Pastor Dawn and Pastor Tom Doherty’s All Saints’ Sunday sermon included stories from the congregation celebrating the saints in their lives. Be sure to listen to the Hymn of the Day that follows the sermon: “We Come to Tell Our Stories” with new words by Jann Aldredge-Clanton to an old familiar tune (HANKEY by William E. Fischer – I Love to Tell the Story).
click here to see an earlier post about Jann Aldredge-Clanton
All Saints’ Day is a day for remembering. The word saint simply means “holy”. In the New Testament, all those who believe and were baptized were referred to as saints. It wasn’t until round about the third century that the church began using the word saint to refer to those who had been martyred for the faith. Over time these martyred saints were held up for veneration and people used to pray to them to intercede on their behalf. I’m not going to go into all of the institutional abuses that led Martin Luther and the later reformers to abolish the veneration of the saints. Except to say, that while the Reformation put an end to the veneration of the saints in the protestant churches, it did not abolish the concept of sainthood.
Within the mainline protestant denominations, we use the term in much the same way as it was used in the New Testament to describe the faithful. We talk about the communion of saints to describe all the faithful who have gone before us who now rest in God, together with all the living who walk in faith. So today as we celebrate the saints, we give thanks for all the faithful those living and those who have gone before us.
Today, I remember and rejoice as I give thanks and praise to God for the witness of St. Joyce of Belfast. St. Joyce who in her own way taught her children to love God and to pray always. And so today, I give thanks and praise to God for the life and witness of St. Joyce of Belfast, my Mom, who was the first to teach me the Lord’s Prayer, and who puts flesh on Christ’s command that we love our neighbours as we love ourselves.
Today I remember and give thanks for the life and witness of St. John of Wales, whose life in the church as a choir-boy was followed by long years of self-exile and whose keen wit and lack of patience with hypocrisy instilled in me a desire for honesty and integrity in the articulation and living of the faith. I give thanks for St. John, my Dad, whose open heart has stretched his discerning mind and enabled many to see the humour in this God-given life we live.
Today, I remember and rejoice as I give thanks and praise to God for the witness of St. Valerie of Ladner. St. Valerie so loved and feared God that she dared to reach out and invite a wayward soul to come and worship God. St. Valerie sang God’s praise, rejoiced in the communion of saints and helped a young friend find a home in God’s holy church. And so toady, I give thanks and praise to God for the life and witness of St. Valerie, my high school friend, who was the first to invite me to come and worship God.
Today, I remember and rejoice as I give thanks and praise to God for the witness of St. Wilton of Lunenburg. St. Wilton loved God all the days of his life and served God with gladness and distinction. St. Wilton went far beyond his call as pastor, he opened up the scriptures to those who eagerly sought the truth of God’s Word with love and dedication and he went on to inspire a diligence to scholarship that nurtured the faith of so many young people. And so today, I give thanks and praise to God for the life and witness of St. Wilton, my first pastor, who taught me to be uncompromising in my study of the scriptures, and steadfast in my love for God.
Today, I remember and rejoice as I give thanks and praise to God for the witness of St. Lola of Washington. St. Lola whose appreciation for God’s grace overflowed in her love for the world. St. Lola whose desire to share God’s grace and truth, led her to give of her time and talent to the care and redemption of so many young seekers. St. Lola whose love for God’s creation inspired her to teach so many of us to give thanks to God for all that God has made. And so today, I give thanks and praise to God for the life and witness of St. Lola, my mentor in the faith, who taught me to love as I have been loved.
Today, I remember and rejoice as I give thanks and praise to God for the life and witness of St. Fritz of Chicago. St. Fritz whose dedication to the Word of God was displayed in all he did. St. Fritz who opened so many minds to the beauty of God’s ways, who taught, inspired and entertained as he sought to reveal the wonders of God’s unimaginable grace. St. Fritz who taught me that no question is unaskable for it is God who blessed us with minds and who bids us to use them in our love for God and for one another. And so today, I give thanks and praise to God for the witness of St. Fritz, my friend, who was the first to call me to the ordained ministry of Word and sacrament.
Today, I remember and rejoice as I give thanks and praise to God, for the life and witness of St.s Sharon and Irene of Pt. Roberts, St. Ellen of Lonsdale, St.s Jerry and Daniel of Minnesota, St. Nancy of Seattle, St. Anne of Vancouver, St. Donald of UBC, St.s Carol, John, Eduard, and Donna of Waterloo, and for the great cloud of witness both living and dead who have testified to God’s love in my life.
