide leadership that will help Trinity and their next rector to have a fruitful ministry together. We are off to a very good start. Please keep us all in your prayers and check in from time to time to see what kind of epiphanies God is giving us as our eyes are opened to behold his hand at work among this faithful flock.

August 9, 2009
A New Ministry in Kansas

For the next year, I will be Interim Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lawrence, Kansas. My duties begin on August 5. Gay will remain in Galveston until the house is sold. Until then, we'll commute to spend a few days together about once a month.

Trinity, Lawrence, is a parish with a great history and a bright future. The Rev. Jonathon Jensen has been Rector for the last six years and has been called to be Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Little Rock, Arkansas . Under his leadership, the people of Trinity Church have reached new levels of unity, fellowship, and outreach. The Sunday evening Solemn High Mass during the academic year attracts members of the university community and Episcopalians who appreciate Anglo-Catholic liturgy. Trinity is host to an ecumenical food pantry that serves those in need.

Lawrence is the home of the University of Kansas. It is a vibrant city with an wonderful historic downtown. We were lodged in the Eldridge Hotel and treated to meals in two of the downtown restaurants. A member of the Vestry took Gay to the Downtown Farmers' Market , which she enjoyed very much.

The primary objective of an intentional interim minister is to shepherd the parish through a series of tasks that will help them prepare to call their next Rector. The actual search process will be guided by The Rev. Canon Mary K. Siegmund, Canon to the Ordinary. Leadership for the search is already in place and they are in the early organizational stage.

Gay and I spent the weekend of July 26-28 in Lawrence to meet the Staff and the Vestry. They were gracious and generous hosts and, to top it off, they know how to have fun! Senior Warden Ellen Tracy and her husband, Dr. Terry Tracy, went out of their way to see that we were made to feel welcome. We also spent time with The Rt. Rev. Dean E. Wolfe, Bishop of The Diocese of Kansas. We are looking forward to working with these wonderful people!

We've rented an apartment at Hutton Farms, about a ten minute drive from the church. Another member of the parish helped Gay find it. We will continue to use our Galveston address and phone numbers, at least until the Galveston house is sold. After I arrive in Lawrence, I'll post additional contact information.

July 5, 2009