Visit of the Presiding Bishop

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts-Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, will be visiting St. James Church in Westernport, MD, on Sunday, June 29th for an Ordination Liturgy. Deacons Garrett Carskadon and Thomas Hudson will be ordained to the Holy Priesthood.

Because the Presiding Bishop doesn't ordinarily come this close to Keyser, and because we wish to show our support for the new priests from our area, it was decided that the congregation for the 10 o'clock Holy Eucharist at Emmanuel Church will attend this special event.

Accordingly there will *NOT* be 9 o'clock Sunday School or the 10 o'clock Holy Eucharist at Emmanuel Church on June 29th. The 8 o'clock Holy Eucharist will be celebrated as usual.

Those who wish to attend the Ordination Liturgy, which will begin at 10 o'clock in the morning, are asked to arrive early at St. James Church in order to be seated.

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Sermon for June 22, 2008

Genesis 21:8-21 June 22, 2008
Matthew 10:24-39 Pentecost 6

Matt 10:24-39

‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! ‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’

I speak to you in the name of him who says of himself that he brings not peace, but a sword, even Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

This morning’s readings from Genesis and Matthew have a very dark mood to them. In the first reading the Matriarch Sarah insists that her rival Hagar be ousted from Abraham’s camp and that she take her son with her. She is banished to the desert with nothing more than a loaf of bread and a skin of water to sustain herself and her son.
And then, even more ominously in the Gospel reading, Jesus warns, ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.’

This does not sound like good news to me. I am not completely sure of what we are to make of this teaching, so let’s keep it on a back burner for a while and look at the context of this week.

It began well enough with Tiger Woods winning the US Open in double overtime while using a 9 iron as a crutch, protecting a broken leg. There has been the usual flow of news from Iraq and Afghanistan. The presidential campaign is clearly gearing up.
For me personally, it has been a wonderful week. My younger brother flew in from Vancouver and my older brother came down from Philadelphia. The three of us have not had several days together, especially with no crowds around, for many years. It was a gracious time to relearn our love for one another.

The chances are that for most of us, the week had a familiar rhythm. Those who have work got up and went to their jobs on Monday and probably had the same job on Friday. Some did not, victims of a faltering economy. Children, the lucky ones, might be eagerly looking forward to summer camp. Families were talking about vacations. Everyone wonders about the price of gasoline. Some pursued political interests. Most church doors were locked throughout the week, but they are now open on Sunday for a few bright hours of worship and affectionate conversation.

In many lands, all days were the same as men, women, and children, bearing lethal weapons, some wearing the uniforms of state, others carrying nothing but the will to kill each other did so, often in the name of religion.

Also this week, the State of California has seen hundreds of visitors, couples of men and couples of women taking the opportunity to celebrate their relationships as marriages under the new California law. As soon as the law was enacted, a counter-force initiated a move for a state constitutional amendment forbidding such marriages.

And speaking of counter-forces, this weekend, about 1,000 splinter group Anglicans, mostly from Africa and the Pacific Rim, some from the US, all opposed to what they consider liberal leadership within the Anglican Communion, will gather in Jerusalem for an eight-day meeting that likely will solidify the deep alienations, particularly over homosexuality, that have divided the church. The Bishop of Jerusalem, Zuhail Dahwani, pleaded with the organizers of the conference not to use his diocese that way. They ignored his plea.

In the mean time, about 800 bishops from around the world, including our own Bishop Klusmeyer, are packing their bags and reading white papers, getting ready to travel to England for The Lambeth Conference to be held in Canterbury next month.

The Lambeth Conference is a gathering of Anglican bishops from throughout the world, invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury every ten years, to meet for discussion and for the development of opportunities to work together for the furtherance of God’s rule on earth. It is a surprise to many Episcopalians to learn that The Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, is the third largest Christian group in the world, having 77,000,000 members in over 160 countries.

In 1998 Barbara and I had the huge privilege of being a part of the last Lambeth. Then, we spent most of our time in small group bible study and in hearing reports on world issues like hunger and disease and Third World debt. It was not all sweetness and light, but bonds of affection were made and strengthened. This year the conversations will be dominated by matters of sexuality.

The two gatherings - the splinter group in Jerusalem and the main group in Canterbury, mostly of bishops, will talk about little but sexuality. They will talk as if warfare, environmental destruction, tribal hatreds, inequalities and repression among people, the fragility of hope, joblessness - as if God cared nothing about such things and is now concerned only with who makes love with whom.

In the Gospels, Jesus devotes two thirds of his teaching to wealth and power and the distribution of resources. He does challenge the standard interpretations of scripture of his day. He says not a word about sexuality.

And now, in Jerusalem and soon in Canterbury, Anglican bishops will seem to have probed the mind of God and come up with the perfect formulation of truth on matters of sexuality and the authority of scripture. With little sense of irony, they will promulgate Christian teachings in areas that Jesus never trod. As much as prayers for grace and humility will be offered, I fear that formal statements from each of those conferences will serve more to divide than to reconcile.

Perhaps all of this is what Jesus is talking about when he says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ... And one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.”

