December 3, 2006

Dear friends in life and in ministry . . .

May God's abundant blessings rest on you as we begin a new Church Liturgical Year.

Although the weather remains unseasonably mild, the first winter blast the hit the Midwest this week is sure to come our way soon.

My column this week includes an update on my spiritual emotional journey over the past few weeks and hopefully a steady un-stressing of my life during these weeks of preparation for Christmas.

While much of the column involves the trials of pastoring an attempt (so far uncompleted) at reaching consensus of some relatively minor church
renovations) the last paragraph tells of the power of God's grace to bring calm and hope.

I am happy to report that little Lillian Elizabeth who had such a calming influence on my spirit - will join her parents and sister Grace at home beginning tomorrow.

I'd also request your prayers for my friend and parishioner Tom Madigan as his wife Janet and their family says good-by. Tom is expected to arrive in his eternal home very soon.

Ray

P.S. I'm including again the website link below. Campbell Soup has a promotion for each city with an NFL Franchise to help their local Food Pantries. Go into the website link below and vote for the team of your choice. For each vote, Campbell's will donated a can of soup to a local soup kitchen. Its a great way to help feed the hungry - and you can visit the site daily. Take 10 seconds and click a can of soup to a local soup kitchen.

http://www.chunky.com/clickforcans.aspx

Click image for printable column... (Adobe PDF file, plugin needed) (Click Here For Sent To Serve Archives)

Bulletin: December 3, 2006

December 3, 2006

I am writing this column for the First Sunday of Advent on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  It’s a “slug day” for me - one of those rare days when there is nothing on the calendar that requires me to even get out of bed.  I did get out of bed of course - and only an hour or so later than usual. This day is known by merchants as Black Friday—the busiest shopping day of the year. But if my past history is any indication, I won’t start shopping until a few days before Christmas.

As is often on my “slug days” I am in fact at work, though not in the parish office.  Instead, I’m ensconced in my oversized easy chair, “office” - laptop computer open and connected.  The need to address parish obligations, including writing this column — have once again taken precedence over relaxation.

In the background, a CNN newscasters repeat over and over the breaking news of the day: another day of horrific bloodshed in Iraq, a former Russian spy dies of radiation poisoning, a disgruntled gunman terrorizes the staff of a Miami newspaper. There is so much to be worried about.  So much chaos in our troubled world.  O Come O Come Emanuel! Come Prince of Peace!

My worries pale those of so many others.  Mine involve the burdens of the leadership of a wonderful parish during an extended time of uncertainty. First among these burdens is finding a way to bring closure to our church renovation trial and permanently bring our choir from the loft it has occupied for generations.

Since long before my coming to St. Mary’s, parish liturgists and choir members have advocated this move for what I believe to be compelling liturgical and safety reasons.  Church documents supporting placing the choir in a position of leadership within the assembly of worshipers have been distributed and discussed for over five years.  The concerns of aging choir members who are no longer able to climb the narrow steep steps to the loft and others who are concerned by the potential danger and difficulty of removing a sick or injured person down those narrow steps have been communicated and discussed at Town Meetings, Parish Discussions, and in this column more times than I can count.

Throughout this trial period, I have requested your assistance in finding a place for our choir within the main body of the church.  A few parishioners responded to my request in writing. Some were supportive of our attempt to move the sanctuary area (altar, ambo and chair) forward and the choir into the space vacated by the move.  Other signed letters and comments expressed personal concern for the impact the move would have on their worship experience during Mass.

Within the last few weeks, however, I’ve received a few unsigned written comments that have been far different and quite troubling to me. One expressed dismay that we have “ruined her church” and another expressed frustration at the way that I’ve “dragged this out even though the final result was long predetermined.”

At every stage of this process, beginning way back in May when we held our first Town Meeting on the topic, I have tried to communicate openly, continually and transparently my desire that a solution could be reached through prayerful, constructive and respectful dialogue.  Within the constraints imposed by the architecture of our church we have tried to address every issue brought to us. We have experimented with the placement of the ambo, presidential chair and altar to assure that these places of essential liturgical importance are visible to even those worshipers who choose seats in the rear of the church.

Two week’s ago, following requests by three parishioners who attended their meeting, the parish council recommended that the trial period be extended to provide opportunities for other options to be explored.  In deference to the reflective season of Advent, I have decided to keep the latest configuration (with minor alterations to the sanctuary platforms) in place for the Advent and Christmas liturgical seasons. When Ordinary times returns, I will again engage the Parish Council and Renovation Committee in a reconsideration of other options.

It is my prayer, that this hiatus will allow us all to concentrate on the prayerful observance of Advent and Christmas. May the peace of Christ live in our hearts and minds and bring us peace.

________________________________________________

On Monday, aware that the busy-ness and stress of the last few weeks was “getting to my spirit” - I made my day off a mini prayer retreat. The day included a visit with my Spiritual Director, a few hours of prayer and letter writing at Mount Savior Monastery, and a visit with infant Lillian Elizabeth Stuart at the Arnot Ogden Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  Lillian, the daughter of parishioners Joshua and Amanda Stuart has grown from her birth weight of 1.5 lbs. to her current weight of about 8 lbs. and will hopefully be heading home for the first time very soon. The day refreshed my spirit and perspective. God is good!

Have a prayerful Advent.  Serve one another well.

Have a good week. Serve one another well.
Deacon Ray