Gay and I have hearts full of gratitude for our time with the people of Saint John’s Cathedral. Our farewell included so many expressions of love, a beautiful framed photo taken during the celebration of the Eucharist, the gift of a donkey, cart, and plow for a woman farmer in our name thorough Episcopal Relief & Development’s “Gifts for Life” catalog, books on the Cathedral’s history, cakes, hugs, cards, dinners, and a year of memories that will last a lifetime.
As I was standing before the Altar at the end of the service yesterday, I was flanked by our Wardens, Amy Davis and Tom Keyse. In that moment, I became mindful of how they have stood beside me, walked beside me, and led beside me the entire time. Our Vestry, our devoted staff, clergy colleagues, the Canon Theologian, Bishop O'Neill and his staff, all of those involved in the ministry of worship, our Eucharistic Visitors, the leaders of our commissions, committees, guilds, and ministry teams have rolled up their sleeves and engaged in the work of transition and the work of ministry. We have accomplished so much together!
We are confident that you will welcome your new Dean, Richard Lawson, and his family, Katherine, Adaline, and Evans, with the same strong, generous, open arms that welcomed us. We are also confident that your ministry together will result in transformed lives and much thanksgiving to God.
After a few weeks time off at our Arlington, Texas home, we will head to Jackson, Mississippi, where I will begin my appointment as Interim Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Let us hold one another in prayers in this time of new beginnings!
After July 16, my Cathedral contact information will be discontinued.
Our permanent address is 4101 West Green Oaks Blvd., #305-520, Arlington, Texas 76016.
Summertime signals opening of swimming pools, buzz cuts for boys, weekday outings to museums and zoos, homemade ice cream, watermelon season, an upswing in agricultural enterprises, and the beginning of summer vacations. We also start the summer slump in churches across America, with a decline in attendance and anxious messages from church treasurers about cash flow because offerings go down when the people are not there.
Our culture has declared how things are supposed to work between Memorial Day and Labor Day and that’s that. The Church tends to conform to the culture. Whatever happens during the rest of the year, in the summer, we are both in and of the world.
On several occasions, I have tried to counteract the summer slump and had little success. Call me a die hard, but I’m going to try again. Any success at all is better than none when it comes to reminding God’s Holy People what our relationship with the world is supposed to be.
St. Paul put it this way, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Jesus called his followers to be light and salt and leaven in the world (Matthew 5 and 13). Light, salt, and leaven are agents of transformation – light dispels darkness, salt adds flavor, and leaven causes the dough to rise. When the agents of transformation are present, things are no longer the same. Through our prayers and our lifestyle, we are God’s change agents.
With that in mind, I have a few suggestions for how to enjoy summertime while still fulfilling our sacred purpose.
Maintain the spiritual discipline of worship. If you are in town on Sunday morning, your presence in worship with your community of faith helps keep the emphasis on God, both for you and for your fellow worshipers. When you are there, you are making a statement – a witness – that God’s reign in your life is not suspended just because it is summertime. Vacationers may be visiting your church while you are out of town. You may also use the time in worship to contemplate the different things you are doing/seeing/experiencing during the summer. What about those mountain majesties where you hiked? What might God have had in mind when creating the orangutan you saw when you took the children to the zoo? What kind of divine purpose is being worked out in the harvesting of hay, which kept you working from sunrise to sunset yesterday?
Find a church in which to worship while traveling.In addition to maintaining the discipline of worship while you are in a different place, you may discover new friends, new ideas, and elements of diversity you have not known before. Maybe you can bring something back that will enrich the life of your own community of faith. The churches you visit will have an opportunity to extend their hospitality to you and hear about the church you love back home. If you have children or youth who will be traveling with you, ask them to get on the internet and find a church where your family can worship “wherever you may be.
Don’t send your pledge on vacation. The operational costs of your church continue even when you are not there. In warmer locations, the costs increase significantly because of the need for air conditioning and watering. There is no legitimate reason why church leaders should have to experience anxiety over cash shortfalls in the summer (or anytime of year for that matter). Make it a matter of faithful stewardship to bring or send your contribution before you leave on vacation. Or, if you forget, you may still mail a check or use online banking to get your gift to the altar while you are away.
