Training Video

One of the most ancient parts of Christian liturgy is the Sursum Corda – “Lift up your hearts” at the Eucharist.  While this has a spiritual dimension, yesterday the church staff learned about lifting hearts medically.  St Timothy’s now has a defibrillator in the narthex.  Every staff member was trained on how to use it, but even if you’ve never heard of one, you can use it too.  Nestled in a cabinet in the welcome center (clearly marked) is a red bag.  Once you open the bag and press the green button, you are walked step by step on how to use the defibrillator.  The machine even lets you know if a shock is even needed, preventing shocking someone who is not in cardiac arrest.

We hope we never have to use this.  In the event someone does enter cardiac arrest, hopefully we can save a life.  Currently we have one defibrillator.  We hope in the future to add a second one in Drake Hall.

The main takeaway for me is that God is a God of reality.  God is not in fantasy.  The Incarnation is about God being with us in our reality.  Fantasy is not reality.  Is anxiety rooted in reality?  Anxiety, says Fr. Tom, is fantasy.  It is worry about things that are not (at least yet) real.  If they become real, God is present.  Fr Tom asks, “How can God be in things that aren’t real?”

He asks us to remember this passage from Philippians:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Dream: The Pope visited St Timothy’s for Easter.  I flubbed the introduction.  ”We are very excited to have Cardinal Ratzinger, I mean, Pope John Paul II, I mean Pope Bobby, I mean Pope Benedict with us today.”

It gets worse.  During communion I ran out of hosts.  For some reason, all we had were packaged hosts like you would find lunch meat packaged in a Lunchables container.  I tore these out (they were multi-colored) and started to administer them.  When I held the host out, the communicants would produce spoons filled with guacamole and would put a dollop on the host and then eat it.  To which I remember saying “You can’t do that.”

Dream over.  Priest awake.  Scratching head.

It turns out you can get a lot done if you just take more responsbility instead. It’s often offered, rarely taken.

(And you can get even more done if you give away credit, relentlessly).

from Seth Godin.  Can we substitute ‘work’ for ‘life’ as well?

One of the important tasks for the church is to tell stories and listen to the stories of others.  Our evangelical brethren have long known the power of asking “Can I get a witness?”  Can we?

The other thing Fr. Tom shared, and is perhaps what most remember to this day, is a dramatic story that illustrates the truth that sometimes conventional methods will not work.  I won’t even try to retell his story (because I can’t), but I will share the haunting chorus from it: “there has to be another way.”

This challenged me to look at everything that isn’t working or isn’t working well and ask (even if the answer is absurd!) ‘is there another way?’

So tell your story.  Listen to others.  Tell the world, there is another way.   There is another Way.

This post is specifically aimed at definition number 2 – following the Missional Church Summit – but I think I need to change the title of this post now.  I don’t know what the Latin should be, but maybe something like “Post-Vita” because the reflections following our time with Bishop Monterroso, Frs. Brackett and Malone have nothing to do with death, but rather life.

First, the more I spend with Bishop Hector Monterroso, the more I love him.  I have yet to spend time with a bishop with more grace, humor, patience, and faith.  The more you talk with him and laugh with him and listen to him, the more you grow.  We have a good friend and partner in Bishop Monterroso.  I pray he has a good friend and partner in us.  He will be back.

The one thing that will stick out to me from his visit was a question I asked him Sunday on our way to lunch.  I had been building up the courage to ask this (because we all know it’s not polite to ask about money), and finally I popped the question – “Obisbo, how big is your budget?”  I could see him doing the conversions in his head.  Before he told me, he wanted to qualify the number he was about to tell me.

“Now realize,” he said, “this covers the diocesan house expenses, two full-time administrators, the bishop’s salary, our mission projects, and we cover portions of the salaries of 18 clergy.”  He was almost apologizing for the number he was about to share.  ”With all this, it’s about $200,000.”

I almost tripped on the step to the restaurant.  Supporting 18 out of 21 clergy, a bishop’s salary, a diocesan house, a school, staff, etc. on $200,000.  And here’s the kicker, things cost more in Costa Rica.

He said on Sunday night (and audio will be posted soon) that his diocese always receives answers [to prayer].  He didn’t say the answer is always yes, but he always receives answers.  He, and his diocese, trusts that their needs will be met.  A way is always found, he shared.  Have faith.

This convicted me; to not only looked for the answers, but trust that they are there.  In other words “tiene fe”.   Have faith.   Imagine that.

Part Dos, manana.

‘Twas not always the case for me.  I grew up and served in a church where the bishops were quite powerful, whose responsibilities made them essentially CEOs, and were in many cases feared.  The bishop was like a school principal – you never wanted to be called to their office.