That’s the Gospel truth that is always simmering on some back burner of our lives, so let’s stir that pot for a few minutes. The discernment of truth is not easy. It usually takes several different points of view to get close to the kind of truth that enables people to live lives with integrity and generosity. We too often settle for some partisan prejudice that masquerades as truth, but usually makes someone else a victim. Such is not truth as God would have it. Yet lynchings happened in the light of a burning cross and roadside bombs are detonated in the name of Allah. It is only a short few years since Protestants and Catholics were doing such things to each other in Ireland. Ethnic and gender bias are hardly dead in our own culture and time. God must weep at such mockery of everything that the Good News of Jesus Christ stands for.

“Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me,” Jesus said. “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

If we find the value of our lives in the pious and often biased opinions we hold, then our lives will crumble to dust, Jesus seems to be saying. The invitation here is to take up some worthy challenge that helps another. To bear another’s cross. The call is to let go of some prejudice that you hold but which makes somebody else a little less than human. The collateral promise in this is that in giving up something that seemed so dear, you in fact lose nothing at all. In truth, you gain a larger circle of friends and a more loving outlook on life, and a deeper peace than mere prejudice can ever give you.

I pray that people on both sides of the conversations in Jerusalem and Canterbury will discern truths deeper than their already held convictions. And I pray further that they all will remember that those with whom the strife is sparked are also beloved friends of Jesus.

As we just sang in Hymn #661, “The peace of God, it is no peace, but stride closed in the sod. Yet let us pray for but one thing - the marvelous peace of God.” Amen.

Sermon for June 15, 2008

Exodus 19:2-8a

They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”
7 So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8 The people all answered as one: “Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do.”

In the Name of the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. Amen.

Last week I talked about Abraham and the promise that God made to the great grandfather of the children of Israel.
- Abraham was a giant of a man, remembered as they told stories around the camp fire on nights when the moon was barely a wink coming from the night sky.

Today we meet the other superhero of all the Hebrew scriptures, Moses himself.

Moses is another of those biblical characters who does not break down easily into the morsels we usually serve up as readings on Sunday mornings.
- Even more than Abraham, Moses strides across the stage, never sitting still for a complete portrait. The heart of Hebrew scripture is called the Books of Moses. What governs the people from this time forward is called the Law of Moses.

It was by artful deception and some God given fortune that Moses even survived his own birth in Egypt. At the time Pharaoh had ordered that all male infants be killed.
- Moses’ mother hid him for a few months then floated him in a basket on the Nile where she knew that Pharaoh’s daughter would find him. Which she did - and adopted him and raised him as an Egyptian prince.

But Moses always knew of his own roots as a child of Israel. He showed that when he murdered an Egyptian overseer who was flogging an Israelite slave. Word of it reached Pharaoh so Moses fled again from Pharaoh’s wrath, this time into the Sinai desert.

It was during this time of his life that Moses first heard the voice of the living God. “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Then the LORD said, “I have watched the misery of my people who are in Egypt… and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey... And you are just the guy to make it happen,” God said.

Moses whined some, trying to get off this particular hook. He made a lot of excuses and finally came up with the perfect challenge:
- “OK. Suppose I do go to the leaders of Israel and tell them what you have in mind. Who shall I say sent me?”

The new name that God revealed to Moses is actually very difficult to translate from the Hebrew. It is a form of the verb “to be.” It could mean, “I am who I am becoming,” or “I am who I am,” or simply “I AM.” One translation has it, “I will be there with you.” However you translate it, one thing is clear. God is a verb, not a noun or an adjective. God’s self description is not static, but active. He likes people who are on the move, not stuck in the mud.

“I AM WHO I AM. Tell the people that I AM has sent you to them.”
- And that pretty much shut Moses up. From that point on, at least for a while, he listened and followed orders.

He went back to Egypt and told Pharaoh, “Let my people go.” And he ordered up ten plagues to prove that he really meant it.

Finally Pharaoh’s advisors convinced their boss that Moses and all the other Israelites should leave Egypt before anything worse happened.
- So Moses and all the rest packed their bags and camping gear and headed towards Sinai.
- They got to a marshy patch of the Nile delta that English translators mistook to be the Red Sea, when actually it was the reed sea.

It was just three months after that that this morning’s reading takes place.
- In seven short verses Moses moves from being the great liberator to being the great lawgiver. He made several trips up and down the mountain before his conversation with I AM was over. Each time he brought some new word to the camp on the plain below Mount Sinai.

Imagine how it might have been - a summer storm crackling out of the sky, lightning drawn to this high point, thunder deafening.
- “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians,” God says in this morning’s reading. “and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.”

Wow! A treasured possession. Of God’s. Nice.
- It is too bad that that promise stands in the shadow of the phrase just before it: “if you obey my voice and keep my commandments.”

Well…. Does that mean that God’s love is conditional? That if we don’t follow all the rules, then God will NOT love us?
- That is what we are taught from our earliest memories, isn’t it? “If you don’t do as I say you’ll regret it when your father gets home.” “You can come for a beer after work if you fit in.”

Is that the kind of deal that God is offering here? Must we perfectly obey the law to earn the promise?

