Of Loaves and Fishes

Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."


For the last two nights Steve and I have been taking a bread making class (rustic breads) at the Black Market Bakery here in Irvine. It has been a dream for Steve to do this, and I was happy to go along to learn as well. We worked as a team, and there were three other teams of people also learning at the Bakery under the keen eye of Baker Extraordinaire Rachel Klemek, owner of the Bakery.

We worked over two nights to learn the basics of bread making, including how to handle different types of bread. In the end Steve and I made ciabatta, sourdough loaf and rolls, hamburger buns and rosemary dinner rolls. You can see a bit of our work and Steve in this picture.

As we were getting ready to leave, most of the members of the class were asking "what are we going to do with all this bread?" -- for we weren't the only ones baking all the bread -- the other groups came away with an equal amount of what they had made.

You know, I've always wondered about the story of the loaves and fishes. While I certainly believe that Jesus performed miracles, I've often wondered if the miracle that was REALLY performed that day was that, humbled by the words of Jesus and being in Jesus' presence, when he blessed the boy's bread and fish, those who had actually brought something and were hoarding it softened their hearts and offered it around, so that those who had none had some -- with leftovers!

Isn't it the same with the treasures that we hold close to us, our time/talent/treasure? We are called to share joyfully from our first fruits giving back to God a tithe of what we have been blessed with in our lives. We are never called to hoard, but to share.

By the time we reached home, 1/3 of our bread was already given to my good friend and neighbor. More will leave the house today.

I wonder what we will be making in the weeks ahead to be shared with others -- especially at the upcoming Laundry Love on August 8th? http://www.laundrylovehb.com/

On being "down"

I have a confession to make -- it's hard for me to be "down".

This past week, I was supposed to be at Camp Stevens, but when I went to the doctor on Monday and found out that this nasty cough I had was bronchitis, I was given antibiotics, cough medicine, and told to stay home. I wasn't happy. I felt very weak and tired -- could have been a bit of post-General-Convention deep tiredness mixed in with being ill. While I did stay in the house and I stayed hydrated, drinking water and tea, I was restless. It's not easy for me to not be busy -- and I was groggy enough from the medicines not to want to read a book. What was I to do? Well, the great Card Make 2012 began!

 I've made cards every summer for over 10 years -- I usually take one week of my vacation, work in the garden in the morning and work on cards in the afternoon -- catching up on movies and TV shows (or doing "marathons" of Harry Potter or NCIS). This time, as I was not feeling much like working in the garden, I spent a lot of time on making cards. I'm not done yet (I took long breaks), but when I'm done, I will have made about 1,500 cards. More than 1/2 of them will go to PRISM ministry for them to sell, and the rest will go to our Cathedral Bookstore -- to be sold to benefit the bookstore. The rest I will use during the year, as I always do.

 Some might say that I can't stay still -- that's not quite true, I can and I do. It's just that I can't just do nothing all day long. The same was true for me while I was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Chemo and radiation slowed me down a bit, but I still kept up with all my work.

So, now you know. My wandering keeps me wondering -- and on the move. Here's some pictures of the "process" and progress:

Important Take-Aways from General Convention

Well, here we are at the end of our last day of General Convention.

There are some things to understand that we take away from here that passed both the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies voted:

• to provide a rite for provisional use for the blessing of same-sex unions. You should know that there is language in this resolution that allows Bishops and priests NOT to offer this rite in their congregations if they feel that they do not want to do so. For those who DO want to offer this rite, it will be available. 
• a budget that is focused on the Five Marks of Mission -- it is a mission oriented budget, with more monies being funneled into program than in prior budgets.  
• to create a group to study the structure of our Church and to make recommendations as to how we can improve how we work together to the glory of God.This is VERY important work, and a move on the part of the church to look at all aspects of our life together.
• we talked extensively once again and passed resolutions that talk about justice and equality for ALL persons, and which dealt with access to ordination, fair wages, our denominational health plan, and the environment. This convention once again looked at issues where anyone is marginalized and shed light on the situation, calling for an end to any injustice.
• to approve rites for dealing with the adoption, care or death of pets. As a pet owner myself, I understand the importance of the rites offered here -- they will be available for use, and the language is beautiful.

