Category Archives: Grace Church

The Evangelism of Sacred Space

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I’ll be taking a sabbatical this fall! Here’s the full text of my communication to members of Grace Church concerning my plans:

 

May 24, 2016, The Commemoration of Jackson Kemper, First Missionary Bishop of the Episcopal Church, First Bishop of Wisconsin, and first Episcopal clergy to lead services in Madison Wisconsin (1839)

At its meeting on May 11, the Vestry of Grace Church approved my sabbatical leave for October 23-November 27, 2016. My letter of agreement with Grace provides for a week’s sabbatical leave for every year of service and each year our operating budget sets aside one week’s salary and benefits for a sabbatical fund that will be used to defray my expenses. The letter of agreement also specifies that my sabbatical be taken after 5 years of service. I delayed it because of our work on the master plan, capital campaign and renovation. Sabbaticals are intended to offer clergy the opportunity to reflect on their ministry and develop new or enhanced skills or expertise.

During my sabbatical, I hope to lay the groundwork for the next phase of common ministry. I will explore a series of interrelated issues. First, we live in a rapidly changing religious landscape. With the increased presence of non-Christian religions and especially the rise of the so-called “nones” (those who identify themselves as having no religious commitment or affiliation), and the decline of mainline denominations, the future shape of denominations like the Episcopal Church or local congregations like Grace will be transformed. Second, as our society becomes more diverse ethnically and racially, how do we create communities that embrace this diversity and how do we reach out across the deep racial and socio-economic divisions in our city? Third, I’m intrigued by the ways in which sacred space can become a means for outreach and community building. The beauty of our courtyard garden or an encounter with the silence and grandeur of our nave can become experiences of the divine. To bring these three issues together, my sabbatical project is tentatively entitled: “The Evangelism of Sacred Space.”

To that end, I will spend my sabbatical to visit churches in other urban areas that are especially effective in developing creative ministries for our current religious context. My travels will take me to Washington, DC., New York City, Cambridge, MA, as well as to the Pacific Northwest. Included in my time away will be a retreat at the Society for St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge and the American Academy of Religion annual meeting in San Antonio.

I anticipate learning a great deal about how churches are engaging with their neighborhoods and responding creatively to our changing religious landscape, and I hope that ideas and processes I encounter can be adapted for our ministry and mission here at Grace. In addition to planning my travels, I am also making plans to provide for pastoral care and worship during my absence. I hope to be able to share those plans with the congregation by the end of June. I give thanks to God for all we’ve accomplished over the last seven years and for our continuing shared ministry.

The Home of God Is Among Mortals: A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, 2016

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I’m somewhat curious to know how many times over the last four or five years that I’ve begun a sermon by making some sort of reference to a milestone in the life of our congregation. As we’ve worked through planning, fundraising, and construction, there have been many moments that have marked another transition in this process—from hiring an architect, to the first presentation of plans, through the revision process, then the fundraising, then more revisions as we shaped our construction project to meet our most important needs and our financial resources. Last July, we celebrated groundbreaking. On the First Sunday of Advent in 2015, we worshiped for the first time in our newly-renovated nave. Continue reading →

Engaging Islam: One Episcopal parish’s experience

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Over the past months, I have fielded many questions from parishioners about Islam. Concerned about terrorism and religious violence, the persecution of Christians by ISIL, many wondered whether violence was intrinsic to the religion. As Islamophobia increased in the US, inflamed by the presidential campaign and in the wake of the San Bernardino shootings, people were eager to talk about their concerns and learn more about Islam.

I was reluctant to offer formal sessions on Islam for several reasons. My academic and scholarly commitments as scholar of religious studies made me wary of the venue of a congregational adult forum rather than a college classroom. I fretted that anything we did on Sunday morning would lack the scholarly rigor to which I was committed.As a scholar, I was interested primarily in religion as practiced and lived, rather than the ideal or the doctrinal. I struggled with internal conflict over my roles as pastor/priest and scholar of religion. I was also worried that given our typical practices, a multi-week program would see an ever-shifting audience.  Finally, I was more interested in talking with than talking about Islam. A successful program, I was convinced would draw on Muslim voices to share their faith and their lived experience of being Muslim in the US. In spite of the fact that I’ve been in Madison for nearly seven years, I have almost no contact with local Muslims. Where might we find Muslims willing to share their lives and their faith with us?