Get involved in ministries you don’t normally have time for. If summertime affords you a little extra free time or a slower pace, use some of that time to serve Christ and the Church. Maybe there’s a need for Sunday School leaders, workers for a home repair ministry, or someone to do some maintenance around the church. Is there a mission trip, retreat, summertime conference, or bible study you would otherwise decline due to the busyness of your life? Does your summer schedule allow you to attend a weekday service that you can’t attend at other times of the year? God would like to spend more time with us and have more of our attention. Summertime may open up some possibilities for that to happen and blessings will flow into our lives.
Whatever you do, think God!Be intentional about your spiritual journey. Begin and end your days with prayer, so that, in all the cares and occupations of our life, we may not forget God, but remember that we are ever walking in God’s sight. Look for signs of God’s hand at work in the world around you. Habits that affect the rest of your life can be formed during a three-month period. Don’t let a hiatus become a habit!
I’ll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ron Pogue Interim Dean Saint John’s Cathedral Denver, Colorado
The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church in fulfillment of the promise Jesus made to his disciples: “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).
Who is the Holy Spirit? The scriptures do not really define who the Spirit is except in terms of what he does. While we sometimes use metaphor and simile to speak of the Holy Spirit, these are really weak and mechanical terms compared to the personalistic terms in which the Spirit is best described. The Holy Spirit is a divine being, not a thing. And, this Spirit is never identical with the human spirit: rather, he works from the outside, with us, but Other than us.
Christian teaching has often neglected the Holy Spirit, leading to misunderstanding. For example, some have identified the Spirit with the individual conscience. The Holy Spirit has been identified with the human mind, denying the freedom to choose or resist God’s will. Some believe the Holy Spirit is manifested primarily in unusual behavior such as speaking in tongues, loud noises, gestures, and dancing. The Holy Spirit seems to take possession of the individual and control one’s actions.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word ruah, meaning “breath,” is often used to speak of the Spirit of God. Writers referred to the nearness of God, involved in nature as well as the life-giving, reforming source of strength, involved with the entire nation of Israel, and in the messages of the prophets.
The New Testament emphasis on the Holy Spirit takes a slightly different turn. The Holy Spirit is still taken to be God present with us, but in the Christian Testament he points to Jesus Christ after God has acted mightily in him to bring about redemption for all. The Greek word pneuma can mean “breath or wind” but also means “will or soul.” We have the record of Jesus’ teaching on the Holy Spirit, the experience of Pentecost, and St. Paul’s teaching to guide us to an understanding.
So, what does the Holy Spirit do for us today? There was once a mother who, as she put her child to bed each night, would tell him some of the exciting stories of the Old Testament: Joseph and his brothers, Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, Daniel in the lion’s den, Jonah and the big fish. One evening, when she was telling him the story of David and Goliath, the child interrupted with a question, “But Mom, what is God doing now?”
That’s a question you and I might well ask. Sometimes in despair and frustration, we cry out, even as Jesus cried out from the cross those words of Psalm 22, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
So, I invite you to consider how the message of Pentecost speaks to our need to know that God has not abandoned us and that we are not alone in an impersonal, uncaring universe.
In those god-forsaken moments in our lives, the Spirit of God bears witness with our human spirits that we are children of God and heirs with Christ of God’s amazing grace (Romans 8:15-17). When we speak of God as Holy Spirit, we are expressing the heart’s need to know that God is still with us, sustaining our faith, drawing us together in worship, and empowering us in God’s mission.
When we are brokenhearted, frightened, and weak, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26, 27).
When we have lost hope, and we know that without hope we cannot face the future, the Holy Spirit restores our hope. “For in hope we were saved” (Romans 8:24).
When we are confused, the Holy Spirit enlightens us and helps us make sense of things. Jesus told his perplexed disciples, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13).
When we have difficulty in worshiping Christ, the Holy Spirit leads us in praise. According to St. Paul, no one can say, “Christ is Lord” except through the influence of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit enables us to magnify Christ as the ruler of our lives. Together as one worldwide, age-long family we gather around the banquet table and its host. With all the company of heaven we sing songs of praise and thanksgiving. All this we do at the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
When we want to withdraw, the Holy Spirit helps moves us out of ourselves back into community with others and in those relationships we find comfort. Jesus prepared his disciples for what lay ahead in his passion, crucifixion, and resurrection. I wonder if he was anticipating how they would withdraw behind closed doors. I wonder if he was trying to let them know that the Holy Spirit will come to unite them in mission and empower them to move out into the world that needs the good news entrusted to them. And I wonder if he was mindful that withdrawal is a normal response to shock, so he promises that the Spirit will come to restore life in community.
