15 posts from 2007

Throughout Advent we meet various characters who take huge risks in saying “Yes” to God. I’m thinking here of John the Baptist, Juan Diego & Guadalupe (whose feast we celebrate on Dec. 12), Mary (last week we read the Song of Mary – the Magnificat) and (today) Joseph.

But what exactly does this “Yes” mean, might you ask? I’ve been thinking about the “Yes” saying this week in terms of a marked shift in one’s life. The kind of shift that doesn’t happen every day because it’s pretty major. I’m talking about the kind of shift that is on par with choosing where to attend college or graduate school, committing to a relationship, welcoming a child into the world, beginning a new job or losing a job, moving from one place to another, making a career change, entering recovery, burying a loved one or simply seeing the world through a new lens. This “yes” is about acceptance – whether wrapped in terror or wrapped in peace.

Today we focus on Joseph’s “yes” moment. Here he is not yet married and his fiancé is found to miraculously be with child! I’m willing to bet that most men in his situation would have simply run away. But Joseph had the strength to stay by Mary’s side. His first plan was to stay with her so that she would not experience public disgrace -- but to slowly dismiss her, thereby dissolving the engagement that de facto was dissolved given that it appeared Mary had been unfaithful. Then he planned to move onto Plan B. But he receives a message from the angel in his dream that he should not be afraid to wed Mary and welcome the child of God into his life. We often talk about the vulnerability of Mary in this situation – but Joseph too places himself in a vulnerable position. He says “Yes, I will marry this woman who does not carry my child; Yes, I will welcome this child into my life as if it were my own” – and apparently he even postpones sexual relations with her until this child of God is born. Joseph shows the kind of care that all of us are to show to those who are most vulnerable in society. I imagine that Joseph put himself at risk of public ridicule with these decisions. Yet, he said “yes”and his life changed forever.

It is the church community’s role in the world to be a place where people can wrestle with the difficult and momentous decisions of their lives so that they can come to a place of clarity and acceptance and say “yes” in very much the same way Joseph does in today’s Gospel reading.

Now, I don’t know about you, but during this time of year, the “yes” moment or shift that stares me squarely in the face revolves around celebrating the Advent and Christmas seasons in a way that is faithful to God and the Christian tradition. Easier said than done in our culture, because our consumer-crazed society has hijacked Christmas! It’s been ripped from its roots and exploited by big corporations that sell it as a season primarily about materialism. In the midst of the whirlwind, there are some chances to spend quality with friends and family. But these also come with their own pressures, which can often be difficult to deal with.

Recently, I was at a meeting with our neighbor across the way, Rabbi Allison Conyer. She was lamenting about this time of year, sharing with us how difficult it is for her and other Jews who are confronted with vestiges of a Christian holiday at every turn. I nodded in sympathy at her comment. And later on I thought about how for Christians – at least some Christians – it’s also difficult to be surrounded by the symbols of our high holidays, but not the solemnity or authenticity of their true meaning. This is to say that the version of Christmas peddled in the malls is not the Christmas I claim as a Christian.

For many years now, I’ve worked to reclaim this sacred and holy season. This year, the attempt has been easier than in past years. It’s helped, I’ve found, to watch little to no television – not terribly hard to do for me, I admit, when you only have access to one channel if you don’t opt for cable! In the car, I listen mostly to radio in Spanish, public radio or our local UCSB station, which does a great job keeping the Christmas hype down. I managed to spend just a few hours shopping for Christmas this year and am exploring more alternative gift giving options – like donating to such organizations as the Heifer Project, Episcopal Relief & Development or Freedom from Hunger in honor of a loved one. There are so many needs in the world I reason, and so why not give the gift of life along with, say, a meaningful book, magazine subscription or homemade treat, rather than just buying those big ticket item?

Last week I found myself listening to a conversation on Speaking of Faith about money and moral balance, especially during the holiday season. Speaking of Faith is a wonderful radio program about spirituality and faith in America. You can listen to all past programming through the internet – I commend it to you. In fact, one church I know has used the radio program to guide small group conversation – this is something we could think about doing in our student groups, Women’s Spirituality Group or other group at church…This conversation about money and moral balance centered precisely on the dilemmas we Christians face at Christmas. The sales are starting, the stores are open late, and many of us are gearing up to spend more money than we actually have in a holiday season with deep roots in religion. Host Krista Tippet explores with Nathan Dugan, a financial educator and a Lutheran, the turmoil many of us experience with money in our day-to-day lives — and how we might work towards a moral and practical balance for ourselves and the next generation. Nathan opens the conversation by saying that he believes that the Church has been complicit getting sucked into the whole persuasive argument about the role of consumerism in our culture. He doesn’t think that the Church has understood the impact of what that means for peoples’ souls and what it robs from us in terms of our personal sense of being. A strong statement. But Nathan finds his vocation in teaching people to how to establish a counter rhythm to excess – he empowers people to cut through excess and discover simplicity.

Advent is a great time to do some of the work Nathan talks about. We are familiar with the season of Lent being one characterized by discipline, simplicity and inward focus. But Advent too is considered a penitential season. It’s an invitation – with its long, dark nights – to slow down, reflect, pray, meditate, make amends and say “yes” to God in a new way. Advent is all about preparing for something new. We are preparing to say yes to life. Jesus was all about saying “yes” to life and no the forces of oppression, whether they be physical, psychic, emotional spiritual, material or all of the above.

This Advent, I’ve had the pleasure to serve as one of the judges for the “What’s Sacred” photography contest held to commemorate the University Religious Center’s 50^th anniversary. In the months leading up to Advent students and residents from across Santa Barbara County have been invited to submit a snapshot which expresses their understanding sacredness. Last week, I was handed a CD with 85 photo entries on it of photos ranging from beautiful beach sunsets to a close up of a cow’s udder! Today I must make submit the 30 photos that I think should make the first cut. It’s been a wonderful Advent exercise to enter these photographs to contemplate the varied expression sacred within the frame. I feel honored to step into these photographers’ sacred space. I’ve also been asked by the URC to write a short essay on the topic sacredness. My wrestling with that exercise has been one meaningful way I have said “yes” to the holiness of this season. I find that I have to dig deeply to define sacredness during this season. It lives beyond all the cute-sy holiday cheer that greets me at every turn.

One meaningful way some churches have begun the reclaim Advent and Christmas is through the celebration “Blue Christmas.” Typically held on the night of the Winter Solstice – the longest night of the year, the Blue Christmas gathering honors the reality that for many people, Christmas time is an emotionally difficult one. Some people may be grieving the loss of a loved one, others may not have the option to be with their families, or their families may be so broken that it is easier to celebrate Christmas away from the home. One priest I know talks about the Blue Christmas service at her church as one of the most pastoral things she does during the year. Her congregation keeps the service simple – because grief and pain during this season is complex. They hang blue ornaments on the evergreen in the sanctuary, the first decorations on the tree that is bare for Advent. The next day the rest of the congregation sees those ornaments as they decorate for Christmas, having prayed during the Prayers of the People for the losses the ornaments represent. But not everyone who comes to a Blue Christmas service is trying to cope with the death of a loved one. She’s encountered people who are grieving over the loss of a job, the loss of their health or vitality, the loss of a dear pet, their change to empty nesters, or their addictive behaviors either past or present and the pain they have caused others. And, sometimes grief can be too raw to bring to such a service. People who do not come to St. Paul's Blue Christmas service are often comforted to know that a religious community is recognizing the difficulties some people face at the holidays and will pray for them. The service sends a really powerful message to those whose grief is very deep and is very personal even though the intimacy of the service is not something that every grieving person is ready to experience. (E. Kaeton and ENS/ Schjonberg)

With Advent coming to an end and Christmas just around the corner let’s keep on with the hard work of claiming our sacred story for what it is. We’ve had a wonderful Advent here at St. Mike’s – a festive community celebration of Advent Lessons & Carols, a joyful crowd at our Sunday morning Advent liturgies, we’ve pledged our time/talent/treasure to St. Mike’s this season and we’ve collected and continue to collect a donation for the Heifer Project (over $400!). We’ve also completed a year of ministry together. A year marked by many meaningful occasions and a warm sense of spirit! And so today, be sure to savor the last day of Advent and begin to prepare yourselves for a rich 12 days of Christmas. A new life is taking shape among us. Let us take our cue from Joseph, whose “yes” to God led him into a new and wonderful world.

