No one noticed. The American way of life didn’t come to an end.
Details here. PBS Frontline will cover the controversy next week. Comment from America’s “In All Things”
Remember the “Ground Zero Mosque?” It opened
Reply
Monthly Archives: September 2011
Change coming to the structures of the Episcopal Church?
Bishop Stacy Sauls made a presentation to the recent meeting of the House of Bishops meeting proposing a radical restructuring of the Episcopal Church, beginning with the calling of a Special Convention. The ENS article is here.
Mark Harris has comments here and here. Much of Sauls’ proposal has to do with General Convention, but there are large points, as well. For example, he observes that the Episcopal Church spends about 47% of its budget on administration and governance; 53% on mission. The Better Business Bureau suggests a non-profit should spend no more than 35% on overhead expenses.
Elizabeth Kaeton welcomes the conversation but worries that it is beginning in the wrong place. We should start with clarity about mission, and then talk about funding priorities.
Conversations like these are of crucial importance, but they can’t be driven solely by concerns about cost-cutting. The structures of the Episcopal Church that were built up in the twentieth century were an attempt to live out a vision of the church and that they did. They also reflected the cultural values of the time. On this, Derek Penwell is correct. But what should the church look like in the twenty-first century? What should it be? These are questions that need careful, thoughtful discussion, and not just by those who are invested in the church as it is (Bishops, national church and diocesan staff, and General Convention deputies). That is a self-selected (occasionally appointed or elected) group. Centering the conversations among this group leaves important voices out, especially those whose experience of church is primarily, perhaps only, in the parish or a local ministry.
Most of us working in the trenches have little time or energy to waste on conversations at the national level, or even the diocesan, for that matter. We are too busy doing ministry and often too busy even to think about how we need to change and adapt in the twenty-first century. We know the old models and structures don’t work, but can’t think our way into a future.
But it’s not just us. It’s also all those who come to us for spiritual renewal, for hope and strength, for ways to reach out to those in need, and could care less about the larger church. They ought to be in the conversation as well, for it is they who will shape the twenty-first century church. If they are not part of the conversation, perhaps guiding it, we will just be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
The necessity of change
Change as spiritual:
If change and growth are not programmed into your spirituality, if there are not serious warnings about the blinding nature of fear and fanaticism, your religion will always end up worshiping the status quo and protecting your present ego position and personal advantage–as if it were God! Although Jesus’ first preached message is clearly “change!” (as in Mark 1:15 and Matthew 4:17), where he told his listeners to ‘repent,’ which literally means to ‘change your mind,’ it did not strongly influence Christian history. This resistance to change is so common, in fact, that it is almost what we expect from religious peope, who tend to love the past more than the future or the present.
Richard Rohr, Falling Upward (H/t Shannon Ferguson Kelly)
Carol Howard Merritt on 5 cultural shifts that will affect the way we do church.
Derek Penwell reflects on how churches are organized, specifically committees, and the effects of cultural change on that traditional organizational model. The title of his post? “Killing Church Committees.”
Media Coverage of the St. Francis House Development Proposal: UPDATED
From Madison.com
From the Badger Herald: The Common Council; The Plan Commission
From the Daily Cardinal: The Common Council; The Plan Commission
Updated: Isthmus chimed in as well
St. Francis House Development approved
At about 1:15 this morning, Madison’s Common Council approved by a vote of 15-4 the redevelopment proposal for the St. Francis House property. It has been a long process, with a lot of passion and energy on both sides.
Later today, the really hard work will begin of rebuilding relationships with those who opposed the project and working with them to ensure that in the process of construction and after the buildings are completed, the concerns of our neighbors are heard, and problems addressed.
This was a completely new experience for me. I had never witnessed democracy in action on quite this level. I had never participated so directly in hearings and debates, nor watched, for a total of over 14 hours, city committees and the city council at work. I don’t know how they do it. Before coming to our items on the agenda, they had to deal with issues related to employees and firefighters’ benefits. Councillors had to put up with dozens of emails from us, countless conversations. They told of spending a day exploring every nook and cranny of Luther Memorial, or checking to see what the moped situation was like outside of Grand Central. They were thoughtful, open, and are dedicated both to the concerns of their constituents and to the city as a whole. With the budget crisis facing them, they were able to laugh with each other, and with us, as well. There was incredible tension in the room at times, and there were also moments of levity. I hope not to have to go through something like this again in the near future, or ever, for that matter, but it was exciting and educational.
I think I’ll go to bed after I finish this beer.
More on St. Francis House
As I wrote early this morning, our proposal was approved by the Plan Commission. Now it’s on to the Common Council.
Here are the comments I made during last night’s public hearing:
Good Evening. I am Jonathan Grieser, the rector—priest, at Grace Episcopal Church on Capitol Square. I am a member of the board of St. Francis House, and have shared in the deliberations over the future of that ministry. The proposal that comes before you is the product of three years of prayerful discernment and consultation with our neighbors. We have adapted the proposal to address Luther Memorial Church’s concerns. I believe this project deserves Plan Commission approval. It accomplishes some long-term goals of the city—in-fill development, moving student housing closer to campus. Moreover, by returning this property to the tax rolls, it will add to the city coffers in this time of fiscal challenges.