When we want to hang on for dear life to whatever is left, the Holy Spirit restores generosity to our lives. Hurt, disappointment, and grief can become a logjam in our emotions and our behavior toward others if we let it. When the Holy Spirit is at work in us, those painful emotions are transformed into a greater ability to empathize with others and to be generous with our time, our abilities, our service, our treasures, and our witness. As the Spirit moves us to let things flow out of us toward others, more good things flow in. For we discover that all generosity toward God and our neighbor is the result of God’s extravagant generosity toward us. Freely have we received and so freely we give.
There is much more that could be said about the work of the Holy Spirit as the active and living presence and power of God at work in the world today. But perhaps it is important today for us to be reminded of these manifestations of the Holy Spirit so that we might recognize him at work among us in times of need.
So, we pray,
Come down, O love divine, seek thou this soul of mine, and visit it with thine own ardor glowing; O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear, and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.
O let it freely burn, till earthly passions turn to dust and ashes in its heat consuming; and let thy glorious light shine ever on my sight, and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
Let holy charity mine outward vesture be, and lowliness become mine inner clothing; true lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part, and o'er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long, shall far outpass the power of human telling; for none can guess its grace, till Love create a place wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.
Words: Bianco da Siena, d. 1434; translation by Richard Frederick Littledale, Jr., 1867 Music: Down Ampney, North Petherton
I'll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue, D.Min. The Interim Dean Saint John's Cathedral
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday every year. Our collect and readings remind us that in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament, the middle eastern shepherd is a metaphor for the divine nature.
Like the flocks they tended, the shepherds of the Bible were often dirty and woolly, enduring sun and rain for days or weeks on end. But unlike their flocks, they were vigilant and uncomplaining, watching for danger and trouble, providing pasture and allaying thirst. The shepherd knew his flock as no one else. And the sheep followed him “because they know his voice.”
Jesus speaks of himself as “the gate for the sheep.” Some scholars contend that shepherds of the period would often place their own bodies across the small opening of the sheep enclosure at night and during times of danger, risking their lives for the sake of their flock. Perhaps it is this image of the shepherd as human gate that Jesus has in mind with this metaphor, his own presence stretched out and bridging our insecurities. “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me,” he assures us, “will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture” (John 10:9).
Sometimes we are like lost sheep. We live in a world where it is easy to lose direction, to lose our bearings, and to lose a sense of who we are and where we are going. It is easy to go astray. It is then that we are most vulnerable to the “thieves and bandits” of the world. We are also most vulnerable to the more destructive animal instincts that lurk in every human heart, such as hatred, anger, and violence.
Week by week, we come to the Paschal Banquet ready to keep the feast, eager to partake of God's abundance, and to be nourished for the journey ahead. But the world is still a dangerous place. The human heart listens for the voice of the Shepherd who brings peace and God’s reconciling love. He is the Gate through whom we pass as we come to be fed and as we go back out to feed others in his Name.
I'll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ron Pogue Interim Dean Saint John’s Cathedral Denver, Colorado
There are students of the Bible who firmly believe that Luke's account of the pilgrims on the road to Emmaus is the most dramatic story in all Scripture. It certainly is one that gets our attention. Perhaps the drama and simplicity of it is the reason this story has become the one that gives thematic unity to a worldwide movement among Christians, the movement overseen known in this Church as Cursillio. It is a movement of people who are caught up in the surprising discoveries experienced by Cleopas and his companion when they walked and talked and broke bread with the Risen Christ in a village called Emmaus.
All of Luke's accounts of the resurrection appearances of Jesus have about them the quality of the worship life of the early church. There is a familiar pattern that reflects or is reflected in the pattern of worship among early Christians; disciples experiencing doubt and despair, Jesus appearance and confrontation, opening of scripture, sharing of a meal, followed by rejoicing and witness. There is an integral and unbreakable connection between our worship together and our experience of the Risen Savior. Worship is the center of the corporate life of the followers of Jesus Christ. Worship is the place of surprise and discovery. If we join that pair on the road to Emmaus we will find...