Two events changed me and both happened while I was in seminary.  One was Fr. Charles Hackett, my professor of church history, explaining the office of a bishop in the Anglican tradition.  Instead of listing the responsibilities and functions of a bishop, Fr. Hackett described the entrance procession for a parish visitation.  Starting with the crucifer, acolytes, LEMs, other clergy, and at the end was the bishop, walking down the aisle wearing cope and mitre walking with his crozier.  Bishops in the Anglican tradition, he said, do not have a lot of temporal power.  But there is something about a bishop coming into a church.  What they lack in temporal power, they more than make up in spiritual presence.  Every time I’ve been in a service with a bishop – even if they are not my favorite bishop – I must say I echo Fr. Hackett’s observation.  There is just something about a bishop – the chief pastor and priest – coming in the church.  It is elevating.

The other event was a diocesan synod in the Orthodox Church in America.   I was a guest of one of the priests from South Carolina and was able to attend the closing Divine Liturgy at St John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church.   It was there that I witnessed the vesting of Archbishop Dmitri, an 80 year old bishop.  Upon entering the church, his clergy vested him with his episcopal vestments.  It’s an ancient ceremony and elaborate.  It was clear (and became even more clear when I saw the tears in the eyes of some of the priests) that his clergy loved him.  He was a father to them.  And like Fr. Hackett said, there is just something about a bishop coming in the church.

We’re lucky to have Bishop Monterroso with us for the next week.  I have had more opportunity to get to know him on a personal level than just about any other bishop.  Let me just say, there will be something about having him come in the church on Sunday.  He will be at all three services, but he is not preaching.  We’re saving that for Sunday night.

He will be with us Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings.  If you haven’t registered for the Missional Church Summit, please take the opportunity now.  For those with children, childcare will be available.

First, let me explain why we have come to the conclusion to combine the two positions as succinctly as I can (!).

1.  What do we want vs. what we can afford
All things being equal, I would love two full-time program leaders in youth and children.  No doubt about it.  This is still the long-term goal.  Currently, however, we have approximately $60,000 that we can spend on these two positions (not counting benefits).  This has been the combined salary of our previous program leaders.  Essentially we can offer two positions at $30,000 a piece.  While not a bad salary, we’ve had to ask ourselves what range of candidate can we attract for such a package?  Can we find someone who has experience, training, and gifts in youth or children’s ministry to work for 30 grand?  Furthermore, as we all know, the costs of health insurance continues to rise.  General Convention passed legislation in 2009 that by 2012 all lay employees must have equal access to the same benefits as clergy.  This may mean that health insurance will cost at least $15,000 per employee.  In the short-term, two may not be better than one.

2.  Staffing for the Present vs. Staffing for the Future
No one wants a smaller youth program and likewise, no one wants a smaller children’s program.  If our programs were twice the size they are now, what kind of leader would be needed?  One of the needs talked about in the joint commission meeting was the raising up, formation, and support of non-staff ministers (i.e., volunteers).  In both youth and children’s programs, success is not possible and future grow is not sustainable without a healthy cadre of non-staff ministers.  We need a person who has the personality, organization, communication and commitment to empower these non-staff ministers.

3.  Formation, Formation, Formation: From Cradle to Grave
This may sound harsh, but it’s not intended at all to be such – I am more interested in our youth having formation than friendship with the program leader.  What I mean by that is I am looking for a person who can lead and inspire our youth to think theologically about their lives and their place in God’s Kingdom.  I want someone who can relate and communicate with them.  I want someone the youth will like and respect.  I’m not so much concerned about them having a buddy. I am looking for a clear process of faith development in all ages.  If a baby is baptized this Sunday, what plan of formation can we demonstrate that will carry this child from cradle to grave?  We need a person to help us guide our formation.

These are but a few of the thoughts leading up to the completion of the job description.  I am also comforted that other churches have come to similar conclusions and have taken similar actions with success.  By offering a competitive salary with benefits, we hope to attract a qualified individual with a Masters in Christian Education to lead.  We also hope to provide a part-time administrative assistant to be responsible for some of the grunt work – schedules, correspondence, filing, etc.  And we hope to do this without spending any more than what we would have had to pay for two positions.   In other words – we expect to get more with less.

Wherefore with my utmost art
I will sing thee,
and the cream of all my heart
I will bring thee.
Though my sins against me cried,
thou didst clear me;
and alone, when they replied,
thou didst hear me.

Seven whole days, not one in seven,
I will praise thee;
in my heart, though not in heaven,
I can raise thee.
Small it is, in this poor sort
to enroll thee:
e’en eternity’s too short
to extol thee.

King of Glory, King of Peace, from the 1982 Hymnal

Bishop Marble will be visiting us this Fall and starting this Sunday at 3pm we are going to do confirmation a bit differently.  We’re not starting with the history of the Episcopal Church, we are starting at the beginning.  THE beginning.  This class is open to all adults desiring confirmation, reception into the Episcopal Church, or reaffirmation.  It is also open to any adult, regardless of confirmation status, to join in the conversation and growth.  The class will last about 50 minutes each week and will last through September.

If you an interest in this offering, please drop me an email (frsteve@sttimothys.ws).  The first meeting will be in the church around the baptismal font.