Central Kitsap Food Bank

Hoyt Burrows

Today I visited Central Kitsap Food Bank and was given a tour by Hoyt Burrows, the Executive Director. The Food Bank is located on Anderson Hill Road, just a few blocks from St. Antony's.

Hoyt showed me their facility, which is a commodious metal building with lots of activity. Volunteers were stocking shelves and interviewing clients while families with kids picked food off the painted plywood shelves. A couple of cubicles to the side of the warehouse provided shelter for Hoyt's office and for Kathy, the administrative assistant.

Hoyt said that this month there were about 565 families getting food from CK Food Bank, compared with 417 last year. Every month this year has seen an increase of 15% to 35% over last year. The need is immense.

St. Antony's has been a long-time supporter of CK Food Bank, and I hope we'll continue. A sound principle for outreach programs is to serve the people in your neighborhood. CK Food Bank is definitely in our neighborhood!

Board meetings for the Food Bank are second Tuesdays at 5 PM at the Silverdale Beach Hotel. I think I'll attend the next one.
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Book on Healthy Congregations

Recently I read Healthy Congregations by Peter Steinke (Alban, 1996). Steinke is part of the Alban Institute, an ecumenical think tank for congregational life.

This book has been around for a while, but it's a classic. Steinke compares the life of a church congregation to a human body. Just as the human body has a circulatory system, a respiratory system, a brain and a nervous system, etc., a congregation has similar systems that work as a whole to keep the body healthy.

Good circulation in the body is like the healthy flow of information through the parish, for instance. And just as the body has immune systems to identify and defend against viruses that attack the body, a healthy church also has immune systems, namely in good leadership.

Steinke says that good parish leadership is not afraid to address conflict and bring it into the open. Mature leaders manage their own anxiety and keep a positive outlook, while always focusing on the longterm mission of the parish.

He warns about four at-risk conditions: overfocusing on clergy; paying too much attention to painful events; adapting to weakness; and taking sides and taking hostages. He points out that anxiety in a church is a like a virus, and he names four viruses: secrets, accusation, lies, and triangulation.

Steinke helps us laugh at ourselves. He talks about the “coconut captivity” of the church: we’re like a monkey that refuses to let go of the grain in the jar in order to escape captivity. In other words, we’re fearful of losing what we already have and we’re unwilling to take the risks that we need to free ourselves.

As I think about our congregation, I wonder how we can be a healthy and vital parish. This book has a lot of helpful wisdom for us.

newlife church

This morning I attended the leadership meeting of newlife church. I was invited by Jack Tensch, a retired Episcopal priest who is active at newlife.

Newlife is a young church targeting people in their twenties and thirties. They currently meet in Klohowya High School and they're opening a second campus in Port Orchard. Their growth in numbers has been phenomenal...from seven families to over a thousand in worship every Sunday.

The leadership meeting this morning was inspiring. There were fifty people, mostly under 25, packed into their gathering place, intently listening and sharing with each other. This was a gathering of the leadership of newlife, especially the "apprentices", young people who are leading a small group or a team for the church.

The purpose of these Tuesday meetings is to teach and energize these young people. The senior pastor, Wes Davis, is obviously passionate about reaching the unchurched and growing newlife. I was enchanted with the idealism and energy of all the people there.

A couple of catch-phrases I heard: We're "on the mission." If you are on board with the church and its vision, then you are "on the mission." They used that phrase several times to capture the intensity of the vision.

Another phrase I heard often was "170,000 people without a church in our county". This came up several times as the driving force behind their efforts. There are 170,000 people in Kitsap County who don't have a church home, and the mission of newlife is to bring them into a relationship with Jesus.

Growth is definitely part of the DNA of this church. They expect growth, they feed on growth, and they plan for growth. It makes it an exciting place to be.

I learned a lot from the gathering, and I hope to use some of their ideas and energy for St. Antony's. We can all learn from each other!
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Train trip to Eugene

Chad at Caspian's Cafe

Yesterday I made a quick train trip to Eugene to see Chad, my younger son. I haven't seen him since college started in September, and I miss him. So I jumped on the Amtrak Sunday afternoon in Tacoma and arrived in Eugene at 9 PM.