In worship we are discovered by the Risen Christ. While they were walking, Jesus came near and went with them. But they didn't realize it, they were not expecting him or looking for him. It takes a special opening of the eyes to see the Risen Christ because there is an inward blindness that must be overcome. John Newton's line “was blind but now I see” in Amazing Grace refers to this blindness. Fanny Crosby, whose hymns have inspired many, sang about spiritual blindness from the perspective of a person who was actually physically blind. We have a way of seeing what we want to or the way we want to. Jesus discovers us in this condition and desires to correct it!
In worship we discover him. Recognition of Jesus did not occur until they received the witness of Scripture and Sacrament. It always amazes me that so many people are amazed that the Church expects its members to be regular participants in worship. Some say, “attending worship doesn't guarantee that you'll be a good Christian. I can be a good Christian and never darken the doors of a church.” You can be a good person but not a new creature. You can do your own thing, but Christianity is not one's own thing. It is a corporate experience. The witness of Scripture, the teaching of the Church, the experience of millions of Christians for nearly 2000 years is that gathering for Word and Sacrament on a regular basis is essential because it is in worship that the chief means of grace are offered to nourish and sustain us in the Christian life. It is true that we can discover Christ anywhere. But the normal way, the primary way, the most reliable way is through word and sacrament with the gathered community of his followers.
In worship we discover our faith. Faith is, first and foremost, trust in God. St. Peter wrote, “Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised [Jesus] from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God” (I Peter 1:21). For most of us, mature faith does not come all at once as a finished product. We grow into it over time. In fact, the most exemplary saints are never sure the process is ever complete. I recall a scene from the movie, Tender Mercies, in which a boy and his stepfather are baptized. Going home, the boy says he doesn't feel much different. He asks his stepfather if he does. And his stepfather replies, “not yet.” In the experience of worship, more than any experience of our lives, we place ourselves in the presence of the Risen Christ and in his presence we discover our faith.
In worship we discover one another. After he broke bread and was recognized them, he left. Then “they said to each other…” We need to learn to share our faith one-on-one. Faith that is never shared isn't faith. We need to overcome fear that we might reveal weakness or that our insights might be challenged. Faith that is never questioned isn't worth having. We need to make all our meals and all our meetings experiences of shared faith in the Risen Christ...especially those meetings that have to do with money.
In worship we discover our feet. After their encounter with the Risen One in Emmaus, those disciples went to the others. The sense of the text is that they couldn't wait to get there. What if this Cathedral community became that excited about its mission, so that we couldn't wait to get out there and roll up our sleeves? Serving a meal or spending the night helping with the Women’s Homeless Initiative, getting involved with St. Francis Center, combating hunger with Metro Caring, signing up to tend the Cathedral Learning Garden, supporting Episcopal Relief and Development. What mission takes is people whose experience with the Risen Christ gets them out of their seat and up on their feet and moving. There is energy and power in it. And, it is not our own energy and power but the energy of God that raised Jesus from the dead. He shows us in Jesus that he also desires to give life to our mortal bodies. I submit to you today that our decisions to reach out to others are grounded in worship. What we do in worship produces results out there. We are able to bear fruit because we return week after week to make sure we are still grafted into the Vine, without whom we can do nothing.
In worship we discover our voice to witness and praise. When Cleopas and his companion arrived in Jerusalem and found the other disciples, they told what they'd seen. They found the others telling about their experience of the Resurrection also. There was amazement. There was praise. There was energy in that room when all those who'd encountered the Risen Christ got there. That energy freed their voices to go to others and tell. On the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 responded to their witness and joined them in following Christ. In worship we discover the courage to give all and risk all for the sake of his gospel. People need to give and risk in order to experience a growing and vital faith. Through Word and Sacrament, we are encountered by the Risen Christ, our fears and our faith are put in balance, we discover ways to share faith with one another, we discover our feet moving out to where our priestly ministry is needed, we discover our voice to praise and witness, and we discover the courage to give all and risk all for the sake of this gospel.
I'll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ron Pogue Interim Dean Saint John's Cathedral - Denver
During the forty days of Lent each year we spend time getting ready for the celebration of Easter. There is fasting, self-denial, prayer, intensified devotion, scripture study, and other disciplines designed to cleanse our hearts.
Then, comes the big celebration. Easter. Like so many Christian holy days, Easter seems to disappear the next day as life returns to "normal." But Easter should be more than that to us! It certainly was to those early disciples. Easter is more than a day!