A blessed Advent and holy Christmas season to you all! Nicole+

A few years ago, while I was in New York attending a meeting, I had the pleasure of attending a church service in which Tracey Lind, Dean of the Cathedral in Cleveland, preached. Tracey has recently published a book – fancy and beautiful book called “Interrupted by God: Glimpses from the Edge”. I refer her book as “fancy” and “beautiful” because it’s a collection of her own black and white photographs and stories about her years doing urban ministry. It’s the kind of book that is substantive AND appropriate for coffee table. In this book and in her sermon that night, Tracey talked about her life of faith as a series of interruptions by God. She introduced us to people in her life that appeared out of the blue and altered the course of journey. She told us about unexpected moments of holiness where she experienced the overpowering love of God as she struggled on a particular fringe. Tracey admitted that sometimes these interruptions have been welcomed. Mostly though, she considered them to be a nuisance—at least initially…Interruptions after all have the habit of “breaking into the normal state of affairs….but, Christ often happens in the interruptions”.

Jesus says to Zacchaeus, “Hurry and come down from that tree; for I must stay at your house today.”  Talk about an interruption form the ordinary realm of possibility. I want you to think for a moment about a modern day public figure you associate with serious corruption. Then imagine God saying to that person: “let’s spend some time together at your house”. This is in essence what plays out in the Gospel text. Zacchaeus was a tax collector – a figure associated with corruption and well despised by the larger community. So I imagine that more than just a grumble went through the crowd when Jesus informed everyone that he would be spending time with Zachaeus at this sinner’s home. Much to everyone’s surprise, Zachaeus responds to Jesus’ pronouncement with a proclamation of repentance and generosity. “Lord” he says, “half of my possessions I will give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone or anything, I will pay back four times as much.” So picture your modern day corrupt figure again and imagine that person voluntarily giving away his or her power and wealth and admitting wrongdoing. In today’s culture where the name of the game in the public sphere is never admitting defeat or wrongdoing, Zachaeus’ actions—in contrast--are humbling and bold.

Fortunately for us, our God is one who delights in interruptions that hold within them the gift of “another chance”. In her book, Tracey Lind tells the story of growing up in a Jewish and Christian household and being haunted by an exchange she had as a child with one of her Sunday School Rabbis. One day, after her Hebrew School had finished watching a documentary on the Holocaust, the Rabbi turned to Tracey and said “Tracey, you don’t look Jewish. You could have passed. What would you have done? Would you have died for your faith or denied it?!” In that moment Tracey didn’t have an answer. She didn’t know what it meant to pass. She didn’t know what it meant to die for one’s faith. She didn’t really know what faith was. She only new that she was angry embarrassed, confused and alone. So she just started back at him and finally said, “I don’t know.” Tracey has wrestled with that accusatory statement and probing question all the days of her life. It has permeated her dreams, it has kept her awake, it has stood with her in the pulpit and it has influenced every major life decision she has made. It was as an adult that Tracey was able to find some sort of resolution to THE QUESTION of her life. Several years ago, the adult Tracey, now priest who is also a lesbian woman, watched a gay colleague in her diocese stand trial in a landmark Church case for being a priest public about his committed relationship with another man. The pain of that process propelled her to speak aloud from the ten-foot-high pulpit of her church the truth of her life. In her sermon she said: “And now, to answer your question, God: No, I will not pass! Yes, I am ready and willing to claim who I am and to live and die for my faith!” The people of her congregation responded with a thunderous applause and a loud “Amen!” Today, Tracey continues to live out this ethic by having put herself forward as a candidate for the next Bishop of Chicago.

Zachaeus, a man short in stature in so many ways, dared to interrupt Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. First he climbed a tree to flag him down and then he made a public statement of repentance. We don’t know what motivated Zachaeus in the first place to alter the trajectory of his life. But I’m willing to bet that an interruption from God caused him to climb that tree and then accept Jesus as both houseguest and Savior. In doing so, he became one of the saved sought out from the lost. Zacchaeus’ story is a dramatic one. The passage from Isaiah, however, is an example of an even harsh interruption from God, the hardest kind of interruption there is. Addressed to those whose hands are “full of blood” the instructions are terse: clean up, remove the evil and learn to do good or else….

The interruptions, however scary or delightful they may be, are spaces where we can connect most deeply with God and with humanity. Holidays aka Holy Days often serve this function on the collective level. This week alone we face a barrage of important and sacred days -- All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ and All Souls and this coming week, Election Day. All Hallows’ Eve, was originally observed by the ancient Celts as the day to celebrate the onset of Fall and the beginning of their New Year. It was also a festival of the dead, a time to remember those who had passed and a time when witches, goblins and demons could walk the earth. Lanterns made out of gourds were left along paths to guide the way home for ancestors while others were carved with scary faces and carried or placed on porches to ward off the demons and witches. These lantern gourds are now the fancy and fun carved jack-o-lanterns we see today.

All Saints’ and All Souls are about celebrating the lives of the Saints past present and future. In Mexican culture the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos is an important version of this Holy Day. In most Mexican localities November 1 is set aside for remembrance of deceased infants and children, often referred to as angelitos (little angels). Those who have died as adults are honored November 2. From mid-October through the first week of November, markets and shops all over Mexico are replete with the special accouterments for the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) including candles and votive lights, fresh seasonal flowers and a special bread of the dead. All of these goods are destined for the buyer's ofrenda de muertos or offering to the dead. At home members of the family might use the purchases to elaborate an altar in honor of deceased relatives. The spirits of the dead are expected to pay a holiday visit home and should be provided with an enticing repast and adequate sustenance for the journey. Meanwhile, at the family burial plot in the local cemetery, relatives spruce up each gravesite. The graves are then decorated according to local custom. On November 2 family members gather at the cemetery for gravesite reunions more festive than somber. Some bring along picnic baskets, bottles of tequila for toasting the departed or even a mariachi band to lead a heartfelt sing-along.

While the interruption of death is a topic largely avoided in North American culture, the Mexican Day of the Dead is meant not to be a morbid occasion, but rather a festive time. You may have been interrupted by such a makeshift altar recently.

The last planned interruption of this mini season will be Election Day. Elections, while not religious holidays, carry perhaps just as much moral weight as any Christian holy day. Every year, in the first week of November, we are asked to put our faith in action as we dig into our conscious and decided how we want our local, state and national governments to involved with the global human family. As people of faith, we are asked to seek justice in the world. In electing new leaders, this means making sure that the candidates or the propositions we endorse—as Isaiah puts it—rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan and plead for the widow, so to speak.

Tracey Lind writes: “Christ happens in the interruptions. Though I don’t always welcome them in the moment, I see interruptions as divine grace waiting to be recognized and received. In fact, I believe that the Risen Christ is always standing in the shadows of life, and every now and again, more often than not, comes out and is made known to us through some person, action, or event, an interruption into the ordinary realm of possibility. We never know when Christ is going to move from the shadows to the center stage. It just happens, and when it does, the normalcy and complacency of our lives is interrupted.” Jesus welcomed the interruptions. Let us do the same as we “run without stumbling” in our journey as fools for Christ.

Amen.