I slept on the floor in his apartment. This morning we walked to my favorite University District cafe, Caspian's, and had breakfast. Caspian's is a little Mediterranean cafe run by an extended family who speak with an eastern mediterranean accent. Great food, low prices, funky atmosphere. My favorite.

Today I took the Amtrak back to Tacoma and got home before dark. A good day.

Heart, soul, and mind

The Gospel for this Sunday is known as the "Summary of the Law." When Jesus is asked which of the commandments is the greatest, he replies without hesitation with two quotes from the Hebrew scriptures:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind." (Deuteronomy 6:4)
...and...
You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18)

Deuteronomy 6:4 is also known by Jewish people as the Shema and is repeated daily as Moses directed.

I think of this passage as encouragement for us to acknowledge God with our whole being: heart, soul and mind. Our emotions, our gut, and our brain. We're called to be whole people in our relationship with God, and to offer our whole being to God.

Ed Bacon, the rector of All Saints, Pasadena, said that when he and his wife were first attending an Episcopal Church, his wife asked him, "Why are we going to the Episcopal Church, anyway?" He replied to her, "I think it's because we're able to be the same person when we leave home as we are when we arrive at church."

In other words, they didn't feel the need to "churchify" themselves in order to go to worship, but their whole humanity was invited into worship - heart, soul, and mind. God wants to have a relationship with our whole being, not just the parts we want God to see.
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Taking communion to Ann

Last night I went to Clearbrook Inn Living Center with Gigi, one of our Eucharistic Visitors, to give communion to Ann, a resident there. Gigi is just learning to be a Eucharistic Visitor, so I took this opportunity to show her how to bring communion.

Gigi has been bringing a Sunday afternoon Bible study and prayer session to Clearbrook for many months, and she knows Ann well. Now that Gigi has been licensed as a Eucharistic Visitor, she'll be able to bring communion every week.

I love bringing communion to elderly people who can't come to church. They're always appreciative, and it's a small thing to do for such a great reward.

The form for home communions is in the prayer book, and it provides dignity and beauty for the communion service. St. Antony's has a beautiful communion kit made of varnished mahogany. Inside the kit is a small silver chalice and paten and a glass cruet for the wine. When they are laid out on a table, they make a splendid setting for communion. A couple of scripture passages, the Lord's Prayer, and the sharing of bread and wine complete the simple service.

Ann was very appreciative of our efforts. She's a frail woman, quite elderly, but with great southern charm and a lovely Georgia accent. A devout Christian, she knows her Bible verses by heart and has a prayer list as long as your arm.

It was a good visit.
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Fresh Start curriculum

Yesterday I spent the day at a "Fresh Start" conference in tiny St. Mark's Church in Montesano. Fresh Start is a program designed by the national church to help clergy as they are entering a new congregation. The church recognizes that this time of transition is a critical time in the life of a parish, and they want to help make successful transitions.

I'm part of a Fresh Start group of about 18 clergy. We meet about once a month except during the summer, and the program is designed to take a year to complete. Each month the presenters introduce one of the modules of the program for us to study. This month it was "Leadership for Our Times".

We talked about what makes a good leader, and how different situations may call for different kinds of leadership. Then we took a self-assessment quiz to define what our leadership style is.

There are four leadership styles:

• Relater - Works harmoniously well with others and looks for cues from others about leading change
  
• Promoter - Loves to hear stimulating ideas about change and create the conditions for change
  
• Analyzer - Studies a situation very carefully and justifies change with a rational analysis
  
• Director - Likes to lead change decisively, and works in a business-like manner

My self-assessment showed that I'm split between the "Relater" and Promoter" styles. I guess that's probably accurate.

I learned about leadership, but what I really liked was talking with other clergy and learning from them. There were some talented people there, and I got some good ideas and inspiration from them.
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Speaking of money

Last Sunday I preached about money. I talked about how placing our offering of money on the altar makes it holy, and makes us holy by extension.

I find it hard to preach about money. As soon as the topic comes up, you can see the entire congregation begin to stiffen up. We're all wary about other people reaching into our pocketbook, and for good reason. If there is ever a quagmire for a pastor, money is it. The topic has to be addressed delicately.

