Author Archives: djgrieser

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About djgrieser

I have been Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, WI since 2009. I'm passionate about Jesus Christ and about connecting our faith and tradition with 21st century culture. I'm also very active in advocating for our homeless neighbors.

The ordination of Scott Anderson

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On Saturday, October 8, Scott Anderson will be ordained to the ministry by the John Knox Presbytery of the PCUSA at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Madison, WI. I will be attending. So, too, apparently, will protestors from Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church. Here’s the article.

It’s already something of a media circus but I’ve been in touch with Scott and with the interim pastor of Covenant and they seem to be handling everything with grace. Keep them in your prayers.

A profile of Scott from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

I will post my reflections on Saturday.

Images of St. Francis

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Today is the Feast of St. Francis, when we remember one of the most beloved, and important, figures in the Christian tradition.

Here’s Giotto’s rendering of St. Francis receiving the stigmata:

Our images of St. Francis tend be associated with the Blessing of the Animals:

a photo from Sunday that I didn’t post:

Last night, during “First Monday,” I reflected on St. Francis as well. Although he wasn’t mentioned by anyone, or perhaps even thought of (by anyone but me), we were doing the sort of ministry Francis did, among people with whom Francis ministered.

While he preached to birds and tamed wolves, and even rebuilt churches, Francis was most known for his work among the destitute, the poor, the hungry, and the sick. Although the order he founded quickly became powerful and made its home in universities and other cultural centers, Franciscans also tended the sick and dying.

Our feeding of shelter guests and community last night is one way in which we at Grace seek to serve Christ in all persons, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and the like. Last night, we were joined by others in the community, some who have become regular volunteers, others who were there for the first time. Among this latter group were members of the Madison Mennonite Church. The band last night was “Off the Porch.”

Here are other images of Franciscan ministry:

The meal had a very different feel, for some reason. Several regular volunteers remarked on the guests’ behavior. We often have brusque, difficult, or demanding guests. Last night, they were friendly, incredibly appreciative, and many lingered long after they had eaten, chatting with friends or volunteers, and listening to the music. It also seemed to me that there was a demographic shift–the percentage of African-Americans seemed lower than in past months, and many of the men looked “middle-class,” by which I mean one could have expected to see them working retail, or in a bank. It was all very odd. Whatever their history, tonight they were here, for a meal, most of them for a bed as well. And for a half-hour or so, they could enjoy some great food, great music, and wonderful hospitality. The spirit of St. Francis was present as well.

Of course, one can’t extrapolate from a single evening. It’s only a snapshot taken on a relatively warm night in early fall.

Thanks to everyone who came, everyone who volunteered, and especially to Metcalfe’s, who helped with the food.

 

Forgiveness in Action

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October 2 was the fifth anniversary of the shocking killings at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, PA. It wasn’t only the violence that shocked the community and the nation; it was also the immediate response to the shooter’s family by the Amish community. Five years later, those acts of forgiveness continue to inspire.

Here’s a story about the mother of the shooter, who now visits a paralyzed survivor on a weekly basis.

An article from a Mennonite publication on a recent conference that looked back on the event and sought to draw some larger lessons. Don Kraybill, sociologist called the way in which the Amish drew together to help the Roberts family “a moral barnraising.”

It’s a remarkable story, made more remarkable by the almost immediate response by the Amish community to the tragedy. Within hours, Amish neighbors were in the homes of Roberts’ parents, offering them prayers, consolation, and love. The human propensity is to lash out violently when such violence is done; and often the desire for revenge persists indefinitely. But here, healing has taken place; new relationships have been forged, and new hope as well.

There may be few better examples in our culture of people putting the words of Jesus into action.

Update on homelessness in Madison

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Pat Schneider of the Capital Times continues to pursue this story. As I’ve mentioned before, with the imminent closure of the Central Library for renovations and continuing closure of the Capitol basement, there is great concern about where homeless people will go during the day this winter.

Schneider interviewed Steve Schooler, Executive Director of Porchlight, which runs the Drop-in Shelter housed at Grace and other downtown churches. In initial meetings with other service providers, churches, and the downtown business community, stop-gap measures were identified, but as Schneider and Schooler point out, there are large gaps in potential coverage, especially on the weekends. Schneider’s most recent article is here.  For a depressing perspective on attitudes toward homeless people, read the comments thread.

