Faith in Progress

11 Pentecost, Proper 14 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 August 15, 2010 (The congregation got involved in this sermon, which made for a great conversation!) Near the end of our parish retreat last weekend, my daughter and I walked the outdoor labyrinth at Shrine Mont. They’ve built it out of rough rocks into this beautiful clearing in the woods. It’s not entirely dissimilar from our labyrinth here, but bigger, so it takes longer to walk. And because it’s built with rocks rather than tape, the path feels much more structured. Somehow, it seems more like cheating to veer off the path. I was watching Sophie’s face as she walked and wondering what she was thinking when sometimes the path seemed to be taking her further and further from the center. But she was smiling as she walked and seemed to trust that she’d get there eventually. It made me think about faith. Our reading from Hebrews this morning is all about faith. But “faith” is a tricky word. It means different things to different peopl...

Join us for next year's St. Aidan's parish retreat, August 2011! Sunday morning service at the Shrine As someone commented, "It's like being in Mayberry!" Candlelight service across the pond Hay ride (sans hay!) Swimming in nearby Lake Laura Kids enjoying each other Hanging out on the porch Kids' Drama Program with Heather Sanderson Eating at Shrine Mont

August 1, 2010 Pentecost 10, Proper 13, Year C Luke 12:13-21; Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23 Raise your hand if you know what these are? How many of you have them? Anybody wearing them right now? Well, for those of you who don’t know, these are Silly Bandz. (That’s bandz with a “z”, mind you.) These rubber-band-like plastic bracelets come in all kinds of shapes – animals, princesses, dinosaurs, flowers, food - even letters. You can stretch them out, but they always, rather disturbingly, return back to their shape. And they seem to be everywhere. One day I was in Bed Bath and Beyond with my kids and Sophie noticed a huge bin of silly bands near the register. She really wanted some. She said that almost all the kids in her class had them. They would wear a bunch of them and trade them during recess. We’d recently started her on an allowance and so I told her she could use her own money to buy some if she wanted to. So she proudly came home with a pack of 24 princess-themed Silly ...

Tomorrow I'm officiating a sermon for someone I've never met.  It is for a 97 year old woman who was a life-long Episcopalian but had moved from her home town in the last few years so her son (Roman Catholic) went looking for an Episcopal priest to do her funeral.  It is a strange, but beautiful, position to be in.  I get to see pictures of this stranger, who is my unknown sister in faith.  I get to hear stories about her life -- her adventures, her sorrows, her quirks.  And I get to be with her family in this time that is so poignant for them as they remember and love and celebrate her.  For some sacraments I find that knowing the person really matters.  In marriage ceremony, I feel more joyous the more I know the couple and know something about their love and support for one another.  In baptism, I feel much more confident when I know that we as a congregation really and truly will be able to do all in our power to support this pe...

July 18, 2010 Pentecost 8, Proper 11 Luke 10:38-42 Part of my process before going to seminary involved answering a bunch of essay questions for the Diocese. One of the questions asked which biblical character I most identified with. I cheated and used two – the two sisters we read about this morning – Mary and Martha. I must admit that my answer was partly a calculated one. I didn’t want to pick anyone too righteous or too unrighteous, just in case that might set off red flags. But it was mostly a real answer. I have strong Martha tendencies, but in my heart I’d like to be Mary. And maybe because I identify with her, this story makes me feel sorry for Martha. Here she is, welcoming Jesus into her home, along with all his disciples. There’s no telling how many people we’re talking about here, because Jesus has all sorts of folks following him around. Those dusty feet trodding all over her clean carpets. Those loud voices taking over her house. And she’s doing her best to make all...

5 Pentecost (Proper 8) June 27, 2010 Luke 9:51-62 We have this great soft Bible that I used to bring to church for the kids before we got to this place with all the cool art supplies in the back. Just a handful of stories but all can be manipulated by little hands. The good Samaritan with Velcro bandaids you can put on his wounds. Fish that can snap off and be put into the disciples’ net. You can get Jonah in and out of the whale, put baby Moses in his basket, button Joseph’s pretty coat. And the story of Lot’s wife. She is a sort of popsicle stick – one side pretty and smiling and the other side unhappy and sort of sandy, like an emery board. The kids had recently rediscovered this little bible and when they got to the page about Lot’s wife they clearly didn’t have a clue what it was all about. Dylan thought the story was about a person who turned into an angel. So I told them the story about Lot who lived in this city where the people were really awful – hurting each other and...

Pentecost, Proper 6 (Year C) Luke 7:36-8:3 June 13, 2010 In college, my good friend Glenn could concoct a Top 10 List for just about any occasion. The Top 10 Reasons Why Wake Forest Should Make It to the NCAA Tournament. The Top 10 Excuses for Not Turning in a Paper. The Top 10 Comments Overheard at Biscuitville. There was no subject too serious or too small to merit its own List and they were always smart and laugh-out-loud funny. You spend enough time with someone like that and eventually you can’t resist trying your own hand at it. And so I wrote a few of my own Top 10 Lists. When Glenn got married I wrote The Top 10 Reasons for Glenn and Deb to Get Married. When they had their first child, I wrote The Top 10 Reasons Why Glenn and Deb Will Be Great Parents. The interesting thing about creating those lists was that even though the point was mostly to be funny, you really did end up getting to the heart of the matter. As I wrote my lists, they made me think about how funny Glenn...