I do not want to downplay LMC’s concerns about noise, congestion, and vandalism. Their concerns are common to urban churches across the country, including my own. We struggle with parking restrictions for everything from Ride the Drive to the Ironman Triathlon, with noise from protestors, parades, and Capitol Square events like Art Fair on the Square or Taste of Madison, which in addition to noise and parking, offers our worshippers smells from countless food carts. It is a rare Sunday that doesn’t bring some event or group to the Capitol. As the site for the men’s Drop-In shelter operated by Porchlight, our efforts to put our faith into action bring their own set of challenges.
Urban ministry can be a challenge, but I’m sure my Lutheran colleagues would no sooner abandon their location than we would abandon ours on the corner of N. Carroll and W. Washington Ave. Whatever the challenges, the opportunities for ministry and mission are much greater. For us, those opportunities involve our neighborhood on Capitol Square; for Luther Memorial, it is the opportunity of sharing God’s word in the heart of a great university. The passionate involvement of so many LMC members in this process is proof of the vitality of that congregation and evidence of the bright future that lies ahead for it, no matter what happens tonight.
None of the challenges I’ve mentioned, nor the issues raised by LMC, constitute a threat to ministry. They are opportunities that require careful attention, cooperation, and adaptation. The board of St. Francis House seriously considered the possibility of abandoning our location, but we rejected that option, convinced that our location offered exciting opportunities for campus ministry that could not be met in any other way. Our decision to stay and our commitment to this development proposal is also a commitment to the neighborhood, a commitment to make it a vibrant and livable community for all of its residents and all those who work and worship in it.
We don’t know what the future holds. We do know that the status quo cannot be maintained. We know that we must adapt to meet the changing needs of students, and the changing nature of our larger community. This development is our attempt to do just that, to create sustainable, exciting, adaptable ministry into the future. We look forward to working closely with our Lutheran neighbors to ensure the vitality of our ministries and our neighborhood. I urge you to support this proposal.
What should we do? The ethics of responding to panhandling
The Episcopal Lead asks the question, following up on an article about Sacramento churches that includes some info about Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. The Very Rev’d Brian Baker’s response is very much in keeping with my own. I tell parishioners that anyone asking for assistance on Sunday should be brought to me. We have a list available of meals programs, and I used to say, before the Salvation Army quit serving breakfast, that on Sundays you could eat for free in downtown Madison pretty much all day long.
I don’t want to be crass or insensitive to people’s needs, but I do think it’s important that people be allowed to worship and take part in Sunday programs free of harassment. We have homeless people who come to services and to coffee hour, and occasionally, they will hit parishioners up for money. It’s hard to say no, especially when the gospel that day has something to do with selling all and giving to the poor. But panhandling can be a nuisance, especially in Madison. One parishioner who works downtown carries new pairs of socks in his coat pockets in winter, and when asked for money, offers socks instead.
St. Francis Update
The Plan Commission meeting began at 6:00 pm; they got to our agenda item around 9:00, but we needed to be there by 6:00 if we wanted to register to speak. At 11:30 or so, it was over. The Plan Commission approved the redesign of the project by a 4-3 vote. Now we have another meeting. Tomorrow night, it’s the Common Council.
And I thought faculty meetings or diocesan convention were interminable; this evening’s meeting made both of those experiences seem action-packed and entertaining.
It’s not fair! A sermon for Proper 20, Year A
September 18, 2011
The kingdom of heaven is like…
This is the way Jesus introduces many of his parables in the Gospel of Matthew. In Luke and Mark, the phrase used is “the kingdom of God is like…” The parables are meant to help Jesus’ listeners—and us, listening in 2000 years later, to catch a glimpse of this new realm of existence that Jesus is proclaiming. The parables are meant to teach, to shed light on this new existence, but they are also meant to shock and unsettle us, for the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, is, above all else, something that transcends and challenges all human values, all expectations, all of our comfortable ways of thinking about things and living. Continue reading
Update on the county budget–sure, the churches can do it
There have been more articles about the proposed cuts to human services in the Dane County budget. Hearings have been taking place this week, and Pat Schneider of the Cap Times has been asking hard questions about the proposed cuts in funding to the Salvation Army’s Warming House (the warming house provides mattresses for homeless families in the SA’s headquarters when their shelter overflows). Also on the cutting floor is the county’s support for Community Action Coalition, which serves Dane County food pantries. Lynn Green, director of the Human Services department, rationalizes the cuts in this way:
“This community cares. It does what it can to fill in the gaps,” Green told me in an interview Friday. Church groups and others already run food and clothing programs, she says. “I believe this is something this community can rally around and pick up.”
The article is here, and an earlier report on the budget hearings is here. I have previously posted about this crisis. I don’t know if the numbers of people visiting our food pantry have increased in the past month or so, but I have the sense from helping out at First Mondays at Grace, as well as my daily rounds on the square, that the demand on services is increasing.
I’m really not sure how much more we can do. The economy is difficult for everyone, and many of our parishioners are state workers who have seen their take-home pay and benefits cut, leaving them with less to give.
Preaching Grace on the Square 