Year C, 22 Pentecost/Proper 26

Several years ago, my friend Ranjit Mathews spoke at the Presiding Bishop’s Forum on Global Reconciliation, held during the Episcopal Church’s General Convention in Minneapolis. Part of Ranjit’s talk included a personal conversion or transformation story of sorts, which I share with you today:

In light of September 11th, and in the light of globalization, [he writes] we need to create a new paradigm, maybe a Christian paradigm of tolerance. I feel this word reconciliation very deeply. For it was because of the reconciling love of Christ that I became a Christian. My family and I were traveling in India, now nearly four years ago and we were in the state of Karnataka. I was 20 and had recently completed my sophomore year at school. But within that, the form of Christian worship that I was a part of had a lot to do with fundamentalism. That means there were a lot of regulations put on me, such as I couldn’t listen to hip--hop because it wasn’t Christian music, or I couldn’t hang out with a certain group of friends because they weren’t Christian. I found this to be very problematic for it was not allowing me to be me. I felt like this wasn’t what it meant to be a Christian for it was putting me in a box.
 
Then my family and I went to India, and we stopped one day in the city of Mysore in the state of Karnataka. My family and I went to a cathedral, and as we were leaving it, at the top of the stairs were two leper girls. They had no legs and were rolling around on makeshift skateboards. One of them came to me, and we both stared into each other’s eyes, and then she took her hand, touched my foot and then brought it to her mouth. I had been reconciled very distinctly. I had come to know that Christ simply asks that we come as we are, and that we love with revolutionary fervor.

[St. Paul, in Ephesians, talks about the "new being," and it was at this point that I had believe I had become one — and isn’t that what we proclaim as Christians, that we are new beings. We are new creations.]

Ranjit’s story is the modern day story of Ruth, Naomi, Jesus and the Samaritan. He fleshes out what is a bit buried in today’s lectionary text—this idea of tolerance in its most welcoming form, being in the world as we are and loving with revolutionary fervor. The subtext of the Ruth and Jesus story is one of breaking societal rules and convention so that the world will open up a bit to be a more just, humane and happy place.

Ruth and Naomi’s story is the tale of two women, one young and one old, both husbandless, childless and vulnerable to the systems operating in the world around them. In a society that defined a woman’s worth by her marital status and offspring, Ruth, Orpah and Naomi had nothing to stand on. Living in Moab, it was even worse for Naomi who was husbandless and found herself a complete outsider in her late husband’s community. When the breaking point came and Ruth, Orpah and Naomi needed to make a decision and act in order to survive, each woman chose a path based on her needs. Orpah chose to follow a promising route—that of sticking around in her own land so to maximize the chances of finding a mate and with that a stable life. Naomi, the oldest of the three women, decided that she needed to return to her land and people. Ruth made the riskiest decision of all by braving the unknown and opting to follow Naomi to her homeland. In choosing to leave Moab, Ruth elected the status of outsider for herself when it would have been much easier to meet a fellow Moabite and start a family of her own in Moab. In Jewish Bethlehem, Ruth would have been forever marginalized by race and religion. But instead of clinging to security and what was known to her, she clung to the idea of a new life with Ruth. It’s what I consider revolutionary love on the scale of laying one’s life down for another. And so, the pair went off to Bethlehem, traveling with confidence in themselves and what they had to offer to one another and the world, knowing that God is with them on the journey.

To the women and men who through the ages continue to identify with Ruth and Naomi’s situation, their story is an inspiration. What woman in this generation has not had to face the possibility of breaking in a new path and the complexities and struggle that come from venturing out on that uncharted territory as we navigate the demands of past, present and future. Struggling to find themselves, Ruth and Naomi set off on a journey that brings them transformation, that process of coming to wholeness, growing into the skin of creation in a way that we become more than we ever thought we could become.

We can think of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan in the same light. Here is another story that puts front and center the issue of marginalization and lays out the politics of who is both in and out. Jesus, walking toward Jerusalem, is negotiating a zone of margin—the region between Samaria and Galilee. In this space, he encounters a group of outcast people—lepers—both Jewish and Samaritan who ask to be healed. We know that lepers kept distant from non-lepers, formed colonies and often positioned themselves at traffic ways in order to make appeals for charity. Jesus is unfazed by his interaction with this group. He sends them to their priests to receive healing. Yet, it’s the outcast of the outcast--the Samaritan leper--that returns to Jesus in order to share his profound gratitude. Thus, only the outsider earns the full blessing of Jesus’ ministry. This encounter is typical of the Gospel of Luke, which likes to highlights the plight of the marginalized. The fact that only the outsider is stunned into a public decry of thankfulness is a metaphor for the disintegration of Israel’s choseness into blindness and complacency.

The construction of non-negotiable boundaries in the form of constraining societal rules and regulations is a peculiar and particularly human thing. The orchestrators of such binding rules are driven by their fear of a loss of control – of what chaos might ensue if such rules were not in place. Yet the stories of redemption we hear about over and over again in the Bible are tales of intermixing on the margins—these stories embody the deconstruction and destruction of such rules, regulations and hurtful social conventions. Over and over again we read of one mainstream group finding its redemption through a marginalized group or of one marginalized group being redeemed by another marginalized community. For Ranjit it was the moment he received a kiss from the leper woman—a kiss of peace which has set him on fire to do the most incredible work in the world. Ruth’s catalytic point came when she set off to a far away place together with the woman she loved, trusting that the difficulties and joys would change her life and the lives of others in a powerful way. The relationships like the one between Jesus and the Samaritan leper dissolved the rules of out-castness so that as we read in today’s Psalm: “God takes up the weak out of the dust and lifts up the poor from the ashes, setting them with the princes, the princes of his people.”

I often find myself in a fury, studying these biblical texts knowing full well that in 2000 years of history, these lessons—these desires of God are far from heard and internalized, let alone realized. In Southern California, with issues that stare us in the face as we go about our daily lives, it’s quite easy to know this all too well. There are too many issues here we could lift up as examples. How many times have I found myself zigzagging Los Angeles (or even Santa Barbara County) before finally realizing how spooked I was driving through palatial to impoverished and back through palatial and impoverished as I traveled the same street across town. This disequilibrium is the pattern of any American urban layout. It’s also the sort of segregation that two millennia ago Jesus worked to dispel.  So what does it mean, when formal institutions and informal groups of people reinforce the politics of who is in and who is out? What does it mean when self professed Christians and the institution of the Church create a culture where heterogeneity and plurality are not respected? The realities we read about in the Bible are so intimately human that they travel through time. We’re able to understand the power struggles of Jesus’ time because they continue to be played out before our very eyes today. Conversely, we are also able to glean from these stories the key to redemption. Just as the world is made wrong through people, it is also made right through people. And it’s made right in a very big way by those people hanging out on the margins, those people trekking between the margin and the center and those people choosing to leave the comfort of their margin to intermix on a new margin. You can’t be a person of faith, a new being or simply one who loves with revolutionary fervor all alone. Even the most secluded, out-in-the-cave hermit is supported by a community that makes life possible. God comes to us through one another, sometimes as one another. This is why we can’t afford to go it alone or manipulate who will be included and who will be excluded. Just as all words are defined in relation to other words, all selves are defined in relation to other selves. Truth or the Kingdom of God, then, is inscribed in larger and larger contexts. When people like Ruth, the leper-Girl, Naomi, Ranjit, the Samaritan, Jesus and countless others encounter that larger context, something shifts. It’s in this work that the multiplicity of God’s love bubbles forth into a new corner of the Kingdom. And, only multiplicity of relation—this form of relationship and coalition building between margin and center and margin and margin—only this form of relationship building yields new flavors and experiences of God’s love.

Amen.
 
Year C, Pentecost 19/Proper 23

I was recently listening to a podcast from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco of a conversation between the Bishop of California (Marc Andrus) and the Presiding Bishop (Katharine Jefferts Schori) moderated by the Dean of the Cathedral (Alan Jones). The topic of conversation was, naturally, the most recent House of Bishops meeting and the status of the Episcopal Church with the other churches of the Anglican Communion, given the ongoing conversation in the church around the election of bishops who are gay and lesbian and the blessing of same sex unions. I found the conversation of Marc and Katharine to be quite thoughtful and rich – and so I commend it to you internet and church junkies – just go to the webpage for Grace Cathedral and follow the links…Now, getting closer to the theme of today’s service…As the dean was wrapping up this podcast, he reminded people that the Feast of St. Francis was approaching and that the following Sunday, the blessing of the animals would occur at the Cathedral. When he first arrived at the Cathedral, he reported, it was the tradition of the Cathedral to advertise the festivities as “Blessing of the Animals followed by outdoor BBQ” – today they have cut the “followed by BBQ” part out! The Bishop and Presiding Bishop, both of whom are vegetarians, couldn’t seem to stop laughing… 

Well, this year at St. Mike’s, we’ve had our BBQs, celebrating the new school year during Discovery Days a few weeks ago, followed by the celebratory potluck lunch in honor of St. Michael, our patron saint. And today, we find ourselves celebrating the Feast of St. Francis, patron saint of animals and the environment. 