That is what it sounds like, but that can’t be quite right because Moses himself was a murderer, bringing us the commandment not to kill.
- More import, though, is that Scripture is nothing if not the record of God’s constant reaching across the gulf that we seek to put between God and ourselves.
- Reaching out to Abraham and his wildly dysfunctional family; reaching out here to Moses, forging a new bond with a rag tag troop of escaped slaves.
- In the reign of King David God watched over Jerusalem and the temple, giving a Golden Age of peace to which future generations would look back as they dreamed of a new Messiah - though David was a murderer as well, and an adulterer.
- Through the reluctant and imperfect prophets, God sought to reestablish the constantly re-broken covenant. That seems to be the major theme of all scripture.

When Moses came down from the mountain for the last time with the tablets of the law in his arms, he saw the whole camp dancing around a golden calf that his own brother Aaron had fashioned.
- Moses threw the tablets on the ground, breaking them into pieces. It’s as if he knew that these commandments would never be properly kept.

If the relationship with God were really dependent on obeying the law, then that would have been the end of it right there.
- The whole deal would have been off, wrecked before it was even delivered.
- But that was not it. Moses continued to lead the people towards the promised land because that part of God’s promise to Abraham had not yet been fully realized.

The Promised Land was elusive. They thought they had it for a while, but while Abraham was still alive, famine drove them to Egypt where eventually they would become slaves.
- It was from this status that Moses led the people towards the Promised Land.

Understand that Moses’ band was not lost in the desert. They knew perfectly well that to get from Egypt to Canaan you head northeast up along the coast. But Moses led them southeast into the wilderness.

Somehow he knew that they needed some serious time of rebuilding if they were truly to come together as a nation.
- Having just come through an excruciating period of slavery and abuse, they needed an extended retreat before leaping forward into an uncertain future.
- They needed to reclaim their identity as children of God before they could forge themselves into a united people. That was Moses’ job with them in the desert. He is the archetypal priest-in-charge.

So Moses led them by stages to the Promised Land.
- They broke some of the rules along the way. They discovered that being on the outs with God made them anxious and even miserable.

A rabbi colleague once told me that the Hebrew word “Torah,” which we translate as “law” does mean law in the sense that we usually understand. It would be better translated as “teaching.”
- Starting even with St. Paul, Christians made Torah sound rigid – what we do mean by law - so that the grace of Jesus would be all the more apparent.
- But how might Torah have made sense at the time?

To help themselves stay closer to God, the Hebrews did recall how God had led them out of bondage, and they tried to stay away from idols, things they had thought up themselves as if they could make them happy and content.

In their better moments they understood that actually knowing the name of God, I AM, was a sign that they had a relationship with God that should not be treated casually. They tried to treat God’s name with respect.

They discovered other things: taking a real day off each week reminded them that they were more than their job descriptions.
- they learned that treating their parents well protected their own place in the procession of time.
- they somehow knew that killing each other was a bad idea. Life, while abundant, is still a limited resource.

Some even learned that messing around with marriage vows was a bad plan. It seemed that sticking with one person, working through conflicts and hard times, was the best chance they had for actually growing up.

Stealing and making false promises caused painful fractures in the community.
- And they did sense that being jealous of what others had simply drew them into a morass of self-pity and resentment.

They only needed these ten fairly comprehensive but terse rules to make it all work.

It turned out that the Covenant that Moses brought down from the mountain was not a bunch of arbitrary rules designed to make life hard.
- It was a gift that made life more gracious.

They discovered that the “IF” of God’s promise was not God being stingy. It was just a reminder of what to look out for.
- Both as community and as individuals, they functioned better when they paid attention to the teachings that Moses had received from God.

So hear God’s promise, first to Abraham, reaffirmed through Moses, echoing down the ages so that it is now addressed directly to us: “Out of all the peoples of the earth, you are my treasured possession.”

And that’s both Torah and the Gospel truth. AMEN.

Sermon for June 8, 2008

Genesis 12:1-9 June 8th 2008

12 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and invoked the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.


In the Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. Amen.


The problem with the way most of us hear scripture is that we hear it in little excerpts of just a few verses. On Sunday mornings we are given no context. This morning’s introduction of Abraham and Sarah is a case in point.
- The saga of these people is too great and too important to be heard in snippets, nine verses at a time. Abraham was a huge character who deserves a bigger stage, whose story needs to be told in a bigger sweep than any one lesson can contain.... so we’ll look beyond this morning’s text to reach a fuller understanding... I am grateful to my colleague Barbara Taylor for the way she tells a tale.

The people at the center of this story we know best as Abraham and Sarah, but as the story opens they are Abram and Sarai. We’ll get to how their names were changed in a few minutes.

In the story we just heard about Abram, this is the first time the old patriarch had actually heard the voice of God. Abram was 75 years old and he had traipsed up from Babylon into Syria with his father’s clan and with his own wife Sarai.

Then we are told that the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

And when they got to Canaan, God added, “To your offspring I will give this land.”