Easter is a season of celebration.The Risen Christ walked among his disciples for forty days after his resurrection. He taught them, ate with them, prayed with them, and loved them. Before he was taken up into heaven, he promised to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The promise was fulfilled on the fiftieth day when they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Jewish feast of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. In Greek, it is called Pentecost. Pentecost is seven weeks, or fifty days, after the observance of Passover and commemorates the spring wheat harvest. This feast has also been associated with the remembrance of the giving of the Law to Moses. As the law was written on tablets of stone, the Spirit would write God's law upon the hearts of believers. When Moses came down from the mountain, he found God's people worshipping an idol and 3,000 of them died. When the Spirit was given, the disciples were obediently waiting in Jerusalem. 3,000 people were saved! The New People of the New Covenant were empowered by the Life-giving Spirit to be Christ's Body in the world, proclaiming to everyone the Easter message that Christ is alive.
Easter is a lifestyle. We are Easter People! As those early disciples in Emmaus and Jerusalem and in Galilee experienced the living presence of the Risen Christ, so we recognize that he stands among us today. To paraphrase Jesus, "believing is seeing." When we gather to hear the Word and share in the Holy Meal, it is usually easy to experience his presence "enthroned upon the praises of his people." The challenging part comes when we disperse. As Christ's Body touches the world through you and me when we are apart from one another, do you suppose the Living Presence is felt?
Easter is our only hope. St. Peter writes, "By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." (I Peter 1:3). There is a lot of help out there for people with all kinds of needs. But Christians believe that beyond help, people need hope. So what if you are physically or emotionally well. Life is just not complete without hope. The Easter faith gives the world hope.
So, don't let Easter fade like the blooms on your Easter Lily! Easter is more than a day; it is a season, a lifestyle, and a faith that fills our lives with hope.
I’ll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ron Pogue Interim Dean Saint John’s Cathedral Denver, Colorado
Holy Week: A Time to Remember Who and Whose We Are
In Baptism, we are incorporated into the Paschal Mystery. That is, we are incorporated into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His life is our life. His death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. It is for this reason that Christians observe Holy Week every year. It is a commemoration intended to put us in touch with that life which the world can neither give nor take away. It is a time to look at the Paschal Mystery and to recover our true identity, our authentic self, in him.
Five hundred years before Jesus rode into Jerusalem, Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah would be a king. Since the time of the Exile, no Jewish ruler had borne the title of king. “Look, your king is coming to you. Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion” (Zech. 9:9). The time was just right and the people were happy that day to acknowledge it.
They wished to crown him their king. In their enthusiasm, they missed the paradox. They saw the glory but overlooked the shadow. But Jesus was conscious of both.
He knew who he was so the acclamations of the crowd did not impress him. He saw that their palm branches cast the shadow of a cross. He sensed that the kingly crown they were offering to him that day would become a crown of thorns by the end of the week. Jesus knew that the identity the world offered was not a secure identity, not a legitimate identity, and certainly not a dependable identity. No, for Jesus, the only true identity is consciousness of who we are in the eyes of our Creator.
To the disciples, on the next weekend, it must have looked like the world’s biggest failure, a cruel joke. Imagine being sucked in to a group like “the Twelve.” To them “the Way” must have appeared more like a primrose path. Because they were still so dependent upon the things of the world for their sense of identity, they had to be the most embarrassed people around Jerusalem.
Then came Easter. Out of the tomb came the Risen Messiah with his identity still intact. “He is risen!” is shorthand for Jesus’ message of resurrection:
Behold, I have overcome the world. Behold, I died and I am alive. Behold, who you are need never again depend upon who you know, what you wear, where you live, what you do, how much you possess, or even what people say about you. Because I live, you will live also. You will experience new life in me and you will be able to face the popularity contest the world is running with confidence that you don’t really have to enter it in order to find out who you are. Here is my crown. It is yours! Take it! And believe me when I tell you that this crown of glory, which is both mine and yours, will never fade away.
Who and whose we truly are – that’s what Holy Week and Easter are all about.
I’ll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ron Pogue Interim Dean Saint John’s Cathedral Denver, Colorado
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
With these words and with the sign of a cross of ashes imposed on our foreheads, we begin our annual Lenten journey. Those ashes, made from the palm branches we waved as we sang hosannas in celebration of Christ's Triumphal Entry last Palm Sunday, are a sign of the tentativeness of our praises and the shortness of our lives in the grand scheme of things. They mark the beginning of a season of reflection upon the impact we will leave in a universe that can and will go on without us.
