Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Greetings 2010

You have heard me say that the Great Crossing of the Cathedral is the place where many conversations rightly occur. The conversation between art and science; faith and reason are but two examples. This year, at this time just before the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord, I find myself keenly aware of the crossing of years. 

2010 is drawing to a close. Around the Cathedral there still seems to be so much to do: the final preparation for our festival celebration on Christmas Eve, to finishing touches on the Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day Service (Dec. 21), pastoral visits, letters that so need to be written for so many wonderful things, the business aspects of year end, and so forth. All before the year’s end. I am sure you can quickly rattle off an even more impressive personal list.

2011 is drawing close, and with it the centennial anniversary of the dedication of this great Cathedral (save the weekend of May 22nd) -- living stones, if you will, continuing to make a living witness of people, presence, mission and ministry. So much to anticipate and celebrate … and therein lies the risk.

We cannot, we must not, allow ourselves to become so caught up in the business of holidays and year end, or in the anticipation of a new and better year, that we forget the miracle right before us. More than angels coming to shepherds on a hillside, and Magi sojourning to a child, God came down to earth that humanity might be raised to heaven (with apologies to St. Athanasius). Salvation has come into the world!

At the heart of the Christmas message, St. John’s Gospel tells us "The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." As we all stand at the various crossings of life, may the light of Christ that breaks forth again, as it has for two thousand years, illuminate us now and ever. 

A holy Christmas to you all,

The Dean, Wardens & Vestry
The Staff & the Chapter of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul

Monday, November 22, 2010

Thanksgiving and Advent 2010

There are several things I want to share with the Cathedral Community on this Thanksgiving Eve, and in anticipation of the beginning of Advent (can you believe it) this coming Sunday.

About Thanksgiving: I believe it is a wonderful thing to be intentional in reflecting on the people and circumstances for which we are thankful. I believe it is a spiritually dangerous thing to think that we can actually count our blessings. If we start out numbering and find that we reach a certain finite figure, the only thing we will know for sure is that we have reached the capacity of our immediate recollection. No matter the circumstances of one’s life, the effort to "count blessings" is tantamount to trying to count the number of grains of sand on the beach one-by-one. Ultimately such an endeavor will leave us frustrated, and we risk losing our ability to look at the whole of the beach and the magnificent convergence of sky, sand and sea, dunes and tides, dusks and dawns. It is a far better thing to know that the breadth and depth of God’s blessings eclipse something as uncountable as the sands, and to give thanks, than to lose a lifetime in the self-absorbing task of numbering them.

Advent begins across the Church this coming Sunday. Recall with me that the focus of the season is preparation, not penitence (that’s Lent). As a way of preparing, our worship will be composed of some elements unique to the season and one or two that are simply new to many of us in the context of our Sabbath worship. 

Returning to our Advent worship will be a form of the Prayers of the People that we have been crafting here over the past two Advent seasons. It is built on the O Antiphons which have been a traditional part of Advent for centuries. Modern familiarity with the O Antiphons comes in the singing of the hymn "O come, O come, Emmanuel." The return of the Advent responsory at the beginning of the liturgy signals an invitation to cast aside the manic pace of the season foisted on us in advertisement and merchandizing. 

New to this year’s Advent experience will be the use of a Eucharistic Prayer from the Episcopal Church’s supplemental volume titled, Enriching Our Worship. Supplemental volumes of liturgical texts are not new in the life of the Church. The Church of England and Anglican Church of Canada have been offering such resources to the worshipping community for decades. Enriching Our Worship is a volume that makes sound use of ancient and traditional liturgical structures while employing a broader scope of biblical images in the text of the prayers. Language, as we all know, is never static, but always changing. Enriching Our Worship has brought to our liturgy prayers which reflect greater balance in gender, and other ways, using imagery present in the Scriptures but not often applied for various reasons. 

An undeniable part of the Advent season is the telling and retelling of the events that foretell and prepare us for the Messiah’s birth. Mary and her role, along with that of Elizabeth, are so integral to this narrative. Eucharistic Prayer 2, which is the one we will be using, picks up on the mothering image is a way that resonates for me with role of these vital women. The strong movement of the Spirit in creation and the Incarnation is present as well.

We pray you find this worship inviting you ever deeper into the mystery of God and the transforming holiness of the season. 

With thanksgivings for you all,
Scott+

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

An Open Letter on the Proposed Quran Burning

September 8, 2010 

A constitutional republic which maintains as one of its essential components the freedom of speech is a beautiful and challenging thing. Freedom of speech, if taken seriously, means that you and I have to be willing to protect the right of another person to proclaim at the top of his or her lungs that which we would spend a lifetime opposing. For me, the light, life, love and reconciliation found in the fullness of the Christian Faith and communicated in the sacred writings of Holy Scripture is even more beautiful. Our Christianity informs us that just because we have a legal right to do something, doing it may be far from right.