I’m not quite sure when marketing frenzy in the Episcopal Church or other churches around the Feast of St. Francis’ began, but in recent years the church may have very well created a new holiday on par with Christmas and Easter through this Sunday of creaturely blessing. I remember when I lived in New York City and attended the blessing service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. There were elephants, birds I had never before seen, snakes, goats and a whole host of other creatures! It was as if the Cathedral had turned into a zoo of sorts, the music that day consisted shouts and song not only of human origin, but of all of creation. 

It’s can be all very cutesy thinking about this domesticated picture of St. Francis blessing the animals. Cutesy on this days is to be resisted – because there is lots more that is  profound operating in the person and proclamation of St. Francis.  

Francis was born around the year 1185. He was born into wealth and was known in his youth to have a love of drinking and friends of great privilege. Yet early on in his life, Francis showed a capacity for struggling with the tensions that exist in the world. There is one account of Francis out having fun with his friends one day when a beggar came along and asked for alms. While his friends ignored the beggar's cries, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and mocked him for his act of charity, and when he got home, his father scolded him in a rage. Francis’ spent his young adulthood in military service and eventually was captured and imprisoned on a failed mission. It was said that this period of imprisonment marked a critical shift in his consciousness. Through a series of spiritual crises and encounters, Francis came to know his vocation in life. He was to claim a life of poverty, show hospitality to the poor and restore the ruins of churches who needed it most. Francis’ family rejected his call. This bishop even needed convincing. But Francis was clear. After having renounced his father and gained the blessing of his Bishop, Francis set out to fulfill his call in the world. Inspired by the missionary discourse of Matthew’s Gospel, he soon found himself an itinerant preacher, proclaiming a message of penance and preacher throughout Europe, the Middle East and north Africa. And as he traveled spreading this message of peace, a beautiful thing happened. Communities of people who wished to carryout this message were formed. Some people took to the road with Francis’ message, others chose to live in out in their own homes and communities. All of these followers were bound by a rule – the Franciscan rule.  

In our modern culture, when we hear the word rule we tend to think of something uncompromising or narrow, perhaps. This was not necessarily the meaning of the word rule during St. Francis’ day. As Joan Chichester, the great modern monastic woman religious and writer reflects, a rule –regla—meant guide, guideline. It was like a railing going up or down a set of stairs. It was meant to help you – it was something to lean on – in your spiritual journey. It was a way to get you where you were going. It was an ideal and had something to do with living a lifestyle – not engaging is a specific profession or type of work within an institution – but participating in a lifestyle. The rule does not ask for any kind of rigid conformity. Rather the rule says, here are the scriptures, live in them. Here are your brothers and sisters, live with them – love them all, bring them all to life. Here is the life within the monastery or religious community, take it in. Do you own work, support yourself – earn your bread by the sweat of your brow. Living within in the rule meant joining a hard working, simple group of people modeling what it is to be part of the world, to take care of the stranger, to grow together. You live in community because it’s really only community that shows us who were are. That things that irritate us, bother us or that which we don’t want to do shows us exactly what we need to work on today. (See interview with Joan on Speaking of Faith)

Today, the monastic ideals of Francis and others are still very much at work in our world, through configurations of community that are both old and new. The order of St. Francis is alive and well – as is the 3^rd Order Franciscans, an ecumenical group of lay and clergy people who keep the practice of simple living, practicing social justice and caring for creation, all in the tradition of St. Francis. The parish in which I completed my field education studies housed a small community of 3^rd Order Franciscans and I can tell you that these people were on fire for the Gospel! In addition to these older monastic traditions, new ones like the movement among young adults known as “New Monasticism” is a modern example of young people committing themselves to live in community, care for the earth, share resources, practice simplicity and live by the rule of the Gospel. Faith based and secular volunteer programs are also allowing Young Adults to live the Gospel rule in an intentional and particular way. 

I friend of mine from my campus ministry years who now is a priest recently left her position on the staff of a large, progressive Episcopal Church to launch the project “Join the Living” – an experiment in intentional, community living. This summer and fall she is on a pilgrimage of the western United States. Her pilgrimage journey is meant to allow her and those who read about her experiences to connect with places of life in our world. My friend is visiting communities that are touching and transforming lives in a new way: the coffee shop where they took prices off the menu so that everyone can eat, the campus ministry where students are growing their own food, making music and riding their bikes for spiritual reasons, the church where the sacred is being explored and experiences through trapeze art, film editing and jazz worship. When the pilgrimage in her biodiesel powered vehicle comes to an end, the hope is that new forms of community will emerge through a Community Living House for people called to living in this way. 

It was this idea of a new creation that we read of in Galatians that excited Francis of Assisi. The part about his taming of the wolf that was terrorizing a town and other stories about Francis and the animals are apocryphal. But we can be certain that Francis dedicated his ministry to pointing out signs of new life and rebuilding communities that needed nurture in our world. His story is a powerful one. In Francis, as in Jesus, the Gospel is made flesh and dwells among us. Dressed in a simple brown habit, roving from town to town, unencombered by material possessions, Francis exposes our follies and serves as an icon into the vocation of the Christian who is compelled by issues of sustainability among the natural world and the human family. 

Amen.

The Lessons…

From Genesis…

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, and your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring, and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in the place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

From Revelation…

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, which is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death. Rejoice them, you heavens and those who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

From the Gospel of John…

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said to him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

A reflection on the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel…

Every few weeks I get together with some of my clergy colleagues in Los Angeles for a group Bible study. We also spend time checking in with one another and comparing notes about church life. Several of my colleagues have young children and so I often hear stories about these children and their quirky spiritual lives. There are reports of the latest escapades of these children with their imaginary friends; reports their rebelliousness, and of course, reports of the latest back to school nightmare. This week one my colleagues asked us if we knew anyone who does spiritual direction specifically with children. Spiritual direction is an ancient practice of the Christian tradition that typically involves the person seeking spiritual companionship sitting in conversation a spiritual companion or director. The director practices deep listening and helps the directee reflect on the different threads of his or her spiritual experience. If any of your might be interested in spiritual direction, do let me know, as the many religious communities and retreat centers in our area are wonderful places to find such spiritual companions. So back to my friend’s son who is constantly experimenting with his super powers and super hearing.This boy said that he could hear a baby crying in Africa. He thought the baby was being kidnapped and that's why she was crying. What was interesting to my friend was that her son wasn't upset, he just thought someone would help the baby since he could hear her crying. He kept calling her Africa, like that was her name. My friend thought that he was on to something, even though part of it was pretend.

Yesterday, the church celebrated the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. St. Michael is the patron saint of our church and so this morning we carry on the celebration of this fierce figure. The passage we just read in Revelation of Michael and the angels fighting and defeating the dragon-slash-powers-of-evil strikes me as a scene that gets acted out regularly in childhood imaginative play. Now I know that you thinking: “this is our first week back at university – thinking about childhood play is the last thing on my mind.” Or: “I’m well into retirement, thinking about how I played as a child seems so far from where I am today.” But stop for a moment and think about your wildest play sessions as a child – the imaginary friends, the moments when you possessed magical super powers (or super hearing!), the times you morphed into any number of creatures. The psychologists talk about the imaginary friends or super powers as a way children wrestle with their fears or the uncomfortable places of their lives. These friends and powers in essence, allow children to live into their fears and discomforts. They get to skirt around the edges until it feels safe enough to take it on by themselves. The vivid stories of Michael and the angels function very much in the same way.