There have been laughs and tears during this convention. You may have read that part of the deputation from South Carolina left the day after both houses passed the same-sex blessing resolution. I will share with you that their bishop left also, which saddened me greatly. Their voices are greatly needed at the table -- and even with the provision that "you don't have to do this" -- they still felt that they needed to leave to think and pray about this.I am praying for them all -- and for everyone involved in this convention.

Bishop Sean Rowe is a friend and favorite of mine. He is witty and smart, and consistently steady in his work as Parliamentarian. I admire him greatly.

I have this shot of the dais and the flags behind it --  you can see this below.

It has been the most amazing time here. The "five marks of mission" were talked about in many of our works together. At the end, five Bishops who just so happen to be named MARK came up with a song to "mark" the occasion:

Five Marks of Mission

(to the tune of “We all are one in mission…”)

We are five Marks of mission, though not all spelled the same;

The Good News of the Kingdom to all we proudly proclaim.

We teach, baptize, and nurture believers new and old,

By loving service responding to human needs untold.

Society's unjust structures, we five seek to transform.

From New York to Alaska, we labor for the Lord.

In dioceses from coast to coast and ’cross the great Midwest, 

We are Marks of God's mission, seeking to do our best.

Integrity of creation, we're striving to safeguard;

To sustain Earth's life and renew it, we five are working hard.

We disagree on many things, but of this we are sure:

We are five Mark's of mission, committed to the core.

If you feel that God's mission is calling out to you,

Marked as Christ's own forever, there's plenty you can do.

We have five marks to guide our work, to keep our efforts true;

We are five Marks of mission, and surely you are one, too.

 Performed by: The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr. (Ohio)

                        The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk (New York)

                        The Rt. Rev. Mark A. Lattime (Alaska)

                        The Rt. Rev. Mark M. Beckwith (Newark)

                        The Rt. Rev. Marc H. Andrus (California)

Words:             The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr.

 A short snippet of the video of this event can be found here.

The closing prayers by our chaplains were, as always, appropriate and wonderful -- here is the text of the closing Litany from Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.

The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction

of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying 

that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confessions brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the church's mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about: We plant seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything 

and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do  something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,

an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,

but that is the different between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

It was a long convention in many ways, although shorter in time than the last. I leave you with a  picture of the dais and the flags of all the countries represented at our General Convention below. I am very tired, but happy to have been here and been part of the House of Bishops for this important time in the life of our church.

The Home Stretch

Well, we are ALMOST done! One more day to go.

Woke up and went to the Dispatch meeting. As Assistant Secretary to the House of Bishops, I'm in training to help the Secretary of the House of Bishops. It has been a great joy to serve with the Rt. Rev. Ken Price, Bishop Suffragan in Ohio, Provisional Bishop in Pittsburgh. He is amazing in his knowledge and energy, and I have already learned so much from him!

The House of Bishops was able to get through all of our legislation today. I know that what we passed is available on a website somewhere, so I'm not gong to go over all of that. What I will say is how impressed I am with the House of Bishops about how we work together. I love my table mates, and will miss them when we change tables (we get "reset" to new tables each triennium), but will look forward to being with new colleagues in March at the next House of Bishops meeting.

Steve and I went to dinner with Bishop Coadjutor Andy Dietsche and his wonderful wife Margaret. What a relaxed dinner! Andy and Margaret are down to earth, very centered people. He is a wonderful pastor and an accomplished graphic artist and cartoonist. Some of his work can be found here.

We are all tired, ready to head home, but we have one more full day here in Indianapolis.