Dr. Terry Jones, of Dove World Outreach Center, says he is planning a Quran burning. According to the United States Constitution it appears he has the right under freedom of expression to do that. Governmental, political and military leaders have spoken to suggest that doing so is not a good idea; in fact a very bad idea. Lives, innocent lives, will be put at risk. This argument does not seem to compel Dr. Jones and those loyal to his cause.

I would like to appeal to him based on an understanding of the Scriptures he and I both declare to be God’s holy word. I do not for a moment think that what I have to say will change his mind, because what I say will not get him to understand that he has confused Terrorists with Muslims. Terrorists seek to press their agenda through destruction and death. They are no respecter of nationality, race, religion, age, property or life. Remember the Unabomber and Timothy McVeigh. Muslims, people who are adherents of Islam, trace their roots, like Jews and Christians, to Abraham. Abraham’s firstborn child was Ishmael, and about Ishmael God tells us, "I will bless him, and make him fruitful … and I will make him a great nation" (Gen. 17:20).

The Holy Bible tells us many things; here are three. From the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures, Genesis 56), God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah says, "…my house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples." The point is made of including foreigners. In Paul’s compelling first letter to the Church in Corinth he tells us that "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way…" 1 Cor. 13:4-5a). Finally, Jesus sums up everything when he says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind … and love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt 22:37 ff).

So I ask of those intent on a legal expression of malice and hatred, bound by cords of confusion equating people of other faiths with terrorists, where is the breadth in your heart, like the breadth in God’s heart, to include others? Where is the patience of your love? Where is the absence of your arrogance? Where is the love of your neighbor who may be Christian, Jew, Muslim or atheist; from any race or nation; male or female; gay or straight; young or old? I did not see any qualifiers or conditions in Jesus’ command to love your neighbor.

What you espouse does not look like any Christianity I know. But I know this: While the Constitution I know says you can do this, Baptism says you must not do this.

Finally, to my Islamic brothers and sisters: Many of us who are Christian hold you and your safety in our prayers. You do not deserve this. We understand that your conclusion of Ramadan is already constrained for fear that many will confuse your religious celebration with some celebration of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. We know that is not true. We bid you salaam.

In Christ’s peace,

S. Scott Hunter+

10th Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Our Vision

Where there is no vision the people perish:
but he that keepth the law, happy is he.
  Proverbs 29:18 KJV



On the day you were baptized you became a Christian. The distinctive element of Christian Baptism is the gift of the Holy Spirit being imparted upon the person being baptized. It is worth saying here that there were all kinds of “baptisms” going on throughout the various religious cults and practices of the ancient Middle East before, during and after Jesus’ time. Again, the distinct nature of Christian Baptism is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the adoption by God through Grace of the one being baptized.

Every day since your baptism has been a journey, as has mine, to become more completely that
which we already are: a Christian. This does not mean that there is a drip-faucet of the Holy Spirit within you. The gift of the Spirit is full, but our ability to live into the richness of the Spirit’s gifts is, as far as I can tell, a journey without a conclusion. Some are relentless in this journey. Others, it would seem, drift off to the side of the way and never get up and on the path again. What is the difference?

Good question! I believe that the difference is found, in part, when one gets separated from the
community of faith and separated from a vision – a vision of what the Spirit is inviting, calling, even challenging us to be and become as individuals and as a community.

There are two things in the Pentecost story that strike me. First it was not a solo event. There was
a community gathered. Jumping ahead a bit, even the Saul was the only one blinded by the light, there were others present and the event was confirmed by Ananias at the direction of the Holy Spirit. Our baptisms are not solo events either, they are community events. Second, closely associated with Pentecost, Peter tells us, is the seeing of visions. (Read all of Acts 2 for the full excitement!)

Just over a hundred years ago there was a vision to create a Cathedral community and ministry. A
vision to create something new that had not been before in this part of Christ’s Church. The vision became a reality, but as with all visions imparted by God, it continues to change as we come close so that our journey into the breadth and depth of Jesus’ healing, reconciling, sanctifying love becomes more and more profound. More life giving and more life imparting.

Over the past year your Vestry has invested many hours in prayer, conversation, and discernment
about the vision God is giving to the Cathedral community – a vision of what we are called to be, but have not yet fully become. Today is the day we share that vision.

Our Vision is to be an extraordinary spiritual gathering place where people of all backgrounds and ages are welcome to question and learn, pray, worship and serve; being loved by God in ways that change and improve their lives and the lives of others.

I invite you take this vision into your hearts and into your prayers and into your actions. God has
blessed us richly over the past hundred years as a Cathedral, and for the eighty-or-so years before that in our beginnings in 1824. God is blessing us now. The more we press toward the vision, as faithful Christians and as a Christian Community, the more we will experience the richness of the Grace and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that are already within us.

Come Holy Ghost our souls inspire, enlighten with celestial fire.

Pentecost blessings,
Scott+

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

You Make a Difference

That’s right. You make a difference. Need an example: For over a year Ray Chaney, trick knee and all, has been the coordinator of the Fellowship Breakfast. Under his leadership and with volunteer cooks, volunteer setup folk, and volunteers who serve and clean-up, around 10,000 meals have been served. 
 
Ray has told the vestry it is time for him to step down: given his "two weeks notice," as they say. That means it is time for one of you, or maybe two or three of you, to step up so the ministry can continue. In the current economy this part of our cathedral ministry is an especially vital one. 
 
What is involved in this volunteer position? The best way to get a handle on that is to talk with Ray himself. I can tell you that the position requires transportation and financial responsibility. Getting food supplies, and some dry goods, from various suppliers is involved, as is recruiting people to pickup the "Sunday morning bread" from Avalon Bakery late each Saturday afternoon. Have a positive impact; see the difference one person (You!) can make; live fully into God’s plan that we are blessed to be a blessing to others. We are all called to make a difference! Talk to Ray. 
 
There are other opportunities … 
  • Altar Guild – helping setup, clean-up and care for vessels and vestments for worship 
  • Wedding Coordinator – assisting the clergy and helping brides and grooms at rehearsals and weddings 
  • Office Volunteer – so many different opportunities there is surely one to fit you
  • Working the Sound board for services and other Cathedral events
  • Being an Usher – a host really, to help friend and stranger to feel welcome at the Cathedral
  • Acolytes (altar servers) for weekend or even weekday services
  • Vergers – coordinating multiple aspects of worship before, during and after services
  • Eucharistic Visitors – taking the Sacrament of Holy Communion from worship directly to those who cannot be with us
  • Leading Education opportunities
  • Writing articles for the Digest Online
  • Be a Cathedral Crafter
  • Tend one or more of the garden areas on the Cathedral grounds
  • Lead the Christmas Feast effort
These are but a few of the many ways to make a difference. Step-up and try one, or more, and find out what the power of faith and works combined can do for others and for you.
 
God’s peace,
Scott+

Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Cross Around My Neck

Often times you see me, whether in a clergy shirt or in a shirt with a standard collar, wearing a cross. I have several. Many of them came from my mother as she collected them for me during her times of travel. One, a silver Celtic cross, was made by my father from raw silver, which he refined, rolled, cut and engraved. Another is made from nails and reminds me of the ministry of reconciliation that is the heart of the Community of the Cross of Nails centered in Coventry Cathedral (whose formal name is the Cathedral of St. Michael), Coventry, England. That symbol comes from a cross hastily fashioned from timber nails that were found in the rubble of the cathedral after it was destroyed by Nazi bombs on November 14, 1940. I wear them as my prayers, mood, or the occasion, warrant.

I have another cross, it is very simple. It hangs in a simple black cord. The cross is about thirty years old. It bears the scares of tooth marks, not from me or a child, but from a pet bunny rabbit we had while in seminary. It is made of a reddish wood, mahogany, actually. The mahogany is not from trees cut for timber or any other form of harvesting that would promote deforestation. It is from fallen limbs, gathered, dried and cut. This simple scared cross is fashioned from wood gathered around Cangé. Cangé is a small and remote village in the Central Plateau of Haiti. My diocese of origin, as they say (Upper South Carolina), and the parish of my childhood through seminary years (Christ Church, Greenville, SC), have long had a missionary relationship with Haiti and the village of Cangé. We have build built wells, water stations, clinics and schools. They have taught us about true joy, faith, hope, and love.

I will be wearing this simple wooden cross for the foreseeable future – at least to Easter, and likely longer. Will it help the people of Haiti? Probably not in material ways. But, it will help me to pray for them and for the efforts of many who are responding to the earthquake devastation. It will remind me that if I forego a lunch here or something else there, even that little bit of money can make a difference – especially when joined with the resources of others. 

Please join with me and Help Haiti Now. Pray. I know we can all pray. Give. Give as you can through the Cathedral (mark all checks or donation envelops "Haiti relief"), or directly through Episcopal Relief and Development. Or through some other trustworthy organization. Thank you.

Faithfully yours,
Scott+