Dear Friends,
Writing on the 20th of December, we are yet in the midst of late Advent, with the fourth Sunday of the season approaching in days. And yet, yet, the feeling is more and more of the feast of the Nativity of Christ in just a few days.
The Incarnation, so central to the faith of Christians across the world and over the generations, says so much. It affirms what our instincts tell us: that we are messed up, and that left to ourselves we will make it worse. But that's not all it says, not by a long shot. If that were so Christmas would be much less of a celebration and much more of a downer.
The truth of the Incarnation affirms how much we are worth in the eyes of God, how dear we are to the heart of God. In a word, the Incarnation proclaims that we are worth: everything. It reminds us - on December 25 and on every day of the year that we call Jesus' coming to mind - that we are the beloved of God.
May you and yours know this saving truth deep at heart this Christmas and always! And may our efforts here at Mercer School always assist you in holding that affirmation in both mind and heart.
Wishing you every blessing of the season,
John McGinty+
January
22 - Safe Church Renewed Guidelines meeting for parish leaders.
25 - The Responsible Treasurer, a workshop appropriate to
anyone involved in the preparatinon of a congregation's annual
Parochial Report.
February
11 - Preaching the Lectionary for Lent and Easter, with Dr.
Gordon Lathrop;
12 -
Godspell and Bernstein's
Mass: Faith and Unbelief in a Secular World; 6 sessions with
Gregory Eaton at St Ann & the Holy Trinity, Brooklyn Heights;
20 - Training for new Lay Eucharistic Visitors;
22 - Safe Church Training (SHE-CAP) at Mercer.
March
8 - Mercer Institute of Spirituality Inaugural Event: Being
Human -
Focusing and Spirituality: exploring a foundational practice for
both pastoral conversation and spiritual growth
, with Dr. John McDargh of Boston College;
15 - Leadership Day - "Leadership in the 21st Century
Church," including presentations on Who Are We as Church?, Vestry
Leadership, Clergy Leadership, Good Meetings, Planning for the
Future, and more;
19 - Lenten Retreat Evening - the first of three:
Come Aside - Silence and Prayer in Lent.
May
3 - 2nd Annual Faith Formation Convocation: a daylong
exploration of formation resources from Sunday School through adult
education;
31 - Bishop's Youth Bash.
June
14 - Safe Church Training (summer programs/camps);
21 - 50th Wedding Anniverary Celebration.
Further Spring 2014 events are listed on the Mercer Online
Calendar.
For further information and registration, visit
www.mercerschool.org. Click from the homepage on
Coming Events/Register. On the calendar, find and
click on the event date. Locate the event title and click
directly on it to open information on the event and how to
register. And you can always phone us at 516.248.4800,
extension 140.
All these gatherings and more are at your service to help you
serve well, to find your call and to live it well.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
Mandela and Responsibility to the Future
The world has been singularly focused on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela since his death last night in South Africa. His is a powerful story of commitment to a cause, of openness to conversion of heart, of a profound ability to hear and connect with an adversary and to invite all to unity.
If you read again through those elements of his life and death, to which many others might eloquently be added, it is clear that these are each and all central aims of the life of the Christian community. Mandela has been a teacher to us all of the possibility of reconciliation and of real progress to move through and past division. He continues to teach those lessons in death. I suspect that his voice will continue to move us for generations. I hope that this will be the case.
We take these lessons and make them real everyday, right where we live and work. If we do not, they will never become real and tangible among us. If we do, we help in quite concrete ways to build a viable and even delightful future. As a part of the Church, our goals here at Mercer School are the same. Our programs are intended to deepen our commitment to Jesus Christ and his Gospel, to call us to always deepening conversion, to open our ears to really hear one another across differences of opinion and to allow shared insights to bloom among us.
This Advent we celebrate a new church year and look ahead to a new calendar year. I want to highlight here a few of our upcoming events over the first weeks and months of the new year:
January
25 - The Responsible Treasurer, a workshop appropriate to anyone involved in the preparatinon of a congregation's annual Parochial Report.
February
11 - Preaching the Lectionary for Lent and Easter, with Dr. Gordon Lathrop;
12 - Godspell and Bernstein's Mass: Faith and Unbelief in a Secular World; 6 sessions with Gregory Eaton at St Ann & the Holy Trinity, Brooklyn Heights;
20 - Training for new Lay Eucharistic Visitors;
22 - Safe Church Training (SHE-CAP) at Mercer.
March
8 - Mercer Institute of Spirituality Inaugural Event: Being Human -
Focusing and Spirituality: exploring a foundational practice for both pastoral conversation and spiritual growth, with Dr. John McDargh of Boston College;
15 - Leadership Day - "Leadership in the 21st Century Church," including presentations on Who Are We as Church?, Vestry Leadership, Clergy Leadership, Good Meetings, Planning for the Future, and more;
19 - Lenten Retreat Evening - the first of three: Come Aside - Silence and Prayer in Lent.
May
3 - 2nd Annual Faith Formation Convocation: a daylong exploration of formation resources from Sunday School through adult education;
31 - Bishop's Youth Bash.
June
14 - Safe Church Training (summer programs/camps);
21 - 50th Wedding Anniverary Celebration.
Further Spring 2014 events are listed on the Mercer Online Calendar.
For further information and registration, visit www.mercerschool.org. Click from the homepage on Coming Events/Register. On the calendar, find and click on the event date. Locate the event title and click directly on it to open information on the event and how to register. And you can always phone us at 516.248.4800, extension 140.
All these gatherings and more are at your service to help you serve well, to find your call and to live it well. As Nelson Mandela taught us:
Advent blessings,
John+
(Photo courtesy of Huffington Post: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/15-of-nelson-mandelas-most-inspiring-quotes)
If you read again through those elements of his life and death, to which many others might eloquently be added, it is clear that these are each and all central aims of the life of the Christian community. Mandela has been a teacher to us all of the possibility of reconciliation and of real progress to move through and past division. He continues to teach those lessons in death. I suspect that his voice will continue to move us for generations. I hope that this will be the case.
We take these lessons and make them real everyday, right where we live and work. If we do not, they will never become real and tangible among us. If we do, we help in quite concrete ways to build a viable and even delightful future. As a part of the Church, our goals here at Mercer School are the same. Our programs are intended to deepen our commitment to Jesus Christ and his Gospel, to call us to always deepening conversion, to open our ears to really hear one another across differences of opinion and to allow shared insights to bloom among us.
This Advent we celebrate a new church year and look ahead to a new calendar year. I want to highlight here a few of our upcoming events over the first weeks and months of the new year:
January
25 - The Responsible Treasurer, a workshop appropriate to anyone involved in the preparatinon of a congregation's annual Parochial Report.
February
11 - Preaching the Lectionary for Lent and Easter, with Dr. Gordon Lathrop;
12 - Godspell and Bernstein's Mass: Faith and Unbelief in a Secular World; 6 sessions with Gregory Eaton at St Ann & the Holy Trinity, Brooklyn Heights;
20 - Training for new Lay Eucharistic Visitors;
22 - Safe Church Training (SHE-CAP) at Mercer.
March
8 - Mercer Institute of Spirituality Inaugural Event: Being Human -
Focusing and Spirituality: exploring a foundational practice for both pastoral conversation and spiritual growth, with Dr. John McDargh of Boston College;
15 - Leadership Day - "Leadership in the 21st Century Church," including presentations on Who Are We as Church?, Vestry Leadership, Clergy Leadership, Good Meetings, Planning for the Future, and more;
19 - Lenten Retreat Evening - the first of three: Come Aside - Silence and Prayer in Lent.
May
3 - 2nd Annual Faith Formation Convocation: a daylong exploration of formation resources from Sunday School through adult education;
31 - Bishop's Youth Bash.
June
14 - Safe Church Training (summer programs/camps);
21 - 50th Wedding Anniverary Celebration.
Further Spring 2014 events are listed on the Mercer Online Calendar.
For further information and registration, visit www.mercerschool.org. Click from the homepage on Coming Events/Register. On the calendar, find and click on the event date. Locate the event title and click directly on it to open information on the event and how to register. And you can always phone us at 516.248.4800, extension 140.
All these gatherings and more are at your service to help you serve well, to find your call and to live it well. As Nelson Mandela taught us:
John+
(Photo courtesy of Huffington Post: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/15-of-nelson-mandelas-most-inspiring-quotes)
Monday, December 2, 2013
Lighting Up Advent
Over the past few days, since Thanksgiving came and went and Advent has begun, I've been at times on the road after dark (as most of the day is after dark at this point in the year!). One of the things that I have noticed over this brief period is quite obvious: if not before Thanksgiving, certainly immediately afterwards, many homes are brightly lit with decorations looking forward to the celebration of Christmas.
Or perhaps to put it more realistically in our present culture, the actual celebration of Christmas for many is taking place now in the work of decorating the interior and exterior of homes, in shopping, in listening to Christmas music on the radio or online. For many. Christmas is now. It will end the morning of December 25th.
On the one hand, this means that the Christian church needs to be all the more intentional about keeping Advent. Advent is its own proper season, with its own long and storied history, and its own gifts of expectation, patience, and a rich sharing in liturgy of the beauty of the scriptures. We lose Advent and its gifts, as many have, at our own peril, with regard to living life at a human pace and with spiritual depth.
On the other hand, the dyspepsia between the church season and society's take on the season becomes all-too-visible as one drives through neighborhoods these present evenings. What do I mean? One sees brightly lit houses in their dozens and eventually hundreds, decorated beautifully, proclaiming at the very least that there is something special about this season. Then one comes across a Christian house of worship, of virtually any denomination or non-, including our own, and the building in which the Christians meet is either darkened or looks exactly as it does throughout the year. There is nothing visible to say or to confirm: this is a special time.