Here are some pictures from today:

At Table 21 at the House of Bishops -- this was my table 3 years ago when I started, the first HOB meeting after General Convention 2009, and right after my election as Bishop Suffragan. I've sat at this table with Prince Singh, Herb Donovan, Keith Whitmore, Chilton Knudson and Jim Mathes at Camp Allen (twice), Phoenix, Kanuga, Quito, and now Indianapolis -- and gratefully so!

The tiara and the beginning of the budget.

I am still fighting a cold, but I am hanging in with all the work we have before us!

I was at the Dispatch meeting this morning in order to be prepared to be on the dais this morning. It was a very well organized meeting (as always). Afterwards, as I wasn't feeling well, I took the opportunity to find a quiet place to rest, reflect and pray, which I did with a grande non-fat cappuccino. By the time I took my seat on the dais I was centered and feeling just a bit better.

My time this morning on the dais was punctuated with the use, at the appropriate time, of my tiara. When the House giggled at my accent as I read the contents of the consent calendar, I put on tiara and my respect quotient rose considerably. Seriously, it was a fun way to address the House, which I had permission from the Presiding Bishop to do.

We tackled lots of legislation, with good discussion and a prayerful process. I am very impressed with the House of Bishops as it meets in Convention!

After a quick lunch we gathered with the deputies of our Diocese in the House of Deputies. We took group pictures and then gathered together as a joint meeting of the Houses to hear the budget presentation. The presentation was very helpful and the budget itself was based on the five marks of mission. It will be discussed first in the House of Deputies and will then go to the House of Bishops.

Back for more legislation. At 4:00 Canon Bonnie Anderson came to address the House. Among sharing her greetings with us, she announced the election of the new President, and that person, the Rev. Gay Jennings, came in to speak with us as well. I have known Gay for a while now and have found her to be wise and kind.

One aspect of our work together that I haven't written about is the work of our Chaplains, Stephanie Spellers and Simon Bautista. Offering noonday and end of day prayers and reflections have been invaluable in our keeping the meeting centered where it should be -- on our relationship with Jesus. They also come and offer prayers with and for us when a vote or a topic may be difficult -- they are Spirit and love-of-God filled!

After dinner with Steve and a friend, I went up to the "Los Angeles" gathering, where Angelenos past and present gathered. It was great to see our deputation as well as Jenny Ladefoged, David Jackson and Ernesto Medina, to name a few. And of course, Bishop Chet and April were there -- I love LA! People spoke about missing Jon, but his presence was definitely felt!

Well, my voice is now gone and I'm going to rest.

I wonder if I will have a voice in the morning?




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:General Convention

Another big day

Well, I accidentally slept in and missed my committee meeting this morning. I felt horrible about this (I'm not in charge of the committee, but I still felt bad missing it). I talked with the chair of the committee and all is well -- we are done now, and I shouldn't have to attend another one. I think I really needed the sleep though.

Started out the day with the beautiful Eucharist at which our own Mary Crist preached, and did a phenomenal job! I can't find the video link to it, which I know must be out in cyberspace somewhere, but I will try to find it and post it tomorrow.

Here is the video of Katharine's sermon from yesterday. I know I posted the text yesterday, but it is WELL worth the listen! Speaking of videos, Mary and I took a moment at the lunch hour and went to the Digital Faith booth and filmed a quick, uncut Just Action Video thanks to Patrick, the founder of Digital Faith.

We were in session twice today as the House of Bishops -- the most controversial resolution we discussed was a resolution providing resources for provisional use of liturgies for the blessings of same sex unions. The news article about it can be found here. I will tell you that the discussion was balanced and we all listened to one another. Discussion was not rushed, and many took to the microphone to speak. In the end the resolution prevailed and it was done is a spirit marked with great prayer.

