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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