Jesus talked a lot about money. He talked about the poor being blessed, about how life does not consist of the possession of money, he talked about how it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. You'd think money would be part of the vocabulary of the church, but it's not.

We're about to begin our stewardship campaign where we ask for our members to make a pledge for next year. A pledge is not a contract - it's just a good faith estimate of what we'll be able to give in the coming year. And yet it's hard for us to talk about pledges. In every church I've been in, a person's pledge is a deep dark secret.

I don't know how we can make it easier to talk about money. Our bishop Greg does a remarkably good job by simply being open and honest about the topic. That's probably the best place to start.
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Tony's Trekkers

"Tony's trekkers" is a hiking group associated with St. Antony's (St. "Tony's"). They've been hiking together since about 1997, and the group now includes a number of people who are "friends" of the parish. Every month the group takes a different hike.

Today we joined the group for the October hike. We started from the Brant's house on Hood Canal. We hiked the logging roads and paths above their house, then returned for a delicious dinner of grilled salmon.

The weather was perfect - cool fresh fall air with clear skies. Our hike was a relatively easy stroll through the woods. A lovely day with good friends.

Sick days

I've been ill the past few days. A nasty cold has attacked me and I've been doing the minimum necessary. I think I'm past the worst of it, though, and tomorrow I'll be back on schedule.

Do you get sick days for a blog?

Safeguarding God's Children

Yesterday I went to a workshop on the prevention of sexual abuse of children. In attendance were about a hundred clergy. To emphasize his urgency about this training, Bishop Greg was there. The presenter was Sally, a lawyer from the national church office.

We saw two videos that alternated between the stories of children who were victims of sexual abuse and perpetrators of sexual abuse. The videos are disturbing because they force you to confront unpleasant issues. Sexual abuse happens, and it happens in churches. That's painful to contemplate.

Clearly, our first task is to create a safe environment where the children of God are protected and nurtured, learning to trust God. The workshop gave us five areas for us to address:

• Screening - Use applications and references to screen those who work with children
• Interacting - Have written standards about good ways to show affection
• Training - Communicate the policies and standards of the parish to everyone. Make people aware how abuse happens and what to do when you suspect abuse
• Monitoring - Always be aware of where the children are
• Responding - Speak up when you suspect something and notify child protective services, the police, and the diocese when necessary

These tasks aren't easy, especially in a small congregation where there's a high level of interaction between adults and children. But the safety of the children has to be top priority.
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Required workshop

Today I am leaving home early for a workshop in Bellevue on Sexual Abuse Prevention. This six hour workshop is required for all diocesan clergy, and I want to be sure I get the latest training.

Making sure our children have a safe environment is a top priority for me and for St. Antony's, and we want to make sure we do all we can to provide it. So I'm happy to attend this program, even though it takes a full day of travel and training.

Questions about the economy

We're in the beginning stages of our stewardship campaign for this year. In the next month, we'll be making our pledges for our giving to the church for next year. Considering the bleak news about the global financial meltdown, our timing doesn't seem too good.

The causes of the current economic crisis are many and varied, and there's plenty of blame to go around. But it does raise questions about our relationship with money.

In the last fifteen years, our economy has soared as we have increased our personal and national debt. I wonder if we've become so obsessed with prosperity and growth that we've neglected basic values like hard work, delayed gratification, and sacrifice. We've become so delighted with rising real estate values and a soaring stock market that we take it for granted that our prosperity will always increase.

Now that's all being questioned and we may be entering a period of recession. A recession is a necessary period of devaluation to return the markets to their true value. A recession forces us to recognize economic realities.

Maybe next time around we'll be more wary about our personal and national indebtedness. The bailout of enormous firms that were overvalued makes us realize how important it is for us to live within our means.

Financial penance is similar to spiritual penance. When we realize the error of our ways, the door is open for transformation and growth. It seems that we're in a period of national economic penance, and I'm hopeful it will lead to a re-examination of our values.
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High School Coronation

Last night I went to the Klahowya High School coronation ceremony. I'd received an invitation from Chad Reeder, one of our youth at St. Antony's, who was on the court.

This was high school ritual at its peak: ten young couples, elegantly dressed in formal wear, being recognized for their grace and accomplishments. Each couple was announced and a short bio was read as they entered. The school jazz group sang two lush numbers with warm vocals and rich harmonization. The new king and queen were crowned, and the program ended.