Nonetheless, I moved forward with plans for a four-part series, with the help of Deacon Carol Smith, who is largely responsible for programming our adult formation. We laid out four sessions, drawing on expertise from the congregation and the wider community. Professor Anna Gade of UW Madison joined us for the first session. She’s an expert on the global reach of the Qur’an and introduced us to some of what she sees as keys to understanding its significance. The second session was divided between a period of follow-up questions from the previous week as well as other questions people had and a short introduction to Islamic law, offered by a parishioner who is a retired law professor and had taught Islamic law in the context of comparative law classes.

In our third session, we addressed the question “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” Although the Wheaton College controversy had stimulated the original question, this was an opportunity to think more broadly about the relationship between Christianity and Islam and to think about some of the issues in interreligious and interfaith dialogue. As background for this session, I provided a short piece by Bruce McCormack of Princeton Theological Seminary. Written in the middle of the Wheaton College controversy, McCormack lays out what he takes to be the best arguments for and against the claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Perhaps even better, and more thorough, is the work of Miroslav Volf, who has written in a variety of contexts about Islam and Allah. His recent book: Allah: A Christian Response, is especially useful.

Finally, this past Sunday we were joined by Ibrahim Doumbya, a Muslim from Senegal in West Africa, who has lived in Madison for many years. He shared stories of his life as a Muslim in Madison, the struggles to find space and time to practice his religion, and the implications of being Muslim in a nation that is not majority Muslim.

Overall, the series was a huge success. Attendance was higher over the four weeks than for almost any other program we’ve offered over the years. People who attended our 8:00 service returned for the presentations at 11:30. Most of those who attended came back each week and are eager to learn more. We may have follow-up sessions on topics such as religious violence.

What I’ve learned, what I might do differently, and what advice I might have for other clergy and lay leaders attempting to offer a similar program.

Most importantly perhaps, to let go of fear, anxiety, and scholarly prejudices (That’s a lesson I have to re-learn regularly in my ministry). At Grace, there is deep interest in learning more about people of other faiths, willingness to engage systematically and over time, and a sensitivity to the questions raised by Islamophobia and inter-religious dialogue.

Secondly, there are resources in the community and at hand. Reach out to other clergy and ecumenical groups in the community if you lack personal contacts. I remembered after our planning was well underway that the Madison State Journal did a brief series of interviews with Madison-area Muslims in December, 2015. It would have been easy to connect with some of those Muslims through the newspaper and invited some of them to be our guests as well. It is likely that in most other cities of Madison’s size and larger connecting with Muslims is relatively easy. Local colleges and universities will have faculty who teach World Religions, and even if they are unable to participate, they will likely have contacts in local religious communities.

The Harvard Pluralism Project has been mapping world religions in the US for nearly twenty years. It will have information about religious communities in cities and states across America as well as many resources on interreligious conflict and cooperation. I also remembered late in the game that already when I was teaching World Religions, resources for exploring Islam on the internet were readily available. We could have played audio files of Qur’an recitation for example which as Professor Gade reminded us is one of the most important ways Muslims encounter and experience the Qur’an. The Qur’an Explorer is one such site. There are also many videos available, such as the episode on the Hajj from Bruce Feiler’s Sacred Journeys series that aired on PBS several years ago.

I didn’t look for curricula designed for congregations. Late last year, the Wisconsin Council of Churches distributed a study guide that had been prepared by Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota. No doubt there are many others.

We live in a time of heightened prejudice and fear. As people of faith and religious leaders, it is our responsibility to help create a civil society, to welcome strangers and foreigners, and to build bridges across religious divides.

