e-piphanies

Strategies for Summertime Spirituality

 

Memorial Day 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.

On several occasions, I have tried to counteract the summer slump. 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 home 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. HERE is St. Andrew's Cathedral's Summer Sunday Morning Schedule. 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 our 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.

Find a church in which to worship while traveling.  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.” Check The Episcopal Church Asset Map.

Don’t send your pledge on vacation. The operational costs of your church continue even when you are not there. In warmer locations, such as Jackson, 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. Summertime may open up some new possibilities for you in the ministries of the Cathedral or one of our community partners and blessings will flow into our lives.

Remember us when you are away! We’d love to know what you are experiencing in the places where you are traveling. Social media is a great way to share your experiences and discoveries with us. Cut out and take Flat Andy along and include him in some photos, then post them to @standrewsjxn so we can see.

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 Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

Strategies for Summertime Spirituality

 

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

"Where will you go from here?"

This week, I conclude my service as Interim Rector at Christ Church Cranbrook. Many friends and colleagues have asked, "Where will you go from here?" At the end of my last Sunday service today, I gave the best answer I can give at this point and our Interim Director of Music, Jeffrey Smith, echoed the answer in his organ voluntary, which he titled "Improvisation on Nescio quo vado, ego sum via."

Where am I goin'?
I don't know
Where am I headin'?
I ain't certain
All I know
Is I am on my way

When will I be there?
I don't know
When will I get there?
I ain't certain
All that I know
Is I am on my way

(from the musical Paint Your Wagon)

Listen to Jeffrey Smith's Improvization on theme from Paint Your Wagon  

Wherever it is, God will be there with us. We'll let you know when we know!

Blessings,

 

Sermon at Christ Church Cranbrook ~ August 11, 2013

The Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

Listen to the Sermon for August 11, 2013

Read the Sermon for August 11, 2013

I quoted lines from "The Rose" in today's sermon.  Here is a recording of Bette Midler performing this beautiful song.

 

 

Follow Him, Seek Him, Love Him

The chorus from W.H. Auden's Christmas Oratorio is on my mind today as I reflect upon my life and ministry and the people and places I have known:

He is the Way.
Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness;
You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures.

He is the Truth.
Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;
You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.

He is the Life.
Love Him in the World of the Flesh;
And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.

(W H Auden – 1907-1973)

This poem is set to two different tunes in The Hymnal 1982 of The Episcopal Church.  Here's a beautiful choral setting:  The Way, The Truth, The Life   (Royal Holloway Choir, University of London, Samuel Rathbone & Rupert Gough)

Exemplary Customer Service

Last week, a Southwest Airlines representative provided me with exceptional customer service.  I wrote a letter to Mr. Gary Kelly, the airline's CEO, to let him know what a great job one of his employees is doing and to suggest that the employee be commended for his service.  I've attached the letter and am posting it on my blog because I think it is an example for all of us to remember when we are trying to serve others.

Please read the Letter and share the story with others.

Epiphany From Windmills

Jesus compared the Holy Spirit to the wind:  “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

There is plenty of wind in Texas and it has been there all along.  Now, giant windmills like the ones I photographed during vacation, strategically placed across the plains convert wind power into electricity.  There is an epiphany in those windmills.

The Holy Spirit, like the wind, has been at work from the dawn of time.  When we intentionally make ourselves receptive to the movement of the Spirit, our lives are transformed and we become instruments that convert the Spirit’s energy into physical manifestations such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  St. Paul lists those nine manifestations as “fruit of the Spirit” in his letter to the Galatians (5:22-23).

Tony Jones, national coordinator of Emergent Village, writes, “Indeed, the same Spirit who invested Jesus with his power is the Spirit who descended on the apostles on Pentecost and is now working in the world…The human task is to cooperate with God in what God is already doing” (The New Christians, p.202).

As those giant windmills are turned by the Texas winds, may our lives be turned by the wind of the Holy Spirit who is already at work in the world.  God alone knows the good that will result.

Remote Weather Forecasting

In Galveston, we are blessed to have the finest weather forecasting service in the world to alert us when storms are approaching. Not every community is fortunate. Many communities are too small or too remote. The people of Gardner, Colorado don't let those things stand in their way. They have a system that works for them.  It may be as accurate as some more sophistocated weather forecasts.

As in all areas of life, it is a good thing to focus less on what you don't have and more on what you do have.  The folks in Gardner have lots of rocks.  They've pressed one of them into service as a "weather rock."

Created on and sent from my iPhone.

Episcopalians are Alive and Well in Galveston

Galveston Island's Episcopal Church Community welcomes you!

Upward Bound

Last week I participated in a continuing education event in Santa Fe, New Mexico sponsored by the Episcopal Church Building Fund entitled “Upward Bound” and led by The Reverend Charles N. Fulton III, Ms. Mary May, and Ms. Sally D. O’Brian.  Our instructors were fantastic.  It was a watershed week for me and an outstanding group of colleagues from around the country as we explored skills for congregational leadership.

On Wednesday afternoon, we had some free time. Several of us ventured out to Bandelier National Monument, a forty-five minute drive from Santa Fe. There we explored the ruins of native American cliff dwellers and reflected on what their life must have been like.  The Anasazi people, ancestors of modern Pueblo people, built thriving communities there about 600 years ago. Several thousand Ancestral Pueblo dwellings are found among the pink mesas and sheer-walled canyons. The sites in Frijoles Canyon near the Visitor Center were inhabited from the 1100s into the mid-1500s.

This community, like those that existed in places such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, had an orderly life, storage facilities for the fruits of their agriculture, trade with others as far away as Mexico and Central America, and places for corporate worship.  We are not certain how their civilization ended or why.  But it did.  The conditions that were necessary for its continuation changed and the people were not able to remain in this location.

It made my colleagues and me wonder about the future of our own communities, cultures, and civilization.  As we seek to provide strategic leadership for the future, we seek wisdom and understanding from the past.

Just because things change does not mean everything has to disappear into the mists of history.  Our Creator has equipped us with memory, reason, and skill so that we can make strategic and timely adjustments as things change.  It is a part of God’s unfolding plan for creation and we get to play a major role in that plan.  Creation continues and human beings have the opportunity to be co-creators with God in the process that ultimately leads to the fulfillment of all things.  What a remarkable and awesome privilege!

The Anasazi cliff dwellers mysteriously disappeared.  Yet, today we continue to appreciate the life they lived and the contribution they made to human history.  There are elements of their life that are timeless aspects of every successful human community, such as their ability to cooperate in pursuit of a common objective, systems of communication and commerce, planning for the future, sharing and mutual support in both good and difficult times, and worship of a supreme being.  Each generation leaves its own unique mark.  As we work together in the building of our community, let us hope that someday others will look back upon our era and our values with a similar appreciation.

Colleagues from Upward Bound