A colleague of mine who has spent her ministry as a priest tirelessly working in many contexts to clear the way for justice writes about recently receiving a card from a parishioner featuring the archangel Michael, with a note inside reading: "Michael subdues the dragon allowing its evil to transform...Your willingness to call things out and take them on makes room for the spirit to transform lives." That's a pretty powerful statement, not to mention a beautiful testament to my colleague -- and it's Michael's colorful intensity that reaches through even to sensible adults -- moving them to engage playfully and creatively, so to be empowered by the boldness and fierce determination of this extraordinary saint,

As one commentator writes about this feast day, “A story from the book of Genesis recounting a fugitive’s dream of angels descending and ascending upon a ladder extended from the lower reaches of heaven’s vault, and an incredible account from the book of the Revelation chronicling a war that no one saw, save the reaches of the mind, are not grounded in their own experience. They do not have the ring of substantiated proof. They are, to be perfectly blunt, make believe. Make believe. It is a childhood expression, another name for pretending, a practice that has taken on a negative connotation despite its wholesome functions. We no longer appreciate the necessity and the wisdom of pretending. We have lost our imagination. That is why we need a strange festival of angels and archangels. It is a reminder of our need to pretend, to make believe.” (Sam Portaro, Lesser Feasts & Fasts, p174)

The myth of Michael and all angels is woven into the fabric of many biblical texts. In the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament he appears in the Book of Daniel and is identified as the protector of Israel. In Joshua, Michael the Archangel is known as the heavenly messenger of supernatural and holy origin, likely sent by God. Rabbinic tradition paints Michael as advocate of Israel, sometimes fighting with princes of other nations or Israel’s accusers. In Christian tradition as well, Michael is seen as the champion of his people, bringing victory in times of war and health in the face of illness. In Constantinople, he first gained repute for being a physician and healer. In Rome, legend has it that Michael answered the Pope’s prayer that the plague cease and was said to have hovered over the mausoleum with his sword in hand. This prompted all the sick to commemorate his feast day every year by sleeping the night in the church in hopes of catching a glimpse of his apparition. It is St. Michael’s victory over the dragon-devil that we read from Revelation that is perhaps best known among today’s Christians. In our calendar, the feast of St. Michael is celebrated on the day English universities traditionally began their term, all of which makes St. Michael very apropos to our community.

I thank God that we’re not named after a lame saint, because there certainly are those lame saints out there! We’ve got the patron saint of grocers, mariners, paratroopers, police and sickness; a saint who even has ties to the university! But the flip side of all this is that we’ve got a great and tall order to fill if we are to truly identify ourselves in the tradition of St. Michael the archangel. It’s quite fitting a pairing, given the powers and principalities of the university and the poverty of our neighbors that find heaped on our doorstep. Yes, the beasts lurk not far away and must be tamed and transformed into something that constantly lifts up humanity. I joke that by the end of the university’s 25-year expansion plan, St. Michael’s will find itself situated at the center of campus. The challenge will be to have dedicated those 25 years to taming and transforming the dragons about us.

On Monday, I headed over to campus in the afternoon for the Convocation address to the class of 2011. I got there a tad late, but nonetheless made my way to the front half of the chairs set up by the lagoon, only to finally find seated with an obscured view of the platform. As the festivities continued, I was reminded of how such university gatherings usually always come off to me as “uncomfortable” ritual. And as I was thinking about this, someone from the platform started to explain the meaning of the word ‘convocation’ – with – vocation – a calling together of a body of people for a special purpose, that of seeking vocation. And he continued on, imploring the gathered students to use these four years to seek out their vocation – not prepare themselves for a job – but to find their vocation. And he added a bit about how originally, convocation was the task of the clerics, who gathered in their garb and guided young academics through the journey of finding their vocation. I looked around and couldn’t find another chaplain and rabbi in sight!

Vocations are born out of dreams like Jacob’s. They come to us through our conversation with our spiritual companions in life. They are shaped through our childhood and adulthood play. They emerge through our engagement with the world. They take shape in moments of quiet and moments of heated debate. They are heard in between the crashes of waves or in the stillness of chapels.

Every few weeks I meet someone or receive an email from someone who called St. Michael’s home while studying at UCSB. Inevitably the message from these people is all the same: St. Michael’s profoundly changed my life. This week the email message read: “I graduated from UCSB in 1967, attended St. Michael's during my undergraduate days and have very fond memories of that place and the vicars who served it. I was browsing the net and wanted to reconnect with these mighty memories and wish you all a blessed Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. Your congregation had a profound impact on my own formation. Blessings in the Lord. Tim”

St. Michael’s may be a place where people pitch their tent for a few years before moving on. But in those few years (or in a handful of cases, long years), the community is a place that inevitably affects those who call it home in profound, life-changing ways. And so let us continue to look to Michael the archangel for our guidance. As people of God gathered under this tent, may we carry his fierceness, his sense of justice and his boldness in all that we do and all that we are becoming.

A blessed Feast of St. Michael and All Angels! A blessed beginning of the school year to you.

Amen.

The Rev. Nicole Janelle

St. Michael's, Isla Vista

Year C, Feast of Saint Michael

30 September 2007

1. May peace be with you. Or just peace is cool too- I just like the idea that we are all keeping in mind the idea of peace, I feel like it is such a positive statement and that it is something we should strive for everyday in our world and in our lives. It seems all too easy to forget that such a thing can exist in our violent and war filled world. The especially big bonus of this time is the chance to connect with everyone else that comes- to actually physically connect by touching someone's hand, and to get to know people. It's a very warm gesture.

2. The bread (cracker) and wine (body & blood). While I don't even partake of the actual refreshments, I love this part because everyone joins in a circle. It feels like everyone in the community is coming together, which is extremely powerful. It gives everyone the time to reflect and have a moment to connect with whatever they feel like they need to connect with. Everyone gets their 5 seconds, and everyone gets to watch everyone else get their five seconds. It's nice to be blessed- it just feels like someone is looking out for you.

3. The sermon. This totally rocks my socks. I have such reverence for the Reverend (well I guess that must be where the word comes from) who is able to bring stories that are so old to life. She inspires me to want to go out and change things, better myself, better our world, make it a more just place- who would have ever thought that the bible could be brought to life so relevantly in our society today?

4. The music. The piano is hot. It's cool to hear everyone get into it and sing together.

What I hear from the people of St. Mike's louder than anything:

We care about you. You are part of our community here ("wherever you are on your spiritual journey"). You're safe. Welcome.

I think all of this, and I'm a Jew, so chances are, whatever you are, you'd probably like to hang out at St. Mike's too.

Elizabeth Ozar, UCSB alum and Office of Student Life staff member

During my vacation this summer, I had the chance to visit the Hearst Castle for the first time. Any of you been there? It’s extraordinary isn’t It?!  Mr. Hearst, as it was explained to us on the tour, loved to play host. He loved to invite all sorts of famous and glamorous figures spend time with him on “the ranch” as he called it. And so whenever he was in residence, he would send open invitations to important figures around the country, asking them to spend time with him at the ranch. On the tour, we got to see the grand dining room where Mr. Hearst would dine with all of his guests. So picture this: a large, rectangular room with truly cathedral ceilings decorated in a medieval English style – dark wood paneling, flags containing various crests hanging from the walls, a balcony overlooking the dining room where the musicians would serenade the guests from above. And of course there was a very long, slender table in the middle of Mr. Hearst’s dining room. For those of you who have seen the Harry Potter movie, the refectory in the movie is modeled after the Hearst dining room. Now as legend has it, there was a whole hierarchy to this dinner table. Mr. Hearst would sit in the center of the table. Next to him would sit the guests that had arrived that day at the ranch. After that, your skills as an interesting conversationalist determined how close you would side to the host. Those people who turned out to be boring at the dinner table were pushed to outer edges. Those who had overstayed their welcome at the ranch would also find themselves at the extremes of the table.