Now on the face of it - as we might casually hear it - that’s pretty neat. Abram’s kids are going to inherit quite an estate.
- The problem is that all we know about Abram and Sarai as this story opens is that Sarai is barren. No children. And that was about the worst thing that could happen to a couple in those days. To make matters worse, Abram was 75 while Sarai was 66. The prospects weren’t good; nonetheless, Abram built an altar in thanksgiving for the promise. And he began to hope.

Taking the story of Abram and Sarai beyond this morning’s reading, God popped up every few years and reiterated the promise. “To your descendants I will give this land.”
- But there was the same problem: no descendants.

Then there was a famine in the land so Abram’s household moved to Egypt which always had plenty of grain.

In Egypt, Abram didn’t show the best of his character. The Genesis writer tells us that Sarai was very beautiful and Abram was afraid that the Egyptians would kill him in order to claim Sarai, even though she was in her 70s. So Abram said she was his sister, at which point Pharaoh claimed her as a concubine. In return, Abram got status and servants and became rich. There is an unflattering term for men who do what Abram did.

Somehow when Pharaoh learned that he had been tricked he just kicked Abram and Sarai out when he really had just cause to kill Abram. But that would have spoiled the plot.

So Abram and his household returned to Canaan with his nephew Lot and his tribe. After arguments broke out between Abram’s herders and Lot’s herders, in order to avoid a blood feud they agreed to part company. Lot took his family into the land East of the Jordan River while Abram stayed in the hills to the West.

But still there was no child. They were 87 and 78 yet still there was no clear sign that God was going to keep the promise. So Sarai convinced Abram that he should hedge his bets. “Have a child with my servant Hagar,” Sarai suggested. So he did and the result was a son named Ishmael.

This is the first instance in the bible of a blended family, and it didn’t work too well. Sarai was jealous and Hagar was kind of smug. The years rolled by and it must have been difficult for everybody. Hagar feeling that she was not getting the respect she deserved, Sarai feeling like a failure.
Ishmael as an adolescent knowing he is viewed as second best, even though he is the heir apparent. And there was Abram. Abram who would go out into the sky bright night hoping to hear that voice again. Hoping to hear some detail of how things would unfold.

“What’s up?” Sarai would ask. “Nothing,” he’d reply, as he chewed on a stem of sage grass.

And then when Abram was 99 while Sarai was a spring chicken of only 90, the voice came again.

“I am God Almighty,” God said, though what he actually said was in Hebrew: “I am El Shaddai.”
- That was rather important. God had told Abram his name, El Shaddai. A few hundred years later he’d use a different name when he introduces himself to Moses. Then the name will be Yahweh. But for Abram it was El Shaddai. And El Shaddai said to Abram something that might sound like a small thing to us but it was a big deal to the patriarch. “You shall no longer be called Abram” God said. “Instead you will be called Abraham,” which means “father of a multitude.”

Throughout scripture people are given new names and it always signifies a changed relationship. God seems to be moving into a higher gear.
- “And your wife will no longer be Sarai but will be Sarah,” God adds. Than means “princess.”

That was a bit of a puzzle still, because Sarah was still childless, even with the new name.
- The puzzle seems just to be extended when three messengers come, apparently from God, and inform the couple that they are going to have a son. Abraham seems to have laughed in renewed hope while Sarah laughed in derision. She was, after all, as scripture tells us, “past the age of child bearing.”
- But it’s still all promise and no action. Sarah is yet to wake up sick one morning and realize that she has something important to tell her husband.

As you might understand, the mood in the camp was not always easy. Hagar apparently became rather snippy and refused to address “Princess” by her new name. Abraham's name of “Father of a Multitude” seemed like a cruel joke to everybody who loved him and like crazy arrogance to everybody else.

There are a few more memorable stories in the Abraham saga, like the departure of Hagar and Ishmael and when the patriarch almost killed the son he had only waited a century to get. And there was the incident at Sodom and Gomorra. But they will hold for other sermons.

Starting with this morning’s reading and extending for twenty-four years, all that Abraham and Sarah had to go on was a series of promises the realization of which only seemed to get less and less likely.
- But still they lived with hope.

That must have been really hard. It maybe feel a bit dumb to allow yourself to be that gullible.

What this whole story tells us is that it’s a hard thing to live by a promise - live by it day in and month out, year by year to be reminded of it by the night sky and by the murmur of your lover by your side and even by your own name that was given to you in a special moment.

It is hard to believe in a promise that you cannot make come true. You simply cannot wrap up this particular train set on behalf of Santa Claus.

Everything is future tense. Whenever God speaks, all the blessings are yet to come. You will receive the land; you will have a son; the world will be blessed through you. So what is there to live on right now we might ask.

Well, where might we look for such food for the spirit? What better way is there to live than to be shaped by a promise, and a divine one at that?
- This story is telling us that that’s a pretty good way to begin a day - wondering what foretaste of the promise might be waiting nearby.
- And so, we latter day Abrahams and Sarahs do not live with wistful backward glances, nor are we to complain about any present dysfunction. God calls us to look forward with hope.
- That is what we are called to here at Emmanuel Church. Whatever we know of old disappointments and present disagreements pails next to the promise that we are bound for glory.
- A couple of weeks ago Michael Summers joked about a plot he was hatching to make Emmanuel Parish, Keyser into the flagship parish of a revitalized Anglican Communion. That might be a little over the top, but it’s the right direction.
- Our task, it seems to me, is to set a course and then let God set the timetable.
- A life lived with such a focus could relax into appreciating every day as it passes. Every encounter, each moment, is a seed that can be nurtured to bear fruit - and it is all promise. The world itself is the voice of God, inviting us to live with hope, to be awake to the possibilities and to know that everything echoes the heartbeat of God, that everything is holy.

