Advent Day 23

Advent is a threshold time, an in-between time as we wait for God to come. I chose these lines from a poem by R.S. Thomas and the image of opening a door to illustrate how Advent opens us to a new reality.

Advent Day 21

According to Isaiah and Matthew, pregnancy is the sign that God is with us.

Advent Day 20

One of the themes of Advent is waiting. Just like Mary waited for the child growing within her, we wait for the coming of Christ.

Advent Day 19

In this Sunday's Gospel lesson, an angel tells Joseph, "Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife." And Joseph obeys.

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Advent Day 18

I've always wondered what Joseph went through as he wrestled with his decision to dismiss Mary or to marry her.

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Advent Day 17

Our New Testament lesson for this Sunday consists of the opening lines of Paul's letter to the Romans. In my imagination I can see him carefully forming the letters of his message.

Advent Day 16

In the Old Testament lesson for Sunday, the prophet Isaiah tells King Ahaz to ask God for a sign, but Ahaz refuses. But God gave him a sign anyway.

Third Sunday of Advent

Last night I heard the Bremerton Symphony Chorale perform the Christmas Oratorio by J.S. Bach. Three members of St. Antony's sung in the performance, which was joyful and uplifting. A good way to observe the Third Sunday of Advent.

Advent Day 14

Katy and I are dog-sitting Basil, our grand-dog, while our son, Chad, and his fiance, Brittany, are in Hawaii. As I watch Basil pine for his masters to return, I think about the theme of waiting in Advent. Basil is waiting.

Advent Day Thirteen

The Gospel message is that God has overturned the ways of the world. In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus tells Paul that he has healed the lame and made the blind see. In the Magnificat, we hear Mary's cry of joy that God has cast down the mighty and lifted up the lowly. In our own small ways, we live out the Gospel message.

Advent Day Twelve

In our Gospel story for Sunday, John is languishing in prison. He tells his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come?"

It makes me wonder about the various kinds of prisons we find ourselves in.

Advent Day 11

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In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, Jesus quotes the prophet who says, "See, I am sending my messengers the prophets ahead of you." It made me think of where I stand in the line of the prophets.

Advent Day Ten

One of the themes of Advent is waiting. The lesson from James for this Sunday picks up this theme: "Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord."

Advent Day Nine

The Old Testament experience of exile was deep and profound for the people of Israel. They were taken from their familiar beloved country to an alien place they didn't know, with gods they didn't recognize. Their experience of grief and loss helped form them into a people that did not need to have a building or a city to know they were the children of God.

Today we may feel that we're living in exile from the old, familiar ways we used to know, when hard work was rewarded with prosperity and our country was a beacon of light, when everyone went to church (or pretended to). Now the world is hard to recognize, with virtual life more important than ordinary life, when inequality is increasing and wages are falling, and when culture wars divide us into spiteful camps.

Who will speak a word of hope to our times? The words of the ancient hymn speak to us today as they have in the past: "O come, O come, Emmanuel."

Advent Day Eight

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent, a holy day in the season of preparation.

Advent Day Seven

The Reading fro the Letter of Paul to the Romans says, "Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you." This makes me think about all the ways we welcome life as it comes to us.

Advent Day Six

Advent Day Five

In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, John the Baptist fulfills the words of Isaiah, who says, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Makes me think about all the ways we might prepare the way of the Lord.

Advent Day Four

John the Baptist is the focus of the Gospel reading this Sunday. I think of him as a very intense guy.

Advent Day Three

Advent Day Two

Advent Day One

For the season of Advent, I'll send a drawing each day as a kind of Advent Calendar. Here's Day One:

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Goodbye, Sally Santana

Goodbye, Sally Santana. You were a voice crying in the wilderness in our county, a voice for the homeless and poor. I met you a few times at meetings and even though you were crippled and suffering in health, you were clearly a voice to be heard. You were formidable. A prophet.

Like a prophet, you were a living reminder of our obligation to the disadvantaged. You were as tough and tenacious as Jeremiah in the Old Testament. You experienced homelessness yourself as a child, but somehow you overcame all barriers and grew up to be a fierce advocate for your people (yes, I think of them as your people).

Your were practical, realistic, earthy. You knew what it's like for those who sleep under a tarp in the rain, or go to school on an empty stomach. You knew what it's like to be confined to a wheelchair and have to wait for the Access bus. You knew sickness, poverty, and death. 

You're gone, but your voice will stay with us. Rest in peace.