A Day overflowing with Latinos

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It may have been hashtagged as #DiaSinLatinosEnWisconsin (#daywithoutLatinos) but for Grace, it was a day when we were overflowing with Latinos. And once again, I was caught off-guard. I pay relatively little attention to local media outlets and the past couple of days had been so busy for me that I neglected my twitter feed and facebook as well. In face, it was only thanks to a facebook post from a local candidate that I realized there was actually a contested election in the primary that was held on Tuesday. So I had vaguely heard about the rally that was scheduled for today, but preparing a response was not on my to-do list for this morning (Executive Committee meeting at 8:15, followed by a session with our new treasurer). I hoped to be able to get some work done on my sermon, deal with some emails, typical sort of day in ministry. Continue reading →

Moving the men’s drop-in shelter from Grace

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An article by Pat Schneider provides some background on the potential move. It is an exciting prospect for the future of homeless services in Madison, and for Grace Church, too. If the shelter moves, we will engage the community and our congregation in a conversation about our future ministry and mission in a spot where we have been worshiping and serving God for over 150 years. At the same time, we will continue to advocate for “the least of these.”

Clergy marching for justice and peace in Madison

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On Friday May 8th an unprecedented meeting of faith leaders was held here in the MUM offices. We came together over the systemic injustices that exist in our County and out of concern for our community.  Attached you will find a letter  from that coalition reflecting the purpose and outcome of that meeting. We know that as clergy and people of faith we are called across traditions to work for justice. Our meeting on May 8th represents the beginning of our work as a faith coalition, we recognize that there is much, much more to be done and we pledge to continue
Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 12th at 2:30 p.m. the District Attorney will announce his decision regarding the officer involved shooting of Tony Robinson. We know that the decision, regardless of what it is, will not heal our divided and suffering community. We know that our community will still be in pain.
At 2:30  p.m. tomorrow, May 12th, Clergy and members of faith communities from throughout Dane County are invited to gather outside the residence where Tony Robinson was killed. We will join in prayer and song and at 5:00 p.m. we will march down Williamson Street to Grace Episcopal Church for more prayer and song we will then march to the Dane County Courthouse.
We  ask that you join us as people of faith in calling for racial justice in our community, in action, and in our support of the letter sent by the African American Council of churches to of Dane County law enforcement officials (also attached). Please feel free to share this announcement with others as you see fit.

Mission, Ministry, and Buildings

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At Grace, we are about to embark on renovations that are intended to make our facilities more welcoming and accessible to our own members and to our neighbors. It’s an exciting time and although the overall scope of the project remains uncertain, we expect to begin construction in July. The most recent update is available here. My letter to the congregation explaining the scope of the conversation is here: Letter_constructionUpdate5.8.15

I’ve written extensively about this process over the last several years (we began talking about it in 2012) and while we have been concerned about necessary maintenance and upgrades to our facilities, at the forefront of our conversation have always been the questions: “How can the facilities of Grace Church be a blessing and asset to our neighborhood?” and “How can our spaces help our neighbors connect with God and each other?”

In light of those questions, and in light of the financial and human resources we have committed to this process, I have found the following two articles thought-provoking:

Jacob Armstrong, “What if your church had no building?”

In a time when those who don’t already come to church won’t just come to church on their own, we have to be creative in the ways we go to them. It does not mean an abandonment of church buildings or that we should not build new buildings. It does mean that the buildings are used and seen in different ways than they were before and that we must be committed to our communities in ways we weren’t before.

We begin by listening to and learning from our communities (even if we have lived there a long time!). Next we commit or recommit ourselves to the people outside the walls of our church. To reach new people, we have to have a visible presence in our community. Look for ways to engage the community where church members and attendees get the opportunity to live their faith by serving others.

Death and Resurrection in an urban church:

Change also is evident in what’s going on in Sunday school classrooms that sat dark for decades.

Today, they are filled with an unusual collection of small businesses that rent space, together with fledgling organizations that get space for free. Meeting in the church now is a metropolitan youth orchestra and an eclectic mix of artists and, on Sunday nights, 50 or more gamers.