This evening was the Bishop and Spouse dinner in which we "graduates" of the College for Bishops  (otherwise known affectionately as Baby Bishop School) received our awards. It was good to be recognized but also good to be done. During the program portion of the evening, the retiring Bishops and Spouses were honored, which was great to see. At the end, Bishop Cathy Roskam who was honored as one who has just retired took to the microphone and formally passed the tiara of "the shortest active bishop" to me!

It is very late again, and I'm tired! Trying to fight off a cold so I will sign off for now.

I wonder what will happen tomorrow when I'm back up on the dais again in the morning? Might have to sport that tiara!

Stand up Mortals!

The day started off after yet another night of not-quite-enough-sleep with a delicious class breakfast. We met at the hotel many of us are staying in, and enjoyed good time together. Afterwards, we put on our Rochets and Chimeres and headed for the festive Eucharist and UTO ingathering. We took two pictures together -- one of just the Bishops of our class, the other with the Bishops and most of our spouses. You can see these on this blog today.

We were then part of  the "sea of red and white" procession into the ballroom where the Eucharist was held.

The Presiding Bishop preached one of the best sermons I have ever heard. The text will not do justice to her delivery and energy -- let me just say, the Holy Spirit was moving fast and furious! The rest of the day into the evening was spent in meetings or in talking with colleagues. However, I want to leave you with the text of the Presiding Bishop's sermon. Again, it was amazing to hear -- if I can get a link to a video version at some point I will post that later.

Here it is:

General Convention July 8 Sermon:
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

[July 8, 2012] The following sermon was presented today at the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting in Indianapolis IN through July 12.

UTO INGATHERING AND FESTIVAL EUCHARIST
Sunday, July 8

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

Did you hear Ezekiel?  Mortals!  Stand up and listen!  God is sending you to a rebellious house, full of impudent and stubborn folks.  Your job is to go tell them, “listen up – here’s the deal, from the Big Man himself.”  And if they don’t listen, at least they will have met a prophet.

Garrison Keillor is famous for noting that nobody wants a prophet at a birthday party.  Our image of prophets is something like fire-breathing dragons or maybe Nunzilla, but a prophet is simply somebody sent to speak for God, to tell it like it really is.  Sometimes prophets speak words of comfort and strength, the kind of words the psalmist is asking for – mercy and relief.  And sometimes the prophet speaks words that are harder to hear, reminding us that we’re supposed to love God with all we are and have and love our neighbors as ourselves.  The reminder usually comes because the audience hasn’t been living up to that expectation.  Whatever Jesus said in the synagogue seems to have been that kind of challenging word.
 
Jesus’ friends and neighbors obviously don’t expect to hear anything prophetic from the ordinary carpenter down the street or from the brother of their friends.  He has never stood up in their synagogue before and said anything particularly challenging – so who does he think he is?  Mark doesn’t tell us what he reads or says.  Luke says that it’s the part of Isaiah that says, “the Spirit has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, healing to the blind, justice to the oppressed, and to announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”  And his friends and neighbors are offended.

It is offensive – and confronting and challenging – to hear that even though you think you’re getting along OK, you’ve missed the boat.  Yet until we can see the chasm between what is and what ought to be, we don’t have any hope of changing.  Indeed it is the act of crossing that boundary between what is and what ought to be that is so characteristic of prophets.  When Jesus is called a prophet, it has to do with erasing the boundary between God and human flesh.  Prophetic words of comfort or challenge urge a kind of frontier work – getting across the fence between fear and possibility, reconciling division, transforming injustice, urging the lost onto the road home.

Sometimes those encouragers of boundary crossing come in very ordinary, even quiet, packages – and that may be what the people in Jesus’ hometown were so annoyed about.  It’s harder to ignore somebody you respect or know pretty well.