Don't do it, Barack

Don't do it, Barack.

I know you want to be principled. I know you believe the use of poison gas is a violation of human rights. I know you're trying to make your mark. But please don't do it. 

Think strategy, President Obama. What is the endgame here? What are you trying to accomplish? A missile strike won't stop Assad. It won't change the balance of power between Assad and the rebels. 

The only thing it does is draw us into the quagmire of Syria, where there is no good outcome. We should have learned the dangers of escalation a long time ago. Hard as it is, the best thing is to stay out of Syria.

(Posted on Facebook August 30, 2103, receiving 58 likes and 20 comments)

Vicar’s Voice September 2013

I think everyone will agree that the annual picnic on August 18 was a huge success. As the first event on our new property, it was a chance for everyone to see what a marvelous location it is. We celebrated the Eucharist on the grass next to the tall, graceful trees, with the music ringing out across the pasture. Then we shared a generous Sunday picnic under the awnings in the meadow. It was especially good to see some of our neighbors join us. My thanks to all who helped organize this, especially Carrie Rivers and John Stock-well.

You may have noticed the surveyor’s stakes and the freshly dug test pits on the property. These are the work of the architect and engineers who are helping us gather the information needed to submit our conditional use permit to the County. The Building Committee has been meeting regularly to envision the type of development we want to see, and on Sunday, September 15, the architect will meet with everyone in a parish meeting to show us the initial site concepts he and the Building Committee have come up with.

At this point, we are very early in the planning process and we haven’t chosen a design for the buildings. That will come later. For the conditional use permit, all we need to show the County is the basic floor plan and building height, as well as the plans for street access, parking, landscaping, stormwater runoff, and the septic system. Our architect and engineers are helping us put these plans together.

The Building Committee continues to visit other churches in our area, and it’s been very enlightening. I was so pleased that Bill and Chelsea Reeder visited the neighbors of our new property and invited them to our service and picnic. They said they got a very positive response from the neighbors they contacted.

As we wind up our summer and start into autumn, I hope you’ll remember to keep your pledge up to date. It’s normal to have a slow period during the summer months, but our church expenses continue, and we’ve had to dip into our reserves, which are limited. I’m very grateful for the continued support of all our members.

Remember that Sunday, September 8, will be the start of Sunday School, when our children will once again enjoy learning from our excellent teachers. May God bless us as we enter a new season!

Bill

A picnic and a hike

Hello from the Vicar

Last Sunday we celebrated the Eucharist for the first time on our new property. We gathered near the tall trees, smelling the cut grass, listening to the birds, and feeling the fresh air on our faces. Music from guitars and violin floated out across the meadow as we lifted our voices in song. What a beautiful day in God's creation!

Afterward, we gathered for the annual picnic and enjoyed good food and good company. I was especially pleased that some of our neighbors joined us. It was fun to see the little kids running around with each other while people of all ages enjoyed each other's company.

There's a tradition that says that a new place is consecrated by its use, and so we began the consecration of our new property on Sunday. Many years from now we'll look back and remember this day.

You can see photos of our picnic by clicking here.

This week I joined Tony's Trekkers on their hike in the North Cascades. Tony's Trekkers is St. Antony's hiking group ('Tony' is short for 'Antony'), but you don't have to be a member of St. Antony's to participate. The Trekkers are a band of intrepid hikers who venture out at least once a month on hikes in our area.

We were hosted by Rick and Robin Schoenberg at their cabin on the North Skagit River near Sedro Wooley. They provided us a comfortable base camp while we took hikes in the North Cascades near the cabin. What beautiful country, and what great company!

You can see my photo journal by clicking here.

Picnics and hikes are classic summer activities, but summer's coming to a close. Soon kids will be back in school, and we'll be starting our fall schedule. Sunday School starts up Sunday, September 8!  I hope you've been able to enjoy God's creation in the beautiful weather we've had this summer.

Bill

Annual Church Picnic Sunday, August 18

On Sunday, August 18, we'll use our new property for the first time! At 10:30 we'll celebrate Holy Eucharist under the trees and then we'll set up tables for the annual picnic, starting at noon.

This property is a beautiful setting, with a long smooth pasture stretching away from Old Frontier Road and several trees that form a natural glade near the road. It's a park-like setting and just perfect for a picnic. Hope to see you there!

The Vicar in the mountains

Vicar’s Voice
August 2013

By now you may have seen that I’m growing a beard (What? You didn’t notice?). Right now it’s in its scraggly, scruffy stage, but I trust it will grow out. I’m telling people this is my “mountain man look” because I’m spending time in the Olympic Mountains this summer.

