Happy Halloween!

Halloween is really All Hallows Eve, or the Eve of All Saints' Day:

“All Saints' Day is the centerpiece of an autumn triduum. In the carnival celebrations of All Hallows' Eve our ancestors used the most powerful weapon in the human arsenal, the power of humor and ridicule, to confront the power of death.” – Rev. Sam Portaro from “Brightest and Best”

"Halloween is the time of year when we see that Christ has so triumphed over Evil, that even little children can mock the Devil with impunity." – Fr. Victor

You, O Lord, have made us from the dust of the earth and to dust our bodies shall return; yet you have also breathed your Spirit upon us and called us to new life in you: Have mercy upon us, now and at the hour of our death; through Jesus Christ, our mediator and advocate. Amen.

Pilgrims for Peace

“Praying with Their Feet"

A group of pilgrims – people of faith from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Unitarian Universalist and other traditions – will be “praying with their feet” for peace as they walk around Connecticut. The pilgrims hope to proclaim peace in the name of all people and all faith traditions and to invite neighbors to a conversation about what they can do to make peace in a war-weary world. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and people’s homes will be places of rest, refreshment and welcome to the Pilgrims on their route.

The theme of “walking,” or pilgrimage, is important for all great religious traditions, and the Rev. Emmett Jarrett, an Episcopal Franciscan priest, noted that the prophet Isaiah wrote in the eighth century BCE of “how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one[s] who bring glad tidings, announcing peace.”

St. Peter’s will host the peace pilgrims on Halloween (October 31). A meal, a place for rest for the pilgrims and an opportunity for conversation with the community will take place that night. Join them for a conversation on peace at 7 PM in our Undercroft (Parish Hall). All are welcome!

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Sermon Notes: October 26

These are the notes from my sermon on October 26:

Which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Jesus said to him, "`You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

613 commandments in Hebrew Scriptures
-Jesus lifts out these two; equal importance.
-an ethic of love

Hillel the Elder (famous Jewish religious leader)
-lived during the time of King Herod
-When asked for a summary of the Jewish religion in the most concise terms, Hillel said: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and study it.” (2nd part)
-Shema (The Lord our God, the Lord is one…)

Love God, Love Neighbor – God loves you!

IRIS (at Diocesan Convention) Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services

· refugee resettlement arm of Episcopal Social Service, Inc., since 1982.
· IRIS has resettled over 4,000 people.
· Last year IRIS welcomed 112 refugees from 19 countries. Nearly one half came from Africa. · IRIS is a program of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
· Director told a story… a synagogue become a sponsor for a Iraqi refuge family from Baghdad, in thanksgiving the Muslim family joined the Jewish congregation on its first day of the celebration of Sukkoth, Feast of Booths, a week-long harvest Festival.

“As for the disciples, it was not by their fantastic worship, not by their biblical knowledge, not by their insight or wisdom, not by their sanctity, not by their moral uprightness that they would be known to the world. Not by their eloquent or convicting preaching. Not by their buildings, or their budgets would they be known. Not by their faith to move mountains, or by their personal purity would they be singled out as belonging to Jesus. It would be by their love.” (from synthesis, HKO)

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.” (John 13:34)

This is a true story: An eight-year-old boy had a younger sister who was dying of leukemia. His parents explained to him that she needed a blood transfusion and that his blood was probably compatible. They asked if they could test his blood. Sure, he said. The results showed that his blood would be a good match. Then they asked the boy if he would give his sister a pint of blood, that it could be her only chance at living. He said he would like to think about overnight. The next day he went to his parents and said he was willing to donate his blood to his sister. So they took him to the hospital where he was put on a gurney beside his sister. Both of them were hooked up to IVs. A nurse withdrew a pint of blood from the boy, which was then put into the girl’s IV. The boy lay on his gurney in silence while the blood dripped into his sister. The doctor came over to see how he was doing. The boy opened his eyes and asked, “How soon until I start to die?” [Jack Kornfield, cited in Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.]