Toady, I give thanks and praise to God for the cloud of witnesses who gather to worship God and to love one another in the parish I serve. I give thanks for all the glorious saints of Holy Cross who have nourished, challenged and helped me to grow in Christ.
Today, I encourage each and every one of you, to remember and rejoice, as you give thanks to God for the great cloud of witnesses who have been a blessing to you; who have revealed God’s love to you; who have taught you God’s holy Word of truth; who have loved you, nourished you, challenged you and inspired you to love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and to love your neighbours as you love yourself.
Who are the saints in your life? Think about the saints who revealed God’s love to you. Remember and rejoice for by their love, they taught you God’s Word, and taught you to celebrate God’s grace. Remember and rejoice in the saints of God, who are responsible for having passed the gifts of faith on to each of us. Saints who you may never read about in the church history books, but saints who by their life and witness managed to reveal a measure of God’s amazing grace to the world.
These saints of God who are so dear to us and so precious to God, are just ordinary folks who in the course of seeking to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ, in striving to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, they ended up touching our lives in ways that changed us and had a profound effect on who we are today.
Today is a day for remembering and rejoicing in the communion of saints. Today is a day for giving thanks to God for their lives and for the witnesses that they have been and are in our lives. But today is also a day for looking around us to discover our own place in the communion of the saints. Take just a moment to think about how people will remember and give thanks for your sainthood. Whose faith have you nourished? Whose faith will you nourish? How will you nourish people in the faith? What role are you prepared to play in the Communion of Saints?
The Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III says it well listen to St. Otis preach it!
In 1998 the Bishop John Shelby Spong looked around at the state of the church and decided that it was time for a new reformation. Just as the invention of the printing press helped to distribute Martin Luther’s protests, the development of the internet spread Jack’s vision around the world. To those who were hungry for change, they were a breath of fresh air. Fifteen Reformation Day celebrations have elapsed since their publication and while there are pockets of progress within the church, what Jack has coined as the “church alumni” continue to bemoan the recalcitrance of the institution as yet another generation has been lost. While so many have pronounced a judgment of irrelevance upon the institution, a remnant has begun to embrace Jack’s questions. I repost them here in the hope that the Spirit of Reformation lives and more and more communities will enthusiastically embrace the challenges of being Church for the 21st century. I hope you will add your own theses in the Spirit of Semper Reformanda!
Jack posted his Twelve Theses with these words: “Martin Luther ignited the Reformation of the 16th century by nailing to the door of the church in Wittenberg in 1517 the 95 Theses that he wished to debate. I will publish this challenge to Christianity in The Voice. I will post my theses on the Internet and send copies with invitations to debate them to the recognised Christian leaders of the world. My theses are far smaller in number than were those of Martin Luther, but they are far more threatening theologically.”
This morning we will gather at Holy Cross to celebrate the Reformation. Our liturgy’s theme is “Semper Reformanda: Always Reforming. As one of our Gathering Songs we will sing David Lohman’s hymn: “For All the Children”(PDF of the music here). We will sing this song of radical welcome for all those who have ever been excluded from the church in the hope that reformation will come quickly to the whole church.
For All the Children is performed in the video below which was produced by Catholics for Marriage Equality MN, “For All the Children” is a powerful and inspiring music video featuring over 300 Catholics singing their support for LGBTQ young people and spreading the good news of Christ’s love. Recorded in April of 2012, “For All the Children” was premiered August 15 in Minneapolis at a special C4ME-MN event entitled “I Do! Believe in the Freedom to Marry.”
Semper Reformanda: Always Reforming!!!
David R. Weiss’ “To the Tune of a Welcoming God: Lyrical reflections on sexuality, spirituality, and the widness of God’s welcome” is a wonderful resource for worship planners who are searching for ways to engage worshippers in the difficult task of breaking down barriers to inclusion. As I wrote in the previous post, “they don’t go home humming the sermon!” Music opens our very selves to
that which is beyond ourselves and Weiss has written some powerful texts that can be coupled with well loved, familiar hymn tunes. I was first exposed to Weiss’ way with words a number of years ago when Lutheran’s Concerned included his “O Christ Who Came” in their worship resources for the celebration of Reconciling in Christ Sunday. When set to the tune of LONDONDERRY AIR (that’s O’ Danny Boy, for the uninitiated), Weiss’ words provide an expansive welcome that we have often sung with gusto at Holy Cross. So, I was delighted to discover, on iTunes of all places, the album “To the Tune of a Welcoming God” by Sara Kay. After quickly downloading, I began to listen to all sorts of possibilities for worship in Weiss’ splendid texts set to familiar tunes. In addition to providing hymn texts that expand our vision of what it means to extend a welcome to the GLBT community, Weiss’ texts open worshippers to images of God that move us beyond words as they open us to theologies that embrace the reality of the cosmos. You can follow this link to find a copy of the hymn texts.