A prophetic invitation arrived in my inbox a couple of months ago.  A group of Christian leaders and politicians was asked to come to Washington, DC, to consider the state of public discourse in the United States.  The invitation made reference to one of our better known political figures, Senator Jack Danforth. [1]  A conversation about civility seemed a highly appropriate endeavor, but as the day grew closer, getting ready for this gathering seemed a lot more urgent, and I came very close to canceling.  But those who went heard a prophetic chorus of voices – Roman Catholic clergy and religious, Southern Baptist preachers, Senators and Representatives from both parties, Lutheran and Methodist bishops, evangelical pastors from the Assembly of God and Pentecostal traditions.  Each one lamented the loss of respect for political opponents and the inability to make common cause for the greater good.  We didn’t read today’s psalm, but it certainly fit the conversation: 

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy, we’ve had more than enough contempt.
Please!  No more ridicule from the arrogant,
or abuse from proud and conceited people!

We started our gathering by talking about the hope of Americans and indeed people across the world for change, in the face of the contempt and arrogance they hear from Congress and other politicians.  We soon moved to talking about the abuse and ridicule we hear from our brothers and sisters in Christ.  That sort of confession brought hope, and urged us into other kinds of frontier crossing, beginning with finding a prayer partner.  Mine is the Rev. Franklyn Richardson, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, New York and Port St Lucie, Florida.  Other kinds of prophetic action and word are going to emerge from this process, including a statement and a number of positive actions to encourage more civil and effective discourse in politics and in our religious lives.  Words matter profoundly, and as Christians we affirm that every time we gather to give thanks for the frontier crossing incarnate Word in our midst.

Prophets speak and act for God, with spoken and incarnate words of strength, hope, and challenge.  That ministry comes in many forms.  Today we’re going to give thanks for the prophetic work of the United Thank Offering, reaching out in creative possibility around the globe.  Each triennial gathering of the Episcopal Church Women begins with a blessing and distribution of crosses, and the hands that are extended to receive them are a sacrament of blessing for this kind of prophetic work.  When Jesus lays on hands and heals a few, even in a place that doesn’t think he’s got much to offer, he’s doing something prophetic.  The work those hands of ECW members do in gathering and blessing ministries around the globe is another way of reaching out across borders, boundaries, walls and fences of division.

What about your hands?  They, too, are instruments of healing, reconciling, re-creation – let’s see those hands!  Here is a sacrament of God’s mission.  How will you use those hands in an impudent and rebellious house?  These hands can be instruments of warning, or to comfort and strengthen the wavering.  Hands can be instruments of prophetic communication, a gift only some among us have learned. 

When Jesus goes off to other villages to teach, he is using words and hands in prophetic ways, announcing the reign of God close at hand, healing, feeding, and drawing people into community.  He sends his friends out to do the same things:
- to announce the good news of the reign of God
- to teach new believers
- to heal the hurting
- to challenge injustice
- and to tend the garden we share with all the rest of creation.

Those five marks of mission are the work and mark of prophets, of all Jesus’ friends and their partners.  All of his commentary about what to take on the trip across the border is a reminder to keep it simple – to go as emissaries of the incarnate word, to be a gift and to speak and act for God’s dream – to GO into the world of God’s dream.

When we gather like this to make Eucharist, we offer all that we are and have for this work.  That little exchange that starts, “lift up your hearts,” is about entering another reality – some old translators put it, “hearts aloft!”  Get moving!  Go cross the frontier between heaven and earth – boldly go where Jesus has gone before – and invite others to go with you to help build the world that God intended at creation.  

So – mortals, prophets – stand up!  God is sending you to a rebellious house, full of impudent and stubborn folks.  As the prophet Pogo said, “is us.”[2]   Your job is to go and say, “listen up – here’s the deal, God’s got a better world in mind, and you are needed to help make it happen.”  And once you’ve started the conversation about good news, keep moving, keep showing and telling the world what God’s dream looks like.

Eventually, the world will know they’ve met a prophet – a whole community of prophets.

[1] An Episcopal priest as well, he’s been a prophetic force in the search for peace in Sudan.
[2] “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”  Walt Kelly, cf. The Pogo Papers, 1953. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Kelly