The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

I listened to some of the news coverage of former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral while I drove up to the church yesterday. He has always been a hero and a role model of mine because when he lost re-election and felt despondent and rejected by the people, he determined to find another way to do the most good with the rest of his life. I don’t need to recount all of those successes here—you all know how hard he worked to provide peace, shelter, freedom from disease, escape from poverty, and more. You also know that he taught Sunday School as a volunteer until he physically could no longer do so. He knew that compassion and action go together and that this must be taught to each successive generation.

I have often speculated on what it would be like to start a charter school with the foundational charism of chesed, the steadfast and loving kindness of God. Teaching compassion and chesed through stories and dialogue along with the 21st century survival skills we all need is a true call and an urgent need, now more than ever.

Grace and compassion and the drive that motivates someone to do as much good as possible in the “second half of life” as Richard Rohr calls it, is sorely needed, perhaps now more than ever. With a change of national administration more dedicated to tearing institutions down and dividing people over false issues than governing with compassion and an eye to the future, we must not become so discouraged that we become passive. We can all do something. 

We start with our own community. We must be observant. Who is struggling? Who is thriving? If we fall largely into the latter category, how can we elevate the struggling siblings with our love and compassion in action? 

With the fires raging in what used to be my home in Altadena, CA, and the loss of one of my statesman heroes, for just a few minutes yesterday, I felt that darkness and death were winning. As I began to prepare for my Sunday message I read these words from the prophet Isaiah with fresh eyes: 

For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you…   Is. 60:2-4a

Then I remembered, and I hope you will too: ours is a Light that the darkness cannot overcome. We can choose to live into and use that Light for good or we can hide it under a bushel. We can choose who we are until we are welcomed home to eternity, and we have the opportunity to remake that choice with every breath we take. Don’t let the darkness of despair overtake you when there is still work to be done: the work of compassion and chesed in action. 

What does that work look like for Memorial Episcopal Church? I have a vision, and I’ll bet many of you do, too. Please tell me about your vision. We are in the process of developing plans and a budget to fund those plans for 2025. Your vision and your voice are critical as we chart a course forward. You may write to me here: pan@memorialepiscopal.org.

Warmth and love to you all on this chilly day,

Pan+

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

For the final day of the Christmas season, there are three options for the gospel reading. One of those texts will be used this Sunday on the final day of Christmas, the 2nd text will be used when we celebrate the Epiphany on January 12th, and the 3rd text selection I present to you here from Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23:

After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."

I wonder what it was like for Joseph—did they leave immediately? How long did they travel to reach safety in Egypt? How did Joseph support his family once they got there? These are what I consider to be “rabbit hole” questions. They distract me from looking at Joseph and seeing what I can learn from his story.

The narrative that survives is scant, but for me, the important pieces are there: Joseph experienced a visitation by an angel. Again. Remember, we are told earlier in Matthew’s narrative that when Joseph discovered Mary to be pregnant and considered quietly canceling the betrothal an angel told him not to be afraid to marry her—the child was conceived by the holy spirit.

And notice that there is a third visitation by an angel while Joseph slept: the announcement that Herod had died and it was safe to return to Israel. Clearly, Joseph was a man who trusted the counsel of angels.

Would I know the counsel of an angel if I were to receive it? I hope so. Maybe that’s why the angels consistently visited Joseph while he slept, free from other distractions. Consider these lines from the New Zealand Prayer Book Night Prayer (based upon Psalm 127):

It is but lost labour that we haste to rise up early and so late take rest, and eat the bread of anxiety. For those beloved of God are given gifts even while they sleep.

This story of Joseph and his obedience to God’s counsel through angels should prompt us all to ask ourselves whether or not we would recognize God’s counsel delivered through angels and respond to accordingly. It may not always be a matter of life and death, but I believe that God does speak to us even while we sleep. Whether or not we will respond to such counsel is always our choice.

* * *

And now two announcements!

There is snow expected for Monday, so we will postpone the Epiphany party. Fortunately, Epiphany is celebrated for an entire season. We will announce the alternative date and time shortly.

COVID numbers are up post-Christmas travel, so please be mindful, especially if you are a person at risk for complications from respiratory infections. If you feel at all ill, join us on Zoom instead of in person for church.

Don’t forget! Wrestling with the Word (Bible study) begins this Sunday at 9:10 AM in the upper parish hall.

Love to all,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

We live in a dynamic universe. I like to think it is energized by God’s most creative energy: Love. So, I wonder… if this powerful Love is indeed the most creative force in the universe, why would we allow fear to get in the way of living our best lives? Fear has a chilling effect on our ability see a way out of bad situations—to solve problems that seem insurmountable. Fear can prevent us from deeply engaging with Love and living up to our potential as beings created in the image of Love.