In addition to the hymn texts, Weiss’ book provides a collection of essays in which Weiss offers a vision of what the Church can become. Weiss is writes from his own Lutheran perspective reflecting his own struggles in work of building a more inclusive church. Weiss opens the book with his own “Credo” which I look forward to using in liturgy as an “Affirmation of Faith”.
Credo: By David R. Weiss
I believe in God,
The Great Mystery that is the Source of all that is,
I believe that God is beyond our words
And surely beyond our genders,
But that we are still invited to name God as best we can,
With humility and wonder.
I believe in God’s love for all creation, not just humanity.
I believe in God’s yearning,
That justice hold sway in every corner of creation
And in God’s anxious longing
For Sabbath joy to fill the cosmos.
I believe that the deep beauty of Jesus’ life
Is a true revelation of God’s desire to see compassion
At the center of human community.
I believe that Jesus’ healings, parables, and table fellowship
Reveal the truth of God active in our midst.
And I believe that in Jesus’ life
We hear an invitation to echo such compassion
In our own lives.
I believe that Jesus’ death
Reminds us that oppressive power
Will stop at nothing –
Then or now – to silence compassion.
And I believe that resurrection
Names the miracle that takes place –
Then and now – whenever we rededicate
Our lives to compassion
Thereby announcing that even death
Cannot silence the love of God.
I believe that besides Jesus’ life
And besides the biblical text,
Other lives and other texts also bear the truth of God –
And that our lives are richer for listening well
To the movement of God in many places.
I believe that God continues to be present still today
And that the Holy Breath of God blows
Whenever and wherever compassion is born,
Whether in our words, deeds, or rituals.
I believe we have a special responsibility
To gather in community and share rituals,
Both ancient and fresh,
That exercise our imaginations,
Both bodily and spiritually
For the practice of compassion.
I believe that in our lives
We have the capacity to move God,
This loving mystery that dwells at the heart of all that is,
To the point of tears.
And I commit myself,
With my brothers and sisters and the whole of creation,
To living in ways that seek to move God to tears of joy.
Amen.
Liturgy has the power to from us in ways that preachers can only dream of. The truth is worshippers don’t go home humming the sermon. What we sing in worship matters precisely because music has the power to both open us up and shut us down to change. As our theology evolves, so too what we sing in worship must evolve. But familiar chestnuts are familiar for a reason. Our favourite hymns are singable! Sadly, so many of the best loved hymns inscribe theologies that posit a god that few of us are willing to worship. But rather than throw the babies out with the bath water, we can give the best loved hymn tunes a new lease on life with texts that do not re-inscribe theories of atonement that we are trying to leave behind. I have been asked to share some of the resources that we have found helpful at Holy Cross and over the next few weeks I hope to post several resources.
It hasn’t been easy to find new words with which to resurrect old hymns. But there are two resources that warm the heart of this particular worship planner. Both “Inclusive Hymns For Liberating Christians” and “Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice” are the work of Jann Aldredge-Clanton who is responsible for the hymn texts and Larry E. Schultz who provides a few new tunes for Aldredge-Clanton’s texts. I highly recommend both volumes for those progressive Christian worship planners who seek to use music to open people to the possibilities of more expansive theologies. Aldredge-Clanton’s texts go far beyond “inclusive language” for God and for people.
Jann Aldredge-Clanton currently serves as adjunct professor at Perkins School of Theology and Richland Community College, Dallas, Texas. Her vivid imagery opens the mind while familiar tunes comfort the spirit.
The good news is that although these resources are not easy to get in Canada, I ordered mine from Amazon.com in the U.S. and the shipping charges were minimal. Better yet, with the purchase of 10 or more you get permission to reproduce hymns for worship.
Here are two videos that provide of just two of the pieces sung in very different worship styles.
Preparing to preach on Reformation Sunday I found this sermon I preached a few years ago. Our readings that year included both John 8:31-36 and Luke 18:9-14
When my friend, (let’s call her Jane for the purposes of this sermon), when Jane was a baby she had a pale green receiving blanket. It was soft to the touch, with a two-inch band of satin around the edge. It kept Jane safe and warm and as she grew her fondness for that blanket grew. In time it became her very own security blanket and heaven help you if you were the one trying to settle her and you couldn’t find her blanket. As Jane learned to talk, for some reason that old green blanket earned the nick-name “Nuggie”. If Jane was upset or fussing, she would holler for her Nuggie and the entire household would scramble to find it. Jane dragged Nuggie everywhere she went and it often got very dirty. We learned very quickly to launder Nuggie long after Jane had settled down for the night. One of us would sneak into her room and gently ease Nuggie from her grasp and quickly toss it into the washing machine, hoping against hope that she wouldn’t wake until we retrieved it from the dryer and tucked it safely back in her crib. Jane was particularly fond rubbing the satin over her cheek and over the years the satin edge became worn and frayed. Whenever life wasn’t going her way, or she was not feeling well, or she was tired, or if she was frightened, Jane would scream, for her Nuggie. Only after her Nuggie was firmly in place and she had comforted herself with the soft satin, would order be restored.
Standing here, smack dab in the middle of a Reformation of epic proportions, it feels to me like someone is trying to steal my Nuggie. Semper Reformanda — Always Reforming. Change, change, change. Sometimes I just want the security of that old time religion. I want to feel the comfort, the security that I once felt in the church. All this reforming is wearing me out. I’m tired of thinking. I’m tired of reforming my ideas. I’m tired of learning new things. I’m tired of all the questioning. I’m tired of all the questions. I want some answers. Sometimes I just want that Mighty Fortress to keep me safe. Sometimes I just want that Almighty Father to say, “There, there dear it’s all going to be all right!”
I knew were I stood in the old days. I was a wicked sinner. Heck, I was in bondage to sin and could not free myself. But I knew that Jesus was willing to die for me and save me from all my sins. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that even though I was a sinner, I was a forgiven sinner, simule justus et pecator. By the grace of God, I was both saint and sinner. Justified by God’s amazing grace. Thanks to the redeeming blood of the Lamb of God who washes away all my sin. Jesus died for me. Jesus saved me. And Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus! I want my nuggie!
But in the words of dear old Martin Luther,“ Here I stand, for I can do no other.” Smack dab in the middle of a reformation, trying to follow Jesus. Jesus, who said that everything could be summed up in two commandments: “Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbour as you love yourself.” If only Jesus had left our minds out of the equation. If only we could switch off our minds and stop this constant quest for truth. But then Jesus did say, “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” So, how can we keep from asking: “Free from what?” Continue reading
Delighted that so many of you after reading yesterday’s post have expressed interest in learning more of Matthew Fox’s 95 Theses for the 21st Century. The best place to find out more is in Fox’s little book “A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity” published in 2006 by Inner Traditions press.
Click Here where you will find a complete list of Fox’s 95 Theses for the Twenty-first Century
An excerpt from “Love Poems From God” by Daniel Ladinsky,
(Penguin Compass, London: 2002)
(1515-1582) “Teresa was born in Avila, a beautiful high mountain village of Spain. She was one of thirteen children, three girls and ten boys, in a wealthy family. The Spain in which Teresa grew up was permeated with 700 years of Arabian culture; the eradication of Arab power was followed by one of Spain’s darkest periods, the insanity of the Inquisitions, which, in the fourteenth century, along with other grievous deeds, forced mass conversions of Jews to Christianity.”
“Teresa was her father’s favourite child, and the most spirited. Her mother died during childbirth when Teresa was thirteen, after which she had little supervision. It is believed she had a lover at the age of fifteen, which caused her father to send her to a convent boarding school, only to see her return home two years later because of poor health. When she was twenty-one, Teresa ran away from home to join a convent. At that time many convents were more like hotels for women, allowing them a great deal more independence than they would be allowed at home, though after two years at the convent Teresa had a near-death experience that changed her life. A spiritual awakening began in which she cultivated a system of meditation that sought quieting the mind to such an extent that God could then be heard speaking. Over the next twenty years she experienced many mystical states but not until she was fifty did she begin the most far-reaching aspects of her life’s work.”
St. Teresa of Avila “had a great desire for learning and when the Inquisition, in 1559, forbade women to read, Teresa turned to God and asked God to teach her soul about divine love. She then began to write completely out of her own experience. Many of her poems are, in fact, intimate accounts of her communion with God.