I am not suggesting that our churches decorate now for the Christmas season. To do so would be to betray the reality of Advent, and if the church does that, this gorgeous season so little kept will be a goner. What I am suggesting is that either:
- - we need to find a way, using greens and Advent colors and light, to allow our church buildings to say out loud now, "This is Advent, and it counts for something, and we are joyfully and intentionally and lovingly preparing for the coming of the Savior!" or
- - we need to decorate our church exteriors amazingly well with Christmas decorations once the Christmas season actually begins and for its entire length, while early-bought Christmas trees languish on the sidewalks waiting for the sanitation truck as early as noontime on December 25.
We have so much to share in the gifts of Advent that can deepen the coming celebration of the Nativity for all. What can we do to look like this is really true?
***
A renewed invitation to join us on Mercer School's Facebook page, Conversations at Mercer, for a shared reading and discussion of Christopher Webber's Advent with Evelyn Underhill. We'll be there every day throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons,
Pax,
John+
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Welcome to the Beginning.
There is a wisdom to beginning anew, with some regularity. At work it is good to step back now and then and consider whether we are progressing as desired, or whether we are even still on the path we first elected. In personal and family life, where routine can become the enemy of love's expression, how important it is often to pause and look into the eyes of a loved one as if we were seeing them for the first time. What a miracle it is that this person exists at all, and is in my life, and that we are joined by the bond of love.
The liturgical year of the Church's life bears this same wisdom to us. Last Sunday we celebrated the final Sunday of the Church's year, bowing before Christ the King. This very next Sunday we find ourselevs at the beginning, at the first Sunday of the Church's year, at the threshold of Advent. Grace invites us to see the presence and the promise of God today with a fresh eye, to hear the Gospel as if we never had before, to wake up to the wonder of God existing at all, of God caring for us at all, of God caring beyond all borders and electing to come among us. Today we begin, anew, to consider all of this, and so much profoundly more. What a gift.
At Mercer School we begin by inaugurating this afternoon our online reading, in common, of Christopher Webber's edited collection, Advent with Evelyn Underhill. Join us on Mercer's Facebook page, Conversations at Mercer, to discuss day-by-day through the season what Evelyn Underhill shares with us and how it applies to us now during Advent 2013.
In this season, as always, responsibilities continue. Among our responsibilities to one another in Church and society is that of confronting racism, of coming to understand and know one another across differences, respecting and celebrating our diversity all the while. For many, this is a challenge. We seek to help one another by beginning again the offering of Racism Awareness workshops here in the Diocese of Long Island. The first is scheduled for Saturday, December 14th at Mercer in Garden City. Information on the day, and online registation instruction, is available from the Mercer homepage (www.mercerschool.org) by clicking on Coming Events/Register on the lefthand column. From the calendar that appears, click on the date of December 14th, There you will you see RAP listed (Racism Awareness Program). Click directly on the program title and you'll see a description you can scroll through and a link to register, Incidentally you can explore and register for all Mercer's offerings in the same way.
Blessings to all as we begin again together. Thanks be to God for the opportunity!
Pax,
John+
The liturgical year of the Church's life bears this same wisdom to us. Last Sunday we celebrated the final Sunday of the Church's year, bowing before Christ the King. This very next Sunday we find ourselevs at the beginning, at the first Sunday of the Church's year, at the threshold of Advent. Grace invites us to see the presence and the promise of God today with a fresh eye, to hear the Gospel as if we never had before, to wake up to the wonder of God existing at all, of God caring for us at all, of God caring beyond all borders and electing to come among us. Today we begin, anew, to consider all of this, and so much profoundly more. What a gift.
At Mercer School we begin by inaugurating this afternoon our online reading, in common, of Christopher Webber's edited collection, Advent with Evelyn Underhill. Join us on Mercer's Facebook page, Conversations at Mercer, to discuss day-by-day through the season what Evelyn Underhill shares with us and how it applies to us now during Advent 2013.
In this season, as always, responsibilities continue. Among our responsibilities to one another in Church and society is that of confronting racism, of coming to understand and know one another across differences, respecting and celebrating our diversity all the while. For many, this is a challenge. We seek to help one another by beginning again the offering of Racism Awareness workshops here in the Diocese of Long Island. The first is scheduled for Saturday, December 14th at Mercer in Garden City. Information on the day, and online registation instruction, is available from the Mercer homepage (www.mercerschool.org) by clicking on Coming Events/Register on the lefthand column. From the calendar that appears, click on the date of December 14th, There you will you see RAP listed (Racism Awareness Program). Click directly on the program title and you'll see a description you can scroll through and a link to register, Incidentally you can explore and register for all Mercer's offerings in the same way.
Blessings to all as we begin again together. Thanks be to God for the opportunity!
Pax,
John+
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)