It strikes me that Mr. Hearst’s idea of hospitality is quite opposite of what we read about it today’s Gospel. Meals in the Gospel of Luke, were considered sacred moments – they were as much about feeding the soul as they were about feeding the body. In this Gospel passage, Jesus finds himself once again in the presence of the Pharisees, for whom he often has some harsh words. The Pharisees, of course, know this and so they were “watching him closely” as the text says – waiting for Jesus to violate a rule so that they could call him on it. The dinner table and seating arrangements, as we learn, are as much laden with politics then as they are today. Just think today of how we love to position ourselves to get the best seats in the house – whether it’s at a sporting event, a concert or a dinner party. But Jesus has another rationale in mind and urges his guests (and us) to adopt a new set of rules – “kingdom rules” we might call them.

The first goes something like this: be humble, don’t claw your way to sit in the places of honor, choose a place instead of modesty. This Kingdom rule is perhaps more radical than it seems from the outset. When people choose modesty, what happens? The power dynamic of the whole system is reordered. What would have happened if Mr. Hearst’s dinner guests adopted this stance??? His well-orchestrated hierarchy at the dinner table would have collapsed.

A friend of mine will be giving a children’s sermon on Leona Hemsley (and her dog) and DJ Lemieux, a kid from Calvary Church, Danvers (MA), who raised $2,289.65 to help orphans with AIDS this morning. She’ll be showing the kids pictures of the folks and then pointing out that the according to the world’s standards, Hemsley is exaulted, because the world shows more respect to the rich person first than the poor person, or especially a kid.  But in God’s Kingdom, it’s the person whom the world deems humble who is exaulted –  someone like the kid who raised money for AIDS orphans.

The second Kingdom rule that Jesus gives to us this morning is about blessing --the idea that a person will be blessed – a person receives blessings from God when he or she is a gracious host, welcoming in someone with whom he or she may not normal dine and someone who cannot possibly repay the dept.

This kingdom rule calls to mind the New Sanctuary Movement. You many have heard news about the New Sanctuary Movement in the press lately.  Yes – no? The New Sanctuary Movement draws on the biblical texts of Leviticus that say that when someone is being unjustly treated, he or she may run to the temple and seek refuge in the sanctuary. In the 1970s, when survivors of political torture and persecution in Central America came to the United States to seek refuge and our immigration systems was not equipped to give them asylum, faith communities dedicated themselves to housing some of these immigrants who risked being deported back to a place where they lives were at risk. The New Sanctuary Movement draws attention to our broken immigration system. A new network of churches and synagogues are providing sanctuary to people who have lived and worked in the United States for years, people whose children are American citizens and whose only family, in some cases, reside in this country. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long Beach is one such church in our diocese that offered sanctuary to a young women named Liliana for three months this summer. Liliana is from Mexico. Her husband and three children are American citizens. Here family is here in the United States. Several months ago, ICE came to Liliana’s home in Santa Paula to deport her. She was breastfeeding her 6 month old Pablito at the time and begged them to return the next day so that she could make arrangements for her deportation and say good bye to her children. The following day, Liliana sought sanctuary, first in the home of a Catholic deacon, and next at St. Luke’s in Long Beach. This past week as you may have heard in the local news, Liliana moved to the UCC Church of Simi Valley where she will seek sanctuary for the next several months and where her family will be able to visit  her more frequently. Liliana is not alone in her story – her witness has been lifted up in a very public way  -- her story is a window into the reality of many families who live in this country. And for the faith communities who will grant sanctuary to the Lilianas of our country, their act of public hospitality is exactly what Jesus talks about when he says to the Pharisees and to us --- that we are to seek out those people who will never be able to repay our hospitality. The faith communities supporting Liliana provide her shelter, meals, visitors come and talk to her and help her with English during the day. That sort of generosity and hospitality cannot be repaid – nor does it need to be repaid, because it is about humanity reaching out the humanity so that families can stay together and American children can be given a chance at a better life. “And you will be blessed,” Jesus says, “for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The second lesson from Hebrews details the ways in which we can come to live by the Kingdom rules: Let mutual love continue, don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, remember those in prison, honor your marriage and intimate relationship for God will judge those who engage in sleazy elicit relations and those who are not honest in a relationship, keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what your have. It’s an eerily contemporary message – some timeless words. As is God’s assurance that follows: “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

I wonder some nights how it must feel for the handful of individuals seeking sanctuary around the country as evening approaches and another day come to an end. They are living away from their families, unless they are like Liliana whose American born infant son lives with her so that she may nurse him. Every night these people go to bed knowing full well that ICE could come in the night and taken them away. Every time their families do come to visit, they can’t for sure know that they will still be there for the next scheduled visit.  They know not how long they will be in sanctuary. Most likely it will be a long time before they immigration system is reformed. They do know that were they to leave sanctuary, it would be nearly impossible to live in anonymity. They now not how long they will continue to rely on generosity that is beyond repayment.

We do not know much about our lives and our futures. But we do know what is asked of us today by Jesus. So let’s remember those heroes who loved God and their neighbor. Let’s imitate those who exercise their humility through their love of God and the love of others. And let us also remember that no matter what happens, we do know that God will never leave or forsake us and that we can say with confidence “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

Amen.

The Rev. Nicole S. Janelle
St. Michael’s, Isla Vista

As a nearly-lifelong member of the Episcopal Church, I decided to come to UC Santa Barbara because of the warm welcome I received at St. Michael's, among other factors.  I have had the joy and privilege of serving as a member of the choir there, and have met many good friends through the weekly suppers for college students. I am grateful for all the support and opportunities for service and spiritual growth that our Episcopal Campus Ministry has given me.

From April-July 2007, I studied abroad at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan.  I was powerfully blessed to be living in a city with several Anglican churches, and to become a part of the community at the one closest to my apartment, St. John's Episcopal Church.  From the very first service I attended there, the welcoming feelings I got from the community were just as strong as they had been when I first went to St. Michael's.  I was part of a growing community of international young people there, with people from Korea, Indonesia, and Myanmar.  We shared several wonderful times of bonding together, including two meals at our priest's house and a lunch that we all cooked together and then shared in the parish hall.  Many of those young people were invited to come to church by a Mr. Yamamoto, who is their teacher at a private Japanese language school and who is a member of the congregation.  I am hopeful that I and the rest of the College Crew at St. Michael's can reach out to our peers as boldly as he does to his students.

The Anglican Church in Japan was an important and enriching part of my life there until the week before I left Japan.  One of the impressions I took away from the experience was that the ties between separate church congregations there are very strong.  I thought the number of times guest preachers came in and preached the sermon at our church was quite high for a four-month period, which also suggests a high degree of cooperation between churches.  Also, at least four churches came together to form a choir that rehearsed two Saturdays a month, of which I was a member.  I had a wonderful experience in Japan, and I look forward to another great year at St. Michael's.