Whether it’s a neighbor nearby like one’s sister or far away like a refugee family, our calling is simple: Love God, Love Neighbor – God loves you!

Micah Challenge Sunday

“And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

Micah Challenge Community Prayer

God of all creation: We pray to you at a moment in history of unique potential, when the stated intentions of world leaders echo something of the mind of the Biblical prophets and the teachings of Jesus concerning the poor, and when we have the means to dramatically reduce poverty.

Today, we want to commit ourselves, as followers of Jesus, to work together for the holistic transformation of our communities, to pursue justice, be passionate about kindness and to walk humbly with God. We pray that you will transform the hearts of decision-makers of both rich and poor nations, to fulfill their public promise to those living in impoverished and marginalized communities; the promise they made to bring an end to extreme poverty.

We pray that your Spirit will stir Christians everywhere to be agents of hope for and with the poor, and to work with others to hold our leaders accountable in securing a more just and merciful world. May your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. In justice, mercy and humility we pray. Amen.

Sermon: October 19

Humpty Dumpty sat on Wall Street…

As one person has put it:

THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.

So ... I’ve been buying American stocks. Why?

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors, but fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense.

These words are from the Billionaire investor Warren Buffett in an opinion column in the NY Times on Thursday. He is right. We are living in a time of fear. We are waiting for the other shoe to drop…

Already pension plans have lost much; having talked with my mom the other day who is retired, she is watching money evaporate from her 401(k), sitting on a house she wants to sell but there are no buyers and there is no credit for those who might want to buy. Some have called this the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression; many of us are feeling the weight of anxiety.

Despite the grim financial news, with small businesses hurting, and everybody weary of the volatility and the crisis in home mortgages, there remains a hopefulness…

Buffett sees the hopeful signs in the sound companies that will ultimately help us get through these times. I agree with him, these businesses are good and helpful, and yet we as Christians, must place our hopefulness & faithfulness elsewhere…

The Israelites had experienced a crisis of faith when Moses went up the mountain. They had experienced moments of hunger and thirst and wondered what the days ahead would be like. There was much anxiety. After Moses went up the mountain and did not return, they began to lose their way and they created a golden calf to worship, to lead them; it was something tangible to hold on to as they had forgotten what God had done for them. They preferred the now, forgot the past and did not look forward to what God had promised.

After the calf was destroyed and those who had worshipped it were removed from the community, we hear Moses in today’s reading asking God directly to lead, asking what was next and to walk with the Israelites. And God responded to his faithful questions; each time Moses responded more boldly in his prayers and each time God responded.

It is Moses who embodies that hopefulness and faithfulness we are called to live. The reading reminds me that as we pray, we are called to pray boldly, that indeed God is with us and will answer. But it also reminds me that we must beware of the Golden Calves that exist all around us that make us “rich in things but poor in soul.”

And it is Jesus who reminds us what our priority needs to be. “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus has moved the conversation of paying taxes to the emperor to a deeper level of truth. Yes, give to the emperor that which is the emperor's, in a sense give it back to the emperor. And give to God that which is God's. The emperor may collect his coin for taxes but we are made in the image of God and owe to God much, much more. What it means, is that we owe God, as Jesus implies, we owe God our life. How we live it, how we give it away.

Jesus calls us to live in this world by the values that God has given us. Jesus is not saying, "give to the Emperor those things that are the Emperor's, and the rest to God." Nor is Jesus saying, "give to the Emperor the worldly things and give to God the spiritual things."

Both of these statements put the Emperor equal to God. It is the second part of Jesus' answer that we need to examine, to give to God those things that are God's, for God created everything that is. And so it is the living out of our deepest held beliefs and convictions that connects us with the God who made us. We may give our money back to the government in the form of taxes, we pay bills with it, we spend it, we save it. But the almighty dollar isn’t almighty, and it belongs to God just as assuredly as we do.