I’m taking my vacation days on Wednesdays and Thursdays so I can take two or three-day backpacking trips in Olympic National Park. For me, there’s nothing more freeing than wandering up the deep valleys and climbing over the high passes.

We’re fortunate to live so close to Olympic National Park, and many of us have spent considerable time hiking in the park. Tony’s Trekkers often venture up the trails of the Olympics to enjoy the wilderness. Even if we’re not hiking into the Olympics, we all enjoy the tremendous sunsets with the mountains silhouetted to the west.

To me, spending time in the wilderness is renewing and refreshing. I leave my ordinary life behind and immerse myself in the challenges of my hike and the beauty of my surroundings. God speaks to me in a special way in the mountains. It’s no exaggeration to say that the mountains are a natural cathedral, a holy place we go to seek the presence of God.

Henry David Thoreau said, “In wildness is the salvation of the world.” I think what he meant by that is that we need wilderness to balance out the technology and science that distance us from the natural world. No matter how sophisticated we humans have become, we are still part of the natural world that God set us in and made us stewards of.

We desperately need the silence, grandeur, and peace of the wilderness to calm our souls and remind us that we are part of the creation. We humans need this reminder to prevent us from destroying the creation with pollu-tion, overconsumption, and greed.

I hope you’ll have a chance to spend time in nature this summer, whether it be in the Olympics or some other natural setting. And I hope your time will allow you to renew yourself and reconnect to God the Creator.

Bill

A prayer for our new property

Vicar’s Voice

July 2013

In 1985, a small group of people had the vision to start a new Episcopal church to serve the growing Silverdale area. With the help of the Diocese, they bought the property we now have and chose the name, “St. Antony of Egypt.” I believe that God was working through them to make them witnesses of the love of Christ to the people in our area.

We still have that vision. We have not lost the inspiration that they had, and we continue to work to witness to the love of God through our worship, our service to our community, and our welcome and hospitality. We gather for worship, we grow in our faith, and we go out to love and serve the Lord. Gather, grow, and go!

As time has passed, it’s become apparent that our current location is not the best site to build a church, and in the last year we have found a new piece of property much better suited to our needs. I believe that God has opened the doors for us to find and purchase this new property, and God is leading us to develop this new property.

Discerning the leading of God requires much listening, silence, and prayer. If we are to move ahead with our new property, we have to listen carefully and pray faithfully. There are a lot of decisions to make, and a lot of hard work ahead if we are to do this, and we can’t do it successfully without God’s help and blessing.

I hope we’ll be in prayer about our new property so that we act in accordance with God’s guiding. In our Sunday worship, we’ll be adding a prayer for guidance, and I hope you’ll add this to your personal prayers. The verse from Psalm 127:1 seems to be an apt reminder for us: “Unless the Lord builds the house, their labor is in vain who build it.” Although God will work through us, it is really God who will build a new church.

I offer this prayer for us as we seek God’s help;

Almighty and everliving God, you have called us to be your church in this place and time. As we seek to build a new church building, help us always to remember that unless you are the builder, we build in vain. Help us to trust in your providence and grace and to listen for your inspiration, and give us the resources we need to accomplish this task. Above all, send us your Holy Spirit to direct and guide us. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Bill

New life for my sister

I'm glad to report that my sister, Betty, has had a successful liver transplant and is now in recovery in the ICU. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers that have held us up and carried us through.

As we waited for a donor organ to be found, we watched Betty's condition deteriorate. About ten percent of transplant patients die before a match can be found, and so we were anxiously waiting and praying. 

When we found out yesterday that a donor liver had been found, the first thing Betty asked was to pray for the donor, which we did. All we know about the donor is that this person was Betty's blood type, about Betty's size, and was a young person who lived somewhere outside of Denver.

Organ transplants are truly miraculous, and the skill of the medical transplant team is amazing. Betty's condition was especially bad before the transplant, and it took eleven hours of surgery, finishing about 8:30 this morning. 

As my family contemplates the gift of life that came from a young person's death, we are in awe. We don't know how this young person died, but surely it must have been difficult for their family. I hope the family feels that something good came out of their tragedy. We're acutely aware that out of their child's death has come life for another. And isn't that the Christian belief? This is really a resurrection story.

Betty has a long recovery ahead, and we ask for your continued prayers as her body accepts the new liver and heals from the surgery. I'm deeply thankful I was able to be with Betty before surgery and to pray with her as she went into the operating room. 

