Category Archives: Grace Church

Anglicans and #OWS

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I’ve not been following the #OccupyWallStreet events closely, but I did come across mention of two churches that have been directly affected and involved with the protests. Trinity Church Wall Street is very close to Zuccotti Park, the center of the protests, and has offered hospitality to protestors, and offered as well to be a place of reconciliation. Here’s the official statement. Their community center, Charlotte’s Place, has offered hospitality, respite, and laptop recharging. And they have already begun the work of reconciliation.

In London, St. Paul’s Cathedral has been the scene of protests as well. People have been camping out on the grounds and steps, and protestors entered the building on October 16. Police who entered the church in order to evict the protestors were asked to leave. The presence of protestors has affected the cathedral’s income from tourism, but Cathedral officials deny asking the protestors to leave. Details are available here. The Guardian’s story is here.

#OccupyMadison is rather small and located a block away from Grace Church so it doesn’t directly impact us as the earlier protests did this year, and we’ve not been directly asked to support them in any way. But I’m heartened to see other churches responding to protests outside their doors in ways similar to our response last winter and spring.

 

 

Give to God that which is God’s: A sermon for Proper 24, Year A

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So, this is some of what I intended to preach this morning…

October 16, 2011

I don’t often get preached at. Around here, I’m usually doing the preaching, and when I’m not, when someone else—Carol, Margaret, or Max, for example—is preaching, they’re not usually preaching with me in mind (except as a critic, perhaps) they are trying to help you understand and hear God’s word. I was at diocesan convention this weekend and in his sermon at the convention Eucharist, the Bishop preached to us, to all of us, clergy and lay people, gathered together to make decisions for the Diocese of Milwaukee. Continue reading →

God’s generosity, our generosity: A Sermon for Proper 23, Year A

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October 9, 2011

On the surface, the parables we heard this morning seem quite familiar to us. Hearing a story about a king throwing a wedding banquet may conjure up for us memories of the royal wedding last spring. All the more so, because one of the chief fascinations with that event was the suspense about the wedding dress and what all of the guests would be wearing. In contemporary culture, weddings are one of those few occasions we have when people get dressed up in their finest and expect a really good party. Continue reading →

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.

 

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus: A Sermon for Proper 21, Year A

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September 25, 2011

I wonder when, if ever, there were that many clergy in clerical collars, at a meeting of Madison’s City Council. I didn’t count the total Tuesday night, but I’m guessing there were at least ten. Why were we wearing collars? As a show of piety? No, of course not. We were wearing them to identify our selves and also to make clear what our offices were and what the nature of our authority was. Clergy aren’t the only ones who do that sort of thing, even if we are particularly prone to it. Most of us on occasion like to assert our authority, to make clear that we have power, and that we deserve to be heard. Continue reading →

More on St. Francis House

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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.

 

 

It’s not fair! A sermon for Proper 20, Year A

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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

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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.

Reflections on our Interfaith prayer service last night

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To be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of interfaith worship. From my experience at Harvard Divinity School in the 1980s, it always seemed to reduce itself to the lowest common denominator or be an opportunity for progressive Christians to feel good about themselves for their inclusivity.

Still, when I began thinking about doing something interfaith for 9-11 this year, I thought it was important for religious people in Madison to make such a statement. Our city is well-advanced in its de-christianization, and by extension, its secularization. To offer an interfaith religious witness on this 10th anniversary was one way to remind people that knee-jerk anti-religious responses to terrorists claiming Islam as their warrant, and Christians using crusade language in support of a military response, were not the only religious options.

We live in a polarized society in which the differences among us, political, cultural, religious, are often stressed. But there is also a great deal that unites us–as human beings, as American citizens, and, yes, as people of faith. My goal was to offer a service that was an authentic witness to the diverse faiths that were represented, but that also expressed the faith we do share. Whatever any else might say to the contrary, Muslims, Christians, and Jews do worship the same God. We experience that God in very different ways, through different revelations and in different historical and cultural contexts. Perhaps those differences are due to human frailty; perhaps they a result of God’s infinite mystery.

We also share values–a desire for peace, for a shared common life, and for the possibility of living together in the midst of our diversity. To come together in that way is no small thing, given the histories that divide us–the wars we have fought, the violence, discrimination, and the Holocaust. In many parts of the world such violence between faiths is still a reality–witness the attack on the Israeli embassy in Egypt last week, and the Muslim-Christian violence in Nigeria.

We bore witness yesterday to the possibility of a different future–one in which violence is supplanted by peace and mutual understanding. But in a small way, we bore witness to another possibility–that the divisions in our culture and country that express themselves in language of great violence, may give way to a realization that in spite of our differences, there lies in our hearts, whatever our political views, a deeply-shared love of country, freedom, and democracy.

Our service made no headlines (in fact it took extraordinary effort for the local newspaper even to publish it in their calendar of events for 9-11) but there was a report on Wisconsin Public Radio. That can be found here. I suppose we were not flashy enough to be newsworthy.

Here’s video of an interfaith service held in Newark, NJ last night: