This would be a justifying realism for the recent departure of 500 Presbyterian (USA) congregations into a new denomination named ECO:  Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians.   A press release is here, and from the Presbyterian periodical Layman, here.

Ortberg is quoted further,   “the goal is to build a spiritual ecosystem that in turn builds flourishing churches that make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

The realism applied is correct.  And this is in fact the basis of any modern church growth and development solution and strategy, whether denominationally applied (denominational leaders analysis of local congregations), or with such globally researched and applied strategies as NCD.   That is, what is the context, what is the system, is it healthy, if not what needs to be done to make it so.

ECO of Presbyterians is the latest to make it clear they believe the “spiritual ecosystem” defined as The Presbyterian Church (USA) is an unhealthy [ecosystem] because it is unbiblical, and therefore off-mission, off-purpose.   Their decision collectively is that the spiritual ecosystem of PC USA cannot grow healthy organisms.    The list of mainline departing groups having made the same decision is now second nature info to the media and to the mainline communities.

The question for those individual clergy and congregations who are otherwise soul-mates to those newly organized ecosystems made up of mainline nurtured Christians is whether their divine inspiration to remain in those mainline denominations is the Holy Spirit saying that such biblically healthy spiritual ecosystems can be maintained and grown within the failing ecosystem.

My personal call through the Holy Spirit is to be an Episcopal priest, and the parish I serve chose to continue to be an Episcopal parish.   It is assumption to believe that the internal ecosystem argument (like a church within the church) is why the Holy Spirit has caused me to remain.   There may be some other reason:  martyrdom, witness, testimony, change agent, etc.   So let’s not assume.

But the argument of creating an interior ecosystem (rather than just hoping the unhealthy one will just fade away) is compelling, and worth the prayer effort and discussion effort.   I am up for that, as are so many others within the mainline denominations that also have discovered God’s call “to be.”   Aside from that intrigue and hopefulness, I do also believe there is a pendulum, and that it is swinging slowly, and that was is left of the mainline denominations will be more conservative than liberal in terms of biblical authority faithfulness by 2040.  About the time I am dead.

Here is what I am sure of:  I am seeing the grace of God working in the lives of people through the Spirit gifted ministries, and the otherwise grace filled ministries in this parish.   And so we will continue to make use of what God is giving to us for the building up of His Kingdom, which we understand will not necessarily mean the building up of the denomination to which we belong.

This section of Psalm 31, which was read recently in the Daily Office, affirms the idea and the true reality which gives validity to the science of economy and systems  — but only because “through Him all things were made”.   That is, God will manifest Himself within and/or without any church organization or organism even if it is dying:

²¹ Praise be to the Lord,
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
²² In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.

Who will join me in making the cry for mercy, holding to the promise of God that He will hear, and show us the wonders of His love.

What cowardice on the part of a (mostly white, probably) Lectionary revision committee.

Of course, at some point in a few years there will be no voice of comparison.  That is, all BCP’s being newly printed will only have “The Lectionary”, and there will be no note of what was before for comparision’s sake.  It is not a problem with what is in place of 17-23 (which is 1 Corinthians 7:29-31).  But the withdrawal especially of 21-23 just seems such blatant cowardice.   What a wonderful opportunity to talk about Christian stewardship, and the changing of attitudes and laws without losing the validity of God’s Word.

Amazing, eh?

But what will seem to always raise questions will be the reading from Jonah for Epiphany 3, Year B (the Old Testament companion to 1 Corinthians 7:17-23).  If you will notice, vv 6 thru 9 are listed as excised.  The lectionary calls for Jonah 3:1-5, 10.  What happened?  Did PETA pay off somebody on the Revised Lectionary committee?  You read it, and try to explain why it is not formally included.   But you see that because the lection is listed with a noted skip from vs 5 to 10, printed right into the lectionary pages, curious minds will read and begin asking the curious question, “Why should these vv be left out?”    Thus the controversy will be engaged as long as the RCL is not edited.  That was smart, eh?

As for me and my congregation, we will add in the missing verses, as the rubrics for the lections allow.   There really is no rational reason to not read them, and so they should be read.   They include the important response by the king and people of Ninevah to the call to repent.

I feel sorry for those sitting in mainline denomination pews (those who use the RCL) who will have scripture inserts that only include the scripture text as outlined from the lectionary.  Such powerful momentum is difficult to change:  the parish has paid for the inserts, and to not use them, or not use them AND make up a new insert with expanded text, will be seen as poor stewardship.   If the missing verses ARE included in the reading by the Lector, then time from the liturgy will have to be taken to explain that certain verses will be included.  Or if included in the sermon somehow, then the same explanation will be made, perhaps a reference to a pew bible page, if such exist, and more time to allow for congregants to find and review.  Just a whole lot easier to not mention them at all, right?

And unfortunately and tragically, that is just the tip of the iceberg, isn’t it.   These remarkable excises need to be challenged, and returned to the Lectionary.   There really is no reason for the Old Testament lection not to be Jonah 3:1-10, and for the Epistle not to be 1 Corinthians 7:17-31.  If only for the sake of – what? -  biblical transparency?  You would think that proclaiming the message of The Light of the World would not mean hiding bible verses.

Lord, have mercy.

The process I use for developing a prayer is consistent with the prayer and healing ministry we use in the parish, and for which gifted individuals are trained.  The question asked is, “How shall we pray for you?”, and in this case is asked while in prayer as such:  “Lord, how do you want me to pray for the hospital board this month?”  The answer to that question offered in prayer is then the focus of some introductory comments, and then the prayer itself.

This month I discerned the need to pray for “clarity of communication.”  Not just being communicative (I’ve prayed that one, too, over them), but clear communication.   Sometime the next day or so, I found a wonderful and humorous illustration.   Looking for an optional phone number for the doctor who is the current president of the board, I ran across one of these internet pagemarkers for doctors that I thought had some helpful information (there are maybe 20 to 30 of these web companies who list information on doctors, complete with opportunity for “reviews” — the real reason they are in business, of course, is for advertising revenue).    On this particular webpage my eye caught the word “Gender”, I suppose to be helpful if someone wanted a gender specific doctor.  However, in this case the resource webpage got it wrong.    The doctor is a male, and the webpage had him listed as “Gender:    Female.”

I took a copy of the webpage over to his office and left it for his office manager to deal with.   That was last week.  Today, just before the meeting I went online to see if anything had changed, and indeed the webpage now proclaimed that Dr. _____  “is a male doctor with 29 years experience.”   Okay, then.

Still, I’ve had lots of experience doing web searches where the same info gets repeated (probably without permission) over and over from an original source to many different websites.    So I did a quick search and found another one of these doctor info webpages and our Dr. was once again identified as “Gender:  female.”

I went to the Board meeting, and having been beckoned forward to offer a prayer, I started by saying that I have had lots of experience with being both a board member and board officer, and found many times where the minutes or just further conversation told me that what was said at one meeting had not been clearly understood or articulated, and that this was of critical importance, and that unclear communication can actually affect the identity of the institution.

I continued by saying that as an example of getting communication correct, if one were to go on the internet to find some information about your board president you might find this…..  and then I shared the above about the webpages, holding up printed off copies.   Of course, there was some polite laughter, and the board president was helpful at that moment by putting his head in his hands and shaking his head.

Then I said,  “I’d like to pray today for the board to have the blessing of clarity of communication in all they do.”    And then I prayed:

“Almighty God,

You are the author of Peace (pause);

You are the author of Truth,

You are the author of Clarity.

Let Your paths of Peace, Truth and Clarity be now upon this Board,

and upon all involved in this meeting today.

so that what is said is heard,

what is heard is clear,

that the Mission of this Medical Center is furthered for the benefit of all in this community.

I pray this in the name of my Lord, Jesus Christ.     Amen.”

Once the prayer is over, I usually get a perfunctory thank-you, and then I go back to my seat and stay awhile.   I don’t like to do “drive by” prayers; I want to be there to let the witness of the intercessor be visible to help remind those attending of the prayer just uttered and help let it thus “settle in.”

However, today I did have to leave quickly.  But I did sit down just for a few minutes  as the meeting began with the minutes, etc., and then I quietly left.

It is a real honor to have been asked to lead these moments of blessing, and by most accounts it is a service that is well received, even by those professing other faiths who are present.

So here is a spiritual exercise of actual prayer and reflection that could be very useful to the impatient Christian.

Patience

 Ask God to show you the size and fullness of the box that He has you in

Ask God to make you understand that He wants you to stay in His box without cheating your way out

Ask God to keep you from becoming despondent or depressed when the box doesn’t open or expand

Ask God to keep you energized with the tasks you are to complete in the box

Ask God to remind you to allow God the time He wants or needs to open or expand the box

Ask God to show you all the adjustments to the box you can make

Ask God to show you clearly why the box is the size it is and how to endure its size

Ask God to cause you to keep pushing forward and seeing if the box will expand or open… not give up

 Ask God to deflect and strengthen you to resist temptation in the midst of the sameness

You can read it here.

The epistle from 1 Peter for this past 5th Sunday of Easter (Year A, RCL), reminds me of my Confirmation.

The bishop who administered the sacrament of Confirmation to me was the Suffragan Bishop of Oregon at that time, Hal Gross (may he Rest in Peace).  It was May of 1966, an evening service of Confirmation at St. Matthew’s, Eugene, when it was still in existence prior to its demolishing to allow an encircling freeway around Eugene (“The Beltline”).  The vicar was my father, The Rev. Don Eaton.   We spent some time in a 5th and 6th grader Confirmation class.  I seem to remember 9 to 12 kids in that class.

This year I am for the first time in a long time also teaching a 5th and 6th grader class for 4 boys.  We will be studying and praying and talking together for about 18 months.   One of the boys will be baptized on June 19th  this year.

Bishop Gross shared with us that night that his “Confirmation verse” for us from the bible, which he was using at all his Confirmations that year (a single sermon which was something of SOP in many parts of the Church), was “I obtained mercy.”  Having no idea what inspired him to use 1 Peter 2:10, I can see that his choice of verse indicates his preference for the KJV, rather than RSV:

2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

He preached his Confirmation sermon from there.  He also guaranteed that night that if any of us were to come up to him later, whether days or years later, and share that verse with him, he would remember the year he Confirmed us, and perhaps even the church where it took place.   I suppose if you preach one sermon so many times in one year, God bless him, you wouldn’t forget which year it was.

We were taught in the class, and by the bishop that night, to expect something to take place in the sacrament, not only through that sacrament, but also through the preceding sacrament of Baptism. After all, either “I have obtained..”, or “..now have obtained..” imply something already received. So I did obtain God’s mercy, and now will obtain God’s power for ministry.

I give thanks for the teaching, for the bishop, and for the Holy Spirit being willing to be given.   I did receive, as I also had obtained mercy for salvation through Jesus Christ.

I took the bishop seriously.  Later, I found out more as the Holy Spirit’s release came overflowing.   I also found out the truth as the Rev. Terry Fullam expressed it:

“When I was baptized, the Church prayed that I receive the Holy Spirit.  When I was confirmed, the Church prayed again that I’d receive the Spirit.  Likewise, when I was ordained a deacon and later a priest, the Church again prayed that I’d receive the Holy Spirit.

Well, now I have received the Holy Spirit.  And the Church doesn’t know what to do with me!”

Uh-huh.  Alleluia.  More of You.  May I be a vessel for the teaching, the catalyst to the sacraments, and for the realized expectation for all that the Lord has intended in the laying on of hands for the “baptism in the Spirit”, for the empowerment of the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ, accompanied in signs, wonders, and miracles.

Come, Holy Spirit.  Fill the hearts of your faithful,
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Rob Eaton+

As we frame the question, the prayers – or “collects” –  normally offered for the process of the selection of the bishop can be helpful, as they seem to provide two essentials:  asking God’s grace in Listening – presumably to God, and for assistance in making the right choice – as an individual, and often as a collective group.  The image seems to provide such a graphic summary. 

This is not the end of part one, but before continuing, let’s just see how important this issue may be by how many times the title picks up internet search hits.   And while we’re waiting to see, if anyone knows of any current booklets, addresses, articles, chapters in a book, a book itself, a video presentation, etc., appropriate to the subject – ancient or modern – please feel free to name them here in the comments section  (please include reference links).

“Almighty God, who in thy providence didst choose thy servant Patrick
to be the apostle of the Irish people, that the light of the Gospel might shine in their midst:
Grant that they and we may so walk in that light that we may come at last to the glory of thy presence. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.”

That older LF&F did not include an appointed psalter selection, so I went back to the BCP and used the Psalm 96 selection appointed for “A Missionary”.   As part of my short homily, I read the selection from St Patrick’s Confessions that is included in Atwell and Webber’s Celebrating the Saints.

I don’t press our small Altar Guild to make vesting changes of the paraments for any saints days where Holy Communion is scheduled.  So the altar was vested in Lenten purple.  I did pull out a “white” stole, however, made for me years ago which reflects the creation/agriculture base of the San Joaquin valley, which has a variety of hues of colors, including some purple, and quite a bit of GREENS.   I did not wear the purple chasuble the AG laid out for me in the sanctuary.

After some initial short conversation regarding the lessons and their appropriateness to the life of Patrick (which is our M.O. for the daily Morning Prayer at 7:15am) I made the connection between the apostolic ministry of Paul, which Paul has noted recently (if you follow the Daily Office) includes signs, wonders and miracles,  and the “extraordinary power” that Patrick makes note of in his memoir that followed his preaching and expansion of the Kingdom of God among the Irish.  Why indeed should there be any difference in how one notes such authentic ministry and marks of the Church whether it is 15 years between Jesus and Paul’s apostolic ministry, or the 350 years between Paul and Patrick’s apostolic ministry, or the 1650 years between Patrick and today?  We see such at St. John’s; for heaven’s sake, such can take place even in the mainline denominations.  And so it should.   And so our petition before God should in fact be that the ministry of the Good News (that Light being Jesus Christ himself), testified to by the power, the grace, of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed by the Prophets, and evidenced by Jesus, and continued and confirmed by Paul and Patrick, among so many others, is ours today.

I did a lot of research on Patrick for a seminary class (graduated in 1984) on the influence of monastic centers in Europe, especially with Hilary and Martin, but since most of my office is in boxes waiting for our new office extension to be built (I am currently set up in the parish hall), I can’t include it here.

So, this article from the Cultural Catholic website includes some of the usually missing historical info regarding his time and training in Europe.  It does have a couple of Roman Catholic devotional piety spins, but the trail is basically correct.   An interesting article which provides insight into some of the difficulties of trailing Patrick until his consecration is found here at CelticChristianity.org.

As well, it should be noted that Roman Catholic nomenclature is NOT noted for identifying the fact that the (Anglican) Church of Ireland Armagh cathedral is the site of Patrick’s cathedral there, and not the Roman Catholic cathedral of the same name across town.  There are some historical notes on the building, razing, rebuilding, burning, and rebuilding of that cathedral at the cathedral’s website:

Cathedral History

Building History

The Cathedral’s redacted blurb on Patrick (even they don’t mention how he got to be a bishop, which seems kind of critical)

Also, please note in the stained glass window above the artist’s rendition of the Bachall Isu, the Staff of Jesus, that Patrick carried.

Finally, James Kiefer’s take on the Patrick bio can be found at “The Lectionary” website, and the Calendar page he maintains for that website.

What you probably won’t hear is that Shahbaz Bhatti was a Christian,  part of the 1.5%  of 185 million Pakistanis who are.  And even if you hear that in a sound bite, I doubt very seriously if you will hear in news summaries the following statement included in the article from The Christian Post linked above, but for which you have to read much further down in the article to find:

“I want to make it clear that I am mindful that in the struggle to protect the religious freedom, the rights of minorities, and to raise the voice against the blasphemy law, I can be assassinated. I can be killed,” Bhatti had told CP in the February interview.

“But I will continue to follow the principles that I believe. I will continue to raise the voice of the voiceless. And I will not feel fear because of these threats because I follow Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us. So as a follower of Christ, my destiny is to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.”

If today you read in the daily lectionary from the Book of Common Prayer (1979), from page 950, the lesson from 2 Corinthians 11:21-33, you would find a shocking list of the sufferings of St Paul (I’ve linked to the entirety of Chapter 11 so you can read why he felt it necessary to present the litany of his trials and sufferings for the sake of Christ).

After reading that lesson we might ask in the 21st century, who would possibly have to suffer through such calamity – just to proclaim Jesus?!  Well, as it turns out, Christians in Pakistan who are willing to allow the name of Jesus fall from their lips within anyone’s earshot.

Paul was regularly brought to injury because he preached, taught, proclaimed and showed the power and name of Jesus.  And so did Cabinet member Bhatti, simply for witnessing and allowing his Christian faith direct his conscience and political priorities.  And let us not be naive — Shahbaz Bhatti was in fact murdered for being a Christian, and witnessing to it.

Absolutely horrendous.  How can we thus sympathetically compare today’s Moslem with today’s Christian?  For the sake of Pakistan, may there be another Shahbaz Bhatti, and another, and another…

Further reading: It turns out the same lesson was used in the UK this past Sunday as the epistle from their Sunday lectionary.  You can read a weblog post by “Cranmer’s Curate” here highlighting the same sufferings of Paul.

[hat tip to Anglicans Ablaze]