That is what Abraham and Sarah learned. For twenty-four years they lived with a hope that hung precariously from a promise from God. For a quarter of a century they tended their flocks, moved through famine and wealth, deception and mercy, family alienation and the sweet gentleness of old age, always with an awareness of God’s promise leading them forward. And apparently they enjoyed each other as husband and wife.

Then one spring morning as Abraham neared his 100th birthday and Sarah was 90, she awoke to a new queeziness in her belly. Her husband who had come in the previous night from gazing up into the countless stars as he often did, was sleeping softly beside her.
- She shook him gently. “Abraham,” she said. “I have something to tell you.”

Blessing of the New Votive Stand...

Bishop Martin Townsend, Priest-in-Charge of Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Keyser, blesses the new Votive Stand. The Votive Stand was custom-designed and crafted by Mr. Kenneth Dolechek, a local woodworker who lives in Keyser.

The Vine Newsletter (June 2008)

REMEMBERING JERRY SHAVER:

I met Jerry about 7 years ago. He was a tall, good looking man with an easy smile and wink. He had piercing eyes that I was convinced could see the inside of your soul. He had the ability to sense when life was not as you wanted it or when life was bubbling over in joy. For either of those times he was there and wanted to be a part of both. Jerry was a man to whom you could tell your inner thoughts and did not question or judge you, nor did I ever have a fear that these things would be shared with anyone else. He guarded his friendships. He respected his friends.

What did I learn from Jerry? Important lessons I hope to carry forth in my life and hopefully pass on to others. One day I was so upset with the world (ok, maybe more with myself than the world) and I am shaking my finger at him, not even realizing I was doing it. He gently held my hand and closed the shaking finger and looked into my eyes – we both began laughing over my anger. The lesson learned was a way of teaching through gentle guiding and kindness -- a way to quiet the soul rather than stir the anger. A lesson I will never forget.

Jerry had a wealth of knowledge, from religion to how to how to fix anything that I could break. Jerry and I served as joint Junior Wardens. Junior Wardens in the Episcopal Church take care of all maintenance of the church. When we took this job I don’t think either of us knew how much maintenance Emmanuel required! Even when Jerry was out of town, I would track him down and say, “Jerry, WE have a problem.” His reply was “Well, kid…” And we would go from there.

Jerry and I discussed religion quite a bit together. He loved the Episcopal Church and all it stood for. His faith was strong. Answers that he needed he looked for. He asked questions, he studied and read He knew when to search and when to quietly wait for the answers to come from above. He was a man comfortable with his God. There is no doubt that our Jerry is now surrounded by his family, friends and Lord and he is looking down on us with a smile and wink...saying “I am here, I am fine and I will see you when it is your time. Until then ... smile, laugh, and lend a helping hand. Fight for your causes, help those that come in your path. For each is sent to us for a purpose and a journey.”

Well, my dear friend, I love you and I treasure all my memories and what I have gained through our time together.

In loving memory,

Kim Pifer
June 03, 2008




CROSS ROADS:

It was about eight years ago that Barbara and I decided to make Mineral County our permanent home. Back then we anticipated that I would be retired by 2005 or so. We had been building our vacation home near Fort Ashby for many years, but it now needed some upgrading for year-round occupation.

In 1973 we built a vacation home that was cozy for us and our two children. But then we had a third child and the place got just a little cozier. By 1982 our family enjoyed going there so much that we decided to make a major addition. I had a sabbatical, so for five months Barbara and I worked from dawn until dust, six days a week, building a massive stone addition. The stone part was not really attached to the original house, but was rather very close, connected by a passageway. Our children all worked along side of us. At the end of that time, from moving about 120 tons of stone and mixing about 100 tons of concrete, we all were as lean and muscular as we have ever been.

Over the years memories had been made and additions and refinements had been added in a somewhat higgledy-piggledy fashion. We have used Shepherd’s Croft for our own vacations but also for church retreats and staff planning sessions. It is a peaceful place where people have often been deeply aware of God’s presence. Several years ago when we decided that we would retire there, we knew some special work would be required. Better insulation and a heating system. Major renovation of existing space and creation of new areas for traffic flow and all season living.

So we did something we’d never done before. We hired an architect to help us figure out what we wanted and how best to help it happen. We were no longer just playing on our vacations but actually planning for our long-term future. We looked at the way we lived and how we anticipated living in the next stage of our life. We had a ball just doing the dreaming and planning. We were dealing not only with the intangibles of our future hopes but also with the stone and mortar realities of two very different buildings that we now wanted to harmonize and expand. The architect understood our hopes and although we ended up not using his plans, he helped us dream big as we developed our own plans.

Then we had to put the project out to bid. One contractor scratched and shook his head in disbelief. One didn’t even return our phone call. And one, Dan, said he’d do it but he couldn’t give us a price. It would have to be time and materials, otherwise, he explained, he’d have to charge us way too much to cover his own risks. Dan wore a cap that had “JESUS” emblazoned on the front. The front of his truck proclaims, “Thanks be to God.” He was pleased that I am a preacher. So after some discussion we shook hands on the deal, having only an impression and high hopes about how much work we could actually get done on our budget.

Since I was working full-time in Cincinnati, Barbara was the overseer of construction. Rather than being in the thick of all the decisions that had to be made – where to bury the propane tank, at what height should a window be placed – I had to be satisfied with telephone reports and occasional visits. Happily, a Godly spirit seemed to guide us through all the changes. Dan and his crew were not only fair, but were hard working and imaginative too, with never a bad word or cross look on the work site.

The project was completed nearly on time and almost within budget. We were delighted with the way our vacation cabin had been transformed into a home we continue to love. Since that major renovation, we have added a garage with a guest apartment above it. Three Amish carpenters built us a beautiful gazebo. We continue to work on our home right up to the present moment with me, this week, building a new deck off our dining room. We anticipate that this is a life-long project that will continue to invite our creativity and energy.

I am sure there is a parable in all of this for our parish life. Planning for the future, hiring the right consultants and contractors, having to trust what is happening even when we cannot see the tangible results, getting occasional bulletins that help us believe that there really is a future out there somewhere. That seems to be the likely story that will unfold for Emmanuel in the coming couple of years. My hope is that I will be with you throughout this transition and beyond. I will pray for our deepened awareness of God’s presence.

For the summer, we have some plans that are described in the article Sunday Mornings in this edition of The Vine. I look forward to knowing the parish community better.

In Christ,

+Martin Townsend




SUNDAY MORNINGS:

After some hospital and nursing home visits, several meetings, and only two Sundays with you, the people of Emmanuel Church, I am forming some tentative impressions. Most apparent to me is that this is a community that has “welcome” as a guiding principal. I love the presence of so many young people who obviously feel at home here. And thank you all for the kind way in which you have invited Barbara and me into your lives. I am greatly looking forward to our time together.

In some of the meetings that I have had with Vestry and others, it is apparent that the parish leadership has been working very hard during the interim time with Mother Joyce since Fr. Joe Mackov left seventeen months ago. (Fr. Joe and I were friends with each other years ago when we were both young priests in the Diocese of Washington.) There is a consensus that the leadership people need a break, so we can relax a little during the summer and not crank up a whole lot of programming. We will restart the midweek Eucharist and a daytime Bible Study in September.

In the mean time, we do have a Sunday morning schedule that invites education in the 9 o’clock hour. Sharon Floyd, ever faithful, will continue to have Sunday School for the very young throughout the summer. Below is what I plan to do from 9:10 until 9:45 a.m. for adults, including high school students, in the parish hall.

June 8th How Does Scripture Mean?
- the difference between fact and truth

June 15th The Hebrew Scriptures
- the early history of God

June 22nd The New Testament
- remember that God is human too

June 29th The Early Church
- Jesus gets institutionalized

July 6, 13, 20th BREAK

July 27th Why I Love the Episcopal Church
- balance in an out-of-kilter world

August 3rd Questions that You’ve Always Had About the Episcopal Church
- but were afraid to ask

August 10th BREAK

August 17th Report from The Lambeth Conference*
- see the brief description below

August 24th Questions that Have Arisen During the Summer
- no taboo topics

Each of these sessions is designed to stand alone, so please come if you can only make a few of them. I suggest that we gather for coffee around 9 o’clock and be seated for the program by 9:10. My style of lecturing encourages questions and discussion.

Also during the summer I hope to get to know the parish. If you would like me to visit you in your home, please let me know by calling the Parish Office. If you are unable to come to church, I’d be happy to bring you communion. Our parish secretary, June, will be in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. My regular days in the office and making calls will be Tuesday and Wednesday.

Blessings on your summer.

+Martin Townsend


*The Lambeth Conference

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - Monday, August 04, 2008
Location: Canterbury, England

The Lambeth Conference, one of the gathering points (technically called an “Instrument of Communion”) for the global Anglican Communion, will be held July 16-August 4 in Canterbury, England. It is convened every 10 years at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury and is an opportunity for the Anglican Communion's bishops to meet for worship, study and conversation. Archbishops, bishops, assistant and suffragan bishops within the Communion are invited. Also invited to attend are bishops from other churches 'in communion' with the Anglican Communion, bishops from United Churches, along with a number of ecumenical guests. (I attended the last Lambeth Conference in 1998 – MGT)

In addition to the more than 800 bishops who attend, their spouses are invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury's wife to a parallel gathering: the Spouses Conference.
For further information visit: http://www.lambethconference.org






“THE WAR DEPARTMENT”:

By David Rankin, Music Director

A choral director of my acquaintance once referred to her church choir as "the war department."
Musical preferences seem to evoke strong emotions. During the past couple of decades, a great deal of ink has been spilled over the so-called "worship wars," pitting proponents of "traditional" against those of "contemporary" worship and music. There's no point in taking sides, since both make valid points, and both labor under false assumptions as well. If you really want to get inside the topic, check out Trouble at the Table: Gathering the Tribes for Worship, by Carol Doran and Thomas Troeger, and Reaching Out without Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn. I have both books, and will gladly loan them out.
Traditional and contemporary styles in Christian worship have always been blended. The Apostles themselves continued to worship in synagogue and temple, singing the "traditional" songs from the book of Psalms and other Hebrew scripture. Indeed, some of the tunes Jesus might have sung are in our Hymnal! The plainchant setting of the Lord's Prayer (S119), for instance, is supposed to be derived from the synagogue cantillation for the book of Zechariah, and every good Jewish boy (as presumably our Lord was) would have learnt it and sung it in synagogue occasionally. Very soon, though, Christians began composing their own "contemporary" hymns, some of which are dispersed through the New Testament (Ephesians 5:14 and I Timothy: 3-16, for instance, and throughout the book of Revelation).
It is an intentional choice to continue this practice at Emmanuel Church, for several reasons:
o The "meat and potatoes" (or should that be "fruit and vegetables") of our musical diet, from the Hymnal 1982, represent the fruit of centuries of culling and pruning, and provide strong spiritual sustenance;
o Our congregation is incredibly diverse in experience, despite outward appearance. We have former enthusiastic Pentecostals, Baptists, Methodists, dour Calvinists, Atheists, Roman Catholics, eccentric Orthodox, the occasional cradle Anglican, and only our Lord knows who else, who all know different songs, and who each have an expectation that Church will "sound" a certain way;
o We are blessed by the presence of children and young adults, who need music to channel their energy and nourish their souls, and who are incredibly open, not locked into any one style of music as their elders might think (nor as their elders are!), but willing to learn chant, Baroque anthems, Peterkin songs, and Christian rock with equal enthusiasm;
o Most importantly, we all need the chance to listen to and sing each others' songs. It isn't always the easiest. It takes courage. It takes patience. Honoring each other in this way is part and parcel of how our Lord wants us to be together.
The two paragraphs below appear on our church website. I thought it would be good to share them with the readers of this newsletter as well:
"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3.14-17
On any Sunday, you may find the ten o'clock congregation singing great hymns of the faith from the Hymnal 1982, gospel songs from Lift Every Voice and Sing II, simple refrains from Taizé, South African freedom songs, and unaccompanied plainsong. Harmony for us means blending our traditions, honoring each others' preferences, and sharing the abundant diversity of Anglican worship and song in a spirit of unity and gratitude to God our Father.
Music is a place where mind and heart meet in intimate harmony. It is a place, where, because it integrates mind and heart, healing can begin.




QUESTIONS (A POEM):

[Editor’s Note: This poem was written composed by John D’Elisa, whom we deeply miss. It originally appeared in the Spring 2006 edition of The Vine, but I felt it was appropriate to run it again in memory of a truly wonderful man and a friend to us all. I doubt any of us can forget his vivacity and his profound relationship with Jesus Christ.]


How know we Lord, from where to go?
How know we that our lives might grow
a glimmer, yea a spark, of the true love
which preachers do extol amidst the Sunday show?
How is it that I fear my very self; the nature in me that is quick to err?
May not I cast away that which is loath in me and keep that only which is fair?
Where may I seek to fill this void in me?
How can I find some peace; what is my lot?
How may I be a better person, helping others?
Can I yet change my life to be what I am not?
I may not know the answers to these questions.
But I need not fear the future; nor know what horrors or what pleasures I may see.
I only know, through faith, that I must walk this path of life, and hearken to Him who bids us, “Follow me.”
~John D’Elisa, 2006




NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

Hopefully you've noticed that The Vine Newsletter has a far more professional appearance this time around, especially with the beautiful logo on the front page and the information at the bottom of each page. These elements were specially designed for Emmanuel Church by a very dear friend of mine, a brilliantly skilled graphic artist named Erin Coslett-McBride. Erin lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and young daughter (who, by the way, just celebrated her first birthday). She was also responsible for creating the exceptional line drawing of Emmanuel Church (that includes the new Parish Hall) that greets all visitors to our official website. In case you haven't seen this, here it is:



I'd also like to take this opportunity to extend my great appreciation to Nancy Marshall as well, since she has brought incredible beauty to our church with her peerless stained glass designs; she also performs the important task of maintaining the beauty of the church by cleaning it. That can't be an easy job yet she does so very thoroughly and with a great smile.

Once again I'll make my plea (which is quickly becoming a mantra) to you for more material to keep our little newsletter going. Please consider contributing some articles, recipes, poems, book reviews, photographs -- anything that would make The Vine more interesting -- because Bishop Martin, Kim Pifer, David Rankin and I can only do just so much. You may submit materials to June Cooper (the kindly Parish Secretary), or if you're technologically inclined, feel free to send them directly to me via email. My email address is shakjula@mindspring.com.

