Ascension Blog

Those of you who know me know that I can tend to be a bit wordy! If I were to attempt to give a brief synopsis of the history of the Episcopal Church, I would be duly challenged. Fortunately, the Church is blessed with those who can be brief, and the Episcopal Church’s Office of Public Affairs has composed a list of talking points concerning the history of the Episcopal Church. So, when your family or friends ask you to explain what the Episcopal Church is and from whence it came, you may perhaps refer to the following information. May God bless your day and may God continue to make our Church a bold witness to the love of Christ. Art+

The Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs

Talking Points:

The Episcopal Church, its History and its long Heritage

* The Episcopal Church boasts a long history. The Episcopal Church, a hierarchical church, traces its heritage to the beginnings of Christianity.

* The Episcopal Church is an independent church which is a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its origin is in the planting of the Church of England in the colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

* The first known celebration of Eucharist on North America was in 1607 at Jamestown , VA , an English settlement. Since that long ago day, our liturgy retains ancient structure and traditions, and is celebrated in many languages. We uphold the Bible and worship with the Book of Common Prayer.

* Since the end of the American Revolution (when American Episcopalians became independent from the Church of England), The Episcopal Church has been organized on three levels: with a General Convention on the national level, individual dioceses, and parishes.

* General Convention, made up of the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, has ultimate legislative authority. It authored (and continues to amend) the Church’s Constitution, establishes the Book of Common Prayer, sets out rules for the ratification of bishops, and through its canonical actions sets forth governance of the Church.

* New dioceses are “formed with the consent of General Convention.” Each diocese offers “unqualified accession” to the Constitution and Canons of the Church. Dioceses, in turn, require that individual congregations must accede to the Constitution and canons in order to be members of the diocesan convention.

* Dioceses govern themselves through conventions (sometimes called councils), and in turn also pass canons, but these are subservient to the national canons.

* All clergy swear loyalty to “Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship” of The Episcopal Church.

* Today the Episcopal Church has members in the United States, as well as in Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Haiti, Honduras, Micronesia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands (both US and British).

* William White said that the Church of which he was a prime architect was to contain “the constituent principles of the Church of England, and yet independent of foreign jurisdiction or influence.”

In various Christian traditions, the O Antiphons are used at daily evening prayer services in the last days of the season of Advent.  Each antiphon is a name of Christ and reflects one of his characteristics as mentioned in Scripture.  Take some time this day to mediate on the names of Jesus and allow his light to expand your heart.

O Sapientia:
“O Wisdom, O holy Word of God,
you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care.
Come and show your people the way to salvation.”

O Adonai:
“O sacred Lord of ancient Israel,
who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush,
who gave him the holy law on Sinai Mountain:
Come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.”

O Radix Jesse:
“O Flower of Jesse’s stem,
you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples;
kings stand silent in your presence;
the nations bow down in worship before you.
Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.”

O Clavis David:
“O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel
controlling at your will the gate of Heaven:
Come, break down the prison walls of death
for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death;
and lead your captive people into freedom.”

O Oriens:
“O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.”

O Rex Gentium:
“O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart;
O Keystone of the mighty arch of man,
come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.”

O Emmanuel:
“O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations,
Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.”

Brrrr….  Winter is definitely here!  After the very welcome blanket of snow with which God blessed us early in the week, we are now the beneficiaries of some wildly cold temperatures.  Of course, we are all used to it, but this being the first substantial dose of cold that we’ve had since last winter, well, it does come as somewhat of a shock!

But most of us are ready for it.  We have filled our oil and gas tanks, and we have sealed our windows and doors.  Of course, the name of the game is staying warm.  And we in the northland are experts at staying warm!

In my own home, we heat with wood.  We have a small woodstove located in the center living room of our home, and we have loads of wood stacked outside.  We, like so many of you, have established regular routines for gathering kindling, hauling wood, storing wood, stoking the stove, etc..  I have noticed also that the woodstove is the most common gathering place for our family – especially on days like today when the red of the thermometer dips into the lowest recesses of the scale!  We all stand, kneel and sit as closely as possible to this warm, inviting piece of iron which, for us, has become so much more than just a piece of metal.  Each day around the stove is almost like liturgy.  We do the things to take care of the stove; and in return, the stove gives back to us.