Every Sunday, the last thing I say to you before celebrating the sacrament of the Holy Food and Drink is the admonition to walk in Love. I invite you to think about what would happen if we were to follow that advice all the time—to really walk in Love. Who would we be if we could pull that off?

The world around us shows us that there are very few “pure” substances in the universe. Those building blocks we refer to as the chemical elements are in relationship with one another, forming bonds, coming apart and forming new relationships. These relationships each have their own energy! All matter is in motion, and the energy driving that motion can only be explained theoretically by models. Those models are good for more than elevating our scientific understanding of the universe—they also inform our moral understanding of the universe. There are clues everywhere about the behavior of created things—and beings are created things. Our motion drives us into relationships which each have a unique energy, just like the relationships (compounds) of the chemical elements—each relationship having distinctive properties. We were made to live into the potential of relationships with others because we live in Love, and when we walk in Love…we evolve.

If God is Love and God created it all, then the whole thing—all of creation—exists within that magnificent causal energy—Love. The universe resides in Love, and there is nowhere we can go that we are not surrounded by Love. We can choose to draw upon that deep well of Love, and there’s no telling what we can do and who we can be if we choose to cast aside fear and choose love.

So walk in Love, dear ones. Don’t be afraid. We need this Love now as much as we ever have in the history of humankind. God is with you and in you. Walk in Love.

In hope, peace, joy and love,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

John the Baptist knew how to call out the privilege of pedigree.

"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

That type of privilege is something I took note of during my career as a scientist. People who went to the right graduate school got the best post-doctoral fellowships. People who did a prestigious fellowship got hired into the best faculty positions. Those people had the best track record at getting their proposals funded and so on. 

The privilege of pedigree sets us up for moral failure because it separates people early into two tracks, one of which facilitates success and the other making it an obstacle course. The latter path isn’t impossible to traverse, but it’s a tough one. We live in a culture that is ultra transactional. There are gold stars and demerits, and the people who decide what is worthy and what is not often fashion the notions of worth based upon their past experience of what they value as swell as a self-perception of value. Everything is assigned a value, and value becomes an idol.

John the Baptist called out the privilege of pedigree because it was a way of prompting people into the humility that God desires of the righteous. Until a person can let go of “Don’t you know who I am?” pride, that same person cannot face the Creator ready to learn who God is—ready to learn who everyone else is—beloveds of God.

What if we were to assume that everyone has value simply because God made us? What if we formed relationships under the assumption there is joy to be found in loving without justification? Isn’t that what Jesus did? 

At the occasion of a wedding, I always remind the couple at the start of the liturgy that marriage is for the purpose of mutual joy. On more than one occasion I have wished that I had said the same thing at the occasion of a baptism: joining the Body of Christ is for the purpose of mutual joy. To form a relationship because it adds value to one’s life is a little bit backward. To form a relationship because it brings mutual joy is to let go of privilege and the metric of worth, embracing the practice of love without rhyme or reason—love because that is how we were meant to live. That is how we build the foundation of the beloved community. Think outside the box.

In love and joy,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

This Sunday (December 8th) we will already be into the second Sunday of Advent. If feels like I just got here a minute ago and yet it’s been 14 weeks! I will take the opportunity to spend about 15-20 minutes after each service to update you on where we are in the transition process, and I’ll take some questions. If you have more questions than can be addressed at the time, please email or call me. I’d like to hold an all parish meeting early in the New Year, when we can all be together, share a meal and talk to strengthen relationships and begin to do some visioning work for the future.

For those of you who won’t be here this Sunday, here are some highlights that I’ll bring to the brief after-church discussions:

Group norms for a respectful conversation

Outline for the process of a transition time

We now have an excellent internal finance committee. They are looking into the last few years of the finances to see where we are in relationship to where we were. This is to help us craft the first draft of the 2025 budget.

We’ll talk about the status of the pledge campaign.

I will talk about some new policies and procedures that make us compliant with the constitution and canons of the church with regard not only to requirements, but also best practices for good stewardship of one another and of our finances. This includes required training for staff, lay and clergy leadership, and working with children.

I will talk about our Justice and “Repairing the Breach” (my words) ministries. In short, that remains a high priority!

This is not a comprehensive review, so just short highlights. If you want to continue conversation into coffee hour, I’m there for it!