There’s a dance studio and a pottery shop and an office for a small architectural firm. The church acquired a commercial kitchen license, and now people from the neighborhood use it for catering startups.

 

1 weekend, 2 funerals, 5 bishops

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It was one of those weekends that probably only happens in the lives of priests (or other clergy). Last fall, a long-time member of Grace died after a protracted and debilitating illness. As I talked with her surviving husband, I learned that he wanted her ashes to be interred in his family’s plot in Chicago. He sought my assistance in finding an Episcopal priest to say the burial office. I made an initial inquiry at St. James Cathedral but as I reflected on the situation and spent more time with the widower, I realized that this was something I needed to do. I expected that I would be the only person in attendance.

In the meantime, we received word that the Rt. Rev. Bill Wiedrich, former Rector of Grace Church and Assistant Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, had died. After several weeks, arrangements were made for a memorial service at St. James Cathedral to take place today. I decided that this would be an opportunity for me to inter the ashes of the former member of Grace and I made the necessary arrangements.

So yesterday, we drove down from Madison to Chicago, arriving at the cemetery where we were met by the two nieces of our parishioner. We proceeded to the family plot where the four of us (myself, her nieces, and the funeral director) said the burial office, while the deceased’s sister listened in from Washington, DC on a cell phone. We helped the grave digger to cover the urn with dirt and lingered, watching as he completed the burial in frigid weather.

It was a brief, simple, powerful service. The words of the liturgy spoke of our faith in the resurrection of the body and our faith in a God who has created and redeemed us.

That was the first funeral, and the first bishop of the weekend; for the plot in which we interred her ashes was the plot of the one-time Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago, Charles Street. The cemetery was beautiful, if rather foreboding on a winter’s day in February. Because it was on the Southside, founded in 1853, it had been passed by during the last 150 years of Chicago’s development as a city, and what had been an appropriate resting place for Chicago Episcopalians in the late nineteenth century had become a largely forgotten place at least to Chicago’s elite.

But we were warmly welcomed by the staff and I was shocked when the funeral director joined us in reciting the 23rd Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer. We said the words of the liturgy, the prayers, the committal, and we departed from that place, having done our duty to accompany our Christian sister to her place burial where she awaits her triumphal resurrection.

Today was markedly different. St. James Cathedral is in the heart of Chicago’s most exclusive shopping district, in the middle of wealth, glamour, and opulence. A monument of late-Victorian architecture and art, it dazzles the eyes. As all Episcopal liturgies of this ilk, the memorial service for Bishop Wiedrich was full of beautiful music, appropriate words, even incense. Many clergy were in attendance and the service included the participation of three bishops, the current Bishop of Chicago, Jeff Lee, the former Presiding Bishop, Frank Griswold, who was Bishop of Chicago when Bishop Wiedrich was Assistant Bishop, and Bishop Montgomery, who preceded all of them.

I had come because I thought it appropriate as Bishop Wiedrich’s successor as Rector of Grace, to be present at this service as a visible presence of the connection of our office and the continuity of the church. I thought it important to bear witness to the Church’s relationships across time and space.

It was for some of those same reasons that I had decided, in the end, to come to Chicago to inter Eve’s ashes. Yes, I could have found a priest to say the burial office for her. But it was something I could do, without too much trouble, to bear witness to her life and faith, to offer words of consolation to her loved ones, and to speak again, the great words promising resurrection.

Whether it takes place in glorious majesty and music witnessed by hundreds, or in a forlorn, cold, and snow-covered cemetery in what is now a Chicago ghetto, the rite of Christian Burial is a witness of our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in the general resurrection. It is one of the most profound and powerful ways that we are present as Christians in the lives of others, in their grief and in their hope. And whether we say those words alone, or with hundreds, or with two young women and an African-American funeral director, they are words of comfort and hope, consolation and faith. And when we say them, in whatever context, they are words of Good News of Jesus Christ.

And all those bishops? They too are symbols of our connection with the saints who have gone before, with the Church Militant and Triumphant, with the great cloud of witnesses.

Let Light Perpetual Shine Upon Them.