Month: November 2020

I recently signed up for new car insurance, and to get a better rate, I had to sync the car to my phone, which will report on my driving. I am skeptical about the whole thing, but also cheap, so I said yes. And the first week’s results are in—overall excellent!! Of course.

They rate five areas and I had excellent or great on 4 of them. Smooth acceleration, reasonable speed (that one is questionable but don’t tell), the right times of day, and minimal distractions, aced them!  My only area of improvement is hard braking. To be honest, I don’t recall any hard braking, though I was rushing home one day to meet a repair person and might have taken some hard turns. But anyway, I will comply and pay attention in this area.

And isn’t it just like Jesus that I can turn this into an Advent practice. Advent is a time to slow down, to be reflective, to breathe. It is not a time of hard braking, careening around corners, or whatever else I was doing. Advent is a time to be intentional and to prepare for the glorious coming of Jesus. I don’t remember Jesus doing any hard braking in the Gospels. 

It is often the case that the feedback you receive on your life, from the most unexpected places, reflects a real need. I would be foolish not to take heed of my hard braking and the metaphor that might be for other things in my life. Pay attention during this Advent season. Light your wreath, appreciate beauty, engage in hope, revel in peace. 

Jesus is coming, and we want him to be happy with what He finds.

In a little while I am going to do one of the things l love the most: buy books! None for myself this time, but it doesn’t really matter. I have a chunk of cash to buy the kids at Williamson Elementary books for our collection, and I am on it with enthusiasm.

This year the kids won’t be able to pick their own books, so we are going to put a fun book, a fiction book and a science book together for each kid in each grade. We are also ordering the same book for all the Middle School kids in case their teachers might want to use the book in class; we are trying to be a little innovative with our new circumstances.

There are other considerations. I want kids to see characters in the book who look like them and especially heroes who look like them. I want to step out of stereotypes that are too easy. Black athletes and helpful women are great, but there is so much more that we all are than one thing, and I want that reflected in the book choices.

I will also be looking for Black, Latin, and women authors. Perspective is everything, and we all need to read a variety of perspectives. One of the women in the parish teaches 8^th grade English, and she supplies me with a steady stream of YA novels. I read my first graphic novel this summer, and it was great. I might have dismissed them as too…whatever, too simple, too childish, too beneath me. But I loved it, and it helped me to clarify some of my prejudices.

I realize there is a lot of power and influence to picking a book for someone. I want everyone to love to read, and I know that isn’t the case. My son Martin came to reading as an adult when he was able to pick what books he read and no one told him that he had to appreciate something. I like mysteries and historical fiction, but I just finished reading Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, and it was a powerful piece of nonfiction.

We can only do our best to be diverse and compelling, and hope that something in the child clicks with what they have been given. Reading for me is such a comfort, an escape, an exploration of new worlds. I want the children at Williamson to feel loved and challenged. Thanks to everyone who is buying books this year for these kids!!

This weekend our diocese has its annual convention. So let me back up, a diocese is a geographical area of the church, kind of like a state. It has a Bishop who is elected to serve as its leader. Our diocese is the Diocese of Ohio, which includes about 100 churches across the upper half of the state. 

Being a part of something bigger than ourselves is a blessing. Our diocese offers us advice, keeps us apprised of what is happening in the national church, helps us figure out how the world impacts us. For example, the diocese helped many churches receive PPP assistance from the federal government in response to Covid19. We receive grants for several of our programs from the diocese. They are a hub that also includes prayer. And we support the diocese financially with a contribution based on our cash flow (so larger parishes give more than the smaller ones).

When we gather for a few days every year, we see to the governance of the church, fill committee vacancies, celebrate occasions. My favorite part is our worship together, hundreds of people singing hymns and praying for each other. It is a powerful time. We also tackle how we want to respond to social issues, discerning together what God is calling us to do. 

Our church is a democracy, and every parish has three representatives as well as its clergy who can vote. It is a holy responsibility to be a part of this process. But it is also a joy, as we hear stories of ministry and evangelism that we can all share with each other. 

Sometimes it feels like we are isolated on the east coast. But in fact, we are bonded and held together by this marvelous thing, this holy thing-the Body of Christ. And it is so much more obvious when we are all celebrating that together. 

Pray for the church this weekend. We face many challenges so it is a blessing to have each other. We will be on zoom, which is another new thing. Pray that we can discern even far apart a holy future for this church we love. 

Many years ago I lived in Belize for a while, just as they were preparing for their first election after emancipation from Great Britain. The big debate was the number of political parties they should have represented in their election. Some wanted a two party system, like we essentially have in the United States. Some wanted a one party system, no fighting, just get the job done. 

Being from the States, I was often asked to weigh in, and I had to think about our system critically essentially for the first time. I found myself saying what I value about our system. Two parties bring balance, they make sure all voices are heard, they lead to compromise that benefits the most people, they only last in power as long as they are serving the most people. 

I envied Belize, at the time, the opportunity to think these things through and choose a system based on the wisdom and experience of the world. What an incredible moment, determining the best way to serve the most people. 

I believe our country is at a crossroads as well. And it is time we examine what we value about democracy, and what we are willing to offer to make it strong. This election cycle has been an exercise in bullying, incivility, and the worship of power. We have looked foolish, not an example of what to do but of what not to do. 

I pray we go back to those values I held up years ago-balance, common good, compromise, integrity. We are starting a new cycle, a new opportunity. I pray all of us live up to the building up of democracy that is a responsibility of living in this country. We are not hopeless or helpless. We are deeply divided. Let’s do the work of putting this all back together.