I'll return home next Thursday, May 30, after spending more time with Betty and my family, looking forward to Betty's years of new life. Again, I'm grateful that Craig is present to cover for me while I'm away.

Thanks be to God!

Visiting my sister in the hospital

I'm writing this from my sister's hospital room at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. My younger sister, Betty, has had liver disease for over twenty years and it has finally come to the point where she is at the top of the list for a liver transplant. Now we're waiting for a donor liver that's a good match for Betty. Betty is jaundiced and weak but she's pretty cheerful, considering everything she's gone through. The doctor said that the waiting is the hardest part, but she assured us that a donor liver will be found, even if it takes a week. As a parish priest, I've made countless visits to hospital rooms and prayed with countless people and their families. Now I find myself as part of the family in a hospital room, and it feels very different. My heart is so close to Betty, and I'm waiting and praying, trying to be fully present to her and my family. It's emotionally taxing. So this is what it's like to be the family member. As I wait with Betty, I'm especially aware of the mystery of life, the wonder of medical science, and the knowledge that the end of one life will be the means of saving another. I'm impressed by the warm and caring support Betty's getting from the staff at the hospital, from the doctors to the housekeepers. I'll be here for some days yet, but I'm happy to say that Fr. Craig is covering for me for Sunday and also for any pastoral care needs. I'm thankful for his willingness to step up while I'm away. Please don't hesitate to call him with any questions. And you can reach me anytime by cell phone (360-620-8086) or by email (billfulton2001@yahoo.com). Thanks for your support and encouragement. Please keep Betty in your prayers, asking God for strength, patience, and healing. Thank you. Bill

Not officiating at a wedding

This week I attended the wedding of Chad Reeder and Mary Kate Repetski, at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in Spokane, WA. Because I was a guest and not the officiant of the wedding, I was able to simply enjoy the wedding ceremony and the festivities.

Although it doesn't seem like it to the casual observer, weddings are a lot of work for the clergy. From the paperwork involved to the pre-marital counseling to the stress of the wedding ceremony itself, it wears a person out. Don't get me wrong -- I love doing weddings -- it's just that they're a lot of work.

So this wedding was a pleasure for me because all I had to do was sit in the pew and enjoy the reception!

The groom looked dashing in his new dress uniform (he was just commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army), and the bride was gorgeous in her wedding dress. The soaring stone arches of the cathedral made an elegant setting, and the ceremony used the classic language of the Prayer Book: "For better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until we are parted by death." May God bless their marriage and enrich their life together.

Here are a sketch and a few photos from the wedding. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

 I made this sketch of the cathedral before the wedding started.

 The bride and groom at the altar at St. John's Cathedral.

 The newly married couple leaving the cathedral under an honor guard.

The bride and groom and the reception listening to the toasts.

 Myself, the Rev. Dick Scott, the groom, Spencer Reeder (brother of the groom), and Bill Reeder.

High holy days

Some days are ordinary. We get up at the usual time, have breakfast as always, go about our daily routines. These days are familiar, comfortable. Thank God for ordinary days.

But some days are holy days. Days when the architecture of time is slightly jarred and the ground shifts beneath our feet. When we pay attention to God in a sustained and purposeful way, we enter holy time.

That's what we're doing this week. We're in the high holy days of the Christian faith, and we're entering the mystery of the last days of Jesus' life. Here are the times we've set aside for contemplating the mystery:

7:00 pm, Thursday, March 28 - Maundy Thursday
Washing someone's feet is a profound act of humble service. We'll follow the example of Jesus as we remember his last supper with the disciples. Then we'll share bread and wine with each other and strip the altar and remove the decorations of the church.

12:00 pm and 7:00 pm, Friday, March 29 - Good Friday
We'll walk the Stations of the Cross as we recall the last hours of Jesus' life, and we'll pray for the Church and the world with the Solemn Collects. This is the deep time of the Christian faith, the time we connect with the suffering of Christ and the world.

6:00 am, Sunday, March 31 - Easter Vigil
We start in darkness and end in light. We start in a bare, empty room that is transformed into a place of splendor with beautiful linens, flowers, and gleaming silver. This is our experience of the resurrection of Christ.

10:00 am, Sunday, March 31 - Easter Day
With joyful music and uplifted hearts we celebrate the resurrection of Christ with a festive Holy Eucharist, followed by the frolic of an Easter Egg hunt for the children.