I also want to announce two new things:

Beginning January 5th, we will have weekly adult formation in the Upper Parish Hall between the two services. We have some excellent and inquiring theological minds at Memorial, so let’s dig in each Sunday between 9:15 and ~10:10. This is the best way to include both the Faith@8 folks and the 10:30 folks. We are one church, and I want all people to have an opportunity to engage in theological reflection. I will also ask the Zoom regulars to talk about a day and a time that works for a Zoom formation opportunity. No one will be left out! CHOIR: I see you, and if you want to weigh in on the day and time of the Zoom adult formation, that will provide an opportunity that does not conflict with your rehearsal.

We will hold a program and party to celebrate Epiphany/Three Kings Day on Monday evening January 6th (our liturgical observance of Epiphany will be on Sunday January 12).

Jan 6 will be a potluck supper, and the topic of the program will be Epiphany: The Season of Exploration. What better way to start the new calendar year than with a party? This will be all fun, part mysticism, part science, lots of theology and full of good conversation. I’m learning so much from the Faith@8 folks about what happens when a group of people get inspired by a text and then organically riff on a number of topics, I wish for you all to have that experience.

I realize that this is not my usual weekly pastoral letter, but I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you these things.

To borrow from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, I close by saying, And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. –Phil. 1:11.

In Christ’s love,

Pan

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

Today is a busy day. I am thinking about way too many things simultaneously: sermon prep, vestry business, how to keep the church clean, when to start adult formation, and all the things that you deserve as a church community. I have to remind myself that it takes time to “recalculate” the path forward, as my navigation app would say, following some big disruptions on the journey: a worldwide pandemic, departure of a pastor, financial pressures, a national and local election cycle filled with apocalyptic visions—these are just some of the things that characterize the environment in which we find ourselves. And yet… I feel joy and I feel hope as I slowly get to know you one by one. I hope you are starting to feel a little joy and hope too, as these things give rise to determination.

The joy and hope for me proceed from a sense that I am among people who care what their church is like, what their city is like, their country, and the world. That these things matter to you is reassuring to me because I care about them too. It tells me that I am with kindred people. The Holy Spirit gave me a gift when I was led into Memorial, because people who care how they move about the world are the people who will move the common good forward.

For every person who may be feeling stressed and discouraged in our parish community, there is another person in the community who loves kindness and justice and is willing to enter into relationship with you. You might think you are in the community because it suits your need for something in your or your family’s life but know that God usually does more than one thing at a time. For whatever reasons you have been brought into this community, God has called you here because you are exactly who someone else needs to deepen their own relationship with God and with community.

Don’t underestimate how beloved we must be that God gave us this gift of one another. As we stand at the threshold of Advent and the new liturgical year, we celebrate the brilliance of God’s immanent presence in human flesh. No longer do we regard God as not of this world, but rather as God deeply present in this fragile world that we inhabit. It’s not just the scriptures that we must read, learn and inwardly digest—it’s also the unique wisdom to be gleaned from one another.

If we each focus on deeply loving both God and one another, we will grow this community. No one can resist the deep welcome of genuine love. When you come to worship or to community activities this Advent, come prepared to love with your whole heart. Set self aside and be the love that you want in your own life, and then watch what happens. We are entering a time of deep mystery. Be present to it and watch what happens.

With love and gratitude,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

I realize that many of you will be traveling this Thanksgiving to be with family. I’ve heard from more than one person about how political views are creating deep schisms within families and anxiety is starting to build about spending time around the table when you “just cannot stomach” the views of some family members. 

The challenge of living in divided times is to take control of the division. Say no to the algorithms used by social media platforms that seek to sow discord instead of peace in your life and at your dining room table. Truly I hear your discomfort when confronted with family strife that is driven by politicians because I live it with some members of my own family. But please know this: even though it’s hard, we can choose who we want to be in this world. It just takes practice and it takes constantly recommitting when we don’t succeed at seeing the Christ in ALL people. As I look at the last words of David as recorded in 2 Samuel 23:1-7, I think about what my last words would be if I could choose them. Then I think about what more of my words would be if I could choose them, and I remember I CAN choose them.

If holiday gatherings  are stressful for you, think about them as an opportunity to play the role of the person you would like to be—the person you hope you are—the person you hope will be remembered after you utter your last words.

We are all so much more than we believe ourselves to be, and because of that, I believe we don’t have to let politics and hate keep us from fulfilling our intention to faithfully follow in the footsteps of Christ.

I am grateful for you, and whatever is happening “out there,” in the church I feel hope. Let freedom ring and love prevail—we can do this.