The Church’s persecution of Teresa had not waned when she passed away and was buried in Alba de Tormes in 1582. A year after her death some of her disciples, feeling that she might have wished to be buried in Avila, had her body exhumed. When her body was found to be perfectly intact and emitting a wonderful fragrance, her sainthood was formally decreed, allowing the publication and preservation of some of her works.
Most of what we see today of Teresa’s work is probably reined way back, for her writings fell into the hands and under the control of the very forces that had so opposed her throughout her life.”
“Teresa of Avila is undoubtedly the most influential saint in the Western world, and she has made great contributions to spiritual literature and poetry. She was a woman of tremendous courage who is rightfully credited with the remarkable political and religious reform achieved against the strongest—and most insidious—chauvinistic forces.”
“A realistic picture of Teresa’s life did not even reach the English-reading general public until the 1960s. She was known to have had a remarkable quick wit and a stunning, even provocative, sense of humour, as well as a great physical beauty. Her complete works include seven books, four hundred and fifty letters, and assorted poetry. Her writings are considered masterpieces of mystical prose and verse. She personally founded seventeen Carmelite convents and two monasteries, despite enormous opposition from the Church and other men in power.”
“I must never allow my neighbour to go hungry while I’ve got a little food in my house…We as human beings must sustain each other even during times of greatest peril.” Let our Thanksgiving become compassion and let us bring our compassion into colourful practice!
A sermon on Deuteronomy 26:1-11 and John 6:25-35 inspired by Garrison Keillor and Joan Chittister; two of the best storytellers I know.
Listen to the sermon:
A conversation with Phyllis Tickle, Brian McLaren, and David Lose recorded Oct. 7, 2013, and hosted by Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., during the Celebration of Biblical Preaching.
Our Adult Study is currently being inspired by the new study program Painting the Stars (Living the Questions). Philip Clayton is one of the contributors to the program. Clayton is the Dean of Claremont School of Theology (Phd. Yale – philosophy and religion) who is seeking the development of “a constructive Christian theology in dialogue with metaphysics, modern philosophy, and science.” Here are two short videos that provide an introduction to Clayton’s ideas.
Painting the Stars
Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost:
Luke 17:5-10 – October 6, 2013
Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed
I am indebted to Peter Rollins for his modern parable “Finding Faith” found in his book The Orthodox Heretic
Listen to the sermon here:
Watch Desmond Tutu describes Ubuntu
GOD WOULD KNEEL DOWN – St. Francis
Bishop Spong is not exactly enamoured of religion and or religiosity. Speaking at the Seattle Rotary Club on August 28th 2013, Jack Spong tackles a number of subjects as only Jack can, including his friendship with Desmond Tutu, his belief that the Gay Marriage debate in North America is over, his latest book, number 24, The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic, and of course why “Christianity must change or die!” As he often does, Jack reminds us that “Jesus didn’t come to make us religious, but to make us whole, so that we may live life abundantly.” Enjoy!!!
This coming Sunday, we at Holy Cross will begin the new Living the Questions interactive DVD adult education program Painting the Stars. Throughout this week I will be posting introductions to the various contributors to the program. So, if you are anywhere near Newmarket this Sunday consider joining us as we explore the dynamic relationship between science and faith!
One of the primary contributors to the program is Canadian Bruce Sanguin. Until recently, Evolutionary Christian Bruce Sanguin was the minister at the Canadian Memorial United Church in Vancouver. This summer Sanguin left parish ministry to pursue his writing and expanding his speaking career.
Bruce has written several books that have to inspired my own worship planning. Two of his books are of particular value to any pastor who seeks to plan worship without slipping into the trap of words that re-inscribe old theological patterns: Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos: An Ecological Christianity and If Darwin Prayed: Prayers for Evolutionary Mystics. Sanguin’s latest book The Advance of Love: Reading the Bible with an Evolutionary Heart explores the relationship between science and faith to shed light on biblical texts.
This video in which Bruce is interviewed by fellow evolutionary Andrew Cohen will wet your appetite for Bruce’s work while giving you an interesting look into evolutionary Christianity. Enjoy!
For those of us following the lectionary for the Season of Creation, Diarmuid O’Murchu’s reminder that the word “pagan” comes from the Latin for “lover of the earth” functions as a call for Christians to embrace Creation! O’Murchu is an evolutionary theologian whose work is breaking new ground as he reconnects 21st century Christians to the riches within the tradition and moves beyond the confines of church doctrine toward a holistic understanding of what it means to be human which offers hope for living together in the “companionship of empowerment”.
pastordawn 