Faith in Progress

As a follow up to my last post, below are the 7 words (or less) offerings included in the Christian Century magazine, followed by the fabulous contributions from the people of St. Aidan's.  What strikes me as I read them is how many of them are about love (from God toward us and from us toward the world) and forgiveness.  Also how very few of them have anything to do with doctrine.  Which reminds me of how funny it felt after having everyone boil down the essence of the Gospel during sermon time on Sunday morning to go straight to reciting the Nicene Creed, which is so completely different from the challenge at hand. From Christian Century: Will Campbell – “We’re all bastards but God loves us anyway” Martin Marty – “God, through Christ, welcomes you anyhow.” Donald Shriver – “Divinely persistent, God really loves us” Beverly Roberts Gaventa – “In Christ, God’s yes defeats our no” Mary Karr – “We are the Church of Infinite Chances” Brian McLaren – “In Chris...

September 23, 2012 Pentecost 17, Proper 20 (Year B) Mark 9:30-37   Before I start talking this morning and you guys get in listening mode, I have a little challenge for you.   This is where that little piece of paper comes in.   It’s based on a fascinating Christian Century cover story, where the magazine invited Christian authors and theologians of all stripes to boil down the essence of Christianity into 7 words or less.   You probably read some of the results hanging all over the place as you walked into church this morning.   Now it’s your turn – I challenge you to begin to discover the truth that lies at the heart of your faith.   How would you share what you find most distinctive and compelling about Christianity?   What is your Gospel in 7 words or less?   Last week, after the Ambassador to Libya was killed and then American interests were the subject of a wave of violence in at least a dozen more countries, it felt like the wor...

My family spent the last half of August on a great road trip on the West Coast.  We flew in Los Angeles, CA and flew out of Portland, OR and had so many adventures in between.  One that is particularly appropriate for this blog was our visit to St. Gregory of Nyssa's Episcopal Church in San Francisco.  I'd wanted to visit it for years, ever since taking a January term workshop with its two founders.  During our class, they'd shared some of their philosophy about including lay leadership in worship, filling worship with color, art, music and movement, and getting rid of the book-juggling that can be so difficult by having everything we needed in one binder.  Having attempted our own experiment with some of St. Gregory's practices, I was very interested to see it in person.  In some ways I was surprised by it.  The church itself was smaller and less full than I'd imagined.  And maybe not quite as user-friendly.  People were friendly ...

September 9, 2012 Pentecost 15, Proper 18 (Year B) Mark 7:24-37 I’m in the middle of a great book, a historical novel by Geraldine Brooks called Caleb’s Crossing .   It’s the story of a girl named Bethia whose minister father comes from England to lead a settlement in Cape Cod.   She secretly befriends a Native American boy, given the English name Caleb, who becomes her soul mate.   I’m finding myself continually routing for these two against the forces of prejudice and fear that strive to hold them apart.   Like Bethia’s brother who doesn’t want her “exposed” to Caleb’s “paganism.”   And I’m applauding her on her spiritual journey as she begins to resist the rigid, black and white Christianity that she’s always assumed was the only way.   At one point after Bethia tells Caleb the story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit in the garden, causing sin to “besmirch all of us”, he responds: “Your story is foolishness.   Why should a father make a ga...