And there's a bit of semi-exciting news! We've created a special "blog" (short for "web log", which is essentially an on-line journal in case you were wondering) for all of the sermons, newsletters, press releases, and other things that come from Emmanuel Church. It is connected to our main website, but it's much easier and faster to update. If you'd like to view these items (especially to re-read Bishop Martin's sermons) without going through the main site, the direct address is http://emmanuelepiscopalchurchwv.blogspot.com/.

In the months to come, I'm hoping to bring more information into The Vine about our most important resource -- YOU. I'll be contacting individuals so that we can work on a "Getting To Know You" section, where the readers of this newsletter can learn more about the various personalities who make Emmanuel Church the beautiful, loving community it is.

At the end of The Vine, you'll notice that there's a coloring page for people to color/paint/decorate in an extravagant manner. It's included for the children of our parish, but frankly there's nothing preventing those of us with the inclination to whip out the crayons for a bit of fun.




DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LAMBETH CONFERENCE:

In a letter to the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has called for a day of prayer for the Lambeth Conference.
June 4, 2008
To the people of The Episcopal Church:
As we move toward a great gathering of bishops from across the Anglican Communion, I call this whole Church to a Day of Prayer on 22 June. The Lambeth Conference represents one important way of building connections and relationships between churches in vastly different contexts, and reminding us of the varied nature of the Body of Christ. I would bid your prayers for openness of spirit, vulnerability of heart, and eagerness of mind, that we might all learn to see the Spirit at work in the other. I bid your prayers for a peaceful spirit, a lessening of tension, and a real willingness to work together for the good of God’s whole creation.
As many of you know, the Anglican Communion is one of the largest networks of human connection in the world. Churches are to be found beyond the ends of paved or dirt roads, ministering to and with people in isolated and difficult situations. That far-flung network is the result, in part, of seeds planted by a colonial missionary history. The fruit that has resulted is diverse and local, and indeed, unpalatable to some in other parts of the world. Our task at the Lambeth Conference is to engage that diverse harvest, discover its blessings and challenges, and commit ourselves to the future of this network. We must begin to examine the fruit of our colonial history, in a transparent way and with great humility, if we are ever going to heal the wounds of the past, which continue into the present. With God’s help, that is possible. I ask your prayers. I can think of no better starting place than the prayer for the Church (BCP p 515):

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

I remain
Your servant in Christ,
+Katharine Jefferts Schori




WISDOM FROM THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH:

From St. Cyril of Jerusalem's Lectures on the Christian Sacraments:

Therefore with fullest assurance let us partake as of the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to thee His Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that thou by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, mightest be made of the same body and the same blood with Him. For thus we come to bear Christ in us, because His Body and Blood are diffused through our members; thus it is that, according to the blessed Peter, we become partakers of the divine nature. [2 Peter 1:4]





RECIPE OF THE MONTH:

Beef Stew

This recipe came from Al and Sarah Crall, and it has been enjoyed by many of us at the Sunday Brunch following the 10 o'clock Holy Eucharist.

Preparation time:

20 minutes (ready in 10 hours, 20 minutes). Yield: 5 (1 1/2 cup) servings. I have not tried this crock pot recipe yet but modified it for the stove top version served at Coffee Hour.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 3/4 inch pieces (I will use chuck or cheaper)
4 medium carrots cut into 1/2 inch slices
3 medium red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups vegetable juice cocktail
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
3 teaspoons beef flavor instant bouillon
1/4 teaspoon pepper


Method:

1. In 3 1/2 to 4-quart slow cooker, combine all ingredients; mix well.

2. Cover; cook on low setting for 9 to 10 hours.

Kitchen Tip: For food safety reasons, recipes made in a slow cooker need to reach a safe cooking temperature (140 degrees F.) within 3 hours. That's why it isn't a good idea to assemble ingredients and refrigerate them or use frozen ingredients. It's also hard for the cooker to regain its temperature when you remove the lid, so avoid peeking until the cooking time is nearly over. No stirring is necessary while this stew cooks.

Notes:

I adapted the recipe for the stovetop preparation in the following ways:

1. I omitted the tapioca and instead used corn starch (mixed with small amounts of cold water) at the end of the cooking.

2. I browned the beef and onions. (I will probably brown the beef when I use the crock pot because it seals in the juices and prevents the formation of granules in the juices.

3. I quadrupled the recipe.

4. I thoroughly scrubbed the potatoes and removed all eyes and any bad spots and I peeled the carrots.

5. I used sirloin.

Recipe adapted from Pillsbury Doughboy Family Pleasing Recipes. Clarkson Potter. New York, 2001. Page 74.





NEW NATIONAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN:

David Rankin brought this new initiative to our attention, and it really does capture a bit of the Episcopal Church we have all experienced. Here's the sample advertisement that will appear in newspapers across the United States:



There is also an accompanying television advertisement, which you may view by visiting www.putyourfaithtowork.org.

Impromptu Jam Session...

It's after the Sunday Brunch and it's 98 degrees outside the church, so what are you gonna do? Whip out the guitars and sing, of course! Pictured are Andrew Rankin, Carla Miller, Codi Gourlay, and Mike Miller.
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