In Christ’s love and peace,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Theme: Return of the Light

Location: Memorial Episcopal Church, 1407 Bolton Street, Baltimore, MD 21217

Show Dates: December 20, 2024 – January 5, 2025

Opening Reception: Friday, December 20, 2024, in the context of and following a worship service celebrating the Longest Night, 7:00 pm

Dear Parish Family,

In the gospel text for this weekend, Jesus goes all in on the prophetic voice: “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” [Mark 13:5-8]

This is a dynamic world. Everything changes, and when it does, it can be disorienting and scary. Nevertheless, to be dynamic is to be alive. This means that we are ALWAYS living in a time of uncertainty. So what are we to do with that? My approach is to plunge into that “cloud of unknowing” with gusto. It doesn’t take away the uncertainty, but it does allow me to approach new things with my own agency rather than being passively swept up in them.

This is why Jesus’ prophetic voice is so important. The “end” is always near, because so is rebirth! It’s not trivial to be able to distinguish between an end and a beginning, but we must be able to see both to enter into the new thing: the birthpangs. One of my favorite scriptural texts is Isaiah 43:19: Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? If we are too absorbed with the end of something, we won’t recognize the new thing.

Without a doubt there are times through which we will not want to pass in our lives, and that is exactly when we most need to summon our courage and think with clarity. That is when you must (as Jesus warned Peter, James, John and Andrew) Beware that no one leads you astray.

There are many people who call themselves Christians these days. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. That is why we must never forget what love looks like—we cannot afford to forget about chesed when there are so many people claiming to be Jesus followers and yet act nothing like it. Look for the justice and the love. If you don’t see it, it’s because it isn’t there. That’s how you will avoid being led astray.

Our church is a place of tremendous potential. It is not because of who we have been, but because of who we can be. We need each other, and the city needs us to step up and reveal what the true love of God looks like. That’s how we keep each other from being led astray by pretenders who are nothing like the people Jesus has asked us to be.

This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.

In love and hope,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

Many of the clergy and wardens of parishes met with Bishop Carrie Wednesday to talk about how we were all doing in the wake of the election results. The bishop urged us to remember that while many people are distraught over the outcome, others are celebrating, and that our churches are likely to have both types of people in them. And while I am committed to trying to seek and serve the Christ in all people, I am aware that the people who are celebrating the election results are not the people who are feel under threat of further erosion of civil rights in our country.

So for those of you who may feeling joy, please try to understand that some people are afraid and uncertain. For those of you who are experiencing that fear, I see you. Our job as a Christian community is to be a welcome and safe space for people no matter what they are presently experiencing, knowing that it is a holy obligation to seek and serve Christ in ALL people. 

I don’t always succeed at that, but I am dedicated to trying because if faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, as we read in Hebrews 11:1, then my faith should be placed in the conviction that continued steps toward a more just and beloved community will ultimately lead to the reality of that vision.

I leave you with a few lines from a prayer by one of my heroes—the Jesuit scientist and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:

From Patient Trust

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

I am most decidedly impatient. And yet I do trust in the slow work of God. We are all that slow work of God. And that’s why I believe that we can really be that beloved community where no one has to be afraid.

In resolute hope,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

On All Saints Day, I am thinking about what Mary said to Jesus when she went to “where Jesus was” and told him that Lazarus had died. While the text says that she knelt at Jesus' feet respectfully, we are also told she leveled what must have been a crushing accusation at a man who loved her brother Lazarus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Many of us respond to the death of a loved one in a cascade of what ifs and accusations.

If he’d only gone to the doctor sooner.

Why did she keep eating junk food?

How could a whole healthcare team not watch him more carefully?

I was taught that this (John 11:32-44) is a story about eternal life. Certainly that is a worthwhile interpretation. However this time reading through the text, I saw something different based upon my own emotions after losing a beloved friend. I felt compassion for Mary, who, while speaking to Jesus with faith, also was a bit accusatory along the lines of Where were you when I needed you? Sometimes people cry out at God in their grief. In this story, Jesus grieved as well. John says Jesus began to weep. His faith was firm, however. Some of the people who had gathered said of Jesus, Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? To my ear, that sounds an awful lot like “What have you done for me lately, God?” I wonder why we so often need more proof that God is reliably with us? Jesus grieved for his friend and for those around him who were also mourning.

This story, affirms for me once again, that God is with me when I grieve. That Jesus shed tears for his friend tells me that he experienced the full range of human emotion, and why wouldn’t he. Through grief and through fear, remembering that God is present to me in those times is key to moving through them.

In a life fully lived, there will be grief and fear. And there will also be joy and hope because there is love. I would not be willing to give up that joy and hope to avoid the grief and fear. Life is a “both/and” enterprise. Remember— God is with us and we do not need to be alone. It also comes with the responsibility to be as present to one another as we can. Be ready for the moments when God is sending you to be by someone else’s side in their own grief and fear.

 When we begin a prayer with “God be with you,” we are not saying “May God be with you,” but rather “God is with you” [now and always].

 In peace and love,

Pan +