Our souls, like our bodies, crave to be warm.  Just as we are intentional about doing those things necessary to keep our bodies warm, if our souls are to stay warm, we must be no less intentional.  And just as our family gathers around the woodstove in order to keep our bodies warm, so the family of faith gathers around the altar to keep our souls warm.   It is at God’s altar that we are reminded that we are dependent upon God and upon each other.  It is at God’s altar that we hear of the outpouring of God’s love into our lives in the life and death of Jesus.  It is at God’s altar that we are invited to receive the gifts of bread and wine, body and blood, that nourish us and sustain us.  It is at God’s altar that together we say the prayer that our Lord taught us, and we ask that God’s will be done in our lives just as it is done up in heaven.  And it is from God’s altar that we, as people of faith, are sent back into the world.

Jesus tells us that we are to love God with our heart, mind, soul and strength.  This entails us having warm and pliable souls.  We just can’t love as we are called unless our hearts are warm.  So, come to the altar.  Allow coming to the altar to be as natural and necessary to you for spiritual warmth as coming to a woodstove is for physical warmth.  Extend your hands and hearts to receive.  Invite God to warm your soul.  And then go.  Go forth from the altar to bring the warmth that you have received to those living in a very cold world.

Thank you God for the blessing of the woodstove that warms our bodies.  Thank you God for the blessing of the altar that warms our souls.  Amen.

Art+

A parishioner emailed me these church bulletin bloopers, and I wanted to share them with you all. Our congregation, like these bulletin announcements, certainly is not perfect. We are fallen folks who are doing the best we can to follow our Lord and live in community with each other. As God sheds his mercy and forgiveness upon us, may we strive to extend mercy and grace upon each other. May we learn to love and laugh and live in the abundance of God’s grace. May God grant you a joyful Advent day!

Here are the bloopers. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

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The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The sermon this morning: ‘Jesus Walks on the Water.’ The sermon
tonight: ‘Searching for Jesus.’
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Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of
those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at
someone who is hard to love. Say ‘Hell’ to someone who doesn’t care
much about you.
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Don’t let worry kill you off – let the Church help.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang ‘I will not pass this way again,’ giving
obvious pleasure to the congregation.
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For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a
nursery downstairs.
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all
the help they can get.
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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the
church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall.
Music will follow.
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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be ‘What Is
Hell?’ Come early and listen to our choir practice .
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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of
several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be
recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased
person you want remembered.
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment
and gracious hostility.
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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM – prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They
may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park
across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All
ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is
done.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation
would lend him their electric girdles f or the pancake breakfast next
Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please
use the back door.
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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the
Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend
this tragedy.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian
Church.. Please use large double door at the side entrance..
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The Associate Minister unveiled the church’s new campaign slogan
last Sunday: ‘I Upped My Pledge – Up Yours.’

The following poem was composed by our good friend, Roberto Palombi.  Many of us have been faced with the awkward, painful, empty feelings of watching someone whom we love die.   While many of us turn inward at such times, Roberto shows us that that inward searching and yearning can also find outward expression.  It is the outward expression of our inward search that becomes our great gift to the world. May we invite God into our hearts to stir us and guide us and teach us.  And may we pray for courage to take this inward stirring and give it back to God in how we live our lives.  Thanks, Roberto, for giving to us and for teaching us and for showing us some of the Spirit of God that dwells within you.

My kinsman is sick.
What grows in his brain?
My sister feels his absence in the far future.
I start on another long journey
to visit, to watch life linger–
The ebbing glow of an ember.

My spirit brother–
I am comforted.
You light incense
and its prayer draws me home.
This lake hermit will return
to the touch of loon chant
on prayer beads,
to the sound of moon
caressing deep water,
to the sight of your voice
calling through pines.