I’ve previously discussed this issue here and here.

Walker Percy, Bourbon, and the Holy Ghost | First Things

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Ruminations on the spiritual power of bourbon, from Walker Percy, nonetheless: Walker Percy, Bourbon, and the Holy Ghost | First Things.

To return to more earthly spirits, bourbon is for Percy a way to be for a moment in the evening. Why might one take an evening cocktail? Baser reasons are: an addiction to alcohol, or the desire to appear sophisticated. Better reasons, according to Percy, are the aesthetic experience of the drink itself—the appearance, the aroma, the taste, the cheering effect of (moderate) ethanol on the brain. Another reason is that a drink incarnates the evening; it marks the shift from the active workday to a reflective time at home. One simply must choose a way to be at a five o’clock on a Wednesday evening. Instead surrendering to TV, Percy recommended making a proper southern julep. I prefer my bourbon as an old-fashioned, a drink that reflects the colors of an autumn day. “Love God and do what you will,” Saint Augustine advised. This presumes that you have allowed God’s grace to order you to love properly, and you have taken proper note of your own God-given gifts and dispositions. Then, praise God, and be.

Walker’s original essay can be read here.

 

St. Francis of Assisi–An otherwordly falling in love

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Tomorrow, Grace will have a Blessing of the Animals at our 10:00 service. It is one way in which we honor St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is October 4. St. Francis is fondly remembered for his love of creation and especially of animals, but he was much more than that. Here is an excerpt from a reflection on America’s “In all Things” blog:

The story of Francis encountering the San Damiano crucifix wonderfully illustrates what the great Jesuit theologian and philosopher Bernard Lonergan called “the Law of the Cross.” What was that?

When Lonergan pondered our salvation, he rejected the idea that the Father causes it through any act of external intrusion into history.   For Lonergan salvation isn’t something God accomplishes without our cooperation. God certainly doesn’t declare our alienation to be at an end because we’ve killed the Son. On the contrary, God saves us through our being drawn by love into the cross of Christ. The knowledge of the Son’s gift upon the cross compels our conversion, because it calls us to love. Lonergan defined conversion as “otherworldly falling in love.”

We’re meant to look upon Jesus, as Francis did in that Umbrian chapel, and fall in love. And having fallen in love, as any lover knows, the entire world is changed.

The entire post, written by Terrance W. Klein, is available here.

“Concealed Carry” and the Love of Christ

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Among the bills passed by Wisconsin’s legislature and signed into law by Governor Walker, is one permitting “concealed carry” of handguns. It will go into effect in November and has caused consternation in many quarters. Churches and other property owners are permitted to put up signs that state weapons are forbidden to ensure that law-abiding citizens carrying guns will not bring them onto premises. Grace Church already has a published policy (in our employee handbook) that forbids weapons on church property.

There is considerable discussion about how churches should respond. The Wisconsin Council of Churches has produced material to help churches decide and the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee will debate a  resolution that recommends forbidding weapons on all property owned by, or held in trust for, the Diocese (which would include all churches and rectories): concealedcarryresolution

There was lively debate about the resolution at yesterday’s clergy day. I am opposed to the law and to any law that increases the possibility of violence in our community. However, I am also mindful of my own experience. When we were living in Tennessee back in the 1990s, I remember the first time I noticed the sign forbidding weapons on the entry doors of the Chattanooga airport. I was relieved to know that weapons were prohibited in the airport (this was years before 9-11) but suddenly I realized the sign meant that people carrying concealed weapons were out on the streets, in stores and restaurants, and the like. Tennessee was then, and undoubtedly remains, a violent state. While we lived there, several local county courthouses were bombed with dynamite by disgruntled citizens.

Signs forbidding weapons in churches remind us that churches are sanctuaries, places of peace, and link us to the long history of churches providing safe havens for people threatened by violence. At the same time, such signs prominently displayed can arouse fear and suspicion.

As churches, we are to offer a message of love and hope, not fear and the question for me is whether chilling signs with handguns prominently displayed that inevitably remind us of the violence inherent in our society, proclaim the love of Christ.