I hope you'll enter the deep time, the holy time, of this week with us.

In peace,
Bill

My sister's holy week

Holy Week is not easy. As we walk with Jesus in the last hours of his life, we encounter darkness and light in strange guises. Jesus takes us where we'd rather not go.

My little sister, Betty, has been in the hospital the last couple of weeks for an infection. It's made worse by the hepatitis she's been living with for twenty years and damaged her liver. She was transported by ambulance to the University Hospital in Denver on Sunday, and our whole family is holding our breath, praying.

Betty told me that she's had some dark moments. "I'm scared," she said. "I'm in a dark hole and I can't find a ladder. I laid here all day and just prayed."

I wish I had magic words to tell her that would make the darkness go away. But I don't. I listen to her as gently as I can and offer my prayers. And I think of Jesus in his last hours. His suffering gives him solidarity with all human suffering, and every person has access to his compassion and love.

Betty is slowly recovering, and I'm hopeful she'll be able to go home in a few days. In the meantime, I take comfort in the knowledge that she's not alone, that Jesus is with her in this holy week.

In peace,
Bill

Lent Day 4 - Finding and being found

In today's scripture reading, there's a lot of finding going on. When Andrew meets Jesus, he goes to find his brother Simon. Then Jesus finds Philip, and Philip goes to find Nathanael. And Nathanael finds Jesus.

What's with all this finding? Part of it is just the disciples getting acquainted with Jesus. Through their relationships and networks, a community of disciples begins to form around Jesus. And of course we know that there are women disciples joining this group, too, only they aren't mentioned here.

But part of this is about "finding" on a deeper level. When we become acquainted with Jesus, we find that we are found by him. At a deep level of our soul, we found that we are already known and loved by God for who we are. I think this is what Nathanael is expressing when he asks Jesus, "When did you come to know me?" He discovered that he was already known and loved, even before he met Jesus.

As we pray in the Prayers of the People, Form II,
   I ask your prayers for all who seek God, or a deeper knowledge of him. 
   Pray that they may find and be found by him.

Who have you found? And how have you been found?


Peace,
Bill

Behold the Lamb of God - Lent Day 3

Hi, all!

Today is the third day of Lent. Two days ago we received ashes on our foreheads and heard the words, "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return," a reminder of our mortality. This afternoon we will gather for the memorial service for Adrienne Daugherty who died last Sunday.

Adrienne was an artist and a person of prayer, and I'm sure she was familiar with today's scripture passage from the Gospel of John, "Behold the Lamb of God." These are the words of John the Baptist as he sees Jesus approaching. 

I like the old-fashioned word, "Behold." It says much more than the weaker, "Look."

Behold is what we do when we pay deep attention. John tells us to behold Jesus, the Lamb of God, in a deeply attentive way.

Today we commend Adrienne into the nearer presence of God, and we think of her at last truly beholding Christ and being in his presence. 

Peace,

Bill

P.S. Today's scripture passage in John 1:29-34. Tomorrow's passage is John 1:35-42

What are you doing for Lent?

Hi, all!

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. At noon and at 7 pm, we'll gather to hear the invitation to "the observance of a holy Lent," and we'll receive the mark of ashes on our foreheads as a mark of our mortality and penitence.

Ash Wednesday is a powerful call to repentance. Whenever I make the sign of the cross with the ashes, and say, "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return," I feel the seriousness of those words.

Being reminded that we won't live forever makes us freshly aware that our relationship with God is important, and now is the time to renew that relationship. "Create in us clean hearts, O God," Psalm 51 reminds us.

Today, the day before Ash Wednesday, is a good time for us to think about what spiritual discipline we might take up for Lent. Some people give up something for Lent, others take something on. What are you doing for Lent?

If you're looking for ideas, I might suggest you join us in reading the Gospel of John during the weekdays of Lent. We'll provide the verses to be read from the Daily Lectionary in the Prayer Book, and you can look them up in your Bible. If you have the Forward Day by Day booklet, you'll find the readings in there.

Tomorrow's reading is John 1:1-28, the beginning of the Gospel of John. You might want to find a time each day when you can open your Bible and meditate briefly on the passage from John. Each day is only a short reading, less than a chapter. The Gospel of John is written to inspire belief in Jesus as the Christ, and each day our faith will grow. From time to time I'll send an email reflecting on what we've been reading.

Whatever your spiritual practice during Lent, I hope it will build you up and increase your faith in God.

Peace,
Bill