Anglican priest and physicist John Polkinghorne expanded my own thinking about those ashes and our place in this universe in his book Quarks, Chaos, and Christianity. He writes, "Every atom of carbon inside our bodies was once a star. We are all made from the ashes of dead stars." Then, he goes on to explain how special our universe is. "Only a cosmos at least as big as ours could endure for the fifteen billion years necessary for evolving carbon-based life. You need ten billion years for the first-generation stars to make the carbon, then about five billion years for evolution to yield beings of our sort of complexity."
Woven into the complexity of our life is the "invincible divine purpose for good" and "the faithfulness of God who will not allow anything good to be lost." The death and resurrection of Christ bear witness to that truth and constitute the "seed event" of the new creation. From that "seed" springs forth fruit in the lives of those who follow him.
So, when you receive those ashes, marked on your forehead in the sign of the cross of Christ, receive with them the invitation to examine your life, seek what is good, and discard whatever interferes with the fruitfulness and goodness you may contribute during your brief sojourn. Many people resolve to practice a Lenten discipline beginning on Ash Wednesday. Some give up something through the practice of fasting. Others take on something, such as additional daily prayers, Bible study, more frequent attendance at corporate worship.
If you are considering a Lenten discipline, perhaps these words of wisdom from the early Christian mystic St. John Chrysostom will be helpful to you: "No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great." Pope Francis echoes those words in his Lenten message when he writes, "Indifference to our neighbor and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience."
So, whatever you give up or take on, let's ask ourselves if the practice will benefit others in some way and if it will help liberate us from indifference to our neighbors, especially those in need.
I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word. (BCP)
I'll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue Interim Dean Saint John’s Cathedral Denver, Colorado
In addition to the political debate regarding President Trump’s executive order on immigration, there is also a theological debate. Some have suggested that immigration and refugee resettlement are not major biblical issues or, perhaps, not a biblical issue at all. Here is a list of examples of biblical passages regarding refugees and immigration found in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
Today, I would like to focus just on refugees, who are perhaps the most vulnerable immigrants in this controversy. A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape persecution, war, or violence. Faced with life-threatening circumstances, refugees have no choice but to flee, leaving behind their home and community, family, and friends. As many of the scriptures I have listed show, many of our ancestors in the faith were refugees. Even Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus and fled to Egypt to escape Herod’s order to kill all the young Jewish males in the vicinity of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:13-18).
The Episcopal Church, like many other religious communities, has long been active in refugee resettlement and in working with immigrants to the United States. Episcopal Migration Ministries resettles approximately 5,000 refugees each year. Saint John’s Cathedral is the spiritual home of the 350 members of Sudanese Community Church and the majority are refugees. Denver's Lutheran Family Services (LFS) Refugee and Asylee Programs are frequent guests at this Cathedral. We are not disinterested parties and have not been for a very long time.
Worldwide, there are more than 65 million people have been displaced by war, violence, famine, and persecution. Some critics of refugee resettlement have said that the United States already has taken in more than our share of refugees. The reality is that the United States is doing far from its fair share. Only ten nations host 76 percent of the worlds refugees. The United States is nowhere close to being on that list.
Some have claimed that refugees don’t assimilate into our society. However, in communities across America, refugees are predominantly model citizens and have revitalized small towns, learned to speak English, hold jobs, started businesses, contributed to charities, sent their children to public school, and held elected offices.
Another myth about refugees is at the heart of the controversy over the executive order. Namely, the assertion that the vetting process is lacking. In fact, the United States already has an extremely rigorous and thorough vetting process for allowing refugees into our country. The State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the National Counterterrorism Center all contribute to the process that our military leadership and national security experts from recent Democratic and Republican administrations have called “thorough and robust,” safeguarding the American people while also extending the country’s hand to the refugees in greatest need. If you want to learn more about the vetting process, see the Obama White House’s infographic here and the Department of Homeland Security’s video here.
And, finally, what about the potential for terrorist activity by refugees? No person accepted to the United States as a refugee has been implicated in a major fatal terrorist attack since the Refugee Act of 1980 set up systematic procedures for accepting refugees into the United States, according to an analysis of terrorism immigration risks by the Cato Institute. Before 1980, three refugees had successfully carried out terrorist attacks; all three were Cuban refugees, and a total of three people were killed. Since the Cato Institute analysis was published in September 2016, a Somalian refugee injured 13 people at Ohio State University in November 2016 in an incident described as a terrorist attack. No one was killed. The Cato Institute report also says, "The chance of an American being killed in a terrorist attack committed by a refugee was 1 in 3.64 billion a year. The annual chance of being murdered by somebody other than a foreign-born terrorist was 252.9 times greater than the chance of dying in a terrorist attack committed by a foreign-born terrorist."