Amy
Incoming senior from Upland (CA), Japanese major
Choir member

~~~

Despite being a campus ministry, St. Michael’s has been giving me a lot of opportunities to reach out to people outside the campus. Our campus ministry co-hosted the annual Province 8 retreat with the campus ministry at CSU Channel Islands in spring 2007. More than seventy college students and young adults from California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Hawaii gathered here at Santa Barbara. During this three-day retreat, we dedicated ourselves to God through prayers, Bible reading and communion. In addition, we had an enjoyable immersion experience with the migrant farmers who worked in a strawberry farm in Ventura County, to know more about the job and the everyday life of the migrant farmers. Besides that, we also shared our thoughts on a wide variety of topics, ranging from social issues to church and faith, in the workshops. The retreat has built up a network among college students from different part of the country.

In summer 2007, St. Michael’s Campus Ministry sent me to the Peace Camp as a counselor. The Peace Camp was a five-day camp for middle school students organized by the Revs. Julie Morris and Will Wauters with the support of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. The camp was held at Camp Stevens in Julian, San Diego County, California. During the five days, I assisted the chaplains (including Nicole) in planning and leading activities for the campers, and discussed with the campers about how to be peacemakers. This was the first ever Peace Camp in our Diocese. Thanks to the grace of God, the camp had gained some success, and we hope to make the Peace Camp an annual program!

Apart from these activities, I am also involved in the formation of a young adult group for college students and young adults in the whole Santa Barbara area, intended to benefit the students at UCSB, Santa Barbara City College and Westmont College. On behalf of St. Michael’s Campus Ministry, I have been communicating with a group of students at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Santa Barbara, and collaborating with them in this exciting new ministry.

Alan
Incoming senior from Hong Kong, physics major
Diocesan Convention delegate

~~~

My name is Jazmin. I'm a junior at UCSB and women's studies major. Last school year was my first experience in St. Mike's College Crew [Student Group]. College Crew is a very important place because college is a really confusing time. Not only is there the separation from parents and all of goodies that go along with being at home, Isla Vista can sometimes be a very lonely, isolating place. Sure, there are lots of parties and other social activities, but there are few places to really connect with peers and have a safe space. The Little House at Saint Michael's provides that space. Not only is it a place for College Crew to meet, but any student can get a key to use the space for studying, prayer, or just taking a quiet moment out of the whirlwind that is college. College Crew is more than just a meeting of like-minded individuals in a private room once a week, in fact I would say that is only one small part of it. We are entirely student driven and while the Reverend Nicole does attend, she does so as a friend and mentor, someone we can turn to for advice, whether it be about deciding to get baptized, missing our family or just the little day to day details. College Crew is a place where anything can be brought up and although we may all have
differing views, there is room for everyone at the table.

Jazmin
Incoming junior from Santa Barbara, women’s studies major and queer studies minor
Bishop's Advisory Committee (BAC) member, Diocesan Convention delegate

~~~

Coming to UCSB as a freshman, I found the school a bit intimidating in size and a long way from home. To assuage my homesickness, I immediately began signing up for as many clubs as I could and soon was attending ballroom dance, community service organizations, dorm events, and seminars with startling frequency. I found a spectrum of
activities and interests I enjoyed, but still missed a greater sense of community in the somewhat-isolated student population. That changed one Sunday when I came to St. Mike's at the invitation of my piano teacher. While trying to locate the bike parking on the luscious church grounds, I felt peace at being in such a nice place of nature, and following choir practice and service, such a place of nurture. I value the wide age range of the congregation, sharing different perspective, lifestyle, and experience. The family mentality has made my three years in Santa Barbara a loving and supported experience. Following that first Sunday, I have returned to St. Mike's regularly, to sing and socialize with friends, teachers. My second year, I joined the Bishop's Advisory Committee and found another side to the church: finances, grounds, membership, business. All the while, teamwork and a lot of faith propel the church. I enjoy learning the wheels behind the Sunday service, a useful tool for any student. The church serves a vital function as a mission to the community of Isla Vista and UCSB, welcoming newcomers and practicing good work. Serving on the BAC has further opened my eyes to the opportunities to serve in the community and the awesome things the church already does. As much as I enjoy participating in the choir, I enjoy the planning and organization from the BAC.   I look forward to the fall when I will return not only to my courses, clubs, and friends, but also to the comfort and family at St. Mike's.

Sarah
Incoming senior from Elk Grove (CA), biochemistry major and music minor
BAC member, Choir member

~~~

Saint Michael’s University Church is an important place for me to take part in the university and community life of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Isla Vista. I am a professor in UCSB’s Department of Music and enjoy engaging with students, faculty colleagues, and university staff in that capacity, but Saint Michael’s offers me a chance to interact with many of these same individuals in a different way. I am especially attracted to the gathering of individuals I would have little opportunity to meet elsewhere. This includes professors and students from different university departments, and congregants who may or may not be associated with the university in any other way. Saint Michael’s is a place where questions of faith are encouraged, where worship is practiced, and community is affirmed. Saint Michael’s helps me enact my vision of true campus and community life: there is not real separation of the “ivory tower” from the rest of society. In all human interactions, we as Christians are called to love, serve, and support those around us. This Episcopal Campus Ministry is one place where I feel I am able to accomplish this ideal.

Tim
Associate Professor, Department of Music
Affiliated Faculty, Global and International Studies
Bishop’s Warden & BAC member, Choir member

Prayers for the University

By The Rev. Toni Stuart

The mission of St. Michael's University Church and the Episcopal Campus Ministry in Isla Vista is to represent Jesus Christ in the University community, through service to students, staff and faculty and to express the love of God in Christ, through worship, education and fellowship. We are an inclusive community, celebrating the dignity of all people as we work together to promote peace and justice.

A great university is a place of infinite possibility, a place that God loves.

God is present and at work at UCSB and other institutions of higher learning in the Santa Barbara area and uses many people. As a member of St. Michael's Church, I invite you to join me in prayer for the University.

Monday
For the people behind the scenes

Beloved God, I thank you for the people whose work generally goes unnoticed. You know who they are. Office administrators, gardeners, accountants, plumbers, electricians, maintenance workers, food service workers --all the people who deal with the many details that make a great university tick. I ask that you would give them good health, fair pay, rewarding relationships, and an awareness that by helping to make the University run smoothly, they are doing holy work. Amen.

Tuesday
For the faculty

Eternal God, I know that teaching in a great university is a sacred calling, but like all of us, teachers sometimes feel they are running on empty. Refresh them, Lord. Renew their passion for their field of learning. Grant them the thrill of new discovery. Give them the gift of inspiration as they search to discover the best way to present their subjects. Make them wise, and give them compassion for their students. Amen.

Wednesday
For administrators

Lord of the Universe, give the administrators a wide perspective and a vision of this university as a lively center of sound learning, new discovery and the pursuit of wisdom, a place of justice, where all people are welcome and the dignity of every human being is respected. Give the administrators everything they need --health, a peaceful home life, good friends and colleagues, leisure to refresh body and soul--so that they might make good decisions, set wise policies, and be effective in your service. Amen.

Thursday
For graduate students

O Holy One, for the mature student the road sometimes grows long and arduous. Blow the breeze of your inspiration upon the graduate students, that their enthusiasm may be refreshed, their finances revitalized, and their goals grow closer day by day. Give them the support they need from family and friends, so they may successfully come to that place where their courage and perseverance will be rewarded. Amen.

Friday
For undergraduate students

Beloved God, comfort the undergraduate students as they attempt to find their footing in surroundings which may be upsetting. Give them the sense of balance that can be found only in you. Whisper in their ears what your angels have said to so many, "Do not be afraid." Fortify them with strength of character and belief in themselves so that this university may be for them a place of wonder, learning and discovery. Amen.

Saturday
For students from abroad

Dear Christ, you know what it means to leave a beloved home and come to a strange place. Send our exchange students good trustworthy friends and challenging and sympathetic teachers. Guard them against all harm, and help them to discern friend from foe. Surround each student with your holy light, so that they might be inspired and graced by all that they learn here and return to their homes prepared to do your work. Amen.

The Rev. Toni Stuart is an assisting priest and active community member at St. Michael's. Toni has served churches in the Dioceses of Los Angeles and Northern California. She now makes her home in Carpinteria.

I found myself making an unexpected house call last week. I needed a second signature on the church checks and so I rang my nearest church neighbor who is a check signer and dropped in on her and her husband. While Diana signed away, Jim and I struck up a conversation. It wasn't just any conversation. Jim, a retired geologist at UCSB, has made an extraordinary discovery that will probably be debated within the scientific community for the next 15 to 20 years. The basic premise of the discovery is that 13,000 years ago a large comet or asteroid exploded over North America and may have wiped out one of America's first Stone Age cultures, along with all the big mammals AND may have caused major climatic cooling, possibly affecting human cultures emerging in Europe and Asia. Part of the evidence to support Jim's theory comes from a thin foundation of black ash that he has found blanketing the earth where the surface would have stood 13,000 years ago.