Too often our hopes revolve around our money. It is a possession and too often it possesses us.

So in this time when we consider our stewardship of our money, how we spend it, we need to consider how we honor God, how we give to God the things that are God’s, and how our wealth is used for the glory of God. We live in these anxious times and in a culture that does not believe in generosity that sells things based not on our need, but on our insecurities so we’ll buy their products. We live in a scarcity culture where there is not enough and we have to hoard what we do have. The Emperor is not only government but is really anything that draws us away from giving to God fully…

And it is so easy in this economic downturn to hold on to everything we have, fearful of what is to come. But God has made us not so we will live in fear, in despair, in scarcity but so we will live in joy, in hope, in love.

I think of John Chrysostom, an early Church father who put it this way, “things themselves do not remain, but their effects do. Therefore we should not be mean and calculating with what we have but give with a generous hand. Look at how much people give to players and dancers – why not give just as much to Christ?”

Chrysostom words written some 1600 years ago, ring true today…look how much we give to watch a sporting event, go to a concert, go to the theater, look at how much we spend on entertainment (on players and dancers) than consider what we give to the Church, what we give to other charitable organizations.

We often give to our Emperors our first fruits and give what remains to God, but what would our spending look like if we gave to God first rather than last? What if we refused to buy into the scarcity way of thinking from the culture of the Emperor, and instead believed in the bounty and generosity that God has given us?

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” What if we dared to pray to God to give us a generous spirit, and a hopeful heart in the midst of these times?

Around the world today Christians from all walks of life are praying to God and asking their Emperors, their representatives in government to not only bail out the rich and mighty, but to remember the poor and needy, the neighbor nearby and far away.

Let us join in that prayer [Micah Challenge - see above post].

Jesus did not give us a blueprint on how to give to God, but he gave us a way to live: a loving heart, a generous hand, a faithful spirit.

May God bless us and guide us to do just that in our lives today. Amen.

Poverty: our call to help...

Today is Blog Action Day!

Bloggers are blogging about Poverty.

On this day, I invite you to say a prayer:

Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick, and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

On this day, I invite you to write your senators & congressman:

Remind them that even in the midst of this financial crisis and downturn, we need to stick to our commitments in helping the world's poor and the poor in our own neighborhoods. Go here and here to write our senators and here for our congressman.

On this day, set aside some canned goods (and/or non-perishables) for the Monroe Food Pantry:

Bring these on Sunday and help our neighbors in need this Fall. Click here to find a list of what's needed (and not).

They are out of SPAM, Canned Chicken and shelf stable Milk. If you are out, pick up these items and remember the poor and needy, Someone Praying About Me!

On this day, make out a check (or give an online donation) to an organization helping the poor:

Episcopal Relief and Development: "Working in partnership with the worldwide Church, ecumenical agencies and local organizations, Episcopal Relief & Development saves lives and strengthens communities around the world."

Bridgeport Rescue Mission: "The Bridgeport Rescue Mission works to meet the basic needs of the poor and homeless in the Greater Bridgeport area, by providing food, clothing, shelter and counsel."

On this day, sign up with the Micah Challenge:

Micah Challenge USA is a Christian campaign that is part of a global Micah Challenge campaign. Our aims are to deepen our engagement with impoverished and marginalized communities; and to challenge leaders to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and so halve absolute global poverty by 2015! "And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8


It is up to all of us, to play our part and to help alleviate the poor and needy.

We can do it. One person at a time.

On this day, pray and act!

What do the candidates believe?

"Religion's role in the campaign is at the center of our program today, beginning with a special report from Kim Lawton on the religious beliefs of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates."

Read or watch the episode from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly by PBS (from 10/10/08).

"Does it matter what a candidate believes? According to an August survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly half of all Americans say they get uncomfortable when politicians talk about how religious they are. But at the same time, more than 70 percent of Americans say they do want a president with strong religious beliefs."