As I write this reflection, I am thinking about thirty-six Vietnamese refugees my parish and I helped to resettle in Houston in 1975. They lived in our homes until we could find suitable housing for them. We helped them find jobs. We helped their children prepare for the school year. We welcomed them to the life and worship of our church. I still hear from some of them from time to time. Four generations of them now live on the West Coast, the East Coast, and the Gulf Coast. They are respected and contributing members of their communities. They are engaged in businesses and professions that have created jobs and contributed to the nation’s economy. And they are grateful for the opportunities life in the United States has provided.
My Christian faith and community provided the necessary motivation and compassion that I needed at the time to direct my own prayers and action to respond to their plight. I learned from them that refugees are among the most vulnerable of our neighbors. I feel the same way today, forty-two years later.
So, because our Scriptures and teachings of our faith call upon us to action on behalf of refugees, and because welcoming refugees is an important value in our national heritage, I invite you to prayer and action on their behalf.
I'll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ron Pogue Interim Dean Saint John’s Cathedral Denver, Colorado
At a conference in San Diego a few years ago, I was privileged to hear a talk by research professor Brené Brown. After the talk, she took questions from the audience via a moderator. One of the questions had to do with declining church membership, attendance, and giving. Her response was very interesting. She said, “I suppose the decline is a systemic problem that needs to be addressed by church leaders. However, all of my research clearly shows that the need for belonging is increasing.”
I’ve been thinking about that response during the last few days because members of the Cathedral staff and I are working on updating our membership rolls. Auditing and verifying the rolls is one of the projects often undertaken during a transition in leadership.
One of my colleagues mentioned reports suggesting that people – especially young adults – no longer consider church membership important. Those reports appear to stand in contrast to Brené Browns findings about belonging. I’m banking on Dr. Brown’s conclusions. And that’s why it is so important to make sure our membership rolls are up to date and accurate. These rolls document the level of interest in belonging to this community of Christians.
We have sent a letter to over 700 individuals for whom we have no record of a contribution for at least twelve months. In that letter, we asked several questions inviting them to tell us how they would like to be recorded in our rolls: Have any of those 700+ people joined another church? How many of them do not want to remain on our rolls? Which ones want to be considered “active” members and which ones prefer to be “inactive” members? Does someone have a pastoral concern that needs the attention of one of our clergy? Would any of them like to simply be listed as a “Friend of the Cathedral?” Not everyone received that letter!
I also sent out emails to our entire email list last Friday regarding this project and including the canonical description of membership in The Episcopal Church. That email was to alert the entire Cathedral community to the membership audit. Just because you received that email does not mean that there is any problem with your record.
This process has brought to my attention that we have a significant number of active people in the Cathedral community who are counted as members although they have never officially “joined.” If you may be one of those, I would like nothing better than to assist you with the process. Here’s how it works:
If you have never been Baptized, we can prepare you for Baptism, then present you to the Bishop for Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant.
If you have received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, with water and in the Name of the Trinity, in any Christian denomination, we can record your Baptism. Then, as soon as possible, we would like for you to be prepared to be Confirmed by the Bishop.
If you have been Baptized and Confirmed in another denomination, we can record you as a Baptized member and prepare you to be presented to the Bishop to be Received into The Episcopal Church.
If you have been a member of another Episcopal Church, we can write for the transfer of your membership.
The process of belonging in any of those ways involves completing a couple of forms that provide us with information for our database and serving as your commitment to “work, pray, and give for the spread of the Kingdom of God.”
If you are uncertain about your member status, please contact Michelle Vieria, the Assistant Cathedral Administrator, either by email or by telephone (303 577-7721). She will look up your record and let you know if there is something that needs to be done. The fact that you have taken the time to read this message is an indication of your desire to participate, belong, and support the mission of Saint John’s Cathedral. Thank you for that!
I’ll see you in Church!
The Very Reverend Ron Pogue Interim Dean Saint John’s Cathedral Denver, Colorado
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