So you begin to see the significance of this hypothesis. One day the Stone Age people were walking about along with the sloths and mammoths and the next day – bam – everything was wiped out. Immediate landscape and climate change.

Jim's discovery provides an extreme backdrop to today's readings from the lectionary and to today's world. The readings we've just heard are like one big earthquake – it's not the ground that's shaking, however. The ground is still – but the people are being shaken by God. They are being shaken so intensely that what emerges at the end of their quaking is but their core. The excess is shed – the superficiality is shed – everything that doesn't make up their pure core falls by the wayside. And when the quaking is all over – some are able continue and others aren't.

Now today, wild fires aside, we're not experiencing that same sudden change that Jim's hypothesis purports. But we are being shaken, shaped and formed by many factors, influences and experiences. We live in a very fast paced world. Television, cell phones, the internet, email, all of these mediums have allowed communication to occur at unprecedented speeds. And as Jim reminded me as our conversation evolved from the explanation of his recent discovery to his reflection on the changes he has seen in the world during his lifetime – we're now living in a sound bite culture: there are fewer and fewer spaces in our culture allow us to sit in individual or communal silence, to share a leisurely meal with friends and family, to read or study for extended periods of time, to explore and discern in community God's call to each of us. And amidst the positive and negative shifts we experience in our world, many of us seek an anchor – we seek to be grounded in a sure foundation and a tested stone, to use the language of first Isaiah.

Enter campus ministry. Episcopal campus ministry is on the front line of these emerging culture shifts. We engage young adults at a critical time in their development – they are often in the midst of their own earthquake moments. These students have left the protective nest of life at home and are on a continuing quest to discover who they are and who they will become in the world. It's a sacred journey of growth and discernment. New identities are tried on, new ideas explored; they are building a system of ethics that will carry them through life – their core is taking shape. University life can be daunting with its cerebral exercises, social pressures, demanding courses and life away from home. Amidst all this, campus ministry is there to welcome the whole person and to provide a safe space for students to talk about what they think, feel, believe and doubt. Campus ministry is also a place where the leaders of the church and the world are formed, encouraged to take risks and supported.

It is because of all this – and because I believe that so much is at stake in the way our church engages young adults – that I love being a campus chaplain. It is also because of my personal experience in campus ministry as a college student that I stand before you as a priest in the Episcopal Church.

Chuck invited me today to share with you a bit about campus ministry at St. Michael's. In these next few minutes I hope to give you taste of life in Isla Vista and I hope that your interest might be piqued to visit us sometime and better yet, to join in the network of support we are building for this exciting ministry!

At the end of this December, I began my work at St. Michael's University Church and Episcopal Campus Ministry. Our small mission church is located within easy walking distance of the UCSB campus. If you visit on a Sunday morning, you'll be greeted by an oasis of green, lush gardens and a funky a-frame chapel that houses our small congregation made up of students, faculty, staff and area residents. Our service is casual and contemplative. A choir of a few voices leads us in song and students regularly serve as acolytes, readers, Eucharistic ministers and altar guild members. Our set up at St. Michael's is fairly atypical in that we are both a residential church and a campus ministry. One of the blessings of this configuration is that we are able to provide students with an opportunity to be leaders within traditional church structures – students, for example, are elected to serve as diocesan convention delegates – and this year, we welcome four students on our nine member Bishop's Advisory Committee, the equivalent of your vestry.

I wouldn't want to leave you with the impression, however, that the Campus Ministry at St. Michael's ends with church on Sunday mornings. We are so much more expansive than that. During the week, our Episcopal student group "College Crew" gathers for a simple supper and conversation on various topics. Sometimes we take a mini field trip to such places as Mt. Calvary Retreat House or to our sister Campus Ministry at Cal-State University Channel Islands. College Crew allows our students to take a break out from their busy lives for a home cooked meal and conversation about their faith. Afterwards, they often stay in our newly renovated student lounge space to study or watch a movie. There's a gas fireplace to keep them warm, wireless internet to help them stay connected and a well stocked kitchen for their midnight snack.

As chaplain, I am of service to the entire university (that means students, faculty and staff!) and to university students in the region. This role takes me to campus frequently, where I meet with students (churched and un-churched) who have been referred to me by others, student leaders and faculty and staff. This winter, we began an exciting tradition of gathering Episcopal faculty, staff and graduate students for quarterly luncheons at the Faculty Club. Every month I discover more people on campus who identify as Episcopalian. (If you know of any folks I should add to my list – make sure to let me know!) This luncheon allows the faculty, staff and graduate students a chance to get to better know one another and to share in conversation about the intersection of their faith and academic work, whatever relationship those two might hold for each.

In the eight months since I've arrived at St. Michael's, we've covered a lot of ground. Just to give you a taste of what that ground and landscape has looked like:
    ~A new student group "Progressive Christian Students" that draws across Christian denomination is in formation;
    ~This spring we hosted a retreat for over seventy students and chaplains from the West Coast that included an immersion experience in migrant farm worker culture, student led worship and workshops on topics ranging from contemplative prayer to the Millennium Development Goals;
    ~The Province VIII retreat ended in a lively Palm Sunday service and ushered our students into Holy Week energized about their faith – and it was certainly touching to baptize one active student in our chapel garden during the Easter morning service.
    ~Shortly after Easter, we hosted campus lecture and forum in our chapel by the Rev. Naim Ateek, noted Palestinian Anglican priest and founder of the ecumenical Sabeel Center for Liberation Theology;
    ~And over the past few months, we have engaged in conversation with our Episcopal neighbors at Trinity and All Saints to see how these and other area congregations might deepen their support of campus ministry at St. Michael's. This short term Task Force conversation picked up where the Task Force conversation of several years ago – in which St. Mark's participated – left off. Our meetings this spring and summer have led us to begin forming a Standing Committee on Campus Ministry at St. Michael's – which will be served by representatives from area parishes. The idea is that this group will help the campus ministry develop programs, fundraise and raise the profile of St. Mike's as a center for campus and young adult ministry in the region. I hope that St. Mark's might consider joining this coalition in the future!

It is my belief that St. Michael's University Chapel is uniquely positioned to marry social justice and young adult ministry in fresh, new ways. Isla Vista, with its sizable student population and economically disadvantaged Spanish speaking population, is a community with many diverse needs. This is my vision for St. Mike's: a place where students, faculty and staff from the region gather for spiritual sustenance – a place where some of the most economically disadvantaged are able to find wholeness through a variety of programming – a place where the ivory tower collides with the reality of the world where we are strengthened by transformative partnerships that draw each of us closer to the Kingdom God envisions.

I have often been known to say that the Gospel doesn't matter a rat's tail if it doesn't touch and transform lives. The challenge ahead for us – and all those folks who will lend a hand to this ministry -- is to continue transforming ourselves and touching other lives so that we stay connected to that precious cornerstone – that sure foundation. The formation of the Standing Committee on Campus Ministry is a step in this direction. Chuck's inviting me to be here with you today to share my excitement and vision for St. Mike's is a step in this direction. Your contemplating how you might be called to be of service in this endeavor, is a step in this direction. Daring to voice out loud our wildest dreams for this mission church and campus ministry center in our region, is a step in this direction.

One of the things students and faculty at St. Mike's often tell me, is that they so value being able to be part of a community that, though connected to their academic community, does not reinforce the hierarchies of academic life. In church, professors and students come together as people bound by their faith in God. This is the power of being in Christian community, is it not? We seek to be ONE, like the people we read about in the Gospel, gathering from east and west, from north and south, to eat in the kingdom of God and to touch that foundation that grounds us in our journey--amidst the transitions and chaos--to be all that God calls us to be in this world.

Thank you so much for your kind welcome here today. I promise to continue being in touch and look forward to the collaborations that will emerge between St. Mike's and St. Mark's in the future!

Amen.

The Rev. Nicole Janelle
St. Mark's, Los Olivos
Year C, Proper 16
26 August 2007

Isaiah 28:14-22
Psalm 46
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-29
Luke 13:22-30