Chad is a very accomplished young man and kept a very poised presence through the ceremony. It was a pleasure to see him and these other fine young people.
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Blessing of the animals

A photo from last year's animal blessing

Yesterday we had the Blessing of the Animals at St. Antony's. We had about 107 humans at our two services, and about 30 animals! It was a noisy, frolicsome, delightful Eucharist. Many of our young people brought their pets, including a mouse, a hamster, a rabbit, and numerous dogs and cats.

I preached on the simplicity and purity of Francis' life that allowed him to be trusted by animals and birds, and I gave a short version of his sermon to the birds. I liked the sermon, but I'm not sure if anyone could hear it! Doesn't matter.

I did the blessing of the animals right after the sermon, and afterwards some people took their pets to their cars so the room quieted down a bit. It was wonderful to have such high energy in our church, and I think everyone felt the blessing was meaningful.

Here's a quote from Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov that fits well with the spirit of St. Francis:

"Love all God's creation, the whole and every grain of sand of it. Love every leaf, every ray of God's light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love."
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Our animal companions

The first funerals I conducted took place in the back yard of our seminary rental housing. There, underneath the clustering oak trees, we laid to rest a series of beloved hampsters and our cat, Smitty. I felt that our sons, who were then about 7 and 9, needed to know that their beloved creatures came from God and returned to God.

The death of an animal friend can be very painful for a family that has loved and cared for that creature for many years. Our pets become part of our family, and, in some cases, they become our family. Many people bring their animal companions to be photographed with them for their family portrait.

There's been a shift in our language: we no longer call them "pets", but "animal friends", and we're no longer "pet owners" -- now we're "guardians." This reflects a shift in our understanding that humans aren't the only creatures on the planet of worth and value. Our animal companions are just as important as we are.

I wonder if this change in relationship to our animal companions might help us change our relationship with our environment. If our dogs and cats have value in themselves, then don't the air and soil and water carry the same value? If we aren't the "owners" of our pets, but rather guardians, then aren't we also guardians, not owners, of the earth?

This Sunday we will have the blessing of the animals at St. Antony's. It's a way of recognizing how valuable our animal companions are to us, and how they change our relationship to the earth.
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St. Francis of Assisi

From www.flickr.com

This Sunday we will celebrate the feast day of Francis of Assisi. The feast day of Francis is October 4, but we are transferring it to October 5.

Francis was born in 1182 in San Damiano, Italy. He was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant, and as a young man he lived a frivolous and wasteful life. An experience of sickness and a difficult experience in the military caused him to re-think his life. One day, as he was meditating in the shabby church of San Damiano, he heard God say to him, "Francis, rebuild my church."

He took the call literally and sold some cloth from his father's business to pay for repairs to the church. His father was so furious at this extravagance that he brought Francis before the bishop, and asked the bishop to order Francis to repay him.

Francis gave all his money to his father, and he even took off his clothes and gave them to him. He stood there naked and said, "Now I owe you nothing." From that point on, Francis was determined to live a life of utter poverty, living for God alone. He would beg scraps of food from leftovers and waste-bins, and he only wore discarded clothing.

He began rebuilding the church using stones from the field. He cared for the sick, especially those with terrible sores on their body. His total devotion to the life of simplicity and poverty caused him to be filled with joy and holiness, and soon he was joined by a few companions who wanted to share his life.

After a few years the Pope allowed Francis and his companions to form the Little Brothers, an order which eventually became the Franciscan Order we know today.

Francis was a "holy fool". He always took the simplest, most loving path, and he had no guile within him. He wandered through the woods and fields, rejoicing in the goodness of God's creation. He composed the words to the hymn, "All creatures of our God and King", a song of praise to the whole creation (Hymn 400 in our hymnal).

Francis was so simple and kind that even the animals recognized him. He would preach to the animals in the forest, telling them about God's love for them. Because of this, he's famous for being the patron saint of animals, and many churches will have a blessing of the animals on St. Francis' Day.

I'm told that the tradition of St. Antony's is to have a blessing of the animals on the Sunday nearest St. Francis' Day, so this Sunday we will bless all pets that are brought to our church. St. Francis would love it!
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